Q: How Can I Get a Faster Kick?
Hi Lauren,
I am a 1500 meter runner competing at the junior college level. Every race that I had last season came down to the last 200 meters. I feel like I do everything right during the race to gradually move my way up, but the last 200 is always tricky. I have a pretty good kick, but it is not always good enough when it comes down to a big race. What kind of workouts can I add to my routine that will help me finish the race stronger? I always have the drive to give it everything I’ve got the last 200 but sometimes the guy next to me has more speed. How can I get my quarter time faster? Or in this case, my 200 meter time faster?
-Matan Mayer
A:
Hey Matan Mayer,
Since you’ve told me you have a pretty good kick, but your trouble is with the end of the race, I’ve answered with that in mind. How to develop raw speed is another subject, but I don’t think that is your problem.
Its not about how FAST you are, its how fast you can run when you are TIRED. If you look at the last 200 meter split of the winners of your races, I’m guessing its easily a time you’ve run before. In fact, why not jump on Runnerspace and go through some Pro 1500 videos to see what their last 200 is. Its probably slower than you think. The trick is, how do you get your body to run that speed when you’ve already been burning your jets for the past 75% of the race?
Four tips for improving your kick:
1. You need to get stronger. Long intervals, hilly runs, tempo runs, and consistent mileage over the fall and winter go a long way. If you’ve been doing this, your problems from last year might already be a thing of the past. Strength comes with time, and there is no shortcut that I know of.
2. Speed endurance work at race pace with short recoveries are key for the 1500. A lot of people do long reps on short rest, or short reps on long rest. But make sure there are a couple days where you do 200′s, 300′s, 400′s etc off of really short rest (30 seconds) mixed in there. A couple of these burners go a long way in preparing you for mid-distance racing.
3. Learn to relax and conserve. Once you are strong and fit, the mind really comes into play (especially in the lead up to a race). If you want to have an insane kick, you need to get to the start line as cool as a cucumber, and get to 200 meters to go as relaxed as possible, having burned as little energy as possible. It will still hurt like hell, but speed/endurance workouts help you practice relaxing into the pain.
4. Mental Maturity. Learn to tune in mentally more during all your workouts so you get what you need out of them. On long rep workouts or tempo runs, practice “tuning out” and almost meditating; you will use that same skill from 300m-1100m of your 1500m race. When you are on # 7 and #8 of an 8x400m workout at race pace, focus not on how fast and hard you can run them, but how relaxed you can look running the right pace.
If anyone has any key workouts they would like to share to help this guy out with his 1500, feel free to post them below.
Thanks!
-L-Train
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with him, but have you heard of Coach Newton? He is the best high school cross country coach to ever coach in the U.S. What he has his athletes do is sprint the last 300 meters of almost every hard workout to simulate being tired like in a race and finding that little bit from within… might be something to consider, but you don’t have to…
Wow thanks a lot Lauren. All this is going to be very helpful to me and also to the high school I coach. I think you may be familiar with the school I go to and you may know some people I ran with. I am currently at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. One of my teammates was Stephen Kent who I think was a pacemaker in your workouts a few years ago.
Speaking of running that last 200, I was in a distance medley relay on friday running 1st leg. The pace went out quick around 59 seconds and I maintained my cool. halfway through my leg, I moved up to second behind the leader and on the last lap with 300 to go we were both going at it. With 200 to go I decided to sprint as fast as I could and it ended up working really well for me. We ended up beating the other team by 1 second and we broke the school record. This race was caught on video. If anyone is interested in watching it here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSPhRBvWAK4
The last 200 of the actual race is in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feXXysirSAc&feature=related
Again Lauren, thank you very much
Matan
One workout I used to love that was good for sharpening a kick was doing 300m gear shifting intervals. For each 300: run the 1st 100 at 1500m pace, the 2nd 100 at 800m pace, and the last 100 at a controlled, hard run (but not a full-on sprint). We used it as an end of season, sharpen the speed workout with a long recovery. I think we did about 5-8 of them, 2-3 minutes between.
Also, be sure to keep in touch with your speed every day. Even on recovery days, do about three to five 50-75 meter strides (just a comfortable flow, no pressing or sprinting) after the end of your runs as a gentle reminder to your legs that turnover is a good thing.
I definitely can relate to Matan Mayer’s post…something I have struggled with in the past is “closing” the last 200m of a 1500m. Sometimes it comes effortlessly and sometimes it just destroys all the good from the first 1300m. Two things I have learned: don’t push too early. Run the whole race knowing you have another gear and you aren’t already flat out. When you start your “kick” do it gradually and don’t burn all your CP at once….build into it around the corner accelerating off the turn. Stay relaxed. However, doing this “kicking strategy” requires that you are already ready to go -fit, sharp, etc.
The one workout that I always finds brings about a good finish is 4x600m with the first 4oom of each set at 1500m pace and then the last 200m as fast as you can go staying controlled (800m pace or faster). 5-6 min set rest. Trust me, by the 3rd set you will need it. I used to try to shorter the rest on the first set and would pay for it.
Good luck and don’t worry too much …. that just makes it worse
Just do the work and have confidence it will come.