Minerals play an important role in the physiology of the body. Generally they act as co-enzymes for many bio-chemical processes and many are linked to the actions of organic vitamins which are responsible for many different aspects of life. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, constituting approximately 40% of the total mineral…
Archives for mid distance training
Recovery, Regeneration, and Rest for Middle Distance Runners
It has been said that the most important reason a runner needs a coach is to help them with the time intervals between work, and not for the work itself. It is somewhat surprising that the concept of training at goal-paced effort or faster, punctuated by periods of rest in order to endure the effort,…
Running in the Modern World- Runner Safety
Responsible coaches are many things to their athletes. Most of the focus of responsibility concerns teaching the athletes the skills that allow them to be successful. All coaches recognize the dangers in their sport, with some scenarios more obvious than others. A track coach may briefly explain a few rules about runner safety, running on…
Training Plan Components for Middle Distance Runners
Everything important in life deserves a plan. But what really is a plan? There should be general components in a training plan, these can than be mixed with specific directions and could lead to an attainable goal or end-result to the plan. It is also important psychologically, developmentally, and strategically to have the plan in…
Goal-Setting for Athletes
Before the track season begins to stir with physical activity is an important time for the middle distance coach to establish oneself as a psychological leader. It is a time for long-term planning of coach directed individual motivation issues. It is a time to establish a list of performance and training goals for each athlete. …
Dealing with Common Running Injuries
All middle-distance athletes desire a pain-free road to the top. Unfortunately, that scenario is very unlikely, as humans do not have it in their genome to either run far or fast without structural breakdown. With this in mind, a track coach should be well-versed in two aspects of the team members’ musculo-skeletal health: common running…
Dissecting Elite Level Middle Distance Workouts
Training theory is a fascinating point of discussion for most middle-distance coaches. These conversations can vary from something as simple as typical microcycle mileage to something as detailed as workout construction. There is no doubt that there are “many roads to Rome” in the journey to getting a talented middle-distance runner into top physical condition. …
Fall 800 Meter Training
For 800 meter specialists, fall is the time of the year for extended general preparation activities in 800 meter training, that lead into a shorter period of specific preparation work. In some instances the 800 meter runner is a member of the cross country team. This scenario is more likely to occur in a high…
Training the Thresholds
The summer months are an excellent time to review the scientific basics of the aerobic energy system training and reflect back on how your athletes performed last spring following their particular training program. From the performance data sets of your athletes you can diagnostically check to see if you had them properly prepared for the…
The Case for Barefoot Running
Running in humans has been described as “controlled falling”. It is accomplished with a coordinated combination of stride length and stride frequency in the lower limbs, with balance and stabilization help from the upper limbs. Over the past century there has been considerable scientific effort put forth in understanding the nervous system control of both…
Understanding Workout Fatigue
In the 1950’s a pioneering German in athletics by the name of Woldemar Gerschler worked as a physical educator, track and field coach, and Director of the Freiburg Institute for Physical Education. He is considered the father of interval training. Gerschler was certainly the first to organize training into a systematic organization of all the…