I'm just too good to be true

dna_leri

Saw your 60m. Did not recognise you until after the gun so can't comment on your start. Thought you finished well maybe even easing back or just relaxed.

RandyMann

Took a week and a half off training which was very nice. Went back today with added vigour and it was quite enjoyable.
I decided to join the 400m group and do their split 4s session as I thought some speed endurance would be good to break back into it.
Session was meant to be 250, 150 with 3 mins and then 8 mins and repeat for a total of 3 sets.
Did the first 250 in 36 low and the 150 in 19 low. 2nd set was 38 and 20.
Didnt bother doing the 3rd as I think it was enough for the distance I run.
Thursday I will be back for my normal 100/200 speed work.
Happy new year everyone!

RandyMann

60m - Bronze 7.64
200m - Gold 24.75

Finally got my national gold medal, delighted I am. I have not been updating my log recently as I have not been training consistently plus caught up with work, life etc.

Today I went down to Athlone with not much expectation as I didn't want to get wound up like I used to.
The 60m kicked off about 12:30 and have to say I got a great start, one of my best, out first I think. With about 30 to go, I noticed someone over on my left, who was Peter Doherty who recently moved up to M2 category. I felt I tied up a little with the pressure and he got ahead. He went on to win it in 7.54 and Tom Griffin just edged me out with a 7.60 also. Happy enough with that performance and I think I need another 60 race or 2 to get down into the 7.5 range. I think this is possible. The 35 age group was won in 7.70 but Kevin Cogley got a DQ, he would have easily walked it I think.

With the 200m, I was on the verge of pulling out as I was having back pain but I convinced myself to run as I would have been kicking myself after if I hadn't tried. I got lane 6 which was grand but the only problem is that you are runnning blind for most of the race due to the stagger.
The funny thing was, it felt I was running on my own as I didnt hear anyone near me and I thought, **** I hope they didnt stop the race and I am the only one that kept going. That confusion ended though as I got to the bend as I heard foot fall gaining on me. I thought that must be Tom Griffin and sure enough as I was exiting the bend I could see him edging past me.
It was then, I put down all the power I had to race the last 40m to the line. I got there before him to take the title. He ran a 25.01. It was in my head how I ran a bad 200 during the Summer against him and I swore it wouldn't happen the next time. I really wanted it today.

So this gold medal I got today means the same as the first medal I ever won, which is a lot

stick girl

Very well done Randymann!!! All the hard work has paid off :-)

dna_leri

Well done RM. Saw your 200. Well run, great finish. Nice scalp too if you pardon the pun. :-D

RandyMann

dna_leri wrote: »

Well done RM. Saw your 200. Well run, great finish. Nice scalp too if you pardon the pun. :-D

Thanks D

Chivito550

Great stuff Randymann, well done.

I know bugger all about indoor racing but my understanding is that lane 6 is the best lane to get in the 200m, because of the tightness of the lanes inside it. I remember when the 200m was on the World Indoor programme the highest finisher in the semi final would be given lane 6 for the final.

RandyMann

Just a quick update...havent given up training, just not training as regularly or with the same intensity as I used to.
I will drop in every now and again with some race results/reports and some training overview.
The last race I entered was the Leinsters with a PB in the 60 with 7.57sec, silver in that and gold in the 200 with a 24.8X (wanted a better time than that but a PB in the 60 made up for it)
I had not touched weights for quite a while before this race so I think I will be taking this approach coming into outdoor season too.
I am currently going through another winter type phase atm with hills etc and long intervals during the week with some weights thrown in when i feel like it.
My goals for this years outdoor season will be a 11.6 in the 100 and a sub 24 in the 200 so hopefully I can do it but no big deal if I don't

