MIDDLE DISTANCE TRAINING FROM A SPRINT PERSPECTIVE

Brent Ewing

Indian Hills Community College

Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach

Training Theory

 Traditionally, there has been two ways that middle distance athletes have been coached o Aerobically dominated training o Speed dominated training- quality over quantity  David Rudisha’s world record 1:41.01- 49.1 400m split o What does this tell us? o How did other Olympic caliber athletes adjust their training? . They began training and the 400m more  A training plan with too much aerobic work fails to properly address the ATP-PC and glycolytic systems o Train up to the 800m, don’t train down to the 800m  “There is an aerobic benefit from anaerobic work but there is no anaerobic benefit from aerobic work.” o Ex: Extensive tempo work- helps increase work capacity, trains the aerobic system while also training the body to deal with small doses of lactate gradually over time. Helps the body prepare to handle larger amounts of lactate  Why do 5x1k at 3k-5k pace when you could do 5x(6x150m) @ 70% (23.5 seconds for a 50 sec quarter miler) o Basically the same amount of volume but one is a much “higher quality” workout that trains the aerobic system and has a larger impact on the anaerobic system  Bridge the gap from bottom up o Very similar to a true sprinter . Acceleration speed development . Extensive tempo  intensive tempo  speed endurance  What is the difference? o More volume and aerobic work! o Extensive tempo work is doubled in volume compared to a 200/400m runner (up to 3,600-5,000 meters for my athletes) o Intensive tempo volume up to 3,000m o Recovery runs 3 days per week, fartleks sprinkled in . Include 800m pace work- 1,600-2,000m in volume  Teaches the athlete to deal with very high levels of lactate  Begin reps at 100m and work out- 16-20x100m @ 800m pace w/ 2x recovery  Increase the distance slowly- I went from 100-125-150-200-225-250-300

Macrocycle

. Gen Prep o Begin in December for HS o Highest mileage period- my athletes gradually increased to 24-32 over 6 days . My athletes worked up to a 6-7 run depending on background o A few weeks of easy , strides and general strength work o Extensive Tempo work (70-75 %)- on grass, track or on hills o Introduce acceleration work (0-40m) and acceleration mechanics . Short hills, sled runs, resistance runs . Pair with . Stay away from aerobic work on these days! Focus on training one system. Stick to your theme of the day o Begin 800m pace work second half of gen prep or beginning of spec prep depending on how long your gen prep is o I use down weeks to focus on acceleration and foot speed- rather than doing tempo work 2x a week and accel 1x, I flip flop them and do accel 2x and tempo work 1x or do accel 1x, tempo 1x, and fartlek as the third quality day. . Spec Prep o Find ways to sneak mileage in on tempo days o Introduction to max velocity and speed training 0-80m o Continue to incorporate some acceleration work as well on max velocity days o Extensive tempo turns into intensive tempo work o 800m pace work once every week to 10 days- high glycolytic work o Important to distance the intensive tempo and 800m pace work in training- doing both in one week can severely tax the body o I cycle between acceleration/max velocity, intensive tempo, extensive tempo, and 800m pace work. o 800m pace work is generally preceded by acceleration/max velocity and followed up with extensive tempo o Ex week: Monday- acceleration/max velocity and weights, Tuesday- mileage run, hurdle mobility, core, general strength, Wed- 800m pace work, weights, Thursday- mileage run, hurdle mobility, core, general strength, Friday- extensive tempo, weights, Sat- recovery run, Sun- off o You’ll be surprised by the amount of volume they accumulate from quality work rather than junk mileage . Ex: tempo days- between warm up, 4,500m worth of tempo work and cooldown, athletes can get up to 5-6 miles in . Pre Comp o Early Season o Aerobic specific work (recovery runs) is decreased. o Think general to specific o Continue extensive tempo as a means of recovery-could incorporate this the day after a meet o 800m pace work turns into race modeling o Speed work turns into speed endurance work o Total volumes continue to drop o Short recovery runs 2-3x a week tops o Don’t do mileage for the sake of doing mileage . Comp o Speed endurance/special endurance o Tempo work for recovery o Continue race modeling workouts o All about staying sharp!

Sample Gen Prep Week (Week four following 8 week summer gen prep cycle)

