Running Aimlessly Down Under - From 54 to 53 sec 400m

Pisco Sour

New Country, time for a new log.

I previously had a log on here in preparation for the Rotterdam Marathon.

After travelling around South America and New Zealand for three months I arrived in Melbourne just before Christmas. I am still far from settled but slowly I am getting there (still need to find a job so I can stop living off the weak Euro).

The last week I have started running again for the first time in yonks. While in South America I did a lot of high altitude hiking, a bit of cycling, canoeing, trekking, so to be honest despite a fair bit of alcohol being consumed I dont feel I am out of shape after all the backpacking.

Last Sunday I went for a 2.05 mile loop around the area where I live, flat out, just to see where I currently stand in terms of fitness and despite the 25 degree heat I ran it in 13 minutes 37 which I was pretty pleased with. Since then I have done a 2 training sessions with Richmond Harriers AC. The first day just an easy 8km run. And then yesterday I did my first track sprint session which was pretty tough.

At the moment I have no specific goals that I want to train for. Mainly I just want to have fun in the various track meets over the coming weeks, and more importantly get to know some people through it.

So this log at the moment is more to update on the various races I am doing down here rather tha a specific update on every single run I have done.

With that in mind my first track event is tomorrow. Down here in Melbourne they have such a thing called the Athletics Victoria Shield. It is basically a 13 event series which caters to people of all levels. Basically for say 200m (for example) they will ask people what their standard is and then divide people up into various heats based on that. It is somewhat like the Graded Meets in Dublin, but on a much grander scale, catering towards everybody from the 21second runner to the 35 second runner. It encourages everybody to get involved and compete at a level that suits them rather than the culture we have at home which is basically if you are not running fast times there is no future for you on the track.

There are 4 of the 13 events left so there is no point in me paying the 140 dollar registration fee to Athletics Victoria so I am competing as an Invitation athlete. I pay 10 dollars for each meet and can compete in as may events as I want. Once April arrives I will sign up as a full member for the winter Road Racing and Cross Country season.

Tomorrow I plan to run a 200m, followed by a 800m and then a Long Jump.

The timetable is here:

http://www.athsvic.org.au/cache/MeetFile/146932010-11%20AV%20Shield%20East%20Region%20Timetable%20P1%20rds%202-4-6-8-10-12%20as%20at%2023-9-10.pdf

I have really enjoyed doing road race events back in Ireland but for me Athletics is first and foremost about the track so I am looking forward to the buzz of competing in a proper race (rather than just a time trial, which is what road races are to me) and have my performances electronically timed and all that jazz. Even if the actual performances will be far from sensational.

My Track PB's which I hope to beat in the coming weeks are:

100m: 13.1
200m: 30.1
400m: 66.2
800m: 2:42 (that was done with Road Running shoes and should be easily beaten)
1500m: 5:16 (In 2003)
Mile: 5:48
Long Jump: 4.60ish

Brianderunner

Interesting to see something different on here for a change. best of luck with the races.

Pisco Sour

Ok so today I competed in my first track meet in Melbourne. Absolutely amazing day. As I havent joined a club yet (waiting until the new year starts on April 1st to do that) I competed as an invitation athlete of Richmond Harriers.

I did a tough track sprint session on Thursday. It has been a long while since I have done anything like that and as a result my legs have been sore and stiff since then. I did everything I could think of to try loosen them up today but they remained stiff throughout the day. Maybe that caused some of my performances to be less than maybe what they could have been but its no big deal.

I entered 4 events today: 200m, 800m, Long Jump and 3000m

200m

I finished 4th out of the 6 runners in my heat in a time of 28.2 seconds which I was delighted with. However I was told afterwards that there was a bit of a tailwind but the wind wasnt being measured today so I have no idea how strong it was. One official said that he didnt think it would be much over 2.5 so screw it I'm going to count this time as a PB anyway. I didnt feel extremely smooth probably because of my legs being stiff but I finished strong and pipped one guy from Richmond Harriers to 4th place, edging him out by 0.4 seconds. I was delighted until I realised he was 9 years younger than me :rolleyes: ah well. The winner of my heat ran it in 24.0 seconds. I would have prefered to run in a slower heat but I was in a rush to get to the start line for the 800m (which was being run in lanes 1 and 2, with the 200m in lanes 3-8) so I ran in a heat that was too fast for me and so winning the race was never an option.

800m

As it turned out I had about 30 minutes rest before I ran my 800m race. I ran in the 2 minutes 40 standard heat. I didnt feel too great early on and after 300m I was last of the 11 runners. I overtook one coming up to the bell and completed the first lap in 1:22. I finished quite strong and overtook another 2 runners to finish 8th and run a time of 2:44, even splits! Despite that I was a little disappointed as I have run 2:42 as a time trial back in Dublin, in road running shoes, and yet in a proper race here with spikes I couldnt go faster. I guess a combination of the hot weather, the stiff muscles and the fact I had run 200m probably took a little bit away from me. But still not a terrible run by any means.

