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

Pisco Sour

Big session this evening. Beer 1200m at race pace. Did it with a mate on the Collingwood track. He was feeling as rough as guts after a heavy night on the sauce so opted for just 3 laps and 2 light beers. He skipped the first drink, then ran with me the first lap and then did the rest as normal.

There were tons of kids playing soccer on the infield this evening which was a nuisance as it meant we couldn't neck our drinks in the usual spot (anti binge drinking and all that jazz, setting a bad example etc etc) so we started at the 1500m line area behind the discus cage so nobody would see us. It was a bit strange finishing on a bend and maybe it somewhat messed up my pacing. Overall it was a very messy session, one which I'm not too pleased with.

First beer went down nicely in 27 seconds, but on the first run I just didn't push hard enough. I played it way too casual and by the time I picked up the second beer I was at 2 mins dead, a good 15 seconds slower than last Saturday. Things went belly-up on beer 2. As I was drinking it some joggers went passed and started bursting their sh1t laughing. Well as soon as that happened I completely lost it. I started thinking about how ridiculous we must have looked and then I started laughing. Once you start laughing you lose the ability to drink and your rythem. Some beer went down the wrong way also. Overall it was my worst ever beer with a time of 54 seconds. The comforting thought is that on the big day I know that won't happen as there will be tons around me skulling beers also so I won't look out of place meaning I won't have to worry about laughing distractions.

Pushed a bit harder on run 2 but didn't get a split. Beer 3 was a replica of beer 2 but at a guess maybe 10 seconds faster. Run 3 felt solid, probably my best. Crossed the line in 6:40. I'm not happy with this, a good 40 seconds slower than what I wanted. Maybe 30 seconds of that can be explained by the distractions of the joggers during beer 2 and beer 3 but even still I was way too slow on my runs. Way too conservatively.

It really is a very technical event and so much can go wrong on the day. It's basically a race with 8 elements broken up with lots of technical elements involved in the changeovers from one to the other.

This evening was a good endurance workout and I know I'd have no bother doing one more beer and lap and probably cruise to 8:30-8:40. Just didn't get enough of work on my speed tonight. Hopefully that's my poor run done now, I can learn from it, and nail a sub 8 on the big day. It can happen but I need to be close to flawless in every facet of my game.

Pisco Sour

Less than 3 hours until the big race. Nerves, excitement and fear is starting to kick in. I've put in the work over the last few weeks so hopefully things pan out as planned.

Pisco Sour

8:18 to finish in 10th place. Pretty delighted with that. Josh Harris broke the WR with a 5:05. Will do up a race report when I get a chance.

Pisco Sour

Background:

The Rawlinson Track at Melbourne University was the setting for my second beer mile. My previous attempt 7 months ago was a 9:20 which placed me 15th out of 39. Since then, purely off the back of 400m training, I had made a huge improvement in my 1500m as I ran 5:04 at the end of a decathlon. This led me to believe that at peak fitness back in February in a mile race fresh I could run around 5:20. So I sort of knew that I had the potential to take a huge chunk out of my beer mile PB off running alone.

Training:

Like the Pole Vault and Javelin, the Beer Mile is an extremely technical event and not one which you can bluff, so I needed to prepare properly.

About 3 weeks before the race I started to build a base. My tolerance to alcohol was pretty low due to the intense training during the track season and not a huge amount of drinking. I don't drink half of what I did when I lived in Ireland so this possessed a problem with regards the beer mile. So I needed to get the miles into the legs. For 3 weekends in a row I went out on both Friday and Saturday nights, upping the intensity of the drinking. Just easy miles.

My first specific session was on one of those nights out where I did 3 skulls with 10 minute recoveries. Pretty easy session but the perfect way to start. Then 7 days before the race I did a Beer 800m in 3:50 at race pace. A couple of night's later I did a 2 x Hahn Super Dry off 1 minute recovery. And then 2 days before the race I did a Beer 1200m in 6:40. A few recovery beers on Friday had me ready and confident. The goal was sub 8 but I knew that everything had to go right for that to happen.

Beer:

My beer of choice was Hahn Super Dry. 1.2 standard drinks, 330ml, 4.6% volume. A little bit under the limit for official record purposes but I wasn't going for any records so doesn't make the blindest bit of difference. This was the beer I had used before so decided to stick with the winning formula.

I had the beers out of the fridge for just over an hour before the race was due to start. But there was a 20 minute delay so I worried that they may get too warm so I put them in the fridge at the track for a few minutes to cool down temperature ever so slightly.

Media Hype:

All of the press coverage in the days leading up to the race centered on one Josh Harris. The Tasmanian athlete was looking to break Jim Finlayson's world record of 5:09. Last year Harris ran 5:02 but the record was never ratified due to not enough proof that all beer was consumed. 7 months ago he had an off day and was never in contention. But an easy victory in the Tasmanian Beer Mile Championships in 5:17 signaled a return to form. Throw in the fact he has been hitting PBs in non-beer running, including a recent 3:51 for 1500m, the WR looked like it was his to lose. There was also the sneaking suggestion that a first ever sub 5 clocking could be on.

