sprints

Keeping up

Blog Posted by kitt at 02:05 on 29 February 2008

Tonight's workout was supposed to be 

8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

I say "supposed to be" because I really didn't want to do the sprints. I whined to Kris about them: couldn't I just run 7-5-4-4 like last time? Maybe 7-5-3-3 instead, like last week? I mean, really, who would notice? Seriously, who?

Kris offered a compromise at 8-5-4-3, if I really didn't want to do the full workout. He offered it, but didn't REALLY seem to be enthusiastic about it. I mean, come on, how much different is 8-6-4-4 from 7-5-4-4? I'm already doing the hard stuff with those extra 50m and 90m sprints, what's a few more 20m and 40m runs? I mean, come on!

Yeah, well, he was right.

Because, that's what I ran: 8x20, 6x40, 4x50 and 4x90. Those last two 90m sprints were HARD. Gah.

FInished in 24 minutes.

Just in time for practice, but not in time to avoid having the team see me running the last few sprints. Why oh why couldn't they have seen me at the beginning of my sprint workout? Like, say, when my legs aren't exhausted?

Back on track

Blog kitt decided around 20:02 on 27 February 2008 to publish this:

I missed yesterday's sprint workout. I was both so burned out from working so hard from Monday morning straight until Tuesday night, which actually meant sitting on my ass for near 27 of those 38 hours, and good lord, does my back hurt.

Since I can't cram for fitness, and let's face it, running for 42 minutes on one day and sitting for two days straight doesn't exactly lend itself to good health, I decided to head out for my sprints.

That, and the fact that 20 minutes before, I realized that I was both still in my pajamas at four in the afternoon, and very, very smelly. No sense in taking a shower before sprinting, only to take one after, so off I went to run.

Today's workout was:

1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides

Once again, I so way did not want to go. I don't know why this is. It's a workout course that I committed to. I guess committing to something and actually wanting to do something are two different things. I don't WANT to do the sprints, but I DO want the results of the sprints. That's what keeps me heading out to the fields and running sprints.

Well, that and Kris' encouragement and Andy's inspiration.

So, the first run was hard, but good. I attribute the difficulty to my attrocious eating habits as of late: good food, just fewer than 1800 calories a day of it. The second run, the first stinkette, was okay, but nothing to brag about. I managed the first few down and backs of the second run before my right foot cramped from the laces being too tight. I stopped, loosened the laces, and started back up again.

Unfortunately, I didn't count the number of stinkettes I was running, and ended up running 3 (and that half). It was only after I finished the third one when I realized the time on my watch, indicating I had run 3 (and a half) and not two.

Whoops.

The four suicides became difficult after my knee started hurting. I had an A.R.T. appointment yesterday, where the doc worked on not only my right hamstring, which has been REALLY bothering me as of late, but also my right shoulder (from THE layout), and my left knee, which has been stiff.

I managed to get my money's worth on that appointment. However, my knee was bothering me during the last three suicides. I had to adjust my cutting style to minimize the pain.

Not that it helped much. I was struck with the worst cramps when I was done sprinting. It reminded me of menstrual cramps, but much, much worse. Like, not able to stand up worse. Not sure I'm particularly pleased about that type of pain, actually.

So, back on schedule with the sprints. Yay, near consistency!

SCU women's workout

The email I sent to the SCU women's team for the season. We started late, so the workouts are cut short.

See also, the Special K workout.

Here's the season workout progression for the season I talked about at practice on Tuesday. We'll miss the last month of the workout (we should have started at the beginning of the year), but we'll still benefit greatly from starting now (like HUGE benefits!). The workouts become hard to the end, but the results are WAAAAAAY worth it.

There are three workouts a week, which should be done on days when we don't practice. If you can, run these in the morning (running in the morning will train your body to be ready to move in the morning at tournaments), though DOING the workout is more important than doing the workout in the morning.

The three workouts are: straight sprints, shuttle sprints and "long" distance running. I've put days in the workout (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday), but you should adjust the days to what works best for you.

IF YOU MISS A WORKOUT (travel, illness, finals, spring break, they happen), run a make up workout as soon as you can (within a few days of the scheduled day). If you cannot do a workout at all, skip the workout and continue with the schedule. If you skip two workouts in a row, don't skip the week, redo it.

IF YOU NEED MOTIVATION, lean on your teammates! Encourage each other. The team grows stronger as the individual teammates grow stronger! Failing that (bah, that will never happen, so I can make this offer...), send me an email. If I'm in town, I'll head down and run with you.

