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

Chivito550

Gym session this evening

Bench Press: 8 x 52.5kg, 8 x 57.5kg, 8 x 62.5kg, 3 x 67.5kg
Leg Press: 8 x 120kg, 8 x 130kg, 8 x 140kg
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 x 30
Squats: 6 x 77.5kg, 6 x 82.5kg, 6 x 87.5kg
Goodmornings: 3 x 10 @ 45kg
Russian Twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg
Circuit Upper Body: 3 sets of 32 @ 20kg
Planks: 3 x 60 secs

Now that the dust has settled on yesterday's run and I've have my gym session in the bag I'm thinking a bit differently about yesterday's 400m season opener. In hindsight the 200/400 double was very optimistic, particularly in such a high quality meet. I've done 200 and 400 on back to back days twice before, and on both occasions my 400m was a bit below par, so with just a couple of hours recovery, it was really asking a lot. I don't regret trying this double, but I've learned my lesson and don't think I'll be trying it again. I've done the 100/400 double on countless occasions, same with 200/800, but 200/400 is a bigger ask. My next 400m on Wednesday will undoubtably be faster and should give a fairer reflection of where I am at the moment.

Also, after the hugely disappointing 400m run I sort of completely overlooked the fact I ran a PB yesterday. I've raced the 200m on 23 occasions to date and yesterday was the fastest I have ever covered the distance, and with a very legal wind. Not only was it a PB but it was done from lane 1, and in an extremely intimidating environment where I was completely out of my depth, with the likes of Gregan, Colvert, Lavin etc all warming up at the same time as me. Felt sort of out of place and the nerves were very prominent, so to be able to hold it together and run a PB is something I should be very proud of. I didn't indulge in a PB beer yesterday due to the 400m result, so I am having one now.

Roll on Wednesday.

Chivito550

I started putting this together about a month ago after returning home, but have only got around to putting the finishing touches to it. I wanted to put together a video which would do justice to my 3 years involved in athletics in Melbourne, to capture the emotions and the many friendships it has given me.

So here it is. I guess in a way, it's 3 years of this log rammed into 12 and a half minutes of video and photo footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1XD6HdEsdw

Chivito550

Media Accreditation for Europeans in Zurich has been approved!

career_move

Chivito550 wrote: »

Media Accreditation for Europeans in Zurich has been approved!

That's so cool. Congrats

You may want to work on your spelling before then ..... nostaLgia

Lock

Chivito550 wrote: »

Media Accreditation for Europeans in Zurich has been approved!

Savage news, I'm well jealous.

Is it your running review blog that got you the pass? I recall you said you got one through Athletics Australia before is that correct? Did you have to go through AAI for this one? Looking forward to you updates from Zurich!

Chivito550

Another muck time. 57.33 at gradeds at irishtown. Won my race but it was the weakest of the c grade races. Everyone's times seem to be curiously way down for whatever reason, so prob worth a 56.

Knocking Leinsters on the head and going to really focus on getting my speed endurance back to where it was, as it is lacking at the moment, due to lack of winter build up.

Chivito550

After a good 200 and poor 400 at AAI Games last Sunday, and a day or so licking my wounds, I got myself back into the right frame of mind for my second 400 of the year. I put my sobering 57.00 down to being tired after a fast 200 and expected that, with fresh legs, I could get back down into the 55 second range.

Weather was fairly fine. Dry, strong enough headwind on the backstraight, but temperatures were fairly ok, maybe it could have done with an extra degree or two but it was fine.

400m:

Still very unfamiliar with the standard of these meets I put myself down for Grade C. Within this grade there were 3 heats and I was drawn in the last of these. I was fairly nervous, keen to make amends for Sunday's result, and all the standing around waiting did not help, particularly given the long wait between heats. I watched the first 2 heats both won in 56 seconds and wondered whether grade C was really as hot as I thought it would be, or whether this was a slow track.

