I apologize for my absence from posting and finishing this series. In contrast to the indoor season where we have 5 home meets, once outdoor track begins we are traveling almost every weekend. If I'm not traveling with the team, I'm traveling to one of my own races. Weekends usually mean Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday, and the office work doesn't cease so I have to get a week's worth of work done on Monday and Tuesday most of the time. Fortunately as school is out and the only athletes left are our Regional qualifiers, things have calmed down a lot.
When I last left you, we had discussed top-end speed development. Hopefully we all have a faster top gear now. That will be helpful, but the heart and soul of mid-distance running is in the athlete's ability to run fast for an extended period of time while dealing with lactic acid production. In this post I will cover the transition to lactic workouts and lactate tolerance work. We begin with some lactate tolerance workouts, also known as speed endurance. By the end of the weekend, I'll cover the race-specific training and taper that take us through the heart of the season.
TRANSITION TO LACTATE TOLERANCE WORKOUTS
After a fall of fast top end work and slower lactate threshold work, the move to lactate tolerance workouts is a challenge. That once-familiar burn has been absent for three or four months. The strange weakness in your legs, the cramping in your shoulder, and that monkey on your back all welcome you to the world of oxygen indebtedness. For reasons unknown, your mouth tastes like you're chewing on a couple fresh copper pennies; your calves protest with a dull ache before you delve into the next repeat and the dullness rapidly sharpens; you recover quickly between reps but start swimming quickly within each rep despite the fact that the only pools on this track are the ones formerly known as your legs, now filling with lactic acid.
HILLS
That's right, you get to do more hills in this phase. What's more, they're about to get a lot harder.
Hills can be a great special speed endurance workout for the fact that they force your legs to work harder than they would on flat ground, resulting in greater lactic acid production. The short hills I described in PART I are too brief to generate large amounts of lactic acid, so to achieve this training effect I use longer, more gradual hills. A 250m to 300m hill at a 4-6% grade will do the job. Walk/jog down recovery. The effort should be hard, between 800m and 1500m effort. Often, this effort seems easy until the last 100m and that is where the training effect is. The monkey jumps on your back and you have to push through it. Start with 6 of these hills and build to a maximum of 10 or 12.
SHORT REPS, SHORT REST
As you return to the track for more specific workouts, you should use workouts that involve short repeats with short recoveries to ease your return. 1500m or mile race pace is a good pace to use in these workouts as it stimulates a lot of lactic acid production but still allows you to recover enough to do a moderately high volume.
When I trained under Dennis Barker with Team USA Minnesota, we would often do 20 to 24x 200m with 45 seconds rest at mile pace. The reps are long enough that you achieve some lactate tolerance training, but there are frequent bouts of short rest so that you can find a nice rhythm that almost feels like a tempo run. Start with 12-16 of these 200's and build to 20 or 24.
PROGRESSION to LONGER REPS, MORE REST
From there, I would move to the following:
3-4 sets of 4x300m; 45s between reps, 3-4 minutes between sets.
2 sets of 6-10x400m; 1:00 between reps, 3-5 minutes between sets.
12-16x400m; 1:30 between reps.
5-8x600m; 3:00 between reps.
As you can see, these workouts get more dense as they progress. It will quickly move away from the rhythmic, tempo-run feeling of the 200's. The workouts become more race specific to the 1500m/ mile in this manner.
"BROKEN" REPEAT WORKOUTS
Once you have done some dense workouts like the ones above, you can test yourself with some very race-specific workouts that I call "broken" repeats. These workouts make your body think you are running one long repeat, but your mind breaks it down and it becomes a little easier. Don't worry, it'll still be really hard.
Broken 600's: 5-6x {400, 200} (30s rest between reps, 3:00 between sets) Run 1500m pace for the 400's and 800m pace for the 200's.
Broken 1000's: 3-5x {300, 500, 200} (30-45s between reps, 3-4 mins between sets) Run 1500m pace on the 500, slightly faster for the 300 and the 200.
GEAR CHANGERS
If you're going to be racing a 1500 or mile, it's good to practice changing gears and finishing. A couple workouts that address this are as follows:
800, 600, 400, 4x200 (2-3 mins rest) Begin at Mile race pace and squeeze it down just 1-2 seconds per 400m on each repeat.
4x {500, 400, 300} (1:00 between reps, 3:00 between sets): Run the 500 at slightly faster than 3000m goal pace, the 400m at 1500m goal pace, and the 300m between 800m and 1500m goal paces.
4x {600, 400, 200} (1:00 between reps, 3:00 between sets): Run the 600 at 3000m goal pace, the 400 at 1500m goal pace, and the 200 at 800m goal pace. Very similar to workout above.
