Getting Ready

Due to last week's washout tomorrow is the year's first meet. Nothing too eventful the past couple of days. Just a tempo and an easy run as we prepare to open the season

Tuesday (older guys on the high side of the minutes/reps)
WU-1200m and drills
10-15 minutes
2 laps Is/Os
3-4x 1k at threshold (6:45-7:00/mile) with 90s rest
2 lap cool-down around the football field
Core
Stretch

Today
WU-800m and drills
15-25 minutes with 4x30second pick-ups at cross country effort (1.5 mile race)
Stretch

Meet Tomorrow:
One 4x8 team; 2 guys in the 1600; one 4x4 team; a horde in the 800

Running Fast

Yesterday (Monday) was another day of neuromuscular work. However, unlike the last several weeks of hill sprints, today we moved to the track. The goal is to take the strength gains from the hills, which are semi-running specific, after all we won't have any 60m hill races, and transfer that power to the track. This is accomplished by doing some shorter, faster running with lots of rest. Again like the hills I'm wanting to work mainly the legs, not the lungs. However, the track repeats are working the lungs more than the hills did. As the season, and fitness, progress it's okay, and necessary, to start bridging the gap between muscular work and high-end aerobic work.

Also check out this great interview with Marcus O'Sullivan on the importance of finding the line between aerobic and anaerobic. It's a nice reminder that you don't have to train fast to run fast. Also it reminds to me that it's always better to have the guys running relaxed feeling good then straining, even a little, to run x pace.

Regular W/U (1200m, drills)
10-15 minutes additional running
2 laps I/Os
*Put the spikes on
Strides
*2x (3,2,1); 100m walk between reps, easy 400m jog between sets
2x90m (30,30,30)
2 lap cooldown on the grass around the football field

*Note:Some of the guys just did one set. Not everyone put spikes on.

Rain Delay and Easy Day

The meet on Thursday was cancelled due to thunderstorms being predicted (they rolled in around 6 PM, right during meet time but well after our practice ended).  Instead I took the distance guys and ran 3 4x8 relays (those who didn't race ran a 600m time trial on friday).

1200m W/U

Drills

10 min with 4x30 second pickups at xc race effort (1.5 mile)

2 laps ins and outs on the football field (stride straightaways, jog endzones)

put the spikes on

2-3 strides on the track

Race

2 90m accelerations on the track (30-30-30)

2 lap C/D

Results:

Team 1- 10:32 (2:27.9-2:48.7-2:51-2:26.24)

Team 2- 10:39.6 (2:29.9-2:48.7-2:43.2-2:38.0)

Team 3- 11:13 (2:38-3:05-2:58-2:41)

Friday was an easy day for those who ran the 4x8. Regular W/U (1200m, drills), 20-25 min, strides, Core.  Some others ran a 600m time trial.  The guys competed hard and got in a nice race effort.  2:07, 2:09, 2:21, 2:25.

Getting Ready

Tomorrow is the team's first meet of the year. I'll have two 4x800m relays, one 4x400m relay, and a slew of guys in the 800m (several runners are sick so no entries in the mile this week).

The 3200m relays are, hopefully, pretty even and should provide an exciting anchor showdown.

So far we've done very little race specific work, meaning work at race pace -+10%. The two big days we've had so far are a 400m time trial and a 1000m time trial. Several of the guys were under 70 for the 400m and under 3:20 for the 1000m. Tomorrow will be a day to see how they're progressing. You never know how they might respond to an actual race. As Mark Wetmore says, "Lots of guys look good on a Tuesday. It's who can look good on a Saturday or Sunday."

Today they ran between 15-25 minutes with 1-3 laps of ins and outs (from now on the normal warm up of 1200m plus drills is done everyday unless otherwise mentioned). The guys running the relays also worked on hand offs. Please no dropped batons.

