“Get Right for Indoor Race” Workout
by Steve McGill
As we head into the heart of the indoor season for the many athletes in the colder states, I figured now would be a good time to include a workout that focuses specifically on preparing to compete at the indoor distances of 55 and/or 60 meters, over five hurdles.
This workout should be done two or three days prior to a competition, to serve as a sort of race indicator. So, assuming the next meet is on a Saturday, this workout should be done on Thursday, or Wednesday at the earliest, so that the effects of it carry over to the meet.
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This workout would preferably be done on an indoor track if at all possible. Knowing that finding a suitable facility isn’t possible for most of us, then the workout can be done on an outdoor track, with allowances being made for weather. If no track is available, and all you have available are hallways in a school building, then it would probably be best not to do this workout at all because of the danger it would involve.
The Workout
First, the hurdlers should do a full warm-up, like they would do on race day. For kids I coach, that would include a half-mile of ins and outs (sprint the straights, jog the curves), then a series of static stretches followed by a series of dynamic stretching, then sprint drills (A marches, A skips, high knees, duck walks), then put the spikes on, then do three 40m sprints from a three-point or falling start, each one faster than the other (75%, 85%, 95%), then grab a set of starting blocks and do a practice start past the first hurdle, then do a practice start over the first hurdle, then do a practice start over the first two hurdles. All practice starts are done with commands from a coach.
After the warm-up, the coaches should set up all five hurdles. If there are multiple hurdlers, which is preferable, then all five should be set up in at least two lanes, or three, depending on how many hurdlers there are. If there are a lot of hurdlers, like six, then have two heats of three, and mix up the heats each rep depending on ability levels.
The workout consists of three reps over the first five hurdles under the following conditions:
1) Full commands from the coach, just like a start would give in a meet
2) If the workout is being done indoors on a surface similar to that which the athletes will be racing on for the meet, then all hurdles should be on the race marks.
3) If the workout is being done outdoors or an indoor track with a slower surface than the one the athletes will be competing on on race day, then all hurdles after the first hurdle should be moved in one foot.
4) If the workout is being done on an outdoor track on a cold and/or windy day, then you might need to move in all hurdles after the first one two feet instead of just one. Play with it. What you don’t want to happen is that the hurdles are too far apart in the workout, leading to the athletes getting too crowded on race day.
5) The athletes will run the full race distance. So, after clearing the fifth hurdle, they will sprint to the finish line – the 55m mark or the 60m mark, depending on the race distance for that week’s meet.
6) Athletes should take a fifteen minute rest between reps so that all reps can be done at max speed.
7) Have another coach (or coaches) at the finish line to hand-time the athletes. The goal would be for the athletes to run consistently the same as their target race time with automatic timing. So, if the target race time is 8.00, the athlete will want to run 8.0 hand-timed in the practice reps, which would be equivalent to 8.24 converted. An athlete who can run 8.24 consistently in three practice reps should be able to run 8.00 in a meet, especially in a meet with rounds. Remember, the adrenaline factor of a race cannot be duplicated in practice, which is why you can never expect practice times to match expected race times, except for elite professionals.
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