If you have addressed all of the above workout groups, you will be quite well-prepared to run a fast 1500 or mile because they are all fairly specific to that race. 800m runners have another step to go in their race-specific preparation: lactic capacity work, which is also very important for milers. I'll address it in PART III.
SECONDARY WORKOUTS and PHASING
The aforementioned workouts are done 1-2 times per week beginning in November or December for collegiate athletes. In November, December, and January, (and then again at the start of outdoors in March/April) we will also do VO2 Max workouts and/or some cruise intervals and/or tempo runs about once or twice per week. We will also continue the top-end speed work as outlined in PART I. Once the racing season hits full stride in February, we tend to use VO2 Max work sparingly as it is pretty tiring. We would shift to cruise intervals or tempo runs once per week to maintain aerobic ability. If there is a week without a race, we may put a VO2 Max session in there. Bear in mind that most of these lactate tolerance workouts involve a significant VO2 Max element as well-- every workout is a combination of several training effects, but I just categorize them by the primary training effect.
MAIN TRAINING ELEMENTS BY MONTH
This is geared for the type of runner who would qualify for Indoor NCAA's and Outdoor NCAA Regionals/Nationals and maybe USATF Championships or Olympic Trials in the 800m or 1500m. The 800m runners do slightly more Lactic Capacity work and slightly less Lactate Tolerance work; the 1500m specialists do vice-versa.
AUGUST
Return to Training, Progression, Aerobic + strides
SEPTEMBER
Lactate Threshold, Hills, Downhills
OCTOBER
Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Hills, Accelerations, Downhills, Light Speed
NOVEMBER
Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Hills, Accelerations, Downhills, Light Speed
DECEMBER
Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Lactate Tolerance, Accelerations, Light Speed
JANUARY
Lactate Threshold, Lactate Tolerance, Accelerations, Flys, Light Speed
FEBRUARY
Lactate Threshold, Lactate Tolerance, Lactic Capacity, Flys
early MARCH
Lactate Threshold, Lactic Capacity, Light Speed (until NCAAs, then March becomes like April)
MARCH/APRIL Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Lactate Tolerance, maybe Lactic Capacity (depending on how long the athlete's season will go), Hills, Flys
MAY
Lactate Threshold, Lactate Tolerance, Lactic Capacity, Light Speed
JUNE
Lactate Threshold, Lactic Capacity, Light Speed
JULY
Finish season similar to June, then Rest/Recover
The only workouts here which I have not yet specifically addressed are Lactic Capacity workouts, and they are the subject of PART III, the final installment in this series.
Showing posts with label speed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speed. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
A Year-Round Speed Program for Mid Distance Runners, Part I
By Luke Watson
Speed Work.
The very phrase conjures images of an athlete drowning in a lactic acid bath of brutal 400m repeats, run as fast as your failing muscles will allow. The track surface turns from Mondo to peanut butter beneath your spikes, sucking up all your energy and dooming you to a skeleton dance of agony. Your muscles seethe in hell's hottest fire and your calves lock up as if they're an engine in those motor oil commercials where the engine is devoid of oil and run until failure. You cross the line trying to push away the fiery-red-and-black tunnel vision while grabbing your knees, for this desperate act is the only way to stay on your feet. Someone get a trash can. It's pukey time.
While that is certainly one type of speed workout, not every speed workout should be so torturous. Indeed, for mid-distance runners, speedwork is a year-round necessity, but in many different forms.
In this series I will discuss various techniques to improve and maintain speed. I will outline how I phase these techniques throughout the year. And I'll give you some workouts that will have you playing with the lactic demons. Please bear in mind that my approach to mid-distance is still very much aerobically based, but what I outline here are the tools we use to build and maintain speed within that aerobic focus.
PART I
TOP GEAR SPEED WORK
The method I use to improve and maintain top-end speed for mid-distance athletes is something I call the HAF method. HAF is Hills, Accelerations, and Flys. The first thing you might notice is that none of these workouts are deeply lactic. The primary energy system is anaerobic alactic, though the anaerobic lactic system will certainly engage, especially on the hill workouts.
In addition to the HAF method, I invoke some more traditional track work that is still not deeply lactic. It is not what I would consider true top end speed work, but is effective overspeed training.
I avoid deep lactic work when developing top end speed because the muscles tie up when they go lactic, and that causes one to run slow. The whole point of top end work is to run fast.
HILLS
We begin with hill work in order to strengthen the muscles that provide most of one's speed. Hill work simulates running on flat ground at a faster pace. Thus, uphill work can provide a deeper muscle stimulus than simply running on flat ground.
