What exactly is a performance plateau in middle distance running? It is a temporary stagnation or slight decline in racing times or in key training markers. When a plateau becomes evident to a runner it can be very discomforting and may lead to a questioning of the training, over-reaction to the situation, and even panic. …
Archives for 800m training
[Now Available] 5 New Distance Training Programs
We’ve released a total of FIVE new middle distance/distance training programs covering a variety of events and topics. They’re all created by 30+ year high school coaching veteran and USTFCCCA Lead Endurance Instructor, Scott Christensen. (You can also take a look at all of Coach Christensen’s other middle distance and distance training programs.) Most of our…
Speed or Endurance in the 400m, 600m & 800m Races?
Track and field is a counterintuitive sport. That’s why most high school kids are terrible at it. I’m constantly reminding my athletes that their rate of progress is directly proportional to their ability to do the opposite of what feels natural. Push ‘down and back’ to go ‘up and forward’. Jump ‘away’ from the bar…
The Truth About Coaching 400/600/800 Athletes
Download: The 7 Laws of 400/600/800 Meter Coaching Success The 400/600/800 meter events have definite speed requirements, yet they also have high to predominant aerobic contributions. The athletes who excel at 400/600/800 meters do not possess a high percentage of type 2b fast twitch fibers as would be found in pure sprinter. They also…
Do Not Neglect Speed and Speed Endurance Workouts
Modern training theory is invaluable in applying scientific research to the development of middle-distance runners. Knowing how to set up training microcycles that include all of the necessary session components during a training phase is critical to progressive development. Modern training theory does not suggest that training microcycles need to be seven days in length. …
Measuring what Matters – Guidelines to Evaluating Practice Times
Part 1 Is Your Sprinter a Diva or a Rock Star? By Carl Valle The purpose of this article series is to break down the 100m sprint and 200m sprint events into four testing qualities; Acceleration, Maximal Speed, Speed Endurance, and some specific work capacity. While this series is focused on the short sprints, other…
Top 3 Reasons to ‘Like’ our New Fan Page
If you haven’t already, here are 3 reasons to bookmark the Complete Track and Field Facebook Fan Page. 1. Email is dead. Ok, it’s not dead. But it’s on life support. Outside of work, how often do you really check your email? If anything, you go right to Facebook. That’s what I do. And…
How to Train Around Dual Meets (video)
Ah, yes. Dual meets. The bane of the existence of any Championship caliber program. I’ve already written about how I feel about dual meets, so I won’t go into that here. But, if you’re forced to compete in too many dual meets during the season, want to know how to deal with/train around multiple dual…
Q&A: Morning runs after a hard workout?
In addition to over 2.5 hours of excellent middle distance training information, Coach Christensen has agreed to answer training questions for anyone who invests in his program. Preparing the Elite Junior Middle Distance Runner (800-1600m) Here is one he answered the other day. Question: Hi Coach! I thoroughly enjoyed your talk and handouts, etc. Regarding…
Want faster sprinters? Focus on this.
Yesterday at practice I had my assistant coach lead the group of 100+ kids while I did some talent identification. Since it was about 30 degrees out and snowing, we weren’t exactly running fly 30s. So what was I looking for to determine who had innate athletic ability? This one skill. To your success, Latif…
Q&A: Tracking VO2 max + Using a 12 day Microcycle
One of the benefits of Scott Christensen’s ‘Preparing the Elite Junior Middle Distance Runner 800/1600’ is the opportunity to get answers to your training questions when you have them. Here are a couple of good ones for you to think about: Jason S.: How do you figure an athletes VO2 Max, and how do…
More answers to 800/1600 training questions
What’s the main reason our Master Classes are different than other programs and resources you’ve seen online? Access to the coaches. When coaches agree to create Master Class curriculum, they agree to continue to answer customer questions as long as the program is still available. So you won’t be left on your own to…