The setting:

26 competitors, a bit down on the last race, but a lot of spectators. Perhaps 70 or so. The atmosphere was hopping and the crowd showed vocal support for Harris as the start drew nearer. The man was focused, in the zone, eye on the prize.

The race:

Gun went off and I got out ok. I was only about a quarter through the bottle and Harris was already off and away. Ridiculous. I didn't need to take a breather during the first beer but felt I was maybe a tad slow. I was well down the field by the time I got running but this didn't bother me. It's a long race and they will come back to me, no doubt there.

First lap I kept it steady. Burped out all residual gas in the first 100m and then pushed a small bit harder, keeping within range of those immediately in front of me. At the 200m mark some lad came flying past me. He must have taken an age to drink his beer and was looking to make up for lost time. I feared for him. Clearly a proper runner but not proper drinker. At the end of the first lap I was at 1:50 which was nice pace. I didn't catch any splits after this.

Second beer was slower. Needed a couple of breathers during it and the beer was foaming just slightly. For some reason the second beer feels the hardest. I think the 3rd and 4th adrenaline carries you through but the second is mentally tough.

I was literally just 70m or so into my second lap and Harris had already lapped me. He was flying. I threw him a quick word of encouragement and then it was back to the job at hand. The field was starting to spread out a bit now. I found myself on my own for a lot of the race. People who had clearly gone out too fast were now getting stuck in the transition zone not able to sink their beers quick enough.

Beer 3 was another slow one. At each beer I saw my training partner ahead of me. He had been ahead of me from the start and I wasn't able to close the gap. He was roughly maybe half a bottle ahead of me at this point. I aimed to keep him in my sights and hope I could close on him towards the end of the race.

It was around this time where I heard the commentator announce "Ladies and Gentlemen we have our first spew of the evening". Funny stuff. The first of many no doubt.

I was about 70m into lap 3 and I hear the noise building. The commentator is urging Harris home and the place erupts as he crosses the line in 5:04.9 for a new world record. I punched the air. I was delighted for the guy. This inspired me to push on. Lap 3 can make or break a race. I made good ground on this lap and went past one of the lads who was over a minute ahead of me last time. He tried to latch onto the back of me for awhile but he must have struggled on beer 4 as he ended up over 100m down on me by the end. Going past him was a vital psychological boost.

Beer 4 was tough but at this stage you know the end is near. You just have to get it into ya. No holding back here. You can make so much ground up on others here as so many just can't get them down quickly and some take over 2 minutes to sink it.

Once the last beer was swilled and I let all the burps out I knew I was good. I knew I wasn't going to spew. I pushed it down the backstraight but not yet 100%. I could see my training partner and I was getting closer. With 100m to go I got up on the toes and sprinted all out. I was finishing like a train and ended up just 3 seconds down on my training partner (he beat me by 50 seconds last time) in a PB of 8:19 to finish in 10th place. I was delighted with the 1:01 improvement on my PB and to crack the top 10. I wanted sub 8 but it was a lot harder than I thought.

I managed a few nice scalps also. Right behind me was the Victorian 800m Champion and also Alexander Rowe who is a 1:46 800m runner. Only in the beer mile would you see the likes of me beating athletes of that level.

There was just one women in the race which was disappointing. She was the last finisher in about 25 minutes. She was struggling really badly so myself and a couple of others gave her some moral support and ran the last lap with her. She's now a beer mile finisher, a great achievement for a first beer mile.

World Record:

Josh Harris broke the world record comfortably but he could have had even more. He told me afterwards that it took him 10 seconds to open his last beer. A freak incident. Extremely unfortunate. It cost him a strong sub 5, but next time out he will smash it. A 4:52ish time is definitely there for him on a good day. It really is an astonishing level of performance. The greatest beer miler ever to have graced the earth and I feel privileged to have competed in the same race as a world record performance.

Final thoughts:

The beer mile is a lot of fun and I would highly recommend it. Just go in a bit prepared. It's a pretty unforgiving event. Ireland has a great history of mileing and we enjoy the occasional drink. So what are you waiting for guys, get out there and raise the standards of Irish beer mileing. The Aussies are getting too far ahead of us.

Results: http://www.pbmilersclub.org/2013/04/2013-autumn-classic-results.html

BeepBeep67

Chapeau - well told!

drquirky

Top notch stuff Pisco- early contender for race report of the year! Congrats on the time as well- thats really god going in a tough tough event

Pisco Sour

So with all the Beer Mile craic out of the way and almost 6 weeks of full rest behind me it is time to start winter training.

I've changed the log title slightly to reflect the medium term goal. I know my goal for last season was 55 seconds and I did not achieve that (though was very close) but that shouldn't change what I want to target going forward.

The medium term goals are:

Primary goal:

400m:

Current PB: 56.26
Target: 54.9

Secondary Goals:

200m:

Current PB: 25.62
Target: 24.9

100m:

Current PB: 12.82 (-0.7)
Target: 12.4

800m:

Current PB: 2:19.3
Target: 2:14.9

Other Goals:

- Make the final of the 400m at the Victorian Country Championships (10th last season)
- Run some pro races if I can fit them in and run at the Stawell Gift Festival.

