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

dna_leri

Prater Park (or Green Prater) is the place to run in Vienna:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89490163&postcount=381

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/prater/green-prater

Chivito550

dna_leri wrote: »

Prater Park (or Green Prater) is the place to run in Vienna:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89490163&postcount=381

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/prater/green-prater

Thanks, though I leave Vienna tomorrow morning so won't get a chance to check it out. My next 3 spots are Munich, Salzburg and Prague so if you have any recommendations of good spots to run there it would be much appreciated.

dna_leri

Chivito550 wrote: »

Thanks, though I leave Vienna tomorrow morning so won't get a chance to check it out. My next 3 spots are Munich, Salzburg and Prague so if you have any recommendations of good spots to run there it would be much appreciated.

Munich Olympic Park

Chivito550

Went off to Munich's Olympic Park for the day and while there I snuck in a cheeky session on the university track nearby. Was on my own, used flats, weather was warm and sunny and the session was 8x200m with walk/jog recovery of walk 50/ jog 150. Recoveries between 1:30 and 1:40. Times were:

31 low - 32 high - 33 mid - 33 high - 33 high - 34 high - 33 low - 32 low

Average was 33 low. Pretty happy with those times given that I am not training consistently at the moment. It shows that I haven't lost too much fitness.

Of course now I have a new pain in my other foot. Combining training with all this walking around cities is a recipe for disaster! My feet feel absolutely shot, and it's not because of running!

Chivito550

2013 finished with a hugely satisfying, though perhaps not surprising, breakthrough run of 55.00 for 400m. I knew I was in excellent shape, tapered well for the last race before Christmas, and got perfect conditions. I was an agonising 0.01 off my target for the season, and this did frustrate me being honest.

The following day I flew back home to Ireland for Christmas. My work visa had now expired, but I made the decision that I wanted to see out the rest of the season, so decided, among other reasons, to go back to Melbourne after Christmas for 8 weeks to finish off most of the business end of the season.

While home I settled in well to my training group and trained very consistently running wise, not missing a single session with the club, along with some hill sessions on my own added in on top of these. Gym wise could have been better but I got about 5 sessions in during the 3 and a half weeks I was back.

Due to the time of year there was a bit of a delay getting my holiday visa granted and so I couldn't get back to Melbourne as soon as I would have liked. This meant that I lost out on a potential tune up race the week before the Victorian Country Championships, meaning I would go into one of my target races having not raced in 5 weeks, which was not ideal.

January:

Having missed most of January due to being at home, I arrived back 7 days before the Victorian Country Championships in Ballarat, enough time to shake off the jet lag. I had my sights set on a place in the final of the 400m, having finished 10th the year before in 56.57. I performed well in windy conditions, recording a time of 55.59, to finish in 9th overall, a heartbreaking 0.15 off a place in the final later that day. The next day I managed 25.74 in the 200m into a very strong -2.9 headwind, not threatening a place in the final, finishing 13th in a field which was stronger than the 400m.

February:

Next up was a busy day with a 55.43 at Albert Park in the 400m at the High Velocity Club meet, and then later that day, at the same venue, at Round 8 of the AV Shield a 2:17.76 over 800m, followed by a PB of 6.58m in the Shot Putt.

The following week AV Shield Round 9 was cancelled throughout the state due to horrific 40 degree temperatures. Bendigo however moved their meet forward a day, and so I made a last minute decision to go up and get a 400m in. I managed 55.58 in very windy conditions.

A week later was a rest week due to the Vic Juniors, but one lad put on an unofficial meet in Geelong for those who wanted an extra run out. I ran a 400m in this very low key meet in 55.7 hand timed, a decent training work out.

5 days later and it was off to Melbourne Uni for the Vic Milers Club 800m. In conditions so incredibly windy, I recorded my second fastest time ever with 2:15.9 to finish second in my heat, a run which deserved a PB in my opinion, given the strength of the wind.

Less than 48 hours later it was off to Albert Park for Round 10 of the AV Shield. The 200m was disappointing, a 25.61 (-0.1) clocking on a wet track with a strong headwind around the bend. Soon afterwards was a very pleasing 2:15.69 in the 800m, my second fastest time ever, bettering my run from 2 nights previous. A shot putt PB of 6.75m rounded out my final meet before the State Championships.

After tapering throughout the week for the 400m at the Victorian Championships at Albert Park, I felt ready to hit a 54 at last, after several 55 second runs. However it was not to be, as I could only manage 55.56, my third fastest time. It was mixed emotions; proud of how I ran in such a big meet, disappointed I couldn't have nailed the 54.

March:

The following morning I was back for the Decathlon. I opened the event with a 12.63 (+1.1) for 100m, a legal wind PB, and second fastest run ever. Next up was a big PB of 4.77m in the long jump, followed by a slightly disappointing shot putt of 6.64m, my second furthest throw. I recorded a PB of 1.31m in the high jump, and then closed the day with a hugely satisfying 55.34 for 400m. This time brought out immense pride in me. Not only was it faster than the previous night, despite having 4 more events in my legs beforehand, but running so well over 400m in the State Championship Decathlon is something which means so much to me, given how much affection I have for the event. My second fastest time, but perhaps my fondest memory over 400m. My day 1 score was 1999 points, a big day 1 PB.

Day 2 was a struggle as always but saw improvements. A DNF in the hurdles was followed by a sloppy 16.11m in the discus. A PB of 1.40m in the pole vault was next which didn't warrant much celebrations. My javelin was not much better as I hurled the spear a mere 12.05m, not even a PB. But the 1500m was satisfying, as I recorded a big 12 second PB with a time of 4:52.06. My overall score was 2903 points, a big PB.

After such a demanding weekend which was the climax of my season it was hard to get up for one last meet, Round 11 of the AV Shield at Epping, just 6 days later. On a terrible track I managed 12.91 (-1.9) for 100m, a PB of 4.83m in the long jump, and 56.15 in the 400m to close out my season.

Missing Shield Final:

When I planned to come back out after Christmas I said it was only going to be 8 weeks. At that time my club looked like it didn't hold much hope of making the Shield Final in Open Men's Division 1. But against expectations we have managed to qualify. The Shield Final is the highlight of the grassroots year, an awesome event, and outside of Nationals (which you need a qualification time of 48.5 for) this is the only meet I have never run. It is truly gutting to not be able to be there on April 12th to represent my club proudly. In the other 2 seasons I was ready to run but we didn't qualify, and the event was in February. Now when we do qualify, it is mid April and I can't run. Murphy's Law. Outside of this though (which would have been a 200/800 for me), the only other meets I have missed at the tail end of the season were a High Velocity 400m, and AV Shield Round 12 (200/800). Overall I have got a very long season in, when at times it didn't look like I would get anything, so I certainly can't complain.

