El Guerrouj guided run
Listen to the background of the El Guerrouj run below, as narrated by Coach Hoegen. This guide was scripted and recorded originally for a 10k pace.
Hicham El Guerrouj and the 7 X 5 minutes tempo (aerobic endurance) with 2 minutes recovery jog
7 X 5 minutes tempo (10 Km pace)
2 minutes recovery jog
Repeat x 7
(total time approx. 70-90 minutes including warm up and cooling down)
This is one of the Instinct Run sessions inspired by and based on mile world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj
Hicham El Guerrouj, (born September 14, 1974, Berkane, Morocco), Moroccan middle-distance runner, who became the first man to hold world records in the mile and the 1,500-metre races both indoors and outdoors.
El Guerrouj—inspired by the accomplishments of his countryman Said Aouita, a gold medalist in the 5,000 meters at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics—began running as a teenager. In 1995 he attained the indoor world title in the 1,500 meters. During the mid-1990s he pursued Noureddine Morceli of Algeria, the world’s top middle-distance runner and his chief rival. El Guerrouj finished second to Morceli in the 1,500 meters at the 1995 outdoor world championships. The 1,500-metre race at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was one of the most dramatic contests in athletics history: El Guerrouj was running in the lead with Morceli with 400 meters to go, when the young Moroccan tripped on his rival’s heel and fell to the ground. Devastated, El Guerrouj returned to the track but finished last. Later that year, however, he finally caught Morceli, winning the Grand Prix final in Milan.
In 1997 El Guerrouj lost just one race and set world records in the indoor 1,500 meters (3 min 48 sec) and the indoor mile (3 min 48.45 sec). He continued his record-breaking streak in 1999, setting the world record in the mile (3 min 43.13 sec) and winning the 1,500-metre event at the outdoor world championships. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, he won the silver medal in the 1,500-metre race and then proceeded to win 32 finals, including the world championships in 2001 and 2003. He finally won an Olympic gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the 2004 Games in Athens and then added a second gold with his victory in the 5,000-metre race. He became the first Olympic runner since Paavo Nurmi in 1924 to achieve the 1,500-5,000 double. In 2006 El Guerrouj retired from competitive racing. El Guerrouj's training was broken down into cycles. Notably, he did not run huge volumes, but his training involved a lot of quality work, certainly more quality than quantity. El Guerrouj kept his track work to a minimum except leading into races.
As always it is essential to warm up 10-20 minutes before starting this tough workout of 7 X 5 minutes at your best 10 Km pace. Between each repetition It is important to jog slowly during the 2 minutes recovery and of course a cooling down of 10-20 minutes is necessary.