"I never run more than 11 kilometers. Yet there were ten kilometers too much."
"The Perfect Miler" Sebastian Coe was born 1956 in London, England. A self-learned coach of his was his father Peter. Peter Coe famously said that "slow running produces slow runners." Seb Coe never run more than 90km a week which is like nothing for a top middle distance runner. But Coe was a special case. He possessed an excellent 200m speed for a miler. Let's take a look how his training looked like:
Example 1
Sunday: A.M. 5 miles easy P.M. 30x100m on slight hill
Monday: 7 miles easy
Tuesday: 7x800m
Wednesday: 11 miles easy
Thursday: A.M. 1x(400m + 300m + 200m + 150m) P.M. 3 miles easy
Friday: 4x1200m, 10x150m
Saturday: 30x100m on slight hill P.M. 4 miles easy
Sunday: 7x400m
Monday: 7 miles easy
Tuesday: A.M. 4 miles easy, 10x100m
Wednesday: 3 miles easy
Thursday: 1500m race (3:50)
Friday: A.M. 4 miles easy P.M. 1x(200m + 400m + 300m + 200m)
Saturday: A.M. 4,5 miles easy P.M. 20x200m
Sunday: 1x(100m + 300m), 2x400m
Monday: A.M. 5 miles easy P.M. 5 miles easy
Tuesday: 5 miles easy
Wednesday: 3000m race (8:14,2)
Example 2
Sunday: A.M. Work with weights P.M. 8 miles easy
Monday: A.M. 4 miles easy P.M. 20x200m (28sec)
Tuesday: A.M. 4 miles easy P.M. 4x400m, 1x1 600m
Wednesday: 4x150m (18sec), 3x300m (41sec), 1x400m
Thursday: A.M. 4 miles easy P.M. 10x400m (60sec)
Friday: Weight work
Saturday: 7x800m (2:10)
Sunday: A.M. 1x (200m, 400m, 200m, 300m), 4x100m P.M. 6 miles easy
Monday: 4 miles easy
Tuesday: A.M. 4 miles easy P.M. strides to loosen legs
Wednesday: 1500m race (3:45)
He trained extensively with weights during winter and focussed on aerobic capacity training at 5000m pace to build aerobic endurance. He weighted only 54 kg but was able to lift 135-145 kilograms. Also hill sessions played a great part in his training.
With these trainings Coe won four Olympic medals and set eight world records in middle-distance running; most famously 1.41,73 in 800m which lasted 16 years and is broken only by Wilson Kipketer. His great rivalry with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.
Coe's last competition was 1990 and 1992 he was elected in the British parliament from the list of Conservative Party. However in 1997 elections he wasn't chosen anymore but is still a big name in Conservative politics.