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800m - 1500m Training - How We Trained The Week of Penn Relays
800m - 1500m Track Training
Here is a look at what we did the year we won the Penn Relays 4 x 800m.
1500m Runners
Monday 50 – 65 minutes easy + 6 x 100m strides + weights
Tuesday 2 x Mile in 4:44 w/ 3’ rest + 2 x 800m in 2:12 w/ 90" - rest 3' + 4 x 400m in 62 w/90", 1 x Mile in 4:20
Wednesday am 0 - 30 minutes easy pm 50 minutes easy + weights
Thursday 35 minutes easy or am 0 - 30 minutes easy pm 50 minutes easy
Friday PENN RELAYS or 35 minutes easy
Saturday PENN RELAYS or 50 minutes easy
Sunday 1:30 – 1:45 easy
800m Runners
Monday 50 minutes easy + 6 x 100m strides
Tuesday 4 x 800m in 2:14 w/ 2’ rest + 400m 28/25
Wednesday 50 minutes easy + weights
Thursday 30 minutes easy + 2 x 200m in 28
Friday PENN RELAYS
Saturday PENN RELAYS
Sunday 75 – 85 minutes easy
Pole Vault Training
Check out Part One of Coach Steve Rippon’s Pole Vault Clinic. Steve is part of Fast Track Recruiting’s Coach Network. Coach Rippon is among the most respected Pole Vault coaches in the world having coached for several countries including Australia, Finland and the U.K.
When To Start Nudging Our Young Track and Field Athletes Toward Greatness
MIDDLE SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD TRAINING
Parents of track and field athletes
In a recent conversation with a parent of an elite 7th Grade runner from Massachusetts, I was asked when would be the best time for her to start getting serious about her training. I realized that despite my thirty years of NCAA I Head Coaching experience, I had never given this subject matter a great deal of thought. In my role as a college coach, I was accustomed to dealing with older runners and had never really given much thought to the beginning of the process.
We often read about college coaches signing multi-million dollar contracts, and yet the men and women in the trenches of creation – the coaches out there helping plant the seeds of determination and skill development are typically volunteering parents. As a result, it is easy to assume that the system works and that the most talented athletes will eventually rise to the top. However, it is quite possible that this “wait-for-the-fire-to-ignite-within” approach to skill development and commitment levels in the sport of track and field is selling our future elite athletes short.
Imagine a young musician, artist or scientist delaying the development of their skill-set simply to avoid burnout. As coaches and parents, we oftentimes sit back, waiting for the young athlete to find their passion – as if it is sleeping within simply waiting to be awoken. A new joint study by researchers from Yale- Singapore and Stanford University states that “the ‘find your passion’ mantra may be a hindrance, distracting the individual from the actualization of their potential.”
In that study, researchers asked the question, “Are interests there all along, waiting to be revealed or must a spark of interest be cultivated through investment and persistence?” From the results of this study, it appears that developing and nurturing passion can be highly effective, particularly when compared to taking a wait and see approach. With more deliberate action, it becomes the responsibility of the participant and their network of support to help grow that “passion” through a systematic plan of logical progression and pedagogy.
So, how does this apply to your elite junior high track and field athlete? Maybe, it is time to rethink the traditional model in our sport of waiting for that inner fire to ignite or for the tangible line in the sand to be crossed at a particular age. Perhaps, with a sound training plan and the right encouragement – we can develop these middle school athletes into highly successful high school, collegiate and post-collegiate runners by getting them started earlier.
We must ask ourselves how do we start developing this passion in a healthy manner. A former runner of mine at Columbia University and highly touted author, David Epstein (See – The Sport’s Gene) suggests that positive feedback is linked to higher performance. He cited research by sports psychologist
Christian Cook in which subjects performed better and were less likely to repeat mistakes when they were given positive feedback at an early age of participation. “I don’t know if it’s counterintuitive that positive feedback works, but it’s not the intuitive way for [coaches] to act,” Epstein says, explaining that coaches naturally identify what’s wrong and instruct athletes how to improve. “If you had to choose between needing feedback when we did something wrong or when we did something right, I’m convinced now it’s when we did something right. And that’s when people don’t give feedback,” he says. “They pay attention to what’s wrong.” So, during this time – clap before correcting. There will be plenty of time to correct in the future.
Epstein’s thoughts were reiterated in a recent article by Jenny Anderson entitled, “ Parents: Let Your Kids Fail. You’ll Be Doing Them a Favor”. She lists three ways in which we can help younger athletes develop their passion and succeed:
1. Praise efforts, not outcomes (clap before correcting)
2. Cheer like a grandparent, not a parent. (clap before correcting)
3. Realize the coach is your partner, not your adversary.
For a tangible example of how effective helping younger athletes develop their passion can be - look no further than this year’s World Cup. According to Troy Engle (former USMA Head Track and Field Coach and current Director of Coach Development for Sport Singapore), Belgium and France have “Two of the greatest sporting systems and coaching development programs in any sport in the world. Hardly a coincidence that they are among the four remaining team…there is a lot for all of us to gain from their best practices”
To answer the initial question of when is the logical time to get started with a more formalized plan for younger runners hoping to become elite runners. I would suggest somewhere between ages 11-13.
