i need help with track...?

Question

i usually run the 400m, 4x100m, 4x400, and 200m, but i've noticed that i'm ok with the speed and what i need to work on is my endurance. I thought that i should join the xc team next fall and i talked to the long distance coach and she gladly said that i should join xc, but then i asked my sprinting coach if i should run xc and he said that if i did that it would ruin my "quick twitch" muscles ...

i'm not sure what to do, because i want to improve my endurance and i want to join xc, but i dont want to make my coach mad


please help me

Answer 1

Running cross country will help your endurance, but your track coach is right about speed muscles. There is a type of cross country training called fartlett where you mostly run sprints followed by slower paced rest periods--if you decide on doing xc that is the type of training you should do. Otherwise a sport like soccer is very good for middle distance runners. It builds endurance but requires alot of sprinting.

Answer 2

Sprinting the 400 and 200M you need to work on speed endurance(high oxygen debt, and a definite lactic acid buildup) not necessarly endurance that you will get in XC. Join XC if you are running anything 800M+
"Fast twitch" (the word is "fast twitch")muscles are for sprinting and you're either born with them and develop them and train them through practices and weight lifting. You can't get more "fast twitch" muscles if you predominately have more "slow twitch" muscle. You can train slow twitch to respond better, but a 3000M Olympic runner will never be an Olympic 100M champ and vice versa.

The 400M is an endurance sprint incorporating the speed of the sprinter and the endurance of the half miler.
Examples of Speed Endurance Workouts
10 x 100 5‑10 minutes rest
6 x 150 5‑10 minutes rest
5 x 200 10 minutes rest
4 x 300 10 minutes rest
3 x 350 10 minutes rest
2 x 450 minutes 10 minutes rest

Make sure that you did some tempo endurance(helps to increase oxygen uptake, which will help to shorten your recovery) time work in the early part of the preseason(conditioning phase)

Examples of Tempo Endurance Workouts
8 x 200 2 minutes rest
6 x 300 2 minutes rest
50‑100‑150‑200‑300‑350M Walk same distance for rest.

All the Endurance running you need for running a 400M is continuous runs of 15 to 45 minutes at a steady‑state speed.
Examples of Endurance Running
15 minutes at steady‑state speed
30 minutes of fartlek running
6 x 800 meters on cross country course with 3 minutes recovery time

Power Speed emphasizes speed of muscle contraction
Examples of Power Speed
short hill runs of about 60 meters
10 x 30 meter harness runs
10 x 10 second fast rope jumps
less than 10 repetitions and no more than 10 seconds per repetition.

Examples of Event Workouts
3 x 300 meters. First 50 meters all out. Next 150 meters, relaxed floating action. All out on last 100 meters. All timed and recorded.
2 x 450 meters. The first 200 meters, 300 meters, 400 meters and final 50 meters are all timed and recorded.
1 x 350 meters. Quality run, with each segment run as if in the 400 race.

Example of Speed Drills done at full speed either on the straight‑away or curve. Rest is usually long between runs in order to give full recovery
6 x 40 meter starts
6 x 60 meter flying starts

Chnage it up for the 200M
Also about listening to your coach. If you are any good and decide to be competitive in track your coach will be the most important thing/person in your life. They become almost family, you'll end up seeing them more tahn your family sometimes through training, travelling to competitions. If you plan on only doing this in high school as someting to do i the spring them I guess it doesn't really matter.

Answer 3

You should definitely join XC. It will only help you, and there's no question that you will build the endurance you need. There's plenty of sprinters on my track team that run XC with us distance runners. And about your "quick twitch" muscles, XC would actually strengthen your muscles. The only drawback is you might feel as though you can't sprint as well when you start sprinting again after XC. That's only because your legs will get used to "XC" pace, but give it a couple of weeks of sprinting, and you will get your leg speed right back, and possibly be even faster because as I said before, XC will strengthen your muscles and give you endurance! I hope you decide to do XC, it will help you, trust me!! :) :)

Answer 4

like yo i am a former div 1 sprinter and she is correct. you should listen to your coach. running xc will not necessarily effect your fast twitch muscles but it will effect your speed. the mechanics of sprinting are different from cross country running. sprinters run with a different stride or (gate) than a cross country runners, runners also run more erect which effects your stride,foot placement and your power out-put. all of these changes will make you less explosive and subsequently slower when it is time for you to run you sprints.

my suggestion obviously is to NOT run xc. i recommend that you open your workouts with a timed 1 mile run, aim to improve your time everyday this is a great workout to improve your endurance. i have listed some workouts that i use to perform to better improve your endurance.
-repeat 400s x 8
-the ladder 600,500,400,300,200,300,400
-repeat 300 x 8-10
-straigtaways 8-10 times sprint the straight aways and jog the curves.
these workouts will help you improve your speed and endurance.
- and one more thing do not sprint hard everyday. after every hard workout your next work should be less intense(but still productive).the body can not handle constant high intensity sprinting everyday. eat properly and get plenty of rest.
good luck

Answer 5

I see that some people on here are telling you to not listen to your coach and I would have to disagree with them. Being a former college track and field sprinter, I know that coaches know what they are talking about and have more experience that the athletes. So I would tell you to go back to your coach and ask for his suggestions on how to build your endurance. Maybe he won't let you do these workouts while you are concentrating on your sprinting drills, but maybe you can do them on the weekend. Swimming is also a great way to work on endurance and strengthens the legs in your muscles that you use to sprint. Good luck!

Answer 6

Everybody has their own unique mixture of fast (or "quick") twitch muscles used for explosive events and slow twitch muscles that would be used for longer repetitive activities such as you might consider useful for cross country. In order to improve in one event or one set of repetitive motions, particularly at a young age, it does not mean you should work exclusively on developing either set of muscles.

The (unfounded) fear that some people carry is that you might overpower the development of fast twitch muscles by doing an endurance related activity. This has never been shown to be true. In fact, endurance is required for many explosive events such as the ones you mentioned. Further, if you have the base of endurance training from cross country and the strength from running up hills, it will be advantageous when you do all of those events, one after another. Without the endurance, your performance will trail off later in the competition.

As for worrying about whether your coach is mad or not, it has always been my experience that coaches get miffed at this or that, but all of that disappears when you cross the finish line faster than you did before. Just make sure you make your coach happy in that respect. :)

Good luck.

Answer 7

it's really hard to be both a distance runner and sprinter. if you want to keep on being a sprinter but with endurance then it's not necessary to join the xc. by the events you mention you don't really need a lot of endurance. try working on it by yourself, don't over do it. because your coach is right. try working on an endurance of 800-1600 m. that's more than enough for your events.

Answer 8

Definitely join xc. Actually, it's really good for sprinters to get long workouts sometimes. XC won't hurt your sprinting muscles, but it will build other ones. It'll be a big step, but go for it!

Answer 9

Your coach does make a good point, but you see, I am a really good sprinter too and i did cross country. It didn't really effect my quick twitch muscles much, but it really did help with my endurance. So, basically, you dont have to worry about anything, its all good. Seriously, i was mostly a sprinter but i tried cross country and it didn't affect my sprinting. So its okay to try cross country, i think you'll be good . Good luck!

Answer 10

do whatever it is you like and not what your coach likes. if your good at running it shouldnt matter what style you run ie. xc or short distance, so i dont know why your coach is telling you not to run xc. so do what ever you want to do, and if they dont like it then too bad. as for endurance this may sound dumb but play tag or do something that involves running for long time. always eat healthy / take your vitamins / stretch