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I am currently training for the 55 and 100 meters exclusively. I have been using the concepts Coach Veney talked about in his article on sprinting. However, I have noticed that my 200 meter time is lacking. So, beginning this winter I am going to be integrating the important parts of my speed workouts (50 meter sprints, overspeed training, plyometrics, etc.) with Coach Clyde Hart's 400 meter program.

I noticed in Coach Veney's article a statement regarding lactic capacity: "...then I'm working the lactic capacity (the ability to tolerate lactic acid which deadens the muscle's ability to maintain the power needed to go fast)". My question is whether teaching the muscle to handle lactic acid actually decreases the muscle's explosive power, or if Coach Veney was just saying that lactic acid, itself, "deadens the muscle's ability to maintain the power needed to go fast". If he is simply referring to lactic acid's function, then I am wondering if there is any literature that would indicate a correlation between lactic capacity and explosive power.

Thanks,

ATTowne@hillsdale.edu

Using the workouts based on the systems that I have outlined will create a problem for your 200 if you consider yourself a short specialist (55 - 100 meter). If you begin to incorporate 400 meter training to improve your 200, I have a question.....what is it about running for 45-48 seconds at 8.89 to 8.33 meters per second what will have a significant impact on a 200 at 20.5 to 21.5 seconds (9.75 to 9.30 meters per second) ?

What is it you need? Lactate workouts, power of lactate workouts or strength endurance workouts? Do you want to teach the body lactate tolerance?

run 4x50 meters with 45 seconds rest
jog for 1 minute
150 meters at 95%
jog for one minute
4x50 meters with 45 seconds rest

You have stacked a ton of acid on the legs to operate in the timeframe of the event.

250 meters at 95%
90 seconds rest
150 meters at 95%
12 minutes rest
repeat it again

You are teaching the body to operate in the timeframe and under the power and stress that the race requires.

Do not just do a system, understand the philosophy behind it. I had an 11.0, 22.0, 48.8 high school boy improve to 10.51, 21.09 and 46.84 in two seasons and we never ran farther than 350 meters in the fall or 250 meters in the Winter and Spring. I understood his needs rather than trying to make him fit a training ideal. Can you handle Hart workouts? Can you do the sets and reps?

Are you using his 400 meter workouts, or did you know Clyde has specific workouts for the 200 meters not mentioned in his 400 meter training system? The 200 meters requires you to operate at 98.3% of your average 100 meter speed. Once you find that out, train over and under the distance.

Do your speed work: starts/30/40/50/60 meter runs

Do your speed endurance and special endurance runs: run at race distance and 10-20% over the race distance (250 meters)

Run 150 seconds or less of speed work
Run 500 to 900 meters of total speed work depending on what your body can handle
Can you run 5x200 in 25 seconds with 3 minutes recovery?

That is a tough workout, but how fast is it in comparison to one 200 in 22? What effect are you trying to elicit?

3x60 meters fly with 3 minutes rest
6 minutes
3x60 meters fly with 90 seconds rest
6 minutes
3x60 meters fly with 3 minutes rest

Tough workouts! Change the rest to 90 seconds and increase the rest between the sets, or keep the sets and repetitions recovery low and you have got quite the butt burner on your hands. I am merely giving you options before you follow a system. I have stated what the basis for training is and you have to find out what suits you.

Understand the requirements of the distance and then train it. Some athletes who do not run longer repetitions lose their ability to tolerate the pain, so it becomes mental rather than physiological. If that is the case, then train it by giving them what they want (longer, slower reps with small recoveries), or give them high power, shorter reps with low recoveries to deal with the pain of the higher power outputs.

I hope I have not muddied the waters for you. There just is no easy answer.

Good luck,
Tony Veney