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

Chivito550

Hopefully I can get the 400m video up tomorrow but here is the video of my 100m race on Saturday. Am in the second lane furthest from the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Cp2cEUMRE

Chivito550

Video of my 400m PB from last Saturday. In lane 6. There's no zoom on the camera so might be better in full screen mode.

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

Chivito550

Track session this evening was pretty aerobic. 6 x 300m with 4 min recoveries, with an 8 min recovery at the half way point. There was a good group of 6-7 of us doing it. Times were:

47 low - 47 mid - 49 low - 49 mid - 48 flat - 46 mid

Average was around 48 flat. Coach had mentioned 45 seconds to me but it became pretty obvious early on that such a time was unrealistic for this session. Pushed on very hard for the last 2 reps and delighted with how I finished.

Hopefully this session will stand to me come Thursday evening and the 800m at the Vic Milers Club meet at Lakeside Stadium. Time to clip some time off that 2:19 PB.

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

Track session this evening was pretty aerobic. 6 x 300m with 4 min recoveries, with an 8 min recovery at the half way point. There was a good group of 6-7 of us doing it. Times were:

47 low - 47 mid - 49 low - 49 mid - 48 flat - 46 mid

Average was around 48 flat. Coach had mentioned 45 seconds to me but it became pretty obvious early on that such a time was unrealistic for this session. Pushed on very hard for the last 2 reps and delighted with how I finished.

Hopefully this session will stand to me come Thursday evening and the 800m at the Vic Milers Club meet at Lakeside Stadium. Time to clip some time off that 2:19 PB.

Nice track facilities over there. Good running.

Chivito550

2:15.2 in the 800m at Vic Milers meet this evening at Lakeside Stadium. A nice 4.1 second PB. Won't say no to that, and a better reflection of my fitness. Somehow managed to even split it also.

Report to follow, and there should be a video also as there was a cameraman at the meet.

Chivito550

After my long awaited 55 last weekend confidence was sky high going into this meet. The Vic Milers is one of 4 specialist groups semi-independent from Athletics Victoria. The others are High Velocity (which I race frequently), AV Throwers and Rare Air Club (for high jump and pole vault). My one and only previous venture into the middle distance club was back in January 2012. Just days after the highs of my first ever sub 60 400m (59.44 at the Vic Country Champs) I came crashing back down to earth with a bang. Temperatures hit a disgusting 33 degrees and I just couldn't cope. My PB at the time was 2:27.9, and after struggling through the first lap in 75 and suffering badly I dropped out, which led to a barrage of criticism on this log.

Almost 2 years on, this was to be my first legitimate appearance at the Vic Milers. My 800m career had not been particularly strong. I came to Australia with a 2:42 time trial in Belfield, and in my first race here off no real training only managed 2:44.7. I managed to whittle that down to 2:35.9 by the end of my very very brief 2010/11 season. 2011/12 saw an improvement as I brought my time down to 2:27.6, having raced the distance 4 times all season. 2012/13 started in much the same way. 2:30 at the graded meets in August 2012, a 2:29, then a 2:28 early season and then I decided I wasn't racing any more of them. A change of heart in February 2013 and I managed a 2:23.8 (by which time my 400 time had come down 2 seconds to 56 since my previous 800). At the end of the season I got paced to a new PB of 2:19.3. I got extremely fit over winter and should have PB'ed in Moscow but got sick at the wrong time, limbering to a 2:21.77. My first race of this season proper saw a 2:19.75, just off the PB, but the last day out was a disaster. I managed a 2:30 having run a good 200m just beforehand and my head wasn't in the game. I vowed after that run that come Vic Milers I would be up for the 800.

800m:

In total there were 8 heats of the men's 800m. My 2:19.3 was good enough to have me 5th or 6th fastest on paper out of the 10 in the G Race. Not exactly glamorous stuff but the second slowest heat was where I expected to be in this rare visit to the middle distance club. A quick look at the start list and it appeared the fastest on paper was a 2:14 guy. I had 2:16 as a ball park figure in my head so, despite our heat not having a pacemaker, unlike some other heats, it was fairly well set up for me to run a fast time.

Preparations were a bit of a farce. 15 minutes before the start of my race as I climb over one of the seats in the stand to get to my bag I stupidly smash my right knee against the edge of one of the chairs. Pretty sore. Then a minute later I see blood. Fantastic. The next 5 minutes were spent trying to stop the blood flow but time is running out, so a random woman gave me a plaster to seal the small wound. It felt a bit awkward on my knee as I was striding but it wasn't going to have any impact on my race whatsoever. I quickly got a few strides in and I was ready.

