transition between seasons

Track & Field 400m
1

I have a 400m runner (female) who will be making transition in early Dec from the soccer season to track.
At this point…
will this be GPP for track?

What sort of workouts would best meet her pressumed fitness levels at that time?

My goal is to move her from the 100 to the 400. If she trains hard enough she can run a 100 and be competitive in our conference very easily but not necessarily on a state level. I believe she is closer to being state caliber in the 400 and could very well contribute to our quest to break the 4x400 state record.

I want ot make this entrance to track like an on-ramp to the hi-way.

She will begin in the first week of Dec up until winter break. WIll it be okay for her to take the winter break (2 wks) off from sprint work and just tempo and lift Only to pick it up again in Jan?

FYI- there are 3 questions that need answering

2

Can I ask some first? :stuck_out_tongue:

How old is she?

What is her track history or is she just starting it?

What is the overall time frame? ie start Dec, race??

3

thanks for responding first of all.
She is 16-17
This is her 3rd year of track
5th of soccer

starts the soccer season today but has trained all summer for the sport. Soccer ends in late Nov.
Prep for track starts 1st week of Dec.
We will train at least 3 days per week for 3 weeks then she is on her own for two weeks.
We will resume 1-2 week of Jan.

track season begins Mid March and 1st meet is indoors early April.
Track season ends early June.

4

pushing it back to the surface in hopes of inducing another response

5

Sorry hadn’t forgotten about this just thinking and hoping someone more qualified would respond.

Have you read the Lactate Threshold Training thread? it deals specifically with the 400m I know it is pretty daunting but it is definitely worth it.

There is a summary Pindaman kindly put together here have a read of that first.

6

thanks, I have read it before

I guess I am just curious how to gauge the following.
If you take a sprinter at the end of a typical 14 week soccer season and inserted her into a 400m program, where would they fall in GPP?

From what point would you start their 400 specific program?

7

Having completed 12 weeks GPP and on my 4th Transition week I would suggest she have a couple of weeks rest after soccer then start at week 1 of GPP.

8

thanks that helps alot

9

I’ve had 3 men who played soccer then ran indoor and outdoor. If the soccer coach is good as ours is they will be quite fit.We gave our guys a week off then put them in our first weeks gpp.

They did this 2 weeks only just to acclimate themselves to the track then they leap frogged right up to the rest of the team. All 3 had tremendous success becoming all americans several times over.

The answer is really how hard does the soccer coach train the kids. If he is big on conditioning they will already be quite fit. Soccer is probably the best crossover sport for a 400- 800 guy.