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

Pisco Sour

Good confidence boosting session today. Did 3x300m reps with 4 minute walk back breaks between each rep. Went at about 80%, and maybe 90% for the last rep. Pushed that bit more on the last rep, thinking that the increased effort would be compensated by fatigue, but to my delight I didn't tire and ran faster on that final rep.

My times were:

54(low) - 54(low) - 52(high)

Pisco Sour

Been awhile since I did a good hill session so today seemed like a good day for it. Did 5x100m with 2 minute walk back rest between each rep, on a reasonably sloped hill. I pushed pretty hard on all of them and my times were:

18(low)- 18(low) - 17(high) - 17(high) - 17(low)

One thing I've noticed that I am not doing as well as I should is pumping my arms. When I run I subconciously let them go into passive mode, so for the last 3 reps I made a concious effort to pump the arms and the times speak for themselves.

Certainly something I have to work on.

Right onto the main business of the day. COME ON IRELAND. Time to take out a nice ice cold bottle of Carlton Draught from my fridge. Guilt free now that I've got my session in.

Pisco Sour

04072511 wrote: »

Right onto the main business of the day. COME ON IRELAND.

Ah FFS!!!

Pisco Sour

Decided to take a day off today, as I had done 3 days in a row after my brief time out of training, and perhaps 4 might have been a bit much. So did a core strength session instead (doing these around 3-4 times a week).

I don't particularly like the hip rises exercise and might leave it out and replace it with supermans. Feel like I am straining my back everytime I do it and perhaps I'm not doing it properly.

Pisco Sour

Had prob my toughest session today. Went for a 4x200m session on the paved road with 3 mins between each rep. Really pushed hard. Very very close to all out. Times were:

33(low) - 31(high) - 32(mid) - 31(high)

After the 3rd rep I had briefly made the decision to leave it at 3 reps for today as I was sapped, but I decided to do the 4th one and it ended up being my fastest so have to be pleased with that. Those 31 highs would prob equate to prob a 28 on the track with spikes. Hard to know.

Plan is to have 2 easier sessions for the rest of the week and be ready for battle on saturday. Hoping for a solid mid 27 second run for 200m.

Shattered now. Too tired to even go for a shower at the moment.

Pisco Sour

Did a pyramid session today. Not completely pushing it all out. Maybe going at 80%, but pushed harder on the 300. 3-4 minute walk back break between each rep.

100-200-300-200-100

My times were:

16(high) - 33(mid) - 51(high) - 33(high) - 16(low)

Felt a bit tougher than it should have. I was knocking a lot of cement off bricks today and I think that may have had a slight effect on my breathing and I forgot to bring my inhaler with me when I went running.

Had a near disaster moment today on the farm. In the middle of carrying bricks I tripped over some stupid piece of wire and in the process I think the brick dropped out of my hand and grazed off my right foot. I've iced it twice now, and when running I didnt feel anything at all so I dont think its a problem, but when I push against it it hurts a bit in one point, on the top of my foot, just below the toes. Hopefully it is only minor and isnt something that flairs up overnight (which I'm sure it wont), but I need to be extra careful working on the farm. There's hazardous stuff everywhere which would put your heart in your mouth. If you were training for a marathon and in the middle of a taper, you simply wouldn't be able to cope doing this work!!

Pisco Sour

04072511 wrote: »

Been awhile since I did a good hill session so today seemed like a good day for it. Did 5x100m with 2 minute walk back rest between each rep, on a reasonably sloped hill. I pushed pretty hard on all of them and my times were:

18(low)- 18(low) - 17(high) - 17(high) - 17(low)

Did this same hill session today. Ran hard but comfortable, maybe at 80%. For the last one I pushed harder but still not completely all out. Times were:

17(high) - 18(low) - 17(mid) - 17(low) - 16(mid)

Happy with the progress there.

So with the exception of a core strength session this evening, that's all training done for the week. Time to rest up and get ready for the first AV Shield track meet of the season on Saturday in Doncaster.

Pisco Sour

‎27.6 seconds in the 200m today, into a headwind. A PB by 0.6 seconds. Expected to go faster but the headwind didn't help I guess. Then 2:31.1 for the 800m, a PB by 3.8 seconds, which have to be happy with, though a little disappointed not to go sub 2:30. Then 8.97m in Triple Jump, 4cm better than my previous best. Finally jogged around in the 4x400 relay in 75 seconds to make sure the club scored some points. No point in going any faster as we were 150m behind in last place by the time I got the batton on the 4th leg. Good day, but the weather bloody changes every 5 minutes! Make up your mind Melbourne :-)

Report to come tomorrow.

Pisco Sour

So the first meet of the season took place in Doncaster yesterday and I had 4 events marked down for myself: 200m, 800m, Triple Jump and 4x400m relay. Wasn't sure whether I would do them all but in the end I did.

200m

It can be a bit hard to know when to start warming up, when to finish eating etc, because from week to week the numbers of people competing can vary. I started warming up when the women's 200m was called, but as it turned out there was about a million heats in this followed by loads of men's 200m heats before my race. There was a lot of standing around in a queue waiting for my race which was annoying but I made sure to keep warm and do strides. Lane 1 and 2 were being used for the women's 800m, so lane 3 was the tightest lane available. I was in lane 5, my coach in lane 3, these guys who I knew would be around 24-25 second runners outside me, and then the ultimate athletics bluffer in lane 4, on my inside.

