BEYOND SPEED IN THE

DECATHLON
By Andy Higgins

The author here sustains that while the development of speed is certainly
important in the Decathlon, there is more to be gained by acquiring a sound
running technique, running rhythm and special endurance. He then illustrates the
importance of these factors in the Long Jump, 400m Hurdles and the Pole Vault.
Re-printed with permission from the author.

For years there has been a belief expressed that the key issue in the Decathlon
in running speed. Speed is a factor in nine of the ten disciplines and Western
coaching literature dealt with it as a given. It is constantly stated that speed is
basic to success. I believe this is worth a second thought. Speed is a wonderful
gift and certainly is extremely helpful; and all else being equal, it will always be
the difference. But rarely is all else equal, and not every great athlete has speed.
Further, the development of speed, which must not be ignored, does require a
great deal of time and energy. Of course we must do speed development training
but there is more to be gained by recognizing that exceptional sprinting
technique, running rhythm, and speed endurance are more significant. By the
way,Ipr eferGer ar dMach’ st er m“ Spec i
al Endur ance”to speed endurance
because it is more encompassing and Gerard has broken Special Endurance
down into clear categories.

Running well

The ability to run well — that is with rhythm and relaxation at speed, and to hold
speed for extended periods of time, and over a number of repeated efforts is
extremely important. It is more important than simple speed because it is easier
to develop, will yield greater results for the time and energy invested and will
have a greater impact on generating points. I want to repeat that speed
development is not to be ignored but that we must not worship it either. I am
suggesting that we should look carefully at sprinting technique, running rhythm,
and special endurance.

Sprinting technique, running rhythm and special endurance play a significant part
in four of the five first day events, and can make a significant difference to all
four. The most obvious changes and a large point gain can be seen in the 400
meters. Awareness of this fact and planning it into the programme is the heart of
Decathlon training. The Decathlon is a running event; running in the broadest
sense of the word.
Special endurance

Training aimed at running well and developing Special Endurance for 400m pays
off everywhere — including the 1500m. The athletes in our programme at the
University of Toronto High Performance Centre have all had excellent 400m and
1500m performances while not giving up basic speed and quickness. All have
learned to run effectively with rhythm and relaxation relative to their personal
make-up.

The surprising aspect of the programme to many people is that we do not do a

large volume of running, nor is much of it, for much of the year, very intense. We
do, however, run every day of the six days of the week that we train; and it is
quality running.

Strength endurance

In addition we do a reasonable amount of strength endurance exercises, which

arer unni ngA’ sinGer ar dMac h’
spr ogramme.Runni ngA’ sar ehi ghkneer unning
(thighs up to parallel to the ground) with short steps (less than one foot) and
excellent posture and upper body relaxation. Forward progress is at the rate of a
very moderate walk for the coach. The volume of work can be measured in
distance or time. We use time, although it works out to be about one meter per
second, i.e. we cover approximately 30 meters in 30 seconds. Two days of the
week (Tues. and Thurs.) at the end of the running workout, we do 4 to 6
repet i
ti
onsof30t o50secondsofRunni ngA’ s.OnSat urday ,f
ollowingt hel ast
runningwor koutoft heweek,wedoal argev ol umeofRunni ngA’ sthatover a
period of months builds to a pyramid of 30 sec.; 1 mm.; 1:30; 2:00; 2:30; 2:00;
1:30; 1:00; 30 sec. One year we did do a pyramid session that built to 3:00 mins.
ofRunni ngA’ sbutIdon’ tbelievethatt hisquant it
yisnecessar y.Strengt h
Endurance overall, however, is necessary and it pays rich dividends in many
areas.

The yearly programme

The yearly programme begins in October with about six weeks of general
preparation and a lot of varied running. This is a time of easy runs, soccer
games, medicine ball exercises, circuit training, mobility drills and some technical
work of a very fundamental nature. Each Saturday morning the group runs for 20
minutes or more, building up to a 45 min. run, followed by a large volume of
RunningA’ sint hel astses sion of this six week period. Strength Training has
been going on throughout this time.

From this point in the year forward we essentially follow a pattern of three week
cycles; that is, two weeks hard training followed by an easier recovery week.
While technical training is critical and must fit into the programme wisely,
complementing other aspects of the programme, I will not go into it here.
As stated earlier, I believe that the Decathlon is a running event and so we run
every day we train. Most warm-ups begin with a short brisk run of 10-12 min. plus
a series of hurdle or sprint related drills all aimed at enhancing running / sprinting
/ hurdling technique and specific fitness. Whenever possible we attempt to
accomplish at least two goals with each action. Warm-up can be preparation in
the broadest sense of the word — preparing the body for the demands of the
specific training to follow immediately that day and preparing to become a little
more effective each day technically, as well as contributing to the long term
physical preparation of the entire system.