I was drawn in lane 3, which turned out to be the inside lane, as there were only 5 in my race. I knew nothing about the guys in lanes 4, 5 and 6. In lane 7 was Krusty, chasing the sub 60. His PB was 62.xx, but having read the stuff he has been doing as part of his 5K training, including the hills sprint work, it was inevitable he would make a significant improvement over 400m.

Like with every other race it seems, we had to stand up, after settling in our blocks, which was a bit annoying. At the second time of asking we were away, and I got out well, running the first 60m flat out, before settling into a fast cruise. By this point I have passed the guy in lane 4, and as I move down the backstraight I am closing on the rest. I start to feel a bit of lactic at about 180m in, which was odd, but still felt pretty good. With about 160m to go, I ate up the stagger on lanes 5, 6 and 7, all at once it seemed. Krusty appeared to be going well and was with the other 2 guys. By the time I rounded into the straight I was well clear of the field, which was a new sensation for me. Not once in any of my 400m races have I entered the straight with any lead, not to mention an unassailable one. I didn't like this to be honest. I like having somebody to chase down the straight. This now felt like the end of one of those painful training reps where you are on your own, and you are willing yourself to go as hard as you can, but you know deep down you can't without having somebody else with you. I hear one of the guys shout out to me to put my head forward and lift my knees, instructions I tried to respond to. With about 15m to go I catch a glimpse of the clock and it says 55. F*ck! I cross the line and 57.31 pops up, and I throw my left hand up in the air, which probably looked like a winning celebration, but what it really was was an act of frustration. The official time ended up being 57.33 seconds.

My reaction was pure frustration with a time 2 seconds down on what I was running only 3 months ago. People were congratulating me on the win, and maybe I should have been more pleased with that, as it is the first time I have won any race really since my very first 400 against a bunch of girls. But I was in the softest of all the Grade C races, no disrespect to any of the people I was running against.

However despite the time, I think I ran better than on Sunday, and my pacing throughout was said to be good. The times across the board were considerably slower than expected. 2 guys who were in my race on Sunday both ran 1 second slower on this occasion. I was only 0.33 down, so maybe that was a slight result, and perhaps I am in 56 second shape, but the results are just not showing it. Why the times were so slow last night however I can't say. Conditions were not bad IMO. Is the track slow? I don't know. Surely no worse than many other tracks out there. But it seemed like a lot of people were down on what they should be running.

Going forward, I think I will run in Grade B in future. Looking at last night's results I wouldn't have been last in that grade, and the extra competition would have spurred me on to faster I feel.

But the more pressing matter is why am I running so slowly. My 200m time on Sunday was a PB and yet my 400 is way down. The answer seems obvious now. My speed endurance and aerobic power is not there at the moment. Having no winter build up to this season has really hurt me a lot more than I had actually anticipated. I was extremely fit back in February. I'm not now. I need to get back to that level of fitness. I am pulling out of the Leinsters on Sunday. I may run a 56 but there's nothing to be gained from doing so. What I need now is some serious speed endurance work for the next while. I'm playing catch up on the rest of the group in that regard, and realistically, it's the end of the season which I need to get fit for now, with races along the way of course. At this moment, my primary goal is to get back to where I was, running 55 seconds. I can't really think about PBs until I do that. The good news is that my speed is clearly good right now, and fitness is easier to build up than speed, so with some seriously hard sessions coming up, hopefully I can be back to that level sooner rather than later.

This week has been probably the most disappointing week since I have become a 400m runner. Lots of negative thoughts today and licking of wounds.

Shout out to Krusty's performance. He was only a couple of tenths off the sub 60. A very good run indeed, and it should come soon. Serious kudos to see a distance runner really give this stuff a go. Be good to see more do it, whether the sub 60 is realistic or not.

RandyMann

Keep the head up, athletics is cruel at times. You did well in the 200 and your 400 fitness will be back for sure with some work as you say.

Were you just down for the 400 in the Leinsters?

Chivito550

RandyMann wrote: »

Keep the head up, athletics is cruel at times. You did well in the 200 and your 400 fitness will be back for sure with some work as you say.

Were you just down for the 400 in the Leinsters?

