A Faster 400m?

Question

I am a sophmore and i have improved a lot on my 400 but i still think i can get faster. I ended my freshman year and started this year running 57s and 58s but now im down to a 54.9. My problem is just endurence. What kind of running do i need to do to get faster?

Answer 1

Do overdistance work. I know a guy who ran cross country his senior year in the fall and dropped his 400 time from 52 to 48.8 in track.

The 400 is 90% speed but that final 10% is aerobic. In order to increase your aerobic capacity you will need to do longer runs at a decent pace. I'm not saying hard race pace miles but enough to get you working hard and getting your body to be able to take in more oxygen.

  

I assume that your coach is having you do interval work: a series of dashes/runs with a limited time between them. This helps with speed and with being able to recover and run fast longer.

In the final 100 meters of a quality 400 race people don't speed up they just don't slow down, or slow down as much.

Answer 2

run the mile about 3 times a week. i also run the 400m too, but i'm 12, and i run the mile 3 times a week. maybe since you're older you should run a longer distance.