Intensity: Depends to a great extent on how well the athlete has recovered from previous workload when these speed development sessions come around.
The simple answer is that I would ask them to be intelligent and sensitised to their own body, thereby doing the training as the feel able.
During GPP it is not that impressive, but once we get into the Transition phase and certainly once we are into competition period, these runs are fairly good. I mean, they work into their speed. So in GPP it’s about speed built through rhythm, relaxation and mechanics.
The words I always use are: “Don’t fight it. Don’t look for something that’s not there yet.”
As long as you run relaxed, you should stay free of injury whatever you do. If the speed comes early, wonderful. But it will be there by the time you need it - in the competition phase.
I thought I had laid it out pretty clearly, but obviously not…
The GPP is made up of 2 x 6-week cycles.
Each cycle is made up of 2 x 2-1/2wk smaller cycles.
One of those minor 2-1/2wk cycles has more of an emphasis on what I loosely term strength and endurance work.
The other of those minor 2-1/2wk cycles has more of an emphasis on what I called speed and power training.
It probably doesn’t matter which of those minor cycles you start the 6wk macro cycle with, but I preferred to go with the longer and slower kind of work which in general typified the “strength and endurance” minor cycle.
So, yes, the second 2-1/2wk minor cycle was the speed-power cycle as it has been laid down in this thread. But, as I said, there may be a better result reversing the minor cycle although I never did it that way. It’s open to experiment but I choose what I felt was the more cautious approach, rather than risk injury by exposing the athlete to speed first day.
Also where is the GPP related:
“speed sessions usually start in earnest with 2 x 2 x 40-20-20”?
Hmm, well, since there was nothing of mine on the page to which you have linked, I’m still in the wilderness here…
But if you’re simply asking to decode the shorthand as follows …
“speed sessions usually start in earnest with 2 x 2 x 40-20-20”?
then the explanation of that session is:
40m acceleration building into a (attempted) top velocity zone of 20 metres followed by a phase of relaxed maintenance (attempted) of that velocity over an exit zone of 20 metres.
That would be one rep. The three zones are marked (by witches hats or whatever).
The recovery is an extended walkback and whatever feels pretty good, anywhere from 3minutess to 10 minutes, so long as the athlete feels charged up again but not so long that they have to do a new warmup.
So then comes the second rep attempting the same buildup, max vel for 20m, and a relaxed exit phase for 20m. The max velocity zone is marked as 20m, but most athletes only “hit” it over the last 10m or so, probably because a 40m buildup isn’t really long enough for most seasoned athletes. But if they can really light it up for 10m, I’m happy enough.
Then they take maybe 10minutes recovery or more if needed. And then they do another set of 2 runs.
So the session is expressed as: 2 sets of 2 reps of 40m accel, 20m max v, 20m easy maintenance
Having read through this thread, (now I need a 10 day taper for my eyes!), I am curious as to this hypotheitcal model (mix of L2S and your concurrent) geared more towards a shorter sprinter (not short height wise, though :))
Day 1: longer Accel (20-60) and speed change drills (in and outs etc)
day 2: short tempo
day 3 rest
day 4 Short accel (10-30) speed change, SE with a progression of:
wk 1 300,250,180
wk 2 250 180 150
wk 3 180 150 120
wk 4 150 120
(or start with shorter sprints and finsih with longer ones, but run short sprints at same pace as last sprint??)
I have a male HS 400m runner who is capable of running a 300 in 38 currently, and a low 23 high 22 in the 200 HT. He has a goal for next spring to run sub 50. Obviously his 300 times needs to come down. My thoughts were to continue out into June July and August ( with a 300 time trial scheduled then) with a focus on more speed work to drop the 300. I’d be happy with a high 36 at that point.
From then, I would use the concurrent template starting in Sept-Early Nov (when weather begins to get cold), and then use the transition for late november to Christmas. GPP from Jan-march (using sled sprints instead of hilss??), transition in april when weather breaks again, and have a few weeks of comp before big meets in mid-late may.
