Lowering 400m time as a distance runner

lukas.b wrote:

I have never had the speed required to reach my goals as a distance runner. I am going to 9th grade in the fall and I figured if I want to crack 5 minutes in the mile I will need to have speed. I can barley a 400m under 1:15 and my mile is 5:30 curently. Does anyone have any advice that would help me get my 400m under 1:10 at least. Any help to improve my speed would be much apprecatied.

200m Pr is 34 seconds

What is your strength training program?

hey dude, i commented on your other thread earlier. when i started doing 200s my fastest was like 31. after lots of consistent sessions now i can do a 27. i can also now do 8-10 in a session with about 5min rest between and average about 29 for each. i've never been fond of the weight room (it just sucks my motivation away) however i'm finding that i just have to do more sprinting to get faster at sprinting, what a concept! basically the way i see it is to get faster at a given distance you have to just run that faster pace for shorter intervals that you can hold it for and repeat. then over time your body makes the necessary adaptations for you to run that faster pace for longer.

thanks i will keep that in mind and start adding 100m at the end of each workout

Little man. Same situation happened with me 4 years ago. I was a freshman in HS coming off a 5:25 mile, 2:23 800, and 1:05 400 PRs. Ran XC, a weak 18:59 PR. Track season got down to 5:03, 2:17, 58.3. The next season was basically a repeat, 18:30s, 4:56, 2:12, 58 again. Here's what I did junior year. I somehow got a 17:56 in cross, but my coach told me I could be a beast 400-800 meter runner. I laughed since my PRs were 2:12 and 58. Well, he told me about these workouts called "flying 30s". Basically you go a full out sprint for 30 meters and rest for 4 minutes in between with 10 sprints. I did those twice a week in the offseason with my occasional long runs to stay in shape. Guess what? I ended up running a 53.10 open 400 and ran to a 2:03.10 800 by the end of my junior year. My senior year, that speed work helped. 17:30s consistently, 4:47 (only mile all year), 2:00 800, and a 50.4 400. All just from "flying 30s". That workout does wonders for you. Wished I knew this info when I was younger. Take advantage.

screw the weight room wrote:

hey dude, i commented on your other thread earlier. when i started doing 200s my fastest was like 31. after lots of consistent sessions now i can do a 27. i can also now do 8-10 in a session with about 5min rest between and average about 29 for each. i've never been fond of the weight room (it just sucks my motivation away) however i'm finding that i just have to do more sprinting to get faster at sprinting, what a concept! basically the way i see it is to get faster at a given distance you have to just run that faster pace for shorter intervals that you can hold it for and repeat. then over time your body makes the necessary adaptations for you to run that faster pace for longer.

Okay, so you do not have a strength training program (do not lift).

Can you think of any drawbacks to "sprinting only" vs. "sprinting + lifting"?

3 things

1. Hill workouts: Can be short hills run fast, or longer hills run @3k-5k effort. Run them hard, but focus on maintaining good form throughout the workout.

2. Some form of strength program: Can be weights in the weight room, plyometrics, balance drills, etc.. Given that you are a 14-15 year old boy you will most likely benefit from some general strength training.

3. Sprints: The goal is to run fast with good form and a sense of relaxation. You have to train your body to be comfortable at a high speed. Take complete rest between each rep. Doing a couple 30m reps at close to max speed with a running start is a good summer workout. After a few months, you can slowly progress to 40m reps, and then 50m reps by the winter.

I'm also a big fan of 100m reps, but be careful not to overdo them. You can start them at mile effort and gradually get faster towards the end. For example, a 5min miler might do 6x100 in 18, 18, 17, 17, 17, 16