Yeh had just planned the 400. Maybe if it was on Saturday I would have still done it as I could still train properly on Sunday, but with it being on Sunday, I then have to take it handy on Saturday and then miss Sunday training. And for what really? A substandard time. Disappointed to miss this, but I think it's probably the right call. 2 days of hard training this weekend instead.

RandyMann

Chivito550 wrote: »

Yeh had just planned the 400. Maybe if it was on Saturday I would have still done it as I could still train properly on Sunday, but with it being on Sunday, I then have to take it handy on Saturday and then miss Sunday training. And for what really? A substandard time. Disappointed to miss this, but I think it's probably the right call. 2 days of hard training this weekend instead.

I dunno, its your call but I would say you would get a much better training benefit from a race than any training session. You would push yourself harder with the adrenaline etc.

Dont worry about the times, just accept it and they will come down anyway.

RandyMann

If its any consolation, on Wednesday, in the 400, my training partner ran 1.5 seconds slower than he did in Feb and a girl in our group was 4 seconds down on her PB. It happens....

Chivito550

RandyMann wrote: »

If its any consolation, on Wednesday, in the 400, my training partner ran 1.5 seconds slower than he did in Feb and a girl in our group was 4 seconds down on her PB. It happens....

Times in general were slow on Wednesday. I've no idea why. How do you find Irishtown as a track? I'm not looking for excuses for my run, but when so many people are running slower you'd have to ask questions why?

I hear your point about racing, and you know full well my attitude to racing, but in this instance I really can't bluff a 400 without having done the speed endurance work. Maybe in 100s and 200s I'd agree that I might be better off doing the race. I've some disgusting 300s in store on Saturday, which is exactly what I need.

RandyMann

Chivito550 wrote: »

Times in general were slow on Wednesday. I've no idea why. How do you find Irishtown as a track? I'm not looking for excuses for my run, but when so many people are running slower you'd have to ask questions why?

I hear your point about racing, and you know full well my attitude to racing, but in this instance I really can't bluff a 400 without having done the speed endurance work. Maybe in 100s and 200s I'd agree that I might be better off doing the race. I've some disgusting 300s in store on Saturday, which is exactly what I need.

I have found Irishtown fast for 100 and 200. I always found Tallaght to be slow. Cant really comment for 400.
Tullamore is a fast track ( ran my PB's there), you should race!

Krusty_Clown

Cheers for the positive feedback. Worth mentioning that most of the remaining 400m graded meet races are also on the Irishtown track (with the exception of the Morton grade A/B race), so if for some reason it's a slower track, you can expect more of the same. I'm kind of glad it's in the same location as there are less variables, so I can do a more true comparison of results from race to race. Hopefully will make it out to the next two 400m races. It certainly seems like you'd have been better off running in Grade B. Even finishing in the last couple of positions would be better for you in the long term, than finishing first in a weaker field.

Chivito550

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cheers for the positive feedback. Worth mentioning that most of the remaining 400m graded meet races are also on the Irishtown track (with the exception of the Morton grade A/B race), so if for some reason it's a slower track, you can expect more of the same. I'm kind of glad it's in the same location as there are less variables, so I can do a more true comparison of results from race to race. Hopefully will make it out to the next two 400m races. It certainly seems like you'd have been better off running in Grade B. Even finishing in the last couple of positions would be better for you in the long term, than finishing first in a weaker field.

Yeh the next 400 is at santry, and the one after at Irishtown. Meet 9 is also at irishtown but according to Irish runner list of fixtures, round 8 is the last graded meet, so I don't know if round 9 is actually happening or not.

I don't know if it is a slow track or not. It would be slower than santry though.

Yeh I always throw myself in a quick heat to get dragged along, which is why I never win races and am usually 6th or 7th. But still new to graded meets so was unsure of the standard. I'll know for future reference.

Chivito550

Update from last few days:

Thursday: Gym

Was still down about the result on Wednesday, so I found this session a struggle, trying to lift the spirits. Bench Press was a disaster. Tried to bump it up a notch and didn't have it in me. Squats were good, and deadlift improved though. Had to cut the session a bit short as the gym was closing.

