argument with coach- i dont get her logic

I agree with you OP. Since I'm anal about my pace and splits, I'd probably start each rep at the stagger, split my watch every lap at the finish line and stagger, and then finish at the finish line.

For a 1600 rep at 5:00 pace, your watch will look like this afterward:

- 75

- couple of seconds

- 75

- couple of seconds

- 75

- couple of seconds

- 75

It's good enough to keep you on pace, plus if you want to check your 200 split, it will be at the 200 starting stagger and it will be accurate.

EASY solution. Get a long tape measure or distance wheel. Measure the distance of the stagger in that lane (4?) back to the finish line in that lane. Lane 4 is 23.5 meters, I believe. Move back that distance from the finish line and place a piece of tape on the track (put in a tack so this spot is remembered). Do this four times back (once for each lap). Each piece of tape will be your 400m split. Your 1600m interval will finish somewhere on the back turn since around four laps will be ~94 meters set back from the finish line.

Has no one done this? Disregard previous advice from other posters. Do not, ever, get on your coach's bad side. Also, don't start running crazy miles. By "build up slowly," any real HS coach will say get up to 70mpw over a course of years, not months. Some of my seniors never get there. I have a ton of athletes who are on D1 teams right now. Your coach is the one who makes those connections for you, writes letters of recommendation, and hauls your scrawny butt to races for not much pay. Work with your coach, be helpful--make these calculations and it will help the whole team not just yourself. Your coach might have objections to you sneaking runs in the morning. What if you go for a long run in the morning and cannot hit your 400m splits that afternoon? You are toast for the weekend.

I agree that your coach's logic doesn't make sense but you aren't thinking about it in a very systematic way either. Having the outside lanes is a godsend. You are much less likely to develop injuries out there, you can run your workout easier, etc.

The bad advice on this thread is appalling. Stop wanking it to Once a Runner you la-la heads.

Here is an easy calculator:

http://www.csgnetwork.com/disttracklanecalc.html

Good luck with your season young man.

runner85 wrote:

This, and it really is irrelevant what distance you are running if it is 400 meters or 420 meters. You should Run by feel, and have a good enough understanding of where you are by a few meters or so. This is mostly because you want to have specific splits and exact distances to precision, but it is more of a detriment in many circumstances. There are D1 teams who have done workouts in every single lane as a tempo run, it keeps you from being to strict on arbitrary splits.

haha, yep. Just go by feel. Why get in an argument with a coach over something as petty as lane choice? I would often not even time my intervals.

Yep, when I was running at college I did all my workouts in lane 4 except sprints (200-400m repeats) which were done in a lane outside of lane for usually 6 or 7. We even did a number of them backwards on the track for injury prevention.

Keep putting in the work and take advantage of running in the outside lanes, they are better for your knees.

Yeah, I would say you over reacted. If you peak at 1600, or 1650, in a ladder workout, doesn't matter much.

If you are good at math, you can figure out what Lane 5 times should be. Or for 1600, you can run in Lane 5, but start at the Lane 8 400m start. 400m from there is the Lane 7 start. It should be possible to get close to the distances you need for the times, in most scenarios.

Thank you for your second to last sentence. It takes a humble and courage heart to apologize. I am positive she appreciated hearing it from you. As I was pleased to have read it.

As a distance runner who also trained indoors during the Winter months to get ready for the Spring. My coach had me run in the outside lanes. And yes, I had to do repeat 1000's, 1600's and I would be beside myself with fury...lol!!!

Like how did he know..the exact measurement? Huh? Tell me that?! lol!

Oh dear me.

Whenever ,I am on a track regardless if it's indoors or outdoors, I train on the outside track lane. It's gentler on the outside hip and the inside left foot.

And it really doesn't matter what the seconds are...until you are in a race..then you may have the inside lane all to yourself.

Good luck with your training and racing.

I once did a four mile tempo on the track in lane 4. You can measure it out if you want.

Take a wheel, measure backwards from the start line of lane 5 to the finish line. If you want to run an 800 in lane 5, simply measure backwards the same amount and that's your finish line. If you want a 1600, double it.

Are you kidding me? No, you shouldn't feel bad and yes, this is a pretty big deal

I mean, it's simple logic that you should put distance runner in lane 1/2, they run their races on the inner lanes... Sprinters on the other hand (assuming their are 8 runners in the race) only have a 1/8 probability of running in lane 1...

Mater a fact, if distance runners aren't even on the track and im a sprint coach, I'd still have my sprinters practicing in the outer lanes quite a bit

And you're coach said a couple milliseconds won't hurt? It's a lot harder to try and measure out 800's, 1000's, 1200's, and 1600's in lane 5-8... Sprinters typically to repeats 400m and under and have the luxury of having everything outlined for them so they can do all their repeats in lane 1...

Distance runners SHOULD ALWAYS have priority lane 1, they take up 1 lane, sprinters have the other 7, is that not fair?

