I have a teenager (17) who I coach that began the season running a 60 in 7.25. His opening outdoor time was respectively 100m-11.29. He will also contribute to the 4x400 occasionally and the 4x200. What is happening however is that he is not very sharp in the middle part of his race but never gets tired after running the 100. My expectations were that his time would drop, but in contrast it is getting slower. 11.39-11.5. He works hard so the only thing I can understand it being is he is loosing top speed or speed reserve by running to many 300s in practice or 200s and 4x400s. My plan over the next week or so is to have him do more short speed work to get his time back down. WHat are your thoughts?
Here it goes then… 
You coach him, so you know his training better than anyone…
From your initial thoughts and from what info you’ve provided, it seems that he lacks, or start losing touch with his top speed. Before going there though I would check his acceleration again and -perhaps more importantly- his transition zone to top speed.
I would also cut back on speed endurance in training (especially on a race week) -I guess a reduced volume would be enough for maintenance. You’ve got all the racing for this and anyway, it’s not your priority for now.
The fact he feels as nothing happened after a race perhaps is a good thing, as I suppose he isn’t tense. But it might also mean that he can’t push himself to his current potential. Most of his training at the moment -from what you say- is almost “irrelevant” (sorry, I am exaggerating… :o ) to his current needs.
I think you are right on going a step back and I wouldn’t be afraid to dedicate as much time as necessary and irrespective of any longer races -you might both be surprised, or at least I hope so…
Hope it helps a bit!
Good luck!
How is his relaxation during the 100? If he’s a hard worker/racer, could it be he is tensing up too much from trying to go faster?
Is he overtrained? Sometimes the hard workers do too much too fast in practice, leaving themselves with little left for racing. You might want to back down his volume to see what happens if you think this might be an issue.
The 200-300 work you cite also could be an issue – maybe that race model is carrying over into the 100, or maybe it’s contributing to the overall workload which might be making it hard for him to recover. What are his workouts like during the week?
I wish I could keep you two on my left and right shoulder during the season! 
I think you both have two valid points. I believe the 200-300 stuff is subconsciously affecting his approach to the 100m. Speedz, he is very much a relaxed sprinter but after about 70-80 meters his knees drop if he is trying to build more speed (eg-close race). This was not a problem in the beginning of the season. As a matter of fact I thought we had fixed this because it was chronic last season.
Plan- shorten the distances in practice.
5/10- 10x60 flys (40 build-up/20m max hold)
Plyos/weights
5/11- Tempo 9-10x(100+100+100)
Core
5/12- 4-5x 150-80 (3-4min rest)
Plyos/weights
5/13- Tempo 9-10x(100+100+100)
Core
SHould next week look like this?
COnference Champs start on May 23rd (FYI)
That looks like alot! 10x60 then 3000m of tempo?
I might do 6x60 fly then 2000m of tempo.
On 5/12 I might do 3x 150-80.
Also, how much lifting & plyo volume is he doing?
Guys?
I apologize. TYPO
THe tempo work would be:
100+100+100
100+100+100
100+100+100
Then repeat the entire set
I’ll reduce the 60m flyes
How much recovery time would you give the 150m
Plyos- alternate leg bounding; Bunny hops; Skipping; fast skip; lunge hops
2x8-10 of each except skipping. I have used skipping on Tempo days at 2x100m
Weights are olympic 2-3x6 at the most
???why eliminate the 80m???
I didn’t say to eliminate the 80m but that might be a good idea now that you mention it…especially if the main concern is 100m. I don’t know if a 150/80 split run would benefit a 100m guy.
Plyos look ok. For olympic weights, I might do 6sets of 2 instead of 2sets of 6.
Does he have any rest days? I have had many sprinters improve on a light program like: Mon(sprint[4x30, 4x60],lift) Tue(1400m tempo) Wed(warmup) Thur(sprint[2x150], lift) Fri(easy) Sat(race)
Is he running in any meets before Conference Champs?
I’m sure TC could hop in on this and provide input too.
If you are just working for the 100, you might drop the split run altogether and just do 4 or 5 80 meter sprints with about 7-8 min. recovery. Since this is the area where you mention he is losing form, it might help counter that. If he’s still running longer sprints, you could keep the split runs in but maybe cut them back to 150+50 a couple of times with long recovery. If you want to do both, try 3x80 and then finish with a 150 or a 150+50. At this time of year, quality and rest is more important than quantity and conditioning.
You might back off a little on the plyos – maybe just one set of each to reduce the total number of contacts. Mortac’s recs on weights are good, too. His light program is good for a peaking week as well.
I don’t think you’re too far off in what you’re doing, just scale it back somewhat. It sounds as if he’s trying to generate more speed late in the 100 rather than just maintaining what speed he has obtained. As you know, when that happens, things are bound to slow down.
I will rework the plan and give an updated version. No he has no more meets before conference. For the record, I will refer to this guy as Sprinter B. WHy? Because I have sprinter A who rolled his ankle 3 wks ago. He is just now starting to sprint again with a slight gimp in his stride. He is recooping fast. what do you suggest for getting him back to speed. He runs at conference also. He is ranked #2 in the state in the 100 and 200 right now but he has not competed for over 3 weeks. He will be sprinter A.
By the way, both will compete in the 100 and 200.?
Regarding cutting back. I am concerned about either of the two peaking at regionals and flattening out at state. It was my intention to begin discussing tapering in about a week with you gurus.
For sprinter A, you need to be careful if he is still gimping. I would focus on anything he can do without gimping, whether that’s acceleration work, flying sprints or drill work. Likely, he will have fewer reps in the program, too, assuming that the soreness returns the more he does. Whatever he does, you both need to carefully monitor how he’s feeling and get advice from a trainer or doctor.