I was drawn in lane 7. I take off well, sprinting the first 40-50m to take advantage of the few seconds of free energy, before settling back. As we break into lane 1 I am in about 6th place. I'm feeling comfortable but am definitely moving and my watch confirms it. 31.5 for the first 200m which is too quick. I can hear our middle distance coach shout out to ease it, so I dropped the effort levels, and one lad goes past me. I settle in 7th but it starts to bunch. As I come around into the straight I lightly clip some lad as I am moving out into lane 2. It didn't throw me off or disturb my stride pattern. I stayed in lane 2 for the rest of the straight. One guy has broken away from the rest and goes through the bell in about 63, but i'm sort of in a bunch at this stage so not paying too much attention to the rest.

I hit the bell in 67 and feel fantastic. In my last 2:19 I ran the first lap in 67 and felt shattered. Perhaps it was the evening kick off, the cooler temperatures, who knows, but I felt full of life. I remembered what one of the senior members of the club said to me earlier in the week. That I am to cruise the first lap and then being a 400 runner my race starts at the bell. Well this is exactly what happened. As soon as I started the second lap I took off and moved to the front of the pack of 6 that I was in. I can now see the others ahead of me. There are 4 of them, all stretched out. The 4th place lad was about 15m in front of me, but I knew I could get him. I pushed hard down the backstraight and could now feel some lactic build up. At the 600 mark the coach shouts out 1:41/ 1:42. I knew know that I only had to keep going to get a PB. A 35 last 200m would get me home in 2:17. I push hard and am now closing on this kid in front of me in 4th (who I swear was about half my height!!), but it took right until the last 40m before I actually went past him. I finished extremely strongly but ran out of track to catch the lad in 3rd place who was about 3-4 metres in front of me. With the exception of the winner (who paced his race supremely) I was the second fastest over the second lap. My splits were pretty much even also, which surprised me a lot, as usually I lose a good 5 seconds on the second lap.

My time was 2:15.2 which is a big PB by 4.1 seconds. It's the first 800m race I have run genuinely well, and it is the first one I really enjoyed. It helps having people of a similar standard, not having distractions of other races beforehand, having cool temperatures, and knowing your competitors credentials up to a day in advance.

To be a good 400m runner you need to be fit and this 800m confirms that I am fit. I knew I was, after some serious hill sessions over the winter, but until now I just hadn't put it together well in a two lap race.

My coach believes I could manage 2:12 right now, and 2:05 with proper 800m preparation. He believes I am an 800m runner, and maybe in time it will turn out he is right. But I don't have any desire to be an 800m runner at the moment. I don't want to do the training required at the moment as I am really enjoying the 400m and the variety between flat out speed, strangth and speed endurance/ aerobic power than comes with it. Ideally I would like to spend the next few years at the 400m and when I feel I can't get any faster then I will have a good foundation to move up in distance. I genuinely think 53 is a realistic goal for me. Thankfully I am still young so there is absolutely no rush to move up. This run though is a good sign for the future given I do absolutely no mileage at the moment (except one long run a week in winter). Definitely hitting this from a short to long approach.

So far this season I have improved my PB in the 100m (12.82 to 12.58), 400m (56.26 to 55.91) and 800m (2:19.3 to 2:15.2). Only the 200m remains to be broken (have got to within 0.04 of my 25.62) before all my pre-season PB's (well those that matter) are history.

No race this weekend as it is the Victorian Relay Championships. I hoped to get a 4x400m team together for it to attack our club record but sadly availability was low so the idea was binned early. 2 full days off followed by training on Sunday morning. It has been a pretty good last week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHeILX5TiCk

Chivito550

Back to the track this morning. Session was 3 x (2 x 200m) with 1 minute recovery within each set and 8 minutes between each set.

Coach said to run them at 400m pace. Given I was wearing flats, and the nature of our track, and the fact the track was wet he threw out a figure of 29 for me, and possibly high 28. My actual times were:

29.2 - 28.7

29.7 - 29.3

29.3 - 29.9

Pretty happy with those numbers. I could really feel the lactic build up for most of the final rep.

Chivito550

This evening we did 300m - 30 secs recovery - 100m, all out like a 400m.

For the 300m I timed myself at 42.5 which is 56 pace, decent enough with the flats on. But I felt my start wasn't the best. Myself and the training partner (who I beat easily in my last 400m race) had to use lane 1 as the track was a bit of a circus/creche this evening. He's a better starter than me so I sort of ended up tucking in behind him, he opened a gap on the backstraight, but I closed it well towards the end, and if there was another 100m to go without a break I'm sure I would have taken him.

I didn't time the 100m after the 30 seconds break but I'm sure it was around 14 or a bit under. It was pretty tough as the legs felt like jelly after the 30 second break.

Satisfied but would have liked to have maybe managed a tiny bit quicker in the 300m and I regret not timing the 100m.

