I'm currently a freshman In hs. I have prs of 16:47 xc, 10:33 and 4:52 and 2:15. I trained at about 45-50 mpw and now 35-40, and I still have 5 meets left. One long run, tempos in the winter, and now I use raves as workouts and still have a 9-10 mile long run. I want to improve my 400, I think I would have a hard time trying to run 63-62 but i have ran 65s for repeats though without much effort. We are on a small team, and with a lot of seniors, so next year I will have to fill in a spot on the 4x4 team. Also because I want the ability to runa. Good last lap in my 16/32 and have a fast 800. Has anyone improved their 400 time a lot and could give me some ideas?
I'm currently a freshman In hs. I have prs of 16:47 xc, 10:33 and 4:52 and 2:15. I trained at about 45-50 mpw and now 35-40, and I still have 5 meets left. One long run, tempos in the winter, and now I use raves as workouts and still have a 9-10 mile long run. I want to improve my 400, I think I would have a hard time trying to run 63-62 but i have ran 65s for repeats though without much effort. We are on a small team, and with a lot of seniors, so next year I will have to fill in a spot on the 4x4 team. Also because I want the ability to runa. Good last lap in my 16/32 and have a fast 800. Has anyone improved their 400 time a lot and could give me some ideas?
I'm currently a freshman In hs. I have prs of 16:47 xc, 10:33 and 4:52 and 2:15. I trained at about 45-50 mpw and now 35-40, and I still have 5 meets left. One long run, tempos in the winter, and now I use raves as workouts and still have a 9-10 mile long run. I want to improve my 400, I think I would have a hard time trying to run 63-62 but i have ran 65s for repeats though without much effort. We are on a small team, and with a lot of seniors, so next year I will have to fill in a spot on the 4x4 team. Also because I want the ability to runa. Good last lap in my 16/32 and have a fast 800. Has anyone improved their 400 time a lot and could give me some ideas?
Well if you’re running 65s in repeats I promise you can go a lot faster in a race. That being said, you still want to be able to run at least 55-56 so you won’t be limited by your speed as you develop your endurance.
You aren’t going to be able to improve your 400m too much over the rest of the season, as speed development is very gradual and takes time, but you can absolutely be a strong 400m runner by next season.
During the summer, after your easy runs you should do a bit of activation stretching, and then vary between 5x50m, 5x100m, and 3-4x150m. Take good rest between each rep, as we are focusing on building speed and not endurance here, and make sure to run them hard, with good focus on form. Make sure to pay attention to how fast your legs are moving, where your foot is striking, making sure your arms are at about a 90 degree angle and hands are moving from your hips to your chest.
If you do this 2-3 times a week over the summer, you’ll be a much better 400m runner by the time track rolls around. that’ll help you get better at the other events too. Your 400m speed limits your 800m, your 800m speed limits your 1600m etc etc.