Those are the targets I have in mind at the moment. It can be hard to look too far ahead when you really don't know what is around the corner (the life of a temporary resident) but best to prepare under the assumption that I will be here and competing.

I've got exams in mid June so I'll be going a bit light for awhile, but to be honest I'm glad to get back to the training now. The repetition of studying after work most days has done more than anything else to bring the hunger back.

To start with it will just be 3 days a week: 2 days gym and 1 "long run" at the weekend, exactly how I started last year. For my long run I'll be looking at doing mile and 3000m time trials on the track.

Gym coach has given me the following for my first 6 weeks in the gym:

3 x 10 bench presses
3 x 10 leg press
stomach exercise
3 x 20 arm swings
3 x 20 step ups each leg (if easy, hold weights)
stomach exercise
3 x 10 good mornings
3 x 10 chin ups
stomach exercise

Will take it cautious building back into this and won't go too nuts with the weights.

Pisco Sour

First session back. Followed the routine posted above but for anything which said 3 reps I just did 2 to ease myself in.

Session was:

Bench Press: 1 x 10 @ 130lbs, 1 x 9 @ 130lbs (couldn't manage a 10th one here)
Leg Press: 2 x 10 @ 296lbs
Crunches: 1 x 50
Step-ups: 2 x 30
Arm swings: 2 x 20 (didn't really know if I was doing this right as have never done these before. Gym coach not back til next week so will have to wait til then to find out)
Stomach Ball Crunches: 1 x 30
Goodmornings: 2 x 10 @ 20kg
Pull-ups: 2 x 5
Side sit-ups: 1 x 20 on each side

I dropped the weights for the bench press, leg press and goodmornings down significantly to start with, to be cautious more than anything else. Will slowly build back up. I struggled badly on the pull ups. Body swinging back and forth, technique awful, didn't feel comfortable. Will need to get a few pointers off the coach.

World of difference compared to where I started from this time last year anyway, even after almost 7 weeks with no gym work.

Oregano_State

Hey Pisco, what are your aims as regards your gym programme? Is your gym programme periodised? That is, will it change in focus after this initial 6-week period?

To me, it seems to be hybrid of a circuit type conditioning programme, and bodybuilder type weights. Following this programme will make you stronger, but not at the same rate as one focused on building power and explosiveness, which are the things that a sprinter should look to be developing when in the weights room.

Most sprinters do Olympic-type lifts and plyometrics to work on explosiveness, and use deadlift, squat and lunge variations to work on overall strength.

I’m not suggesting that you completely change everything straight away, as you need a couple of weeks to get used to the weights again. If I was you I’d start phasing out the leg-press altogether in favour of deadlifts and squats; the leg press machine is great for bodybuilders looking to work on muscles in isolation, but sprinters and runners in general don’t use their legs in isolation. When you run your whole body is working together, and that is much better replicated by a squat or deadlift which forces your core and stabilising muscles to work as you lift the weight.

These are just my two cents, I’m not an expert, but have done a fair amount of reading on the subject!

Pisco Sour

Oregano_State wrote: »

Hey Pisco, what are your aims as regards your gym programme? Is your gym programme periodised? That is, will it change in focus after this initial 6-week period?

To me, it seems to be hybrid of a circuit type conditioning programme, and bodybuilder type weights. Following this programme will make you stronger, but not at the same rate as one focused on building power and explosiveness, which are the things that a sprinter should look to be developing when in the weights room.

Most sprinters do Olympic-type lifts and plyometrics to work on explosiveness, and use deadlift, squat and lunge variations to work on overall strength.

I’m not suggesting that you completely change everything straight away, as you need a couple of weeks to get used to the weights again. If I was you I’d start phasing out the leg-press altogether in favour of deadlifts and squats; the leg press machine is great for bodybuilders looking to work on muscles in isolation, but sprinters and runners in general don’t use their legs in isolation. When you run your whole body is working together, and that is much better replicated by a squat or deadlift which forces your core and stabilising muscles to work as you lift the weight.

These are just my two cents, I’m not an expert, but have done a fair amount of reading on the subject!

Yeh what I am doing is just for the first 6 weeks. The gym coach was a 10.6 runner over 100m. He was a pure power guy so I think I am in good hands. To be honest at the moment I just want to build up general all round strength. I have exams in mid june and tbh am not even remotely thinking about next season yet. Just want to get fit and come mid June the gym routine will become more and more power based.

Gym session on Wednesday which I forgot to log. Basically the same as Monday except:

Bench Press: Brought the reps down to 8 rather than 10. Body was as stiff as a board from Monday and was struggling.
Leg Press: 306lbs, up from 296lbs. Working on my technique at the moment and trying not to let the weights bash against the machine on the way down each time, something which I did a lot last year.
Pull ups: 6 reps, rather than 5. Still struggling with this one.

RandyMann

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Bench Press: Brought the reps down to 8 rather than 10. Body was as stiff as a board from Monday and was struggling.
Leg Press: 306lbs, up from 296lbs. Working on my technique at the moment and trying not to let the weights bash against the machine on the way down each time, something which I did a lot last year.
Pull ups: 6 reps, rather than 5. Still struggling with this one.

