A Varied Program Should be Designed to Fit the Individual
Bowerman's Training Principles
2. A varied program should be designed to fit the individual.
Biological individuality is a concept coaches and runners can struggle to grasp.
Some runners and coaches are attracted to running because the fundamental physics and physiology are concrete and stable. But biology is chaotic. And every runner’s reaction to different stressors is unique.
For example: some have a very high sensitivity to speed/power work, others to long runs. Having a high sensitivity means the resulting period of fatigue after a training load is more severe and longer compared to other types of loads.
All training plans and methods are only maps. They provide a general direction. What matters most is reality. If a plan says run 10 miles hard today, but the runner is reporting feeling exhausted, then the feedback right now should warrant readjusting what was written prior.
Bowerman knew this.
His general hard/easy day training rhythm was not a rigid blueprint, but a general philosophy. The classic example of this is the contrast between Kenny Moore and Prefontaine. Both were trained under the “Oregon System.” Pre thrived on 2 days hard/1 day easy whereas Moore needed 2 days easy for every 1 day hard. Both became Olympians. Both finished 4th in their events at the 1972 Olympics.
Two very different applications of the Bowerman’s general training philosophy with the same Olympic result.
I think it’s important to study and know as much training theory as possible. Seeing a lot of ways training works and why will make you a better coach. It will give you a wider breadth of knowledge and understanding. However, like Bowerman, ample humility and wisdom is needed too. Despite what recent research and training theory suggests, every single runner you’ll coach has biological individuality. Yes, in general, they’ll all respond in similar directions to given training loads and intensities, but individually each response will look slightly different.
And that’s OK.
That’s how it should be.
As a coach, it’s our job to know both the theory as well as the athlete in front of us and apply the theory to fit the athlete, not force the athlete to fit the theory.