Sub 50

alot of fast 100s 200s at not like all out but fast. And then you prolly need a coach but also 53 to 49 is a huge difference

train like a sprinter do lots of speedwork

Did you run both those times off just soccer training? If so, you could probably get under 50 with a month or two of specific sprint training and running a few races. 53.8 off just soccer training pretty impressive.

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Here is a basic workout plan:

Monday: 5 x 30m fly, 5 min recovery, lower body lift

Tuesday: Active recovery

Wednesday: 2 x 300 @ 95%, 15 min recovery, upper body lift

Thursday: 5 x 200 @ 80%, 2 min recovery

Friday: Active recovery / pre-meet

Saturday: Off / meet

Sunday: Off

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Important notes:

- Strength and power are really important for the 400. In the weight room, work on dynamic lifts, like olympic lifts, instead of just trying to get big. Olympic lifts, weighted step ups, box jumps, ect. Stuff that improves your power.

- Try to work in concepts like force absorption and flexibility into your plyometric and recovery routines

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Different kinds of workouts (different people may call these different things):

- Speed: less than 7 seconds in run duration, all out, full recovery (1 min for every 10 meters)

- Speed endurance: 7-15 seconds in run duration, 95%, full recovery

- Special endurance: longer than 15 seconds in run duration, 90-95%, 10-15 min recovery depending on distance

- Tempo: 70-85%, 2-5 min recovery depending on distance (I usually go by 1 min for every 100 meters)

Best of luck!

Yes, both of the times were off of playing soccer. Should I also do some aerobic stuff as well? I'm trying to run a fast 800 as well.

i would pick one. (a) this is a side gig off soccer so your time and energy to improve is limited. (b) the workouts to improve one or the other take you in different directions and perhaps even interfere with each other. (c) your 400 number is closer to being good.

this may seem contradictory but as a new TF person take some time and find your home. based on that quarter you'd probably be an interesting 400/800/300H person. i played soccer up to D3 and we are usually pretty fit, have some foot speed, and good for longer than a drag race on up to real distance.

re interference, it was my personal experience real distance work, XC type stuff, took away a little of my highest gears but got me where i could run all day in games. to go back to competing 300H/400 i had to get back some of the burst. that's why i am saying, pick one. you either want to be a burst guy or a distance guy. your times suggest sprints and hurdles. 5 out of the box mile is just ok. it will take a low 4 to be a good HS miler. vs. you drop 3-4 seconds 400m, down to 50 and below, and that's recruitable, lesser D1, D3. you can pair that up with soccer and be very interesting.

Say I were to drop 4-5 seconds throughout my high school career.. would I be able to run in college? I'm currently a freshman and have gotten a perfect score on the PSAT(if that helps to know where my academics are at.

If you want to ever break 50 in the 400, you MUST prioritize speed.

What is your 200 PR?

If your current 200 is 24.xx-25.xx, there is 0% chance you will get sub 50.

First, you need to get down to minimum 22.xx FIRST

No amount of aerobic fitness will help you break 50.

Work on speed. Sprints. Plyos. 10-30 meter flys is a good start.

Running 48 will probably get you to some top D2

could you explain a bit more in depth?

53.8 right out of the gate plus great academics is a fantastic combo. It's impossible to predict how anyone will develop over 4 long years but you have a ton of potential and I would highly recommend you pursue this sport further. With 4 years of consistent development and training I don't see why you couldn't run at a d1 level.

400m is unrelated to mile run. It’s highly correlated with sprint speed. For example if you can’t run under 11.5 in the 100 , you’re not going to run sub 50. There are some distance runners who might be able to run 50.0 off 11.8 speed, but only because their start is slow and they are untrained sprinters and in the 200 they would probably go about low 23. So you as a sprinter need to aim for roughly 22.5 in the 200 to consistently break 50.0 , and 22.8 for perfect conditions , nice weather no wind , great lane draw excellent pacing to break 50.0

Here are some workouts I ran the season I ran finally sub 50 in the 400m

10 x 200m in 29 seconds with 2 minutes rest

7 x 300m in 45 seconds with 3 mins rest

6 x 300m in 44 seconds with 4 mins rest

500-400-300-200 with 5 min rest in 72, 57, 44, 28

3 x 400m in 58 seconds with 6 mins rest

3 x 300 in 39 with 10 min rest

4 x 200 in 24 with 8 min rest

These are pretty hard so I would space them out and run 2-3 of these hard sessions a week, the remaining days are rest days

You can run these workouts and slowly work your times down but I would keep the recoveries the same. I wouldn't get too hung up on "speed work" without a way to track/record your times. I did zero speed work in college and was able to improve every single year. By my senior year I was running 50 seconds through 400m in my 500m reps

Sounds like this kid has only done soccer and yall arr giving a hs freshman a fully fleshed out training regiment and i doubt he knows what most of it means. After track is done you should hit the weight room, do hill sprints a couple times a week and either keep playing some soccer or go for some 3-4 mile jogs. Maybe even drop soccee for xc if you want to get the 1600m and 800m down if this is a legit post.