Let me briefly explain the concept of the "athletics bluffer". It's the type of person who when asked how fast do they expect to run, tend to come out with bullsh1t like "I have no idea", "I don't really run this distance", "I'm in bad shape". Cut the sh1t guys. Leave the false modesty at home. The reason I ask people how fast they expect to go is so that I can get an idea of pacing and of how well I am going. That's all. I don't actually have any interest in their times other than for that reason.

So this punter on my inside says that he is in terrible shape, and reckons he'll go about 30 seconds. The gun goes off and immediately I know I've been fooled and he eats up the stagger on me after 40-50 metres and beats me by at least 1 second. Full of crap. Reminds me of those chancers back in school and college who would say they are "screwed" for an exam, "haven't done a tap" and then come out with more A1's than I've had hot dinners!

Anyway, back to the race. I got out well from the blocks, and basically pushed as hard as I could throughout. Began to hurt a bit the last 70, but I don't think my pace dropped much. 20 minutes before the race there was a seriously strong tailwind, but as luck would have it, by the time of my race, the wind had swirled 180 degrees, and I ran into a headwind the last 100 metres. It was significant enough to take a few tenths off my time. I ran 27.6 seconds, but with a tailwind, I feel low 27's would have been very doable. Bit disappointed, but can't control the weather and it is a PB by 0.6 seconds, and given the fact my previous PB had a strong tailwind, this certainly is a significantly better performance. I also pipped my coach by 0.1 seconds. Granted he already had a 400m Hurdles and a Hammer throw in his legs but was happy to beat him. He beat me by 1.4 seconds in the 400m, so this race shows I have the speed to go close to sub 60, just a bit more endurance needed.

800m

Wasn't terribly tired after the 200m so decided to give this a go, and had a 45 minute break or so between events, which was enough. I went in the sub 2:40 heat as I didnt know how fast I could go as havent been training for this event, but as my PB was 2:34.90 I felt the sub 2:40 race would be fine (of course the winners won in something like 2:20, you always get chancers entering a slow race to claim a victory. pathetic IMO). I wanted to go in the sub 2:35 heat but they had no space for me in it so I got bumped down.

The first 100m the negative thoughts entered my head saying "ugh, dont really want to do this event", but I blocked them out and just ran comfortable. Really didnt push at all and let the leading guys go off. Came through the bell in 75.5ish which was very encouraging as felt at that moment that I had so much left in the legs, and I just let rip on the final lap, went past one guy, and actually closed on the tail enders of the lead group of 6. Coming into the homestraight the time showed 2:10. I was certain I'd get 2:30. I gave it everything but alas I ran out of time and crossed the line in 2:31.10, a PB by 3.80 seconds. Very happy, but a part of me was sickened to not get under 2:30. Even splits though.

Triple Jump:

Went straight over to this event after the 800m. Was completely knackered after the 800m, but did it anyway. Decided to take a shorter run-up as I was fouling a lot on the long jump with a long run-up. First attempt was 8.85m, which was 8cm off my PB. 2nd attempt was 8.97m, a PB by 4cm. Unfortunately I lost concentration on the last jump and stepped with the wrong foot and fouled. I was told I was perfect on the board. There was a 9 metre jump there but not today. Another day.

4x400m relay

We have 2 teams in the relays. As most of our fastest guys weren't here I was put into the A team on the anchor leg. I'd be touch and go for a place on our B team if we had everybody there, so the team were always going to struggle. I was handed the batton at around 3:09 on the clock, easily in last place by 150m or so. There was literally no point in trying to run a low 60 second run against the clock as it wouldnt have made any difference, so I just made sure to get the batton around safely and jogged around in 75 seconds. Wasn't a particularly fun event. Running on your own is not enjoyable. Hopefully in the future I'll get to enjoy more competitive 4x400m relays.

So that's all from the first meet. 3 PB's so I guess I have to be happy enough.

Pisco Sour

Plan was to do 3 sessions this week, on Monday (today), Tuesday and Thursday, one speed, one endurance, and one hill. However I woke up this morning with a sore throat and am not feeling the best. The last time I ran after waking up with a sore throat I ended up with a chest infection and on antibiotics so I'm sitting it out tonight. It could have been a coincidence completely, but I'm not taking any chances.

If I am feeling better tomorrow then I'll do the 3 sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

If I'm not feeling much better and need an extra day off then I'll drop it to 2 sessions this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, just doing endurance and hill, and leaving the speed session out. I've a 400m on Saturday so I want to get some endurance and strength work done before then.

Bit annoying that a random sore throat has just popped up out of nowhere. Not the end of the world taking 1 or 2 days off though given how hard I pushed my body on Saturday.

Core strength session this evening and tomorrow evening in any case.

Pisco Sour

Sore throat is basically gone now (still not feeling the may west but more down to hayfever now, rather than the cold) so got back training this evening at last. First session since Saturday's track meet.

Am staying tonight in a different place than usual so I was running on a different surface, one which was very gravelly and therefore lacked any grip at all.

Did a 4x150m Hill session with 3 minute walk bacl breaks between each rep. Pushed hard on them all and the times were:

27(low) - 26(high) - 27(low) - 27(low)

Happy enough. Times a bit irrelevant given the surface I was running on.

28 degrees here today. I'm told this is considered a comfortably cool day given what they get in Summer time. Days regularly over 40 degrees.

Shins hurting a bit at the moment. Annoying!!

