I sent the following newsletter about fartlek training to high school coaches the first week of April. Ensure you get on my email list here so you don't miss the next email.
What is a fartlek run? Well, Fartlek training is an unstructured training method where you alternate between periods of fast running and slower jogging. The term "fartlek" is Swedish for "speed play."
In the context of cross country running, the version of fartlek workout I...
This article is for high school runners who run the 800m or 1600m or 3200m and are "stuck" at a certain time/performance.
I know how incredibly frustrating it feels when you've been stuck at the same PR for weeks or even months. So, here are 12 tips from my 25 years of coaching that will help you break through to a new PR.
Before we dive into the tips, I need you to embrace two ideas.
The first is that you and your coach must agree on what the...
Running under 2:00 (boys) or 2:20 (girls) in the 800 meter event is a significant challenge, but it's also a major milestone for any high school athlete. Helping your runners reach that goal takes a solid 800 meter training plan with specific speed work, though.
The goal of this article is to give you a clear understanding of how to run the 800m, with the splits needed to run 1:59 and 2:19, and to give you an 800m workout that can be used to run...
For this runner to run a PR at a post-season national meet – be it the New Balance Outdoor Nationals or the Nike Outdoor Nationals – they must be mentally and physically recovered from the state meet.
A common problem – and one we can easily fix – is to make sure the athletes take a few easy days following the state track meet. Physically, they can handle decent training loads the week after state. But there is an emotional letdown after the sta...
This article is for coaches of high school 800m runners, yet I’d use the same 800m workout for advanced middle school runners, as well as adult runners.Â
We want to do three things in an 800m pre-race day workout.Â
1. Get neuromuscularly ready to race 800m the next day.Â
2. Get mentally ready to race 800m the next day.Â
3. Avoid having any carry-over fatigue from this day to the race.Â
You won’t have to worry about the third one if you simpl...
Transcript - 6 min read time
This excerpt is from the Mental Skills for High School Runners course.
John O'Malley - MS - 800m Mentality for High School RunnersÂ
Jay: I want to start this off with a very simple question: How does the mentality change from somebody who's successful in 5k cross country who's also going to be on a state qualifying or even a state champion 4x800m relay? Â
John: Well, I think there's two significant things. There's...
