The word Endurance takes on many different
meanings depending on who one talks to. When speaking to a
distance runner, one usually thinks of long slow mileage done to
build a base. Endurance in the sprint world takes on a whole new
meaning. The longest race run by a sprinter is a 400.
The question then becomes how do we efficiently train a sprinter to run
several qualifying rounds of a given sprint? Is long slow distance
on the roads appropriate? We at Gugly.com feel that sprint endurance is
far different than the program undertaken by most distance runners.
The following is a general guide to building a sprint endurance base.
- Extensive Tempo Runs.
These are runs from 100 to 600 meters. They are done at 70 to
79% of an athletes maximum time for that distance. Recovery
times range from 45 seconds for 100's and 200's up to 3 minutes for
600's. Volume is usually 1000 meters up to 2400 meters.
These workouts can be used extensively in early season to build a
base, or in middle to late season as a recovery day. Extensive
tempo runs train both aerobic power and aerobic capacity.
- Intensive Tempo Runs. These
workouts range from 80 meters to a maximum distance of 350 meters.
The intensity goes from 80 to 89%, but again with shorter rest
periods. A typical rest interval would be 2 minutes for 80
meters done at 85% up to 5 minutes for a set of 300's done at 89%.
Maximum volume for this type of set is 1500 meters. These
types of workouts are usually done in the mid to late part of the
season.
- Mixed Tempo Runs. These
workouts closely resemble the distance runner's Fartlek run.
They are usually done as follows: 90 seconds of up tempo
running, then switch to 10 seconds of all out sprint, and then
back to 90 seconds of up tempo, followed by a 10 second sprint.
This is done for 3 changes of tempo. A variation of this is
4-1-30; 4 minutes steady state, followed by 1 minute up tempo,
finishing with 30 seconds of hard sprint. The maximum volume
here is no more than 2 sets with 5 minutes rest between sets.
These workouts are usually done in early season or even in
preseason.
- Long Speed Endurance. This
type of work is very intense and as the name implies is done at 95
to 100% intensity. Maximum distance on a single run is 450
meters with a recovery time of 7-10 minutes. Total volume here
is no more than 900 meters. These workouts are done in late
mid-season and early late season.
As you can see building endurance for a
sprinter is much different than building endurance for a distance
runner. Running long slow miles at any time actually hurts a
sprinter. Sprinters are sprinters because they have a predominance
of fast twitch muscle fiber. Running long slow distances builds
more slow twitch fiber needed by distance runners.
Run fast, run smart, and build a solid
sprint base with sprint style training.
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