The straight sprints consist of multiples of 20m, 40m, 50m and 90m sprints. For each of these, sprint down as hard as you can. These are 95% sprints, not jogs, not runs, but SPRINTS! After ending the sprint, immediately turn around and jog back to the starting cone. This is a good jog, lift your knees, use your arms. When you're back at the starting cone, start your rest time.

The rest times between sprints are:

20 m = 25 seconds
40 m = 30 seconds
50 m = 45 seconds
90 m = 60 seconds

For the shuttle workouts, there are three types of runs: a stinker, a stinkette and a suicide (or I of pain, if you use that term). These runs are done so that you can FINISH the workout. You want to run as hard as you can (start the first ones at 70% in the beginning so that your final run's 100% time is the same as your first run's 70% time). Concentrate on form on the stops and starts.

For this workout, put markers (cones) at 0, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 25m and 50 m.

A stinker is:

Start at the 0 cone, sprint 50m out and back 3 times in a row for a total of 300 m. If you are feeling really ambitious, do this in under 1 minute 5 seconds. Rest one and a half minutes afterwards. On the last one, pick up the 50m cone.

A stinkette is:

Start at the 0 cone, sprint to the 25m cone and back 6 times in a row for a total of 300 m. If you are feeling really ambitious, do this in under 1 minute 10 seconds. Rest one and a half minutes afterwards.

And a suicide is:

Start at the 0 cone, run 5m out and back, then increase to running 10m and back, 15m and back, 20m and back, and 25m out and back. Rest 25 seconds afterwards.

The workout schedule, 2/11/08 - late April

2/11/08 Monday
  7x20, 5x40, 3x50, 3x90

2/13/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 3 suicides

2/16/08 Saturday
  2 mile run


2/18/08 Monday
  7x20, 5x40, 3x50, 3x90

2/20/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 3 suicides

2/23/08 Saturday
  2 mile run


2/25/08 Monday
  7x20, 5x40, 4x50, 4x90

2/27/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides

3/01/08 Saturday
  2.5 mile run



3/03/08 Monday
  8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

3/05/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides

3/08/08 Saturday
  2.5 mile run


3/10/08 Monday
  8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

3/12/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides

3/16/08 Saturday
  2.5 mile run


3/17/08 Monday
  8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

3/19/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides

3/22/08 Saturday
  3 mile run


3/24/08 Monday
  9x20, 7x40, 5x50, 5x90

3/26/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides

3/29/08 Saturday
  3 mile run


3/31/08 Monday
  9x20, 7x40, 5x50, 5x90

4/2/08 Wednesday
  1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides

4/5/08 Saturday
  3 mile run


4/7/08 Monday
  10x20, 8x40, 5x50, 5x90

4/9/08 Wednesday
  1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides

4/12/08 Saturday *sectionals
  3 mile run


4/14/08 Monday
  10x20, 8x40, 6x50, 6x90

4/16/08 Wednesday
  1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides

4/19/08 Saturday
  3 mile run

Regionals are April 26-27. Plan on attending Regionals (we made it last year!).

4/21/08 Monday
  12x20, 8x40, 6x50, 6x90

4/23/08 Wednesday
  1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 6 suicides

4/26/08 Saturday *Regionals
  3 mile run


4/28/08 Monday
  14x20, 9x40, 7x50, 7x90

If you want the rest of the workout (what I'll be running, since my season starts in April), the rest of the workout is:

4/30/08 Wednesday
  2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 6 suicides

5/03/08 Saturday
  3 mile run


5/05/08 Monday
  14x20, 9x40, 7x50, 7x90

5/07/08 Wednesday
  2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 7 suicides

5/10/08 Saturday
  3 mile run


5/12/08 Monday
  16x20, 10x40, 8x50, 8x90

5/14/08 Wednesday
  2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 7 suicides

5/17/08 Saturday
  3 mile run

Maintenance: repeat or increase the last week, as needed. The maximum runs should be:

20x20, 15x40, 10x50, 10x90
4 stinkers, 6 stinkettes, 10 suicides

You can't cram for fitness

Blog kitt decided around 19:57 on 24 February 2008 to publish this:

I've been running my sprint workouts at an aggressive pace. Instead of running two workouts a week, I've been running them every other day. I missed Friday's workout, though, as I spent most of the day at a client's site, and the rest of the day working full-tilt to complete tasks by the weekend. You can probably guess I failed to complete all of those tasks.

