Finishing with a kick.

It is very true that it doesn't matter where you start it is where you finish. Also, the best way to run a distance race is to negative split. So how can we run the race, without leading and then come out with the victory by the time the finish comes around....? That is where the kick comes in.

Someone could be in the front of the race the whole time but, if they don't have a kick, then their chances of winning greatly decrease. So how can we develop our finishing kick? I am a firm believer in practicing will get you closer to where you want to be. My recommendation workout to improve your foot speed would be this workout:

1. Warm up.
Make sure that you have a good warm up, anywhere from one to three miles. A warm up is very important so that you body is ready to meet the demands that you put on it and you don't just jump into sprinting because you could do a lot of damage to yourself.

2. Drills.
I have about Three drills I like a lot. One is a skip where you exaggerate your form while looking for height. The second is skipping as fast as you can while getting you feet to contact and leave from the ground as fast as possible. The third is straight let runs. I like these a lot because I believe they will get you all warmed up and ready for what you are about to do.

3. Two more laps.
This is not just running two more laps. It is jogging the curve and picking it up pretty fast on the straightaway and doing this for two laps. If you are not on a track, I would recommend doing a fourty 5 second jog, and a 15-20 second pick up. Repeat that four times.

4. 6 x 100m all out effort plus full recovery.

5. Two mile warm down plus stretching.

To see what 10,000 meter silver medalist does check out this article called, A Lethal Kick.

To check out one of the best kicking videos, check out this 800 meter Olympic final from 1972!

Your body can stand anything, it is your mind that you have to convince.

Until next time,

Michael Duncan