. Monday o Warm up o Acceleration drills o Acceleration- 3x(20-30-30m) Rest: 90 sec-2 min/5 min o Multi throws, multi jumps o Weights- accel and speed days are our heavier days in the weightroom- squat, bench, 1 olympic lift and two auxiliary lifts . Tuesday o Active recovery- 3-4 o Hurdle mobility drills o 2-3x general strength circuits using body weight or medicine balls o Special strength work- theraband work o Flexibility . Wednesday o Warm up- includes 10 min jog o 12-13x150m @ 800m pace w/ 2x recovery o Cool down includes 5-10 min jog o Pair glycolytic work on track with moderate intensity weights or medicine ball general strength . We did 10-12 different weights following this, 3x10 each lift- 3-4 upper body, lower body, core  Address all body regions . Thursday o Active recovery- 3-4 mile run o Hurdle mobility drills o 2-3x general strength circuits using body weight or medicine balls o Special strength work- theraband work o Flexibility . Friday o Warm up- includes 10 min jog o 3x(4x400m) @70% rest: 90 sec/ 3 min o Cool down includes 5-10 min jog o Pair tempo work on track with moderate intensity weights or medicine ball general strength . We did 10-12 different weights exercises following this, 3x10 each lift- 3-4 upper body, lower body, core  Address all body regions . Saturday o Recovery run up to 5-6 miles max . Total weekly mileage = 25-26

Sample Spec Prep Week (Week 12- Nov 18-24)

 Monday o Max velocity- 2x(3x70m) Rest: 5 min/8 min o Hurdle hops 4x4 @ 30” o Multi throws o Weights- heaviest day of the week to mimic what we did on the track  Tuesday o Active recovery- 3 mile run o Hurdle mobility drills o 2-3x general strength circuits using body weight or medicine balls o Special strength work- theraband work o Flexibility  Wednesday o Warm up- includes 10 min jog o 6x300m @ 800m pace with 3-4x recovery o Cooldown- includes 10 min jog o Pair heavy glycolytic work on track with moderate intensity weights or medicine ball general strength . We did 10-12 different weights exercises following this, 3x10 each lift- 3-4 upper body, lower body, core  Address all body regions  Thursday o Active recovery- 3 mile run o Hurdle mobility drills o 2-3x general strength circuits using body weight or medicine balls o Special strength work- theraband work o Flexibility  Friday o Warm up included 10 min jog o 2x(3x600m) @ 75%, Rest: 2.5/5, **7th rep for some** o Cooldown included 10 min jog o Pair tempo work on track with moderate intensity weights or medicine ball general strength . We did 10-12 different weights exercises following this, 3x10 each lift- 3-4 upper body, lower body, core  Address all body regions  Saturday o Recovery run- up to 5 miles max  Total weekly mileage = 20-22

Common Misconceptions

 Athletes can’t “finish” the race well, so they must need more aerobic work o Being able to have a strong second lap is mostly related to the athlete’s glycolytic system and their ability to handle lactate o Doing more aerobic work to help with this isn’t the most efficient way to tackle the problem o Instead, the athletes probably need more intensive tempo and speed endurance work- this prepares the body to deal with large amounts of lactate rather than the small amounts of lactate that accrues over time with aerobic work  MD athletes don’t need acceleration and speed work o Think back to your state track meet, national championships, world championships . Who generally wins? The athlete with great foot speed AKA the athlete who has the more impressive 400m ability o So much emphasis is put on training the second half of the race- we forget to train our athletes to be able to run a faster 400m. When we do, we open up more of a “reserve” for the second lap . For instance; 1:56 800m runner with a 400m PR of 50.3. If I can train him to run 49.0 in the 400m and give him adequate aerobic work, he could definitely become a 1:52-1:53 runner. BUT, if his 400 never gets faster, he is eventually going plateau in the 800m. . Let’s say his first half of his 800m was 56-57 seconds and he closed in 59-60…  56.5 is 89% of his 400m PR of 50.3 . If I can get his 400m down to 49.0 he can expend the same amount of energy (89% of his PR) and go through the 400, 55.0. . Then if I include enough aerobic and glycolytic work in his training, he can maintain a 3 second difference between first and second lap and then run 1:52. o So how do I train my athletes to run a faster 400m? . It begins with acceleration and speed development and later progresses to speed endurance. All of this coupled with adequate tempo work. o After 8 seconds, your PC storage has depleted and is no longer the main source of energy . Train 0-8 seconds! Maximize the distance you can go in this amount of time  You do this by training acceleration development and then speed development  Speed work means doing 150s and 200s o I’m talking about RAW SPEED. Running fast 150s and 200s in practice isn’t raw speed o Think ground up- acceleration speed development  speed endurance  Heavy weights or weights in general are not necessary for middle distance athletes o Central nervous system response is very important- responsible for transmission of impulses to your muscles o The stress placed on the CNS is directly proportional to the load- the heavier you train the greater the CNS response o Training the CNS leads to improved coordination, motor control, power and force production o I train the CNS 2x every 10-14 days with the MD. Some weeks, I may train it twice. How? . Accel/max velocity days . Multi throws . Multi jumps . Heavier days in the weightroom  The fear of the unknown o I believe some of these misconceptions come from training from an historical perspective rather than training from a scientific perspective . “This is how I was coached” vs this is what the sciences says . Cannot coach a “well-rounded runner/athlete” if your training knowledge isn’t “well-rounded”

Acknowledgements

 Boo Schexnayder  Joey Woody  Adrian Wheatley  Vince Anderson