Ideas for Track Athletes and their Coaches

Author: Steve Bennett

I have followed athletics closely since the age of 9. I have competed in Track athletics at the metropolitan level and spent most of my young adult years playing state-level squash.

Important Training Principles

In some event groups (notably Middle Distance), it is important to plan the year so that you perform at your best during the six-week peak. This is especially important in the formative years. However, it does not mean the athlete should expect to perform poorly at any stage in the year. They should be only 4-6 weeks away from good race performances all year.

One month of active rest each year after the peak is of great value. The athlete should ensure that they maintain as much fitness as possible during this time but with minimal Physical and psychological effort.

Recovery In the first four months of the year, we follow a four-week cycle, with every fourth week much easier, or a three-week cycle, with every third week easier.

Relaxed speed sessions are done all year to stay familiar with fast cadence and full range of motion.

All athletes do a core strength program that is mainly done to improve posture and trunk stability.

Pelvic stability and postural improvement is an area of intense focus. See the page of Core Conditioning.

I also recommend Medicine Ball throwing and catching to help stabilize the trunk.

Athletes are encouraged to get massages from a local sports massage therapist as often as possible and to self-massage.
Plunge pool use is also excellent. This involves 3 minutes in warm water followed by 10-30 seconds in colder water. This is alternated 3 times. This aids in recovery. They should also have regular flexibility assessments from a Physiotherapist and follow a structured stretching program to develop adequate flexibility and another program to perform at the track. The stretching should include a variety of stretches, both dynamic and static. All athletes should maintain good levels of aerobic power, which may involve structured or unstructured fartlek or long track sessions for sprinters. Racing every weekend as routine is not recommended. Training and adaptation are the number 1 priority. Time trials or testing can be performed about once every 4 weeks throughout the early stages of training. They are a test of progress and keep the athlete closer to race fitness. So many races are available every week that it would be easy for young athletes to rest and taper all year. This would lead them to injuries and mediocrity. When the real season starts, the athletes should feel eager to race and be able to race hard. I am concerned that too many athletes race too often at levels below their best and weaken their ability to spend themselves when they want to.

Speed Drills, as promoted by Loren Seagrave of Speed Dynamics, seem effective at improving cadence and posture. It is also good because it allows the sprinters to practise being perfect. This is an attitude that needs to be valued. You can't do drills properly (and effectively) unless perfection is pursued. My athletes do speed drills as part of the warmup period at least once per week all year. The sprinters do them at least twice. Each drill is done 3-6 times for 4 seconds. The Video Drills for Speed is a must-have if the Drills are to be learned properly. To develop the skill seems to take at least 3 months of practise for most athletes to master. My squad lately has simplified their drills to just two:
1. Ankling - circular movements of the lower leg maintaining dorsiflexion. Do 6-8 of these over 6-8s.
2. Quick Recovery High Knee Running - they catch their leg early, bring it rapidly up underneath, and keep their pelvis stable. Lift their knees as high as they can without 'sitting'. They do these at varying speeds, maintaining good form, which means no extra bum out or sitting, and keeping their feet dorsiflexed. They do about 6-8 of these over 6-8s at varying speeds.
I have had problems with iron deficiency in a few athletes. They now all have routine FBC and Iron studies done to ensure everything is OK. I gather that ferritin needs to stay above 40 for an athlete to be well in the clear. My endurance athletes now take supplements 85mg once or twice per week.

Most training follows a Hard-Easy day approach. My younger athletes take longer to recover after hard sessions. The challenge is to get the athlete to do everything possible to rapidly replace muscle glycogen and, with that taken care of, design the training to suit the athlete.

The extra factor now being revealed in Science is Neural Fatigue. Any high-intensity training may have lasting negative effects on maximal performance that are not the contribution of muscle fueling or unrestored energy systems. Pay attention to how you or the athletes you coach are affected by any high-intensity training. You may notice that you feel energetic, but your ability to generate high cadences is impaired.

The question often asked is whether it is the athlete's recovery methods (or lack thereof) or too hard a training load that causes fatigue. Hard training requires top-class preparation—ask any Marathon runner or Triathlete!

Lately, I have structured most training weeks
Mon- Track Session (most challenging day)
Tue - Gym/Steady session
Wed- Track Session (hard day)
Thu- recovery day
Fri - easy day
Sat- Competition or Training
Sun- Longer medium-intensity session or Easy+Gym

All athletes are encouraged to fuel up after hard sessions with high-carbohydrate-source drinks, etc. Some research has found that there is a window of opportunity immediately after training within the first 15 minutes for the body to rapidly replenish Glycogen if Carbohydrates are ingested. The recommended amount is about 1.5g/kg body weight of preferably Glucose Polymers. This can be repeated again 2 hours later.

Low Glycogen is the first thing I look for if the athlete is not sick but feels tired from training. After being reminded to eat more and at the right time, they become and stay much fresher.
The benefits of ingesting some protein are also reported immediately after training to enhance repair and growth. The Science behind the theory is related to higher levels of Growth Hormone and Testosterone that result from hard training. This may be a Growth and Repair window in addition to the Glycogen window.  

The quest to be a Great Athlete
A Key Idea

The athletes need to love what they do and create the habit of doing whatever they do well. They need a good community of friends to train with and good support from family and friends. To become a top athlete takes a long time, and the athlete, if they have the natural ability to make it to the top, needs to be in it long enough to see this happen. They stay in it that long because they love what they do and their life involved in athletics. This simple fact will keep them getting up after each lousy experience in their journey.

Maintaining Running Form During Middle Distance Racing

It presents many modern training techniques that will improve athletes' running form and help athletes maintain more speed in the closing stages of races. Training to improve "ease of speed " is missing in many training programs. Available only in E-book format.