Karma Police wrote:
What do you mean by endurance training? When you've run 320m fast, how is mileage, or 800m reps, going to help you finish the last 80 and fight through the specific fatigue?
I think to an extent coaches who rely on heaps of endurance for 400 are lazy. Coaching speed development is a lot harder. And your 100-200 speed puts a ceiling on your 400 capability.
...Or maybe those longer reps are mainly psychological. Maybe he is capable of faster still, with more appropriate training. We'll never know. Looking at MJ, someone doing 200-400 training with a 19.3 200 should be running 42-low.
Hi Police.
At first, did you guys know that the coach of WVN, who made him a WR holder and an Olympic champion, is a 75 years old grandma? Age brings wisdom.
I'm well aware that the 400m demands a very good maximal speed, with a very high anaerobic capacity. This session tells everything about his both abilities, the top speed combined with an unbelievable anaerobic capacity: "In an interview on the italian Corriere della Sera, Ans Botha, the 75 years old coach of Wayde Van Niekerk, said that 12 days before Rio, in a day-workout he ran 3 times 9"9 over 100m, and then twice 14"7 over 150 in the same session. She remained shocked and she told to the newspaper that in that moment had known that Wayde would win the gold medal in Rio." I know, the story doesn't tell was it from a rolling start etc., but obviously hand-timed.
So again, the 400m is a mix of speed and endurance. I'm not that black and white in my thinking, referring to your comment about endurance training vs speed development, if I understood what you meant. I wouldn't call anyone lazy either, just based on your different thinking, by the way.
I'm well aware that the maximal speed is the basis for a good 400m ability, but the maximal speed has much less reserve to improve by training. And I don't think that the base phase is the optimal time to emphasize maximal speed training (not putting words into your mouth either), I would think that it's time to focus more on less specific work (like more aerobic work and strength training), while trying to maintain the maximal speed at high enough level. Also, progressive training on the anaerobic glycolytic capacity (more relaxed 80-150's, long recoveries) is very important during that time. That's the base work for the hard, 400m specific, anaerobic power workouts before the season. Towards the end of the base phase I would put more and more focus on the anaerobic alactic (top speed) and glycolytic capacity training, to be 100% ready for the anaerobic power (very lactic) workouts in the pre-season.
And once you're in the season, I think it's the time to really maximize the top speed, while maintaining the other aspects. This is because you've done the hard work and your body is ready to it. The 100-200m races in the early season that Van Niekerk has been done, must have the purpose to prepare him for the 400m later on in the season. The 400m races then will finalize the preparation for the main event. You don't have to, or shouldn't be at your peak in the first races of your event. This is just my thinking and I'm really not an expert on this area, I could be wrong, but aren't they saying that different things work for different people...
Back to the aerobic endurance, I think that in many cases, more work (or with better quality) on that area would help the 400m runner to not slow down so rapidly towards the end. There are probably 400m runners whom can run relatively as close or even closer to the top speed of them, as WVN can but they aren't so fast of course, otherwise they would be WR holders. These types are more like 800m runners. Alberto Juantorena's top speed was obviously much, much slower vs Wayde, but he did 1.43,50 800 and 44.26 (also a 44.27 in -78). Juantorena did 4x1000's around 2.35 pace, which clearly indicates that his aerobic endurance was much better than Wayde's, but without the really good top speed his limit was the 44 low.
What does "spesific fatigue" mean by the way? What would be "more appropriate training"? Do you have more knowledge of his training?
I believe that Wayde has practically an optimal physical structure for a 400m runner (he looks more like an 800m runner actually), no excessive muscles, long, lean legs, especially his calfs and the lower leg. Very energy efficient. Combined with all these things, he has the aerobic capacity in balance between the an.capacity, so he just won't slow down as much as others in the home straight. And the speed allows him to run more relaxed the first part of the race (but he started HARD at Rio), but that doesn't explain completely why he is so good at the last 100m. To run a 43.03 you must go out HARD from the start, like he did. MJ was very different (his running style was unbelievable) and faster at 200m, and actually in his 43.18 performance MJ ran even faster last 100/200m than Wayde (11.52/12.03 and 21.96/22.53). If you look the training system of Clyde Hart, (who's athletes all have been fast and strong throughout the race), there are these slow (but still being intense enough to support the 400m pace) 200's and 500's that Hart have said to be very important. "Strength is speed". I'm not remembering/finding any longer than the 500's from his notes though.
So I partly already answered to your question about aerobic endurance training of a 400m runner. I don't mean "mileage", it must be done at faster paces to support the 400m pace. But it has to be easy enough to be repeatable for the most part of the year. In my thinking it means simply that you're frequently doing some over-distance training, whether it's slow 200's or even slower 500-800's. Or 1000's. You get the picture. But I doubt that WVN does the 800-1000's week after week, because if he speaks about "killer sessions" of 800-1000's, it sounds too intense to be repeatable for a long time, but I don't know.
Another quote from a different article, after the season of 2014, speaking of endurance training by gym work:
"How did he manage to step up in an event (from the 200m), which is so highly contested and so gruelling at the same time?
It was all down to focusing on greater endurance work. Van Niekerk struggled with fatigue through the back end of 2013 and failed to progress out of the 400m heats at the Moscow world championships after a long five-month season. Implementing serious gym work for the first time in his career has played dividends.
“The work I did helped condition me for the long, hard season and being able to handle three rounds in a championship,” he explains. “It was the first time I’ve done specific gym work. I have a personal trainer in the gym and the balance is finally starting to come together,” he admits. Rather than focusing on lifting heavy weights, van Niekerk now works with a machine that helps improve “movement”. This, he believes, has played a key role in his rich vein of form. “It has definitely allowed me to improve my explosiveness,” he adds."
What I'm curious about is what WVN does at the gym ( and what's The Machine he uses), and also about what he does after the hard workouts/races, and during base. Does he perform slow running at all, to keep the blood flow circulating so that you recover faster from the hard sessions, while working on/maintaining a bit of his basic aerobic endurance (which has an effect on trainability and rate of recovery), or does he it only by the shorter relaxed repetitions. Whatever he is doing it's clear that his anaerobic and aerobic capacities are in balance for the event, and he's able to launch his peak performance in the championships, despite the heats.
Lastly, I have to say that I admire the humble attitude, the wisdom, and the common sense of his coach:
"Mrs Botha’s trip to China was her first time at an IAAF World Championship. But rather than being star-struck by super stars such as Usain Bolt, she said she learned from them – and even stole some coaching ideas. :)
"Her principle guide is `listening to what his body says to us – if the body says stop, we stop, or go a little softer´.
-If I see something that will work on my athletes, I will try it and implement it. That’s how I always try to bring something new in our training. They say you’re never too old to learn, especially in athletics.
And she doesn’t take her duties towards her young protégée lightly.
-I wouldn’t say I’m afraid ... but I have such a big responsibility to get this athlete to develop to his full potential.
Also, I need to try to do my very best not to do something wrong that might break him".