Category: News

third session today, after two previous running sessions at 7 am, 12. This last “session” was at 3. I usually only one two sessions, but my body felt good today.

Poor Frank, he hanged on as best he could (with lots of altitude training in his body of course). But a 1.06 half marathon when he was a skiers does not help much in those long jumping sessions. But he was brave and finished the session much better than I predicted.

I am starting to feel the post altitude feeling “kick” in….I can train like crazy and simply do not get tired. I think it is because I managed to balance the training both at sea level and at altitude through the extremely close testing program, the help from Frank, and a good sense of how my body “should” feel to actually respond to the training. That means anything from a days with no training (very rare) to three sessions a day. All dependent to if my body can take it.

I think I will sleep well tonight. Nothing like an evening of quite rest after giving workouts 🙂

Marius

expand this section as we go along. If any of you out there have detailed information on world class athletes training, please shoot me an email about it. I still have a number of “cases” in my file that will be posted on mb.com later, but I am always interested in more – so if you have any I would greatly appreciate it. I am interested in mostly first hand information, or very good second hand (not something written in “Runners World”….) and it has to be fairly detailed, not just general ideas. If you can help me, please email me at marius.bakken@mariusbakken.com

Good reading, people –

Marius

miles). So I do my long distance runs there, and the faster stuff on the treadmill. Works great. Of course not like Kenya, but it has a special charm to it.

Testing will of course be a major part of the next four weeks before I go back to Kenya. Since I will be using altitude throughout the season this year, it is extremely important for me to map the days I performs the best after an altitude stay. I see a very clear pattern already, after the previous stays, but I want to be 100 % sure that this goes for every time – almost no matter what the circumstances are.

Frank Evertsen takes a major part in this, of course, and monitors everything in detail. I would say he is one of few who has knowledge of every one of the core areas to help an athlete perform well…..he has a Ph.d. (Dr.Scient) in Exercise Physiology on the topic going something like “Optimale traning intensity for endurance athletes – with cross country skiers in particular”, he has only 2 semesters left of Medical School that he studied at the same time (took 5 ½ years of it, but didn’t have time to finish), he has several years of experience in the Olympiatoppen (Norwegian Olympic Sports Development), and a backgroup as an athlete himself. Plus he is young (only 34) with an extreme instinct for new ideas and concepts. On top of that he is a practical person who get things done, and knows how to take 100 % care of his athletes. I am extremely lucky to work with such a person, and the challenging work we do is nothing but inspiring.

This week will be an easy one. I can go right up into altitude and train hard from day one, because my body handles altitude well. But I have to be disciplined when I come down. So I listen to my body and take one day at a time for the first 7 days.

Marius

serving customers….Kipchoge Keino, the legendary Olympic Champ from 1968, and one of the most respected men in Kenya. Now an IOC member representing Kenya, a owner of several farms and businesses……and you find him, in the little store in Eldoret, serving the regular customer 🙂 Should illustrate the Kenyan down to earth mentality. We had a nice chat with him – I have met him before and Henrik stayed at his farm for training last winter. He was saying that the store was not going so well at the moment, as people in Eldoret did not participate in much sports other than running…and running you could do barefoot :))) But the selling of regular notebooks at the back of the store was going great, so that kept business going 🙂

Then we went back to the small hotel we are staying at to find World Record holder in the steeplechase, Bernhard Barmasai eating lunch…before going over to the hotel across the street almost bumping into Paul Tergat who was in town on the way to a visit to the Kenyan National Cross camp….small place, this running-town..

I am moving up to higher altitude tomorrow again. That way I get two things : more stress on the body, and some cheap nights…..going back and forth to Kenya all the time is quite expensive, so living a little simple for periods of time, helps me save up money for the next trip 🙂

Gotta go now. Tired, but still going strong,

Marius

that….no wonder the Kenyan camp for World Cross was only about 8 km away and Daniel Komens new camp close by also…the change of altitude was no problem, and we had some great workouts up there. At 6 in the morning (in the DARK) ,at 10 and then again at 5. Then, only sleeping and eating in between. Quite simple, but extremely effective 🙂 I will go up there again shortly.

Briefly from Eldoret,
Marius

altitude. There is a huge difference in the feeling I have now – one week after I arrived – compared to the one I had in Saturdays race. To let your body adjust to the altitude means a massive speed increase in the training – and racing. Maybe I will jump into a race here later to see how things will go when being acclimitized fully.