Pisco Sour

04072511 wrote: »

Good confidence boosting session today. Did 3x300m reps with 4 minute walk back breaks between each rep. Went at about 80%, and maybe 90% for the last rep. Pushed that bit more on the last rep, thinking that the increased effort would be compensated by fatigue, but to my delight I didn't tire and ran faster on that final rep.

My times were:

54(low) - 54(low) - 52(high)

Did this exact session today, except was going close to full out in all of them. Times were:

52(high) - 53(low) - 53(low)

That's my fastest set so far. Am still amazed that I did a 51 high as part of my pyramid session last week. I must have had a breeze behind me as I was pushing damn hard today and couldnt get close to that. Maybe the cold I have had has taken a fraction out of me. I was drained after this session. It didnt help that I had to walk 10 minutes from where I train, back to the house afterwards, in 29 degree burning heat. I usually have the quad bike to zip back on after a session but it's broken at the moment. That walk back was a killer.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Meet 2 is this Saturday. 100m (please give me a tailwind for once!), Long Jump and 400m are the order of the day.

Pisco Sour

On the train back to Melbourne so with time to kill I thought I'd set my goals for tomorrow's meet:

100m - Hoping to get a bit of a tailwind for a change. Unfaortunately can't control the weather, but assuming conditions are reasonable I am hoping for a 13.1 or 13.2 run.

Long Jump - No pressure on me here. As I dont have to worry about scoring points for decathlon, I can just let rip on all 3 attempts. If I fould 3 times then so be it, nothing lost. So with that attitude I am hoping for 4.50m. I've done it before, but not in competition.

400m - Sub 61 seconds. Time to hopefully take more chunks off that PB.

Pisco Sour

60.6 seconds today for 400m. GET...THE....FUK....IN!!!! Still waiting on the official electronic results, which could be a few days, but in any case it's a PB by over a second.

Things hadn't gone superbly before that. I don't have a time yet for the 100m but it felt average, probably 13.6, 13.7ish. Hard to know though, maybe the others ran a blinder rather than me running poorly, but I didn't feel like I ran a particularly great one.

Long Jump was 4.25m, which is a competition best for me, but still way down on what I have done in training with the club, and when mucking about on the track in Belfield last year.

Report to follow.

Pisco Sour

Official results wont be published for a few days but my coach got hold of them and sent me the following. He was in my 100m race and was about 2-3 metres ahead of me:

Official result - 60.9, 100m 14.35 in to a 1.7 headwind (sorry, I thought it felt much faster than that, I'm pretty gutted, I thought I had run well but only got a 13.87

The hand timing was a bit off for the 400m (was done by one of our coaches, not by official handtimers) but I'm still thrilled with a sub 61. I've now knocked 3 seconds off my time this season. Just 1 second to go

That 100m time is absolutely appalling. So appalling that it doesn't seem believeable. I knew I didn't run well, but WTF!!!!!

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

Official results wont be published for a few days but my coach got hold of them and sent me the following. He was in my 100m race and was about 2-3 metres ahead of me:

Official result - 60.9, 100m 14.35 in to a 1.7 headwind (sorry, I thought it felt much faster than that, I'm pretty gutted, I thought I had run well but only got a 13.87

The hand timing was a bit off for the 400m but I'm still thrilled with a sub 61. I've now knocked 3 seconds off my time this season. Just 1 second to go

That 100m time is absolutely appalling. So appalling that it doesn't seem believeable. I knew I didn't run well, but WTF!!!!!

Well done on the 400m. Which did you do first, the 400m or the 100m?

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

Well done on the 400m. Which did you do first, the 400m or the 100m?

100m first, then Long Jump then 400m. I like it like that. It means I'm properly loosened up and in competition mode for my favourite event.

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

100m first, then Long Jump then 400m. I like it like that. It means I'm properly loosened up and in competition mode for my favourite event.

Ok, well that 400m time is impressive, looks like this is your distance.
Seeing that the 100m is mostly power, I would say that it would improve considerably if you did a weights programme but its hard to fit in everything when you compete in so many events.
I would not dwell too much on the 100m performance. It may have been inadequate warmup? I was last out of the blocks in my 100m race and I put it down to poor warmup and inexperience with starting blocks.

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

Ok, well that 400m time is impressive, looks like this is your distance.
Seeing that the 100m is mostly power, I would say that it would improve considerably if you did a weights programme but its hard to fit in everything when you compete in so many events.
I would not dwell too much on the 100m performance. It may have been inadequate warmup? I was last out of the blocks in my 100m race and I put it down to poor warmup and inexperience with starting blocks.

Yeh it didnt feel good and my shins were a bit sore in the warm up which didnt make me feel good going into the race (they were nicely loosened up by the time of the 400m thankfully). I've done 13.4 (albeit handtimed 13.33 to be exact) a few weeks ago, so theres no doubt 1 second off that is a shocking performance, but I guess my 400m time showed that perhaps I wasnt loosened up enough for the 100m.

Pisco Sour

So after a solid opening to the season last weekend where I record PB's in the 200m, 800m and Triple Jump, I was in confident mood going into the 2nd meet of the season where I hoped to better my 400m PB of 61.80 seconds, set 4 weeks previously.

The last week's training wasn't ideal, with a sore throat putting me out of training for a couple of days but I got 2 good sessions in so was ready to go.

100m:

When warming up for this I just didnt feel right. My shins were aching me. A sort of shin splints type of feeling, which is a bit odd considering I dont put in many miles anymore. Anyway I did a good lot of strides to try loosen myself up but I just didnt feel completely loose.