Scrap the above (especially leg press) and do what Oregano says cause hes right

Pisco Sour

So 2 weeks of very early winter training done. Since the first 2 gym sessions in week 1 that I posted above I have done the following:

Week 1 Session 3 - Long Run (1 Mile TT)

Week 2 Session 1 - Gym

Week 2 Session 2 - Gym

Week 2 Session 3 - Long Run (1 Mile TT)

Gym:

I've kept to what I was doing above but increasing the volume, reducing the rest in between each set etc. Wednesday was a tough one and felt shattered at the end of it. The below all in around 30 minutes:

Set 1: (Bench Press x 8 @ 130lbs, Leg Press x 10 @ 326lbs, Crunches x 50) x 3

Set 2: (Arm Swings x 20 @ 3kg in each hand, Step-ups x 30, Stomach Ball Crunches x 30) x 2

Set 3: (Goodmornings x 10 @ 22.5kg, Pull-ups x 5, Side Sit-ups x 20 on each side) x 2

The gym coach has been away for awhile so haven't been in contact with him for a bit, but I asked some of the other sprinters in the gym about the thought process behind this type of gym training at this time of the year as opposed to pure power stuff and the concensus was that power is crucial but that at this time of the winter cycle, for a 400m runner, the circuit type stuff is more important to build up strength endurance. One lad who went 50.01 for 400m at his best and around 53 for 400m Hurdles mentioned that the power stuff will get the top speed up, while this stuff is what will keep you going in the last 50m of a 200m and last 150m of a 400m.

I'm sure there will be some who disagree with that, which is fine. I don't think there's a definite black and white approach. Everyone down here around me does this method so I'm going to stick with this for the first 6 weeks of the training cycle, and then introduce more explosive based approaches.

Keep in mind, that in an interview I did with Steven Soloman, 400m runner, recently, when I asked about strength work in the gym, I was amazed with his response that before going to Stanford University in the USA last October he never touched a single weight in his life. This guy ran 44.97 and came 8th in the Olympic Games based only on body weight exercises. Now he's lifting weights so will be interesting to see what he runs this season and how he gets on in Moscow. Granted he is a freak of nature, was fairly young in London at 19, and is more the endurance type of 400m runner, but just thought I'd throw in the complete opposite side of the spectrum for a bit of balance.

Long Run:

For the early part of the winter cycle I do one of these a week. However I don't see any benefit in 5km jogs so have decided this year I will do time trials on the track. So far I have done 1 mile twice.

The first one I ran in 5:57 with the following splits (First split being 409m)

82-95-93-87

This evening I ran it in 5:47 with the following splits:

82-95-90-80

Needless to say I haven't a notion how to run these and ease off way too much in the second lap. I think it is a mental thing really. 4 laps feels like such a long way for me, and running these time trials on my own cane be tough mentally.

Was pretty happy with today's run, but had way too much left at the end which is a sign I didn't run it right. Last 200m in 37 and the last 100m probably in 16-17. I ran a 5:04 for 1500m at the end of a long 2 days of decathlon competition in February so there's no doubt I could run a lot faster than this, but officially this is a PB, bettering my time I ran when Brianderunner paced me just before I left Ireland in September 2010 by 1 second. Granted I have rarely ran this distance, and I know I could go way faster, so it's not something to be shouted from the roof tops, and its a pretty poor time, but a PB is still a PB.

Next week I will start doing hills with the group to bring it up to 4 days a week which is where it will stay for a while, certainly until exams are over.

RandyMann

Pisco Sour wrote: »

So 2 weeks of very early winter training done. Since the first 2 gym sessions in week 1 that I posted above I have done the following:

Week 1 Session 3 - Long Run (1 Mile TT)

Week 2 Session 1 - Gym

Week 2 Session 2 - Gym

Week 2 Session 3 - Long Run (1 Mile TT)

Gym:

I've kept to what I was doing above but increasing the volume, reducing the rest in between each set etc. Wednesday was a tough one and felt shattered at the end of it. The below all in around 30 minutes:

Set 1: (Bench Press x 8 @ 130lbs, Leg Press x 10 @ 326lbs, Crunches x 50) x 3

Set 2: (Arm Swings x 20 @ 3kg in each hand, Step-ups x 30, Stomach Ball Crunches x 30) x 2

Set 3: (Goodmornings x 10 @ 22.5kg, Pull-ups x 5, Side Sit-ups x 20 on each side) x 2

The gym coach has been away for awhile so haven't been in contact with him for a bit, but I asked some of the other sprinters in the gym about the thought process behind this type of gym training at this time of the year as opposed to pure power stuff and the concensus was that power is crucial but that at this time of the winter cycle, for a 400m runner, the circuit type stuff is more important to build up strength endurance. One lad who went 50.01 for 400m at his best and around 53 for 400m Hurdles mentioned that the power stuff will get the top speed up, while this stuff is what will keep you going in the last 50m of a 200m and last 150m of a 400m.

I'm sure there will be some who disagree with that, which is fine. I don't think there's a definite black and white approach. Everyone down here around me does this method so I'm going to stick with this for the first 6 weeks of the training cycle, and then introduce more explosive based approaches.