What went well?

My third full season has been an enormous success. I have taken 1.26 seconds off my 400m PB, and 4.1 seconds off my 800m PB. While my 200m PB has only come down by 0.18, I feel this doesn't tell the full story, due to wind. My 100m has also come down by 0.24 seconds, although helped by wind. My pre-season PB of 56.26 for 400m, which seemed to last an age, is now only 10th on my all-time list. My pre-season PB in the 200m is now 4th on my list, while my 800m pre-season best ranks just 6th now, and my 100m has fallen to 6th overall now.

My strength in the gym has come on hugely again this season, with my squat and deadlift numbers, among others, showing huge gains from the previous season. My fitness levels were far above what they were the previous year, as evidenced by my 800m improvement, and my 1500m clocking at the decathlon.

I continued to grow in prominence within my training group, having the expert of advice of great people around me, particularly my coach, who has brought me from 58/59 to 55, knocking on the door of 54. I've no doubt that if I was in Melbourne next season, he'd continue to find improvements.

Consistency is as important as PBs and running 55 seconds 8 times during the season is certainly something to be proud of.

And, as always, I got out there and raced, and often. However I didn't peak for every race, and trained through the unimportant ones. But why train if you never race? Racing is fun. That's my motto and I plan to stick to that.

Where can I improve?

It would be silly to think that after just 3 years I've peaked. I definitely feel I can improve more. I still think I can get stronger in the gym, and my flat out speed needs more work, but not at the expense of my fitness, which has been one of the main reasons for my 400m progression this year.

I'm disappointed I didn't run 54, and not happy that I didn't run a single PB from 100m - 800m post Christmas, but it's not all about PBs as I said above.

Challenges ahead:

Moving back to Dublin, to a new group, with a new coach, new training schedule, and different training environment are big changes which are about to happen. These could pose a short term challenge to my development, as I settle into the Irish track season, the scheduling, how races may clash with training sessions more than they did in Melbourne etc. All this will take time to adjust to, and while I will desperately miss the brilliantly organised athletics system in Victoria, I am also excited about giving the Irish track season a bash. Sure it won't be the same, and it really isn't fair to compare. I've no doubt it will be fun, in its own way.

Right now I am not really thinking about the season, as I am still on holiday, doing light training to tie myself over until I return to Ireland late April. I haven't looked much at the schedule, and haven't really thought of any targets yet. Because the track season is still going on in Melbourne I feel I am not yet ready to put a line under my season. My club still have the AV Shield Final to come, the Nationals are currently taking place, where I am taking a particular interest in how my decathlon buddies are getting on. And there is the small matter of our Club Championship which still hasn't been decided yet. It looks likely that I will claim the silver medal but I won't know for certain until after the Shield Final.

Final words:

Again, I hope those who do read this log have enjoyed it and found it interesting and informative. I'm a long way from being an expert, and am learning the event every day. I'm still in my infancy as an athlete I hope, and would like to think there are still a few years of improvement to come with a bit of luck.

With the move back to Ireland, I'm not sure yet what role this log will play. I'd like to keep it going in some capacity, but am not sure such vivid descriptions of races and training sessions is the right approach when talking about people closer to home. But the log has played a big part in documenting my thoughts and experiences, and while it would be great to have more interaction, setting this up has definitely been a good idea. In addition I don't want to change the log title, as without Australia and Athletics Victoria competition, and my club Richmond Harriers, it is quite possible I never would have become a sprinter to start with.

The last 6-7 months has been incredibly challenging, and athletics has provided a positive light to focus my energy on. This is such a fantastic sport, with wonderful people, and I feel blessed that I fell into the athletics community in Melbourne, and have made many friends through it. Whether my long term future is Melbourne or Dublin, one thing will remain the same, athletics will be a big part of my life.

Thanks for reading, and for your support and advice to date.

Chivito550

Following on from my season review I have put together a ranking list of all my performances from the 2013/14 AV track season, based on the 2011 IAAF Scoring Tables. I do love a good set of stats. Hand times for 100m and 200m are penalised by 0.24 seconds while 400m is penalised by 0.14 seconds. No allowance is made for wind so certain 100m and 200m times have more/less points than they deserve. The 400m fills up the top 13 positions, and I am delighted to have exceeded 600 points in the event. The Javelin and Pole Vault on the other hand don't make for pleasant reading.

1) 400m - 55.00 - 614
2) 400m - 55.34 - 598
3) 400m - 55.43 - 594
4) 400m - 55.56 - 588
5) 400m - 55.58 - 587
6) 400m - 55.59 - 586
7) 400m - 55.7h - 575
8) 400m - 55.91 - 572
9) 400m - 56.15 - 561
10) 400m - 56.39 - 550
11) 400m - 56.45 - 547
12) 400m - 56.48 - 546
13) 400m - 56.70 - 536
14) 200m - 25.44 (-0.3) - 514
15) 200m - 25.45 (+1.9) - 513
16) 400m - 57.4h - 500
17) 200m - 25.61 (-0.1) - 496
18) 200m - 25.66 (+1.0) - 491
19) 200m - 25.74 (-2.9) - 483
20) 100m - 12.58 (+2.7) - 481
21) 200m - 25.77 (NWI) - 480
22) Long Jump - 4.83m - 475
23) 100m - 12.63 (+1.1) - 470
24) Long Jump - 4.77m (-1.7) - 463
25) 100m - 12.67 (+0.8) - 461
26) 800m - 2:15.2 - 447
27) 100m - 12.5h (+0.9) - 446
28) 800m - 2:15.69 - 438
29) 800m - 2:15.9 - 434
29) 100m - 12.80 (+2.3) - 434
31) 100m - 12.91 (-1.7) - 412
32) 800m - 2:17.76 - 401
33) 800m - 2:18.00 - 397
33) Long Jump - 4.44m - 397
35) 800m - 2:19.75 - 367
36) Decathlon - 2903 pts - 355
37) 1500m - 4:52.06 - 351
38) Long Jump - 4.17m (-2.4) - 343
39) Shot Putt - 6.75m - 337
40) 200m - 27.41 (-7.1) - 332
41) Shot Putt - 6.64m - 331
42) Shot Putt - 6.58m - 327
43) Shot Putt - 6.41m - 317
44) Shot Putt - 6.20m - 305
45) 100m - 13.56 (-4.3) - 291
46) High Jump - 1.31m - 280
47) Discus - 16.59m - 269
48) Discus - 16.11m - 261
49) 1 Mile - 5:29 - 259
50) High Jump - 1.28m - 254
51) 800m - 2:30.4 - 211
52) Javelin - 12.05m - 144
53) Pole Vault - 1.40m - 24