Afterwards we finished off with 4 x 150m with about 4 minutes recovery. It felt very tough doing this after the 300-100. Times were:

20.6 - 20.6 - 20.6 - 20.5

Pretty nice consistency throughout. Was about 3m down on training partner on average. Maybe a bit less.

I mysteriously lost my stopwatch. Have no idea where it went. It's just a normal cheap stopwatch but have been using it for years. I couldn't find a similar type one anywhere. Unwilling to buy one of those expensive things with heart rate monitors and all that other stuff which is of no benefit to a sprinter, I had to resort to buying a cheap chunky normal stop watch. I hate it as the buttons are in different positions and I kept pressing the wrong one and didn't get the time of the recoveries. And you have to press the button a bit firmer for it to start and stop which is not ideal. I'm sure I'll get used to it, or hopefully I will come across the type of simple stopwatch that nobody seems to stock!

Chivito550

For the most part, not a lot of change in the gym. Incremental improvements throughout.

Am now up to 70kg for 3 x 6 in deadlift. Was a 5kg increase today and could feel the difference, might stay at that for next week and make sure my technique doesn't stray as it didn't feel smooth today.

Up to 70kg for the box squats 3 x 6. At first I thought my squats weren't heavy enough compared to what others seem to do then I realised that many don't go down the full hips below the knee.

Pretty happy with the progress in these two as at the end of last season I was squatting only 47.5kg and deadlifting 50kg.

Had a max session on Monday for the bench press. To be honest I've sort of strayed from the bench press programe of late and have got lax, sort of making it up as I go along, so the gym coach is getting me back on track. First thing is to find my max and then start the 7 week programme based on that.

For the max session I did the following:

5 x 130lbs to warm up
3 x 150lbs to warm up
1 x 172lbs (previous best)
1 x 180lbs (new PB)
2 fails at 185lbs

After that I did a blowout. Basically back down to 130lbs and do as many as I physically can. I managed 15. Apparantly that is a good sign of my endurance, and according to some it means I am an 800m runner! It probably explains why I am not super explosive out of the blocks for 100m if I can manage 72% of my max 15 times.

So my new max is 180lbs (82kg) and the programme will be based on that, starting next Monday at 4 x 8 @ 60% of max, 65%, 70% and 75% and it moves up as the weeks go on. It's going to feel way too easy to start with (60% is 110lbs) but gym coach said to just go with it and not worry about that.

Oregano_State

Keep going with the deadlift. You should be DL-ing a good deal more than you bench. I'd say take it up 5kg every week until you get to 90kg. Then take a week and lash on another 5kg after that.

You should be working towards 120kg+ for reps in the immediate future, you've got a decent bit of training behind you now so I'd say you're well able for it. Plus you're lifting way more than that in the leg press so you have the leg strength already.

This is a great video on DL technique. Watch your head position, I was doing it wrong for aaaages until I started watching this guy's videos.

Squatting looks good though, keep it up. And keep at the sprinting. Plenty of time for 800m when you knock another 2-3s off your 400m time.

Chivito550

Track session this evening was 6x200m with 1 minute recoveries. Supposed to be at 800m pace. Track was soaked and it was raining. Times were:

32-31-31-32-31-32

A good average would be 32 flat. Very happy with that session to be honest in less than ideal conditions.

Feeling pretty good ahead of the weekend. 200m at the Shield on Saturday, and 400m at the High Velocity Club meet on Sunday. But I've just seen that I have been given lane 1 for the 400m! How absolutely frustrating! The only positive is that I know well in advance so can be mentally prepared for it.

Chivito550

Right a change in mindset. It appears that they have seeded the lanes based on times. There's 16 of us down for the 400m. Usually they take a max of 24 per event so I don't know whether it was a case of only 16 entered the 400m or that they only accepted 16 on this occasion. I am the slowest on paper in the second of the 2 heats so I deservedly have been given lane 1. I should be glad to have a lane at all. My heat is fairly stacked, and it will be a great opportunity for me to run against better athletes. This is what it's all about after all, running against better athletes in a respected meet.

Lanes 3-6 will be out of sight, around 50-52. But lanes 2, 7 and 8 will be worth keeping an eye on. Lane 2 seems to be around 55/56 and has a recent 4:22 1500m to his name, lane 7 is a 53 guy when on form, and lane 8 was running 55s last season. Just have to keep calm in the first 200m and realise I may feel detatched from the race in the early stages but that I will begin to see lanes 7 and 8 on the final bend and that I always finish strong. My weak link is my first 200m so important to get out hard.

John Akii-Bua won Olympic Gold and ran the first ever sub 48 from lane 1 in 1976.

