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

Letyourselfgo

Enjoyed that. Recoveries were if you want them 2'39, 3'12, 3'21, 3'00, 3'10

Chivito550

Letyourselfgo wrote: »

Enjoyed that. Recoveries were if you want them 2'39, 3'12, 3'21, 3'00, 3'10

Ah good stuff. The messed up watch had me thinking the first recovery was 3:30 but that figure obviously included the first rep also.

Chivito550

Got a massage this afternoon. First one in 3 weeks and was badly needed. Knots that I never knew existed were ironed out.

This evening was my first time setting foot on a track since I've been back. Session in Irishtown with the group was 120-100-80, 5 minutes recovery, 80-100-120. Walk back recovery within each set. Track was absolutely drenched and I was the only one not wearing spikes, so was at a bit of a disadvantage. Found the surface a little slippy. Session was all about technique though and were not to be done completely flat out, so it doesn't really matter too much that I was wearing flats rather than spikes.

Chivito550

During my gym session yesterday one of the gym instructors who happened to be walking by me pointed out errors in my deadlift technique. I was doing 6 x 77.5kg, with the plan to do 6 x 80kg and then 6 x 82.5kg after when he told me that I shouldn't be bashing the weights down onto the ground so hard, and that it also will damage the weights. He said that I need to keep the weights under control and barely touch the ground with them, if at all. I brought the weight right back to 60kg to get the technique right and then started building back up. Ended up doing:

6 x 60kg
6 x 65kg
6 x 67.5kg
6 x 70kg
6 x 72.5kg

Feels like a bit of a step back, but hopefully one step back two steps forward sort of thing.

ecoli

Chivito550 wrote: »

Feels like a bit of a step back, but hopefully one step back two steps forward sort of thing.

Will definitely result in benefits in the long term. Technique is the single biggest aspect of weight lifting and always good idea to have someone (PT or someone who knows what they are doing) run through your technique a few times to ensure injury risk is minimal and benefits are maximal

Chivito550

Track session at Irishtown this morning. Most of the group were doing a session of flat out 60s from blocks with spikes. I didn't feel ready for such an intensive session particularly in the colder weather, so coach had 3 of us doing a slightly longer speed session. 2 x (150-120-100) with 5 mins recovery between each set, walk back within the sets. Session was about getting the technique right and trying to stay relaxed. Coach said I was too tight for the first 150 and said I needed to relax more, so I consciously tried to keep relaxed for the remaining reps. I did the first set in flats and then the second in spikes at the advice of the coach. Enjoyed the session in glorious winter weather though I feel I could have managed another set. The track was also very busy and was a bit petrified that a kid would run out in front of me.

ultraman1

how long in time woulkd dat session take to do.and on a scale of 1-10 how tired would ye be afterwards..not being a prick,genuinly interested

Chivito550

ultraman1 wrote: »

how long in time woulkd dat session take to do.and on a scale of 1-10 how tired would ye be afterwards..not being a prick,genuinly interested

Excluding the warm up (which can take a good half hour) that session itself once started would be over fairly fast. Total running time is less than 2 minutes, plus the 5 minute recovery, plus the 4 walk backs at about 6 minutes combined, so overall start to finish maybe 13 minutes. Some sessions are much longer than that though. Aerobically I wouldn't be very tired at all after that session, but the legs would feel it. Overall that session was a bit on the easier side.

Chivito550

Hill session with the group this morning. 2 x (100-200-100) with 4 mins recovery between each set and jog back between each rep. The first 100m of the 200m was pretty much flat and then the hill would begin.

Was about half way down the field. Lost a bit of ground on those ahead of me during the last 200m, but then to my surprise found that last bit of energy to be the second to the top in the final 100m.

Coach said that I heel strike when running up the hills so tried to correct that. It's a bad habit I have when doing hills, and probably also due to the footwear I use doing hills. On the track doing speed stuff I am always thinking about technique, but on the hills I have never really thought about it much.

He also said that based on what he has seen of me over the last few weeks he thinks I should be able to go a fair bit faster than my current PB. Good to know that there's a fair bit more improvement there to be made.

Chivito550

Woke up Monday morning with a head cold so decided to be cautious and took both Monday and Tuesday off. Felt much better today so back to the track with the group. Same session as last Wednesday: 120-100-80, 5 mins, 80-100-120. Not 100%, focusing on technique. I wore my flats for the first set and then spikes for the second set. Track was wet and slipped at the start of the first 120 which was not ideal. My start was shocking throughout the first set, but improved a lot once I had the spikes on.

That's the last session with the group before I go back to Australia on Friday. Great bunch of people. Have very much enjoyed training with them.

