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Dan King, 65, a runner and coach from Boulder, Colorado, set speed records in his age category.
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His training method is called Easy Speed and consists of intervals training of various intensities and distances, combined with cross-training and recovery, to maintain high performance.
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King prioritizes recovery, through sleep, nutrition, and light walking, to reduce injuries and improve performance over time.
Howwould you like a training method that allows you to maintain high performance and speed even as you age?
That’s right: even as you get older and find yourself at a stage of life where thinking about running stronger than years ago is impractical, maintaining performance as long as possible is the best result you can hope to achieve (and that’s already a lot).
Who is Dan King
Dan King is a 65-year-old runner and coach from Boulder, Colorado.
What makes him special is that in 2020 he set the record on the mile in his age group (60-64), as well as winning the World Cross Country Masters Championships in 2011 and the U.S. Club Cross Country Championships in 2015.
After retiring in 2017 and with a background as a sprinter, he thought he would prove what he himself did not think was possible: that human performance is bound to inevitably deteriorate over time.
He proved this and finally put his experience to use, creating a training method.
The Easy Speed Method
In its philosophy, Easy Speed does not mean that unthinkable speeds can be achieved without hard work.
What he emphasizes, however, is what comes after training, and that is recovery.
In this regard, he says he did not understand its importance while he was young but increasingly appreciated it as he got older.
With the years it is not possible to have as fast recovery times as in youth, but right here he identifies a crux of preparation: an aging body can maintain high performance not only by training but also by increasing recovery time.
And that is the philosophy.
Speaking of training instead?
King proposes a mixture of intervals at different distances but also more than just running.
Let’s see.
A key element of “Easy Speed” is to run 6-8 one-kilometer intervals at a moderately difficult pace (marathon to half-marathon type), with recoveries of 400-600 meters of easy run between each.
Combine intervals with shorter, faster intervals close to races, such as 6-10 intervals of 400 meters at a 10k pace or 14×200 meters at an even faster pace, with 10 seconds of walking before and after each interval.
Walking is essential to keep the body working even in the recovery phase between one effort and the next, but without overloading it.
Is it over?
Not yet: there’s also some uphill training, alternating between long, steady climbs and shorter, more intense intervals, especially to strengthen the calves.
And that’s not all: cross-training is recommended, whether it’s cycling, walking, swimming or gym work.
There is one detail you may not have missed: there are no particularly long workouts, in fact.
King recommends running on alternating days for 8-11 km for a total of 40k weekly, and on intermediate days he inserts cross-training.
The important thing is that the 4th day is reserved for harder training.
During the normal running training days, King also inserts intervals at full speed but for a total of 8-10 seconds maximum.
What you should never overlook
You may never get to run a mile at 60 in his time, but you can maintain as long as possible the performance you once had. How? As mentioned before, with recovery. For him, recovery is not just sleep or a rest day.
It is something more extensive, involving nutrition as well as the workout itself.
For him, even the 10 seconds of slow walking between repetitions is recovery (which it is, technically, always), but so is nutrition and generally any activity that gives the body a way to rebuild itself, through rest and proper food intake.
An indirect benefit of his method is also that by loading the physique less, it also reduces the likelihood of injury.
Aim for the stars
The most philosophical and inspiring part of King’s method could be summed up by a saying, “Shoot for the stars, aim for the moon,” which we could translate as “If you want to go to the moon, aim for the stars.”
The gist of it is that in order to get results, one must set very ambitious, even if unrealistic, goals.
Being square and conservative in short, according to practice and logic, only allows one to get halfway or very far from the moon.
The more ambitious the goal and the more you are able to deal with the frustration that comes from not achieving your intended results (which, let’s remember, are deliberately exaggerated), the more you can progress on the path of physical and mental improvement.
(Via Trail Run Magazine)