Keep in mind, that in an interview I did with Steven Soloman, 400m runner, recently, when I asked about strength work in the gym, I was amazed with his response that before going to Stanford University in the USA last October he never touched a single weight in his life. This guy ran 44.97 and came 8th in the Olympic Games based only on body weight exercises. Now he's lifting weights so will be interesting to see what he runs this season and how he gets on in Moscow. Granted he is a freak of nature, was fairly young in London at 19, and is more the endurance type of 400m runner, but just thought I'd throw in the complete opposite side of the spectrum for a bit of balance.

Long Run:

For the early part of the winter cycle I do one of these a week. However I don't see any benefit in 5km jogs so have decided this year I will do time trials on the track. So far I have done 1 mile twice.

The first one I ran in 5:57 with the following splits (First split being 409m)

82-95-93-87

This evening I ran it in 5:47 with the following splits:

82-95-90-80

Needless to say I haven't a notion how to run these and ease off way too much in the second lap. I think it is a mental thing really. 4 laps feels like such a long way for me, and running these time trials on my own cane be tough mentally.

Was pretty happy with today's run, but had way too much left at the end which is a sign I didn't run it right. Last 200m in 37 and the last 100m probably in 16-17. I ran a 5:04 for 1500m at the end of a long 2 days of decathlon competition in February so there's no doubt I could run a lot faster than this, but officially this is a PB, bettering my time I ran when Brianderunner paced me just before I left Ireland in September 2010 by 1 second. Granted I have rarely ran this distance, and I know I could go way faster, so it's not something to be shouted from the roof tops, and its a pretty poor time, but a PB is still a PB.

Next week I will start doing hills with the group to bring it up to 4 days a week which is where it will stay for a while, certainly until exams are over.

Interesting to what you say about the weights perspective Pisco and yes I do agree that the power stuff is mostly about acceleration and top speed and that is what I am about as a 100 and 200 sprinter. 400 is a lot different with the various energy systems you have to use. If you take the approach of what the above are saying, I'm sure it will do you well in the end.
Its funny that while I have done so much work on my power in the gym this season, when I tried to use it in the 200 last Wednesday to ensure I was first to exit the bend and I think I was, I quickly tied up with nothing to finish the race and I let 3 get ahead of me and finished 4th. I made a big error with that as I should floated a bit more in the bend to conserve energy so as to finish strong down the straight. I ran the race like a 100m in retrospect. I wont make the same mistake again
With your 400 tactics there is a lot more to think about and the power/acceleration is a small part of it compared to 100m/200m
When you race your 400m, how much percentage power do you think you use in the first bend? Are you conservative with your acceleration? Just curious...

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

Interesting to what you say about the weights perspective Pisco and yes I do agree that the power stuff is mostly about acceleration and top speed and that is what I am about as a 100 and 200 sprinter. 400 is a lot different with the various energy systems you have to use. If you take the approach of what the above are saying, I'm sure it will do you well in the end.
Its funny that while I have done so much work on my power in the gym this season, when I tried to use it in the 200 last Wednesday to ensure I was first to exit the bend and I think I was, I quickly tied up with nothing to finish the race and I let 3 get ahead of me and finished 4th. I made a big error with that as I should floated a bit more in the bend to conserve energy so as to finish strong down the straight. I ran the race like a 100m in retrospect. I wont make the same mistake again
With your 400 tactics there is a lot more to think about and the power/acceleration is a small part of it compared to 100m/200m
When you race your 400m, how much percentage power do you think you use in the first bend? Are you conservative with your acceleration? Just curious...

The 400m is a tricky one. You have to run the first 50m or so as if it's a 100m, and I think that is an area where I struggle with. I take a while to get up to speed, which is where the power stuff comes in. But from 50m to about 200m or even 250m you should be cruising while not dropping the pace too much. This is to make sure you keep something in reserve for the final 150m where you just go as hard as you can. I've boll0xed up plenty of 400m races. I've gone out too slow and finished like a train way too late. I've gone out way too hard and died a death in the home straight as people sailed past me (thankfully not too often). It really does involved a delicate blend of pure power and speed endurance.

If you look at the video of my PB, you can see that I got out too slow. The guy inside me was past me after 50m, if even. Then from 100m to 200m I started to hold the gap, and then after that closed on him, and nearly got him at the end. That guy has run 24.7ish this year so has much faster top speed than me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5XwHokL4E

There was another race where the opposite happened which thankfully is not on video. Went out like a train at the start and was almost running on the spot at the end. You should definitely run one this year (if it doesnt interfere with the 100 or 200) to see what you can do over the distance.

RandyMann

Pisco Sour wrote: »

The 400m is a tricky one. You have to run the first 50m or so as if it's a 100m, and I think that is an area where I struggle with. I take a while to get up to speed, which is where the power stuff comes in. But from 50m to about 200m or even 250m you should be cruising while not dropping the pace too much. This is to make sure you keep something in reserve for the final 150m where you just go as hard as you can. I've boll0xed up plenty of 400m races. I've gone out too slow and finished like a train way too late. I've gone out way too hard and died a death in the home straight as people sailed past me (thankfully not too often). It really does involved a delicate blend of pure power and speed endurance.

