The Krush Program

We have been using the phrase “Krush Program” a great deal in recent entries. Hopefully it reminded everyone of the classic film from 1985, Krush Groove. I am sure many of you are wondering what exactly is this specific program. Well today is your lucky day, so pay close attention as Artie gives us a glimpse inside the “Krush Program” as he shares with us its fundamentals and structure.

Explosive Recruitment

Before one of the workouts I was able to grab a few minutes of Artie’s time and we discussed what he was incorporating into the Krush Program to make Rebecca more explosive. Rebecca’s broken arm forced Artie to make adjustments not just to the running schedule, but all of her ancillary activities that support and enhance her running ability. He used a very creative approach to improve Rebecca’s “burst” when she races.

Meet Tim Murphy

Artie wanted to make sure Rebecca was getting everything possible out of each workout so he figured he should enlist the help of a workout partner. By adding a training partner to the mix, Rebecca would be able to share the pacing duties with someone and Artie would be able to keep his eyes focused on Rebecca’s every move. Artie could have paced her himself, but he would have missed important visual cues during the workouts, robbing him of the opportunity to adjust the Krush Program as needed. So in steps New Jersey native Tim Murphy, a former high school and college standout, and the problem is solved.

The External Fixator and a Little Luxury

Sorry for the delay in between posts, but we are now back on schedule. Here’s a quick video to give you a close look at the external fixator Rebecca had to wear for several weeks while training. It also serves as a reminder to never take for granted the little luxury of being able to wear long sleeve shirts.

Getting The Krush…Groove Going…

Needless to say training was made very interesting by a slip on some ice.  While Rebecca recovered from her broken arm and consequent surgery I was left to think of a way to get her to the Olympic trials.  After doing the math I knew that getting a qualifier was going to be close.  I thought that with a few good weeks of training and a few rust buster races she’d have a week or two to get a qualifier in either the 10,000m or the 5,000m or both before the qualifying deadline. 

I sat down and penciled out several versions of what I thought would be perfect training programs.  I thought out the goals of each day, week and month leading up to potential qualifying races.  I felt as if  I was seeing the plane of space from all the angles.  The differences between the training schemes were primarily when they all got started.  Fortunately, Rebecca’s surgeon, Dr. Paul Suhey, is a former Penn State linebacker.  He had a very aggressive approach to getting her training hard sooner rather than later.  So, with an external fixator securing her arm she began training.  I was very anxious to get to that first “complete” week of training.  In particular that first hill session where she would be running hard while purposely avoiding pedestrian traffic.  As she began to train she would follow the normal order of things.  And each week would lead to the next.  Just as each race lead to another race.  I was to learn, “the best laid plans of mice and men.”  And just how close Rebecca was going to run to that ever closing trials qualifying window.

For the most part in the past Rebecca’s training has been a private affair.  In the past I never felt the need or want to included other voices or perspectives.  However, I saw early and clearly that for her training to take hold and produce the necessary results I would need to rely on a multitude of perspectives.  The rhythms of this training cycle would be tapped out by the many rather than the few.  Influence was to come in many many forms.  And would ultimately put me dependent on a “catfish” at the end of the line the hear what could be a final result or a ticket to Eugene.