From previous topics mentioning this, thought I would try to start a thread for discussion.
A few questions.
What is the effect of patterning on shorter sprints (EFE 20-20-20, FEFs, finishing drills etc), accels (20s, 30,s, 40s) vs longer sprints (80s, 100s, 150s)?
What is the effect of acute exposure vs chronic exposure to wind assistance?
Is this something that should only be done every so often, depending on the level of the athlete?
After a patterning type run, how long before a natural run of this speed can be seen? If memory serves me right, it seems for high level sprinters it’s been about 4 weeks after? Is the time influenced by the length of the run (30m accels vs 100m race) or the number of exposures (5x30s, 2x80s 1 x 100)?
1: They all have an effect on part of the race. For example and EFE affects the early pick up. Since the easy initial run goes to 20m, the speed at which the pick-up starts translates to the speed reached around 10m in the race itself, and this is where the improvement is reflected.
2: The exposure to WA is almost always helpful unless the athlete is tight, sore, or otherwise limited, in which case it might be wise to switch directions and go into the wind.
3:It is the height + breadth total that is the limiting factor determining the frequency of exposure and that is always individual with the timing being spread further apart as performance rises.
4: The incorporation of a neural pattern into a legal performance is determined by the acquisition of adequate power to carry out the same actions without illegal wind assistance and the timing of that acquisition is individual and becomes more lengthy as performance rises but is likely not less than 10 days for most people even at medium levels.
2: The exposure to WA is almost always helpful unless the athlete is tight, sore, or otherwise limited, in which case it might be wise to switch directions and go into the wind.
In the case of 2(tight/sore), would it be typically more likely to forego the speed session altogether and go with a tempo day?
1: They all have an effect on part of the race. For example and EFE affects the early pick up. Since the easy initial run goes to 20m, the speed at which the pick-up starts translates to the speed reached around 10m in the race itself, and this is where the improvement is reflected.
How far would you guess the benefits from an improved pick-up at approx. the 10m mark will have implications on overall performance up to 20m/30m or more likely much deeper into the race? In other words the effect, I’d assume, would have a positive impact upon a good portion of the entire sprint race and could impact the top end reached. Would that be correct?
Well if you pick up anything in the accel phase, the effect extends at least to the end of that portion of the race and the increased ability of any part makes the entire phase easier affecting the rest of the race as well.
Charlie, what effect, if any, does always training with WA have on an athletes ability to perform with headwinds in competition? If there is no physical effect, if the wind direction in training is continually brought to the athletes attention in training, may there be an adverse psychological effect?
It is possible to get a psychological issue if you look for one but it is really no different than an athlete who uses towing as a stimulus and then must race without it or training in good weather and then facing rain.
Remember you compete with a level of adrenaline you can’t match in practice. As you know, you can run meets in Europe in weather that you wouldn’t train in- or put your dog out in for that matter.
Don’t look for crap just because one day you might step in it!
