Dvorack, Scott - 8 US National teams
Reprinted from:
Trackcoach.com
Name: Scott Dvorak
Event(s): 3000m s/c, 5000m, eventually the 10,000m and
marathon
Brief Bio: Ran in H.S. in Orange Park, FL - 4:27 mile, 9:35 2
mile (junior year), Ran for Brevard College, NC and NC State
University. Member of the 1987 NJCAA National Cross Country
Championship Team, 2 time NJCAA All-American,All-ACC Cross
Country.Currently run for Brooks Sports, Rudy Project Sunglasses and
PowerBar.
Career Highlights: '96 Olympic Trials Qualifier - 5000m, '97
Antarctica Marathon Winner and Continental Record Holder - 2:23:11,
6th '97 USATF 5000m, NC State Record Holder - 5k, 14:08, Member of 3
Olympic Festivals - '91, '93, '94, 8 time U.S. Team Member
Current PR's: 1500m - 3:43.6, 3000m S/C - 8:39.8, 5000m -
13:42.6, 10k - 28:58
Questions:
- What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?
Like everyone else to qualify for the Olympic Team, Sub 13:30
5k, Sub 28:25 10k
- What are some of your plans for the upcoming year to reach
those goals?
First of all to get healthy. For the last 2 years I've
struggled on and off with injury. First in early '98 I developed
Patellar Tendonitis in my left knee.
Most recently I've developed a trauma-induced case of Plantar
Fasciitis and Bursitis. Have had 2 cortizone shots, and it's
slowly getting better, but it will take some time. My hope is to
be back in base building mode by mid November, and then point
toward the early spring to start racing again. In the mean time
I'm spending ALOT of time on an Elliptical Trainer and actually
feel like I'm building fitness rather than just maintaining or
losing it.
- hat is your favorite workout(s)?
10X1000m with 60 seconds rest.
4. What factors do you attribute to your success?
A good support base. My coach is former 8:19 steeplechaser Jim
Cooper. I moved to Charlotte, NC about 5 years ago to be closer to
him. He's been a huge factor in my success. Not only his coaching
knowledge, but his motivational skills as well. The running
community in Charlotte has also been very supportive of me, as has
my work. Giving me time off to go to races and to train. I think
that's the key to success, aside from making the time and
committment to one's running
5. What is your training philosophy?
Each person has their own personality in training and the
training must be developed around that personality. Each person
responds differently to all the various factors integral in training
and for that reason the training must be tailored to fit the
idiosyncracies. One thing is certain, that the person must be very
much in tune with themselves and have an insight into what is
working and why it is working or my training will not help them. I
have never believed in the dictatorial type of coach relationship
where the athlete has no say so intheir training and direction they
are going. There must be a lot of interaction between the coach and
the athlete so the coach knows what the athlete is feeling and
thinking and the athlete knows what the coach is thinking, seeing
and where the coach is going whith the athlete. 1.) Confidence in
yourself. Is there an inner voice telling you that you have more in
you and that you are not finished yet? Without this unwavering
confidence - you will have limited success in reaching and kicking
ass at the next level. Everyone there has this confidence and it is
that confidence that drives the athlete. It is also that confidence
that keeps the athlete calm in the face of pressure as the levels of
competition come, be it college competitions, USATF meets or Olympic
Trials and Olympic competitions. Under no circumstance can the
athlete EVER panic. That spells death.
2.) Speed through Stamina. I think that speed work is over-rated
and over done and totally misunderstood. How often do you see or
read about someone who runs a very fast time early in the season and
they comment-"and I haven't done any speedwork." The implicit
feeling is that speedwork will make them run faster but more times
than not - they do not run faster.
The goal of my training is to teach the body to do a fairly high
volume of work at fairly high intensities. Seldom will you need to
bust a gut in a workout but you will do a lot of work on the low end
of high intensity. An example would be 10 X 800 meters in 2:09 with
200 meter jogs in approximately the same effort in late April or
early May. Then you back off on the volume and pick up the intensity
a little and do 5 X 800 meters in 2:06 with just a little more
recovery.
You will find that the stamina work is done in the form of
repetitions of Varying distances. Repeats of miles, 1000 meters,
800meters and even 400meters. The volume of work will be large -
with the goal to be 10 X 800, 8 or 10 X 1000, 4 X 1 mile and 16 or
20 X 400. The pace should be a good rhythm. To survive the stamina
work you must learn pace and all of the repeats should be within a
few seconds of each other or you are not accomplishing the goal of
the workout. Any idiot can blaze the early part of a workout and
die, but the person who is training is running the complete workout
at the desired paces. As the season progresses and your fitness and
stamina improves, your pace will increase with the same intensity
levels. This stamina pace work is at or very near your current 10K
race pace. The reason to hold back and not blaze, but to learn
a hard rhythm is to teach you to settle into a rhythm in a race and
feel comfortable in that rhythm. In a 10K as well as a steeple race,
you must find that RACE RHYTHM very early in the race so that you
are cruising along and can respond to any move. You must learn to
run within yourself and not be on the edge. Your tachometer during
the early or late stages of a race must not be near theredline. In a
10K the first 3 miles are a warm-up for the elite while the
pretenders are just hanging on. Developing stamina will allow you to
do this. Strength work is long runs at a steady but not pushing pace
and hill repeats with full recoveries. Strength is the ability to
finish the workout, finish a long run or recovery run no matter how
good or bad you feel. Stamina is the ability to run the hard pace
within yourself (find a good rhythm) with little recovery without a
severe drop off in the desired time. Stamina teaches you to suffer
and survive.
3.) Smart training not macho training. Your log book is a guide
for you and a
way to evaluate how your training went. No one wins races because
of the numbers posted in the training log. I use the training log as
a way of keeping track of what I have done and as a way of keeping
my total mileage consistent. You do not want severe fluctuations in
the weekly amount of work you do be it mileage or volume or
intensity. Seb Coe used the axiom-"when in doubt, DON'T." Use this
as a guideline.
For your long run, the general rule is do not let it be more than
2 miles more than your biggest 2 run day total. Therefore, if you do
4 in the morning and 10 in the evening, your long run should not be
more than 16 miles. As a middle distance runner, do not run longer
than 16 or 17 miles weekly. I see no benefit of running for 2 hours
as you need to learn to recover on Monday from the Sunday run and be
ready to go on Tuesday. Americans tend to think more is better but
in running it is often not the case. If you go out for your recovery
run and you are feeling particularly tired, ease back on the pace
and the total TIME of the run for that day. Don't get macho and say
I have to run for 10 miles when you are beat. It accomplishes
nothing. Be smart, you are not being a wussy but being smart. Shoot
for your recovery runs to be 65 minutes at a comfortable pace that
you feel you are recovering-hence the name.
6. Do you have any advice that may help other runners reach their
potential?
Consistency is the golden rule!