Chivito550

Last session before heading back with a morning at the gym. More or less the same as recently, but for squats maxed out at 6 x 80kg, and for deadlifts 6 x 75kg.

Pretty happy with the training over the last few weeks. Looking forward to getting racing again and hopefully taking more of those PBs.

Chivito550

Serious jet lag for my first session back in Melbourne. Somehow managed to sleep 6 hours on the Abu-Dhabi to Melbourne leg of the journey, waking up at 5pm Melbourne time, making it impossible to sleep that night. Was absolutely shattered by the time morning came but decided to head along to training, more so just to get back into the routine and to see everyone rather than for any sort of crucial session.

As my body was completely out of whack I took it extremely easy. One of the distance runners (around 35 flat for 10k) was doing 3 sets of 3 x 300m at around 51-52 second pace. I decided to do the last 200m of the first and third reps of each set, making it a 6 x 200m at an easy pace with ridiculous amounts of recovery (ranging from 3 to just under 5 minutes). Originally I planned to just sit behind him for each rep but I got frustrated by the slow pace so stretched the legs a bit after the second rep.

Times were:

32.8 - 34.1 - 33.3 - 33.0 - 31.9 - 31.6

Without doubt the easiest session I have ever done in my entire life. But the main purpose was to simply do something to stretch the legs after the long flight without exerting myself so mission accomplished.

Chivito550

A full day at the tennis yesterday, but did manage to pop out for a couple of hours to head down to my gym, which is pretty close to Melbourne Park. Was a bit cautious on the first day back in this gym. Performances of note:

Bench Press: 8 x 125lbs, 8 x 132lbs, 8 x 140lbs, 5 x 150lbs
Deadlifts: 6 x 65kg, 6 x 67.5kg, 6 x 70kg
Leg Press: 8 x 366lbs, 8 x 416lbs, 8 x 446lbs
Squats: Have ditched the box and wooden plank for the moment and decided to do the squats like I did back in Dublin, not going right down the full way. This enabled heavier weights. 6 x 80kg, 6 x 82.5kg, 6 x 82.5kg (can't remember whether it was 82.5 or 85 so will go with the lower).

This evening was my first proper session on the track here since before Christmas. I've trained well over the break back home but I still had the fear before this one. 3 x 300m with 10 mins recovery. Times were:

42.0 - 43.1 - 42.9

After the 3rd rep coach asked me to run the last 150m of my training partner's last rep as he was late joining us so still had one more to do. I was shattered and didn't have much energy left, but thankfully he was struggling badly during the last half of his final rep so I cruised around in 23 seconds.

Delighted with this session. Haven't done a 300m session like that for quite awhile, but that's easily the best set of 300s I've put together and the consistency of the times was particularly pleasing. Also worth noting that I did this session in flats.

A confidence boosting session ahead of the Victorian Country Championships this coming weekend.

Oregano_State

Nothing gives a better indicator of 400m shape than a set of 300s! Good stuff. Glad to see you got rid of the plank and box too.

This is a great little tutorial video on squatting. You might know this stuff already, but having it all in one piece is handy imo.

Chivito550

Gym and massage yesterday.

Track this evening. With a big race coming up on Saturday it was an easier session for me. The other sprinters were doing 5 x 200m as they aren't running at the weekend but for me it was 5 x 120m with 5 minute recoveries. As our track has a 120m straight it was all done in a straight line. I focused on trying to run the first 40m hard and then keep strong and relaxed for the rest. Goal was to go strong but not completely flat out. No times as I was working on technique particularly my first 40m.

So one of the big goal races for me is almost upon me. The Victorian Country Championships are probably my favourite meet of the year and has a type of atmosphere that other events don't quite replicate. The heats of the 400m are at around 11:30am on Saturday morning, with the final 5 hours later. There's 16 of us entered. If everyone shows up then a place in the final will be almost out of the question as there are a good 7 guys who I'd have no chance of beating (47-51 second range), and 2 other guys who seem to be around 53 low. The other 6 guys seem there for the taking though, with most of them being around my level. Very rarely does everybody who enters and event show up, so I guess my chances of making the final all depend on how many show up on the day and who shows up. If say 13 show up, but 3 of those 7 don't then it's game on. Looking forward to the challenge and hopefully being competitive. 2011 I was 13th of 16 with 59.44, 2012 I was 10th out of 15 with 56.57. Hopefully I can go 2 better this year. 55 low made the final last year but the standard appears to be much higher this year. I'm also entered into the 200m on Sunday morning but not thinking about that much at the moment.

Chivito550

55.59 in the 400m heats at the Victorian Country Championships this morning into a very strong headwind down the home straight. The 2nd fastest time I have ever run, 0.59 down on the PB. Finished 9th overall, missing out on a place in this afternoon's final by 0.15 seconds. Pretty gutting but happy with how I ran, especially given the conditions and the fact I was competitive was pleasing.

