I'm just too good to be true

dna_leri

Nice going, sub12 not far away.

Krusty_Clown

Great stuff RandyMann! I'd imagine that was a particularly daunting environment to run a PB in. Great to be able to say you ran in the national champs!

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

200m PB 24.08secs

Very happy with the above as it was a legal wind of 1.8m also. This is a 0.56sec improvement on my 200m pb from 2 weeks ago.
I was called for the first heat and I was drawn in lane 5. Wasnt too nervous for this one as I knew I was way out of my league with the top sprinters in the country so I was just chasing a PB.
When we were called for marks/set we were told to stand up which wasnt nice as the gun was faulty with no fire.
Second attempt, I got out of the blocks really well and drove for about 30m. When my head came up, the guy in lane 6 was already pulling away and at about 3/4 way into the bend the guy in lane 4 sailed by me!
Exiting the bend I was clearly last but that didnt bother me and I focussed on staying relaxed and to not overstride. Felt my legs start to weaken with about 30m but finished strong with what felt like a high turnover.
Last Saturday at the IMC meet where I ran the 200m, a fellow club coach who coaches the juveniles came over to give me with some advice after watching my 200. He said that coming down the straight, I was overstriding and I was pumping my arms too high(I do this when I am getting tired). He said to move my hands no higher than eye level and this will stop the overstriding. He said that this could take 0.5secs off my 200m
I think I owe this guy a pint !

Savage running. You are on fire at the moment.

Brillant to get to run in the nationals aswell. I'd love to run them some day, but I won't do them unless I am running 53/54 to be honest. Do they have any restrictions for entry? Is there a restriction of only a certain amount of entries per event per club or is it completely 100% open?

RandyMann

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Savage running. You are on fire at the moment.

Brillant to get to run in the nationals aswell. I'd love to run them some day, but I won't do them unless I am running 53/54 to be honest. Do they have any restrictions for entry? Is there a restriction of only a certain amount of entries per event per club or is it completely 100% open?

Thanks Pisco.
There seems to be no restrictions for entering. I was a late entry on Wednesday. I decided to give it a go at the last minute.
They ask on the form for your pb in the event so mine were 24.64 and 12.08 and I'd say this had a bearing on the heat I was put in. My heat was won in 20.92, I forgot to mention above !
I would recommend it to anyone, a great experience to say the least. In the same call room as Colvert, Lawlor and Hynes was fun
There was only 1 other guy from my club running the 200 but there were a few in the 400 so I dont know what bearing that would have on the numbers entering if there was a club restriction.
Running against guys like this, certainly brings out the best in you and I would do it again.
Forgot to mention, I was ranked 23/25 for my time so at least I wasn't last.

I am running the 100 in a couple of hours so wish me luck !

RandyMann

100m 11.93 PB

Ok, very happy with the above again This is a 0.15sec improvement from a week ago in the IMC meet.
Turned up today feeling a bit tired but reasonably good with no pain etc. Doing my warm up beside Colvert and Hession was ironic to say the least. When I got to doing my strides, I felt heaviness in my legs which didnt surprise me as yesterdays effort was still in them.
I told myself to be not too disappointed if I run a slower time as I should be more than happy with yesterdays effort.
My race was heat 2 and luckily the rain held off for it despite the track being wet from the rain earlier. It got off to a start first time, didnt feel I reacted well like I normally do. I kept my head down for a least 30m metres for driving and still didnt feel I was generating much power.
It was in my head that when I get upright to stay relaxed like yesterday and rely on a fast turnover. I stayed relaxed to the line and didnt finish last which was nice.
Got my time off the computer before I went and was very happy with the pb, more so now that I have broke the 12 second barrier which has been weighing heavily on me.
To sum it all up, I really enjoyed this weekend, watching all the top athletes perform at such a high standard. To get 2 pbs in a weekend is very enjoyable too

RandyMann

Went down to the track tonight with my 2 daughters with the main intention of bringing them training but I was not planning on doing much myself.

Did a lap to test my legs and the shins were a bit tender so I decided to not overdo it. After a warm up I did 3 X 50m, 3 point starts at about 60/70% which had the benefit of stretching my legs out and getting the heaviness out of them.
Cool down lap followed and some stretching.
Plan is to take tomorrow off again and then will hit the gym on Thursday, followed by track session on Friday. Gym/track on Saturday and then track on Sunday. This is my plan to get ready for another 100 on the 18th in Santry.