So, I decided to make up the workout from Friday today. Yes, yes, I know, I know. You can't cram for fitness. Doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

Okay, not really. The workouts target different fitness areas: the straight line sprints are for building speed, the shuttles are for building sprinting endurance. Kris suggested I run the shuttles first, and then the straight line sprints. I'm not sure why he recommended doing it that way, but I trust his instincts in these things (now, anyways. Didn't always, but that was to my chagrin, so now I listen to him in these things - have I always been so stubborn?).

So, after the Bella fiasco, I started my sprints. The shuttle sprints went along okay. I wore cleats today, in contrast to the last time, when I didn't, and had to work not to slip on the turns.

The workout was the same as last week, with the appropriate rest times:

1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 3 suicides

What I found interesting about the second sprint workout, which was (also with the the appropriate rest times):

7x20, 5x40, 4x50, 4x90

was that my pace and strength varied considerably with the music that was playing on my iPod. Starry Eyed Surprise actually seemed to have the best pace for my sprints. I tried to start the sprint when the chorus began, as it was a great hard acceleration moment, using the rest of the chorus to just cruise near my top speed. I hadn't really used music as a pacer before, so noticing the increase or decrease in effort depending on the song playing was interesting.

The only lapse I had during the workout was after the second of my four 50m sprints. I jogged back and, when the 45 seconds lapsed, just stood at the starting cone. I ended up resting until 1:15 had passed, then started the final four sprints on time. I'm not sure why I had that lapse, but it was definitely the mental toughness moment of the workout.

Finished everything in 42:08.

Special K sprint workout

Update: changes made for the SCU women's team, with more explanations.

Derived from an article I read about the US National Women's Soccer team, the Special K workout builds sprinting stamina. It was modified by Kris for Special K, which is no longer a team. The season this was written for was a shortened season, with coed playing in July and open/women playing in fall. As of this moment, it was the last year a player could play in more than one division in a season.

For reference, a stinker is: 

Sprint 50 yards out and back 3 times in a row for a total of
300 yards.  If you are feeling really ambitious, do this in
under 1 minute.  Rest one and a half minutes afterwards.
A stinkette is: 
Sprint 25 yards out and back 6 times in a row for a total of 300
yards.  If you are feeling really ambitious, do this in under
1 minute 5 seconds.  Rest one and a half minutes afterwards.
And a suicide is: 
Run 5 yards out and back then increase to running 10, 15,
20, and 25 yards out and back.  Rest 25 seconds afterwards.

That said, the workout is: 
Ultimate Workouts  4/3/00 - 7/6/00

4/3/00 Monday
   7x20, 5x40, 3x50, 3x90

4/6/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 3 suicides


4/10/00 Monday
   7x20, 5x40, 3x50, 3x90

4/13/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 3 suicides


4/17/00 Monday
   7x20, 5x40, 4x50, 4x90

4/20/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides


4/24/00 Monday
   8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

4/27/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides


5/1/00 Monday
   8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

5/4/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 2 stinkettes, 4 suicides


5/8/00 Monday
   8x20, 6x40, 4x50, 4x90

5/11/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides


5/15/00 Monday
   9x20, 7x40, 5x50, 5x90

5/18/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides


5/22/00 Monday
   9x20, 7x40, 5x50, 5x90

5/25/00 Thursday
   1 stinker, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides


5/29/00 Monday
   10x20, 8x40, 5x50, 5x90

6/1/00 Thursday
   1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides


6/5/00 Monday
   10x20, 8x40, 6x50, 6x90

6/8/00 Thursday
   1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 5 suicides


6/12/00 Monday
   12x20, 8x40, 6x50, 6x90

6/15/00 Thursday
   1.5 stinkers, 3 stinkettes, 6 suicides


6/19/00 Monday
   14x20, 9x40, 7x50, 7x90

6/22/00 Thursday
   2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 6 suicides


6/26/00 Monday
   14x20, 9x40, 7x50, 7x90

6/29/00 Thursday
   2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 7 suicides


7/3/00 Monday
   16x20, 10x40, 8x50, 8x90

7/6/00 Thursday
   2 stinkers, 4 stinkettes, 7 suicides
I believe it is worth noting that although we do these various "workouts" on different days, the US National World Soccer team did both the weekly workouts on the same day. They are some amazing athletes, those women.