I really liked Travis Floeck’s question and so I want to devote a post to it. I’ll go back and comment on previous posts this weekend. His questions are in italics, with my comments following.
Jay,
I have lots of questions about these speed development workouts you do every….ten days correct? About a month ago I was having a back and forth discussion about what aspects of training for speed throughout the year can be done with different athletes. For example in the Dellinger system I know they did 200 meters or 220 yards in about 28-30 seconds every Monday, basically year round. Talking to athletes who ran for Bill D, these were not hard for them, but were like strides.
My friend has a talented high school girl who is an aerobic beast, but he is afraid her limits will be directly associated with her major lack of foot speed. He is thinking of doing something he has never done, and having her do some 200′s or something along those lines over the summer. Essentially extended strides.
My questions:
Do you do this year round, if you don’t, what time of year or periods in training is Sara doing these workouts?
I think that running race pace of the race distance below your primary distance is something you need to do all year long. So for a collegiate 5k runner that is 1,500m PR pace; for a girl who runs the 1,600m then that is 800m PR pace. That said, I really like 120′s and I stole the concept from this article by Nic Bideau; it makes more sense metabolicly to run 5x120m rather than 4x200m; same volume of specificity, yet the 120m is likely a-lactic, or as a-lactic as you can get and still accomplish the neuromuscular goal. I have not read the Frank Horwill training model in depth, but I think this is part of it, the idea of running specifically at the pace you could race at, even if it is once race below your forte. Also, the body will get better at any task you ask it to get better at…so wouldn’t you want it to get better at running faster?
Specific to the HS girl, during the summer I would have her run 4-5x120m at 800m pace 1-2 times a week (with a ton of rest between the 120′s). Later she could do something like 300′s at 1,500m pace with 500 easy jogs as a “summer MD fartlek” on the track. XC pace fartlek is money in the bank, but again, letting this young woman practice a faster pace will help her in the spring and will help her when she’s 22 and trying to run under 16:00 for 5k.
Is she phased by this work at all the next day? Do you usually prescribe a recovery day or easier workout the next day?
Well, this is where training age vs. chronological age is key; Sara’s not sore and she actually feels better on hard, 1,500m pace workouts following the day you’ve seen, yet she’s got a training age of 4 or 5 and she’s been working with me for close to 3 of those years; this workout is part of a long term plan and now she’s far enough along in the plan that she can do three quality days (speed development, race spec. and lift. long run with tons of GS afterwards) in a row and it’s doable. But again, what is doable now would not have been doable two years ago.
If you did the exact same day as I’ve laid out here with a HS kid then they probably will be flat or tired the next day. But, I do think the 120′s at 90-95% with 1-3 min rest is the type of thing HS kids can do the day before a mid-season dual meet/small, insignificant meet that will help them in the short term (i.e. run the rounds better at the state meet) and the long term (help them run their race spec. work at a higher level – i.e. FASTER – the next year). Most track athletes will eventually have to perform well on consecutive days at a championship meet and this is a great way to practice that, separate from CNS benefits. Also, if the speed development day absolutly stinks then you have an opporortunity to ask them if everything outside of training is okay. The CNS is a window into the macro health of the athlete; if they’re flat on the speed development workout there is a chance they’re tired…and they’re probably not ready to rock the next day.
Would you have athletes do something similar that are not a middle distance runners, but more true distance athletes that do the 10k, 5k or are preparing for a cross country season?
My first thought is to say no, but again, then 120m distance is reasonable for 10,000m runners who have “no speed.” Plus, look at the best collegiate 10,000m runner right now, Galen Rupp. He can kick when he needs to and he can run a respectable 800m and a legitimate 1,500m. Now, there is a ton that he’s doing in training – hurdles, mileage, alter-G running, ancillary work, drills, etc. – but I’d be shocked if part of his training isn’t heavily influenced by the Bowerman system and I’ll make the assumption (at the risk of making an ass out of you and I) that Rupp runs fast in practice with the express purpose of practicing running fast and getting better at running fast.
…and how do you know that the 10k runner “has no speed” if you’re just relying on their HS 4×4 PR that came in the midst of training that was likely less sophisticated than what your assigning (note: Travis is a college coach). I’ll get some training from two of my HS coaching friends whom I think do a good job with the 4x800m and 4x400m relays, yet also have quality cross teams. These coaches let kids run fast at least once a week.
How much do you worry about mechanics? Arm carriage particularly. I’ve always felt there are ways to try to improve mechanics, but only so much an athlete can do before they start fighting the way they were built to run most efficiently and start getting negative returns. If that makes sense.
I worry very little about arm carriage and worry instead about the athlete striking under their hips (technically it will be a bit in front of their hips; if it was exactly under the center of mass then they would accelerate head first into the track). To me, that’s the key – striking under the hips – and if that’s happening, then everything else doesn’t really matter. That said, few caucasians can run with a forward lean and strike under thier hips…I don’t know why, but that’t the way it is. More on this issue some time when I can focus on it, but releative to this workout, you need to know that all Fall (2008) I was yelling, “up tall,” at practice and that, coupled with lots of 100m and 150m hills (it’s probably not even a 1% grade, so calling it a hill repeat is misleading, yet on the training document I write 6x150m hills…but this is not the Brand Hudson “ramp hill”) has gotten Sara strong enough in her core to run with erect/correct posture when she’s running fast…and she doesn’t have to think about it. She still tends to overstride and lean forward when she’s really tired, but we’re working on that and to be honst, it’s so subtle that most people wouldn’t notice, even when I think she looks like bad…and that’s the point, I need to realize that the mechanics are sound and that we’re in the phase of her career where we need to build the engine – the power and the mechanic are sound, but her aerobic engine and her “velocity at Vo2max” can be inproved dramatically.
What concerns or thought should be put into younger athletes or athletes even with a young training age doing this type of work?
My thought is that 8th graders jog too much and don’t sprint enough…and it’s also the reason that the soccer player can come out and make the 4x800m in the spring and then be number 1 or number 2 on the team in cross in the fall. We need to go back to the model of having kids run fast first, then slowly add the volume. And I’d also argue that the first step towards a hard 20 minute or 40 minute run is being able to run that pace for 5 or 10 minutes. I’m no doubt offending Lyrdiard devotees here, but I think that we have too many HS programs that focus on volume first and keep the fun, fast running (racing?) to a minimum that is detrimental for the athlete when they’re 23.
Wow. Sorry, don’t want to overburden you with so many questions, but like I said I was doing a lot of thinking, consideration, discussion, and research into this type of work in the few weeks before this video and am really interested in your thoughts and opinions. THANKS. -Travis
Thank you! I want to keep doing more of this – answering one email or one comment per week at length to repay the people who are making this site a useful resource. Hope to see you in Eugene in June.