The daily programme

Monday, being the first day of the training week, is devoted to Speed and Special
Endurance 1 (80-300). Because hurdling is more demanding of mental focus and
whole system freshness, our Speed Training on this day is done over hurdles, as
is the Special Endurance 1.

Tuesday is a Tempo day to give the central nervous system as well as the entire
neuromuscular mechanism adequate recovery. The running this day is built
around 200m runs at about 30 seconds or faster with about one minute and thirty
second recoveries. The number of efforts will depend on the athlete and the time
of the year. Dave Steen, Greg Haydenluck, Michael Smith and others have done
as many as sixteen late in the first preparation period. The workout is not
neces sar
ily200’sev eryTuesday .Someday swegot ot hepool ,ot
her swedo
continuous run / j
ogsess ionofcombi nationsof100’ sand200’ s.We’ vebeen
known to play tennis or soccer or basketball, but the theme is tempo recovery.
Thesessi oni sfi
nishedwi thSt rengt hEndur ance( Runni ngA’s).

Wednesday is another speed day. While hurdle drills may be a part of the warm
up, the Speed and Special Endurance 1 is done on the flat. Throughout each
preparation period speed work is done from all the starting positions, beginning
with running and standing starts and only later progressing to the more
demanding block starts.

Thursday is a day for Special Endurance 2. That is the long end of the special
endurance continuum (300-600m). Here we run 5 x 400m or 4 x 500m or a break
down of 600m / 500m / 400m / 300m / 200m / 100m. On this day during each
preparation period we will eventually run an 800m at 1500m race pace and then
on three minutes or less recovery run 4 x 200m very strongly on a one minute
recovery. About three to four weeks later it will be a 1000m followed by 4 x 200m
and three or four weeks after that it will be 1200m and 4x200m. These particular
runs are always done on the Thursday of the second hard week in the cycle so
the athlete is tired and experiences both the physical and the psychological
demands of the effort and the pace discipline. It may be that the psychological /
confidence benefits to the athlete are greater than the physiological ones! And,
this is critical. To know that one can finish a Decathlon strongly is a tremendous
asset, and it gives everyone events. More importantly, unless the athlete is
capable of 4:20 or better there are a large number of relatively easy points to be
gained. The difference between 4:36 and 4:21 is 100 points! That is the same
number of points that can be had by improving from 11.20 to 10.75. The former
can be achieved by necessary tempo and well planned special endurance
training that must be a part of the very time limited Decathlon programme. The
latter would require an incredible investment of time and energy at the expense
of too many other essential aspects of the programme. Thought provoking!

Friday throughout much of the year is the day to do extensive rhythm running
and endurance work over hurdles. Exactly what is done, as with most things, will
be determined by the individual situation, particularly facilities. We are trapped
indoors for six months of the year on a 200m oval in a fieldhouse that is 90m,
from wall to wall. Essentially we are limited to a little more than 60m on the
straight. Much of our work is done over 7 or 8 hurdles. We place them about
7.50m apart and usually at 1.01m height, although occasionally the athletes run
them at regulation height. We begin by running sets of 2 x 7 or 8 hurdles on a
walk-back, with a start mark at either end to assure a clean run in to the first
hurdle.

Saturday is the day for Tempo Endurance that later becomes Special Endurance
2, and for extensive Strength Endurance. Beginning with the micro-cycle
following the last long aerobic run in November we begin to run a series of 300m,
runs on about five minutes recovery. Initially they are run at about 45 or 46
seconds,andf i
veorsi x300’ sev entuallybecomeei ghtort en.Ast heweeks
progress through the three week meso-cy clest hetimef orthe300’ sdr opst o
about 41 seconds. This is still relatively extensive rather than intensive work and
a two or three week transition of faster and fewer on longer recovery leads us to
a seven week period of increasingly higher intensity Special Endurance training
leading into the first significant Decathlon of the year. This work continues to be
based on 300m and begins with a 300m run followed by a two minute recovery
and a second 300m run. This set is followed by a twenty minute recovery; then
200m with a two minute recovery followed by another 200m and a twenty minute
recovery, followed by a final set of 200m a two minute recovery and 200m. This
session is completed with extensive Strength Endur ance( Runni ngA’ s)anda
long warm down. The final training session in this progressive series of fewer and
faster — six weeks later — is a single 300m sprint at maximum effort followed by
continuous striding and jogging on the grass for 800m to 1000m. The culmination
of this entire programme of running rhythm and Special Endurance comes one
week later; a very fast 400m, when it matters the most.