Chivito550

A session from yesterday to update on. Finding it hard to be motivated to train on my own at the moment being stuck in between 2 seasons without being able to take a full break like I would normally do. I didn't fancy trekking it back to Olympic Park, nor did I feel like an 8x200m hill session by myself, so decided to do a steps session, for the first time in about 3 years, to shake things up a bit. There are some steps near my hostel, totaling 90. It starts off with about 10, then there are some level bits where I can run, with a few steps at regular intervals, then it finishes with 75 consecutive steps from hell. I ran every step, rather than every second step, focusing on pumping the arms, being light and quick on my feet. Not as much of an aerobic session as the distance was probably about 80-90 metres, but rather one for leg strength.

Session was 6 x 90 steps. Times were:

26 high - 27 low - 27 mid - 27 mid - 28 flat - 28 low

Recoveries were between 1:35 and 1:40. Average was 27 mid. Recovered aerobically pretty soon after, but my legs felt like jelly and walking back down the steps at the end was a challenge.

Chivito550

Did a gym session at a gym beside my hostel in Salzburg. Session was:

Bench Press: 8 x 50kg, 8 x 55kg, 4 x 60kg
Leg Press: 8 x 100kg, 8 x 110kg, 8 x 120kg
Squats: 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg, 6 x 80kg
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Pull-ups: 3 sets of 5
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30
Planks: 3 sets of 60 seconds
Russian twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg

I think this will be my last gym session for awhile. I've mentioned before that I aggravated my right Achilles when walking all day in new shoes not broken in, around Florence, up and down steps all day long. After that it hurt a lot to walk in any normal shoe or runner so had to spend 3 days in Vienna walking around in flip-flops which is not exactly good for your feet in general. It has got better since then, but my gym session today seemed to aggravate it badly. It is inflammed, there's a light bruising mark (though not at the area which is sore), there is real pain when I press into it, and there is a creaking feeling. At a guess it is probably a mild Achilles tendinitis. Even though I haven't been feeling it while running at all, it is probably best to cut that out for now also, and just do some swims to keep fit.

This is really frustrating. I know that rest is what is needed, but how can I cut out the cause? The cause is walking for hours around European cities, for the last 2 weeks, with another 2 weeks to come. Cut that out and I may aswell give up on the trip. So I guess cut out running and the gym, and ease back on the walking, taking more regular breaks, will hopefully yield results.

Not a sniff of an injury all season, and then I get one from stuff that has got nothing to do with running!! This has me worried about the Irish track season and the fact I hoped to start racing at the first graded meet. The reality is now that I'm going to be so far behind my training group. I can't let this ruin my trip though.

Chivito550

An update since my last post. I have done no training to give my Achilles a chance to heal. Have been through Cesky Krumlov and Prague in Czech Republic and now Krakow in Poland and haven't done a tap of training. It doesn't sit well with me but I think, given the circumstances, it may be what I need. Achilles is feeling much better but not completely 100%. Feeling uneasy about doing nothing but at the same time I know it is for the best. It is just the transition from Summer season to summer season which has me worried. If it was a move from summer season to winter training then I wouldn't think about it twice. It's an issue I was going to have to deal with at some stage though, and it is challenging.

My club Richmond competed in the AV Shield Final last Saturday and finished 7th out of 8th in Men's Div 1 Open. We struggled for strength losing our top athletes for a variety of reasons, but the guys who got out there flew the colours proud. I'm sad not to have got a chance to be there for the biggest interclub meet of the year but it couldn't be helped in this situation.

Some great news personally. With the Shield Final out of the way, the Club Championship is officially decided and I will be receiving a silver medal as the second best athlete in the club throughout the Summer track season. While there may be bigger fish to fry in this sport, I have not won anything tangible since becoming a track runner, so to pick up this medal is something I am immensely proud of, and means a lot.

I'll post later with more details along with the final club standings per event from the track season before putting a sad but necessary line under my 2013/14 AV track season.

Finally, while we may complain about various injuries or problems in athletics or other areas of our lives, sometimes it is good to appreciate perspective. I visited Auschwitz Concentration Camp today in Poland and it is a really sobering experience, and one that wakes you up to the awfulness that has occurred in humanity. It's something which hopefully will make a DNF, and injury, a bad run etc seem more of a challenge rather than a catastrophe. It can be hard to think that way at times, but hopefully an experience like today will help.

Chivito550

With Nationals and the AV Shield Final now finished the track season is officially over and our club ranking list has been closed off. The following is where I ranked in each event during the 2013/14 track season:

100m: 12.58 - 1 of 16
200m: 25.44 - 2 of 15
400m: 55.00 - 2 of 17
800m: 2:15.2 - 5 of 24
1500m: 4:52.06 - 6 of 25
1 Mile: 5:29 - 2 of 16
High Jump: 1.31m - 3 of 8
Long Jump: 4.83m - 3 of 12
Pole Vault: 1.40m - 5 of 5
Discus (2kg): 16.59m - 3 of 5
Javelin (800g): 12.05m - 8 of 8
Shot Putt (7.26kg): 6.75m - 4 of 11
Decathlon: 2903 pts - 3 of 3

The standard varies between events and from year to year and the standard in the club is lower than the bigger clubs, but I'm still happy with how my ranking has improved across the board this season. Fastest in the 100, just edged out the 200 by 0.02, and second overall in the 400. 5th and 6th overall in the 800m and 1500m is also pleasing. Many of the guys I train with are actually part of a different club so are not part of this ranking list.

The Pole Vault and Javelin read very poorly however!

I've attached the ranking list.

Chivito550

I've now started back training in preparation for the Irish track season but there's one more loose end I want to tie up from the 2013/14 Athletics Victoria track season, our club championship.