Tempo Tuesday

There are countless blogs, message boards, and websites on training so I won't go into great length on why I train the guys how I do. The main idea is that distance running is largely aerobic exercise. Aerobic running forms the house one is building with all their training. All other training makes the house nicer but not necessarily bigger. As I said yesterday I'll leave the more specific work for the high school and college coaches. I'll just work the extremes. The muscles and nervous system to make them stronger, faster, more efficient, and capable of handling more work. And the aerobic system to raise their thresholds and build their houses so in the future they can do more specific work to race faster.

With that in mind here was today's work for the "top" guys:

1. 1200m W/U
2. Drills
3. 12-15 min between easy and steady with 4 x30seconds in the last half
4. (Back to the track) 2 laps of ins and outs (stride straightaway jog endzone) on the football field
5. 3-4 x 800m at 3:30 with 60-90 seconds recovery
6. (After a few minutes recovery) (to the back straightaway of the track) 2 x 90m strides (getting faster every 30m) walk back to start for recovery
7. 2 lap C/D around perimeter of football field
8. Stretch

Only 7 guys (out of probably 16) did this. The rest had the same day through number 4. Instead of 2 laps of ins and outs they did 4-5. Afterward they did a 2 lap cool down on the football field. I wish everyone could do some specific threshold running. But for some of the guys the "general" running is what is needed more than getting on the track, trying to determine threshold pace, and then have them try to run it. They benefit much more from an easy-steady aerobic run with some faster running thrown in.

Thursday we'll unleash the lions (RWTB) in our first meet of the year. Look for most of the guys to run 4x8 and 4x4 (I'll field two teams in each of just distance guys) with the rest in the open 800m and 1600m races.

You gotta sprint- John Cook

I try to begin every practice by telling the guys the purpose of the days run (note: I only have the "distance" runners i.e. 800m and 1600m runners. The mile is the longest event). I like to inform them why we are doing something in addition to what we're doing. That's how I'll start the blog off most days, with the purpose of the day's run.

Muscular Mondays
Today's goal was an easy run with some hill sprints at the end followed by a short cool down and some core. Every practice begins with the entire team running three laps around the track and some drills to warm up. After my guys got organized they did anywhere from 10-20 minutes (depending on ability and fitness) easy running over to "the hill." There they did 4-7 hill sprints. As the Hudson article talks about the point of hill sprints is to engage the muscles at maximal intensity. The guys are running up the hill (70m or so) at what I call "best relaxed speed" or as fast as possible maintaining good form and composure. Then they walk down to the bottom of the hill taking as long as they want. The purpose is to work their legs not their lungs.

I like the hills for two reasons. First, as Hudson's article points out they have great physiological benefit. The hills will not only make them stronger and more efficient runners, but the hills should actually make them better athletes for whatever sports they play the rest of the year (I hope they will all become full-time runners in high school but realize this is unlikely). Second, the hills are a fun. They can compete against each other but they can't overtrain, the hill is too short, and the chances of injury are lower than if I had them on the track running 150s and 200s, their speed is too slow.

After the cool down the guys do some core. No, they can't/don't do Trey Hardee's workout. But I do use some of his core routine with the guys leaving out the dynamic exercises (V-sit, bicycle, toe touches etc). I also have the guys do bird dog and some pushups.

Tomorrow will be a variation of a tempo run and I'll discuss training in more detail. As perhaps you can tell the summary is to "work the extremes." Hill sprints and other muscular development on one end with lots of steady aerobic running and tempos on the other. I'll have the guys do little anaerobic work. I feel high school (and really college) is where the majority of race specific intervals and workouts should be done.

Season Begins

This spring I'm helping coach a local middle school track team (grades 7th-8th) a couple hours a week. My main job is a being enrolled in a graduate program. The blog is a way to share about training, the team's progress, and, occasionally, to vent about the frustrations of working with 12 year olds.

Today begins the official part of the season. The guys (I only work with the guy's team) are getting back from spring break today. It should be interesting to see who ran over the break and who played video games or was on the beach all week.

This afternoon I'll have the guys do an easy run with some hill sprints tacked on at the end (if you don't know what those are check back in tonight). I'll post more about the team, my training philosophy, goals, and how the day went later tonight.