As for B, I wouldn’t worry about going flat from backing down. Most times, guys go flat from overtraining. He won’t lose any fitness over the next week or two and may feel better if you ease off the volume and just focus on a few quality reps in your sessions.
Let me add another twist to this…
How long once a 7 day taper begins, does the peaking window stay open before performance begins to deteriorate?
How far into the season or into tapering would one include tempo? How might this affect speed performance?
How far into season and how close to competition would you use basic core work? (crunches, med ball, swiss ball, etc.)?
I don’t know what the answer is for the first question. My experience says it’s two to four weeks, depending on the training done during that time, number of competitions, experience of the athlete, etc. Lots of variables. I’d like to hear more on this, too.
I keep tempo in throughout, but decrease the volume. Early in the year, I keep volume around 2000m per session, cutting it back to about 1500m during the competitive season and then about 1000m during peaking. I keep basic core work in, too, and typically do that between sets of the tempo work, though you could do core work on other days as well.
in your opinion who else could chime in to help on the “peaking window”, if there is such a thing. FYI- my sprinters are all HS athletes in various sports during the year. Some are younger than others however. If someone knows what the peaking window might be for an elite athlete and knows which way it goes for a younger one (longer or shorter) I may be able to guesstimate.
Is there a way to prolong peaking. EX- over the course of 3 weeks my kids have 2 days of conference champs, then the next week regional prelims and finals; 3rd and final week is 2 days state champs if they get past regionals.
COnference is not an elimination championship, meaning if they do not do particularily well there, they can still compete at regionals.
Are the regional prelims and finals on separate days?
Assuming those meets are spaced evenly apart, and they are both two-day meets (before state champs), you could probably stick with a peaking approach. I would keep the quality high and volume low (about half of what you did before), probably doing speed on Monday, tempo on Tuesday, speed on Wednesday, off on Thursday and then racing Friday and Saturday, if that’s how the week sets up. If the meet is earlier in the week, you probably drop the Wednesday speed work.
I wouldn’t worry about the peaking window. At this time of the season, rest is probably more helpful than work, though you need a bit of it to stay sharp between meets.
For a 17 year old sprinter, I would keep all the distances below 120m. I don’t take my young sprinters above that very often, as per Charlie. It’s like a short to long approach, only we are talking distances increased over years, not just during the season.
For a workout, you could try 60-80m (20F/20E/20F) or (20E/20F/20E).
This sort of workout is quite tough on the CNS, so make sure the kid gets proper rest.
Speedz, this is the line up for the sprinters for the remainder of the season.
Please look over thoroughly
Tues (today)- Tempo (had a speed day yesterday) Core, Skipping and drills
Weds- 100m- 4x100 handoffs count as part of workout. then 2x80;2x60
200m- will complete their their 4x80m on the curve
400m- 2x500 w/ full rr
Weds will be low rep weights/ and some plyos
for all
Thursday- Tempo w/ core
Friday- 100m athl.- 4x100s from blocks for race modeling purposes
200m- 3x200s
400- 2x400
all full rr
Sat- Tempo run
Monday- ?
Tues- conference prelims
Weds- rest
thursday- Conference finals
Friday rest
Sat- Short speed work and maybe some handoffs
Monday 5/29- practice
tues- rest
Wed- regional Prelims
Thur-rest
Friday- Finals
Sat rest
I did not include the state championship week. I will bring that in later if we make it.
I totally agree with this. Starting next season I am going to place a lot more emphasis on getting perfect acceleration mechanics and good hip hight during 20m flying drills. This year these drills have been the ones I have had most success with because the athlete only has to concentrate for 20m. And it is paying off. For the first time ever some of my athletes feel like they are flying all be it for a very short period of time.
Up until now as soon as fatigue sets in they tend to loose thier hip hight and technique. If I am doing something like 2x200m then after the first 120m the form will go on the 1st rep and then after about 100m on the second. So in all they are running well for 220 of 400m (about 50%). However, if i work on something like 6-10 easy-fast-easys or another flying drill they will maintain good mechanics the whole way through (though obviously you need to be wary of the higher intensity used).
At the end of the day good mechanics and relaxtion are the key to running fast. So from now on I am going to work on general conditioning for “endurance” and good mechanics during the high intensity work.
Once they have mastered 20m i can start pushing the distance out. It won’t always be flying runs but i will put markers down on the track in the same way and force them to use these as cues to forcus on a certain aspect. The distance will be as short as is needed for them to maintain thier form.
I feel a year spent working on this will produce equal results to “slogging it out” in the short term and far greater results in the long term because it will create a foundation from which to move on from.
Essentially what i am discribing is a short to long programme - very similar to the Van’04 DVD.
In sprint training I think you need to choose something to focus on. Some choose lactic tollerence or running technically well under fatigue. However, I feel it has to be perfect mechanics every time and hence my programme needs to be designed to allow this.
Ideally you want to be running longer reps and over distance but perhaps not at the expense good technique - at least with developing sprinters?
so in response to the workout for the end of the year, what are your thoughts specifically?
Are you suggesting that my 400 meter kids keep the rest of their distances under 120 also?
Ideally yes and, over many years, extend the distance over which the athlete can sustain the speed.
But in reality, if “your athletes” don’t see good 400m results at the end of the first year, they won’t be “your athletes” much longer.
So take another look at the ‘lactate threshold’ thread for some thoughts on program theory and design.
You can apply your ideas about developing speed and developing 400m-type endurance in a number of ways, along a number of time-lines.
But being as we live in an age of instant gratification, the reality is that if you want to see your project through to a satisfying conclusion, you better come up with a program constuction that allows you to fulfill the development of both qualities (S & E) in a reasonable time-frame. kk