Summer Club Championship:

The club championship has long been an integral part of the club and has been in existence almost as long as the club itself. Each year we hold 2 championships, one for the summer track season, and one for the winter cross-country and road running season. The winners of each championship get their name engraved on the winners board which is in our club rooms, and has been for donkeys years and is one of the highest honours one can receive.

In my previous 2 seasons I didn't make the club championship much of a priority, I actually came 4th, (albeit quite a distant 4th) in 2011/12, while in 2012/13, having seen I had no chance of a medal, didn't make much of an effort to reach the criteria needed to qualify. 2013/14 would be different, and seeing I had a chance to do well, made it more of a priority.

Criteria:

In order to be eligible to win the club championship the following needed to be achieved:

1) Compete in 6 of the 12 AV Shield interclub meets.

2) Within those AV Shield meets, compete in 6 different events

Each athlete's top 6 events based on IAAF Scoring Tables 2013 points would count, with the athlete with the most total points being named club champion.

Once the above criteria is satisfied, then the following meets could be used to substitute for scores achieved in the AV Shield:

1) AV Shield Final
2) National Championships
3) Victorian Championships (including performances achieved in multi-event competition)

No results from any other meets, such as High Velocity Club or Vic Milers Club meets are allowed to count.

Results:

The club championship was won by one of our 800m runners, who was in savage form before Christmas (with a 1:58 at the Vic Milers meet being his highpoint) and recorded strong times over 400m, 800m and 1500m in the AV Shield. He then suffered from a drastic loss of form in the second half of the season, but did enough over 100m, 200m and the field events (not his usual events) to secure the title. His club championship scores were:

800m - 2:00.4 - AV Shield - 759 pts
1500m - 4:11.5 - AV Shield - 724 pts
400m - 54.64 - AV Shield - 631 pts
200m - 27.44 - AV Shield - 330 pts
Javelin - 25.27m - AV Shield - 326 pts
100m - 13.43 - AV Shield - 313 pts

Total points: 3083 pts

I finished in second place overall with the following 6 events being my scoring events:

400m - 55.34 - Victorian Decathlon - 598 pts
200m - 25.44 - AV Shield - 514 pts
100m - 12.58 - AV Shield - 481 pts
Long Jump - 4.83m - AV Shield - 475 pts
800m - 2:15.69 - AV Shield - 438 pts
1500m - 4:52.06 - Victorian Decathlon - 351 pts

Total points: 2857 pts

My triple jump would almost certainly have scored me 400+ points, but I wasn't willing to risk injury doing this event. I knew I had no chance of winning the club championship so wanted to make sure I did enough to finish second. The gamble of not doing the triple jump paid off as I was a reasonably comfortable 74 points ahead of third place.

Our bronze medal winner, a field eventer for the most part, recorded the following scores:

High Jump - 1.64m - Victorian Decathlon - 568 pts
Pole Vault - 3.15m - AV Shield - 477 pts
Long Jump - 4.82m - Victorian Decathlon - 473 points
100m - 12.82 - Victorian Decathlon - 430 pts
Triple Jump - 10.03m - AV Shield - 421 pts
200m - 26.47 - AV Shield - 414 pts

Total points: 2783 pts

4th place finished with a score of 2695 pts.

I'm absolutely delighted to finish second in our club championships, something which has so much history and prestige in our club. It would have been lovely to have got my name up on the board, but this year's winner is a far better athlete than me and a very deserving winner. But I'm over the moon to finish second, and over the course of the entire track season, it is exactly what I deserve, on the balance of all aspects during the track season. It's a shame I won't be there for the presentations but I will receive my silver medal in the post, my first tangible award (other than a very easy gold medal in the Morrison Mile) since I have become a track runner. You never know when the next one will be, or if there will even be a next one, so it's important to savour it.

Jack Dungey Award:

Jack Dungey was an athlete from our club who died in World War 2, and has an award named after him in his honour. It is awarded to the athlete who scores the most points for the club in the AV Shield over the course of the season. It rewards the person who got out there and competed in as many events as possible to held the club score points. In this competition I finished 5th, which shows that I made plenty of effort to help the club out, and not just focus on one event each week. The lad who came 3rd in the club championship, took out this award.

I love these special awards, club races, club championships and other special events. It helps break up the season, and encourages people to try events they wouldn't otherwise do. Long may they continue.

Chivito550

After a 5 week trip around Europe, beginning in Rome, finishing in Budapest, incorporating 8 countries in total, I arrived back to Dublin last Tuesday, and got back into training on Wednesday. I hadn't trained at all in about 2 and a half week to give my Achilles a chance to heal. It seems to be all good now, so have successfully managed a 5 day training week:

Wednesday: Track

500-400-300 with 5 and 4 min recoveries. Was a bit cautious on the 500, and the short recoveries meant I was never going to be able to go as fast as I did this session in Melbourne off 10 and 8 minutes. Times were: 85-65-48

Thursday: Gym

For the first week and a half, I will do the session that I did for the first 6 weeks of my winter training last year, a sort of mini-winter base building phase, before I get back into doing what I was doing a few months back during the track season. Was pretty cautious with the weights for the first session back.

Bench Press: 10 x 40kg, 10 x 45kg, 10 x 50kg
Leg Press: 10 x 80kg, 10 x 100kg, 10 x 100kg
Plank: 3 x 60 secs
Pull-ups: 2 x 6, 1 x 5
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 40kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 4 sets of 30
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 2kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 5kg in each hand
Russian twists: 2 x 40 @ 10kg

Saturday: Track

Another session to work on the fitness. 6 x 200m with jog recovery of approx 90 secs, in flats on a soaking track, but with a solid tailwind down the straight. Times were:

30.2 - 32.9 - 32.6 - 33.7 - 33.5 - 32.7

Average was 32.6. Reasonably satisfied given the fact I was doing the session solo, but a good bit down on where I was a few months back.

Sunday: Track

250-200-150-100-80 with jog recoveries of about 90 seconds on average. I only timed the 250, 200 and 150 which were as follows: 36.3 - 29.5 - 21.1. Another tailwind down the straight.

Monday:

Usually I use a commercial gym near me, but this evening I used the gym of the local GAA club, which I am a life member of (despite not kicking a ball in anger since I was 8 years old!). It's a grand gym altogether, and completely free for me, and really close to my house. The big drawback is that there is no leg press machine which is a nuisance. Perhaps I will rotate between the 2 gyms. The other one costs me 6.50 a pop.

