Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, you really must think I’m silly (don’t answer that :D) I should have been clearer. Here is what I did and found it went VERY well 
3 minutes rest between sprints
2 x 30 dragging tyre on soft sand with shoes into slight breeze.
3 x 50 on hard sand, no shoes, downwind.
rest 5 mins
repeat as above
rest 10 mins
same as above
so, how does the sand compare in resilience to a good grass surface/ Also, as the soft sand increases the time it takes to cover 30m, I’d do the tyre pulls over a shorter distance- 20m at most. The other thing to be careful of on sand is that there tends to be a slope in one side (towards the sea for instance) This makes going with the wind tough because you can’t equalize the runs by splitting the reps in both directions.
Thanks for that. The soft sand is considerably slower, hard wet sand is at least as firm. Good point on the distance, I’ll give the 20’s a go.
The slope isn’t too bad esp when the tide is fully out, I always make sure for the full speed stuff I go one way (down wind). I use the beach as it is 5 mins walk from home and my training partner (our dog ) loves it whereas I have to drive to a park for grass.
if your sprints are one way, i’d be careful of what Charlie says, i.e, the slope of the beach; if you feel it’s not that bad, no prob; perhaps if you train over there a lot though…
The wind position varies enough for it not to be a major factor.
that’s fine then and since you are aware of this… sorry, but sometimes you may not realise a few things till something bad happens :eek:
all the best!
Don’t apologise, trust me I need all the help I can get
that’s why we are all here… 
Well in that case what about the other 2 questions I asked?
[i]What about someone over 40 who is slow…real slow?
I have never competed and till now have generally done HIIT as part of my general program but am considering doing some masters track later in the year (Nov on) even if I don’t do it I want to get in better shape.
I read that there is no point doing SE unless suitable speed is in place. What if someone is carrying too much bf (which will be inhibiting speed) and has an inefficient neural system (like me) what would be the best plan?
I know Charlie prefers short to long but you can also use long to short depending upon the athlete. What is the best way of determining suitability?
I am doing speed work 2 days pw and on Monday did what I call flying 50’s (tempo 50 yards, 100% 50 yards, walk 100 and repeat) [/i]
Weighed myself this morning (Mon) and am down 1kg in a week to 85kg (187lbs) and look leaner. I doubt it is just water weight as my carb intake isn’t too low. I am really focussing on recovery with plenty of stretching, and have found contrast showers and foam roller work a great addition.
LOL! i meant we are all here to learn and get help from other, didn’t necessarily mean my self :o
the plan you are following depends on the time you have available; if time is available, you can go to a “full” short to long programme (or the other way round for that matter); if not, the combination of accel/speed & SE is the best, as you can get much more distance/time from SE compared to the other two
if you are aware of your diet, i wouldn’t worry too much about your %BF; not that it’s not important, but along with some good training and sound nutrition, this will come down as well
and in terms of your “inefficient neural system”: not sure how you define and mean by this, but i suppose along with the training it’ll become more efficient, understanding what you are asking it to do; it just take time and for sure -as frustrating as it might be for some of us- you may not have a CNS capable of really high firing frequency at the moment and depending on your background, you may have some trouble realising its full potential; but you have nothing to lose!
as i said above, depends on time available and of course on the athlete (preference, suitability of a particular programme); in your case and if i understand your situation correctly, i think, i’d go with a short-to-long programme; perhaps it’ll give you the chance to catch up with some good speed level relatively quickly and also allow you the development of some good strength levels, too
as i said, depending on time available, you determine your sessions per week; if two speed sessions per week are good for you and the races ahead, that’s the way to start and see how it goes (e.g., introducing SE later on)
is it really Mon there?
you see, it seems to work already; so keep all in place and it’ll come…
as we don’t get any younger, focus on your recovery sounds a wise choice!
hope it helps a bit…
Thanks for the response. Yeah I thought short to long was probably the best bet. As for the time frame, there is plenty, it may not even happen and if it does it will definitely be fun rather than ultra competitive.
I think at this stage I will use what I outlined above on my speed days. I wont say about the rest of my program as Charlie would have a blue fit :eek: LOLOLOL let’s just say it meets my overall training objectives.
if you are aware of your diet, i wouldn’t worry too much about your %BF; not that it’s not important, but along with some good training and sound nutrition, this will come down as well
That was my thinking as well, I would say I am particular without being totally anal (some family members may argue to the contrary LOL)
By my nervous system I mean that I am relatively weak and slow. In part due to years due to using HIIT as my sprint type training which I think has meant that I have become efficient rather than explosive. I am used to being wiped out at the end and getting used to a lower volume feels odd, I know it is right but it takes a real mind set change.
I did a test over 55m today as part of my training and well… I can only get faster