RandyMann

Ok, back posting with some results for the outdoor season.
My outdoor season opened for me last Wednesday with a 100m in the Dublin Graded in Santry. 12.49sec which is the slowest time for 100m I have recorded to date I think..
I was surprised at this but not gutted. I went into this race expecting a low 12 but thats what I got. I felt really good on the indoor warmup track but when I went outside for my race, there was huge delays and it resulted in me getting cold. This was a problem for everyone and all the times were slow on the night.
The race itself, I got out really well, I was leading over the first 20-30m but got caught and finished 4th in the C race. I found myself paying too much attention to the others in my race and not focussing on what I had to do.
The winner ran 12.34
I am racing this weekend in the Irish Milers Club, Greystones(100&200) so hopefully there will be some decent weather on the day.
I would be happy with 12.1 in the 100 and 24.5 in the 200 but no pressure

pconn062

Think I caught you 100m race last week, all that waiting around was a bit much. I ran the 800m and it was nearly an hour late, but obviously it's a bigger deal for the sprinters.

RandyMann

pconn062 wrote: »

Think I caught you 100m race last week, all that waiting around was a bit much. I ran the 800m and it was nearly an hour late, but obviously it's a bigger deal for the sprinters.

Yes, a lesson learned. We should expect the same problems at the next one too.

RandyMann

100m- 12.8
200m- 24.78

So my 100m is over a second slower than this time last year :pac: but theres a couple of reasons. At the start, my blocks shotgunned backwards as I came out which made me miss a step. This pissed me off and while I didnt give up, it took a lot of the fight out of me.
Secondly the wind guage recorded a -5.3 wind. For most part of the race, it felt really slow trying to push through the wind, terrible weather indeed. TBH, the blocks problem pissed me off more than the weather. On examination of the blocks afterwards, they only had a couple of spikes in them, missing most of them.

The 200 went better, the wind was not a factor and I felt I ran reasonably well which made up for the 100. I ran in lane 2 which was ok, better than lane 1 anyway. I was strong down the back straight and didnt really tie up which meant I could have gone slightly harder in the bend.

I plan to have a go at another 200 in Tallaght on Wednesday and try and go under 24.5...

smmoore79

Solid running RM. ya were deffo in the mix anyways. That wind was a shocker so probably worth a second over the 100.

smmoore79

Solid running RM. ya were deffo in the mix anyways. That wind was a shocker so probably worth a second over the 100.

RandyMann

200m - 24.73

Felt reasonably good going into this race and my plan was to really go out hard from the gun and hopefully have enough to close it strong.
I had a great start and powered through the bend and exited in first but I got overtaken by a guy on the inside and I didnt have the legs to race him in the last 60m
It was was won in 24.17 and I was second. A slight improvement on last Saturday and I was thinking if I had the same wind as last week(+1.1), I may have run 24.4 I heard the wind today was a minus 2 but will only know for sure when the results go online...
Will rest now until Saturday and my next race planned will be the AAI games on the 25th

Chivito550

RandyMann wrote: »

200m - 24.73

Felt reasonably good going into this race and my plan was to really go out hard from the gun and hopefully have enough to close it strong.
I had a great start and powered through the bend and exited in first but I got overtaken by a guy on the inside and I didnt have the legs to race him in the last 60m
It was was won in 24.17 and I was second. A slight improvement on last Saturday and I was thinking if I had the same wind as last week(+1.1), I may have run 24.4 I heard the wind today was a minus 2 but will only know for sure when the results go online...
Will rest now until Saturday and my next race planned will be the AAI games on the 25th

Great result into that wind. The wind in my race was -2.3, so that may give an indication of the conditions.

RandyMann

Been sidelined with flu/chest infection and had to miss AAI games last Sunday. It was frustrating as I have been hitting form in training recently.

I trained Tuesday and felt I was dying, really bad fatigue and full of lactic when I should not have been (3X110s and 2X80)

Training went better tonight with 30s out of blocks, flying 40s and a 60 out of blocks to finish. Not 100% but will be definitely racing on Sunday. I hope to get a low 12 in the 100 but expect to do bad in the 200 as I feel it will take another couple of weeks to get my fitness back.

Maurice Greene.

I retired the Randymann moniker and will set up a new training log in a little while.

200m 24.12
100m 11.84 - PB

Won both events above in the over 40 category with legal winds in both of them.

