2K Sprint

[arual20]

Hello,

I have been following a training plan where I am erging 6-7 days a week with a mix of low, medium, speed, and high (interval) training. When pulling my 2K I do really well picking a split/SR and sticking with it. However, when it comes to the sprint I just don't seem to have anything left. I will raise the SR from a 30 to a 34 and either maintain or lose a second on my split. By the time I sprint, usually with 250-300m left I just don't seem to have anything more to give. I'd like to improve my sprint and am curious what workouts I could do to improve this. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[jvincent]

I just re-read your original post, and I think I misinterpreted.

If you are running out of gas during the last 250-300m of a 2K then it just means that your pace for the first piece is right at your limit. That being the case you probably need to try out one of the training plans, like the Wolverine plan.

[Bob S.]

If you can maintain the same split for the last 300 as you had for the first 1700, you are probably rowing at maximum efficiency - at least based on the physics involved. If you lost a second, then yes, you started running out of gas. My own guess on this would be to stick with the 30 spm until the last 100-150 (10-15 strokes left?), then go for it counting out the strokes and emphasizing the legs and full stroke length.

Bob S.

[jamesg]

Using your current state of fitness, if you want to see a good sprint just for the fun of it, using your last 2k as target pace, warm up well and do the first 500 2 seconds slower, the 2nd 1 second slower, the 3rd on pace and in the sprint you'll get about 6 seconds back.

Whatever you do, if you move off too fast in any distance, including 500 m, you pay for it later. Pacing is fundamental. I saw some speed skating in Sochi: in middle distances even Olympic skaters went off 10% too fast (which takes 30% higher power) and then died going round the last two bends. They don't have a PMx to watch but that's not a good reason for suicide. Then they (including TV commentators) wondered why the Dutch won everything, must be better control. And the miles of frozen canals they have to (and do) skate on all day long.

If you want to get faster, there are some options: technique, endurance and anaerobic in that order. As to needs.

[Marc1t]

From my experience as a racing cyclist you don't want to exceed your lactate threshold (about 75-80 per cent of max HR) too soon ideally you want to be just nudging it until the final sprint & then without slowing down before the finish so you need to judge your sprint distance correctly. If you go above LT too soon you are forced to slow down before you recover & get back there. you will always lose more time than you initially gained. i.e. LT is the fastest pace you can sustain without slowing during steady state effort.

[mikvan52]

Mike Caviston (of the Wolverine Plan) has detailed the empirical benefits of negative splitting statistically.... That being said, strange things happen on the way to one's own PB..

Generally, trying to improve one's 2k time at a constant % improvement just doesn't happen... Usually it's the preparation that really makes the difference... and the preparation determines the pacing... Watch your 6 x 500m / 3:30 rest (workout).. Throw out the slow one and the fast one... The avg of the other four will be pretty close to what your 2k pace will be in the short term.