If you look at the video of my PB, you can see that I got out too slow. The guy inside me was past me after 50m, if even. Then from 100m to 200m I started to hold the gap, and then after that closed on him, and nearly got him at the end. That guy has run 24.7ish this year so has much faster top speed than me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5XwHokL4E

There was another race where the opposite happened which thankfully is not on video. Went out like a train at the start and was almost running on the spot at the end. You should definitely run one this year (if it doesnt interfere with the 100 or 200) to see what you can do over the distance.

Yes, nice video to show how tactics really make a difference.
Your quote above is exactly what happened to me on Wednesday:)
I will definitely do a 400 this year in a graded meet, the sooner the better as it will help me with my speed endurance for sure.

Pisco Sour

Gym on Sunday evening (For now I'll just update my the specifics of my gym every 1 or 2 weeks as it is boring to read and repetitive to type at the moment)

Did my first hill session of the winter this evening. Bit of an easy start but got challenging towards the end. I was a bit late so was playing catch up. We did the hills near the MCG. Not as steep as our usual hills.

I did 225-250-275-300-300-300-300

The first 3 reps were far too easy, and the breaks were quite long at times. Just sort of finding my feet a bit. Joined in with the middle distance guys for my first 300 and did it in 58 comfortably. Then I did the final 3 300s with a jog back recovery (I prefer to walk!!!) so this part of the session was tougher. I did it with one other lad who was also a bit late. He had done 7 by this stage so I was fresher having only done 4 reps with longer breaks. I was about 1 second ahead of him for each of the first 2, in 61 seconds each time. Then for the last one we had a bit of a dust up, matching each other stride for stride until about 100 to go and I couldn't respond to his kick and he got me by 1 second, and my time was 57. Nice to get back into it.

Got some pretty exciting news the other day also. I've been given accreditation by the IAAF to be a member of the written press at the World Champs in Moscow. Still not certain how I will approach it but should be a great experience. And there's the media 800m race inside the Ludzniki Stadium which I will be keen to take part in. Judging by the times from 2 years ago in Daegu I should be in one of the top few heats! Might have to bring spikes or flats all the way to Moscow!

Oregano_State

Fair play man, that sounds like great craic.

Who are you writing for?

I'd imagine that trip to Moscow is going to cost you a fair whack, coming from Oz!

Oregano_State

Fair play man, that sounds like great craic.

Who are you writing for?

I'd imagine that trip to Moscow is going to cost you a fair whack, coming from Oz!

RandyMann

Great news! This could be the start of a new career...

Pisco Sour

Since last Tuesday's hill session I have done the following:

Wednesday: Gym

Saturday: 1 Mile time trial - Long Run

My splits were 80-93-93-80 for a time of 5:46, just 1 second quicker than last week. Was 3 seconds up at half way but completely went to sleep in the first half of the 3rd lap (around 50 seconds at a guess). Finished with around 36-37 seconds for the last 200m. My pacing is all over the place. Didn't help though that with there being a hockey match on the infield there were loads of supporters, kids, subs etc etc messing about on the track. Utter joke and dangerous. Shows the respect athletics has down here!

Monday: : Gym

Set 1:

3 reps of:

Bench Press: 8 x 130lbs
Leg Press: 10 x 346lbs
Crunches: 50

Set 2:

3 reps of:

Arm swings: 40 x approx 4kg in each hand
Step-Ups: 30 holding 2kg in each hand
Body Twists: 40 quickly holding 10kg

Set 3:

3 reps of:

Goodmornings: 10 x 27.5kg
Pull-ups: 5 (Could only manage 4 on the last rep)
Stomach Ball Crunches: 30

Now in week 4 of the initial 6 week base period. Will make it 7 weeks to avoid starting new stuff on the week of my exams.

Tuesday: Hills

Myself and another lad did 4 x 300 this evening by the MCG. The middle distance guys were doing 8 with jog back recoveries so we did every 2nd one of theirs and took a walk back break of around 5 minutes at a guess. One lad measured the incline as 5m, which over 300m is just 1.7% roughly which is not hugely steep. 300m still feels a long way up a hill.

I was right up there towards the front for each rep and times were:

54 mid - 56 mid - 57 low - 55 high

Pisco Sour

Wednesday: Gym - Exact same as Monday

Saturday: Long Run

Not feeling completely 100% today so opted out of the 1 mile time trial at the track. A bit tight for time today so instead opted for a run around the park in my local area. Plan was to run semi-easy but I ended up pushing it a lot in the second half. I ran 3.4km in 14:07 which works out to 4:09 per km. Pretty happy. I won't be knocking off the sub 3 marathon anytime soon but it was a good aerobic workout for a sprinter.

That's 4 weeks of winter training completed now. Two 3 day weeks, followed by two 4 day weeks. Will keep it at 4 day weeks for the next 3 weeks or so until exams are over. Enjoying getting fit again.

My club is celebrating it's centenary this evening with a big dinner gala celebration. Should be fun. It's not often events like this take place.

Pisco Sour

Excellent celebration of 100 years of Richmond Harriers last night. Lots of stories, nostalgia, anecdotes, presentations, reminders of past glories along with memorabilia such as old medals, trophies, club vests, spikes, newspaper cut outs etc.

