^ Topic.
I recently got my ass handed to me by average gym goers who don't run (by my estimation) more than 10mpw-20mpw.
I just felt like I had 0 explosiveness and raw power to propel me forward inspite of having an aerobic engine that can keep me running for 3hrs+...
If this is the case, what can I do to preserve or work on this? I don't want to be a sprinter by any means but at least be able to outrun the general population
No that is a myth. You likely just have some fast twitch muscles that you rarely recruit and were not ready to be used. You can't make a slow person fast but you can make a slow person faster.
Between six and ten accelerations, over 80-120m, should be fine. Walk back after each, so that they stay alactic.
Do them early in any training session, but after a good active warmup. Each of the accelerations should be gradual, building to its highest speed about 2/3-3/4 of the way through and holding that for just a few steps while staying relaxed; followed by a gradual slowdown.
Build from one acceleration to the next, so that in the first you hit about 3/4 of top speed at the fastest point, while in the last you hit 90+% of top speed. If there's a wind, try to do them with the wind at your back, assisting you.
You shouldn't need to do them more than 2-3 times per fortnight.
I think it is partially what the other poster said about long distance runners rarely recruiting their FT fibers, but a bigger part of it is that long distance runners are attracted to their specialty simply because they have a higher ration of slow twitch fibers so they end up being good at it, but naturally suck at sprinting.
I remember helping a competitive swimmer friend (loved the 50m free) when he decided he wanted to get into running distance. He even wanted to try a marathonI got him on an appropriate program and we did some runs together over a period of around 6-8 months. He never got under 21 for 5k when I had him do a few races to see where he was at and get him initiated with road racing. At the time, I was around 16:40.
One day a few months later, we were doing a 15 miler slowly, in his prep for longer races. It was a painful slog, and in the last few miles he was almost staggering. As we neared his house, with about 150 - 200m to go I decided to make it fun and said, "Let's race to your door." I was fresh; he was practically dying. Nevertheless, he took off like a rocket and there was absolutely nothing I could do.
another runner wrote:
No that is a myth. You likely just have some fast twitch muscles that you rarely recruit and were not ready to be used. You can't make a slow person fast but you can make a slow person faster.
Well, he probably has fewer FT to begin with which is why he became a distance runner.
Without some fast running and doing just distance, your FT fibers will become more like ST. They do not convert over completely since the size of the nerve plays a huge role in muscle fiber type. But yes you can lose explosiveness.
I guess I was surprised that even regular squats and deadlifts didn't help with that.
I suppose the fibers that I needed to recruit are very sprint specific and there's not much carry over from weight lifting?
strongnfast wrote:
^ Topic.
I recently got my ass handed to me by average gym goers who don't run (by my estimation) more than 10mpw-20mpw.
I just felt like I had 0 explosiveness and raw power to propel me forward inspite of having an aerobic engine that can keep me running for 3hrs+...
If this is the case, what can I do to preserve or work on this? I don't want to be a sprinter by any means but at least be able to outrun the general population
My guess is that you can still outsprint the general population, but the folks in the gym are NOT your average people either.
See Mo Farah.
The truth is, you just have to work on raw speed at all times during a training cycle. It never has to be the focus, but it should always be included for serious runners.
More likely the other way around: poor sprinters take up high mileage to become better distance runners.
As a kid, everyone starts out as a sprinter - it's just running fast over a short distance. Kids who are fast sprinters stick with it while kids who aren't so fast gravitate to longer distances where you can make up for lack of speed with speed endurance.
That being said, weights and working on sprint speed could make you faster up to a point.
Could Galen Rupp run a 3:50 mile right now, since he's been training for marathons? No.
Could Galen Rupp even outkick some no-name immigrants in the 10k since he started training for the marathon? NO.
Could Shalane Flanagan even make the team for the 10k since she started training for the marathon. No.
Maybe Africans can sprint well with high mileage. But whites can't.
Sure, you can train to maintain some speed while running high mileage. But you can't sprint as well as you once could.
What I've always wondered is how fast elite distance runners could sprint if they make 4 min/miles look like such a cakewalk
Nopety Nope wrote:
Could Shalane Flanagan even make the team for the 10k since she started training for the marathon. No.
Maybe Africans can sprint well with high mileage. But whites can't.
What about Ritzenhein's 12:56 5k in Zurich 2009, just 4 months after a 2:10 marathon? He ran several marathons before and after the 2009 as well.
2013 2:09:45 Chicago, IL 13 OCT
2012 2:07:47 Chicago, IL 07 OCT
2010 2:12:33 New York City, NY 07 NOV
2009 2:10:00 London 26 APR
2008 2:11:59 Beijing (National Stadium) 24 AUG
2007 2:11:07 New York City, NY 03 NOV
2006 2:14:01 New York, NY 05 NOV
Marathon training doesn't differ much from 5-10k training, but usually there are a period of 2 months or so at very high mileage, which will not destroy your 5/10k speed once and for all.
To the OP, you clearly have a high percentage of type I / slow twitch muscle fibers.
Overall, if you do the high mileage without frequent sprint (top speed) work then yes, your sprint speed and elasticity will deteriorate more rapidly.