You're coach knows she's wrong, and I really can't believe some of you guys are going against the OP

I don't know why some coaches can't understand this; only people doing workouts longer than 400 need to use the inside lanes. Lanes 3-4 can be used for workouts for 200-400, lanes 5-6 for the 300/400 hurdles and lanes 7-8 for the sprinters on one side of the track and hurlers on the other. All recovery jogs should be done on the field.

To the people who think running in lane 4 will reduce injury, that seems like a bunch of nonsense. When running in an outside lane, you're barely changing the radius plus you're spending more time on the curves. Besides, you spend what, like 5-10% of your running on the curves. Just run clockwise every now and then if you think it's a big deal, but still do it in lane 1.

I was running 4x100m sprints once a month. My coach asked me to run on lane 3. I was so angry about it that I quit the team.

You should be mad. If you have hate in your heart, let it out. Not really. Get over it dude. If you "argued" with your coach in any other sport your much more logical self would be cut from the team. Apology or not. Yeah, it's inconvenient, but dude you gotta brush that off and find a way to deal with it. A lot of people have left you some pretty good advice, but all in all, you gotta learn how to take this stuff in stride (pun intended.) Sprinters are top priority in most high schools. Let your performance do the talking and steer clear of arguing with your coach. It sounds like you are passionate about the sport. Good luck dealing with your Nazi coach. A lot of runners have been in your same position. Just measure out the distance in the outside lanes, grin and deal with it, and always remember: Your coach is a dum dum. :)

well duh wrote:

You said it yourself. The sprinters are able to measure 300m accurately because of lane markings. If you run from the lane marker in lane 5 for one revolution, its still 400m. You can do a distance workout in lane 8 if you wanted to.

So do tell me where the lane marker to start for a 1600m done all in lane 5 is?

You can do a workout in lane 8 if you want to. As long as your repeats are under 600m, there are no stagger markings for more than three turns on any track.

on the other hand, I dont see why this has to be an issue? I have been a coach for a over a decade and never had this problem. everyone can use lane one as long as everyone is careful about the workout. When you arent running, you are OFF the track and you stay out of the other peoples way. Occasionally you have to change the rest by a few seconds to get going before the sprinters come through, or to wait until after they finish a repeat and get off the track to start, but it isnt a big deal.

As much as I hate sprinters thinking they own the track, you should have listened to her. If you're doing Ks then find the pace that you want to hit per K and just run for time. i.e. for 3x1000 at mile race pace (say 4:50) then run for 3 minutes at a hard effort. Time and distance aren't that different. Do your workout in the outer lanes.

Take a piece of chalk to practice. Hop in whatever lane the coach instructs. From the finish line, count your paces to the start of the 400 in said lane, remember that number x. From the exchange line keep going down the track x paces, make another line, repeat two more times. Start intervals at last line, your 400s are one line back each time, finish at actual finish line. Geesh.

Just adapt and run the outside lanes, get your times, and convert them to pace later on if you wish. Don't worry about the distance of the track, your running and training are the important focus.

http://www.eracewalk.com/CalcTrac.htm

Because of some disabilities I had in high school which I would rather not go into, I did not know that sometimes a 2 mile jog can do more for you than 8 X 400.

Yes, it is true that the 8 X 400 stuff will bring you to your potential sooner and we all have to do that stuff. However your ultimate potential in the distance races above 800 meters is determined by your Aerobic System.

I sympathize with your not having a good distance coach. You will have to be self-coached. But it is easier now-a-days with all the stuff on the internet. I would try to understand Arthur Lydiard's program which I will attempt to give you in a nutshell since he is the most talked about (and therefore lied about) coach on the net.

Arthur Lydiard Principals:

1. The long run puts the tiger in the tank.

Increase the distance of this every week. It works on all three energy systems. Start out the run at a very slow pace and increase the pace as you go. The last 1/2 of the run should be faster than the first half.

2. Do one speed development workout per week. Most sprint coaches do not do this right and it's hard for distance runners to back off and do it right.

Do a 2 mile jog, dynamic running drills and 8 x strides. 6 X 80 meters

at 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%. Never run all out in practice, save that for the race. Do this type of workout every week all year long. Short hills, jump rope, plyometrics, etc. are other good things. Jog one mile to warm down and conclude 8 x strides @75%.

3. Do a fartlek run where you run various speeds. Do strides on all days except recovery days.

4. Recovery runs of 1-6 miles. This was the secret to Steve Prefontaine's success. One of his roommates told me he did it like brushing his teeth.

Pre supposedly ran them at 6 minute mile pace, but even if that is true, remember he was a 4 minute miler, so it was slow for him. I think you can just get out there and jog the day after long runs or the speed development day.

5. 10 weeks before your most important race you will want to begin the 8 X 400 stuff. Even the 8 X 400's should have an Aerobic component!!! You want to build up for six weeks and then gradually cut down the last four weeks. Continue with the long run, although slightly shorter, perhaps. Continue the speed development days. Do a little running the day before a race and include strides!

This is not every thing you need to know!

Among all the things I wrote #4 is the most important. Go with a hard day, followed by an easier day! If you are sore, do a nice easy recovery run!!!

It is far better to do too little than to do to much, error on the side of caution and learn acceleration, relaxation, and classic running form.