200m heats tomorrow morning and hopefully more favourable wind so I can attack my PB which needs revision.

Love the Countries. Super atmosphere at this meet! The only plus about missing the final is that I can now enjoy the rest of this afternoon's athletics from the sidelines! A rake of 400m finals to come from U14 all the way up to O60's.

Chivito550

25.74 in the 200m at the Country Champs this morning into a horrible headwind of -2.9. Adjusting for the wind it is right on my PB so frustrating conditions to deal with. Still think I should have run a bit faster though. 13th overall. A much higher quality field in the 200m today than yesterday's 400m for whatever reason.

Will write up a report of the event later.

Chivito550

After a 5 week break from racing after my 55.00 400m PB just before Christmas it was finally back to racing at the Victorian Country Championships, one of my goal races for the year and one of the most enjoyable meets around, if not the most enjoyable!To explain briefly, the Countries are open to all clubs from outside of Melbourne (with Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo being the dominant regions where all the strong clubs are), but in addition Melbourne based clubs can run also as invitation athletes. So if a Melbourne athlete wins he/she gets an invitation gold medal, but the highest places Country athlete takes the Country title etc etc. Only 4 non country athletes can make the final in events that have heats.

I entered into the 400m on Saturday morning and the 200m on Sunday morning.

400m:

In 2011 in Bendigo I finished 13th out of 16 athletes, with my first ever sub 60 of 59.44. In 2012 in Geelong, I placed 10th of 15, with 56.57. On this occasion my goal was to make the final. 16 of us were entered, but only 12 showed up. 2 heats of 6 with the top 3 progressing to the final 5 hours later, along with the 2 fastest losers.

My heat appeared to be the tougher of the 2. I was drawn in lane 4. In lane 3 inside me was a lad I know well who is usually around 51 when running well. I did a bit of background research into all athletes but couldn't remember which accomplishments matched up to what names, so I didn't really know what to expect from some of them.

Conditions were dry and sunny, pleasant temperatures but very windy which would no doubt be a factor.

I got out well and feel I powered the first 60m well, and it took longer than usual for the lad inside me in lane 3 to come past me, which he did after about 80m (I've raced him a few times). At this point I notice myself straying towards the outside of my lane which may have had something to do with my aggressive start. Entering the backstraight I ease back the effort levels slightly but I am still attacking it, perhaps more than usual, sort of getting sucked along by those ahead of me. At around 150m in I notice 2 lads outside me dropping back towards me, one of which I went past easily soon after (he finished in 59), the other who was proving tougher to catch. If I could finish 4th in this race I knew it would put me in with a serious shot of the final particularly given the fact the second heat was weaker. The first 3 were away and clear but still comfortably within my view.

At 200m to go I start to up the effort levels and am trying to hang as close to those ahead of me, but as I enter the bend the only person who matters now is the lad in lane 7 who is level with me. Coming down the straight it was a battle between the 2 of us for that 4th place. The wind was horrendous, one of the strongest I have run into in a 400m, and the lactic acid is building thanks to an aggressive first 200m. Usually I finish strong in the closing stages and if level with somebody I would fancy my chances down the straight. However this occasion was different. I stayed level with him for as long as I could, but in the last 40m he edged ahead. He was simply stronger and he beat me by 4 tenths of a second in the end. Afterwards I talked to him and he said he went out easier than usual to avoid getting sucked along too early, which would explain his stronger finish.

I didn't know my time yet but it was the closest I have ever been to the lad in lane 3 so that was a good omen, though he's not running at his best. I sat trackside for the second heat watching on nervously, paying close attention to those who finished 4th, 5th and 6th. I needed to beat 3 of the 6 to hang onto my 2nd fastest loser position. The winning time was 51 seconds and I counted from there and the guy in 4th crossed the line around 55, so I knew it was going to be touch and go.

The results appeared afterwards and indeed it was touch and go. I recorded a time of 55.59 seconds, my 2nd fastest time ever, my 3rd 55 second run, and although 0.59 slower than my PB, given the very strong headwind down the straight the performance was as good as the one from 5 weeks ago IMO.

However the place in the final was not to be. The 4th place runner ran 55.44 seconds, edging me out by 0.15 seconds. Maybe if I was in the same heat as him it may have been a different story but we'll never know. I informed him soon after that he made the final, something he wasn't too excited about, the thought of running another 400 in 5 hours time. He didn't run well in the final, only recording 56.9 and I feel I would have managed better, and apparantly the conditions were reasonably still for it also, but unfortunately it was not to be.

So overall 9th place.

