Speed and endurance training for fast track and field runs

Running trials for speed conditioning in athletics are of three types:

Short 30m sprints: starting from standing and from the blocks; stimulates the ability to accelerate;
Progressives over distances of 60-80m: progressive acceleration up to 40m and maintaining speed; stimulates the perception of changes in the structure of the step. The time is measured in the last 20m;
Sprint over distances of 60-80-100m: starting from standing or from blocks (according to the age of the athlete); evaluation of the starting and acceleration technique, as well as of the rhythm of the race and of the launched phase. The timing is measured in the first half and in the second half of the test.

A good distribution of capacities between the first and second phase includes a difference of the 2 parts of about 7 tenths of a second; in the event that the gap is greater, it would become essential to fill the gaps in the strength capacities that support the start or others that guarantee the launched speed:

First 30m of running: the explosive capacity and the elastic capacity are more involved
Last 30-70m: the expression of strength is supported by the recessive and elastic effect of the anti-gravity muscles (calf - foot rebound).

Endurance training for fast track and field runs

Muscle endurance is an extremely broad, heterogeneous and multi-faceted capacity; in order not to be too distracting and avoid dwelling on the physiology of training concepts (useless at this level, as they should already be well established in the coach's mind), we will summarize resistance in the following way:

Resistance to speed or anaerobic A-lactacid (substrate: already fixed ATP and creatine-phosphate)
Anaerobic endurance or LACTACID capacity (uses the energy produced by the breakdown of glucose broken down by muscle glycogen, first into pyruvate and then into lactate)
General or aerobic endurance (uses energy generated exclusively in the presence of oxygen).

For all three types of resistance, the supply POWER is considered as a reference parameter, i.e. the ability to supply energy in the unit of time; the workouts proposed, generally, aim to develop more than one of the other components, however , There is never a breakdown of metabolisms or capacities stimulated during practical exercises.

1) Speed endurance training for fast track and field runs

Resistance to speed is the ability that allows you to maintain HIGH and CONSTANT, for as long as possible, the speed of the race; it mainly exploits the anaerobic lactacid mechanism.
The limitation of this system is not induced by the insufficiency of the energy mechanisms, but by the nervous system which is not able to sustain the repetition of the highly intense and frequent effort; in practice, the improvement of resistance to speed is based on the " € ™ efficiency of the nerve delivery of the stimuli necessary for equally effective muscle contractions.
The most effective method of speed resistance stimulation is repetition of 60-80-100m sprints at an "€ ™ intensity of 93-95% of the annual record, with short breaks between reps and long breaks between sets. An incremental protocol could include:

Initially (student category), 5-6 pairs of repetitions for the sprinters and 8-10 for the 400 runners, 60m long, with breaks of 3 "€ ™ between them and 7" € ™ between the series
Subsequently, the "€ ™ increase in repetitions and reduction in series, with a consequent decrease in long breaks and an increase in short ones (greater specificity of work)
Subsequently, towards the age of 19, it is possible to reach a workload equal to 4-5 series of 5x60m for the 400ists
Finally, the latest evolution of the table provides for an increase in the distance to 80m or 100m for resistant sprinters.

This kind of training boasts a good adaptability and allows you to increase the walking speed at the same time; it is a type of training ideally inserted in the cycles preceding the special one and before competitions while, on the contrary, it is not used during indoor training. In subsequent cycles, fast endurance is supported by speed tests.

2) Lactacid anaerobic resistance training for fast track and field runs

In young athletes, this training is not very effective due to the scarcity of glycolytic enzymes and specific cellular transporters, while (from a physiological point of view) the maximum values of the various cellular parameters are reached at about 18-19 years; it is therefore advisable to differentiate the table especially on the basis of the age group.

Up to the age of 14-15, these tests represent more a verification of the growth condition than a real training; they must therefore be few in number (2-3 tests) with distances between 150 and 500m
From 16 to 19 years of age, training becomes systematic and progressive; trials of 150-500m are used, divided into medium (150-200-250m) and long (300-400-500m) distances.
Up to the age of 17 there are no methodological differences between sprinters and 400ists and the travel time must be around "€ ™ 85-90% of the ceiling on the chosen distance. The maximum volume provides for total distances of 900-1200m and only afterwards is it possible to they will reach 1500m total for sprinters or 2000m for 400ists.
The breaks are between 8 "€ ™ and 12" € ™ in relation to the chosen intensity.

3) Aerobic endurance training for fast track and field runs

It is a metabolism whose limit is imposed almost solely by the availability of substrates; obviously, the balance of the aerobic metabolism is compromised when the intensity of effort exceeds the disposal threshold of the "€ ™ lactic acid generating its accumulation in the tissues and blood.
Running can be used in several ways to stimulate the two main components underlying aerobic endurance:

Aerobic capacity
Anaerobic power

The aerobic endurance workouts useful for athletics sprinters are:

Continuous running at a gentle pace: low revs, at least 35-45 "€ ™ (aerobic capacity only)
Continuous, fast and uniform race: it represents the evolution of the previous one but, to increase its speed, it is also necessary to decrease the km traveled; once the ability to run at least 4-6km discreetly is reached, the only parameter to be change will be the speed itself and not the distance (towards aerobic power)
Continuous and progressive running: consists of running a predetermined distance, progressively increasing the speed (aerobic power)
Continuous running with variations of pace / speed: you cover a determined distance equal to a fast short, alternating fast stretches with slow stretches, without excessively straining the muscles with the production of lactic acid (aerobic power)
Split tests: medium-long runs alternate with rest breaks; distances are between 300m and 1000m (depending on the nature of the specific discipline) for a total of 3-4km or 4-6km (aerobic power)
Mixed fractional tests: it is a variant of the previous one which is carried out above all for the 400ists in the cycles preceding the competitions; the goal is to continue to work both in lactic acidosis and in aerobiosis; in practice, the last repetitions of the fractional tests are replaced with as many much faster but with greater recoveries (aerobic power).

Up to the age of 15 it is necessary to give a lot of space to the continuous and gentle running which, gradually, evolves continuously and fast; from 16-17 years old there are still no differentiations between sprinters and 400 riders because even the sprinters perform the 400m races.In the following years, however, the sprinters will perform aerobic power training MA only in the transition phases of the competitive periods.
Until the age of 17, therefore, in the preparatory period for indoor competitions, all the training sessions listed above are used and in all cycles except the pre-competitive and the competitive one, in which only the fractional and mixed work are left. lactacid.
From the age of 18 onwards, the 400ists differ significantly from the sprinters for the high volume of work focused on aerobic power; in summary, they will perform:

3000m in medium and medium-long sections (300-600m)
4000m of short fast
4000m of progressive
400-5000m with variations of pace
1600m of mixed stages with the addition of two fast stages and relative long breaks.

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