Long Jump

I had a good bit of time to rest before the Long Jump and did some practicing and warm up on the other pit which was not being used. In the actual competition my first jump was 3.87m. Below what I expected for sure. Second jump I improved to 4.07m, and my third and final attempt improved once more to 4.17m. I was pleased with it to be honest. I have jumped 4.50-4.60ish back home but that was after about 7-8 attempts. Its a bit different doing it in a competition where you just get 3 efforts. I didnt stick around to see where I finished in my heat but I reckon I was about half way down the 10 or 11 starters.

3000m

I dont know what I was thinking running this. My legs were in pain after the other three events so I was never going to be able to do myself justice here. I guess I wanted to get value for my dollar and get another event in. There were just 2 heats of the 3000m. I went in the slower heat which was basically a mass start type of thing with about 50 runners in it. Must be painful trying to keep track of how many laps each people have left. I settled comfortably about half way down the field. Cardio wise I didnt push myself as much as I could, but there was a reason. My legs were starting to feel the pain at this stage after my earlier exertions and so after 1500m I made a sensible decision to drop out. My time at the half way point was 6 minutes 40 which is well of what I am capable of running. It is the first race I have ever dropped out of and I was a little disappointed with myself for doing it but there was nothing much to be gained from plodding along to a time of 13:20-13:30 when I can run it close to 12 minutes dead. Besides I wasnt competing for any club so I couldnt score points for any team anyway.

So thats my first track meet down here. Really enjoyable afternoon. It is so great to see so many people of all different ages and all different abilities take part together. Many people take part in as many events as possible just for fun. Some even competed in 7, 8 or 9 events today which is insane. Athletics Victoria and the clubs down here have really fostered a great culture of grassroots athletics. After seeing such a great event today it makes me very sad that in Ireland we dont have this. Back home if you are running 400m in 66 seconds there is no future for you. Here you simply run against others of your own level and you get to enjoy the buzz of running in a proper race and score points for your club in the championship standings. Maybe if we created such a thing back home that got moer of the average joes running 400m, 800m etc rather than just road running events then maybe our country would have much more interest in the sport of Athletics. Just a thought.

The only disappointment today was the lack of electronic timing. Supposedly the track at Ringwood is one of the few that doesnt have it set up.

Next weekend hopefully I will get to compete again. 100m and 400m being the priorities but sure I may aswell give a few of the field events a go for the craic. Haven't thrown a Javelin since my one and only attempt 13 years ago! No better time to have another go!

I will update the thread when the official results are posted on the website and do a little analysis of where I ranked overall in each event.

Pisco Sour

Official results not out yet but got an email off one of the coaches at Richmond Harriers saying

Putting that in perspective, while we do have a couple of guys that would run faster, of those that were there yesterday you would have been our 2nd fastest in the 200m and about 4th in the 800m of the open men, and 3rd in the long jump.

Pretty happy with that for a first meet.

TheRoadRunner

Great stuff. Those meets sound brilliant. Would be brilliant if we had something similar here. Best of luck next week but don't take your eyes off the main prize. You have to run a sub 5 min mile soon to sicken some of your pre Christmas doubters

donothoponpop

+1 Great to read this report, fair play for trying out so many different disciplines. What a set-up, sounds like a really inclusive way of being competitive.

Pisco Sour

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Great stuff. Those meets sound brilliant. Would be brilliant if we had something similar here. Best of luck next week but don't take your eyes off the main prize. You have to run a sub 5 min mile soon to sicken some of your pre Christmas doubters

Yup, thats still on my mind but for now I just want to enjoy some of these track events.

Pisco Sour

Results are up:

200m

Time: 28.2
Rank in my heat: 4th out of 6
Rank among all males: 69th out of 93
Rank overall: 89th out of 147

800m

Time: 2:44.7
Rank in my heat: 8th out of 11
Rank among all males: 72nd out of 90
Rank overall: 96th out of 133

Long Jump

Distance: 4.17m
Rank in my heat: 5th out of 14
Rank among all males: 37th out of 50
Rank overall: 54th out of 78

I'm not going to bother breaking down my rank by age. Too much effort. There were some older than me, some younger, some way younger, some way older.

This saturday I will be focusing on the 100m and the 400m. Theres a big gap between the 2 events so I will be nicely recovered in time for the 400m. Am going to sacrifice the 1500m as if I was to do that I would be bolloxed my the time the 400m comes around.

Had a training session in the rain with Richmond Harriers this evening on the Collingwood track. It was tough but enjoyable nonetheless. 5x150 sprints flat out. Feeling it now. Not used to this.

Pisco Sour

A day to forget. I'll try put it into words as best I can.

