I've lurked here for a while and I'd like to thank Mr. Francis and everyone here for making their knowledge and experience available by posting here.
When I run a 400, I presume that my heels should strike the ground at some point during the stride. Is this correct? Should I strike the ground heel first?
Over the past couple months, I have been running 4-5 500s or 400s on a track, 2-3 times a week, to maintain aerobic/anaerobic conditioning while focusing on weightlifting. I have recently experienced some shin pain and suspect that it may be a consequence of poor running form. I am not a sprinter, and I do not have an extensive training background in sprint training.
More than likely, it is the volume of work that you are doing and not your form. 4 x 500 meters is a lot of volume. You would be better off doing tempo work where you won’t get the fatigue that results from continuous running. How much do you weigh? If you are over 200 pounds here is a tempo workout I suggest. What sprort/event do you do?
50 = (50m Tempo AND 50 Walk)
50|50|50|50|50|50 - 100m walk rest = 300m
50|50|100|50|50 - 100m walk rest =300m
100|100|100| - 100m walk rest = 300m
50|100|50|50|50 - 100m walk rest = 300m
50|50|50|100m|50 - 100m walk rest = 300m
Total Volume in Meters: 1500m
Always stretch afterwards more because you are more likly to do it then that at some other time. Kill 2 birds with one rock sort of thing. Another thing I have done is to mix in MedBall abs in between each rep of 50 or 100m, and then continue on the 50m walk rest.
I am very light (~170 well-fed at over 6’ 1"). I began practicing Olympic Weightlifting a couple months ago (as an amateur, definetely not competitive any time soon).
I will take that Tempo workout into serious consideration.
I take it the CFTS would be the book to buy to understand the difference between Tempo, Speed Work, and other kinds of training for sprint speed? I am focusing on the lifts for the next several months, but after that I might like to take some of the speed and strength I develop and see what I can make of it with some intelligent sprint training.