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I am from NJ and I want to run the 400 faster. My fasted time last year was a 53. I want to get it down to a 48. I have been training all summer doing sprint workouts. My times went down a little but not where I want. What should I do?

If your goal is 48 seconds in the 400 meters you need to break it down. The first 200 meters is run in 23 seconds and the second 200 meters is run in 25 seconds. The differential between the first and second 200 meters is 2 seconds. In order to run 48 seconds, the projected 200 meter best is 21.85. The differential of the first 200 meters and the 200 meter best is 1.15 seconds and your 300 meter split is 35.25. The projected 100 meter best is 10.91 seconds.

The race plan for the 400 meters in 48 seconds:

Run the first 100 meters in 11.73 seconds which is 93% of the 100 meter best
Run the second 100 meters in 11.27 seconds which is 97% of the 100 meter best
Run the third 100 meters in 12.25 seconds which is 88% of the 100 meter best
Run the fourth 100 meters in 12.75 seconds which is 85% of the 100 meter best

The solution to the goal is to gradually work toward your best time in the 100 meters and the 200 meters and the race plan. Use the race times in your workouts. For sprint training workouts refer to the web site under the "Sprint" button for the article "A General Workout for Sprinters". The article has workouts for sprinters and sprinters who run 400 meters.

Coach Payan
www.CoachesEducation.com