200m:

Had I made the final of the 400m I probably would have pulled out of this, but as I hadn't I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately the wind wasn't any kinder and again was a headwind in the home straight and was quite strong.

I had no aspirations of making the final here so it was all about a PB, so the wind was far from ideal. 21 people entered with 17 signing in, so 3 heats were required. One lad didn't turn up so we ended up having 16. I was in heat 3 lane 6, with just one lad outside me, who is around a 23 second runner. Just inside me in lane 5 was the guy who ran 59 in my heat of the 400m the previous day. I assumed based on that run that I would not be seeing him during this race.

Conditions were again dry, sunny with nice temperatures. Just a shame about the wind.

I felt I started pretty decently, driving the arms, keeping the head low, but after about 50m the guy inside me eats up the stagger. This threw me off hugely and rattled me slightly. He clearly was a far better 200m runner than over 400m. Entering the straight I am about 5m down on him and at this point I can really feel the wind. It was very strong. I pushed through it as best I can and started to close on the lad in lane 5. My superior endurance starts to pay off and by the finish line we are neck and neck. I wasn't sure whether I got him on the dip or not but overall I wasn't sure whether this was a good omen. I felt I should have been ahead of him.

Just after the 200m, literally seconds later, I get asked (guilted into) doing some lap counting for a couple of athletes for a 3k steeple. No problem helping out but directly after a race without a chance to warm down was not ideal. In any case I obliged.

By the time I was done with that the results were posted. I did just indeed pip him by 0.03 to finish in 25.74 seconds run into a very strong -2.9 m/s headwind. Overall I finished 13 of the 16, a good 2.5 seconds off the final. No doubting the quality of the 200m field was much higher than the 400m field.

Adjusting for wind this performance was right on my PB so it was a good run, but I was a bit disappointed I didn't go faster. A PB in these conditions was a big ask but given my huge improvement over 400m since I recorded that 200m PB in late November, I would have expect to have been very close to it in that wind, and adjusting for wind I would have performed at new PB level. It was not to be though, and maybe the 400m took a tiny bit out of me for the 200m.

Overall a successful weekend though and am satisfied with my first performances of 2014. The Championships themselves were excellently organised, everything ran on time, and the atmosphere was great. Definitely the biggest crowd I have ever run in front of. It's a great event with all Junior, Senior and Masters competitions taking place on the same weekend, everything from U12 to O60s. Definitely a great community feet to it and Ballarat did a super job of hosting it.

Next Saturday is round 8 of the Shield with a 200m and 800m on offer and I have entered the High Velocity 400m the next day. The plan is to run one of the 200m or 800m on Sat and then 400m on Sunday. Usually I'd pick the 200m, but for club championship purposes, to have a chance at winning it I need to record a good 800m in Shield competition and it is really hanging over me and I don't want to leave it to the last minute. However the weather in Melbourne looks horrendous with temperatures over 35 and approaching 40. Next Sat and Sun are currently forecasted at 39 and 40, and if it stays like that then both meets will probably be cancelled. If the temperature is 34 or so then I will have to ditch the 800m plans. Will keep a keen eye on the forecast over the next week.

Chivito550

Gym this evening:

Bench Press: 8 x 125lbs, 8 x 132lbs, 8 x 140lbs, 7 x 150lbs
Leg Press: 8 x 446lbs, 8 x 466lbs, 8 x 476lbs
Squats: 6 x 82.5kg, 6 x 85kg, 6 x 87.5kg
Deadlifts: 6 x 70kg, 6 x 72.5kg, 6 x 75kg

Plus all the core stuff.

Chivito550

Set a new PB at training this evening, a new best in terms of the highest temperature I have ever trained in. A sizzling 41.7 degrees. It was pretty horrific and when the sun was out it quite literally felt like a sauna. Thankfully we got cloud cover for a lot of our session and the humidity was very low which made the conditions just about manageable. The session was an easy one given the conditions. 3 sets of 3 x 60m. Rather than starting from a 3 point start we simply had a walking start where we would walk 10m and then run. In between each set we did some jumping into the long jump pit. Basically we had to stand at the edge of the pit and jump off both feet into the sand. We did a single jump, double jump and triple jump, hopping off both feet throughout. We did one of each jump during both recoveries. Good fun.

Temperatures looking pretty nasty for the weekend so there's a worry that both meets on Sat and Sun could get the chop. Very frustrating.