Angelo Taylor won Olympic gold from lane 1 in 2000 and he has only ever run faster than that once in his career (Beijing).

Cathy Freeman won the 400m at the 1997 Worlds from Lane 1.

I recall Michael Bingham and Martyn Rooney getting silver and bronze from lanes 1 and 8 in Barcelona in 2010 to deny Gillick a medal.

A PB from lane 1 would feel pretty epic so I am looking forward to the challenge.

200m on Saturday to negotiate first though.

Oregano_State

Have you ever had your 200m splits timed during a race?

It's a good indication of whether you're getting the most out of your ability. Most elites tend to positive split with the second half 1.5-2.5s slower than the first

Chivito550

Oregano_State wrote: »

Have you ever had your 200m splits timed during a race?

It's a good indication of whether you're getting the most out of your ability. Most elites tend to positive split with the second half 1.5-2.5s slower than the first

Have never got a split at 200m. Have tried to figure it out from videos but it's too hard.

Chivito550

25.44 for 200m today with a slight headwind of -0.3, a New PB, bettering my previous best from January by 0.18. That's the full set of PBs completed this season, 100, 200, 400 and 800 Hopefully this sets me up for a good 400m tomorrow.

Chivito550

56.40 in the 400m at High Velocity today, half a second down on the PB. That run of PBs had to end sometime I guess. I was a bit isolated in lane 1. The guy in lane 2 ran 52 and the guy in lane 3 never showed up. It was only in the last 150m that I started to see some of the slower
guys in lanes 6-8, but even they were running sub 54. In that company an outer lane would have suited me more, but I suppose overall it was a decent run given the circumstances. Think I need to improve at racing on back to back days.

Report from both races to come but going to go out for a few beers to celebrate yesterdays PB, as I didn't get to do it last night because of today's 400m.

EDIT: Rounded up to 56.39

Oregano_State

Do you always run your 400m races the same way?

Seeing as you race so much, you could try playing around with tactics. In your next race, maybe try going out really hard up until 150m or 180m even, instead of just the first 60-80m. Chances are you'll die a death in the home straight, but the fact that you always seem to finish strong and start slow makes me think this might be good for you. Exposing yourself to that level of pain in the closing stages of a race (it's very difficult to push yourself to that level of fatigue in training) will make taking the race out faster more comfortable in future, if you understand me.

The goal is to have as high an average speed as possible. Go balls out and try to hang on.

Chivito550

Oregano_State wrote: »

Do you always run your 400m races the same way?

Seeing as you race so much, you could try playing around with tactics. In your next race, maybe try going out really hard up until 150m or 180m even, instead of just the first 60-80m. Chances are you'll die a death in the home straight, but the fact that you always seem to finish strong and start slow makes me think this might be good for you. Exposing yourself to that level of pain in the closing stages of a race (it's very difficult to push yourself to that level of fatigue in training) will make taking the race out faster more comfortable in future, if you understand me.

The goal is to have as high an average speed as possible. Go balls out and try to hang on.

I see your point. Though I think going balls out 200m pace for the first 180m would be suicide (My 200m pace is sub 51 pace). I definitely need to attack the first 200m more though. Maybe dropping the effort levels less during the middle part of the race than I currently am, still leaving me enough to hang on, but not leaving me too much to do at the same time. It's difficult to balance it.

Chivito550

A busy weekend of racing as round 4 of the AV Shield on Saturday was followed by the first High Velocity meet of the season on Sunday.

AV Shield

Round 4 took us back to Doncaster, for the final time this season before the track gets resurfaced. With the 400m on the menu at the High Velocity the following day, I opted to skip the 800m and just run the 200m.

Conditions were pretty nice. Temperatures around 21, sunny, light breeze. A very pleasant day to be competing. Would have been ideal for an 800m.

200m:

My PB of 25.62 was set on this very track back in January. This season has got off to a solid start. First up was 25.77 in Ballarat, with a strong tail wind, albeit after running an 800m race. Next was a 25.66 at Doncaster for the AV Shield Round 2, narrowly missing my PB. My 3rd attempt this season was a farce, a 27.41 into a -7.1 headwind in Geelong. Given my recent form over 400m and 800m, with back to back PBs, surely this was to be the occasion I would ditch the last of my pre-season PBs in my four main events.

I went in the second heat. I could have hung back a heat or two but I was feeling silly and optimistic, so when he called 25 I jumped in lane 7 (lanes 6 were filled with 24 second runners), but not without dragging a lad from Collingwood into lane 8 before he had a second to react. Had been chatting to him earlier. He said he used to run 1:59, but his 400m PB was only 58. Something doesn't add up there but nice guy, and he didn't seem to mind being chucked without warning into heat 2. All good natured banter.

