MileSplit Canada

I'm sorry if this has already been posted...but it is probably worth posting again!

23 year old Dayna Pidhoresky ran a 1:13:15 last week in Detroit to win the half marathon - second place finisher was Lanni Marchant (1:15).

Way to go!! Great run ladies.

(post race interview: www.runmichigan.com/video/full.php/2010/10/17/detr....)

Massive step up from her indoor running last year and even recent races. Anyone know her story?

@SI10

What would you like to know?

I would have thought the question was self-evident but since you are her coach, you would be the best to answer. Her progression has been quite remarkable and obviously a credit to your coaching skills:

18 minute 5km runner in early 2010;
then basically running that pace for 10km by mid 2010;
then 35 minute 10km by late summer 2010;
then 34:mid 10km by September;
then that same pace for over twice the distance by mid October (1:13:15 is 34:42)


A million years ago, I progressed probably even faster but that was from a standing start. I didn't have 4 years of University training under my belt. Just wondering what she has/you have been doing.

@SI10

I wouldn't credit my coaching skills just yet as this is the first athlete I've coached. The credit should be placed on her ability to do the work prescribed (although sometimes she may not want to!) and execute on race day. One strong performance leads to trust in the program (and the coach) which makes my job much easier. If you know what you are doing, and have an athlete who is willing to commit without question, you have the makings of success.

For reference, she was never peaked for any of those races other than the half-marathon. A number of them were a portion of a longer run and were meant to be tempo (although sometimes she may have gone a bit harder!). I took over her program in june after she came off of her indoor season. The short-term goal was to race well at Detroit and we have accomplished that, now on to the next one!

Basically, it looks like there was no progression in 5 years at Windsor(note the 5km time in 2005) and then there was a break-out after she left. Injuries?

www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=682950

@SI10

Injuries played somewhat of a role in that. I believe the bigger reason is the individual response to that type of training. It is hard to write individual programs when you are running a team that has ~40+ runners so often times you see all athletes do same workout with adjusted paces. It is obvious that she was not a responder to those workouts, but it was never changed. You cannot simply recycle the program each year and hope that the new crop of runners respond the same and produce the results. The mens team at Windsor has seen great results, but it is just not there with the women. Perhaps this is due to gender variances in exercise response and Mr. Fairall's program may not be as effective with women.

You have to adjust the training based on the athlete, not have the athlete adjust to the training.

I would be looking at lots of opportunities lost if I were Fairall. What kind of workouts was she doing in the month leading up to that race? Any on the track?

@SI10

The vast majority were done on the track. It was not unusual to be on the track twice per week. Racing is essentially a time-trial until you develop the fitness to "race" a competitive field. The track is the best place to consistently hit prescribed paces without major fluctuations in the intervals. This may or may not change in the future, depending on various factors.

It is important to note that "track work" does not necessarily mean extremely hard workouts. A workout such as 4 x 3,000m with short rest at goal half-marathon pace (done evenly) maybe 2-3 weeks out from race day would be done on the track for interval consistency.