For this evening I replaced the leg press with squats at a low-ish weight:

Bench Press: 10 x 45kg, 10 x 50kg, 8 x 55kg
Squats: 10 x 60kg, 10 x 65kg, 10 x 67.5kg
Crunches: 3 x 50
Pull-ups: 1 x 6, 2 x 5
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Russian twists: 2 x 40 @ 10kg
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 4kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 6kg in each hand
Planks: 3 x 60 secs

I did the Bench Press all at once, the Squats and Crunches in a circuit manner, then the next 3 in a circuit manner, and the same for the last 3 exercises. The last combo was a bit of a killer. Legs are going to feel it tomorrow as overall this session felt tougher than last Thursday.

Day off tomorrow before track again on Wednesday. Will talk about targets in a different post later.

Chivito550

I thought it was time I put down something with regards targets for the upcoming track season in Ireland.

I'm not setting too many ultimate goals as of yet because I really do not know what to expect, and really need to get a feel for the track and field environment here and overcome the challenges of moving home (from an athletics and personal point of view). Preparation for this track season is not ideal as I have just come off a fairly substantial break. Going from one track season to another track season without a break would have risked burnout, but now I have the issue of not having a winter fitness base to take into this summer.

So because of all that, for now I am going to set my goals to be the ones I set this time last year when I started my winter training for my 3rd Victorian track season, goals that I fell marginally short of, but goals that, in my current circumstances remain a challenge. Only time will tell whether these goals are right, or not strong enough, but in the short term these are the targets I will strive for:

Primary goal:

400m:

Current PB: 55.00
Target: 54.99

Secondary Goals:

200m:

Current PB: 25.44
Target: 24.99

100m:

Current PB: 12.58 (+2.7)
Target: 12.49

800m:

Current PB: 2:15.2
Target: 2:14.9

As you can see I was insanely close to my 400m goal last season, and very close in the other three events. But until I know what sort of shape I am in, and find my feet with regards my training routine, the Irish track calendar and other external challenges, these goals will remain targets to strive for. Should I manage these in the near future than I will re-assess, but I don't want to go marking a target of 53 yet, until I am comfortable and settled into the Irish athletics scene.

There doesn't appear to be as many racing opportunities here as there was in Melbourne, and the season is shorter in length, so with regards the 100m, I'm not sure how many races I will get, and it is quite possible I will not get a single 800m race in at all, given the fact the 400m and 800m are clashing for the rest of the graded meets.

Other Goals:

- Sadly, the lack of a proper regular interclub competition here means there really is very little incentive for me to do field events, something which I find quite sad. However there's always time for some silliness and I hope to do the National Decathlon in August, and beforehand manage the odd field event at the graded meets in preparation. Sadly most field events seem to clash with sprint events each meet.

- Leaving the Victorian athletics scene, a community which I had become deeply involved with, and fell completely in love with, has been harder to deal with than I anticipated, leaving the many great friends I have made over the last few years. I pretty much feel like I have gone back to the beginning now by returning home. So another goal for the Irish track season is to get to know plenty of people here and get as involved with the sport here as I did in Melbourne.

I'm a week and a half into training now, and it is slowly coming together, though I feel I am well off where I was back in February. The first round of the graded meets came too soon for me. My first race should be meet 2 on Wednesday week, where I will run a 200m, with my first 400m likely to come at the AAI Games 11 days later.

RandyMann

Welcome back! Will give you a race in a 200 at Graded 2

Chivito550

Second week back training now done and dusted:

Wednesday: Track

300-200-100, 6 mins, 100-200-300, with jog recovery of about 90 secs within each set. Times were:

47.2 - 31.? - ? - ? - 30.8 - DNS

I didn't bother timing the 100s, and at the very end of the 200m my calf spasmed so I sat out the last 300m which was frustrating. I think running on the balls of my feet for that whole session was too much too soon.

Thursday: Gym

Bench Press: 10 x 50kg, 10 x 55kg, 7 x 60kg
Leg Press: 10 x 100kg, 10 x 110kg, 10 x 120kg
Medicine Ball throws: 3 x 25 @ 5kg
Pull-ups: 2 x 6, 1 x 4
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 4 sets of 30
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 4kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 7kg in each hand
Russian twists: 2 x 40 @ 10kg

Saturday: Track

Speed session. first 3 x (2 x 10m) with sled and weights strapped to me. Had 5kg on the sled for the first 2 sets, and then upped it to 10kg for the last one.

Then afterwards 3 x 40m from blocks with plenty of recovery.

Sunday: Track

5 x 200m with 200m jog recovery averaging about 1:35 to 1:40. Had a headwind down the straight. Times were:

30.0 - 31.0 - 31 high - 32 low - 30.9.

Average is 31 low, so fitness is starting to improve.

Tuesday:

Bench Press: 10 x 52.5kg, 9 x 57.5kg, 5 x 62.5kg
Leg Press: 10 x 110kg, 10 x 120kg, 10 x 130kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 4 sets of 30
Pull-ups: 2 x 6, 1 x 4
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Russian twists: 2 x 40 @ 10kg
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 5kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 7kg in each hand
Planks: 3 x 60 secs

Chivito550

An update since last Tuesday:

Wednesday: Track

300-200-100 - 10 mins 100-200-300 with 2 minute walk breaks between each rep within sets. The 2 minute rest between the last 200 and 300 was nasty. The second 100m was the worst rep of the lot as I felt very heavy after the long recovery. Didn't time the 100s. I was wearing flats. Times were:

45.6 - 30.2 - ? - ? - 29.6 - 47.3

Thursday: Gym

Bench Press: 10 x 52.5kg, 8 x 57.5kg, 6 x 62.5kg
Squats: 6 x 65kg, 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30
Pull-ups: 1 x 6, 1 x 5, 1 x 4
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Russian twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 5kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 8kg in each hand
Crunches: 3 x 50

Friday: Massage

Saturday: Track

3 x 200m with 10 minute recoveries. Starting at the 400m start point, running it as if it was the first 200m of a 400m. Idea was to practice attacking it and to go through in under a second slower than 200m PB. The target for me was between 26 and 26.4. It was done in a time trial manner, so I was going on my own. Track was wet and there was a decent headwind for the first 50m. I wore sprint spikes: Times were:

26.9 - 26.5 - DNF

Calf spasmed at the start of the third rep so had to call it a day. Happy with the 2 efforts but need to get used to committing more at the start.

