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Inside The Training Of High School State Champions

The wild weekend of success didn't come overnight.

Kitchen and his team trained hard to compete at the highest level. Those efforts were strategic, both on and off the track.

In workouts, Tayvon says he isn't afraid to dig deep.

"Confidence is is built through workouts and training" he said.

On several occasions, when he thought he'd reached his limit, his coach Justin Loftus would add just a little more.

"Getting to the point of complete exhaustion in workouts, and then doing more, helps prepare you for, when in races or doubles, you have reached your limit and anything past that is just like tossing on another rep," Kitchen said. 

While workouts play a critical role in his success, the work does not end when practice is over.

"Training is big, and having the right training is definitely a key to running fast." Kitchen said. "But one thing that helps you get to the next level is the rest of the day. You might run for two hours but the other 22 hours you (have to) be doing the right stuff as well. Like getting good recovery, like sleep, getting good nutrition and all that kind of stuff."

The focus on recovery outside practice has proved to be a defining factor in the team's success. Kitchen needed a full day of laser-focused recovery during the 8-hour gap between the championship 5,000 meter runs. Then, the entire relay team needed it in the quick turnaround to New Balance Nationals.

A key difference in Kitchen's training this season was the use of COROS data.

"I really like a lot of the features of the watch, honestly," he said.

One metric he looks at is efficiency. "It's fun when you see a workout and it's a 105-percent or that kind of thing," he continued. "It's interesting to see the the effect on your your running fitness."

Below is an image of his running efficiency compared to his fitness and threshold improvements during the season.

Another aspect Kitchen focuses on is cadence. "When I'm doing sprints, I like to focus on bringing my knees up and keeping the strides a little shorter and quicker," he said. This image shows his cadence and stride length during three quick strides before an easy run.

Notice how the cadence is higher (around 200 meters) during the strides and his stride lengthens as he accelerates. During an easy run (right), he has a cadence around 170 and a steady stride length.

Kitchen says the strides are helpful in improving his cadence. "After doing those, I'll look at my cadence and I can see the difference, especially over time," he said. 

He often likes to compare the data to how he feels on his runs. "I can definitely see correlations when I'll have a rough long run or where I'm feeling particularly bad on a run. I'll look at the data and my heart rate is usually higher than usual," he said. 

Kitchen's COROS watch also tracked his sleep patterns and recovery times, which has ensured he has been getting the rest he needed to perform at his best. This data-driven approach was helpful in managing the stress of back-to-back races and the cross-country travel that followed.

Competing in two 5,000 meter races within the span of eight hours is no small feat. The original idea was to run a postseason 10K, but when that fell through, the challenge of "the double 5K" came to be.

What made things helpful was the schedule: Both the Under-20 and Nike Outdoor National races were in the same venue in Eugene, Oregon, at Hayward Field, so travel wasn't a factor.

However, the recovery period was. The typical rest of an hour or two isn't enough time for soreness to set in. Waiting all day, Tayvon slowly started feeling it. It wasn't easy. "You're so far into that pain that you could run super slow or super fast and it hurt the same," Kitchen said, "so you just go super fast."

Super fast is right, as came away with impressive marks of 14:24 and 14:31, placing second and fourth, respectively.

Record-Breakers

Kitchen's weekend wasn't over, though. In fact, it had just started.

His high school teammates -- Josiah Tostenson, Caleb Doddington, and Nick Kube -- joined him on the trip to New Balance Nationals Outdoor for the distance medley relay.

"We really had to all show up and have our best race in order to get that record and get that win," Kitchen said.  

Kitchen led off with a personal-best 1,200m. Kube then broke 50 seconds for the first time in the 400m and Doddington knocked nearly two seconds off his 800m personal best. Tostenson carried it home in a blazing 4:02.

"I got to finish my leg and then watch every single one of my teammates PR at their best distance," Kitchen said. "It was awesome."

The race was close the entire way, with a team from Connecticut just 0.14 seconds behind at the finish.

"Having those people around you to just pull you through, I think that's why the record got beaten by as much as it did, which was incredible," Kitchen said. 

The Oregonians finished in 9:44.3, breaking the national record of 9:49.78 that was set by the South Lakes High School in Virginia over 20 years ago.

Tayvon is a member of COROS NextGen, a program which aims to work with elite high school athletes as they push their boundaries as the next generation of distance runners in the U.S.

Collectively, the program has won over 25 state championship titles in 2024 as athletes across the country gain better insights into their training, and ensure their fitness is where it needs to be at the right time. For  any high school athlete chasing their best, go to www.coros.com to learn more on products, training tips, and insights from athletes of all levels.