The start was delayed a bit as it turned out the Collingwood lad, who was only back from a 3 year hiatus from the sport, actually hadn't a clue how to set up his blocks (he was wearing chunky runners to add insult to injury). Once he was ready we settled in the blocks. The gun goes off and within 3 quick strides I am past him. I don't know what happened to him but I can only guess he didn't hear the gun, or just has very slow reactions. He said he expected a 27 second run so was hoping he would be a rabbit for my first 50m but that went up in the air as I was past him within a couple of seconds.

I feel I am moving pretty well for the first 50-60m, and for a change didn't notice anyone come up on me in the very early stages. At around 80m in, the guy in lane 6 come past me, and at that point so does the rest of the field inside me. Entering the straight I am well behind the other 6. It's a case of hanging onto their coat tails, and hoping to get dragged along. I love the second half of a 200m though and am feeling myself starting to make gains on a few ahead of me. The lad in lane 6 starts coming back to me, and I finish about 3 metres down on him.

I felt I ran well but one can never know until the result is confirmed. It felt like an age before the results came up, and then they appeared on screen slowly, one by one. The guy ahead of me came up at 25.0x, and at that point I became hopeful that I would get inside my PB. Moments later it was confirmed, 25.44 seconds into a -0.3 headwind, a PB by 0.18 seconds, and given the fact my previous PB was with a +1.2 tailwind, the improvement was about 0.3 seconds in real terms.

It was a satisfying feeling finally knocking off a PB which had lasted for 11 months. The results this season have been frustrating for a number of reasons so good to have the patience finally rewarded. Now I have brand new PBs in each of the 100, 200, 400 and 800 from this season. My best from last season are confined to history.

Worth noting that my 3 best 200m times (25.44, 25.62 and 25.66) have all been set in Doncaster with it's tight 100m bend and long 100m straight. I'm going to miss that track as it goes into hibernation for the rest of the season.

High Velocity

Some good friends were having their going away party on Saturday night. Frustrating timing as I had to stay off the sauce with the 400m race the following day. Went out to the bar though and spent the evening standing, which was starting to tire me big time. Got back early enough though and got a good night's sleep which was needed. I was feeling pretty exhausted after my 200m exploits.

My 400m race wasn't scheduled until just before 5pm which made the whole day a bit of a drag. Far too nervous and pumped up to do any study for my upcoming exam so just spent the day doing absolutely nothing.

Conditions were very good for sprinting but for somebody like me, coming from Ireland, it was a bit much to deal with. 30 degrees, blistering sun, warm winds, stiffling heat. Yeh it's great for the actual race, but it makes the warm up pure torture. Low 20s and sunny is my kind of day time temperature. I don't mind the high 20s in the evening once the sun has gone down.

As mentioned before I was drawn in lane 1 in the B race, by virtue of having the slowest entry time. Not a good lane draw but I was mentally prepared for it. The guy in lane 2 was a 14/15 year old kid with a sickening amount of talent. His entry time was just under 54 but said he expected to run 52. The guy in lane 3 didn't show up, lanes 4-5 would be way out of sight, so the guys who were slower on paper, in lanes 6-8 were so far removed from me in the lane draw.

Gun went off and I pushed out of the blocks, only to enter into a sharp enough turn within 10 metres. The very start of lane 1 is very tight, but no choice but to attack it as hard as possible. After 60m or so I notice myself drifting towards the outside of my lane, probably as a result of the tighter than usual lane. At this point I can still see the guy in lane 2 comfortably. I hit the bend and I have a brief look to where others were, and it felt like they were all half way down the straight while I was only entering it. Lane 1 can be mentally taxing so just had to focus focus focus and trust that they would come back to me later on with the stagger. Down the back straight I feel I may have eased back just a bit too much. Having nobody around me did not help in this regard, particularly as the kid in lane 2 is now well ahead of me.

At the half way mark I up the effort levels significantly and start to push. It feels like I am running on my own, but with 150m to go I start to get a glimpse of lanes 6, 7 and 8. With 120m to go, I can see the guy in lane 7 clearly and I genuinely felt he was only about 10m ahead of me. I started to feel full of hope. This guy can run 53. Try stick to his coat tails and there could be a nice PB in this for me. Sadly my eyes were deceiving me. As I pushed as hard as I could down the straight I felt my facial muscles tense up. I was very conscious about it but did nothing to stop it. Despite this I felt I was moving well enough in these closing stages. However maybe the guy in lane 7 wasn't as close to me as I thought, or maybe he finished strong, because it felt like an absolute age when I was the last person left on the track. The gap felt too big, so I really needed this guy to have nailed a massive result for mine to be a PB. But maybe this could have happened. It's usually pretty hard to tell straight after a 400m exactly how fast it was.