To develop sprinting power, I use a short, very explosive workout of 6-10x 40-80m very steep hill. This hill is steep enough to make running difficult, but gentle enough to retain one's ability to actually sprint and not bound. A hill of this grade would be about the steepest paved road available, maybe 8-12% grade. The recovery is a lazy walk down, 1-2 minutes. This workout, done at 95-99% of full effort, is for pure explosiveness.
Another workout is slightly less intense but longer and consists of 12-24x 70-100m on a similar grade with a walk/jog down recovery of 45-90 seconds. This workout, done at 85-95% of full effort, teaches the body to produce a very explosive force many times over.
The final hill work project is downhill running. Downhill running is a great preseason speed technique which again involves a deep muscular impact, this time because of gravity. Downhill running also allows an athlete to run at full speed with less effort, or to run faster than full speed (hyperspeed). For this type of workout, I recommend a smooth, grassy hill surface of just a 2-5% grade (I use a slight knoll on the golf course) and do 6-10x 100m (walk up recovery). Using a tailwind on windy days can also mimic this workout. Downhill or tailwind running is also useful into the regular season and post-season as a speed developer akin to Flys.
ACCELERATIONS
Accelerations provide a perfect bridge to hill running and top speed running. Accelerations allow the transfer of muscular power (developed in hill training) into speed on a flat surface. I use 4-10x 30-50m accelerations at 95% effort from a standing start. Accelerations remain a great muscular resistance workout as the athlete overcomes a new force, this one being inertia (the force overcome in hill work being, of course, gravity). Accelerations are typically done during the late preseason and into the regular season. During the preseason the athlete may work on accelerations and hills in the same training phase, and during the early regular season the athlete may work on accelerations and flys in the same training microcycle/mesocycle.
FLYS
Flys are top gear speed work. Flys train the athlete to convert all his muscular strength and explosiveness into speed in a straight line on a flat track. A typical fly workout is 4-12x flying 30m sprint. There is an acceleration zone that allows the athlete to build up to top speed before the fly zone start mark, then 30m of top end sprinting, then a gradual deceleration. Walk back recovery. This is the capstone for speed work and is typically done more in the month leading up to key races; however, flys may be used sparingly year-round as top speed maintenance. Because this is a top speed workout, I always have athletes do flys on fresh legs, i.e. before a workout (often as part of the warmup). Downhill and tailwind running may also be used in a similar fashion for hyperspeed training.
ADDITIONAL LOW-LACTIC OVERSPEED TRAINING
This helps the athlete adjust to fast running for a slightly longer duration. With plenty of recovery, the athlete should feel good doing this and use good technique. These workouts are ones that are refreshing; the athletes often come out of the workout feeling better than they did at the start.
4-8x 100-200m with plentiful recovery, 2-3 minutes.
In the fall and early season, I use 150m repeats in which the athletes accelerate every 50m. This begins with 50m accelerating, 50m at 1500m race pace, and 50m at 800m race pace, and progresses so that in the end the athlete is doing 50m at 800m race pace, 50m at 400m race pace, and 50m @FAST. @FAST is slightly faster than 400m race pace.
Often during the winter and early spring, I will use 4-6x 200m with 2:00 recovery at slightly faster than 800m race pace. This is not a hard workout, just a speed maintenance tool. Later in the year if we want to work harder on speed, the repeats will be faster and sometimes the volume will increase.
These low-lactic overspeed workouts, in combination with short hills, strides, and some accelerations, are the only speed workouts I have mid-distance athletes doing during the fall and well into the winter. On the aerobic side, throughout the fall and winter they will run plenty of distance, do some tempo runs and lots of cruise intervals, and do VO2 Max work starting in October/November. In the middle of winter we add lactate tolerance work and longer, more gradual hills for lactate tolerance... the topics for PART II of "A Year-Round Speed Program".
Speed Work.
The very phrase conjures images of an athlete drowning in a lactic acid bath of brutal 400m repeats, run as fast as your failing muscles will allow. The track surface turns from Mondo to peanut butter beneath your spikes, sucking up all your energy and dooming you to a skeleton dance of agony. Your muscles seethe in hell's hottest fire and your calves lock up as if they're an engine in those motor oil commercials where the engine is devoid of oil and run until failure. You cross the line trying to push away the fiery-red-and-black tunnel vision while grabbing your knees, for this desperate act is the only way to stay on your feet. Someone get a trash can. It's pukey time.
While that is certainly one type of speed workout, not every speed workout should be so torturous. Indeed, for mid-distance runners, speedwork is a year-round necessity, but in many different forms.
In this series I will discuss various techniques to improve and maintain speed. I will outline how I phase these techniques throughout the year. And I'll give you some workouts that will have you playing with the lactic demons. Please bear in mind that my approach to mid-distance is still very much aerobically based, but what I outline here are the tools we use to build and maintain speed within that aerobic focus.