I didnt run the race well, and finished last, although just 3-4 metres down on the winner (who was my coach, who I pipped in the 200m last week). Losing to him wasnt a good sign as a result, but I gave the race the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he ran a blinder, like a 12.9 and my result wasnt too bad. Nobody hand timed us and as the official results didnt come out until a day later I had no way of knowing. As it turned out it was a good thing I didnt find out the result as it could have damaged the confidence going into my 400m. I ran 14.35 seconds, into a 1.7 headwind, and my coach won in 13.87, which was way slower than he felt he ran. Overall it was a head scratcher.

I didnt run well, and I suppose I could make some excuses (my shins, my lane being quite wet from an earlier downpour of rain), and maybe the shins did affect me, more with regards to not loosening them up more. Maybe I should have done a much longer warm up. Who knows. I dont think I went 100% all out in the run, but more so because I dont think at that moment I was capable of fully giving it everything, rather than we conciously trying to hold back.

A shocking result. One to forget.

Long Jump:

This event really helped me for the 400m, as after I finished this I was nicely loosened up and my shins were not bothering me anymore.

My actual performance wasn't great. Jumped 4.01, 4.25 and 4.19.

4.25m is a competition best by 0.01m but it is way below what I can do. I was told I wasn't getting much lift off my jumps.

400m

Conditions were perfect for this event. Very little wind (felt it a bit with 120m to go), not hot or cold, track had dried significantly since the downpour earlier that day.

My coach was in my heat in Lane 1, and I was given lane 4. He said to me "I'll be very disappointed if you dont beat me here, as I have already done 9 events today". Cheers for putting that pressure on me As it turned out he wasnt a threat and ran 65 seconds, as he was well and truly jaded from doing basically every event on the programme that day, except the hurdles and walk (I still havent decided whether this is admirable or insane).

Anyway, the gun went off, and I ran the race like I have always done. Went off reasonably hard but conservatively. The guy on my inside went off like a man possessed and ate up the stagger on me after 50m. I called his bluff though and 100m later I had gone back past him. When I hit 200m to go, I felt great and really pushed to 100% effort. It was a long run for home and I wasnt prepared to take the foot off the gas from here on in. I was in 4th place out of 8 coming into the homestraight. The lactic acid had started to kick in with about 140m to go, but didnt get a whole lot worse after that. I ended up finishing in 4th place and knew I had run a good one. My other coach did a rough hand time and told me it was 60.6 seconds, which I was over the moon with. He told me I ran the race absolutely perfectly. The only thing that let me down was that I tied up a bit in the last 50m (I didnt feel like I had tied up badly to be honest), but more endurance training over the coming weeks will take care of that problem.

The official result (electronic timing to the nearest one hundreth of a second) confirmed I ran under 61 seconds, with a new PB of 60.90 seconds. A huge PB. Absolutely delighted with that. Getting closer to that sub 60 every race.

Some stats from the 400m:

My heat: 4th out of 8
Men: 50th out of 93
Overall: 54th out of 139

Was also the highest performer from my club, albeit with all our top guys not there it must be mentioned.

So a day that started off terribly, finished in style

Groin has been a bit sore the last day or so since the race so sat out training today. Hoping to kick this week off tomorrow. Next saturday is round 3 of the AV Shield with 200m, 800m and Triple Jump being the focus again.

Pisco Sour

04072511 wrote: »

Did this same hill session today. Ran hard but comfortable, maybe at 80%. For the last one I pushed harder but still not completely all out. Times were:

17(high) - 18(low) - 17(mid) - 17(low) - 16(mid)

Did this session this evening, although I have a feeling I may have measured it out a few metres longer today (or maybe I measured it short the last day. Who knows).

My shins were aching, and my right groin was noticeably sore and stiff, albeit much better than it was the day after my 400m race. I loosened up as the session went on and I suppose the main positive was that I got faster each time. I went at about 85-90%, maybe 95% for the last rep. My body just wouldnt let me go flat out. I didnt feel particularly smooth. My times were:

19(high) - 18(high) - 18(mid) - 18(low) - 17(high)

Not terribly happy with the session but at least I've blown the cobwebs off. First session back after a race can be average.

I'm feeling my body break down ever so slightly. Sprinting really does put a serious stress on the body, to the extent that even marathon running doesn't. New injuries just seem to crop up all the time. At the moment it's my shins, my groin, and who knows what else will appear soon.

I think I need to slightly decrease the workload and am considering just doing 2 sessions during the week between races, for the next week or two. I was planning on doing sessions Tues, Wed and Thurs this week, but I think I may be putting my body through a lot, so perhaps a Tues and Thurs combo is the best approach for the moment.

Another thing I need to look at is the fact all my training is on a paved road. Maybe this isn't helping with my shins. A gravel road (like in the last place I worked) would be perfect, but where I am right now, all the gravel roads are full of potholes the size of lakes (as Dustin likes to say when describing County Cavan), and full of rocks and other sh1t like that. I'll do a bit of exploring and see if I can find somewhere safe to run. Running on grass is out of the equation as it is bogland filled with idiotic sheep.

Pisco Sour

Groin remains a bit stiff, with a very light ache. It feels minor but was noticeable yesterday when I ran.

Am stuck a bit in limbo with regards what to do. Have Meet 3 of the AV Shield on Saturday. I hate missing races, and am worried that by taking some time off I am going to lose my fitness and undo all the good I have done over the last 8 weeks and basically go back to square one. But at the same time, if I continue I am worried that it may get worse.