How To Train Like A State Champion – An Inside Look at Dustin Horter’s Championship Season Training Schedule
How To Train For the Mile
Want to run fast at the end of the season? Below you will find the final 13 days of Dustin Horter’s incredible high school running career. Four things to take away from Dustin’s running log:
1. Stay with what got you there – remain consistent.
2. Do not taper too much
3. Don’t press - stay controlled and comfortable during quality work.
4. Communicate with your coach about everything.
His Final Two Weeks:
Sunday – 9 miles @ 6:20 pace. Slower than usual but getting ready for States.
Monday – 6 miles @ 6:23 pace + 4 x 150m in 20-21. Smooth and relaxed run with coach.
Tuesday – 1.5 mile w/u jog – 8 x 400m in 65 w/ 60-90 seconds rest – 2.5 mile cool down. I felt really good and strong. I did not feel like I was pushing myself at all
Wednesday – 6 miles @ 6:24 pace + 4 x 150m in 20-21. Slowly drawing back on intensity, but keeping mileage consistent. I felt very relaxed.
Thursday – 1.5 mile warm up +8 x 200m in 29 – 1.5 mile cool-down. I spiked up for this one. This workout was the easiest I have felt all week.
Friday – 4 miles at 6:49 pace at 7:00 am to get as much rest as possible before tomorrow + 4 x 150m in 20-21.
Saturday – Ohio State Meet – 4:06.96 (1st), 9:05.88 (3rd)
Sunday – 6 miles @ 6:21 pace. Staying consistent with what we have been doing to get ready for the national meet. Kept things pretty chill – no long run this week as my coach and I decided not to consider mileage this week at all. We decided to supplement harder workouts for missed mileage.
Monday – 1.5 mile easy + 400m in 58, 2 x 300m in 44, 600m in 1:28 – 800m recovery jog – 4 x 200m in 26-27 – 1.5 mile cool down. Overall this was a great day for me and a confidence booster going into the weekend. I felt comfortable and controlled!
Tuesday – 6 miles @ 6:11 pace + 4 x 150m in 20-21. Pretty easy day.
Wednesday – 1.5 mile warm-up -8 x 200m in 29 – 1.5 mile cool-down. This is basically my go to tune-up before big races (see above). Felt great, other than it being so hot out.
Thursday – 4 miles @ 6:40 pace . Nice jog with some friends out in Seattle – a lot of talking and laughing. Followed run with 4 x 150m.
Friday – Brooks PR Invitational – 4:04.68 (1st)
How They Trained In College
Johnny Gregorek
2017 World Championship 1500m Finalist - USA
Cross Country Prep - Sophomore Year
July 2011
Monday - 9 miles at 6:50 pace
Tuesday - 8 miles at 7:15 pace + 4 x 100m strides
Wednesday - 10 miles at 6:30 pace
Thursday - 8 miles @ 6:22 pace
Friday - 2.5 miles easy – 6 sets of 3 minutes on (xc pace) / 2 minutes easy + 2.5 miles easy
Saturday - 10 miles at 7:15 pace
Sunday - 14 miles at 6:15 pace
Training with Olympic Gold Medalist William Tanui and Fast Track Recruiting
Want to train like an Olympic Gold Medalist from Kenya? If so, William Tanui has provided Fast Track Recruiting with unmatched access to the inside through an open discussion about how he trained. Below is a summary of the Kenyan training philosophy and practices following the conclusion of their outdoor season.
NOTE: William Tanui was the 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in the 800m and placed 5th in the 1500m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Tanui has PR’s of 1:43.30 in the 800m, 3:30.58 in the 1500m and 3:50.57 in the Mile.
Phase I – rest
You need to fully recover, both mentally physically, from your previous season. I suggest a complete shutdown. Use this time to ensure that you are completely recovered and fully prepared to resume training.
Editor's Note: Kenyan runners place a high premium on rest - "complete rest". It is imperative that you incorporate this phase into your summer training as it is equally as important. In the US system, we are often extremely impatient and rush back to training and quality running way too quickly.
Phase II – General Preparation - During this phase, your focus should be on leisurely low-end aerobic work. I suggest focusing on very easy running and cross training during this phase – swimming, biking and strength training. Everything should be performed at a low intensity. In the prime of my career, I would perform five two-hour sessions per week. I would advise that you start with a much lower goal duration.
Editor's Note - The Kenyans use this time to develop a massive aerobic base with low-intensity work. Many of the top collegiate programs loosely adhere to this same philosophy as most good programs avoid quality work as they ascend to full volume.
Phase III – Early Season
During this phase, we start to increase the intensity. At this point, you should start doubling when appropriate. You should focus on high-end aerobic work during this phase through progression runs, runs at a steady pace and hilly runs ( Editor's Note - read Run With The Buffaloes or research old-school Arkansas training). This is a great time to focus on hill repeats to strengthen your quads. We also perform two days of strength work a week to strengthen our arms for the push to the finish line.
Phase IV – Late Season
This phase will be the most intense period of your training. We do traditional interval work two days a week, if not racing. We do a great deal of ladder work, often including short speed reps toward the end of the session. We also did a fartlek session once a week in a wide open field where the focus was on very fast running.
Look for future articles from William Tanui about coaching, international recruiting and other subjects related to running and track and field.
See how 2017 World Championship 1500m FInalist, Johnny Gregorek trained over the summer while in college here: https://www.fasttrackrecruiting.com/training-blog/2018/1/18/how-they-trained-in-college