The wait was an absolute age. Eventually I just went up to the photo finish room to request the time. I was given a time of 56.40, which was eventually rounded down to 56.39 seconds my joint 4th fastest time ever. I was initially disappointed. I usually am when I didn't run a PB, but it was the margin off my PB (0.48) which was most disappointing.

After letting the result sink in I am not terribly unhappy with it. I had a stinking lane draw. Sure the lane is tight, but in a shield race against other 55 second runners it may not be so bad (I tend to run well in lane 2, which is generally thought to not be that much better), but the main problem with this lane was the fact that in this sort of company, where everybody was sub 54 except me, it made me feel very isolated during the race. I would much rathered lane 7 or 8 to feel more "in the race" early on. It helps you get more dragged along.

I also think racing back to back days is a lot tougher than I had considered. It's difficult to go through a pre-race routine, the nerves, adrenaline, emotions etc, then calm down, and go through it all just 24 hours later, with no time to enjoy the previous days PB. However it is great experience, and a great training exercise to go back to back like that.

So maybe not ideal circumstances to run a PB, but my joint 4th fastest ever, and just 0.13 off my previous PB, and the exact same time as what I ran in the Victorian Decathlon Champs last February when I felt in peak shape last season. I'm now at the level where I can manage that time when I'm not firing on all cylinders. That is a big positive. I have the 55 nabbed. The next goal is to become a consistent 55 second runner. Last year 56 was a good run and 57 was a bad run. I want to get to the stage where a 55 is a good run and 56 is a poor run.

For the record my heat was won in 49.xx (he would have been 4th in the A race, not sure why he was in our heat). The 14 year old kid ran 52.3, the sort of talent that is best not to dwell on, otherwise you just wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. The guys in lanes 6-8 all snuck under 54.

Next weekend is a more low key one. Day 2 of the Geelong Championships in Saturday and I am entered in the 200m and 800m. I haven't decided yet which one I will focus on more. It all depends on the weather and the timetable.

Chivito550

Track session this evening was 460m - 20 mins - 300m, both flat out. The 460m was to be run like a 400m and then just hang on for the over distance bit at the end.

460m: Myself and one other training partner were doing this, the guy I beat by about a second and a half in my PB 400m 2 weeks ago. We started 60m back from the finish line, and to my surprise I got out faster than him and cut nicely into lane 1 ahead of him by the time I hit the 60m mark. I got through the 400m mark in 58 which with flats on that track, on the inside lane, is very encouraging. Training partner went through in about 61/62. The last 60m was damage limitation and I covered it in around 10 seconds. Total time for 460m was 68.5. This was 1 second faster than last time I did this session.

300m: Legs felt a bit like jelly going into this one. I took lane 2 and training partner lane 1. He ate up the stagger on me very quickly. I couldn't get going and the legs felt heavy. He ran a 41, which is an incredible improvement on his 460m, while I managed 44.8. This was 2 seconds slower than the last time I did the session.

Overall I was happy with how the session went. The flies were out in force this evening which made things a bit uncomfortable. A real sign that summer has arrived!

Chivito550

A more aerobic session this evening. What I like about these sessions is that they are over in no time, 11 minutes in this instance.

8 x 200m with 1 minute recoveries at 800m pace. Plan was to go in the 32 second range. Track was soaked and it was windy and the heavens opened for a few of the reps. The odd numbered reps were into a strong headwind, and the even ones with a tailwind. Can't remember the exact times but from memory it was the following:

32.9 - 32.4 - 33.4 - 32.0 - 32.x - 32.x - 32.x - 31.8

All bar 1 was between 31.8 and 32.9. A good average overall would be 32.5 seconds. Happy out with that.

Racing on Saturday in Geelong. Going to give both the 200m and 800m a good bash, and treat it as a training session, as there is only 37 minutes between both events. Weather looks alright at the moment. 25 degrees so not too hot.

Then taking Sunday morning off and moving my Monday gym session to Sunday evening as I have an exam on Monday, so will have a day off training on that day.

Chivito550

Fairly decent day at the Geelong champs today. 25.45 in the 200m with a +1.9 tailwind but with a strong headwind for much of the bend. An agonising 0.01 off my PB from last Sat, but nice to back up that run.

Then 45 mins later I ran the 800m in 2:18.00, which is my second fastest ever but 2.8 secs of the PB. Appalling first 200m in only 34.5 which meant I was chasing from there on in. Poor concentration for the first part of the race.

Overall I'm happy with today's work and doubles up as a good training session ahead of next Saturday's 400m. Normally I struggle with the 200-800 combo with short recovery. I believe there is a higher aerobic component in 200m than many think. Today was definitely my best attempt at this double though and hopefully sets me up for another 55 next weekend.