I always love to learn the history of something I'm deeply involved in, and last night was a real eye-opener. A lot of the old blokes you see around the club rooms you tend to forget that they aren't just a bunch of auld lads who like to do a bit of jogging to stay in shape, but in fact were exceptionally good athletes back in their day.

They've published a fantastic book celebrating the history of the club. Have read a bit of it so far and it's fascinating. The culture of the club has really changed over the years. Women only joined in the 80s, and nowadays with there being an unfortunate change in culture towards fun runs as opposed to competitive athletics, the club has needed to embrace that majority of the sport to stay relevant and secure it's future. Very interesting reading.

Far from the biggest or most successful club but there is a real sense of community in it which I feel could be lost in a bigger club. Glad I have been able to play a part, however small, in the club's history.

A couple of articles this week referring to the 100th anniversary and the book launch.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/central/tough-as-nails-the-richmond-harriers8217-story-of-survival/story-fngnvlpt-1226654535259?from=herald+sun_rss

http://www.athsvic.org.au/news/detail/richmond-harriers-celebrate-100-years

Pisco Sour

Monday: Gym - Almost exact same as last week. Will update gym progress properly in a week or so.

Tuesday: Hills

Back to the same hill by the MCG this evening. The middle distance guys were doing 8x300m with jog back recovery. I was told to go about 160m with them. It felt way too easy, so went 190m the next rep, again too easy. So settled into 220m for the remaining 6 reps. Recovery was around 3 minutes between each, maybe slightly under.

Times were:

32 (160m) - 35 (190m) - 39 - 40 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 40

Felt good until around 3 to go and then it started to hurt. Pretty exhausted by the end. Very happy with the consistency of those final 6 reps. Works out at around 55/56 pace for the full 300m. Last week I did my 4x300 in 54-57 so 8 reps today at that pace is about right,

Following on from our 100th anniversary dinner last weekend here's a video which was played on the night. Will mean nothing to anybody here but thought I'd throw it up anyway!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1W-iaDqQKc

Pisco Sour

Wednesday: Gym

Saturday: Long Run - 1 mile TT

My previous 1 mile TT was 2 weeks previous to this and on that occasion I ran 5:46 with splits of 80-93-93-80. On this occasion I decided to try go out a bit slower on lap 1 with the hope that I wouldn't go to sleep so much on laps 2 and 3. It worked to an extent.

First 409m was 82 (first 200m of that in 39), but the second lap was still a slow 93. However I felt good going into the 3rd lap unlike last time and had the strength to up the pace and managed an 88. Last lap I upped the pace again and by the final 200m it was all out sprint. Final lap in 80 again with a 37 second last 200m.

Splits were: 82-93-88-80. Negative split over all. Still all over the place in terms of pacing but a bit better. Final time was 5:43 for a pretty meaningless PB, 3 second improvement on 2 weeks earlier.

Sunday: Gym

With an exam late on Monday I brought my gym session forward a day. The start of week 6 of my 6 week base phase.

Set 1:

3 reps of:

Bench Press: 8 x 130lbs
Leg Press: 10 x 356lbs
Crunches: 50

Set 2:

3 reps of:

Arm swings: 40 x approx 4kg in each hand
Step-Ups: 30 holding 2kg in each hand
Stomach Ball Crunches: 30

Set 3:

3 reps of:

Goodmornings: 10 x 30kg
Pull-ups: 5 (Could only manage 4 and a half on the last rep)
Body Twists: 40 quickly holding 10kg

Getting through the routine faster now which is good. About 45 minutes from start to finish. Looking forward to a change though next week.

Tuesday: Hills

Back to the MCG for a 4x300m hill session with a walk back break of about 5 and a half minutes or so. Mainly middle distance runners again today (where have all the sprinters gone?!) and they were doing 8x300m with a slow jog back recovery so I went with them for every second one of their reps. Not surprising then that I was ahead of most of them each time given the fact I was doing less reps but at a higher pace. Was 3rd to the top for the first rep but the others went far too fast, was second to the top for reps 2 and 3 but struggled a bit on the last and was just 3rd to the top out of 6 of us (I think).

Times were:

53 high - 54 low - 54 low - 57 mid

which is a huge improvement on the last time I did this sesssion 2 weeks ago:

Pisco Sour wrote: »

54 mid - 56 mid - 57 low - 55 high

I eased up quite a bit on the first rep with 50m to go so there was more in the tank there. But after the 3rd rep I was pretty much done and the last was a struggle.

Another exam tomorrow evening. The plan is to go to the gym after. It will be late and I'll be exhausted no doubt so who knows but that is the plan.

After that I have a weekend away in Tasmania doing a fair bit of touring and hiking. A weekend off training more than likely as I don't think I'll have any time in such a hectic schedule to fit my long run in but who knows.

Arrive back Monday evening so gym session will have to take the hit, and will begin week 7 of winter training with more hills next Tuesday with the hope of either that week or the week after to introduce my Thursday session at the track.

Definitely starting to feel fit again.

Pisco Sour

Wednesday: Gym

Finished my second and final exam at 8.15pm in a faraway suburb. Would have been very easy to just go home as I was exhausted from 3 hours of non stop writing. But I went ahead with my planned gym session. Got to the gym at 9.15pm and was in and out in 45 minutes. Did the exact same session as above to complete my 6 weeks of base work. Gym coach will give me new stuff to do tomorrow evening.