RandyMann

Didnt make to the track last night due to work.

Gym this morning consisted of
Deadlifts - 12 X 110kg, 8 X 130kg, 4 X 150kg
Split legged squats FFE - 6sets of 6 reps with 40kg barbell
Back Extensions - 6 sets of 6 reps with 15kg plate.

Legs were giving way as I was walking down the stairs to exit, really pushed it with above as I have not done a proper gym session since a few weeks ago.

RandyMann

Got to the track at 10:15 with my 2 girls and met a clubmate who is another master athlete and who agreed to do the session with me which helped a lot.

Usual warmup with stretching, hurdle drills, speed drills and strides
Session was 3 X spilt 200s with 40sec recovery between the 150m and 50m
8 minute recovery between each 200.
Really tough session and full of lactic at the end, breakfast nearly came up.
The 150s would have been about 18 sec average but it was hard to time them as I had to start the watch before I started and I hit the stop a bit after the line.
Garmin graph shows I hit 42.5kph for a second as I had set the garmin for recording every second. Looks good on the graph anyway...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198990203

RandyMann

Went to track with my 2 girls but again was feeling unwell. Did some 30s off blocks and was very sluggish.
Don't know if I am up for a race tomorrow.

RandyMann

100m 12.40sec

This is 0.47 slower than what I ran a week and a half ago :eek:
I wasnt expecting a fast time but I didnt expect this. A mate hand timed me for 11.75 which I would add on about 0.3 seconds to adjust and it would bring me just over 12. Seemed strange as he said I was 4th but I was marked down as 8th. Despite the result which I have to accept, this demonstrates how much heavy weight sessions on my legs play havoc with race times.
There was a mix up at the start too as myself and 3 other athletes were not on the start list even though we registered. The official had to add us in to whatever lanes were free. All in all it didnt go well.
I am not too annnoyed about the mixup with the start list and numbers as these things happen but not often.
I have a 200m at the last Graded in Irishtown in 2 weeks time so I wont be expecting a fast time there also as I plan to do a few more weights sessions before then. After that I will taper down to August 18th for the All Ireland Masters.

RandyMann

First training session since last Wednesday's 100.
I have had a problem with my right knee for the past week and I have had no energy for anything else let alone training.

Arrived late due to work but managed a quick warmup and then did 4 X50m off blocks. Felt ok and knee didnt give me too much problems but I am still wary of the problem. Didnt give the session my full 100%

Hope to be ok for Thursday to do a hard session like 150s

RandyMann

Plan was to do 3 X 150's but to take the first one easy so as not to stress knee out too much at the start.
Did these off blocks with another clubmate, starting on the 200m start and finishing on the straight. Did the first 1 in lane 4 and the rest in lane 2.
Had someone timing these also.
Times were 19.6, 18.3 and 18 flat.

RandyMann

Got lazy with posting here but had a few training sessions since the last post.
2 sessions of split 200s and some 150s and a couple of gym sessions(upperbody) over the last 1.5 weeks.
Last night at the start of my session I did 6 200s with 2 min recovery. These were slow, average 33 seconds. I used these as a sort of warmup cause I jumped in with one the middle distance guys. There were no sprinters to train with last night
I then did 3X30m and 3X60m off blocks at 100% Felt good with no real injuries. I had some tiredness in the legs from Tuesday(split 200s again) and I feel I have done enough of the 200 speed endurance work now.
Tomorrow should be shorter stuff again like 30s/60s and the same on againTuesday. The plan is then to taper down to next Saturday which will be the last day/race of my season.

dna_leri

You doing 100 & 200 in tullamore?

RandyMann

dna_leri wrote: »

You doing 100 & 200 in tullamore?

Yes will do both, will I see you in the 800?

dna_leri

RandyMann wrote: »

dna_leri wrote: »

You doing 100 & 200 in tullamore?

Yes will do both, will I see you in the 800?

Yep, will try to give you a shout out.

RandyMann

Change of plan today. Session I did was a 200 and then 2X150s

Didnt have the warmup I wanted as the traffic held me up and I got there late. Did some hurdle drills as part of the warmup.
Ran the 200 in mid 24, had a 5 min rcovery and then did the 150s with a 4 min recovery between them. Didnt time the 150s but they were slow.

RandyMann

5 X 50s off blocks.
Injuries mounting up with shins, knee and hip giving me problems. Will have to rest till Saturday as I'm falling apart here

dna_leri

Good luck tomorrow, I expect 2 golds for you...