Last tuesday in training I had a very tough session. The coach ran me hard and had me do 5 150m sprints flat out with 4 minutes rest between each one. I probably should have stopped after 3 as I have never done anything like this before and it takes time to get used to it. After I finished on tuesday the front part of my upper left thigh was extremely sore. It felt tight, heavy and well...sore. When I pressed against my thigh it was very sore. I assumed though that it was just the usual stiff muscles after a tough training session and that after a few days rest I'd be right as rain.

Well after a couple of days the soreness had completely gone. When I pressed against my thigh I felt no discomfort whatsoever. So as far as I was concerned that particular problem had dissappeared.

What was more concerning to me the last 2 days was my feet. The top of my feet were very sore the last few days, mainly in the middle part of the tops of my feet (I have no idea of the medical terms of most parts of the body). It is probably due to my change in running style since I have started training with Richmond Harriers. Beforehand I would just run naturally but since training with the club the coach is on to me to get up on my toes more. This is obviously something that I have to do to sprint faster but it is taking some getting used to and I guess the muscles in my feet are feeling it as a result. Maybe its caused from something else but that is my best guess.

However I felt that it was something I could run through and which wouldnt hold me back too much. Today at the AV Shield meet in Doncaster I went for a short jog and felt fine. Feet a bit sore but I could shut that out I was thinking. However as soon as I did my first warm up sprinting strides my damn thigh acted up again. Out of nowhere it felt as painful as it had the previous tuesday. WTF! After that I knew it was a hopeless cause. I kept doing strides hoping that I could run it off but to no avail. It just felt so uncomfortable, tight and heavy. I couldnt believe it as I was certain it was just DOMS and the soreness had dissappeared.

I really shouldnt have run the 100m but I guess I wanted to give it a go so I would have no regrets. I'm not sure what the time was, I will have to wait for the results on the net, but I felt AWFUL. All technique went out the window. My start was awful, I didnt pump my arms enough. I didnt get up on my toes at all really. I felt like a drunk penguin. As soon as I started my thigh felt sore and that overtook my mind. I wouldnt be surprised if my time was 15 or 16 seconds. It really felt so slow. However I wasnt last, but I felt miles behind guys who apparantly have run as fast as me (13 seconds) so that doesnt bode well for what my time was.

After that there was no way I could attempt the 400m a couple of hours later and I pulled out of that which was terribly dissappointing. That was the event I was looking forward to the most. I had run 66.2 in a time trial in Belfield in September and really believed that in a proper race I could have run 64/65 seconds today. The conditions were PERFECT, barely a breeze at all. Absolutely gutted.

Earlier in the day before the 100m I did the Javelin just to pass time before my 100m. This was before my thigh acted up. The Javelin was good fun although I was fairly hopeless at it and threw a pitiful 13.21m.

After I made the decision to pull out of the 400m I decided to throw the discuss so I could get some value for my entry fee. I didnt enjoy it as much as the Javelin but that was mainly because I was pissed off after the 100m. I was dreadful again and threw just under 15m. I dont have a lot of upper body strength though to be honest and no technique (first time I threw a Javelin in 13 years and first time I threw a discuss ever).

The coach has said to me to not run for a week or so. Thats what I plan to do anyway. Not do any sort of running for a week or 10 days. The next AV Shield meet isnt for 2 weeks anyway, and the next meet to have a 100m and 400m isnt for 3 weeks I think so hopefully a bit of rest will do me good and that its not something worse.

For now I dont even want to think about running. Going to go to the Australian Open tennis a few days next week at Melbourne Park which will take my mind off today.

I'm in a bit of heap right now. Not just the left thigh but both feet hurting as much as any time in the last few days.

Pisco Sour

I didnt get a chance to update this during the week.

My injury riddled performance at the weekend in the 100m was 15.53 secs:o:(:mad::eek: into a -0.9 headwind.

To put things in perspective, one of the guys I beat last week in the 200m by 0.4 seconds this week ran 14.02 into a stronger headwind of -1.5.

Assuming if I was fully fit and ran to form from last week then 13.8 into a -1.5headwind would have been a likely result, probably 13.6ish in my particular race (-0.9 headwind), and if I got a nice tailwind then very low 13's would have been possible.

So many would haves should haves. The injury took 2 seconds off me over 100m which is massive. Am resting this week. Injury seems to be healing up but when I have ran (just when late for Tram, crossing the road etc, no actual training) it has felt very off. Time hopefully will do the trick.

Australian Open this saturday and sunday. Cant wait.

Oisin11178

Never mind the tennis get out and walk your room mates dog:D

pgmcpq

04072511 wrote: »

My injury riddled performance at the weekend .....

Don't know much about track but the rational side of you knows that an injury related performance is just that ... injury related. There's nothing you can learn from it. Frustrating, but write the performance off - and let the damn tram go for a few days !!!

menoscemo

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Never mind the tennis get out and walk your room mates dog:D

Read that too!!

