HS kids don't rupture Achilles. Usually late 30's to 40's
Yeah I’d be shocked if there’s more than one example ever of a HS distance runner rupturing his achilles during a workout. They might get achilles pain, but that age group doesn’t get ruptures from just running, even fast 200s.
Yeah, more starts, too, that high power output and practice will help if you need to pick up a gear, kick, or maybe even improve your basic speed on fresh legs a bit
I asked him but he tells me not to worry about it. I did a 6 mile tempo and then he said to take a 10 minute jog, and the 6x200 (45 sec rest).
What is the purpose of 200’s AFTER a tempo run?
My coach would have us do 4 x 330’s (yup before metric) with each one faster after some of our tempo runs. He would tell us you have learn to sprint when you’re tired at the end of a race. That was 52 years ago. It’s true today. Listen to your coach.
I asked him but he tells me not to worry about it. I did a 6 mile tempo and then he said to take a 10 minute jog, and the 6x200 (45 sec rest).
What is the purpose of 200’s AFTER a tempo run?
My coach would have us do 4 x 330’s (yup before metric) with each one faster after some of our tempo runs. He would tell us you have learn to sprint when you’re tired at the end of a race. That was 52 years ago. It’s true today. Listen to your coach.
That was before coaches started to understand physiology a bit. You don't GET USED to running fast at the end of races by running fast at the end of workouts. You finish fast by developing aerobic capacity and aerobic power. When you improve your fitness you improve your ability to race better. Developing lactate threshold gives you the strength to have something to finish better. Times are faster now not just because of the shoes but because the overall training is better.
I do think it's dumb when coaches can't/won't explain why an athlete is doing a specific workout. That being said, doing some 200s or strides after a tempo when you're training for a mile/3k/5k (assuming this is the case since you're still in HS) isn't the worst idea to help practice speed/turnover, especially after 6 miles of work at slower than race pace.
6 mile tempo is too long for a HS KID, 20 min. is sufficient.
Agreed, but also, I've been saying for years, since before double threshold came into vogue, that most high school runners are better off doing tempo intervals in the 1k-2k range. For a total of 6-8k for a semi-mature runner (able to run ~30mpw+, hopefully significantly more).
As for the achilles rupture comment, there is no reason for a runner to be doing max effort 200s after a tempo, and there's also no reason to be doing so much volume/intensity in one tempo session that you're too tired to safely do 200s after. Aerobic gains come from consistent moderate work, not individual soul-crushingly hard sessions. I'd much rather see an athlete do 6k of relaxed tempo intervals and be good for an hour or more the next couple of days than do a 10k that turns into a race and leaves us needing to adjust/reduce easy days. If that's the mindset you bring into tempos, doing a few 200s at 800-1600 pace afterwards won't hurt at all.
I'm not much of a fan of the short-rest 200s here, but it's not as bad as OP acted like it is. Full recovery 200s, in my mind, are just a way to prep joints, muscles, and connective tissue for the demands of hard interval training and get a little bit of a neuromuscular stimulus without adding much training load.
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
i have had kids peak really well off something like this, but 6 miles is long. hopefully this was something close to an M pace tempo. 5 mile m pace with 200s or hills is textbook tinman, as far as i remember.
Is it? When do Achilles ruptures occur based on your knowledge and research? I will tell you. Achilles ruptures occur doing explosive movement activity. A person is in danger of Achilles rupture when there is micro-damage to Achilles. Two-hundred meter repeats after tempo runs, not worth the risk.
200s on 45 seconds of rest aren't really explosive, though.
Yeah & the volume is completely appropriate. Maybe it should be 4 x 200. Think of it as 4-6 x 30ish seconds post tempo. The coach isn't asking them to max out or race the 200s. The coach isn't asking them to do a separate 200m workout like 20 x 200m.
I do think it's dumb when coaches can't/won't explain why an athlete is doing a specific workout. That being said, doing some 200s or strides after a tempo when you're training for a mile/3k/5k (assuming this is the case since you're still in HS) isn't the worst idea to help practice speed/turnover, especially after 6 miles of work at slower than race pace.
I will never understand why 2 people downvoted this. Perhaps a pair of insecure coaches who can't answer their athletes questions?
Got an interview on speed training with Matt Centrowitz! I will be uploading a video on 800m-1500m training program soon because of request from my subs! Nev...
I do think it's dumb when coaches can't/won't explain why an athlete is doing a specific workout. That being said, doing some 200s or strides after a tempo when you're training for a mile/3k/5k (assuming this is the case since you're still in HS) isn't the worst idea to help practice speed/turnover, especially after 6 miles of work at slower than race pace.
I will never understand why 2 people downvoted this. Perhaps a pair of insecure coaches who can't answer their athletes questions?
yup. don't overthink it. it's just an efficient way to keep in touch with different paces throughout a microcycle.
I do think it's dumb when coaches can't/won't explain why an athlete is doing a specific workout. That being said, doing some 200s or strides after a tempo when you're training for a mile/3k/5k (assuming this is the case since you're still in HS) isn't the worst idea to help practice speed/turnover, especially after 6 miles of work at slower than race pace.
I will never understand why 2 people downvoted this. Perhaps a pair of insecure coaches who can't answer their athletes questions?
Ever work a job where some question every fricken detail? Gets annoying as hell. If you humor them they just keep asking stupid questions forever. Do you think the coach wants to write an essay about every workout? The OP would need to be an idiot not to get the basic idea that the coach wants some faster work. So who wants to have a debate about exact pace, rest and volume? And then tomorrow have some ask why we are doing 8.1 miles instead of 7 or 9.
I will never understand why 2 people downvoted this. Perhaps a pair of insecure coaches who can't answer their athletes questions?
Ever work a job where some question every fricken detail? Gets annoying as hell. If you humor them they just keep asking stupid questions forever. Do you think the coach wants to write an essay about every workout? The OP would need to be an idiot not to get the basic idea that the coach wants some faster work. So who wants to have a debate about exact pace, rest and volume? And then tomorrow have some ask why we are doing 8.1 miles instead of 7 or 9.
A coach is a teacher. I actually get excited when kids have questions about what we're doing.
Yeah man, this is a good idea, and solid training. Used to do this all the time, except usually 400s. It would be full recovery after the tempo/long workout, and then 2x400 at float pace. Anyone who's fit can run a bunch of fast 400s, so float pace was something you could run easily without strain or lactic acid. We'd focus on form and smooth turnover. FWIW, I would usually run these in like 64 then 62 when I was a 1440/3020 type (pre super shoes). We'd run anywhere from 400 to 800m between the 400s, and then just jog another mile after finishing the last one.
I don't know what nonsense talking about rupturing achilles comes from in this discussion. How that's even a consideration here makes no sense, and not something you need to worry about (unless you've got a hurt achillies and are trying to run through it).
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