Sunday: Track

Nasty session this morning. 400-300-200-300-200 with the following recoveries: 3:30, 2:20, 11:40, 2:50. I wore my middle distance spikes for this one. Times were:

64.4 - 46.6 - 31.? - 48.? - 31.5

A good session for the fitness!

Gym tomorrow, then day off Tuesday, and 200m race at Tallaght on Wednesday.

Chivito550

Gym session yesterday:

Bench Press: 10 x 52.5kg, 9 x 57.5kg, 5 x 62.5kg
Leg Press: 10 x 110kg, 10 x 120kg, 10 x 130kg
Medicine Ball Throws: 3 x 25 @ 5kg
Pull-ups: 3 x 6
Goodmornings: 3 sets of 10 x 45kg
Planks: 3 x 60 secs
Step-ups: 3 x 20 with 5kg in each hand
Arm-swings: 3 x 20 with 8kg in each hand
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 30

That's the last of my 3 week introductory phase with regards the gym. On Thursday I will start introducing heavier lifts, and introduce the deadlift, and get rid of some of those awful awful exercises (arm swings, step-ups, pull-ups). I'll be keeping in the stomach exercises though. We do a fair bit of core stuff after some of our track sessions also which is good.

Day off today and 200m race tomorrow.

Chivito550

Very sloppy opening race of the season. 26.10 for the 200m into a strong headwind (-2.3), running isolated in lane 8, unfortunate lane draw. Also got a small spasm in my left calf coming off the bend which was a bit off-putting. I suspect I may have been a bit dehydrated as that shouldn't happen in a race. Humidity levels are higher here than in Melbourne so will need to keep that in mind. 0.66 off the PB (which I think is a bit soft), so not very satisfied with that. Hopefully better things to come at AAI Games on Sunday week.

Will do up a race report tomorrow.

EDIT: Official results say 26.13

RandyMann

Chivito550 wrote: »

Very sloppy opening race of the season. 26.10 for the 200m into a strong headwind (-2.3), running isolated in lane 8, unfortunate lane draw. Also got a small spasm in my left calf coming off the bend which was a bit off-putting. I suspect I may have been a bit dehydrated as that shouldn't happen in a race. Humidity levels are higher here than in Melbourne so will need to keep that in mind. 0.66 off the PB (which I think is a bit soft), so not very satisfied with that. Hopefully better things to come at AAI Games on Sunday week.

Will do up a race report tomorrow.

Good to meet you today C ! Dont sweat it too much about this evening, -2.3 is significant. It is your first race back in Ireland also.
You will definitely improve Sunday week..

Chivito550

Official result for yesterday was 26.13 (-2.4). Will do up a race report tomorrow but first an update on this evening's gym session. My 3 week introductory phase is over so time to start lifting heavier. I'm going to follow my routine from Australia for now, but my gym routine is constantly evolving.

Because I'm using a commercial gym I can't do everything in the order I am used to and have to take things when they become available. Some exercises were done in isolation, while others were done with a core exercise. Building it up slowly in the squats and deadlifts. Today's session was as follows:

Bench Press: 8 x 50kg, 8 x 55kg, 8 x 60kg, 4 x 65kg
One-Legged Leg Press: 3 sets of 8 x 50kg on each leg
Crunches: 3 x 50
Deadlift: 6 x 65kg, 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg
Circuit Upper Body: 3 sets of 32 @ 20kg
Russian Twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg
Squats: 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg, 6 x 80kg
Medicine Ball Throws: 1 x 25 @ 5kg

Chivito550

9 and a half weeks on from my final race of the Australian season it was time for my first race of the Irish season. Not a huge turnaround, and just 3 weeks of proper training in the lead-up to this race, but training has been going well and I felt that the fitness levels were coming back, after a long time off.

The good news is that I don't really need to do much explaining on these meets, like I would do with my Australian race reports, as everybody knows how it works here, so that saves me a fair bit of typing time. Outside of the schools athletics back in the day, this was to be only my second ever track meet on Irish soil. Back in August 2012 I ran at the graded meets, when I was home for the Olympics, recording 27.30 into a -1.1 (from memory) headwind, and then followed it up with a 2:30:x for 800m. My PBs across all distances have come along way since then.

Signed in upstairs in the Tallaght AC clubhouse, and was unsure whether to go in Grade B or Grade C. Decided to go with C as I am inexperienced with racing here and didn't really have much knowledge of the standards. Afterwards meno attempted to give me a quick sales pitch to try poach me away from DSD . All jokes aside, it's a very impressive facility.

200m:

Warm up was a bit cramped, with a lot of people using the backstraight and it was hard at times to find a clear line of track to work with, but worked around this issue. I was drawn in the first of 3 Grade C heats and was put in the dreadful lane 8. What made matters worse was the fact the guy in lane 7 didn't show up, so I was very much feeling lonely. The temperature was fine, around 15, with high enough humidity, a lightly wet track, and a dirty headwind ready to greet me in the homestraight.

We were kept in our blocks between "On your marks" and "set" much too long, as apparently some of my competitors were moving about in the blocks. Eventually we got going and I sort of slipped a little after the 3rd or 4th stride. Nothing drastic, just a sign of rustiness with it being so long since I have raced. I tried to power as hard as I could but felt I may have lifted the head too early, losing a bit of concentration. 3 of my competitors ate up the stagger in the first 80m or so. Then coming into the straight my left calf spasms slightly. Fantastic!! This should not happen during a race. It was very offputting but I kept running, but as a result it sort of made the rest of the race a blur. In the straight we were greeted with a nasty headwind, and I felt like I was quite far down, and felt I was last. Because I was in lane 8 and couldn't see much going on in the other lanes I just felt like I was in last position and there were tons ahead of me. However upon crossing the line I realised there were 3 people WAY behind me. This didn't really help. I was sort of stuck in no man's land. I finished 4th in 26.13 seconds into a -2.3 headwind. I was 1.7 seconds down on the winner, and just over 1 second down on 3rd, with 5th to 7th running 29-30.