I don't want to be one of those people who just stop running at the first sign of any little niggle.

:mad: GRRRR! Decisions, decisions. I am not training today, and will skip tomorrow aswell and see how I feel on Friday.

I'll do a core strength session this evening to make up for the lack of running.

Pisco Sour

Thinking about this more logically now and have decided to give it a full week of rest starting now. I hate missing races, but it really isnt worth risking tearing my groin. So unless there is dramatic improvement by Friday lunchtime then I'll have to pull the plug on Saturday's meet.

The only positive is that it means I can go on a mad one on friday for the International Rules match in Melbourne. The thoughts of having to take it easy while all my mates got smashed was a bit of a killer, so I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

ecoli

04072511 wrote: »

Thinking about this more logically now and have decided to give it a full week of rest starting now. I hate missing races, but it really isnt worth risking tearing my groin. So unless there is dramatic improvement by Friday lunchtime then I'll have to pull the plug on Saturday's meet.

04072511 wrote: »

The only positive is that it means I can go on a mad one on friday for the International Rules match in Melbourne. The thoughts of having to take it easy while all my mates got smashed was a bit of a killer, so I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

I wonder which one of these thoughts came first;)

Pisco Sour

ecoli wrote: »

I wonder which one of these thoughts came first;)

Haha. Nah believe me, I'd rather run and take it easy the night before. But if I am going to be sidelined then I may aswell take advantage of it!

ecoli

04072511 wrote: »

Haha. Nah believe me, I'd rather run and take it easy the night before. But if I am going to be sidelined then I may aswell take advantage of it!

I'm only winding ya up dont worry:D

Pisco Sour

ecoli wrote: »

I'm only winding ya up dont worry:D

I figured that

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

Did this session this evening, although I have a feeling I may have measured it out a few metres longer today (or maybe I measured it short the last day. Who knows).

My shins were aching, and my right groin was noticeably sore and stiff, albeit much better than it was the day after my 400m race. I loosened up as the session went on and I suppose the main positive was that I got faster each time. I went at about 85-90%, maybe 95% for the last rep. My body just wouldnt let me go flat out. I didnt feel particularly smooth. My times were:

19(high) - 18(high) - 18(mid) - 18(low) - 17(high)

Not terribly happy with the session but at least I've blown the cobwebs off. First session back after a race can be average.

I'm feeling my body break down ever so slightly. Sprinting really does put a serious stress on the body, to the extent that even marathon running doesn't. New injuries just seem to crop up all the time. At the moment it's my shins, my groin, and who knows what else will appear soon.

I think I need to slightly decrease the workload and am considering just doing 2 sessions during the week between races, for the next week or two. I was planning on doing sessions Tues, Wed and Thurs this week, but I think I may be putting my body through a lot, so perhaps a Tues and Thurs combo is the best approach for the moment.

Another thing I need to look at is the fact all my training is on a paved road. Maybe this isn't helping with my shins. A gravel road (like in the last place I worked) would be perfect, but where I am right now, all the gravel roads are full of potholes the size of lakes (as Dustin likes to say when describing County Cavan), and full of rocks and other sh1t like that. I'll do a bit of exploring and see if I can find somewhere safe to run. Running on grass is out of the equation as it is bogland filled with idiotic sheep.

Skipping the weekend race would be a wise move. It would not do your confidence much good if you run bad times and you may be out longer with a worse injury. These injuries I believe are your body saying to take a step back and recover from the stress of last weekend and before.
I have done no running since Saturday due to the same shin problem. I have stayed away from the gym also as I am a bit run down with head cold/cough. I feel good today so I hope to get back to the track tomorrow.
Have a few pints and hit the training hard next week.

Pisco Sour

Thought I'd give an update to my groin injury.

My friend from home who is a physical therapist gave me some medical advice, and said that all the symptoms would point to a minor strain of the tendon of the groin muscle, although he cant be 100% certain as he isnt able to examine it in person.

He advised to rest, take a short course of anti-inflamatories for 3-4 days, that icing it will make no difference, and to do transverse frictions across the tendon. I've done all this and finished my 24 Neurofen tablets this afternoon, havent trained since last Tuesday, and have done the transverse frictions (though maybe not as often as I should, and I really am not sure whether I am doing them right or not).

He also advised to restart training by light jogging for 15 minutes and then slowly build up my sprinting to max pace over a few days.

I'm feeling much much better now, though it certainly isn't 100% and I can definetely feel a tiny ache when I press against the groin, but way better that it was last week. And when I did a side plank today during my core strength workout it was still noticeable, but again much better than last week.

Hoping to go for a jog tomorrow, see how it feels and then take it from there. Fingers crossed I will see the back of this soon.

Still hoping to be ready for Round 4 of the AV Shield on Saturday 12 November. I've a 400m race that day and was hoping that would be my first realistic tilt at sub 60, but after all this time out of training I'd say there is absolutely zero chance of that now. If I could get under 61 again I'd be doing well.

This sport can be so frustrating at times. Injuries popping up the day after a great race. Certainly know how Derval must have felt getting a minor injury the day of her biggest race of 2011.

Pisco Sour

Went for a 15 minute jog at a fairly light pace (probably 9-10 minute mile pace). It felt ok. Not terrible, but not great also. Only OK. My groin wasnt hurting or anything, but certainly felt weak and sensitive. Of course it wouldnt help that my right groin was all that I was focusing on for the entire 15 minutes.