Thank you, I'll definitely start these workouts slower than you ran them, but hopefully I'll be able to get to this point by the end of the season!

As a sprinter don’t waste your time doing 7x300 with 3 minutes rest. That’s an 800m workout and a hard workout for someone who runs sub 2 even.

the hierarchy goes something like this. mid 40s to go to a top d1 on a scholarship and compete for conference/national titles. high 40s more average D1 with the worst walkons around 50. at d3 no scholarships, 46-48 for nationals, high 40s low 50s competes for conference, depending which one. low 50s to make a D3 team with a cut, but many have no cut and might have the worst kids running high 50s. they won't score many points but they are on the team.

to caveat what i just said, soccer people tend to show up already fairly fast, decent endurance from games and conditioning, in shape which removes a lot of the rapid growth curve. you then have to work for every added second more akin to a veteran track person. starts, phases, strength, technique, workouts.

last thought but manage your workload. TF and soccer can be a true double -- like doing both same time -- and often neither coach cares what the other is demanding from you. i got anemic one year i tried XC atop select soccer. and part of the year would be school TF and soccer same time. particularly if you do distance, try to get some dispensation for all the soccer practices and games. my personal experience i was fastest early in the season and then late, as i showed up fit, wore down, then got my legs back when school soccer ended and TF tapered. eat well, get your rest, and try to get them to factor in soccer workload into your TF workouts.

Thank you for the advice. Should I speak to my coaches about this? And if so how? I don't want to come across in a way that makes it seem like I'm neglecting the sport.

u need to start by building a speed base start with 3 mile runes everyday with fast uphill strides after every run after 4 weeks start to do some track work. Here are some workouts that will get you to 50-51

4x200 @ 400 RP

6x200 start 35 -> 25

4x400 @ 59 w/ 6 MINS

if you're talking about HS coaches, it depends how your state staggers soccer and track. mine they were the same season but slightly offset. so i would start off soccer, for a period do both, then soccer would end and i'd do track. we would juggle the practices, i'd usually do a full soccer practice then get in a little track around that. if you have fall HS soccer then spring HS track it's not a conflict.

if you're talking select and then HS track, where i grew up the seasons didn't really overlap due to the timing of HS soccer. HS track would end roughly when select soccer got going in the spring.

if you're talking college sports, you decide what it is you want to do -- including both -- and then strategically market that. i usually got in touch with both coaches at the colleges, at scholarship schools it's 2 shots at the team. at D3 it's 2 different coaches who want you on the team and can say something to admissions. it was weird but sometimes the soccer guy was more enthused than track, or vice versa.

ideally you want the soccer coach to see you play a full game. or they may already have scouted you and approached you themselves. but to be blunt i tended to like good academic schools so i was skeptical when some mediocre school with scholarships would grab my dad at a soccer game and start pitching their place. and to be further blunt, while D1 is superior, whether D3 or NAIA is better depends on the school (regardless of the scholarships). i did D3 and we beat our share of D2 and NAIA.

track recruitment tends to be fairly objective. events, times, PRs. you are either as fast as they want or not.

i don't know how well you play soccer so i can't opine on that. and a really interested coach will want to come watch anyway. you will then get a definite vibe what they think, and 2 coaches can differ. i had 3 guys watching us in a tournament once, i thought i played well, the D3 and NAIA guys were excited. the D1 guy was like, without much enthusiasm, well, you could walk on. ok, cross that one off my list.

currently your track times would be D3 level. you'd be an ok 400 guy at a weaker school. you'd be shakier for the better D3s. you'd be shaky in general at mile. that's why i was like, 400. shorter race, easier to do around soccer, and you're closer to getting someplace. you need to get the mile down to 4:20-4:30 to be attractive to even weak D1 or good D3. you need to get the 400 down to 50 for weak D1 or good D3. you need to get in the 40s to be worthy of a D1.

since in track terms you're really not yet down to the point you'd be attractive to anything but a D3 with an open roster policy, i wouldn't be racing out to ask to be recruited. i'd just enjoy my new sport and see if i can drop my time some. i would start worrying about recruitment when either a coach walks up to you, or end of junior year. unless you're almost a senior, there's no point in giving out times that at this stage would be marginal to compete in college at all.

last point, one thing i never pursued was the late-spring club track meets, state and national stuff. if you are very new, and going to have few school meets left this year, you could look into the club meets this spring or the national meets this summer. you won't win but you could extend out the season and lay down some more times. see if your progress some. but that would have to be around select soccer schedules, and in the summer daytime heat, which is why i could never be bothered.