I'm not happy with the time. It's 0.69 seconds down on the PB. However the wind certainly would account for a good 0.3 or so of that, so at 0 wind I was only 0.4 seconds or so down on the PB, which is not actually too bad for my first race back. I was just annoyed because 1) the calf spasming, and 2) I feel my 200m PB is softer than it should be, so was hoping to be maybe a couple of tenths faster.

The spasm I am thinking may have been the result of dehydration. I thought I had drank enough, but the reality is that it is much more humid here than in Melbourne, and I think that can affect hydration. I'm usually pissing like a tap for the hour before a race, but on this occasion I was not. I'm making sure I drink more water now and hopefully that will solve this issue.

Was enjoyable enough night even if the race was quite unsatisfying. Met a good chunk of boardsies: ecoli, meno, randymann, tRR, digger, claralara, so was good to put the faces to the usernames. Good to see the latter two just out of the comfort zones and give the 200m a crack also.

I have a good week and a half of training before the next race. My calendar for my forthcoming races is as follows:

Sunday 25th May - AAI Games - Santry - 200m & 400m
Wednesday 28th May - Graded Meet - Irishtown - 400m
Sunday 1st June - Leinster Championships - Tullamore - 400m

A lot of 400m races coming thick and fast. Hopefully the cobwebs have been blown off and Sunday week will be a more satisfying day.

career_move

Chivito550 wrote: »

The spasm I am thinking may have been the result of dehydration. I thought I had drank enough, but the reality is that it is much more humid here than in Melbourne, and I think that can affect hydration. I'm usually pissing like a tap for the hour before a race, but on this occasion I was not. I'm making sure I drink more water now and hopefully that will solve this issue.

I have a question if you don't mind purely in the interests of debate Why would you be dehydrated when your body has an extremely efficient mechanism for osmoregulation? The "pissing like a tap" before races in Melbourne would not be normal and suggests overhydration to me.

Chivito550

career_move wrote: »

I have a question if you don't mind purely in the interests of debate Why would you be dehydrated when your body has an extremely efficient mechanism for osmoregulation? The "pissing like a tap" before races in Melbourne would not be normal and suggests overhydration to me.

I've no idea to be honest. I think the pissing like a tap is probably partly explained by pre race nerves/adrenaline. As soon as the race is over this no longer happens, despite the fact I drink plenty of water afterwards also.

Chivito550

2 track sessions to update:

Saturday:

Speed session in sprint spikes. 100-80-60, 10 mins, 100-80-60, with slow walk back recovery within each set. First 100 was very slow to get moving, but improved as the session went on.

Sunday:

A more endurance session in my middle distance spikes. 250-200-150-100-80-80. Walk recoveries between the first 4 reps, which varied from 3-4 mins. Then a 5 minute rest after the 100 and then we did back to back 80s where we turned around after one and ran straight back, meaning the rest was about 30 seconds max. That was an absolute killer at the end of the session. I didn't time the 100 or the two 80s, but the times for the 250-200-150 were:

36.2 - 29.1 - 20.9

We were running into a decent headwind in the straight. I was very happy with how I was moving for the 100 and the 80s at the end so overall a good session.

Was supposed to go to the gym this evening but my hamstrings are feeling tight after the weekend so will go tomorrow instead.

Chivito550

Update of the last 5 days:

Tuesday: Gym

Bench Press: 8 x 50kg, 8 x 55kg, 8 x 60kg, 4 x 65kg
Leg Press: 8 x 110kg, 8 x 120kg, 8 x 130kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 x 30
Goodmornings: 3 x 10 @ 45kg
Circuit Upper Body: 3 sets of 32 @ 20kg
Russian Twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg
Squats: 6 x 75kg, 6 x 80kg, 6 x 85kg
Planks: 3 x 60 secs

Wednesday: Track

6 x 150m strong, using my middle distance spikes, with slow walk back recovery between each rep, with a 10 minute recovery at half way. Didn't time these as wanted to focus on starting well from a three-point start. Session went well I felt. Was told my head still goes back when I run so I need to focus on keeping it more forward.

Thursday: Gym

Bench Press: 8 x 52.5kg, 8 x 57.5kg, 7 x 62.5kg, 3 x 67.5kg
One-Legged Leg Press: 3 sets of 8 x 50kg on each leg
Crunches: 3 x 50
Deadlift: 6 x 75kg, 6 x 77.5kg, 6 x 80kg
Circuit Upper Body: 3 sets of 32 @ 20kg
Medicine Ball Throws: 3 x 25 @ 4kg
Squats: 6 x 77.5kg, 6 x 82.5kg, 6 x 87.5kg

I meant to start at 70kg in deadlift and then go 75 and 80, but I accidentally started on 75. I felt great at 75 so thought, no harm done. Went up in 2.5kg after, and struggled strangely on the 77.5kg, fingers were slipping after the 5th rep so had to regrip for the last. Then on the 80kg I had to regrip twice, after 3 reps and after 5 reps. Maybe too much too soon.

My bench press is annoying. I have got used to positioning my hands in a certain position on the bar in my gym in Melbourne, but on the bar I use here, at the very part I place my hands, there is a bit of the bar which is not grippy, but rather smooth (don't know the proper words). This is a bit annoying as I don't feel I have 100% steady grip as a result. To correct this I will either have to put my arms further out which will make things very difficult, or move them both inwards, which means not getting as much of a chest workout from the exercise.

Finally, I did the medicine ball throws as part of the circuit upper body, as a type of circuit routine. Not the best combination putting an arms exercise in with a core exercise which utilises arms. Lesson learnt.

Friday: Massage

Saturday: Track

Speed session in sprint spikes, same as last Saturday. 100-80-60, 10 mins, 100-80-60. No times for this. Felt like I moved pretty well. Hopefully I'll be feeling better after it tomorrow, compared to how I felt on the Sunday last week.

Tomorrow I have the 200m and 400m at the AAI Games at Santry. Will be a new experience, but will just run my own race, and hope to God there will be a few people at my level! Would be nice not to come last with there being live feed and everything!

pconn062

Good luck tomorrow, was considering entering myself, but after checking the results for last year I would have been last in the 1500m by about 15-20 seconds, didn't fancy that! Are you running the Leinsters next week?

Chivito550

pconn062 wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow, was considering entering myself, but after checking the results for last year I would have been last in the 1500m by about 15-20 seconds, didn't fancy that! Are you running the Leinsters next week?

