Monday, March 29, 2010

Practice during break

You need to figure this out on your own based on several factors:
Your health. Are you hurt or fatigued?
Facilities. What do you have access to? (weights, outdoor track, indoor track, other)
Weather. Is it good enough to go outside?
Needs. What areas are you most trying to improve? (conditioning, technique, speed, strength)

Strength (2 or 3 times during the break)
Stick with our weight protocol if you can. If you can’t access enough free weights for the deads, you can substitute using cleans, step ups or squats. If you only can access machines, you can use leg press or hack squat machines. If you only have bodyweight to work with, do single leg squats and add plyometrics – quick hopping – within a minute after a set. If you don’t do weights at all, do more vigorous plyometrics with less emphasis on quickness and more on power – big hops, skips, bounds and jumps (dropping off a 2-foot platform, landing and springing upward quickly). Keep the total number of ground contacts for plyos to about 50 (5x10 or 10x5, for example). If you do them in conjunction with the lifting – about 9 contacts per set.

Skill (1 or 2 times – preferably on a strength day)
If you can access hurdles, do the drill work as per usual and if the weather is good, you can do some fast stuff over 3 to 5 hurdles (discounted distance and/or height). Keep the total volume around 20 to 30 hurdles total. If the weather is poor, you can still hurdle, but don’t worry about speed. Do up-and-back hurdles using 4 or 5 hurdles in one direction, 5-stepping up and then 5-stepping back over 4 or 5 more set in the other direction. You can spread them out a little longer than normal for the 5-stepping. You also could do this with 3-stepping but pull them in 2-4 feet or more.

For intermediates, work on rhythm between 3 to 5 hurdles. Run the 3 to 5 and then walk the remaining part of the track and go again. Total number of hurdles about 15 After that, do a couple randomly spaced hurdles on the curve and/or straight to work on your ability to position yourself to take off at an appropriate distance from the hurdle and to work with either leg as it comes up. Time permitting, you always can do drill work and oppo work after the main part of the workout to work on technique.

If you have access to field event equipment and facilities, you could do some work there, too, especially approach work for jumps. You could do some jumps if conditions are good enough.

Speed (1 or 2 times – preferably on a strength day)
If you are outside, you can do some longer flys, 5x35 is good for now (if you are on a track marked for 300/400 meter hurdles, it’s the distance between hurdles. Use about 25m for a fly-in and then time the segment if you have a stopwatch. Run reps until your time drops off by 2 tenths compared to your fastest of the first 3 reps, but run no more than 7. Take 4-5 minutes rest between each. After 5, you can reduce the recovery by a minute if you want.

Conditioning (between the speed or skill days)

Extensive tempo runs on grass work well here – run on a football field, running the long sides and walking the short sides. These are fast strides -- not all out sprints. There are lots of other things you can do for general conditioning: medicine ball work, calisthenics, biking, other sports and such. The key here is that whatever you do, keep intensity low, volume high, recovery short.

Rest – don’t train every day. Take a day or two off. If you are hurt or tired, even more.

Stuck inside? Do a bodyweight circuit.

3/27 results

At Memphis.

Kevin broke his school record in the 110H. Several other notable performances, including Jim's debut in the 400H, just a few tenths off the school record. Tim was close to a PR in the 400H, and Tim, Eric and Emily had solid showings in the highs as did Joe in the HJ.

Kevin 15.44 [4th - #1 all time]
Emily 16.51 [#2 all time]
Tim 17.46 61.71
Eric 17.51 67.68
Tom 65.53
Jim 57.88 [6th-#2 all time]
Joe 5-8.75 [6th]
Karly 4-4
Kathleen 4-2
Andy NH

Monday, March 22, 2010

Practice schedule: 3/29 - 4/1

This is tentative:
M-Tim, Eric, Kevin -- HH OUTSIDE
T-HJ INSIDE
W-Emily, Leah -- HH OUTSIDE
T-Tim, Eric, Jim, Tom, Carol -- 400H OUTSIDE
F- Off

Practice highlights 3/15 -3/19

Karly put together a number of splits in the 1.3s and Carol in 1.4s.
In 400H action, splits for 7H-5H-3H (-3/-3"m/headwind):
Tom 39.9 27.8 16.2
Jim 36.7 25.4 15.8
Eric 43 28.4 17.3
Tim 39.1 26.9 16.2
Carol 45.7 32.2 19.7

Monday, March 15, 2010

Lean and hold your lean

We talk about this a lot, but here you can see it at the 2010 World Indoor Championship with Terrence Trammell. Toward the end, you will see some closer and slower replays that show how well Trammell leans in and then maintains the lean over and off the hurdle. If you look at some of the others, they are straightening up before and after the hurdles --not so good. Take a look...

Friday, March 12, 2010

Practice schedule: 3/15 - 3/19

Tentative -- subject to change based on weather.
MO - HH (Tim, Eric) OUT
TU - Pizza (for those who qualified) IN
WE - HH (Kevin, Emily, Leah) OUT
TH - IH (Tim, Eric, Tom, Carol) OUT
HJ at Kern -- on your own or with Lynda/Mike
[typically this will be on TU]
FR - HH (Karly, Leah, Carol) IN

On days you are not scheduled for HH/IH/HJ, you work with your other events.
Be careful not to put high-intensity days back to back.
Full-out hurdling, sprinting and lifting are high intensity.
Technical work, intervals, IH are lower intensity.
When you lift on your own, keep that on a high intensity day.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Practice highlights 3/7 - 3/12

M - Eric ran 9.14 mps on 8.5 fly.
W - Emily ran 8.41 mps on 8.5 fly; Karly 7.94, Leah 7.14.
TH - 10x3H 7-step relative spacing for 17/19 patterns.


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Default workouts

If there comes a day when either I don't make it in, or you don't make it in, and you need a workout, here you go:

Hurdles
1. 5x4 over/unders then 3x 12 elevated pushups, 24 plate twists, followed by 2-3 sets deadlifts at 85% or more. No more than 10 total reps.
2. Swings, skips and sprints (stride>pickup>acceleration>3pt start).
3. Drills: 3x 4H skipovers, 1/2-space 3-step (lower height) 3-4H, 5-step 3H.
4. Pre-race: 3H from stand at -2; 2H from 3pt at -1; 1H block start.
5. Race modeling: 3x4H (-1); 3x2H (-1)
6. Stretch: walking stretches (high knee, toe touch, extreme lunge); wall stretch (ham, hip); foam roll.

High Jump
1. 20 jumping jacks, 10-step acceleration, 10 skips, 10 double-arm skips, 5 circle runs, 5 backovers.
2. 5 full approaches -- 2 or 3 with scissors
3. 5 full approach jumps
4. 5 short approach jumps working on plant and layout
5. Stretch: see hurdles

If you have no equipment access, you can still do the first 2 parts of the workout. Then add plyometrics:
5x up to high box or 4 or 5 stair steps.
5x rebound depth jumps off something about 18" high -- give or take 6"
5x medball ups
5x 2-step single leg basketball backboard jumps reaching up one arm to backboard
That's one set. Do 1 to 3 sets.

 

Saturday, March 6, 2010

3/5 results

Kevin ran 7.84 in the pentathlon hurdles, just .02 off his all-time best.