Bench Press: 8 x 55kg, 8 x 60kg, 3 x 65kg, 1 (or maybe it was 0, can't remember now) x 67.5kg. I had planned to do 70kg at the end but dropped it back to 67.5kg after a poor 65kg. Will try this again the next day and hopefully manage much better, and hopefully this was just down to heart not being fully in it.

One-Legged Leg Press: 3 x 50kg on each leg.

Medicine Ball Throws: 3 x 25 @ 5kg

Squats: 6 x 80kg, 6 x 85kg, 6 x 90kg

Deadlifts: 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg, 6 x 80kg (I had to regrip after 4 and again after 5 reps when lifting 80kg. But overall an improvement).

Saturday: Track

3 x 300m with 7 minutes recovery. I used middle distance spikes for this. Times were:

43.4 - 43.8 - 45.1

Average was 44.1

Encouraging session, though the last time I did that session, back in late January, just before the Victorian Country Championships, I managed 41.9 - 43.1 - 42.9, to average 42.6, in racing flats. Admittedly this session was off 10 minute recoveries however, and not 7 minutes, but still a bit off where I was.

Sunday: Track

Shorter and faster stuff today after yesterday's speed endurance work. 150-120-100 - 7 minutes - 100-120-150

Slow walk back recoveries between each rep. Wore the middle distance spikes again. Didn't time them. Focused on staying relaxed and on technique.

Chivito550

Chivito550 wrote: »

Another hill session this afternoon. Was supposed to do this one with a friend but he had to cancel so was on my own again. I again did 8 x 150m with walk back recoveries but this time on a better hill. This hill started off steeper and then slowly leveled off, so it was a better workout. Recoveries ranged from 2:20 to 2:45. I messed up the times of the 5th, 6th and 8th reps. I am certain the 5th rep was 26 something but I don't know what reps 6 and 8 were, but it would be reasonable to expect they would have been 26 also based on the rest of my session. Times were:

26.2 - 26.5 - 26.2 - 25.9 - 26.? - ?? - 26.4 - ??

After 3 days off over the Christmas (25th - 27th) I've now managed to train 7 of the last 8 days which is pleasing given the distractions of this time of year. 3 of my 6 running sessions have been with the sprint group also so it hasn't been a case of all my running being solo. Day off tomorrow.

Given my lack of winter buildup, and a couple of disappointing 57 second runs, (which given other factors such as fatigue after 200m, and then for the second race what I think is a slow track, gives the suggestion that I have been in 56.something shape of late), I decided today to throw in an extra session this week, as a top-up on fitness. I did a hill session, the exact same one as quoted above, from when I was home at Christmas. 8 x 150m, with a walk back recovery, which ranged from 2:24 to 2:35. Times were:

24.6 - 25.3 - 25.0 - 24.8 - 24.9 - 25.3 - 25.6 - 25.1

Average was 25.1 which surprised me a bit, as it was considerably faster than when I did the session last, which was about 2 weeks after my 55.00 PB, and 3 weeks before I ran 55.59 at the Vic Country Championships. It must be said though that the weather was far warmer today than it was when I did it back in early January, which would definitely make a difference. But overall, I'm liking the look at those times today, and the fact I didn't die through the session.

Gym tomorrow, then back to the track on Wednesday. A heavy block of training at the moment, which will hopefully have me in good shape for my next 2 400m races which are the Graded Meet/ Dublin Championships on Wed 11th June at Santry, and then the Munster Championships on Sun 15th June in Cork (to make up for missing the Leinsters).

Chivito550

Tuesday: Gym

Tough gym session.

Bench Press: 8 x 55kg, 8 x 60kg, 5 x 65kg, 3 x 67.5kg
Leg Press: 3 x (8 x 130kg)
Stomach Ball Crunches: 3 x 30
Squats: 6 x 80kg, 6 x 85kg, 6 x 90kg
Goodmornings: 3 x 10 @ 45kg
Russian Twists: 3 x 40 @ 10kg
Circuit Upper Body: 3 sets of 32 @ 20kg
Planks: 3 x 60 secs

Wednesday: Track

Absolutely filthy session this evening. As soon as I heard what it was I very quickly developed the fear, even though I knew it was something I needed:

500-400-300-200 with 5, 4 and 3 min recoveries.

