Recently I´ve discovered that the surface down the floor of the track where I ussually train is something similar to concrete , at least 2.5 cm between track and the ground
I supesct this could be a serious key in the management of the track work 
Could you give me some advice on this?
Thanks in advance
well my high school track is about 5 inches of cinder(i.e. akin to the parking lot) before the ground and no rubber at all.
at least for me on cinder, as long as you arn’t hitting insane speeds it doesn’t seem to matter very much. you get used to it. and obviously you run in flats or waffles or spikes with blanks.
obviously you have to be more careful with things such as overuse and stress fractures, but that should be something you lookout for anyways. also pay attention for joint injuries.
d_nasty : it looks like im gonna have to be doing the majority of my speed sessions in a basketball gym b/c the admin at my school won’t let anyone use the track…ill mainly be working on starts, 10’s, 20’s and 25 accels…so obviously i cant use my sprint spikes on the gym floor…what kind of flats are best for speed training on a gym floor? you mentioned waffles?..where can i purchase these type of shoes? should i just go for the lightest shoe possible or what? thanks for any help.
the harder the surface the better for sped but for training on it is not the best surface as overtime injuries will creep up.don’t forget that us athletes do high volumes in training and the surface is crucial
But what if the track is pure concrete like caballo stated? Concrete is as hard as it gets but obviously you can’t wear spikes on concrete…you would have to use regular running shoes…can speedwork be done on concrete?
btw… what do you think about speedwork on a gym floor in flats? 10’s, 20’s and 25 accels in light flats or waffles
i think caballo is talking about the foundation under the track…correct me if i’m wrong caballo?
sprinting on concrete is a no no in my opinion and overtime injuries will progress.when you talk about a gym floor what exactly are you talking about…is it bouncy/wooden/rubber.
im referring to a college basketball gym floor…its in very good shape and the footing is very good…its nowhere near as hard as a concrete track…i guess it would be considered wooden but it has that sticky stuff covering it which allows for good footing and traction…basically im talking about doing speedwork on a gym floor that an NBA team would play on…the only drawback i can think of would be that it just isnt that long, something like 35 yards…i need to know what kind of shoes or footwear would be best for training on this surface…thanks for the reply
with the reps us sprinters use i would go for a road racing shoe because they are lite,well cushioned and as near as you’ll get to a spike in terms of weight.i still would not be very keen on using such a surface Irong but some things you’ve got to do…just be careful and look after yourself
Are you saying that you would not be inclined to use this type of surface because of the heightened risk of injury, or is it simply because this type of surface is not as conducive to speed enhancement?
First of all injury.
Second, consider distances covered will probably not be adequate.
Mainly injury though.
Just need to modify. Do what you can. You might not be able to do Charlie’s entire SPP example from Vanc04 on a gym floor but, so what? Do what you can. If it kills your legs, sprint less often.
Don’t know why everyone acts like a prisoner to charlie’s sample workouts… They are samples, not the bible.
exactly…ie-mondo tracks are great for sprinting/times but to train on that surface will knock the S*** out of you and that is why the long distance guys hate mondo due to its hardness…listen use what you can but be careful.its really better than nothing and also listen to what Mortac is saying above.
When yall say that the distances would not be adequate do you just mean for things like Max-V?..b/c i would think that the distances of this gym would be ok for starts and accels of up to 25 yards/meters. Also-are “mondo” tracks the same as rubber tracks? BTW thanks for the help guys.