Clyde Hart’s Split 400 meter Workout

One of the toughest workouts in my mind are split workouts. 

An example is a split 400m: run 200m at near top speed, rest 1 minute, then run another 200m with whatever you’ve got.

This workout could also be a 300m broken down as 3 x 100m (rest 1 minute).  Or a Split 500m in the spring (300m, rest, 200m)

Any way you slice it, it’s gonna hurt like hell.

Why? Because of the lactate buildup (or acidosis) in the legs and butt.

Let’s look at some real examples and why.

Michael Johnson’s Pre 43.18 WR Workouts

Clyde Hart’s split 400m for Michael Johnson was slightly different for a very specific reason.

In Seville 1999, Michael Johnson’s splits were as follows:

1. QF: 21.2 200m, 31.7 300m, jog last 100m & glancing around
2. SF: 21.0 200m, 31.5 300m, jog last 100m & glancing around

Looking at his 300m, he had to run the last 100m well under 11.4 seconds to break the WR of 43.29.  He knew he was capable of breaking the world record.

31.5 + 11.4 + 0.24 = ~43.14

How did he prepare for this?

His workout was 3 sets of split 400’s:  run 300m, 1 min break, then run 100m. (5 min rest between runs)

In the workout, his 300m split were 37 or 38 seconds (83-85% speed) achieving the last 100m in 11.2 to 11.3.

By training his body, he learned how to adapt and be familiar with the last 100m.

The rest is history.

Here is that 43.18 WR video on YouTube.  Awesome.