Times were: 83.6 - 65.3 - 49.9 - 30.1

Recoveries strayed a little but not by much: 5:36 - 4:15 - 3:45

I wore the middle distance spikes for this. I ran well within myself during the 500 as I knew what was ahead of me in terms of short recoveries, and to allow me to get through the session, but the last 100 of it was tough. The 400 as always is the roughest as I am already tired from the 500. The 300 is usually ok when doing 500-400-300 but in this case with still a 200 to go, it felt much much worse than before. I battled horrible lactic build up for the last 100m of that rep. Surprised myself in the 200 to somehow muster up enough energy for most of the rep before dying badly in the last 30m or so.

No point comparing to the 500-400-300 sessions I have done in Melbourne as they were off 10 minute recoveries, so the times would be faster. Looking back at the first session I did back in Ireland when I got back from travelling in April, the 500-400-300 I did on that occasion was off 5 and 4 min recoveries, and my times were 85-65-48. So the 500 was comfortably faster this time, the 400 the same, 300m a bit slower which is disappointing, but the ability to throw together a 30 second 200 at the end would be the big improvement on the last time.

Absolutely dead after this session. Didn't have the energy to do the core stuff with the rest of the group afterwards. Am still exhausted and barely have the energy to write this post. Hopefully it will stand to me over the coming races.

Chivito550

Gym session yesterday evening.

Bench Press: 8 x 55kg, 8 x 60kg, 5 x 65kg, 2 x 67.5kg
One-legged Leg Press: 3 x (8 x 40kg on each leg)
Squats: 6 x 80kg, 6 x 85kg, 6 x 90kg
Deadlifts: 6 x 70kg, 6 x 75kg, 6 x 80kg
Circuit Upper Body: 4 x 32 @ 20kg
Crunches: 3 x 50
Medicine Ball Throws: 3 x 25 @ 5kg

For the squats I am going to drop back the weight slightly so I can go a small bit deeper. I'm pretty close to parallel, but still need to find that extra inch or two, so will drop the weight by about 5kg to allow myself to do this, and then build back up.

Big improvement in the deadlifts this time as I didn't need to regrip during the 80kg reps.

I did the one-legged leg press at the end of the session on this occasion, so I dropped the weight from 50kg to 40kg as my legs were tired by that stage.

Will drop the weight back ever so slightly in the bench press also, so I can get back to doing 8, 8, 8 and 4 or 5 reps. On the current weights I'm struggling come the 3rd set to make 5.

Knackered after 6 days of hard training so a day off today before 2 track sessions to come this weekend.

Chivito550 wrote: »

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.

Following on from this post, I received this in the post the other day. Not very often I win medals so I will cherish this one, as a lot of work went into this. Pretty much my first meaningful medal since taking up track running.

Chivito550

Saturday: Track

2 x (3 x 60m) with very slow walk back recoveries within each set, and 10 minutes between each set. Starting from a 3 point start. Wore the sprint spikes for these.

Sunday: Track

2 x (3 x 40m from blocks). Long recoveries throughout, with an extra break half way through the session. Wore sprint spikes for these. Amazing how much this session can take out of you. Puts a great demand on the legs.

Gym session tomorrow and massage, day off on Tuesday, then 400m at Santry on Wednesday.

Here's a rough look at my racing schedule for the rest of the season.