Chivito550

Gym this evening, followed by weekly massage:

Bench Press: 8 x 132lbs, 8 x 140lbs, 7 x 150lbs, 4 x 157lbs
One-Legged Leg Press: 3 sets of 8 x 196lbs
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Deadlifts: 6 x 72.5kg, 6 x 75kg, 6 x 77.5kg

Plus all the core stuff

Chivito550

Good track session this evening. 5 x 200m with 6 minutes recovery. Wore the flats again. Times were:

26.3 - 27.8 - 28.3 - 28.2 - 28.5

Average was 27.8, which is an improvement on the 28.4 average the last time I did this session back at the end of October. That first rep was also the fastest single 200m rep I have ever done in training and in flats.

The High Velocity meet has been changed from Sunday afternoon to Saturday morning due to the forcasted 41 degree temperatures on Sunday. This means I have High Velocity 400m at 11.30am Saturday morning, and then at the same venue in the afternoon will have Shield, where I'll look to do an 800m, after 4 hours rest. Will be a busy day for sure.

Oregano_State

Great times! For fast sessions like this I would always wear spikes though, I don't think flats allow you to accelerate hard enough or at the correct angle.

Chivito550

Long but really fun day at the track. First up the High Velocity meet and a 55.43 for 400m, my second fastest time I've ever run, 0.43 off the PB. Very happy with the consistency of late. Then at the Shield meet in the afternoon after 3 and a half hours rest managed a 2:17.76 in the 800m, my second best time over the distance, albeit well off the PB. Extremely difficult combining those 2 events into one day. Finished up with some banter in the Shot Putt, a PB of 6.58m.

Report to come later.

Chivito550

Tough session to follow up a hard day at the track yesterday. Split 500-400-300 with 10 minute recoveries between. They were split as follows:

500: 300m - 200m (2 mins recovery)
400: 250m - 150m (2 mins recovery)
300: 200m - 100m (2 mins recovery)

The first rep in each set was to be run at 400m pace/effort, and then whatever was left in the tank for the second rep in each set.

Times were:

42.6 - 29.5
36.6 - 20.8
? - ?

The lactic in the legs made the 200m after the 300m very tough, but was very pleased with how I managed the 150m after the 250m. I messed up the timing of both the 200m and 100m at the very end but they felt pretty good. The 200m was certainly faster than the first 200m anyway.

Chivito550

Originally High Velocity was scheduled for the Sunday afternoon, the day after Shield, but with inhumane temperatures of 41 degrees forecasted (It is currently 39 degrees and my house smells like a sauna!) they made the very sensible decision to move the meet forward to Saturday morning, before the afternoon's shield meet. This resulted in the unique experience of 2 meets in one day. Fortunately for me my region of Shield was scheduled for Albert Park meaning both meets were in the same venue, cutting out a lot of potential stress.

High Velocity Club meet 5

400m:

As always when it comes to High Velocity I was entered to run in the 400m. There were 3 heats and I was in the 3rd grade. There were 3 of us in my race, but only 4 of the 7 in the 2nd grade showed up so we asked could they be merged, but they couldn't make any late changes as lane draws were already allocated and set up in the computer system (I'd like to think if only 1 of us showed up in heat 3 they would have moved that person to the previous heat rather than have that person run solo!). In any case it didn't bother me as there was somebody faster than me in the heat.

I was drawn in lane 4. Outside me in lane 5 is my usual High Velocity competitor from Doncaster. We've raced 5 times before this and he has taken me every time. Last year he was edging me by just a quarter of a second. This year, while I have improved significantly, he has come on in leaps and bounds and was now running mid 53s. In lane 6 was an O50 runner who I raced a couple of times last year, when he was running 57s. I didn't pay any attention to his performances this year as he is not in my shield region, but I watched him at Country Champs last week run 57 mid to easily win his category. I assume he was in 56/57 shape.

Conditions were pretty sweet. Not much wind. Sunny and around 25 degrees. Track as dry as a bone. Maybe not as perfect as that day in Knox when I set my PB (Cloud cover would be nice!) but not far off.

I got a shout out from the commentator as the names were announced as the "famous Irishman". A bit of unexpected banter. I got out of the blocks well, storming the first 70m as hard as possible before easing back. The Doncaster lad has got out well and has opened a bit of a gap. Coming down the backstraight I noticed that the O50 lad was not coming back to me. This threw me off slightly as I assumed he was in 57 shape. Was I running poorly or was he quicker than I thought. As a result I spent more time looking at this lad rather than my usual rabbit. With 200m to go I'm still cruising and up the effort levels. The O40 lad is still going well and as I enter the bend I'm about 5m down on him, with the Doncaster lad a good bit further clear. I closed the gap a bit on him the home straight as I hear the commentator announce my name and that I was closing, but he was strong enough to hold out (interestingly he has an appalling 800m PB of 2:40). The Doncaster lad crossed the line and up popped 53 low on the clock and his arms went up in the air. I crossed the line about 2 metres down on the O50 lad who finished second. The commentator said something about myself and my PB. I didn't hear him right but I took it as a good sign. Even though I was further behind the Doncaster (about 13-14m) than last time (Maybe 9m-ish), I assumed the commentator knew something I didn't.

