Opinions on which event to focus on..

Expert Discussion Advanced Sprint Training
1

I have a dillema and was hoping that some of you could help me choose an event to train for this off season. I have done many other sports besides track, and have decided that I love training and want to focus on track and one particular event.

I am expecting really good gains as well, simply because I have never trained seriously for track, and I am not in good shape as of now. I should make quick improvements. My times are slow now, but I am hoping to get them lower.

Anyways, I am deciding between running the 100 and 400, and do not know which to choose. I am leaning towards the 400 because my body type seems to be more that of a 400 runner, and we have less good 400 runners than 100 runners (ie one kid under 55 seconds and he is at 50 and a senior). My 400 time is terrible though, probably around a 59, but as I indicated earlier, I am not in good shape and die at the 200 mark. Our school record is 51.7, and I think that could be realistic with 10 months of serious training. If I run a sub 55 I am varsity for sure.

On the other hand, my 100 time is 11.96 and the school record is 11.01. I am 5th on the team in the 100 right now, but I have only ran it in 3 meets (12.6, 12.2, 11.96). If I was able to run an 11.5 I would be varsity for sure.

Some other information that I can give you is my standing vertical jump is 33 inches, 9’4 broad jump, 215 power clean, and 315 full squat.

Any help deciding which goal is most achievable would be greatly appreciated. I am looking at 10 months of serious training CFTS style, looking to make the biggest improvements.

2

Age, Height, Weight?

Personally, I would start out training for the 100. If it turns out that it’s not the race for you, then at least you know you have the speed in place to knock out a good 400 time.

3

Age: 16
Height: 5’10
Weight: 154

That seems to be a pretty good choice, however, I don’t think I would be able to last a 400 if I trained only for the 100.

The main reason I am leaning towards the 400 is because if I run a sub 55 I will be the best runner, but I will have a lot more competition at the 100m, which could lead to me not competing (only top 2 compete).

4

Maybe I need to clarify a bit here, the reason I would choose 100 (not just cuz it’s the glory race) is for the following reason. You say you have 10 months to train. 10 months. That’s a long time. If you’re taking a short to long training approach, you can start out training the 100, and if you get good at it you can stick with it. However, if you don’t like the 100, since you’re using a short to long approach, you can immediately switch to training for the 400 by using the speed you’ve built from the 100 training as the short part of the training cycle.