Really dont know what to do next. Theres no way I can sprint on that groin the way it is right now.

Pisco Sour

Well I went to a physio out in Wangaratta (town of approx 30,000 people) last friday. He used to compete in athletics (albeit distance running) so immediately I was happy that I was in good hands. He said that it isn't a groin injury that I have, but rather a stiff and tense back that is causing the pain down in the groin. So he loosened up the back and I have to go back to him tomorrow.

He gave me some core strength exercises to do morning and evening.

He said that the injury is caused by overtraining and that my body isn't currently strong enough to cope with the volume I have been doing and my body broke down as a result. He said all the farm work I have been doing wouldnt have helped either.

He said no running for 2 weeks, which means probably no competing for 4 weeks. This is pretty gutting as the track meets are coming thick and fast now, with one pretty much every week. This isn't like being a marathon runner injured, where there are marathons on 12 months of the year, and you can simply pick a new goal race if you have an injury setback. With what I am doing there is a short season (October to February) so being out for a month does serious damange to my goals and aspirations. And I hate missing so many track meets, especially since I've paid a lot of money to do them!

The sub 60 goal is very much off now for the moment, which is pretty disappointing as I was just 0.91 seconds from it, so early in the season.

The groin feels a bit better. When I push the groin I don't feel anything really. But the discomfort is still there when I stretch. I hope the physio knows what he is doing. Am putting full faith in him.

The last few weeks haven't been easy. Am struggling with being on my own out in the middle of nowhere doing farm work. The isolation and loneliness is not one bit fun. Obviously it's a means to an end, so I can get a 2nd year visa, but it has been a serious emotional and mental struggle of late. My training was something that was keeping me focused on something, and with that gone for the time being, it has made things a bit tough.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056436830

3 more weeks to get through anyway, and then I'll be a city dweller for the rest of my days!

RandyMann

As running is out are you doing any strength work? I understand that you have no access to weights but do you do any body weight stuff like chin ups, press ups, dips etc? It may help with the boredom.
I found that doing a pyramid chin up session is a great compound exercise for all round strength and it gives your core a great workout.

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

As running is out are you doing any strength work? I understand that you have no access to weights but do you do any body weight stuff like chin ups, press ups, dips etc? It may help with the boredom.
I found that doing a pyramid chin up session is a great compound exercise for all round strength and it gives your core a great workout.

Yeh currently doing exercises the physio gave me (back bridges x10, lie on side and raise leg x10, on both sides, lie on side, raise leg, and swing back and forth x10, on both sides).

In addition I have been doing planks, push ups, and heel raises for my calves.

Going back to the physio today so will ask for more advice on what I can do.

RacoonQueen

You'll have to keep up all that core and strength work now.

I'd hazard a guess that the physio is decent, sports medicine is a big deal in Australia, if you don't have faith in him you can search for sports physios HERE - probably better than any 'sports' physio you'd get here...

Australia is massive for Physio education - Irish physio's go there in their hordes for masters programmes, so I'm sure you're being well looked after.

Pisco Sour

RacoonQueen wrote: »

You'll have to keep up all that core and strength work now.

I'd hazard a guess that the physio is decent, sports medicine is a big deal in Australia, if you don't have faith in him you can search for sports physios HERE - probably better than any 'sports' physio you'd get here...

Australia is massive for Physio education - Irish physio's go there in their hordes for masters programmes, so I'm sure you're being well looked after.

Yeh I'm sure he knows what he's doing. His understanding of athletics certainly has my mind at greater ease.

He said to me today that the farm work really isn't doing me any favours at all. But what choice do I have. I need to do it if I want to stay living here! He said to me that I should be pleased that my body lasted as long as it did before breaking down, as he said he genuinely wouldn't last a week doing that stuff!

I want to build up my upper body a bit more, in addition to my core. I'm barely 10 stone, and even though I could eat for Ireland and Australia at the same time, I don't put on any weight. When I look at the people I race against they all have much more muscle than me. Any suggestions on what to do to build it up a bit? I'm doing pushups, but what else, bearing in mind I do not have any access to weights while I'm on the farm?

Pisco Sour

Physio said to me on friday to go for a 10-15 minute jog at the weekend, and then do 6x100m strides and that if it is painful to stop immediately.

So did that today. 12:45 minute jog, followed by 6x97m strides at about 50-60% (there was a tree at the 97m mark which made marking my run easier).

It felt ok actually. Groin area felt weak, but it coped with the 6x97m with 1 minute breat, and felt better after each rep. Didn't run them fast, at around 19 second pace for 100m. It was on a gravel road, and I was in road runners, so at full pace and fitness I'd still only be doing those reps in 15-16 seconds on that road and in those running shoes, so it's not so bad I guess.

Back to the physio tomorrow so we'll see what the next course of action is. I'm doing my core strength exercises twice a day, morning and evening.

Pisco Sour

Back to the physio today and he said to continue training like I did yesterday, every second day starting today, and later in the week try some 200m reps and gradually try build the effort up to 80%.

Ran for 11:30 mins today and then did 6x100m strides at around 19 second pace. Felt pretty much the same as yesterday.