Pisco Sour

Ok its been a good while since I updated this. Basically after my injury which messed up my 100m performance at the AV Shield, I took some time off and did not running. Two weeks later I was probably almost healed but decided to pass on the next AV Shield that day as I felt it would be better to give it more time just in case. The following weekend was the last of the AV Shield and I fully planned to attend that one and run a 100m and 400m.

However, the night before the event Melbourne got hit by some terrible floods and worse still my room got DESTORYED, with water coming through the roof and soacking my bed and about 40% of the carpet and some of my clothes. I wasn't in a good mood to run obviously the next day but packed my bags and headed off, but then found out that my train was shut down because of the floods, so I just headed back home and had some much needed beers.

I was working 5 weeks at crap hours (12.30 to 8.30pm) so I have never been able to get down to the track at Collingwood at 5.30pm for track sprinting training. That coupled with my injury, and also my severe laziness to get out there and go for a run around my area meant I did very little running at all for about 6 weeks or so, with the exception of one run around the tan.

The famous Tan Track is a 3.827 kilometre marked running trail around the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and is full of runners of all abilities. Sonia O'Sullivan used that trail regularly in her hay day (she probably still uses it now as she lives in Melbourne). I ran it one day, flat out, and recorded a time of 16mins 43secs. Considering the humid still warm conditions (despite it being 8pm) I was happy with that.

Now I have started a job with normal hours. I have flexi time and so I can come in early and leave early the days of track training. I went to my first session in a month last tuesday and did 4x300m sprints. I ran in road running shoes rather than spikes to ease myself back into it. I didnt run very quick. Think we were running the 300 in about 53-54 which is a tad slow considering I have done 400m in 66.

Today I went to the track again and the plan was to do 6x200m sprints. We werent going completely flat out (about 30-32 seconds). However towards the end of my 3rd 200m I felt a twinge in my left calf. I assume it was oncoming cramp so I stopped at stretched, and sat the 4th 200m out. When I tried the 5th 200m I again felt the twinge, this time immediately. Again I rested, and tried one more time and it was still there, so the coach reckons its a calf strain and that I need to give it some rest. So I will have to sit out thursday training. We have another track meet on saturday and I am DESPERATE to be able to run in it after missing all the recent meets, so his advice is to rest until friday and then go for a jog and do some strides. If it feels fine then I should come along on saturday. There is 200m and 400m on this weekend.

Dont really know what caused the strain. Maybe I should be doing more running outside of the training sessions with tle club. I think I am doing too much too soon when I head to the sessions, though today wasn't particularly tough. Maybe its the fact I am not used to running on my toes (I run very flat footed which is not the right technique for sprinters and have been trying to change that at my coaches request) which could be causing more stress and weight on my calves than I am used to. Who knows, it could be anything! Annoying is what it is!!!

Pisco Sour

Ok so today was a great day in my running career (I use that word in the loosest sense of the word of course!!).

A quick summary of the races I had done up to today. After Christmas there was 4 AV Shield meets left in the summer track season. At the first of those I ran a PB for 200m with a time of 28.2 seconds, jumped 4.17m for long jump and ran 2.44 for 800m. The next weekend at the 2nd of the meets I was badly injured and ran an appalling time over 100m of 15.5 seconds and had to sacrifice the 400m then. I was gutted. I sat out the 3rd meet to be ready for the 4th but unforeseen circumstances (flood damage) got in the way of me being motivated to attend that meet.

After the AV Shield was finished there was 3 extra meets put on for some extra competition between some of the clubs. No points at stake, just a more laid back event. I missed the first of these as I had already planned a trip through the great ocean road that weekend so today was to be my first track meet in what felt like an age.

As per my previous post I picked up an injury on tuesday night. I spent the rest of the week recovering and on friday lunchtime I tested it out by doing a few strides. I passed the test and felt fine so I decided I'd give this meet a go.

However some friends who I had not seen in 2 years were in town so I decided to go out for a few alcoholic beverages. Double whiskey, a few beers, and an irish car bomb. Not good preparation but I made sure to drink plenty of water during the evening and get plenty of sleep to minimise the damage.

Woke up this morning, a little hungover but not too bad at all. Downed about 2-3 litres of water over the course of a few hours and I was completely fine. A bigger worry was the fact that my legs were stiff and shins were hurting a bit. I may have pushed myself yesterday a bit more than I should have.

Today there was 200m and 400m races on. I faced a dilemma: whether to do them both or to focus solely on the 400m. I had already registered a good PB this summer in the 200m and as the 400m was after the 200m I felt that if I wanted to focus on the 4 I had to sacrifice the 2.

Getting to the start line I did not know what to expect. My previous best was 66.2 seconds so I raced in the 65-70 second heat. As it turned out I was running against 5 women, but they were all quick and would provide a very good challenge.

