walrust wrote:
How come?
Probably because 5x60 all out is deceptively draining. Less is more with sprint training, especially with distance guys who are generally lacking in enough specific work to handle a high load. A lot of coaches start out with like 8-10x60 but just about every research article I've read says that 6 is reaching the limit of even the most elite. Strides is a different case because those are usually not prescribed as "all out", just a fast rhythm
XCwannabe wrote:
Howdy folks, I'm asking for advice here. I am a 17M junior who is looking to improve, I picked up running with fervor during the initial quarantine and became the best runner on my non-competitive HS XC team with a season PR of 17:58 for the 5k. I maintained about 20-35 miles per week from April to October. My season was cut short due to an overuse injury, took 6 weeks off supplemented with a lot of stationary biking and PT, came back in early December and have built up to and have maintained a base of an average of 45 miles per week for the past two months. I've been doing tempo runs, longruns, fartleks- somewhere around 3 workout sessions a week. I feel I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I think on a track right now I could run about ~17:30.
I am looking forward to distance track which begins for me in two weeks. I am competitive in nature, and I want to actually perform in an event rather than just being "that one not slow kid from the joke school." Here's the rub, the fastest 400 I have ever run is 71 seconds. The fastest 100 is 15.9. Last week, I ran my first timed mile since I began training again- 5:08 with splits of 75/75/81/77. I am rapidly approaching a point where my top-end speed is gonna become a limiting factor.
How do I find speed? I am a scrawnier dude(5' 11", 145) who has never really seen the inside of a weight room, would that help? Should I start chasing hills and adding strides?
Anything is appreciated,
XCwannabe
Hey, OP here, updating if anyone cares:
With my HS years coming to a close, here’s how things shook out.
My first year of track (junior) the mark I was most proud of was 4:53 for the 1600. After a summer of strides, moderate hill work, and some 200s I broke 62 for the 400 for the first time in an ‘all out’ cross country workout. This isn’t an achievement for some- but- I was happy with what it meant for me in the track season to come. I ran an average of ~40 MPW in the past year, trying to focus on staying healthy and consistent.
What I suspected in my initial post was true, however. It just hasn’t been as much of a limiting factor as I thought. I am not a fast twitch dude. I think if the stars aligned I could run 60 low/, 59/high, it’d need to be a perfect race for me.
My second (senior) track season I ran 4:38/4:39 FAT for the 1600, and thus far 10:05 for the 3200. I’ve got my first 3200 on fresh legs all season coming up next friday at my districts, where I’ll be hoping to break 10 for the first time in my HS career at my last race.
A word of advice to anyone in a similar situation- track is a sport with a lot of competing egos. A 4:44 kid with a 55 second 4x4 leg has a lot more speed reserve than the slow twitcher. If you go out hard like many HS races do, your race will be disproportionately affected. It’s more of a sprint for you. Opening a handful of seconds too fast will cost you a dozen later. Took a lot of bombing races to realize I could beat kids in lap 3 and not lap 1. Run your race, even if it isn’t flashy.
I’m running in college for a really academically solid D3 school. For now, I’m just a roster spot among the freshmen recruits but given another year, I hope I can make myself into something off of my first summer of high mileage.
Thank you all again for the advice. Saved me a lot of trial and error trying to be something I wasn't.
XCwannabe
go vertical wrote:
Speed is genetic....You can only improve so much.
Yes, but also highly trainable in most people.
The idea that someone who's been labeled a "slow-twitch distance runner" shouldn't bother training max velocity is not intelligent.
Female coach having affair with male runner. Should I report it?
Post about women banditing Brooklyn half marathon going viral on X
If Daniel's and Pfitz are outdated..then where do I look for modern training plans?
Colin Sahlman runs 1:45 and Nico Young runs 1:47 in the 800m tonight at the Desert Heat Classic