Below was a comment I received the other day after asking a masters client how he felt after his speed workout?
“ I feel great. I was just telling somebody how there is nothing like it- u can do all of the running and football playing and weightlifting you want but getting on the track in spikes is amazing work “.
It seems that people love to run fast. And I have noticed it’s not just sprinters, but there is a varied group of people young and old who want to feel what it is like to put on spikes and run with the wind.
Running fast is tricky. It’s like maintaining a Ferrari I was once told. It can be a lot of fixing and changing. and tending to factors that need some judgement and judgment requires lots of knowledge and experience.
Race cars can be hypersensitive. Some say so can sprinters…;) … ( I am not sure I agree.....)
Routine maintence ( therapy of many kinds) is essential. I have found this apect of training is categorically miss understood ,overlooked not spoken of much as a necessary part of high level performance of all kinds but especially sprinting.
Finally when the timing is right and the car has been polished and or the athlete is prepared the running of a fast car or sprinting of an athlete can be likened to something out of a sci fi movie……
Routinely I have read blogs about recipe training because I suppose people love to know “ How do I sprint fast?” I understand what drives the desire for a recipe. The reason is that coaches and athletes wish to understand in a clear, easy and timely way just how to perfect something that seemed so easy as a child but gets harder as we age and more difficult still to execute running fast and to be the very best at running fast.
Coaching and training a sprinter is about the variability which exist from day to day and sometimes hour to hour and judgements in this time frame are critical. I have found that teaching people how to make a judgement is tough to do.
The idea of make a constant judgement is what makes writing training manuals about sprinting tough as well. How do you capture the essence of what makes people fast ? A discussion about passion, a discussion about the process and a discussioin about sprinting based on facts and science are all helpful when thinking about how to create information for coaches and sprinters... and it seems odd to say but it’s important to not be in a hurry once you have digested all this information.
This was something I read recently which I have found is miss leading. It’s the idea that if you follow what has been writing below you will develop speed.
A good workout to develop speed ( under 7 second sprint ) is 2 or 3 sets of 4 x 30 meters with full recovery (walk back to the blocks, about 4-5 minutes).
What about the warm up? And what is full recovery? And why are you starting with 30 meters if the person you are coaching hasn’t done a good job at 10 meters yet and then 20 meters? I think if you are prepared to talk about how to develop speed you need to also be prepared to discuss a few of the things that preceed that judgment. Often, the magic of sprining begins with all the things going on at home which include the meals, the nutrtion and extensive regeneration and all the other preparations to create the ideal " performance getting" environment.
No matter who the person is, a typical starting point to begin the development of speed is far away from a specific written sample as shown above. Rather , as many things worth while in life it takes time and effort and interst in the topic and some studying too to find the correct recipe that works best for you.
In my next blog I will write out a few sample beginnings to what I used to do and still do now with young kids and anyone who wants to start running faster.
I hope you experiencing luck when it comes to your desire to be fast what ever that scenerio looks like. If I am able to offer you a note of wisdom I would be happy to hear from you.
Best to you,
Angela Coon
5 comments
Hello Memorysight
Thank you for your note.
Sprinting is exhilarating and fun to be able to do. For this reason it’s a great idea to manage your ability to sprint so you might be able to continue to perform it well into your later years.
The big toe takes a lot of abuse and use when running fast. As you may know the health of your feet is very important. Have you tried things like stretching your feet while taking baths and or hot showers? Using paraffin wax baths and or contrasting wax with ice cold water in a bucket you can buy at any local hardware store?
Routine icing will be annoying and not so comfy but effective. Try the classic bag of frozen peas as a therapy tool or use styrofoam cups filled half way with water frozen as that was my favorite.
Lastly, it’s worth while understanding a bit about gout. It’s uric acid and I have experienced this issue in the past but no more. Our feet and our hands need excellent circulation for proper function and health. Circulation can be compromised with diets that are not agreeing with us.
These are just a few ideas I’ve practiced personally as well as professionally to keep athletes in their game, safely and without pain. Pain is telling you something and you don’t have to listen unless you are prepared to possibly pay a hirer price into the future for not listening.
Good luck and “Sprint your own race”
Angé
I love sprinting and its really improved my life both mentally and physically. My toe occassionally gets really sore after a hard session. It might be arthritis from doing many many pushups in the past. Any thoughts to minimize or help the pain? I use Kratom when its really bad for its analgesic properties.
Hi, I have been running for many years and am 22 and I have emproved am more faster than ever .my best time is 10.7 seconds in 100 metre . And I need someone who can teach me more and help me reach my goal in sprinting so where can I sign up for all that
Thank you for your comments Bob.
I wonder if the comments below are helpful to you?
From a member in our forums at www.charliefrancis.com
Coach ( Charlie ) Francis taught me a lot of things (training theory, mechanics etc), but what I use most isn’t workout progressions or things like that, its the ability to make decisions daily. This blog sums it up great! Example from this week = With not so good weather right now, day to day is based on weather and how to manage what was done the prior days and what we need to do in the future days etc. It’s the judgement to do certain things daily, which has allowed me to be successful with the runners I work with. How do I handle the kids who are sore, stiff, aches and pains. How do I adapt given conditions, what races they run etc.
I think one thing that is difficult to master is sprinting after the initial drive. A lot of athletes between 20 toward 30 can achieve nearly 95 percent of max velocity…it’s that next 30m after that where they are trying to find the top end, and that takes patience and relaxation, form, and mindset.