Hope the weather holds up dry and calm.

RandyMann

dna_leri wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow, I expect 2 golds for you...

Hope the weather holds up dry and calm.

Thanks Dna. Any medal would be a bonus for me. I havent been posting much here as I was breaking down in training and I am not feeling up for tomorrow. I will give the 100 a go but the 200 may be asking too much. I cannot generate the power needed with a shin splints problem mainly. Knee also along with hip, the injuries have come at a bad time. Like you it has been a long hard season and I am think its a pity this event was not earlier in the Summer when I peaked. A lot learned though and I will carry it into next season regarding planning etc.

RandyMann

M2(Over40)
100m- Silver - 11.88 PB
200m- Silver - 24.08 Equaled PB

Delighted with the above after coming last, last year. The 100m had a 0.0 wind and the 200, I think had a 1.7 tail wind.
Surprised myself with the 100 result considering how I was feeling. I got out well, drove well etc and finished strong. The injuries were forgotten when the adrenaline kicked in. I was beaten by John Corr(who has won it the past few years) and who has a 100m masters record so no shame there. He also beat me in the 200m.
With regard to the 200, I was conservative in the bend with not a great start but finished strong for 2nd. If it was another day and I just had to run the 200 on its own, I would have given it my all to get a PB but there wasn't a lot left in my legs as the 100m was only 2 hours earlier.
To sum my season up, I have achieved the goals and times I had set out at the start of the season which were to break 12secs in a 100 and run a low 24sec 200 and medal in an All Ireland. I also got the Masters Leinster titles for 100 and 200 and a Masters Dublin title for 200.
This was my first full season training as a sprinter and while successful, it has taken its toll with 16 races. I am taking a break now to recoup and hopefully get my hunger back for training as I am kind of sick of it now

dna_leri

Well done, no disgrace in coming second to JC. Saw your 200m as I warmed up, you looked good over the last 100 to me.

Dr.Bill

RandyMann wrote: »

M2(Over40)
100m- Silver - 11.88 PB
200m- Silver - 24.08 Equaled PB

Delighted with the above after coming last, last year. The 100m had a 0.0 wind and the 200, I think had a 1.7 tail wind.
Surprised myself with the 100 result considering how I was feeling. I got out well, drove well etc and finished strong. The injuries were forgotten when the adrenaline kicked in. I was beaten by John Corr(who has won it the past few years) and who has a 100m masters record so no shame there. He also beat me in the 200m.
With regard to the 200, I was conservative in the bend with not a great start but finished strong for 2nd. If it was another day and I just had to run the 200 on its own, I would have given it my all to get a PB but there wasn't a lot left in my legs as the 100m was only 2 hours earlier.
To sum my season up, I have achieved the goals and times I had set out at the start of the season which were to break 12secs in a 100 and run a low 24sec 200 and medal in an All Ireland. I also got the Masters Leinster titles for 100 and 200 and a Masters Dublin title for 200.
This was my first full season training as a sprinter and while successful, it has taken its toll with 16 races. I am taking a break now to recoup and hopefully get my hunger back for training as I am kind of sick of it now

Can't take my mince pices offa you

Fair play to ye.

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

M2(Over40)
100m- Silver - 11.88 PB
200m- Silver - 24.08 Equaled PB

Delighted with the above after coming last, last year. The 100m had a 0.0 wind and the 200, I think had a 1.7 tail wind.
Surprised myself with the 100 result considering how I was feeling. I got out well, drove well etc and finished strong. The injuries were forgotten when the adrenaline kicked in. I was beaten by John Corr(who has won it the past few years) and who has a 100m masters record so no shame there. He also beat me in the 200m.
With regard to the 200, I was conservative in the bend with not a great start but finished strong for 2nd. If it was another day and I just had to run the 200 on its own, I would have given it my all to get a PB but there wasn't a lot left in my legs as the 100m was only 2 hours earlier.
To sum my season up, I have achieved the goals and times I had set out at the start of the season which were to break 12secs in a 100 and run a low 24sec 200 and medal in an All Ireland. I also got the Masters Leinster titles for 100 and 200 and a Masters Dublin title for 200.
This was my first full season training as a sprinter and while successful, it has taken its toll with 16 races. I am taking a break now to recoup and hopefully get my hunger back for training as I am kind of sick of it now

Savage results. Certainly worthy of nomination for that year end performance of the year awards malarky they have on here.