The athlete did a S2L last season, and is current in a L2S this year, racing in the 200 and 400.
Are eye-drops a PED? I know, it’s a very long thread and just when you think it’s run out of steam someone re-ignites it and off we run again:D
Esti your program has plenty of balance and logic, but it honestly looks more likely to succeed for a specialist 200m guy. Then again, perhaps if you had time you could implement that for a block to bring up some intensity as an intermediate step and then go into something more 400m-specific, like longer split runs 300+150 to introduce some lactic tolerance work while not sacrificing speed or form out to 300m.
Thanks for your comments KK. I have a 400m runner who I think will benefit from your model. I am concerned he will not be able to handle the volume of longer SE runs, such as the 300 250 etc workouts. From past training, 300+150 may be all he can handle. What are your thoughts on this?
Also, from what PJ reported from Jamaica, it seems Bolt a month ago was doing a (300 180 120 ) x 2. I found it interesting to see this, and then noticed your program, which is where my idea came from. Maybe a shorter sprinter doesn’t need all the reps, but a 400m does to improve the last 100, as you describe.
From your female who later made the 4x1 team, do you recall what her time drop was for the year? Having not used your program, and knowing my guy will need a drop in 100m time, I’m curious as to what potential it may have.
I think your guy may find the longer split runs appropriate to his needs.
As for the young lady (Kylie) referred to, she dropped from high 53sec gradually down to low 52, but was really struggling on a variety of fronts right up until we got to Atlanta.
Then I think she just resigned herself to being “only a relay runner” and at the same time could celebrate being an Olympian now that she was injury-free, already named in the 4x400 and already in the Olympic city.
So it seemed that she allowed things to happen, no more fear of omission, not more fighting against me or the sessions.
She popped out a 200 in 22.3 (give or take a tenth) off a three step roll in. Three clocks on her. This was about 10 days before the Olympic relay heats started. She was selected only for the 4x400m, however she started moving so well and found a great rhythm on the Atlanta surface that word from the three timekeepers (all national team coaches) got back to the head coach and he used her on the backstraight in the heat and then the final of the 4x100m. She was given splits of 10.5 in her heat and final, although some of the “official” Atlanta splits were discredited so they all got thrown out. In her case, I think 10.5 was realistic on the fly.
In her heat of the 4x400m the day after the 4x100 final, she split 51.21sec despite being blocked on the third 100m by heavy traffic which messed up her rhythm and with 50m to go she didn’t have a lot left but held her form well.
Over 100m early in the year she placed third in her State final behind two girls who did not make the Olympic team. But she improved a lot, mostly in her ability to maintain her speed. Her acceleration was always OK, so improvement came via velocity maintainance in my opinion.
Just an update, my 300H in the last meet with good conditions dropped more time. We did the arginine and beta alanine. He took BA with breakfast and lunch, and then 30 minutes before race, and Arginine before race only. He felt stronger on the finish and didn’t feel any acid buildup. He pulled away the last 50m. I think he can go out a little bit harder and still have some left. The big meet is this weekend. He will have to get top 2 to move on. One guy has beat him, but he has been raced alot this season. Should be good battle. Hoping we haven’t overlooked any others in the field.
Russian Champs : Antonina Krivoshapka, 22, ran 50.33 in heats and 49.29 in semis…
She is the 2009 revelation, European Indoor Champ, and 50.55 PB indoors.
Her progression:
2002 54.35 (age 14)
2003 53.09
2004 53.67
2005 55.63
2006 -
2007 52.32
2008 51.24
2009 49.29 so far but watch out in final or Berlin. This is the one Sanya was not expecting.
This outdoor season, she ran only twice : 50.24 on 1 July, 50.51 on 5 July (unbeaten this year in and outdoor). She is the fastest Russian since Olga Nazarova set the NR (49.11) in 1988!
I was thinking maybe you made a mistake about Nazarova being Russian recordholder. But then I discovered that Olga Vladykina (Mrs Bryzgina) - 48.27 in 1985 Canberra World Cup for USSR - is actually attributed these days as being from Ukraine.
