[Carl Valle]

Carl Valle on May 21, 2012 at 11:06 pm #18381

Another controversy is the infamous 6 x 160m sprints at 16.4 seconds. Some say it never happened. Some say it was a typo. Some say it was real but don’t want to get into details publicly. Was it a flying run and not a standing start? Did it happen? In order to run 16.6 electronic (practice time) how is it compared to her 200m PB? More importantly when did it happened during the year. Effort is so

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[star61]

star61 on May 22, 2012 at 4:12 am #116431

…Effort is something I don’t care about unless it’s pacing because perceived exertion is not as good as times if you can get them. …

Interesting approach. I know some coaches prefer to stick to pre-planned times in order to stay with their periodization schedule, while others like to push peak performance when the opportunity allows. If you have a speed session planned of 6 x 60 @95% full recovery, and the athlete shows up feeling great and fast and could possibly hit 6 x 60 @97%, are you satisfied if the athlete hits all marks at 95% even if the effort isn’t maximal, or do you ask them to run maximal and see where the times fall?

[Daniel Andrews]

Daniel Andrews on May 22, 2012 at 2:24 pm #116433

Star61:

Show me the athlete who can go out and give 95% and differentiate that from a 90% or 100% effort. I always take times, I tell them to slow it down or speed it up, very good or not good enough. If an athlete is killing times on max effort runs its great, if they aren’t close to getting them we have problems. In sub max efforts the coach knows the percentage, the athlete is supposed to know the times, and on all sub max work it’s the coaches discretion to let the athlete to continue to work at the times they are doing. I don’t know what Carl’s position will be, just expressing my thoughts and how valid I believe Carl’s points to be.

[Carl Valle]

Carl Valle on May 22, 2012 at 9:07 pm #116437

When one is getting FAT times in practice, we see the outcome of the distance or splits if you have multiple timing gates. For example if you are doing 10,30,60m you have three times to look at and communicate with the athlete. In a normal environment you have very little ability to get 5-8 athletes to be shown the video and have extended discussions. I just send the video.

Now I use all out, controlled fast, and smooth. (efforts). I do have goal times based on testing in October if they come to me fit and ready, or we do time trials later. I have had athletes come at different times. The reason I say this is that running a practice to me is similar to a traffic cop. Not much to say but plenty to do. Keep it clear. If we have 4-5 guys line up at the same time, yes that is likely to be maximal effort. If it’s to hit a goal time with technically sound, controlled fast. If it’s to be honest but reloading, it’s smooth.

So long as my eyes show the effort and the clock on the wall says the rest periods are good, I am happy. I rarely do any of the drop type training and depend on times to guide me as I have yet to see someone look great and have bad times that could register fatigue. Times are only objective information you can get instantly. a bad step or jammed hurdle will render a fresh and fast athlete with a slow time, making the clipboard and stopwatch only coaches stopping prematurely. Videos confirm times and time summary like mean, mode, and median type reviews are nice. Attendance, times, rests, medical, social. That’s about it for the track. Video can break down technique if necessary.

feedback is a phrase but rarely breaking down technique. A lot of what I like is harping on the emotional/perception of the athlete and sensations. Over the last years I find that cues are boringly simple. more or less range, posture, relaxation, patience, stepping over, fast hands. Therapy and strength/program design does the details. I like sending the videos after practice. Too many times I made the mistake of showing video for instant feedback and the slow motion or simple overservation didn’t do what we wanted. Jumps is another story.

Most of my time is telling old people to stop running the wrong direction on the track when we are doing flys or getting little kids out of the long jump pit because their moms think it’s a sandbox.

[star61]

star61 on May 23, 2012 at 12:46 am #115378

Thanks Carl. Effort ion the track can be hard to gauge. I asked because many also stick close to per planned numbers in the gym. In the gym, and sometimes on the track, if I am looking for, for example, 4 x 200 @ 85% full recovery and the times are fast because of great effort, I won’t slow them down. I know some coaches will slow them to keep to the planned times.

[Carl Valle]

Carl Valle on May 23, 2012 at 10:52 am #116454

Thanks Carl. Effort ion the track can be hard to gauge. I asked because many also stick close to per planned numbers in the gym. In the gym, and sometimes on the track, if I am looking for, for example, 4 x 200 @ 85% full recovery and the times are fast because of great effort, I won’t slow them down. I know some coaches will slow them to keep to the planned times.

It’s not easy to get precise pacing so I look more on the big three of smooth, maximum “perfect technique”, and full efforts. I just don’t know how one can hit such precise numbers each bout. As one gets more experienced with practice and workouts in general, it becomes near second nature, but keeping it crude is sometimes the only realistic option.