I went down to Tullamore today with the intention of just doing the 100 because I was still not feeling right after being sick and I didnt think I had enough in me to run a good 100 after a 200 That plan changed though because when I got there, the weather was really good and I thought to hell with times etc. It has also been such a long time since I didnt have to run into a strong headwind.

With the 200, I got drawn in lane 6 and feeling good after a long careful warmup, I decided to just empty the tank and not worry about the 100. I also thought I had a good chance of winning it as my closest rival in lane 5 had just moved up from the over 35 category and I beat him in the indoors a few months ago.
The gun went off and I got a good reaction. I felt I went through the bend well but I also knew I was not shaking off the guy in lane 5 too easily but I was doing enough to not let him take up the stagger.
Exiting the bend he still felt close and thats when I opened up and put all my power down. I felt I was losing him down the home straight and I was running on my own then. I focussed on staying relaxed and upright while maintaining a high turnover. Coming up to the line I felt I was holding it together with form etc.
About 20 seconds after the race, the fatigue really hit me quite bad and it took me a good few mins to recover before I walked back to the start line to get my gear. It has been quite a while since I felt this bad after a 200 which means I haven't been really pushing myself in races so far this season, ie being a bit too conservative in the bend and winding the power on too slowly exiting the bend.
It turned out after that there was roughly a second between me and second place.

The 100 was on about 60-90 mins after and this really was not enough recovery for me. It didnt seem long at all before the 100m was being called. I went reluctantly back to the track to do a little warm up. I did some drills and a few strides but the legs were really heavy and not responding.
My rival in the 100 who has beaten me before and has also just moved up from the over 35 group showed up fresh as he didnt run the 200 earlier. I had it in my head that he was going to destroy me in this one.
I got drawn in lane 5 and with a mix of over 35s and over 40s Cant really say much about this but the gun went off and I reacted really well. I felt after 30m I was ahead with a guy in the over 35 group(he has a 10.6 to his name from years ago) He started to edge away from me but not too much and I felt I was doing really well. With about 30 to go I noticed my rival coming up on me in lane 7. I knew this was the fatigue in my legs letting this happen as I could feel myself slowing down considerably rather than him getting faster. It was a real battle to the line and I thought he just got me. It turns out afterwards that it was a dead heat in a photo finish and we both got the same time and a gold medal.
The 35 year old in our race ran 11.67, which was his only race of the day.

In retrospect I definitely feel I can run faster in the 100 with fresh legs and I will target my next 100 with just the one race in mind on the day. I think 11.6 is very possible for me.

So, very happy with today and quite surprised with my seasons best in the 200 despite not doing much speed endurance work. 24.12 is only .04 seconds slower than my 200m PB from two years ago. My coach reckons I can run 23.5 but a 23.9 will make me delighted...

Rest now till Tuesday

Oregano_State

That's great running, well done! How has your training been going recently?

Maurice Greene.

Oregano_State wrote: »

That's great running, well done! How has your training been going recently?

Thanks O S, with regard to training, I have not been in a gym since January and dont plan on going back until next September. I have been doing just track and hills since then.
We stopped doing hills about a month ago.
I am in a very good training group with a great coach so the fast guys pull me along.
Training was going really well before I got sick but I reckon there is more in the tank now that I am recovered.
I am within touching distance of one of my training partners over 60(in training) and he has run 7.29 in the indoors, so I know my speed is getting better.
Have not done much speed endurance work for 200 but I will be over the coming weeks. Stuff like split 2's etc will be needed to run a 23...

Chivito550

Great results yesterday. Well done.

Interesting that you haven't done any gym work since January. How come?

Maurice Greene.

Chivito550 wrote: »

Great results yesterday. Well done.

Interesting that you haven't done any gym work since January. How come?

Thanks C

I stopped gym as I was racing indoors but didnt bother going back to it after indoors because I figured I had done enough strength work already. I could lift 3 times my bodyweight in a dead lift but I figured that was not much use, I would need to translate that power into speed.
I do think gym is important but I have more energy for the track now. I intend to go back to gym/weights when season is over in a few months time.