As it turns out the race went perfectly. I paced myself well. Went off hard, settled after 50 metres. I was in lane 3 and my clubmate in lane 2 ate up the stagger really quickly. I knew from training that I was much faster than her so being innexperienced at racing the distance I wasnt sure whether she had gone off too fast or I had started too slow. Anyway I just shut it out and ran my own race and by the 200m mark I had passed her again as she died a slow death. Coming into the homestraight there was 2 ahead of me, but I felt great and with 60-70 metres to go I knew the race was mine, and went passed them with about 30-40 metres left and won comfortable by about 0.8 of a second. I was thrilled with the victory. Yes they were women but they were of my level so winning felt good. Then I was told the time. I couldnt believe it. 63.9 seconds, an enormous PB. I was in shock!! Did not think I was in the shape to run that quickly. The slowest of the 6 of us ran 68 seconds so it was a good competitive race.

One of my coaches said I ran the race perfectly, paced myself just right. The other coach said that he thinks I should have an extra beer or two next weekend before the final track meet as it appears to have done me good

To be honest today was probably the best I have ever ran a race, of any distance. It went perfectly and on the day I couldt have done any better. A great feeling!

So next weekend is the final track meet of the season. The events that concern me next weekend are the 100m and the 800m. Provided the 100m is first then i'll do both events but if the 800m is first then I will skip it as the 100m is priority. After my disaster a month or so back when I was injured I have unfinished business over the event. If I get a slight breeze behind me and am fit I know I am capable of going sub 13 seconds.

Pisco Sour

Ok so continueing on from my race report I have stats from yesterdays 400m:

In total there were 5 heats. The first 4 had 6 runners each and the final heat had 4. So 28 people in total ran the 400m yesterday.

They started with the fastest heat and ended with the slowest. I ran in the 4th heat. I won in 63.9 with the other 5 runners all recording good times (64.7, 66.3, 67.1, 67.1, 67.4).

More importantly only 2 of the 6 runners in the 3rd fastest heat went faster than me with the guy in 3rd place having the exact same time as me, so I would have been strongly competitive in that race.

Overall I finished tied 15th out of the 28 runners.

4 people ran sub 55
12 people ran sub 60
17 people ran sub 65
23 people ran sub 70
26 people ran sub 71

And then there was a 76 and a 91. So overall it was quite competitive, and most importantly fun!

Pisco Sour

Since my 400m race last weekend I did absolutely no training at all. I wasn't in the best of moods earlier in the week and consequently didnt feel like making the trek to the track for training after work. I said to myself "sure I'll go thursday instead". However I had completely forgotten that thursday was Paddys Day so needless to say training was given a skip then aswell!

So maybe not the best prepared but I headed out to the track at Box Hill yesterday for the final track meet of the summer track season. I had originally planned to not run the 800m and save myself for the 100m. However I had a change of heart and reckoned there was more PB potential in the 800m.

800m

Going into the race my PB was a 2:42 I ran as a time trial in Belfield wearing road running shoes. Amazingly in January despite being in an actual race, wearing spikes, I could not better this and ran a dissappointing 2:44. I entered the 5th of 6 heats and felt great from the start. There was 8 in the race and after 200m I was 6th but coming up to half way I went past 2 people and moved up to 4th. I went through the 400m mark in 75 seconds and knew I was on for a good one. I chased down the lad in 3rd place and darted past him on the final bend (I felt like Sonia for a brief moment ) . I really pushed on in the last 80 and finished so strong. Sadly one other guy was finishing like a formula one racing car and came flying past me out of nowhere. I finished in 4th lace in a time of 2:34.9, a PB by 7 seconds. I was delighted. However I feel there was maybe another 1-1.5 seconds in the legs had I kicked earlier. I knew I was onto a fast one and was a little paranoid that I was gonna tweek something in my calves and so on some level didnt want to risk the PB. Was absolutely delighted with this run all in all.

100m

Not much time to catch my breath. The 100m was up straight away and only 20 minutes after I finsihed the 800 I was in the starting blocks. There was 5 in my heat and I came last with a time of 13.8. I just didnt run as well as I could. Got out slow from the blocks, didnt feel smooth and was always chasing down the guys in front of me. It wasn't terrible but I was expecting to run low 13's. Of course the fact that the guy to my left ran 12.4 to win the race (the same guy who pipped me in line over 800m) made me feel like I was going slower than perhaps I was. There was a slight headwind aswell so that made me feel a bit better.

Triple Jump

I was dissappointed there was no Long Jump on the program so I entered the Triple Jump despite the fact I have never done a single triple jump in my life. As it turns out I hopped, stepped and jumped 8.93 metres which I was pretty pleased with considering I had never done it before.

