Yesterday, I went out and did a speed test, as prescribed by Allan. Nice weather, low 70ºs, light SW breeze. I was to run 4x60 and measure each 30m. I did these in spikes and blocks, trying both the Adidas and Nikes.
Hoka trainers on
stretches, drill, 2x100, bands
Adidas trainers on
60m warmup ~ 8.1
Adidas spikes on for #1,4, and 100m, Nike Maxfly for #2, 3:
7.79 - 4.29/3.50
7.65 - 4.19/3.56
7.71 - 4.19/3.52
7.75 - 4.26/3.49
100m - 12.54
I thought these were OK, but Allan said my top end, 2nd 30m is lacking. He said he gets 3.2 all the time. These would be ok race times but add .25 sec reaction, and they're not real fast, 7.9/ 12.8 at best. I admit, I almost never do workouts like this and that is part of my problem. When asked how to improve, Allan said, just keep doing these type of workouts and have some patience. Another weakness revealed.
There is a friend in my track club, Wayne who is in M55. We always would run about the same time, and sometimes I'd beat him in our previous age groups, but now he's focusing solely on the 100m and runs under 12 at M55, (although he runs slow 200s and 400s). So I guess improvement can happen even as an old person for increasing top end. Maybe that's what I should focus on as I age up next year.
141.2 lbs after workout.
So glad to have successfully repaired my hot tub leaks. I depend on it big time as a part of my training / wellness.
Curious to see how your pivot to short speed translates to long speed or if it interferes with long speed. For instance if you train every other day and alternate between short and long speed the frequency of long speed work might be too low to condition properly for a 400m. In fact I would argue your gap to peak performance is aerobic capacity as in 21 you could also run a 2:18 800. (2:18 or 2:22? I don’t remember). Anyway let’s see how you incorporate the short speed and how you progress then in long speed training.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, 'there are many roads that lead to Rome' - the goal in 400m training. As Allan said, at the Worlds, I pushed it a little too far and just didn't have it in the end. SO, my training must be missing something. My colleague who gained success/ marked improvement in the 100m, did so at the expense of being able to run the 200 and 400. As one coach put it, the best speed endurance is top speed or 'speed reserve'. Speed reserve is the difference between an athlete’s maximum speed and their maximum aerobic speed. According to coach Latif: "the reason that athletes are not hitting their times or that they are falling apart at the end of a race is not that lack aerobic or anaerobic capacity or need to do more over distance training. In fact, the answer is often that the athlete simply has not developed the pure speed required to take maximum advantage of the energy system requirements of that particular race..." So, it's worth trying something different. As I age up toward 63, 64, I may try focusing on shorter, top speed, less volume, more explosive, in an effort to maintain the fast twitch and increase speed reserve.
DeleteMay work. Certainly will maintain muscle better.
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