Here’s the issue: How does one split an indoor 400m?
Seems to me like people (US college track) haul ass for the break at 150m, come through at near 200m pb and then just hang on, maybe running the second 200m 3-4 seconds slower than the first. When everyone around you races like that it is difficult to try to run a more evenly distributed race because you would be ~1.5-2 seconds behind your competition at the split and then have to run around people (if you ever catch them). The problem is amplified if you are the ‘800m type’ 400 runner who can’t run a 200m that fast to begin with. My coach wants me to run like the competition - go out fast and hang on, I can’t understand how it is the best strategy but nonetheless it seems to work.
I think its the best strategy…I know that in 200m(I know its short but it works) my coach said to me " start like if it was a 60m dash…hang on"it works… so…it would be the same thing in 400m
except for the extra 200m that you have to run, where the guy who came out in 20.xx but ran 25 for the next 200 gets passed by the guy who ran 22 and 23 for his splits and he looks really bad.
“start like its a 60 and hold on” great plan…not. that may work for a high school meet. emphasis on may. it won’t work in a 100-200 or 400 at the pro level. Look at Matt Shirvington, he tries to accellerate all the way through a 100m and is considered a wasted talent.
trying to tear holes in the track with alot of volentary force isn’t the idea, look at michael johnson was he ever hanging on when he was running sub 20 and sub 44, no he started strong but wasn’t straining, and he powered home through the finish and if he wasn’t going so damn fast you could of put him in a 5k and he would of looked like he was straining less than the vast majority of the people running the 5k. For his 19.32 atlanta run his first 100 was a 10.12(according to wikipedia, this was a great time for johnson, his pb in the 100m was 10.09 and 10.12 in route was great.). I know MJ was the best at what he did but Spermon is striving towards that peak of excellance(if he ever reaches it is another debate) so running 100%+ all out isn’t the ticket. Also i am not detracting anything from Spermon and i am not calling him a flawed runner, he is a multitime NCAA champion something that MJ wasn’t but to succed at the 400 he’s gonna have to have a better race stratigy. He’s an excellent 200m runner and won an NCAA championship at 100m but the 400 is a different ball game. He stated that he needed a new stragity but for the moment all out and die on the homestreach is what he’s going with and if he plans to be a factor in future world and olympic championship 1 lap race’s he’ll need to workout a new plan and implement it.
overtaking indoors is a real pain.
if your able to run within a 1 sec difference in the last lap lets say a 24-25 you will have a slim chance of overtaking a guy running
23.5-25.8. Beacuase he’ll try to block you from overtaking.
Thats the main reason why the 1st 200m indoors will be relatively fast in comparison to a 1st 200m outdoor, wich is in my case a more evenly paced race.
indoor this year a 23.3+25.5(pb)
outdoor pb I ran 23.9+24.7(but that was 2 years ago)