Busy week!
I’m in the USATF Level 1 coaches certification course Monday and Tuesday. It’s been pretty interesting so far, although long. Today has been particularly long for me, as we’re spending 3 hours talking about throws… not anything I’ll ever touch or have an interest to touch.
Although, I DID earn a ribbon in a junior high meet in the shot put (not just a participatory ribbon!)…. yeah, junior high track programs :).
The endurance section was really helpful. It was interesting to have insights into what Scott Christensen from Stillwater has his men’s team doing, and why. It’s very different from what most coaches will do – very speed based – but obviously works very well. I did some online searching and found this great synopsis: http://runbic.blogspot.com/2009/03/scott-christensen-notes-from.htmlhttp://runbic.blogspot.com/2009/03/scott-christensen-notes-from.html
Per him, in order to win in the mile and two mile, you need to be able to close in a 51. How do you teach someone to close like that? His answer: just make them faster. VO2 max work every week. Lots of speed work and minimal mileage.
For the 800m/1600m 12 day cycle:
Day 1 – VO2 Max workout
Day 2 – Hills
Day 3 – Long Run
Day 4 – Special Endurance 1
Day 5 – Recovery Run
Day 6 – Race
Day 7 – Special Endurance 2
Day 8 – Tempo Run
Day 9 – Recovery Run
Day 10 – Speed Endurance
Day 11 – Recovery Run
Day 12 – Speed
For the 1600m/3200m 9 day cycle:
Day 1 – VO2 max workout (Date Pace)
Day 2 – Hills/Speed (Max Effort)
Day 3 – Recovery Run (Date Pace)
Day 4 – Special Endurance 1 (Goal Pace)
Day 5 – Recovery Run (Date Pace)
Day 6 – Race (Date Pace)
Day 7 – Long Run (Date Pace)
Day 8 – Special Endurance 2 (Goal Pace)
Day 9 – Tempo Run (Date Pace)
The Long Run is 20-25% of weekly mileage, at 70% vVO2 max
Example of VO2 max work: 4×1 mile with equal rest using Daniels vDot
Special
Endurance 2: 10 x 500 meters at near max effort on grass, barefoot
(work up to this) with 3-5 minutes rest
Special Endurance 2: 8 x 400 at 5 seconds faster than 1600 pace with 3 minutes rest (on track)
Special Endurance 1: 2 sets of 3×300. 3 min between rep, 5 between sets. Goal pace at .35 season 800 goal pace
Special Endurance 1: 6 x 45s fast, 2 min jog in between
Speed Endurance: 6×150 almost all out, 4 min rest
Speed: Up to 12 x 30 meter all out with 4 min jog rest (4 mile cool down)
Tempo: 6-7k at 92% VO2 max; 8-9k at 90%
Some of these workouts change once you’re trying to peak like:
Special Endurance 2 – 4×500 with 15 min rest – current 800 pace x .59
Special Endurance 1 – 6×200 near max with 8 minutes rest
… obviously, very different from other systems, which is why I’ve enjoyed hearing from him and picking his brain.
We also discussed HR zones, which is always interesting to me. Scott does things more off of VO2 max times, which he defines as your mile pace for a 2 mile all-out effort. It gets you to generally the same paces. 60-65% of VO2 max = recovery, 70% VO2 max = long run, 85-90% = Anaerobic threshold (lactate threshold), VO2 max = 97-102%.
Apparently Scott also does a bit of writing as well (he said he’s written 50 so far… 3/month), but I haven’t been able to find those links online. I’ll post a comment here if I find it. If you know where they’re at, please comment and leave a link here!
Here’s a recent Runner’s World article on the Stillwater system as well: http://www.runnersworld.com/high-school-training/stillwater-system?page=single
Then onto the Gustavus Run Camp Wed-Thursday… and then leaving for a week long vacation to Denver. Fun but busy week!