All is the same in Eldoret. It almost feels like I was never home….it is sooooo relaxing here – the air is fresh and your energy doubles from what you have at home. But the temperature is a little bit higher this time – so we have to get up earlier to train. On hard days, we get up at 6.30 to do quality work (always in the morning, like the Kenyans do it) In Norway I get up at around 10….with two hours time difference to Kenya, that means I have had a time zone adjustment of 5 and a half hours 🙂 But I really don’t feel it, because it just feels nice to get up early, and then take a nap during the day.

I think it will be interesting to see how racing will go this year. I am really training well, but I am also just on the edge of how much a body can take of training. Every year I have been training, I can look back at it and say “I wished I knew the things I knew this year – last year”, which is a good indication that you are moving forward and progressing. Like last year and the years before that, I have challenged myself in practice this winter. Hopefully it will give results. Up to now, I have made progress every year from the age of 11……with personal bests. I think it is because I have never settled into a “comfortable pattern” but always searched for new and demanding things to do in order to improve. But as I do this, I get closer and closer to what I can take. So I have to be careful and listen to my body.

All for now. Everything is going smooth in Eldoret. The internet lines have gone back to the regular speed (which is not really “speed” at all…), so access is somewhat limited. But I will try to get on here, when it is possible.

Marius

once stepping into a hole covered with grass and that my competitors had no pace judgement whatsoever. I would definately say that the Kenyan National Cross is that hardest thing you can do in cross country running.

I got out good…..I thought….until I realized that the other runners planned to keep the sprint until they could not sprint any more. So when I thought it was time to settle and relax, they just continued (and most died at the end…) So I got back in the pack in the beginning, and fell to the ground at about 1.5 km….wroooom runners just blew past me 🙂 I think I could have been top 50 if it had not been for that fall.

On the second lap of 2 km I started catching people, and preserved energy for the final kick. As the only Mzungo in the race (only 2 total in the whole meet, the crowd loved it when I sprinted full speed the last 300 meters going from around 80th to 69th 🙂 I finished a bit under a minute after the winner, Enok Mitei (will be STRONG next year) with 4 of the top 5 being sub 12.57 runners in track….(Sammy Kipketer, John Kibowen, Albert Chepkuri and Benjamin Limo)

It was a great experience….last year I was 1.20 behind Kipketer, so I am getting closer 🙂

All well from Nairobi / a good test that I am on the right way.

Marius

would recommend 🙂 So this time we stay a night in Nairobi before we fly up to Eldoret the next day.

This time, like last time, we will be 10 people there. Two new ones will come with us, one of them being Gunhild Halle Haugen – my teammate in Runar IL and a 15.09/31.47 5000/1000 meter runner. It is her first altitude stay – and what better place to start than Kenya.

I am really looking forward to going down again. I am still doing post-altitude testing and then I will be down there in only about a week. I feel like the winter is just flying right past me ! Great for training and perfect for the motivation.

All well with me,

Marius

1998), who came at the very end of the test. Outside, it was snowing, so even though I felt sleepy and tired, I managed to motivate myself for the test. And what a test it would be 🙂

I have done close to 200 tests over the last 3 years of this type. It is a very simple test of a series of intervalls at a gradually faster pace. The test is close to a normal training session, so it does not interfer with my regular training but it is simply a part of it. My heart rate was incredibly low on the warm up – almost 15 beats lower than normal (which is huge for an elite athlete). I started up the test, and as I progressed I could not believe what kind of speed I was running at – and how low my lactic acid and heart rate was. The curve was almost dead flat – as I ran faster and faster, my lactic acid and heart rate just very slowly got higher. I ended up breaking my old “all time best” test (or the “Ghost Session” like Frank Evertsen used to call it – because it seemed like a once in a lifetime day and test, that I have never even been close to after….until today- and we always used to talk about that special test as something strange 🙂 )

I think this is the first time in at least half a year I have been 100 % satisfied with the result of a session….I am a perfectionist, and I ALWAYS find something I could have done better. Today I cannot find one single thing. The altitude training and the work I have been done came 100 % together – strange for February, but a good indication that I am on the right track. So I will be satisfied for a day or two now, until I have a rough session again – and get more things to systematically think about and solve 🙂

Marius

no ice. Then muscle treatment and rest before a TV interview (with the Norwegian State Channel) – followed by a new training session (a test on the treadmill). Some more rest, then a strength training session. Right in the training session, I got company from the anti-drug staff at the Norwegian Sports Association. This happens about 4-5 times a year. So they followed me around until I had finished the session, and I had to take both a urine and a blood test. I am pretty much used to it, and the testers are nice. It is good that they test athletes, so I fully support that they come during practice hours. But that meant more waiting and an even longer day.

Then, late at night I was home…….today I trained easy and slept most of the day 🙂 Not used to stressful days like yesterday 🙂

All well,

Marius