The speed trap

It is very easy to fall into the trap of spending too much time on developing pure
speed. The thinking goes like this: “ Speed does play a large part in nine of the
ten disciplines. Therefore if you spend a lot of time improving your speed
ev erythingel sewillfollow”. As with all things in life, it is wise to look a little
deeper, to try to see the broadest picture possible, and to attempt to see all of the
implications of each path that presents itself to us. Speed is important, but it is
not“ theans wertoev erything”. In fact, in and of itself, Speed guarantees nothing
— not even a faster 100m. Special Endurance is still a big factor in the 100m.
Equally important are sprinting technique and running rhythm. Now remember; I
am not suggesting that Speed training is to be ignored. Quite the contrary. We
need to do Speed Training and also do the required work that will lead to
exceptional running technique and rhythm and a high level of Special Endurance.
Itisnot“ either/or
”iti s,infact,“ and/ also” .Iti
ssi gni ficantt or ec ognizet hati n
terms of time invested in training relative to results yielded, Special Endurance
training is an excellent investment. In addition, we can do more about improving
running technique and rhythm and Special Endurance than we can about the
highly genetically influenced aspect called speed.

The Long Jump

Sprinting technique and running rhythm are even more significant in the long
jump, as so many athletes, particularly Europeans, have demonstrated. Classic
examples are Konstantin Akhapkin (URS) who in one meet ran 11.10 and
jumped 7.72m; Kutsenko (URS), 11.07 and 7.54m; and of course Avilov (URS)
who in Munich ran 11.00 and jumped 7.68m. Freimuth (GDR) in a meet in 1984
ran11. 10andj umped7. 79m.St eeni nGoet zi
s(CAN)i n‘88r an11. 02and
jumped 7.78m.

It is obvious that specific running technique and rhythm combined with jumping
technique are of greater significance than is pure running speed.

The 400 meters

The big factor on day one is how it is finished — the 400m — not how it is
started. Being well prepared for the 400m is not only a psychological ace in the
hole and a guarantee of earning excellent points, it also assures the athlete of
good recovery from that run with no undue stiffness or fatigue carried over to day
two. With anything better than a 11.20 second 100m it is quite reasonable to
expect to run under 48.0 seconds. This is a worth-while goal. There are 94 points
to be garnered between 50.00 and 48.01!

The Hurdles

Running rhythm and Special Endurance may be of the greatest significance in

the 110m hurdles. This is an event in which great rewards can be reaped by the
athlete who is prepared to do the little things and pay attention to detail day after
day. This event epitomizes the rewards to be gained from a relaxed, clear focus
and a good deal of patience. Technique is basic; and essential to technique are
exceptional flexibility and mobility, things that take time to develop but are not
demanding of much energy. Hurdle drills can be a part of almost every warm-up.
After good technique it is clearly an issue of running rhythm and Special
Endurance for decathletes. Achapkin (former Soviet record holder at 8458) ran
14.14 seconds off an 11.07 100 meters. The Canadian Alan Hough ran 13.99
seconds off an 11.08 100 meters. A little research would yield a list even longer
and it will also uncover the other side of the coin — that many athletes with very
good 100m results are not converting this into comparable 110m Hurdles times.
There are far too many decathletes ignoring the flexibility and mobility work and
the rhythmic running over hurdles placed closer together that will lead to greater
utilization of the basic speed that they do have.

The Pole Vault

The pole vault is another event in which any Decathlete vaulting less than 5.00m
is not limited by speed. This is really an event in which success is determined by
the effectiveness of the take-off. A very good take-off leads to a good rock back
and pull up. The effectiveness of the take-off is determined totally by the run up
and pole plant. This event demands the ultimate in rhythmic running with
controlled acceleration through a technically sound plant. These are all
challenges that anyone who is prepared to put in the quality time can resolve.

In conclusion

There is no magic formula, no one way to get to the top of the mountain. In fact,
there are only simple, basic physiology and the unique individual athlete-
situation. There are, however, elemental truths which if ignored will limit our
development. My experience, and that of others, would suggest that there is
much to be gained for every decathlete by looking seriously at the place of
running technique, rhythm and Special Endurance in his programme. The
Decathlon is a running/technical event.

There is also much to be gained by being a constantly developing and evolving

technician, but that is for another time. For now, give some thought to running
well, efficiently, and with increasingly higher levels of Special Endurance.