Speedendurance.com is one of the premier websites in the world regarding anything having to do with the speed development of athletes, particularly those in track and field. Creator, Jimson Lee has probably forgotten more about sprinting than most of us coaches have managed to learn in our lifetime. Jimson does a wonderful job picking the brains of the best and brightest coaches out there, but I felt that far fewer sites have taken the opportunity to take advantage of Jimson’s knowledge.
For this week’s interview, I have asked Jimson Lee five questions on some historical and practical aspects of building speed for athletes.
What are some of the primary differences in ways sprinters have been coached since you have been an athlete until now?
Jimson Lee: Believe it or not, when I trained with Dennis Barrett at McGill University from 1984-1993, the ONLY method I was aware of was the long to short. Dennis had success when he was an athlete in the USA on a scholarship when he was competing, so he used his knowledge from the late 1970’s to his athletes from 1984 onwards.
Even our rival school, Sherbrooke University, was doing long to short under the guidance of Richard Crevier, and he had success with his sprinters.
It wasn’t until I moved out west after I retired from open T&F where I met Mike Murray, the coach of Peter Ogilvie and Canada’s 4×100 relay coach at the time (92 & 96). That was my first time hearing about short to long. Then I attended a Charlie Francis seminar in 2002 and he re-enforced short to long as well.
Finally, when I started my Blog in 2007, I started researching more about training, and discovered Clyde Hart using long to short, or “very long” to short.
At then end of the day, it really comes down to individualization. I feel if you get a 20.80 200m kid out of high school, as long as you don’t get him injured, ANY kind of training will get him to run 46-47 point. You just have to tailor it to get him down to 45 or 44.
What are some of the biggest things you feel we can learn from ways sprinters have been coached in the past?
Jimson Lee: I think it’s pretty clear that injuries are the biggest setback. You need a perfect injury free season, or seasons, to get to the peak level. 110mH Aries Merritt 2012 season is a good example… Olympic gold and WR. See #4 in this article:
Aires Merritt: 7 Steps to Success
The other is work capacity. You need to be an athlete first before you can become a sprinter. To use a silly cliché, “The Hay is in the Barn”, you have to have some kind of work volume under your belt to be able to compete in the long haul. Long seasons, multiple rounds, single day multi-events, multi-day competitons… you can’t have a lazy kid if you want success, unless you are genetically gifted like Usain Bolt, and train the bare minimum just to win.
I’m being terribly vague here, but train hard, train smart, recover well, and stay out of injuries. That really sums it up without trying to push any silly gadget or magic supplement.
What are three staple workouts for a 100-200m sprinter?
Jimson Lee: I like to break down my workouts based on Energy systems, and that is durations of 0-1 sec, 1-7, 7-15, 15-40, and 40+ sec. (people can google exercise physiology and get more info on those systems)
Any classic workout using ladders or pyramids are great, which means varying the distances. Over several years, I like doing the 4×30, 30, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150 workout with full recovery. That takes years to achieve because if they don’t make the time at the distance, then we stop the workout. No use running a 120 or 150 if you are collapsing at the 100m run.
For my 200m guys, I like 6×150 in the fall when the weather is bad (shorter recovery, slower runs) and finally get them to 3×150 95% speed, full recovery, without blocks (say, 10-15m fly in). Based on their fly 150m, I can extrapolate the 200m time with blocks.
For 100m guys, nothing compares to doing actual block workouts of up to 30m, so any combination (i.e. 2x4x30m) with FULL recovery is vital. How many we do depends on the time of season, weather, etc.
What are three staple workouts for a 200-400m sprinter?
Jimson Lee: This answer depends on if you are using the long to short approach, or short to long.
With long to short, you are never running the actual race speed you need until very late in the season. So a lot of overdistance work (i.e. 500m, 600m) at much slower speeds. Plus loads of lactic producing medium-intensity butt-lock workouts. So this workout would be the classic 600-500-400-300-200-100 workout.
For short to long, I would aim for 2 sets of 40 seconds, or 2 x 325m with full recovery. Now, I would start at 2 x 250m and they must hit a target time before you move them up to only 2x280m. Then 2×300, and finally 2×325. Only Michael Johnson can do 2 x 350m under 40 seconds! Do not move them up the next distance until they can run near top speed and attain that speed, hence the term speed endurance.
Lastly, for race modelling, I like 3 x 200m with blocks at 1 sec slower than your 200m PB, full recovery. This, of course, is the first 200m of a 400m race pace!
What are some critical areas of sprint technique and mechanics that you would typically have your eye on when assessing a sprinter?
Jimson Lee: The lack of raw strength and power is usually the root cause for bad mechanics, other than the obvious anatomical differences.
Take a look at a primary school or high school track meet and it’s pretty obvious, when compared to the NCAA or Olympic level. The primary difference is strength and power. But you have to start with the footstrike, and go all the way up the chain, including the space between the ears 🙂
So other than posture, I look at arm swing, stride length… so those are probably the first 3 to look out for.
It’s like writing a blog or book. Writing is easy. Re-writing is hard.
Same with running. Running fast is natural. Running very fast is a skill that can be honed and must be trained and corrected.
More about Jimson Lee
Jimson Lee is a Masters Athlete and Coach. He was the President of the Metro Athletic Club based in Vancouver. He is the coach and founder of the world-famous speed training website, www.speedendurance.com.
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