Physio said that I should be back competing hopefully in 2-3 weeks. 2 weeks time is probably ambitious and as there is a 400m that day, I'm not sure if it would be good to start off again with that event. In 3 weeks time I hope to be back competing, and attempt just the 800m to ease myself back in, and as my PB is relatively soft (2:31.10) it would give a good opportunity to get a PB and rebuild the confidence. Running a 400m in 2 weeks time may not have the same effect as I know I wont get within an asses roar of 60.90. Either way I wont be competing until I feel I am ready and can do myself justice.

I really am crocked because of the farm work. He said not only are my back muscles giving bother but also my hip flexor muscles, and muscles that connect my hip to my ass (whatever these muscles are called, my knowledge of this stuff is limited).

One thing though that is annoying is the fact that my physio is only in on monday's and friday's. I cant go on friday because I have an interview back in Melbourne, and he's not in next Monday for some reason, so I have to wait 11 days to see him again, or else see another physio in the clinic in the meantime, which isn't ideal when you've been dealing with the one person all the time. So do not know what to do.

Pisco Sour

Exact same session again, but this time I did the 6x100m at 70% pace and so the times were in the 18's rather than 19's, on the dirt and gravel road.

Progress.

Pisco Sour

Good confidence boosting session today. Did 4x150m reps with 2 minute walk back breaks. Did it on grass in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne. I did the first 2 at around 70% and the last 2 were approaching 80%. Times were:

25(high) - 25(low) - 23(high) - 23(high)

The basic speed is certainly still there. Just need to build up the endurance again. Tomorrow's meet (meet 5, the 3rd in a row I've missed) is too soon for me, but I could be good for a 100m next weekend for Round 6. Better off doing a 100m next weekend and see where my speed is at and wait until next time for a 400m. There's no real point in running a 63/64 second 400m. I've gone well past that level now and I wouldn't see much benefit in it.

Still far from perfect though. My shins are always mildly uncomfortable, even still, after a few weeks off. And the physio, in making my groin and hip area better, has made my back worse, and has brought mild discomfort to something that was never uncomfortable in the first place. Not happy.

Pisco Sour

It turns out that Meet 5 was cancelled due to heavy rain in Melbourne. In a purely selfish way I am delighted as it means I didn't miss a track meet If it gets rescheduled then it's a huge bonus for me as I'll get back a meet I had written off as a no go. No guarantee it will be rescheduled though, as they are tight for time in the calender.

Did 3x200m on paved road today with 3 mins walk back rest between each rep. Was just finding my feet a bit for the first one, and then did the next 2 at around 75%. Times were:

36(high) - 35(low) - 34(high)

Satisfied I suppose. Just left it at 3 reps today as it was my first 200 reps since the injury. On Wednesday I'll do 4x200, and then fingers crossed I'll be good for a 100m on Saturday.

Pisco Sour

4x200m with 3 mins walk back rest.

Did them at about 85%. First one a bit easier.

Times were:

35(mid) - 34(high) - 33(high) - 33(mid)

It was my first full session since my injury so have to be satisfied, but:

1) I am a bit off where I was before the injury in terms of endurance
2) My left shin just keeps pissing me off in between reps when walking back. There's nothing like an injury scare to take your mind off an injury eh :rolleyes: I think I just have chronic shin splints. I went 6 months without running and when I would push into my shins I would still feel discomfort. It's awfully frustrating. Once I get settled back in Melbourne I will begin a heat and freeze method of keeping them in tact. I did that for my marathon last year. I'd heat with a heat pack before I ran, and freeze immediately after. The shins splints never got worse once I started doing that.

That's my last ever session in the Australian countryside I move back to Melbourne for good on Friday evening, and all this farm torture will be over for good

Physio visit on Friday. I think I should be good for a 100m on Saturday. Hopefully he agrees.

Pisco Sour

So after missing meets 3,4 and with 5 being cancelled (which I would have missed anyway) I got back into competition for the first time in 5 weeks. Usually I would do a 100m and a 400m but I felt it was too soon to be going back into 400m races so I opted out of it.

100m

There was 7 in my heat. I got out of the blocks ok. I felt I struggled a bit from 40m-70m, but finished strong to finish in 4th place and hold off my coach by 0.2 seconds. My time was 13.4 seconds, which equals my best for the year so far, so after being out for so long I have to be pleased with that. It honestly didn't feel quite that quick, but there was a slight tailwind there, and it was hand timed, but whatever, I'll take the time that they have given me.

1500m

A rare appearance in something over 800m. With the 400m being a no go, I didn't want to have come all the way out to the track, warmed up and warmed down, for just 13 and a half seconds of competitive running, so I decided I would do the 1500m which was soon after the 100m. Originally I planned to do it as a warm down and just cruise around at 8 minute mile pace. So I went in the very last, and slowest heat. There was 23 of us in it. As it turned out I felt very very comfortable running at about 80%, and came through the first lap in just over 90 seconds, so just kept cruising along at that pace, picking a few people off as I went along. I upped the effort to about 90% for the last 400m and closed in around 84 seconds (but cant be certain), and with 300m to go darted past one poor bast@rd who was in front of me by about 10m all race. I ended up taking about 5 seconds out of him. Finished 10th in 5:41.9, which is 26 seconds off my PB from back in 2003 at the West Leinsters in Santry. Be interesting to know how close I would have got to it had I gone full throttle. I enjoyed the race though, which is evidence that I was feeling comfortable, because when you are going all out then 1500m are not fun at all! Most importantly it was a good test of endurance and I was pleased with it.

I feel fine today. Muscles a bit stiff, but nothing alarming so far. Onwards and upwards to next weekend now and hopefully a sub 2:30 800m.

