Mark Allen and Dr. Phil Maffetone: Their First-Ever Dual Interview On The Grip’s Legendary Ironman Success (Using MAF Method), The Current State of Triathlon Racing, Coaching Modern Athletes, and More

September 18, 2014
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Phil Maffetone, Mark Allen, Tawnee PrazakEndurance Planet makes history by bringing together two legends for their first-ever dual interview: six-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen and Dr. Phil Maffetone, who was Mark’s coach that led him to the ultimate success in long-course triathlon racing.

Specifically we dig into:

Part 1: Mark & Phil’s History and Using MAF!
-How Mark and Phil met
-Mark’s first-ever MAF Test and the shocking news of having to run slow to get fast
-The dynamic between Mark and Phil, and their coaching relationship, trust in the plan, etc
-How long it took for Mark to see results in racing
-MAF HR on run vs. bike
-Mark’s first Kona win in ’89 and his 2:40:04 run — what was different that year?
-How long it took for Phil’s approach to click in Mark
-How they maintained Mark’s health and life balance allowing for years of racing success

Part 2: The Current State of Ironman Racing – Is It Healthy?
-Do Mark and Phil think that current athletes/pro over-racing with negative health impacts?
-How the current system contributes to over-racing
-Why and how things need to change to take care of athletes for present and future health
-Athletes need to play a role in making changes
-and more

Part 3: Modern Coaching
-Mark on coaching Tim O’Donnell on Angela Naeth
-Phil on advising current pro athletes (including Naeth)
-How they coach and prevent athletes from going down a path toward negative health
-The dynamics of how they coach together
-What goes into successful coaching — and what kind of “coaching” to avoid!
-Coaching for athletic success
-How to find a great coach
-and more

Comments (5)

  • Mark Rogers says:

    Awesome work Tawnee! You rock!!!

  • Quentin says:

    Hi Tawnee, can you nail down Maff to address the long run for mid / bac packers or ultra ers. He talks about running for time. Eg. 2.5 hour long run. That would mean running just over 20k for some people.

    I have really enjoyed running using aerobic paces this year. 90 second half PB … couple ultras … no injuries.

    Thank you

    Quentin

  • Josh says:

    MAF may work for some, but for most of us we can’t handle the workload involved. I have looked at Mark Allen’s training volume from back in his build weeks. I am impressed. Maybe a over 35 and slow as crap podcast can be brought in once and while.

  • Brian Corbin says:

    Is MAF truly a better way to train or is it simply a way to stay injury free, hopefully, because running is so punishing? If you look at the ultimate non-impact sport, swimming, you wouldn’t dream of training this way. Swimmers work hard virtually every day. You never hear of them doing a steady swim unless they are working on open water techniques. Some may argue getting to the starting line healthy is more than half the battle, so in that sense, MAF is a good percentage play.

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