Shot Putt

After everything else was done I decided to enter this event for the craic. I have no upper body strength but decided to see how I'd get on. 5.67m was my best. Awful, but it was a bit of a laugh anyway!

So the track season is over which I'm pretty gutted about. I find it so much more enjoyable than the mass participation road races which dominate the sport at the recreational level and indeed on these boards. But there is no more track meets until October so I guess it is time to focus on the Road Racing and Cross Country season. I will join Richmond Harriers as a full member and will compete in the numerous Athletics Victoria winter season events that will be taking place.

I'll come back later with some final statistics from the track season.

Pisco Sour

Ok so the track season is over and I have the stats on where I ranked within the club in each event based on seasons bests in competition:

100m - 13.8 secs - 11th out of 21
200m - 28.2 secs - 10th out of 16
400m - 63.9 secs - 12th out of 26
800m - 2:34.9 - 18th out of 33
Long Jump - 4.17m - 4th out of 14
Triple Jump - 8.93m - 5th out of 10
Javelin (800g) - 13.21m - 6th out of 8
Shot (7.26kg) - 5.67m - 9th out of 10
Discuss (2kg) - 14.65m - 5th out of 8

Pisco Sour

So with the track season over now I thought I'd update my PB's and to compare my PB's across various events I will divide my time by the world record. The lower the number, the better my time. I wont do it for 100m though as everybody has natural speed over such a short distance and so wouldnt be great for comparing to other events where you would be found out more if you haven't trained (and also because I don't know what my exact PB is)

100m - 13.1ish seconds (in belfield). Sadly I didnt run faster in a real race so its hard to know exactly what my PB is.

200m - 28.2 secs - Melbourne, 2011 (1.470 times the world record)
400m - 63.9 secs -Melbourne, 2011 (1.480 times the world record)
800m - 2:34.9 - Melbourne, 2011 (1.536 times the world record)
1500m - 5:16.00 - Santry, 2003 (1.534 times the world record)
Mile - 5:48.00 - Belfield, 2010 (1.560 times the world record)
5K - 21:02 - Rathfarnham, 2009 (1.666 times the world record)
10K - 45:32 - Crookstown, County Kildare, 2009 (1.732 times the world record)
Half Marathon - 1:49:06 - Wexford, 2009 (1.869 times the world record)
Marathon - 4:07:35 - Rotterdam (1.997 times the world record)

Long Jump - 4.50m (ish) - Belfield, 2010 (0.527 times the world record)
Triple Jump - 8.93m - Melbourne, 2011 (0.488 times the world record)

I haven't bothered listing my PB's for the throws as they are simply dreadful

So if you compare my PB's for all running bases events from 200m, down to the marathon, my best events are as follows:

1) 200m - 1.470
2) 400m - 1.480
3) 1500m - 1.534
4) 800m - 1.536
5) Mile - 1.560
6) 5K - 1.666
7) 10K - 1.732
8) HM - 1.869
9) Marathon - 1.997

Althugh my 200m is marginally ahead, I am happier with my 400m times as there may have been a tailwind in my 200m.

This method of comparing performances over different distances isnt perfect but its as valid a method as any. It is clear from this that I may be suited more to shorter events. With the exception of my 1500m being marginally better than my 800m, my performances get weaker as the distance increases. It would be interesting to see somebody who is more slow twitch do an experiment like this to see what his/her results would be. If anyone has done such a thing please do post it.

My marathon training got a bit of stick off some people, but maybe part of the problem also is that comparatively I may not be that great over such long distances.

In any case the Road Racing and Cross Country (+Relays) season is coming up soon and I'm looking forward to it.

Pisco Sour

So after a successful track season where I hit PB's over 200m, 400m and 800m I fell into the lazy trap and haven't done a tap in the last 7-8 weeks. What was supposed to be a short break just seemed to go on and on. Obviously moving to a new city has its challenges and making proper friends can be a challenge, so the last number of weekends I have gone on the beer a lot in an effort to get to know more people. Good craic has been had, but that guilt that all runners are familiar with when not doing a tap came back to me this week.

So I have entered into an Athletics Victoria 10km road race out beside the famous Flemington Racecourse (home of the Melbourne Cup as all Racing fans will more than likely know). The race is on Sunday 5th June, so just a smidge over 3 weeks away. Not a lot of time to make an assault on my PB but I'll give it a lash anyway.

My current 5km PB is 21:02 on a slightly downhill Rathfarnham course in 2009, and to date I have run three 10km races:

2008 Great Ireland Run - 46:59
2009 Great Ireland Run - 47:29 (when training for the Wexford Half)
2009 Crookstown Motorway Run - 45:32

For those who don't remember the Crookstown 10km was this out and back 10km on a perfectly flat, though horribly wind exposed motorway course. The best organised race I have been to in Ireland and as far as I am aware it was just a once off.