PART I
TOP GEAR SPEED WORK
The method I use to improve and maintain top-end speed for mid-distance athletes is something I call the HAF method. HAF is Hills, Accelerations, and Flys. The first thing you might notice is that none of these workouts are deeply lactic. The primary energy system is anaerobic alactic, though the anaerobic lactic system will certainly engage, especially on the hill workouts.
In addition to the HAF method, I invoke some more traditional track work that is still not deeply lactic. It is not what I would consider true top end speed work, but is effective overspeed training.
I avoid deep lactic work when developing top end speed because the muscles tie up when they go lactic, and that causes one to run slow. The whole point of top end work is to run fast.
HILLS
We begin with hill work in order to strengthen the muscles that provide most of one's speed. Hill work simulates running on flat ground at a faster pace. Thus, uphill work can provide a deeper muscle stimulus than simply running on flat ground.
To develop sprinting power, I use a short, very explosive workout of 6-10x 40-80m very steep hill. This hill is steep enough to make running difficult, but gentle enough to retain one's ability to actually sprint and not bound. A hill of this grade would be about the steepest paved road available, maybe 8-12% grade. The recovery is a lazy walk down, 1-2 minutes. This workout, done at 95-99% of full effort, is for pure explosiveness.
Another workout is slightly less intense but longer and consists of 12-24x 70-100m on a similar grade with a walk/jog down recovery of 45-90 seconds. This workout, done at 85-95% of full effort, teaches the body to produce a very explosive force many times over.
The final hill work project is downhill running. Downhill running is a great preseason speed technique which again involves a deep muscular impact, this time because of gravity. Downhill running also allows an athlete to run at full speed with less effort, or to run faster than full speed (hyperspeed). For this type of workout, I recommend a smooth, grassy hill surface of just a 2-5% grade (I use a slight knoll on the golf course) and do 6-10x 100m (walk up recovery). Using a tailwind on windy days can also mimic this workout. Downhill or tailwind running is also useful into the regular season and post-season as a speed developer akin to Flys.
ACCELERATIONS
Accelerations provide a perfect bridge to hill running and top speed running. Accelerations allow the transfer of muscular power (developed in hill training) into speed on a flat surface. I use 4-10x 30-50m accelerations at 95% effort from a standing start. Accelerations remain a great muscular resistance workout as the athlete overcomes a new force, this one being inertia (the force overcome in hill work being, of course, gravity). Accelerations are typically done during the late preseason and into the regular season. During the preseason the athlete may work on accelerations and hills in the same training phase, and during the early regular season the athlete may work on accelerations and flys in the same training microcycle/mesocycle.
FLYS
Flys are top gear speed work. Flys train the athlete to convert all his muscular strength and explosiveness into speed in a straight line on a flat track. A typical fly workout is 4-12x flying 30m sprint. There is an acceleration zone that allows the athlete to build up to top speed before the fly zone start mark, then 30m of top end sprinting, then a gradual deceleration. Walk back recovery. This is the capstone for speed work and is typically done more in the month leading up to key races; however, flys may be used sparingly year-round as top speed maintenance. Because this is a top speed workout, I always have athletes do flys on fresh legs, i.e. before a workout (often as part of the warmup). Downhill and tailwind running may also be used in a similar fashion for hyperspeed training.
ADDITIONAL LOW-LACTIC OVERSPEED TRAINING
This helps the athlete adjust to fast running for a slightly longer duration. With plenty of recovery, the athlete should feel good doing this and use good technique. These workouts are ones that are refreshing; the athletes often come out of the workout feeling better than they did at the start.
4-8x 100-200m with plentiful recovery, 2-3 minutes.
In the fall and early season, I use 150m repeats in which the athletes accelerate every 50m. This begins with 50m accelerating, 50m at 1500m race pace, and 50m at 800m race pace, and progresses so that in the end the athlete is doing 50m at 800m race pace, 50m at 400m race pace, and 50m @FAST. @FAST is slightly faster than 400m race pace.
Often during the winter and early spring, I will use 4-6x 200m with 2:00 recovery at slightly faster than 800m race pace. This is not a hard workout, just a speed maintenance tool. Later in the year if we want to work harder on speed, the repeats will be faster and sometimes the volume will increase.
These low-lactic overspeed workouts, in combination with short hills, strides, and some accelerations, are the only speed workouts I have mid-distance athletes doing during the fall and well into the winter. On the aerobic side, throughout the fall and winter they will run plenty of distance, do some tempo runs and lots of cruise intervals, and do VO2 Max work starting in October/November. In the middle of winter we add lactate tolerance work and longer, more gradual hills for lactate tolerance... the topics for PART II of "A Year-Round Speed Program".
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