Most distance running coaches know that training for a 5-kilometer race involves a mix of aerobic and anaerobic workout sessions that will adaptively lead to improvements in a runner’s metabolic system. The work is varied, combined, and sequenced over a season in a way that is specific to the energy demands of the 5k race. …
Archives for middle distance workouts
Training Aerobic Capacity and Middle Distance Athletes
On the first day of track practice, a ninth-grader named Ryan, shows up to join the team. Ryan wants to be a middle distance runner, maybe run the mile for his school. Ryan admits to having not run much in his life, but he wants to start today. The middle distance coach sends Ryan out…
Advanced Warmup Routines for Middle Distance Athletes
When middle distance coaches cluster socially or professionally, and the inevitable training talk ensues, the topics generally fall into three broad categories: training mileage, peaking strategy, or warmup routines. While these are all fun to talk about and defend, the reality is that there is no right answer to any of these discussions. Mileage talk…
An Endurance Training Session for Middle Distance Athletes
A training session is a block of dedicated time containing various units of work that pertain to the specific demands of the track and field event that the athlete participates in. For a middle distance runner, a session more often than not contains a high degree of endurance work. Thus today we will discuss an…
Intensity – Can It Be Too Much In Middle Distance Training?
Middle distance events in track and field consist of races between 800 and 2000 meters because any races within this range share common energy demand characteristics. The three most common events found in this spread include runs of 800 meters, 1500 meters, and 1600 meters, with the anaerobic contribution of these three races varying between…
Intensity – What It Means for Middle Distance Training
Mitochondria are the aerobic powerhouse organelles of cells. If a type of tissue does little aerobic work, then there are just a few mitochondria in the cells of that tissue, but if the tissue is a real aerobic workhouse, then the cells that constitute it are loaded with mitochondria; with the capacity to build many…
How Middle Distance Coaches Coach Speed, Not Time
The athlete profile is a tool that knowledgeable coaches use to shape a macrocycle of training and physical development for a middle distance runner. At its core, an athlete profile is usually a well-documented history of past workout and race performances that is then used to guide the direction of future training. To that end,…
Training Sub-Elite Middle Distance Athletes
Building and maintaining a healthy population of middle distance athletes is important in achieving rewards for a team, and in having a pipeline for future success. Like it or not, individual performances are driven by internal dynamics directly related to the pyramid of numbers in a particular training group. The really good runners do ascend…
The 6-5-4-3-2 Workout in Middle Distance Training
During specific preparation and pre-competitive training periods there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to achieve future competitive season fitness for the middle distance runner. These two blocks of time are also the most crucial for including a close monitoring of workload by the coach in regard to under-recovery challenges. Middle distance…
600 Meter Repeat Workouts – Three Different Styles for Middle Distance Training
Prescribing 600 meter repeat workouts for middle distance runners is a staple in any program. The training effects of this length of workout will tax the aerobic energy system, place huge demands on the anaerobic energy system, increase the cross-sectional diameter of Type 1 (slow twitch) muscle fibers, increase the cross-sectional diameter of Type 2…
Anaerobic Speed Reserve for Distance Runners
The physiological concept of anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) is a relatively new concept to middle distance running. ASR is defined as the difference between an athlete’s absolute maximum velocity and their maximum aerobic speed (vVO2 max). The anaerobic/aerobic energy system contribution percentages for a sprint event of 400 meters or shorter is much different…
The 800 Meter Runner: Speed (Type 1)
The 800 meter run is considered the shortest endurance race in track and field. While it is twice the length of the 400 meter dash it retains some of the physiological and psychological characteristics of that event. Here we will consider the 800 meter runner. In profiling the 800 meters the importance of speed, speed…