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Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:43 am


Normally - speed training is king.
BMo said "but sometimes a little break/variety is a good thing." Too true. Could even include the odd swimming session to ease pressure on legs.



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Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:02 pm

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:05 pm
Posts: 5

Hi,

In my late teens I started sprinting and loved it with a passion. I finally learned to relax as I ran full throttle. It was an incredible feeling. I then decided that I would stay in shape all winter by running distance so I could be even faster the next year.

For me, it was the biggest mistake I could have made. I lost that wonderful speed during that winter. Not all of it but I surely noticed that I had used an entirely different set of muscles and an entirely different system to feed my muscles. In a word, it was horrible for my speed. Now I am 59 and for many many years I have repeated the same phrase. "If there's a curve in the track, it's too far to run" Don't get me wrong here. I still run, but to warm up and to work on endurance but you would be amazed at how much you can work on endurance by doing sprint work and keeping it intense.

If I decide to run distance for a fun run or for a long practice, I will make sure to run speed before leaving the track to shake the cobwebs from my legs. I will do the same after a weight training session. That's what I do but you are free to do what works for you. Don't be afraid to experiment, after all that's what practice is for.

J.P. Mayer (Canada)



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Mon Jul 02, 2007 12:13 pm

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:15 am
Posts: 30
Location: Harvard University

This is all interesting. I'm trying to get into sprinting shape, having only done distance for 25 years.

I've gotten tons of advice, and can't really sort through all of it.

When I ran in high school and college (50 m up through 600m), I always did distance in the off season - 7 mile base, up to 13 miles. Then, as the season got closer, I did the usual mix of intervals and weight training.

One guy I spoke with said that I had to get to the point where I could run 2 miles in a 6 minute per mile pace (12 minutes), and then "break it down" - where I'm suposed to then do 2 1mile intervals in - what? 5:20 or something - then do 4x800m and so forth until I was down to the Nx100, Mx200 intervals, maybe down to 40's and 50's.

Maybe I should drop down sooner, but each time I do that, I pop a hamstring (I'm on my 4th pull since mid March). So, I'm doing distance, with a fast mile - high 5's, low 6's thrown in there, and working on knee lift. I'm going to drop down after another month or so of this.

I'd also heard that Tommy Smith got his sprinters trained with some mid-distance workouts as a base.

This stuff about distance slowing you down is kind of news to me - it seems like any running would help.

_________________
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