Just to add, with my coach changing my running style, I feel my core is getting enough work out on the track that I dont need to do core work in the gym.
Last year when he took me on and was trying to get me to run differently, it felt like I had never sprinted before, very tiring. My problem was that my hips would sink while I ran and I didn't keep my core tight enough.
I would be worn out after doing a few flying 40s with the change in technique.
I think I have improved that aspect but it still hurts, it takes a lot out of you to keep tall and your core fully switched on while you sprint at 100%

Chivito550

Just checked the results. They have you down as 23.12 for the 200m??

http://www.athleticsleinster.org/images/results/U23%20Senior%20Master%20%20Track%20Results%201st%20June%20Tullamore%202014.pdf

Maurice Greene.

That's right, they do.

Maurice Greene.

100m- 12.02 Wind -0.3

Happy with the above and got a Dublin gold medal for being the fastest master on the night.
I was 3rd in the C race and got out well, I was ahead for the first 60m but felt I tied up trying to get to the line when the other lads were on me. This happens quite a lot but it can be fixed. First was 11.91 and second was 11.95

Next up is the GV Ryan Cup, Irishtown for a 100 & 200 this coming Saturday.

Chivito550

I caught your race when I was warming up. You looked very well the first 60-70. Bit more speed endurance work between now and the business end of the season and I think that PB will come down some more.

Maurice Greene.

100m 11.99 Lane 4
200m 24.34 Lane 3

Wind I think was plus 0.2 and minus 0.2

Just in the door for a quick update. Great weather conditions for sprinting today

The 100m, didnt get the start I normally do.
The guy to my right in lane 5 hit the deck a couple of seconds out of the blocks and he went down screaming which was a bit off putting. It turns out he tore his quad, a nasty injury it seemed. Didnt feel sharp in this race but I have to be reasonably happy with a sub 12 regardless.

The 200m was on 40 mins later and to be honest I had to just grind this out and I knew there would be no PB for me before it started as I was feeling tired. The guy in lane 2 who is another master was giving me a good race in the bend but again I just did enough to hold him off and then I opened up on the home straight. He finished it in 24.7X but if it wasnt for him, I dont think I would have tried as hard so it was good that he made me work.

I was going into this today with the hope of getting another PB but in reality I think I need a rest to get some freshness back. Going to have an easy week next week and plan to be race sharp for Leixlip Meet on the 27th June

Happy enough with today and feeling postive for my next race!

Maurice Greene.

Plan was to have an easy week but that changed when I got to the track with my girls. Weather was great and I felt good with no real physical tiredness from last Saturday.

The session was 6 X 60 out of blocks at 100% so thats what I did. Its hard to sit it out and watch. I was sharp tonight with plenty of speed, keeping close to the coach in the lane next to me.
I really wanted to iron out a problem with my block start which happened for the first time on Saturday. With my first step its like its missing the ground and I am clawing the air because I am tucking my heel into my hamstring due to the drills we are doing. Think I got it sorted..

Maurice Greene.

Last night was a speed session out of blocks with 10s, 20s, 40, 60 and then a 120 from a 3 point to finish for form etc.
Really worked hard at this and I was at the front for most of them. Happy with the session.

Track tomorrow again but I have an eye on running as a guest in the 100 in Santry on Sunday(National Leaugues)

Maurice Greene.

100m 11.98 Wind +0.9

Not much to say about this but conditions were great for sprinting and while not a great performance at least its still sub 12. I got out well and drove well but it just didnt feel fast enough closing it down and I knew it was no pb before I got the result.

I had planned to race a 200 next Wednesday but I have changed my mind about that as I need to get some freshness back into my legs. I am not going to train much next week either as I want to try and do well in the Leixlip meet next Friday(Irish Milers Club) I meant to have a rest week last week so I definitley will rest this week, as hard as it is.

My race tally so far this season is 15 with another 6-7 planned till the end of my season on Aug 10th. Still aiming for that 11.6 and 23.X .....