You'll probably get the hunger back quickly enough. I felt the same as you after State Champs last year. After a month's break the hunger was fully back.

RandyMann

Back on the horse today with an aerobic session to get ready for my winter training.

Plan was to do 6 reps of 200s with a minute recovery in an average of 31.5 seconds. Warmed up with 2 laps of the track, stretching and then did a 38 second 200 to get my legs ready. Did the reps off a standing start but only managed 5 of them.

Times were- 28.7, 33.2, 31.5, 30.9, 31.3 which gives an average of 31.1secs

Regarding pace, I messed up the first 2 as I didnt know what a 31 feels like but got the next 3 fairly close. Happy enough with this and I will aim to get up to 8 reps with reducing the recovery down to 40 seconds.

RandyMann

As a side note, with regard to my shin splints, I found a link on youtube for shinsplints recovery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDwY0QFsPqs&feature=related and tried it out before the racing last Saturday. I do believe it helped me.

RayCun

I think you can restore the link. As long as you're talking about something that worked for you, and not saying it will work for anyone else...

RandyMann

Pulled a sled for 30m X 2 at 100% and mixed with 2 X 30m on the track at 100% effort. First track session in over a week but have had 4 gym sessions last week while I was on holiday.
Will start to get back into a regular program now over the next couple of weeks.

Pisco Sour

Jaysus, ya didnt take much of a break after a long hard session. I'd advise you take a proper break. It's a long winter ahead.

Even the elites take proper breaks. Read this from David Gillick a couple of years ago:

At this time of the year I start my break. I take about 4 weeks off and basically eat and drink what ever I want and don't feel guilty about it! I completely switch off from athletics for about 2/3 weeks and just do whatever I want and im not being dictated about training session and diet. I put a lot into my training and diet over the year, so now its time to chill out!!

It's a crucial period mentally. I have had 11 months of hard training, 6 days a week and then the pressure cooker that is racing, flying all over Europe, sometimes twice a week, living out of a bag and now is the period to switch off. Don't feel sorry for me, it's tiring but I love it.

But I wont lie, I have been looking forward to my break since after the European's, the carry on of some of the Irish team was unprofessional, a joke to be honest and at that point I had had enough of athletics!

Also, I don't get much time off during the year, so anything I want to do it's always, "ill do it on my break", so now its time to try to fit everything into a couple of weeks. I want to see as many of my friends and family as I can, and get a week away in the sun.

After about 2/3 weeks of making a mess of my body, I will get to a point where I want to get fit and healthy again. I'll feel fat and a mess, so when I feel that way, I know that my head is ready to get stuck in again.... And then its starts, sitting down with coaches, nutritionist and psychologists and planning for the year ahead. How we are going to do things better, how im going to improve...a review of everything I suppose and you have to be as honest as you can! You have to look at where you have come from in order to improve...incremental improvements!!

http://davidgillick.com/blog/Blog-42.html

RandyMann

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Jaysus, ya didnt take much of a break after a long hard session. I'd advise you take a proper break. It's a long winter ahead.

Even the elites take proper breaks. Read this from David Gillick a couple of years ago:



http://davidgillick.com/blog/Blog-42.html

I hear what you are saying and I would agree with you on the main point. The problem with me is that whenever I have taken an extended break from training/sport in the past, weeks have turned into months, I get lazy and then I get myself into a poor state of health as I would take up drinking along with a bad diet. I would then try and get back to fitness and overdo it, get sick, recover, get run down etc. The cycle repeats itself and I fear that happening again. I have found at my age, getting fitness back is a horrible experience that I don't enjoy and I am not prepared to go through that again.
I took a full week off after the national masters and did nothing which definitely rejuvenated me, especially mentally. Last week I did a few gym sessions just to keep me relatively active while I was away on holiday. This week I am getting back into track with some regularity but I will try to have an easy week after every 3 this season. The track session last night hardly took anything out of me but I will slowly ramp the training back up over the next few sessions. Essentially what I have been doing was active recovery with no real intensity. I need to stay in touch with some sort of training cause I dont trust myself otherwise.
What I have learned over the last season was to listen to my body and realise that recovery is sometimes more important than the sessions. I have also found out about certain food intolerances I have and since I have made some alterations to my diet, I have noticed that my energy levels have certainly increased.
Yes, it has been a long season and the next 48 weeks will be even tougher but I guess/hope that it will be more productive in terms of staying injury free and keeping illness to a minimum, fingers crossed!