Skipped my "long run" at the weekend as was away in Tasmania doing a bit of travelling. I did a bit of hiking though which makes up for it I reckon. Certainly much tougher anyway.

Tuesday: Hills

The same 4x300m hill session as last week. In with the middle distance guys who were doing 8 of them, so I went every second one with them. The 2 fastest guys weren't there today so I fully expected to be ahead of them on each of my reps. I was well ahead of them all on my first 2, but just barely on the 3rd, and only by a small bit on the 4th. I went easier on the 3rd rep this week so I would have more left for the last one. I blew up last week on my 4th rep so wanted more consistency this time. Had a good recovery of 5 and a half minutes to 6 minutes between each rep.

Last week's times:

53 high - 54 low - 54 low - 57 mid

This week I managed:

54.0 - 54.0 - 56.2 - 55.2

Probably a very very tiny improvement on my average from last week, but the consistency was better and I finished stronger. I didn't have the fastest guy to chase like last week also. Pretty happy overall.

Pisco Sour

Funny session today. Gym coach has changed my routine a bit for the next few weeks, introducing squats, and focusing on more power in the bench and leg press exercises by finding my max for each and then following a programme where I do various percentages of my max x 8 and increase those percentages each week. Will explain properly later (was doing it last year for my bench press). Today was really just about finding my max. Feels like I didnt do much but was absolutely shattered after. It's amazing what such low volume can take out of you.

Bench Press: After doing a few warm up lifts at various weights, I started lifting heavier and heavier to find my max. I lifted 167lbs successfully but could not manage 173lbs in 3 attempts. I'm going to take 170lbs as my max as it is an easier figure to work off. My max was 170lbs after Christmas last season so to be very close to that now is quite encouraging.

Leg Press: Same as above. A few warm up lifts and then got into finding my max. I managed to leg press 550lbs (250kg), which I did 2 reps of for good measure as the first one sort of bounced up so wanted to do another one as the first may not have been a fair reflection. That's pretty much 4 times my body weight which is pretty crazy when I think of it like that.

Was stuck for time so didnt really get to do much else except a few stomach exercises. That's fine though. Now that I have my max weights I can start back into my gym routine next week.

Pisco Sour

First track session of the winter for me this evening. A couple of the guys were doing 5 laps of sprint/stride 100m, jog 100m very slowly, sprint 100m, jog 100m etc etc, then walk a lap, then do 4 laps of the same, walk a lap and 3 laps of the same.

Not sure what these are called. I was slow getting ready so I did 4 laps, very short break, then another 4 laps. Then had my walk a lap break at which point my calves were really feeling it. I knew I wouldn't get far in the last set but stupidly went for it anyway. Within 15m both calves spasmed simultaneosly. They were pretty tight and sore after, though seem to be a bit better now. No lasting damage I think but certainly was a case of too much too soon. That sort of session was murder on the calves. I did them in flats and was getting up on the balls of my feet on the sprints. I think for the next while I will do those sessions in my road shoes, at the advice of one of the coaches. It's very early winter so it's all about fitness for now, not speed and technique. I think I need to get some running tights for winter. Went the whole of last winter without them. I need a lot of new shoes, spikes etc. This sport is deceptively expensive!

Found out yesterday that the whole season structure has been changed for next year. AV Shield regions have changed (which is sad as I wont be in the same region as many friends I have made the last 2 years), the meets will be on average every 2 weeks rather than every week. 7 of the 12 will be post Xmas, as apposed to just 3 of 12 before. The Shield Final is the week after Nationals in mid April, rather than mid Feb as it was previously. I think the idea is to have more racing at the business end of the year and keep grassroots athletes involved right up to the end too. I've no doubt they have the sports best interests at heart. Just a huge change when you get to know and love the way it was done before. Schedule looks very light before Christmas but hopefully it will fill up with specialist meets (Vic Milers, High Velocity).

RandyMann

Is it because the winters are cold that you are looking for running tights or are you doing it for support for your calves? This calf poblem seems to be staying with you into your new season, a nuisance it must be.
I had the same problem with shin splints but finally think they are a thing of the past now, please God anyway

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

Is it because the winters are cold that you are looking for running tights or are you doing it for support for your calves? This calf poblem seems to be staying with you into your new season, a nuisance it must be.
I had the same problem with shin splints but finally think they are a thing of the past now, please God anyway

One of the coaches said that I need tights in winter. I'm the only one without them. But to be honest I don't find it cold here (Aussies are soft, they think 13 degrees is cold ). It can get nippy though at times for sure so they would come in handy. If they provide support for the calves aswell then all the better. They are a pain in the ass they are. I don't understand how all the others in the training group can do the same stuff as me and not have a single calf problem. Some even sit down during a long 10 minute recovery for awhile. Get back up, into the next rep and not a bother. My damn calves have caused me to fail to finish a fair few sessions.

RandyMann

I wore them all through the winter and until recently. I dont know whether its in the head but I feel safer and more supported while wearing them. They could make a difference with you.
13 degrees! Those Aussies wouldn't last over here in our winters