Oregano_State

I think you're well capable of a 2:10 800m, you just need to attack the race more. With a 25s 200m PB, going through the first 200m in 30s should be easy, 32, 32, and 34 to finish and you'd have a 2:08.

I really think you're mentally holding yourself back.

Chivito550

Oregano_State wrote: »

I think you're well capable of a 2:10 800m, you just need to attack the race more. With a 25s 200m PB, going through the first 200m in 30s should be easy, 32, 32, and 34 to finish and you'd have a 2:08.

I really think you're mentally holding yourself back.

I think I can go 2:10 within the next 2 races, but it has to be proper attempts. It is very difficult to run a good 800m after running a hard 200m only 45 minutes beforehand. The Vic Milers meets are the one's I target with regards 800m. Any meet where there is a 200m beforehand will be tougher. The next Vic Milers after Christmas, if I get to race it, I will attempt 2:12, with the following one hopefully 2:10.

ecoli

Oregano_State wrote: »

I think you're well capable of a 2:10 800m, you just need to attack the race more. With a 25s 200m PB, going through the first 200m in 30s should be easy, 32, 32, and 34 to finish and you'd have a 2:08.

I really think you're mentally holding yourself back.

I would have to agree on this. Looking at your 200m session during the week have the blend of strength and speed to enable you to hit and maintain 32s over that sort if distance. I reckon get it mentally right and you will be down around 2.10 this season

Chivito550

ecoli wrote: »

I would have to agree on this. Looking at your 200m session during the week have the blend of strength and speed to enable you to hit and maintain 32s over that sort if distance. I reckon get it mentally right and you will be down around 2.10 this season

I agree. My coach says 54 and 2:10 should be within my reach. He actually said 2:05 if I focused on 800m.

The 800m is a tricky one for me. Basically there are 2 type of meets in which I can run them:

1) Shield meets, always in the afternoon, usually under burning sun, and always 40 minutes after a tough hard 200m. Heats picked there and then.

2) Vic Milers meets, always in the evening, when the sun has died down, and with no other events on the programme to distract me. The heats are properly seeded and you know a day in advance who is in your heat and what time they have run of late.

Scenario 2 lends itself to genuine attempts. Scenario 1 is more about experience and training exercises. 2:18.00 after a near PB in the 200m is not bad in that regard. I do need to run one good 800m at Shield for Club Championship purposes though, but unless I skip the 200m, and get lucky with the weather it is far more likely that I will PB in the specialist meets, the Vic Milers, if that makes sense.

ecoli

With 12 rounds presumably 6 run the 2/8 double. Would there not be a chance to focus even 2 of these to singular events? (Perhaps a 200 one round and an 800 another).

With regards the weather as long as you stay in shade while watching rest of the meet and stay hydrated overheating should not become an issue over a 200 or an 800m.

I can understand what you mean by experience but I think there is also a case for getting a race day experience for an all out effort. Very hard to have this when you have the race before or after on your mind.

Chivito550

ecoli wrote: »

With 12 rounds presumably 6 run the 2/8 double. Would there not be a chance to focus even 2 of these to singular events? (Perhaps a 200 one round and an 800 another).

With regards the weather as long as you stay in shade while watching rest of the meet and stay hydrated overheating should not become an issue over a 200 or an 800m.

I can understand what you mean by experience but I think there is also a case for getting a race day experience for an all out effort. Very hard to have this when you have the race before or after on your mind.

Usually at the Shield I tend to favour the 200m over the 800m, because I get opportunities to run a good 800m at the Vic Milers specialist meets, while with 200m the only chances I usually get are at Shield (The sprinting specialist meets, the High Velocity Club, I always only run 400m for obvious reasons). But after Christmas, I would like for one of the shield meets to sacrifice the 200m and give the 800m a real crack, and maybe make up that lost 200m by entering the 200m at the Vic Country Champs.

Here's the fixture list for the rest of the season:

http://www.athsvic.org.au/images/uploads/newsletters/Calendar_Summer_2013.pdf

The odd round shield meets are 100/400 (which is never an issue doubling up) and the even numbered meets are 200/800.

Before Christmas all that is left is:

Sat 14th Dec: Shield 100/400
Sat 21st Dec: High Velocity 400

On Thursday 19th there is a Vic Milers meet with a 1000m on. I tempted to give it a go. I think it could do me a lot of good aerobically and sub 3 minutes should be a reasonable target. Only thing holding me back is that I have a 400m 2 days later.

Chivito550

A low key meet this weekend. Day 2 of the Geelong Championships on a bright sunny afternoon at Landy Field. Day 1 took place a month ago. On this occasion I would run the 200m and 800m, with just 45 minutes in between.