1) Dublin Graded Meet 4 & Dublin Championships - Wed 11 June - Santry - 400m
2) GV Ryan Crusaders AC Meet - Sat 14 June - Irishtown - 400m
3) Dublin Graded Meet 5 & Dublin Championships - Wed 25 June - Tallaght - 200m
4) Irish Beer Mile Championships - Sat 28 June - TBC - Beer Mile
5) Dublin Graded Meets 6 - Wed 09 July - Irishtown - 400m
6) AAI National Championships - Sat 19 July/ Sun 20 July - Santry - 400m & 200m (If 400m is first and events are on separate days)
7) Dublin Graded Meets 7 - Wed 23 July - Santry - 100m (With just a 100 on the programme, good chance I won't make the trek for this one, and train through)
8) AAI Combined Events Championships - Sat 02 Aug/ Sun 03 Aug - Tullamore - Decathlon (100m & 400m) (Logistical nightmare getting a pole for pole vault and then transporting it to Tullamore without a car but determined to do this event)
9) Dublin Graded Meets 8 - Wed 06 Aug - Tallaght - 200m
10) European Athletics Championships - Sat 16 Aug - Zurich Letzigrund Stadion - Media Race 800m
11) Dublin Graded Meets 9 - Wed 20 Aug - Irishtown - 400m (after a week in Switzerland, this might have a bit of end of season feel to it)

I'm more than likely away the weekend of National League Round 2 which I could guest in, so have not listed that here.

If anybody knows of any other races which could be an option for me PLEASE let me know. There's a bit of a gap in there from mid June to mid July and would love to have more races in there.

I've currently ran: 2 200m and 2 400m races. What I have ahead of me is the possibility of 6 400m races, 3 200m races, 2 100m races, and 1 800m race. A lot of 400s at Irishtown which by all accounts is not a good track for fast times which is frustrating.

All in all, a lot less racing than I got in Melbourne. Next season however, with a proper winter behind me (and indoor season) I can look at beginning my outdoor season earlier and get in some of the county championships in Kildare, Wicklow, Meath etc, and be ready for events such as the Leinsters. For this season however, I might just have to make do with what events are left, and hopefully be in my best shape for Nationals and National Decathlon.

Lock

Surely Nationals have to be the target given your schedule and your distaste for the Irishtown track. Always plenty of 400 heats with lads running 50 - 53 seconds you could chase.

How important would the conditions of the track be over 400m? I understand what you're saying about Irishtown but coming from a middle distance background, I don't see it as being too much of a big deal. You can't always blame the track

Looking at your race schedule, if I was you I'd put any thoughts of it being a slow track out of my head now as it looks like you'll be racing there a fair bit over the next few weeks. Just my 2 cents, not that you asked!

Best of luck on Wednesday night. You seem to be moving nicely, good sessions from you of late.

career_move

Chivito550 wrote: »

A lot of 400s at Irishtown which by all accounts is not a good track for fast times which is frustrating.

Why does that it bother you if Irishtown isn't as fast as say the tracks you were running on in Melbourne? Is it not all relative? So if you run all the 400's at Irishtown then you should see your times get faster as the season progresses anyway

Chivito550

career_move wrote: »

Why does that it bother you if Irishtown isn't as fast as say the tracks you were running on in Melbourne? Is it not all relative? So if you run all the 400's at Irishtown then you should see your times get faster as the season progresses anyway

The same reason why people fly off to places like Rotterdam to run marathons rather than running one in the back arse of Clare - To get PBs!

Chivito550

Lock wrote: »

Surely Nationals have to be the target given your schedule and your distaste for the Irishtown track. Always plenty of 400 heats with lads running 50 - 53 seconds you could chase.

How important would the conditions of the track be over 400m? I understand what you're saying about Irishtown but coming from a middle distance background, I don't see it as being too much of a big deal. You can't always blame the track

Looking at your race schedule, if I was you I'd put any thoughts of it being a slow track out of my head now as it looks like you'll be racing there a fair bit over the next few weeks. Just my 2 cents, not that you asked!

Best of luck on Wednesday night. You seem to be moving nicely, good sessions from you of late.

Yeh, you are right about getting the thoughts of the track out of my mind come race day, and that is something I plan to do. But it does make a difference. I'm not basing it on my slow run there the last day, but the fact that a number of people were a fair bit down on their times from Santry 4 days earlier. Conditions were pretty good also, so I put it down to the track. It's in dire need of a resurface.

