High School Coach I need some help

Tell em this:

Today is a progression run. You're going to start out easy.

I want you to pick up the pace every 15 minutes. By the end of the run you should be running a strong pace, but I don't want you going all out. Finish the run knowing that you could keep running at that speed for another few miles. Any questions?

Then ask the kids to repeat what you just told them.

Pace judgement in a progression run is very difficult, particularly for teenagers who may not have that much experience at it. I've been coaching a long time, (teenagers, seniors and masters)and I've found it is best to do the different paces in separate parts.

For instance, do an easy warm up. Stop, stretch, strides. Then into harder pace.

You might find something like this helps to explain pace judgement on roads and trails:

Easy - can talk easily with training partner.

80% - talking possible but takes effort.

90% - could just about squeak out "turn left" or something similar. Know there's another gear to use.

100% - talking impossible. At full revs.

TB.

The majority of kids will not understand any explanation of "maximum aerobic pace" or be able to implement their understanding of it if they were to grasp it. You can't just TELL them what it is, you need to SHOW them what it is as well. You need to estimate their paces and have them run at those paces and get them to understand what each pace feels like. So, hypothetically, have them run on a track or a short loop that you can monitor and start at an easy pace, then progress through the faster paces till they get to "maximum aerobic pace." But you have to set the paces for them. Then, you'll be able to explain to them "Hey, you know how it felt running 7:00 pace, that's easy pace. So when I say 'easy,' that's how it should feel. Remember how it felt running 5:40 pace? That's max aerobic pace. When I say 'max aerobic pace,' that's how it should feel."

Probably won't help this year but here is what I do.

Have all members of the team (or at least everyone who possibly can) show up for a road race 5k during early August. This will give them a baseline time.

Based on this time figure out what is pace for different levels you want them to train at. Easy, aerobic threshold, lactate threshold, VO2 Max, ect. Then set up some workout early in the season at those paces. Then when they are doing them in the right time tell them, this is what lactate threshold (or whatever) feels like. Then they have a much better idea. If you just try and explain it to them most of them will be off and probably significantly. In this day and age of technology its pretty simple for them to hit and track a set pace (or even HR). Embrace al the tools you have.

Might not be the most fun way to do it, but do one on the track where yo can control the pace. This is the best way to show them what you mean.

I had my girls do it that way and they got it.

This system can help you train your runners.

www.RunningMeets.com

check it out. It's great. and it has a FREE package!

Fast-Comfort. Run as fast as you comfortably can up to the point where if you were to run any faster you couldn't complete the run at that pace. Every 5 minutes check yourself. Ask, "can I go faster and still complete the run at this pace?"

It takes time to learn.

It's getting high schoolers to run a hard tempo pace: just tell them to go for an ordinary off day run.

Google the Perceived Rate of Exhertion scale and see if you can adapt that to how you want them to run. It is a 1 to 10 scale with 1 being asleep or not moving to 10 being all out effort. They can usually manage to figure it out. Or take them on the track and have them work at different paces so that they can see how they feel.

But I do agree...they probably did just bop out the door to do their run.

When we do LT work, every boy on the team has an individual pace based on an average of their last few races. They know their pace to a range of 15 seconds (5:55 - 6:10) per mile or whatever it may be for each kid.

They also know that when I am standing at the mile mark (we have all the 400's marked on our course)if they are at 5:45 they will be stopped and I won't let them start until they get to 5:55. If they are grossly behind their pace, we pull them off. They aren't getting anything from the workout.

Teaching an adolescent pace is mind boggling hard. No idea why.

I borrowed this one from Coach Arbogast at Bingham...Usually once or twice a season we divide into groups of maybe 10 based on ability. We run 5 x 400m at 5k race pace on a 3 min interval. Each group has a prescribed pace based on 5k race pace. Every athlete takes their watch off for this one. I tell them all they have is 5 x 400m at 80 (or whatever the pace is). The trick is, it only counts if it is between 79.0 and 81.0. More than a second off in either direction it does not count. You can run several groups together, and make different athletes lead.

First time we did it, my top group was the worst, it took them 19 intervals to hit it. By the end of the season, just seven. Really just one interval to dial the pace in.

The groups love to compete against each other to see who can get off the track the fastest.