Coaching for undertrained high school mid-d runners

Can you critique this training plan LRC? I'm looking to see what I might be missing.

Bump

I think as coaches we feel guilty if we're not creating workouts. Remember, running is a workout.

If you think they're aerobically underdeveloped, then your focus should be on aerobic running. With the standard high school race schedule--usually two a week, the miles + racing should get them where they need to go pretty darn quickly.

Right now, you have them doing fartleks & steady state runs in the first two-three weeks. Miles & top-end work (hill sprints, strides, 150's) would be enough for the first month. Allow some progressive runs to happen naturally. Allow some hilly runs to happen naturally.

Think long-term approach. Maybe this track season is simply developing these kids into runners. Develop that aerobic base. The meets will take care of themselves.

Interesting thoughts and probably not a bad plan except I think you will have a hard time getting your normal HS mid-distance kid to buy into all that aerobic strength oriented training. My history with them tells me they don't understand why it's needed and just don't dig training like that. Hopefully you have more success selling it to them.

What Do I Know? wrote:

Think long-term approach. Maybe this track season is simply developing these kids into runners. Develop that aerobic base. The meets will take care of themselves.

Why in the heck would you do that?? You are going to burn an entire track season? These kids only have 4 track seasons!!

Long term development is something a coach should consider IF you happen to get that special athlete that is going on to run in college.

99% of your kids will never run again after HS, you are there to get them to run well now and win races now.

You definitely progress well and hit everything, but I agree with the above poster. Work the extremes - aerobic system and speed.

Aerobic: Tempo runs (broken up if need be, could even do 1600s or 1ks with short rest at a tempo effort, these will naturally get faster). I always let my kids rip the last one since they're usually feeling great during these.

The long run is good, but I'd recommend eventually turning it into a run where instead of maybe 12 miles easy, you only do 10 miles, but the first 4 easy, next 2 steady, and last 4 at tempo. This will get a little more quality thats more relevant to the shorter events.

Speed: Dedicate a day to do an easy run and then tack on 6-8 short hill sprints after. Full rest. Keep the strides going, and then after those tempos, have them do 3-4 x 200 fast to get the turnover going, but don't do that until you've done a lot of strides and some hill sprints.

So you develop those two ends, and then when mid week meets begin, let them race. Make it a workout day. When I run my top guys in dual meets, I'm not looking for PRs, but rather a specific plan for the day.

I'll put a 3200 guy who lacks speed in the 4x8, 1600, 400, and 4x4. He ends up running about mile pace for the 4x8, 3k pace for the 1600, and two fast 400s with a lot of rest. You could have your Mid-D guys do something similar, but put them in the 3200 and if there's no competition, have them do it Prefontaine style...200 @ mile pace, 200 at tempo pace until they are done. Get creative with it.

Keep the other workouts going....long aerobic stuff, and short speed work, and they'll round into good shape.

For mid-d they won't need much aerobic work. Just have them do 60-150 sprints once a week, 200-400 reps once a week, a 3-5 mile run, and conditioning on the other days (hills, plyometrics, circuits, weights). All of the intervals should be all out with full rest. In the end 800 and mile come down to 200/400 speed, in concert with speed endurance work.