I am going to target that PB in 3 weeks time. It doesnt sound like much time but to put things in my favour, that PB was set when I was just 3 weeks into my Rotterdam Marathon training, so its not like there was many miles in the legs at the time. In addition the final 5km I was running into a strong headwind. So these few minor details lead me to believe that sub 45:32 or maybe even sub 45 is possible, even with just 3 weeks training.

To start things off this evening I ran 4.15km in 19 mins 07 secs (46:03 pace for 10km). It was probably run at 90%. I'm happy with the start but a bit of work to be done.

Brianderunner

I think you'll surprise yourself in the 10k. The track training and races you've done will have increased your stride turnover and efficiency since the plod that was rotterdam Try to do a few strides at end of your runs. I cant see much benefit of doing speedwork. not gonna adapt in time.

Pisco Sour

Today the plan was to do two 3.3km loops and attempt to do so in under 30 minutes. I finished the first 3.3km loop in 14 minutes 47 seconds, but early on in the second loop I started to feel very drained, so I decided to do a shorter loop back to my house.

In total I ran 5.22km in 23 minutes 31 seconds (45:03 10km pace), so my pace dropped a little during the last 1.9km (4:28 per KM for the first 3.3km, and 4:32 per KM for the final 1.92km).

I was probably running at 95%. There really wasn't very much left in the tank and I was shattered at the end of it. Beating my PB will be tough task. I'll try to gradually increase the distance at which I can keep up a 45 minute 10km pace at. Hopefully come 3 weeks time I'll be able to run to that pace for the full 10. Was quite windy today which must be noted.

It does make me wonder how I managed to run 21:02 in late 2009 for 5km. A good bit off that at the moment.

The weather down here is a bit of a mixed bag. One moment cold, wet, windy. The next minute sunny and warm. The whole 4 seasons in one day down here.

Back to the track, here is a blog I wrote about the whole set up for track running down here in Melbourne for anybody who is interested:

http://jamessullivan4.blogspot.com/2011/03/melbourne-australia-running-around-in.html

Brianderunner wrote: »

Try to do a few strides at end of your runs.

Absolutely zero energy for any of that today thats for sure.

Krusty_Clown

Cracking photos!

Pisco Sour

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cracking photos!

In order to get them to get in a photo with me I used one simple line "Ah come on {Insert athlete's name here}, I came all the way from Ireland to watch ya run".

Mr Lagat in particular enjoyed such jibberish and gladly pushed the 20+ photo seeking kids aside for a quick snap.

I also asked The Buster Mottram would he be competing in the Great Ireland Run and he said they were considering it strongly, but I guess that never materialised.

Good oul David Rudisha tried to creep through unnoticed through a part of the track at the end of the night, only for me fein to spot him. Needless to say I was pretty forward in asking for a pic. He whispered in my ear and said "no problem mate" as a way to try and encourage me not to make a scene and have people notice him. Too late unfortunately, and he was stuck having pictures taken for 5 minutes.

Sally Pearson was in foul humour even though she won the 100 and 200. She was furious over her times and it is a wonder I managed to even get a photo with her at all.

One guy who I didnt upload but deserves mention is 800m Nick Symmonds. Absolute gent. Was very accomodating when I asked for a photo. The way every sportsperson should behave. I hope he does well now because of that.

Caprica

Great photos, the Kenyan athletes always strike me as being shy and reserved.

There is great reading in your travel blog. Would love to get to Machu Picchu some day. Never realised there was flooding all the way down to Melbourne well done on taking on the landlord. What has been your highlight so far?

Pisco Sour

Caprica wrote: »

Great photos, the Kenyan athletes always strike me as being shy and reserved.

There is great reading in your travel blog. Would love to get to Machu Picchu some day. Never realised there was flooding all the way down to Melbourne well done on taking on the landlord. What has been your highlight so far?

Haha yeh, there was another episode with the landlord after that, which I again won convincingly. I just didnt bother writing about it. Think I posted about it somewhere on the Australia forum.

Highlights? So many of them. My favourite country was Peru. In Particular Cusco and the surrounding areas. So much history, so much culture, and amazing architecture. Mind blowing. Then the sacred Valley, Inca Trail and of course Machu Picchu. That whole region was amazing.

Outside of that, the 3 day tour of South Western Bolivia was incredible. You literally feel like you are on another planet. Scenery that is off the charts. There are no roads, just dust tracks, dirt trails, and sometimes you just drive over the barren landscape. Unreal.

Other highlights:

Valparaiso (Chile)
Colonia (Uruguay)
Rio de Janeiro
Iguassu Falls
Perito Moreno Glacier (Argentina)

Ah screw it, all of South America is amazing. I dont know why so few Irish visit it. I didnt meet very many out there. Most go the South East Asia route down to Oz.

Pisco Sour

Took yesterday off and hit the road again this evening. Legs were feeling quite stiff from Saturday's run so I decided to run easy to begin with.