Pisco Sour

First session since Saturday's meet. Felt a bit flat. Did 3x300 reps with 4 mins break, on the Tan in Melbourne. The first one of these sessions I have done post injury.

Times were:

54(mid) - 55(low) - 56(mid)

Times were a bit slow but in my defence:

1) The Tan is a very gravelly track which really isn't suited to sprinting. Hard to get much grip.

2) The Tan is full of joggers, both coming towards you, and in front of you, so had to run a bit wide at times to get past people

Was going close to full out and felt drained afterwards. Don't know why I was so shattered but happy to get the session done anyway.

Pisco Sour

Been a long while since I did a hill session so I took myself out to The Tan today and did a 5x75m session on a very steep hill by The Tan, with 2 minute break between each rep. Was going close to all out and my times were:

17(mid) - 16(high) - 16(mid) - 16(mid) - 17(mid)

It seems now (touch wood) that the injury is behind me.

Pisco Sour

2nd Year Visa has been granted! :):D:D

Will be in Melbourne until December 2012 at the earliest!

Dan man

04072511 wrote: »

2nd Year Visa has been granted! :):D:D

Will be in Melbourne until December 2012 at the earliest!

Nice one, all going well you'll be a sub-60 sec quarter-miler by the time your finished with Oz. Good luck with the rest of your meets/training.

Pisco Sour

‎2:27.9 for 800 metres today, a PB by 3.2 seconds. Very pleased. Delighted now that I skipped the 200 to focus solely on the 800. Finished 3rd out of 10 in my race. Got pipped for 2nd place in the last 10 metres sadly. Now this evening is the Richmond Harriers AC Christmas dinner. Feels absolutely nothing like Christmas here mind you.

Race report to follow.

Pisco Sour

Today was all about the 800m. With the next race being in just 5 days time and with it being a big one (400m in the brand new stadium at Albert Park) I decided it would be a good idea not to bollox myself out. So I decided to skip the 200m and focus solely on teh 800m. My 200m PB is weaker than it should be at 27.6 but that can wait for another day.

800m

I went in the 2nd last heat. There were 10 in the race. The gun went off and by the time we broke into lane 1 after 100m, I was in the lead, much to my own surprise. Not for long though, as a club mate took over the lead, in a rather suicidal pace (for his current abilities). He went through 200m in around high 33, with myself tucked behind him in 2nd place in around 35 seconds. I overheard one of the old guys in our club telling us to settle the pace down, to which I obliged. The order didn't change and at 400m, he kept the lead in 71 seconds, with myself hitting the bell in 72.

I felt good though, and knew that if I was running well that this guy would not beat me. At 300m to go, the wheels came off him and I stormed past to momentarily take the lead. But just for 5 metres or so, as all of a sudden one lad came flying past me, and he eventually cruised to victory. Crossed the 600 mark in around 1:50. I kept hold of 2nd place, and it seemed like I was under no threat. One glance behind me with 100 to go and there was nobody in sight. I pushed as hard as I could. The lactic acid started kicking in with 150 to go and I briefly struggled but kicked hard in the home straight. However, a different clubmate of mine, came from absolutely nowhere (about 15 metres back apparantly) to come past me in the closing stages. I ralied briefly, and for a moment it felt like Szabo V Sonia in Sydney, but I just couldnt get him back and he pulled away to beat me by a few tenths.

I finished 3rd in 2:27.9, which is a PB by 3.2 seconds. A big result, one which I am delighted with. Good to get under 2:30 at last, but to go well under it is encouraging. For the record, my club mate who very kindly paced me through the first 500m ended up fading dreadfully to a 2:35 (71, 84 splits).

Club Christmas dinner

This evening we had our Christmas dinner. Highlight of the night was winning a big prize in the raffle. 2 bottles of wine, along with loads of sweets and biscuits and stuff. Being honest though, I found the night dreadfully boring. Obviously my main reason for joining an athletics club was the love of the sport, but I also wanted to meet people my age through it, but this hasnt really worked out. Most of the people in the club are either married, in their 40s-50s and beyond, or are kids. There are very few my age, and even less that are any craic. There is very little social aspect to the whole thing sadly. No nights out are ever arranged among the young people. We compete against 6-7 clubs each week and we never have anything with these clubs outside of athletics. It is incredibly disappointing, but it doesnt seem people are too bothered. It certainly is in stark contrast to the banter in the Irish bar in Rotterdam after I ran the marathon in 2010. I'm sure the boards christmas beers will be immense craic. That's the type of thing I miss. Just because people run to a high level doesnt mean they cant go on the piss from time to time.

Pisco Sour

First session after Saturday's 800m PB. Went for 5x150m on the Tan with 2:30 mins break between each. Did the first 2 at about 80%. Brought it up to over 90% for the next 2, and then eased back for the last one. Times a bit irrelevant given the fact the surface on the Tan is not good for sprinting but my times in any case were:

27(high) - 27(mid) - 26(low) - 25(mid) - 26(mid)

Will do a 3x300 session tomorrow. Rest on Wednesday and hopefully be ready for a good assault at the 400m on Thursday evening in the new Lakeside Stadium at Albert Park.

Pisco Sour

Also, while not quite training related, here's a blog I wrote about the last few months of my life, working on the farms in rural Victoria for anybody who is interested.

http://jamessullivan4.blogspot.com/2011/12/farm-work-in-broadford-and-glenrowan.html