200m:

The men's U20 and Open were put together. There were 5 in the race, using lanes 2-6 and I was given lane 6 which was frustrating. In lane 3 was a guy who I just pipped in the 400m on Day 1 of these championships so I wanted to have him on my outside but alas it wasn't to be.

My start was average enough but maybe that's because there was nobody outside me to judge how well I was going. I was greeted with a very strong headwind directly into my face for the first 50m or so, which was not ideal for getting up to top speed quickly. After about 40m the guy in lane 5 went flying past me, but after about 90m he pulled up injured and started straying towards my lane. Thankfully he stopped himself by the time I got to where he was. I don't think it slowed me down but it really distracted me.

Entering the straight and I am a few metres down on the guy I had beaten over 400m. I slowly close the gap on him but he is moving well and I am not making as much inrodes as I would like. I can feel myself tensing up at the very finish and I cross the line one metre down on him.

I see the wind reading of +1.9 and think maybe that would drag me to a PB despite the race not being 100% perfect, but it was not to be. 25.45 seconds, just 0.01 off my PB from last week. It was very nice to back up last week's performance, and while I had a good tailwind down the straight, it was in a diagonal direction into my face around the bend, meaning it could have been as strong as -0.3 when I was running directly into it. Wind certainly isn't as clear cut for 200m as it is for 100m and is not just a case of + or -, but also what direction it is coming from in relation to the bend. Overall frustrated to miss out on the PB but a good result.

800m:

Originally we were only supposed to have 35 mins but somebody saw sense and changed the timetable to give us an extra 10 mins. I was feeling jaded from the 200m, and the sun was shining like only the Aussie "hole in the ozone layer" sun does, making 22 degrees feel like about 28! I tried to spend as much time in the shade as possible where it was a lot more comfortable.

Again U20 and Open were put together. The guy who pipped me in the 200m was again running, along with some lad who said he has run 2:12 but currently in 2:15 shape. Another chap said he has run 2:01 but probably only 2:03 on this occasion. The other 3 athletes would be nowhere to be seen.

I was a bit to casual out of the blocks, completely forgetting to use those 4-5 seconds of free energy and as I come to the point where we turn in I see that the 2 lads who would be around my level have opened a gap. I didn't react and just assumed that they were going off too fast. After all, I always seem to go through the first 200 in 31/32 at a pace that feels cruising. I assumed that would happen again. As I get to 200 a quick look at the watch sees 34.5. Damn. I immediately react and up the effort levels significantly and begin to close slightly, but more so just maintain the gap on the 2 ahead of me.

It is also worth noting that on the backstraight the 2:01 bloke was still running in his lane, right up to well after the 200m mark! Afterwards when I asked him about it he said he forgot the rules and has only run 3-4 of them. How does somebody run 2:01 and not know that he has to break at 100m? He only ran 2:07 on this occasion, hardly surprising given he handicapped himself stupidly.

Back to the race, and I hit the bell just a tad under 69 seconds, meaning my second 200m was the exact same pace as the first 200m, which never happens for me, I usually drop a good bit. However I am still a good second and a half behind where I was at half way when I ran my PB.

The third 200m I pushed on but I lacked the energy I had last time out, probably due to the 200m in my legs. The gap remained the same, and at 600m I am at 1:43.5, another 34.5 split. The last 200m I really start to wind it up but I have left it way too late to catch the 2 ahead of me. The final 100m I finish like a train and my final 200m split was again 34.5, all 4 splits being almost identical, but I finished about 2 seconds behind the guy in 3rd with an official time of 2:18.00, my second fastest ever, but 2.8 seconds off my PB.

I guess having the 200m in my legs a PB was always going to be difficult so the main positive is that I ran such a time so close to a 200m. It is definitely my best attempt at this double and a great training exercise ahead of next weekend's 400m at the AV Shield.

Chivito550

A speed session this evening. 6 x (60-20-40) with full recovery in between each, followed at the end by a flat out 300. The full session this evening was on my own.

The 60-20-40 is all in a straight line (our straight is 120m long) with the first 60 flat out, the next 20 easing the pace off, and then kicking again to flat out for the last 40. I usually do this session from a 3 point start but there were blocks out at the starting point so I decided to use them. It felt a bit weird using blocks with flats on but got used to it. Bit rusty with the first one or two reps but felt my start improving a lot after that. Tried to focus on technique throughout.

After the 6 reps I managed a 43.9 for the 300m, with the first 150m into a strong headwind. Was disappointed at first with the time, but the reality was that my legs were stuffed after the 6 reps beforehand, and the headwind for the first half didn't help either. It's all about the effort levels in the end of the day though.

I was completely jaded for half an hour afterwards. This session took way more out of me than I anticipated.