People usually don’t run there fastest there first meet of the season right? How much should I look to improve during the season in a 100m race?
hehe I used to improve by around 8 tenths to one second LOL
Sounds strange but true.
I used to run 11.8-12.1 for my first race of the year.
then get that down to 10.8-11.0 by the middle of the season 
Chris
Carl Lewis used to open up with a 10:5 100m first race and then pop off 9. something.
it all depends on your level of fitness, length of season, etc. but one can look forward to dropping about .5 off a time give or take.
Last season opened with an 11.50s, slowest time I’ve ever run, even before I started training. Within 3 races I was down to 11.0s and by the end of the season running 10.8s consistently.
Its a tough thing to predict though, there are so many factors. It depends on fitness, freshness and previous levels of fitness. I tend to keep track of performances throughout the season, especially in the 60m. And you’ll see guys run 7.0s to open up and then never faster. Then you’ll see a guy run 7.1s and continuously get better throughout the competition season and peak with a 6.7s. Its rare, but I beleive the first scenerio is the result of poor loading/unloading and the second a result of proper loading/unloading. I used to think, wow, what did a guy like that do after his first race to get so good? But I’ve come to the realization that its what he did before that race that got him there, and that what he did during comp season is allow it to happen.
I also tend to see these as classic periodization vs vertical integration styles. Athlete 1 has been doing repeat 200s at 27s for a few month. Athlete 2 has been following a CFTS type of design, so speed year round. When it comes time for their first race, Athlete 1 has either not even begun speed training or has just started. Athlete 2 has been doing it for a few months now. They run the same time. Athlete 1 is fully fresh in terms of speed training and is running on his natural talent. Athlete 2 is loaded with 600m of speed the same week he ran his opener. Come competition period, athlete 1 is in full swing of speed training and athlete 2 is maintaining and unloading, following 10 day tapers ect… Athlete 1’s performances stay the same or worsen under the fatigue effects of speed training while Athlete 2’s performances soar due to freshness and dminished fatigue. Even with a taper, Athlete 1’s performances improvements are tiny compared to Athlete 2, who has been loading speed for months compared to the relatively small training load of the classic periodization scheme of Athlete 1.
To end this rant, I do think performance gains in season depend on the type of loading that took place in the months prior. The bigger the whole the longer it takes to climb out. And if there is no hole to begin with, then it will take time to dig one and climb back out.
I have noticed the complete opposite. Most people who do speed based programs run close to their best early on (assuming adequate form), while people who have done no speed work routinely drop tons of time simply via a training effect generated by getting the meets in.
I guess the real question is then what type of program would yield greater net improvements from year to year vs in season comp drop.
Because if someone opens their season up fast, but its .2s above pb would obviously be better then gaining .5s in a season but getting a .1s pb.
I guess I can’t say for sure that the speed based program would yield the best results. I think we can definately agree that fatigue levels and loading will have probably the largest effect on competition times. I do have one correction to make on my previous post which might change my position a bit. The guy that dropped a 7.1 and continued to a 6.7, ran his slowest time in his SPP and not the comp period. He opened up with a 6.8 in comp. Which would be way more in line with foguelson’s remarks.
Who cares, everyone is different… Keep working hard and learn to compete and good things shall happen. Some people open with fast times and don’t improve much throughout the season others open up with slower times and improve more throughout the season. It’s all about where you are at when all the chips are on the table!!! Big Chips!!!
I agree. Run fast when it counts. I have dropped from 11.39 to 10.48 in one season.
man, i need your training program
You are probably right, but I think that the elements which influence the season trend are much more than the type of periodization. For example my coach uses a classical periodization. In 2008 season, started the 1st of May, I ran my PB only in the last race, on July 11 on a very good track (wind + 0.5). In 2009 I ran my PB on the 1st of May, on an awful track (wind +0.0) and never improved anymore. Honestly, I never understood what causes the variation of my performance, in training and in race.
Prob correct, though the L-to-S program runs a higher injury risk in the early season. Also remember the “x-factor”. The season’s legal best time is, for most people, around.2 faster than their in-season legal average. That occurs when the conditions are perfect (which is hard to predict in advance).
What kind of training did you do to get that? Is it in the training logs section?
Yea. Mostly charlies stuff. I generally always run slow at the beginning then drop my times as the season continues.
You guys did CF stuff at FAMU?
lol hell naw. I think they messed up my career. I came in running 10.6 and only ran 10.8 in college. We ran 500’s and 300’s till the week before the conference championships. We did pure speed work once a week if any. No weight lifting program, I was a body builder. I lifted for looks not function. Coach would punish us with 500’s. I had great endurance. I dropped a 21.3. I didnt learn about true sprinting until I stumbled onto this website. I didnt even know what dorsiflexon was. Thank GOd for CF. lol