Results came out about 15 mins later and unfortunately I didn't quite manage the PB, recording a time of 55.43 seconds, my second fastest time ever, my 4th 55 clocking, and 3rd 55 in a row. Initially I was disappointed with missing the PB, and given the good conditions I think it wasn't as good a run as my 55.59 at Countries last weekend, but overall I was happy with the result. It certainly wasn't a perfect race by any means but you can't hit PBs all the time, and consistency is a hugely important part of this sport, and I'm consistently hitting 55s now. In addition this wasn't a target race, and the coach had me training through it, with a tough session just 2 days beforehand, so a lot of positives to take from this result.

I told the commentator later that he got my hopes up and he said that he said I must have been NEAR my PB, which was correct, so I heard him wrong.

AV Shield Round 8

After the 400m I had 3 and a half hours recovery before my 800m. I jokingly asked one of the AV staff was there anywhere I could catch some aircon, and she very kindly gave me access to a room that was not being used, with a nice view overlooking the finish line. This was a godsend, and I sat in there for 2 hours, staying out of the sun and doing my best to recover.

Usually I run a 200m on this programme but having already run a 400m I felt that it would be hard to get the required speed out of my legs just 3 hours later. However there was another reason I skipped the 200m. I wanted to give more attention to the 800m on this occasion, to score points for club championship purposes.

To explain briefly, the club championship is determined by your best 6 events at Shield competition (Times at High Velocity, Vic Milers etc don't count although State Championship competition counts), and to be eligeable you must compete at 6 of the 12 meets. Up to now I had already hit 6 events at Shield (100, 200, 400, 800, LJ, Shot) but my one and only 800m run at Shield was an appalling 2:30.4, over 15 seconds down on my PB which I set soon after. I wasn't feeling well that day, having just recovered from food poisoning that week. I needed to nail a solid 800m in Shield to score proper IAAF points.

800m:

My coach said to try go 65-67 but truth be told I felt this was a bit ambitious given I had already run a 400m, but I thought I may as well give it a crack.

There were 10 of us in my heat. I didn't pay too much attention to who was in my heat, but for one club mate of mine who is in our 800m group. I've trained with him throughout the winter and a few times on the track. He said he was hoping for 2:13ish as it was his first race of the season. When I asked what split at 400m was he looking for he said he didn't know and he just runs hard from the gun and knows no other way. Probably not a good idea to follow him then I thought.

I ran hard the first 60m to try use that free energy before settling. As I reached the break I noticed my club mate had already opened a gap on me. It took awhile to settle down as I passed some runners and others passed me. I reached 200m in about 31.5 seconds which may have been a tad fast but was exactly what I ran when I recorded my 2:15.2 PB.

In the second 200m I settled a bit too much. Opting to follow a lad ahead of me rather than push on and I hit the bell a smidge over 67. At this point there is one lad way out in front and then a group of 3 about 30m ahead of the group I am in. I am 3rd in that group, sitting 7th overall at this point. Straight after the bell I kick on and pass one of them pretty quickly, but again going down the backstraight I sat behind one lad and waited a bit. I reached 600m in 1:42 which was around where I was when I set my PB. But could I finish in 33 like I did that day? I went past that guy coming around the bend with 150m to go and am now in 5th. The group in front are coming back to me a bit as my club mate dies a death due to an aggressive first 400m. I felt a few from behind push up close to me also but I had the strength to hold them off with a bit to spare.

My club mate finished 3rd in 2:15 mid, and I was 2 places back in 2:17.76, the second fastest time I have ever managed, albeit a good 2.5 seconds down on my PB. It was however my fastest ever Shield performance, and indeed the fastest I have ever run during an afternoon, under the sun, with temperatures at this point at 29 degrees. Most importantly it scored me 401 IAAF points which now puts me right in contention for the club title so it was a job well done. It wasn't the day to run the 2:12. Hopefully I can manage that at the Vic Milers meet in less than 3 weeks time.

Shot Putt:

There's no better way to wind down a tough day of competition with some fun. The shot putt for me is the quintessential banter event. No pressure, no expectation, no real care with regards how I do, so just a bit of a laugh, and an opportunity to chat away to some of the others while waiting around. It's this type of thing that I love about Shield so much, the community spirit to the whole thing, and the Shot Putt is a great way to experience it.

