Where I live, the indoor track season starts the Monday after Thanksgiving. And if I expect to have a good season, I better have already spent some serious time planning and creating the annual plan for my short and long sprinters. (As well as my ‘super long sprinters’ who run the ridiculous 600m race here in…
Archives for 200 meter training
Long Slow Running Builds Long Slow Sprinters
Many college coaches are perplexed with the short amount of time they are able to spend with their athletes during the fall months. Typically, coaches get to work with their sprinters and hurdlers for 6 to 8 hours per week, depending on their conference or other institutional factors. Though this time is limited, it is…
Answers to popular training questions (March ’13)
I spend a lot of time answering training questions. In fact, I’ve been answering training questions since first going ‘online’ in 2004. I’ve noticed a pattern in the types of questions I get. So today Here are answers to a couple that I see on a regular basis… Question #1: Latif, I could use your…
The Key to Success in the Long Sprints: Speed Reserve
Developing a ‘speed reserve’ through a well designed speed development program is essential to success in the track & field sprint events, especially the ‘lactic acid’ events like 300m (especially for girls), 400m and 400h. Speed reserve is, essentially, the difference between an athlete’s maximum speed and their maximum aerobic speed. In many coaching situations,…
3 Reasons Sprinters Fall Apart at the End of Races
Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of attending a 6 hour freshman/sophomore meet. The meet was very well run, it was just, you know, a 6 hour freshman/sophomore meet. I can’t tell you how many times I watched sprinters fall apart at the end of races. So, I’m standing there, minding my own business and…
Why even bother doing that drill?
Last week, I shared a new (to me) drill for teaching acceleration. However, since the athletes in the video displayed poor posture, poor mechanics (or both), there was some disagreement about the viability of the drill. And that brings us to an important teachable moment: You cannot separate reality from the observer. I may think…
Cusano Hurdle Push Drill (video)
One idea I’ve been stressing to coaches this year is that workouts don’t teach the skill of acceleration (like this hurdle push drill does!). Or top end speed. Or sprinting in general. Instead, the ‘workouts’ we use in practice are the byproduct of specific skills we are trying to teach to our sprinters. This is…
The Circle of Truth
I have received a lot of great feedback and questions about sprint workouts and the Master Class on the 100m. One question that came up a few times pertained to “runs” early on in the season. I was confused at first by these questions because sprinters go on runs every day. As a matter of…
This will make your life easier
My first job out of college was not coaching track, it was teaching a classroom full of kids with behavioral, social and emotional disorders. Spend a few full work days restraining a kid screaming racial slurs and trying to spit at and bite you for six hours and you quickly learn the art of patience….
Sprint Training – Energy Systems
Sprint Training – Energy Systems By Tony Veney At the beginning of each track season, you sit down and evaluate the returning and the incoming talent. The thoughts eventually shift to the top sprinters and the expectations we both have for the upcoming season. If girls or boys ran 12.5 or 11.0 last year, you…
200 Meter Training
200 Meter Training By Latif Thomas The 200 meter sprint is the Rodney Dangerfield of the sprint events. It gets no respect. When we commonly think of the sprint events, the 100 meter dash gets all the glory and the 400 meter dash gets all the respect. That leaves the middle child, the 200, left…
Sprinting Techniques
Sprinting Techniques By Latif Thomas Sprinting technique is all about power and efficiency. In a sport where ‘elite’ and ‘run of the mill’ athletes are separated by fractions of a second, getting the most out of an athlete’s ability is essential to success, from the youth through professional levels. How efficient an athlete’s running style…