Went off very easily and ran the first 3.3km loop in 16:27 (49:50 pace for 10k). Running well within myself. Then for the second 3.3km loop I tested myself and upped the pace, and ran it in 14:55 (45:12 pace for 10k). I was probably running at 90%.

So overall, 6.6km in 31:22 (47:31 pace for 10km).

It remains to be seen how realistic sub 45 is.

Pisco Sour

I planned to take today off and run tomorrow instead, but when getting off the tram home from work I looked up at the clear night sky and thought I may as well take advantage of the nice calm evening. Anybody who has been to Melbourne will know right well how much the weather changes and tomorrow could be horrendous. Sure even 30 minutes later could be bad weather, that's how changeable it is here.

So I did the same distance as yesterday, 6.6km (two 3.3km loops). I set off much faster today though and completed the first 3.3km loop in 14:55 (45:12 pace for 10km). I felt quite good though, not as tired as I thought I would be. I then tried to up the pace on the 2nd 3.3km loop. However I started to feel quite tired about half way though it. I assumed that the increased effort and the increased tiredness would cancel each other out and that I'd complete the 2nd lap in a similar time to the first, but to my surprise I ran it in 14:40 (14:26 pace for 10km).

So overall 29:35 for 6.6km (44:49 pace for 10km). I was pretty wrecked towards the end but there was definetely a bit more in the tank which is encouraging.

Its been a long time since I have done distance running so am finding it tough getting used to blocking out the negative thoughts that come into the head when training. Ever since doing the track stuff, it seems to have made training for distance even more of a mental effort.

Will take tomorrow off. Its my birthday on Friday and am having a house party for it so will obviously be on a mad one, so will need to get in a good run on Thursday. Then the Heineken Cup final at 3am saturday night, so it really could be a bad weekend for running, but I will definetely get out on Sunday, even if I am hungover. Now it is time for me to practice making a Caipirinhia, as I'll be making loads of them for people on friday. For those who have never drank one before you are missing out!!:)

Pisco Sour

After a day off yesterday I opted for time on my feet this evening rather than a lung bursting session. So I decided to run 10km, at a comfortable pace.

The first 3.3km loop was run in 16:13, the next in 16:04 and then I did a bit of striding as suggested by Brian at the end of my final 3.3km loop and did that in 15:31. I then ran another 24 seconds to round out the full 10km.

So 48:12 for 10km, but I wasn't pushing it one bit, except for the last 700 metres. My legs were feeling stiff and heavy for much of the run, but I ran very much within my comfort zone and was not breathing heavily at all really.

The fact I am running 48:12 for 10km with very little effort shows that I am in reasonably good shape. But there is a big difference between 48 minutes and sub 45 as everybody knows well.

That was actually the longest I have run since the Rotterdam Marathon 13 months ago. Madness eh?!

Pisco Sour

So I went 4 days on the spin with no running. Not acceptable. Ok friday was my birthday, and saturday I was hanging so that is fair enough. I was up late on saturday night to watch Leinster so even though I didnt really drink I still didnt get much sleep and so was still suffering Sunday, so even that is vaguely acceptable. But monday was pure laziness after work. I very rarely back out of a run I have planned but after getting home late from work yesterday I was tired, hungry and cranky and just full on couldnt have been arsed. Cant let that happen again.

To make up for yesteday I needed to make this evening a good run which I did. Ran 5.22km, the first 3.3km loop in 14:59 (at around 10K PB pace) and felt quite comfortable, and then upped the pace for the alst 1.92km and did that in 8:06 (around 5K PB pace). The total 5.22km was covered in 23:05 (44:13 pace for 10km). Yes I was tired, but nowhere near as tired as I was the last time I did that exact run last week, and I ran it 25 or so seconds faster aswell and finished strong (wasn't full on sprinting but was stretching the legs for sure).

One thing I have to say though is that after doing the track season I have realised that I don't love distance training. I love the races of course but runing around a perfectly boring rectangle loop in the dark after work is not the most enjoyable. I cant wait for the track season again. I find it so much more fun, and prefer the sprint training doing intervals being honest.

But onwards and upwards. Think I have a fighting chance at sub 45 minutes.

Pisco Sour

Went out today and put in a big effort to run quickly. Splits were as follows:

First 3.3km : 14:28 (43:50 pace for 10km)
Second 3.3km : 14:45 (44:35 pace for 10km)
Final 0.85km : 3:31 (41:42 pace for 10km)

So 7:45km in 32:42 (43:53 pace for 10km)

I was pretty wrecked by the end of it, but that run has brought be a lot of confidence that I can run sub 45 next sunday. After getting around at a sub 44 pace for three quarters of the distance, a sub 45 pace will feel a lot more comfortable.

I need to get a loan of a Garmin for next weekend though to help with my pacing.