One of my decathlon buddies was competing at the same time as me so we decided to have a handicap challenge. He gave me a 6m lead to make it a fair game. My first throw was a PB of 6.57m, a 6cm improvement on a complete fluke of a throw 2 season's ago. I'm much stronger now than I was then, and consistently about 1m further than I was then, but I seemed to fluke one then that took until now to beat. My mate threw 12.52m and so I held a 5cm lead after round one. My second throw was 6.43m while his was 11 high. My last throw was a further improvement by just 1cm, a new PB of 6.58m. The pressure was on him now and he couldn't manage to improve on his best, meaning I took out this handicap challenge. We both enjoyed it and agreed on a rematch the next time out.

Overall this was one of the most fun day of athletics I have ever had. A great experience attempting the 400/800 double, and some nice beers with the club mates afterwards to wind things down.

Round 9 is next weekend at Epping where I will have a 100m and 400m on the menu. I don't like the venue as it is far too windy, and always headwinds, but just have to get on with it.

Chivito550

Monday: Gym - Notable performances include deadlift maxing at 6 x 77.5kg, and squat maxing at 6 x 87.5kg.

Tuesday: Was away for a couple of days down the country. Fortunately there was a grass athletics 400m track near where I was staying so I was able to do the session my training group were doing. 3 x 180m with 10 min recovery, a speed session. Times were:

24.5 - 24.9 - 25.1

Decent enough considering I was wearing flats, running on a very uneven grass track. Not an ideal running surface at all. The headwind for the first 70m or so was ridiculously strong, though I did have a tailwind down the straight. The average of that works out to be a 27.5 second 200m pace. Be interesting to know what I would have managed on my usual track with others around me.

Wednesday: Gym - Notable performance was in the squat maxing out at 6 x 90kg, my first time reaching 90!

Some bad news. The forecast is looking very grim for Saturday. It's expected to hit 40 degrees so the chances are the meet will be cancelled. I planned to run a 400m at it, which would be my last 400m until Victorian Championships on 28 Feb, but now I face the prospect of no 400m races for 4 weeks leading up to the biggest race of the year. There's no meet on next weekend because it is Victorian Junior Champs, and the weekend after that is 200m/800m. This is a serious pain, and my opportunities for 400m races, and that 54 are becoming noticeably less and less now.

Chivito550

Temperatures were 35 degrees this evening, though strangely it felt reasonably ok for the session we were doing, a speed session. It went as follows:

- 3 x 60m, walk back recovery. Walk up to the line then run, rather than 3 point start.

- Jumps: 3 jumps all double legged: Single jump, double jump, triple jump, all into the long jump pit

- 3 x 60m

- Jumps: 3 jumps as above

- Plank 60 seconds

- 3 x 60m

- Jumps: 3 jumps as above

- Plank 60 seconds

A really fun session, and ideal on a scorching hot day,

Bad news regarding Saturday. AV Shield has been cancelled throughout Melbourne due to forecasted highs of 40 degrees on Saturday. A decision hasn't been made regarding Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo yet so there's still a small chance that there may be a chance to race this weekend, but the forecast isn't looking good. If I don't get to race this weekend that means no 400m until Vic Champs in 3 weeks time, meaning by the time I get to the biggest race of the season it will have been 4 full weeks since my last 400m race. This is frustrating and there is nothing I can do about it!!

Chivito550

Every AV Shield meet has been cancelled this weekend, with the exception of Bendigo who moved it to this evening. I only found out about it this morning so it was a bit of a last minute decision to head up. Managed 55.58 for 400m, my 3rd fastest time, and maintaining the consistency since December. Pretty happy as didn't feel I ran my best and the headwind down the straight was dire. Good to get a race in this weekend as it didn't look like I would.

Report to follow.

Chivito550

Originally the plan was to run the 100m and 400m at Round 9 of the AV Shield in Epping but with the continuation of this disgusting weather which has hit Victoria, with forecasted temperatures of 40 degrees, AV cancelled Shield competition in every region throughout the state. However Bendigo region moved their meet forward to Friday evening, and while it was not allowed to count for AV points (don't ask me why, some sort of admin procedure at AV, it makes no sense!), they went ahead and held the meet regardless, to give people a chance to race.

I only found out about this Friday morning and made a late decision to head up in the evening to compete. Preparations were not ideal: I had trained the day before, which is not something I would do the day before a 400m race normally, but I had also gone out for 3 pints of Guinness on Thursday evening, again not something I would ever do the night before a race. I never drink the day before a race, and if I do, it's just 1 or 2 bottles of light beer. So it was all a bit messy in terms of preparations, but if I wanted a race this weekend then it was the only option and I decided to grab hold of the opportunity. With the way the scheduling is working out, if I didn't run this I would have no more 400m races before the State Championships in 3 weeks time. So it was off to Bendigo. A long way to go for less than a minute of competitive action. Some may call it dedicated, some lunacy. But it doesn't really bother me.