Yep I've entered for the 400m in Tullamore next Sunday. Have tomorrow and the graded on Wednesday to negotiate first though. Three 400s in 8 days to kick off my season.

A 15 second gap in a 1500m is probably equivalent to a 3 second gap in a 400m, but mentally it seems a lot worse. I'm glad I am not running middle distance.

Chivito550

A very mixed day at AAI Games at Santry. 25.42 for 200m with a +0.9 tailwind, from lane 1. A PB by 0.02 seconds. I felt my PB was soft but still pleased to beat it, particularly with such a poor lane draw.

Then all good was completely undone by a truly dreadful 57.00 for 400m, my worst time in ages. Conditions were pretty good. Can be no excuses there. I was probably a bit tired after the 200 and probably over did it in training yesterday, but again no excuse as I ran 55.3 in a decathlon. While my speed seems to be back to where it was in Australia, my endurance is clearly miles off.

It's a bit like atletico losing the champions league after winning la liga. Very hard to enjoy the first one now after what happened in the second one.

Dreadfully disappointed. Will write the race report this evening so I am not dwelling on it after today, as I have another 400 on Wednesday.

Chivito550

My first time competing in the Morton Stadium in Santry in 11 years believe it or not, since my last time competing at the West Leinster Schools in 2003. Being honest, I was ridiculously nervous going into today's meet. I knew it was going to be of a very high standard, knew I would be well out of my depth, and knew that this would be exposed on the live feed for all to see. I've run in plenty of races where I've come last before, but for my first 400m ever in Ireland this was quite an entry into the deep end.

200m:

First up today was the 200m. In total there were 29 of us, split into 4 heats of 7, 7, 7 and 8. Only one of the entire field got lane 1, and sure enough that was me!

Woke up this morning with my legs feeling a but achey from yesterday's session. Perhaps I went too hard yesterday. But once I was up and out of bed and had loosened up my legs I felt much better.

Conditions were pretty decent. Cloudy but dry. Temperature around 12 or so, and a tailwind down the straight. I warmed up in the indoor stretch which is a handy facility altogether.

Gun went off and I attacked the first 50m well, although found the inside lane quite tight, and felt a bit of a headwind during the first 60-70m or so. When I lifted my head I noticed the entire field stretching away from me, but it was only when I hit the straight that I could gauge just how far I was down. I was about 10m back from the field, which appeared to be all together in a straight line, with me being the obvious odd man out. To my credit though I battled on, keeping my form pretty well, and the gap back to the second last runner didn't really grow in the second half of the race, or so it seemed anyway. Felt a good deal of lactic in the legs in the last 40m or so, which doesn't always happen in a 200m, but managed to push through it.

I felt I ran better than my previous 200m race 11 days ago, and with the better conditions felt the time would be a solid mid 25, but I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that I recorded a new PB of 25.42 seconds with a +0.9 tailwind, a tiny but welcome 0.02 improvement on my previous best from last November (which was run into a -0.3 it must be said, although wind readings in the 200m should be taken with a grain of salt due to lack of measurements around the bend). My 200m PB I felt was soft but I still wasn't really expecting to nab a PB so early into the Irish season. I felt this had to be a good sign of things to come in the 400m.

400m:

Had about 2 and a half hours in between races, so after a warm down, I ate some lunch and then relaxed and had a lie down. I was now starting to feel very tired. But I've felt like this before on many occasions during long days of athletics, most notably at the most recent Victorian Decathlon, where I still managed to run 55.34 after 4 events in my legs and a 400m the night before, so I didn't really take much notice of it.

The nerves weren't going away either. I thought the 200m beforehand would calm them, but they didn't. This was now my first 400m on Irish soil, and first 400m since mid March, without really knowing how my speed endurance fitness levels would be. There was good cause for nerves. But nerves are good.

There were 14 of us signed up to run so we were divided into 2 heats of 7. On this occasion I got a kinder lane draw, being put in lane 6. Conditions were fairly nice. The sun had some out, the temperatures were a few degrees warmer than for the 200m, and the track was bone dry, although a headwind had built up on the backstraight.

I tried to attack the first 60m-70m as I usually do, but felt I lost concentration and lifted my head early. The lad in lane 5 went past me within the first 60m, and then the guy in lane 4 at about 100m in, and then the guy in lane 3 soon after. I was keeping a bit of distance to the lad in lane 7, as I tried to attack the backstraight but remaining controlled.

I up the effort levels at half way but don't feel particularly fluid. At this point the lad in lane 2 has come well past me, and really the only person within my sights was in lane 7. I was probably about 10-12m down on him entering the straight, as I am desperately trying to lift my knees. But I am tieing up a bit. Not drastically, as there wasn't a huge lactic build up, but I just couldn't seem to generate much strength down that straight, and the lad in lane 7 actually pulled away from me, and it felt like I was an age behind him at the end.

I finished the race feeling relieved I had got my first race out of the way, and not having any clue how I got on. It was a good hard effort, so I was expecting to see a 55 beside my name, or maybe a 56, so when I saw the official result of 57.00 seconds I was extremely disappointed, shocked and bewildered. That's the slowest time I have run since my season opener of 57.4 seconds last season on a rubbish track at the end of a day 1 decathlon. Outside of that time, I'd have to go back to the 2012/13 season to find a 57 beside my name.

It's quite clear that I am suffering from the lack of winter build up to this season. I've gone from one summer season, into a break and some travel, straight into another summer season. So I've joined up with a group who has already had their winter phase completed and are now more focused on speed. This has clearly helped my 200m, but has not helped my 400m yet. There's obviously very little I can do about it, and it's just the way things have worked out given the timing of my move home. But my fitness levels are not what they were back in February, when I was incredibly fit.

At the same time, it's early days, and the 400m at the Graded Meet on Wednesday, where I will be running the race fresh, should give a clearer indication of where I am at.

A weird day overall. Had I just run the 200m I would have left feeling very pleased, but the 200m is not my event, so my poor result in the 400m is always going to gain more of my thoughts than my good run in the 200m.

Chivito550

Videos of my races from yesterday:

200m here, starting at 34 mins in:

http://sportslive.aertv.ie/video/?bctid=3588199277001

400m here, starting at 2 hours 16 mins in:

http://sportslive.aertv.ie/video/?bctid=3588195560001

Was in the slowest heats of each and still got destroyed. Standard was high. Looking forward to the Graded Meet on Wednesday and an opportunity to run in a more competitive race.