George Parrot - 16 May 2003
FIRST....The "track" is a GREAT TRAINING VENUE for all of us.
We don't have to BE fast to do a track workout, and one can argue that "the workout you dislike most is the one that does you the MOST GOOD."
Most of us have probably NOT been "tracksters" in our youth, but we can all USE the track setting to be better runners at ANY AGE or base "speed."
Track sessions allow us to work on faster pushoff and develop the fundamental muscle systems which will allow us faster "cruise speed" no matter what our base speed was at the start.
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Hence ALL of us can benefit by adding some "track time" to our training programs... ...................................................................................
A good starting level "track workout:"
Since almost all tracks now are 400meters (and some are still 440 yards, but, it really is NOT much of a difference), we will talk about doing a
400 Workout
A good starting level "400 Workout" might be about 2 "sets" of subunits of 4 times 400 meters each with a 200 meter or half lap walk jog recovery between each. The "slow recovery" is specifically designed to ALLOW you to get to the next timed 400 with enough energy to go as FAST AS THE ONE BEFORE.
Hence the PLAN for this workout is to NEVER GET SLOWER.
One way to IMPLEMENT such a controlled speed session is to do a "feel cruise" effort on the first 400 with your watch timing that segment. You are subjectively "working hard" on this first one but still in a relaxed state and you do NOT PUSH until the last 50 meters or so.
Let's say you run a time of 1:45 seconds on this one....
On the next one, you start the first half lap with the same subjective "feel," but for the last 200meters you actually get truly focused and are working VERY hard" Here you may have then run a 1:35 time.
On the third 400 in this first set, you start your VERY HARD PUSH a the end of the first 100meter turn and push the whole last 300...and say you run 1:30.
You can see where we are going with the last unit in this set of 4 X 400...On the last one, you start really GOING VERY HARD at the top of the turn or at 50 meters in and push VERY HARD the whole last 350 meters...producing perhaps a 1:30 time.
In the SECOND SET...after taking a full lap recovery and if it is HOT getting water...
Start the second set with your "push effort" in the first one from the 200 meter territory, and thus your time might be about 1:35.
On each successive 400 in this LAST SET then go HARDER SOONER...trying to always run "cut downs" in terms of time.
In this workout pattern if, IF, you get slower on any successive unit....the workout is...OVER. The GOAL of this session is to go FASTER and LEARN control.
YOU...can do it, and it will pay off.
Respectfully,
George Parrot