My one and only appearance at this track was back in January 2012, over 2 years ago, and the Victorian Country Championships. It was a memorable moment for me as it was the first time I cracked 60 seconds for 400m, running 59.44. It was nice to revisit the venue.

400m:

By the time I left Melbourne a cool change had arrived bringing the temperatures down from 36 to 26 in the space of 30 minutes. However there was no such joy up in Bendigo. When I arrived the temperatures were 37 degrees, and I had resigned myself to a severely uncomfortable warm up.

While I was warming up the conditions were actually perfect for sprinting: hot, but with cloud cover just arriving to block out the sun. There was not a puff of wind! Of course, by the time the 400m was about to start, the wind had started to blow, with readings of between -3 and -4 m/s. Frustrating.

Being an invitation athlete not from Bendigo I got landed with the outside lane, lane 7. There were 5 in my race, which was the A race (The B race was won in 60, and C race was won in 75ish). I was chatting to one lad I had raced at the Country Championships a couple of weeks ago. He said to me he was reading my website. I didn't recall telling him about it, but there ya go! He's around a 51 second runner and he was in lane 4. The rest I knew nothing about. The official said a couple of them run around 55.

Gun went off and I went hard for the first 60-70m before easing back the effort but still holding a strong pace. I've been attacking the first 200m more of late so went with this approach again. The lad in lane 6 went past me before I reached 100m, one of the supposed 55 guys. At the same time the 51 sec runner in lane 4 sailed past. As I got to the 200m mark I noticed the 2 other lads in lanes 2 and 3 had also now eaten up the stagger on me.

I pushed the effort levels as I entered the bend, but now I am feeling like I am being left behind, and as I enter the straight it is clear that I am dead last, by what felt like a sizeable margin. At this point I notice the wind. It was horrible, but a common enough experience of late. The lactic started to build up hugely in my legs, and I felt my face straining and form sliding a bit. I pushed hard and may have closed a bit on the guy in lane 6. The lad in lane 4 was out in front but not by as much as I thought, and as he crossed the line in low 51, this was my saving grace, that maybe the other lads were therefore faster than I thought, as they were close to him, rather than me being slower than I felt. I didn't feel like I ran fast, confused due to my complete lack of knowledge of my competitors. I was last my about 15m but it felt like longer than a couple of seconds.

I convinced myself it wasn't a good run, based on how far I was behind, and expected to see a 56. However it turned out the other guys were much quicker than I thought and my run was actually pretty good. The winner clocked 51.01, second was 52.3, third 53.4, fourth was 53.5, and finally myself in 5th with a clocking of 55.58 seconds. I was surprised, and I've learned a lesson not to allow the performances of others affect how I feel about my own running.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the result. It's my 3rd fastest time ever, 0.58 down on the PB. The consistency since my 55.00 before Christmas has been pleasing: 55.59, 55.43 and 55.58 in the last 3 races. The wind was very strong down the straight so this performance is actually better than my 55.43 in good conditions, similar to the 55.59 at Countries, and to be honest, right on the PB when you consider the wind. So overall I'm happy.

As a 400m runner I have had several periods of stagnation before kicking on again. When I first ran 59, I then stabalised at 59 before finally managing 58. I then got stuck on low 58 for a while before knocking out a low 56. I then got stuck in low to mid 56 for what seemed like an eternity before eventually managing high 55. Since my 55 flat I have backed it up with a string of mid 55 runs. Hopefully come State Championships in 3 weeks time I'll be able to kick that on to 54.

Next weekend there is no racing for me because it is the Victorian Junior Championships. Unless they reschedule the lost meets from this weekend, or something else pops up, I have run my last 400m before State Championships. The schedule for the remainder of my season is as follows, with State Championships 400m being the main event:

- Thursday 20 February - Victorian Milers Club meet 4 - Melbourne University - 800m
- Saturday 22 February - AV Shield Round 10 - Albert Park - 200m & 800m
- Friday 28 February - Victorian Open Championships - Albert Park - 400m
- Saturday 1 March - Victorian Open Championships - Albert Park - Decathlon (100m, Long Jump, Shot Putt, High Jump & 400m)
- Sunday 2 March - Victorian Open Championships - Albert Park - Decathlon (110m Hurdles, Discuss, Pole Vault, Javelin, 1500m)
- Saturday 8 March - AV Shield Round 11 - Epping - 100m & 400m

The 400m doesn't clash with the decathlon so I'll be able to do both at the State Championships. Even though I'm a dreadful decathlete, it's another chance at a 100m and 400m, and it's tremendous fun, and as long as it doesn't clash with my main event, then it's not something I want to miss.