But you are right, it's not going to change soon, that's where the races are, so must get on with it. Nationals would be the focus anyway, so all the other races would be based around that. Once Nationals are done, the National Decathlon becomes the big target, with another chance of a good 400m.

Lock

Chivito550 wrote: »

Yeh, you are right about getting the thoughts of the track out of my mind come race day, and that is something I plan to do. But it does make a difference. I'm not basing it on my slow run there the last day, but the fact that a number of people were a fair bit down on their times from Santry 4 days earlier. Conditions were pretty good also, so I put it down to the track. It's in dire need of a resurface.

But you are right, it's not going to change soon, that's where the races are, so must get on with it. Nationals would be the focus anyway, so all the other races would be based around that. Once Nationals are done, the National Decathlon becomes the big target, with another chance of a good 400m.

Well it sounds like we're on the same page so. I wouldn't even acknowledge the track surface, don't pay it any attention. If I go out too hard in a race, I put my head down and keep pushing telling myself I'm breaking the spirit of those behind me. If I'm on my way to a hilly cross country race, I attack the hills. And if I'm running a 400 on a crappy track surface, I pretend I'm on a mondo track with no wind.

Again, I understand it is a factor in 400 running, I just hope you're not walking into Irishtown stadium thinking solely about the poor surface. You don't have a choice so go with it. If I was you, I wouldn't even address it, I certainly wouldn't type it on a training log, you make it sound like fact. You could still PB in Irishtown!

Chivito550

Lock wrote: »

Well it sounds like we're on the same page so. I wouldn't even acknowledge the track surface, don't pay it any attention. If I go out too hard in a race, I put my head down and keep pushing telling myself I'm breaking the spirit of those behind me. If I'm on my way to a hilly cross country race, I attack the hills. And if I'm running a 400 on a crappy track surface, I pretend I'm on a mondo track with no wind.

Again, I understand it is a factor in 400 running, I just hope you're not walking into Irishtown stadium thinking solely about the poor surface. You don't have a choice so go with it. If I was you, I wouldn't even address it, I certainly wouldn't type it on a training log, you make it sound like fact. You could still PB in Irishtown!

Very valid points. I do think though it is good to acknowledge the varying tracks and how fast or slow they might be, as that gives me an idea of how good a run really is, taking other factors into account. Otherwise it could be very easy to get disillusioned seeing a slower time when you felt you did all the right things in the race.

There was this rubbish track I had a couple of 400s on in Melbourne. Surface wasn't great, but was really open to dreadfully strong winds, every time I ran there. I ran a race there when I felt I was in good shape, and only ran 56.48. I was very disappointed, until one of the coaches said to me that that is probably the best run I have ever done, considering how poor the track was. This gave me confidence. Result was, 7 days later, a PB of 55.00, which still stands.

Moral of the story, I don't think it's a bad thing to acknowledge that some tracks are faster than others. I just haven't been running here long enough yet to figure out which ones are actually fast, and which ones are not.

Lock

Well let me tell you, Tullamore is fast track! Just look at Harry Purcell the other week.

If you're feeling good, go for that sub 55 at the national decathlon

Chivito550

Lock wrote: »

Well let me tell you, Tullamore is fast track! Just look at Harry Purcell the other week.

If you're feeling good, go for that sub 55 at the national decathlon

There is no logic to it at all, and in theory I shouldn't run well after 4 other events that day, but probably my best ever run was in the Vic Decathlon earlier this year (not a PB, but very close, and in inferior conditions). This is one of the reasons I keep the decathlon as a big target, when all else think I'm mad!

Lock

You could do a Makhloufi and drop out of the first event and then magically recover for the 400m later that day!

Chivito550

Lock wrote: »

You could do a Makhloufi and drop out of the first event and then magically recover for the 400m later that day!

Haha, you'd be DQ'ed for that. You must start every event to be allowed continue.

And besides, morally I couldn't do it. I love the decathlon too much. The first year I showed up just to do the first day, and the guilt I felt about the prospect of ditching the other lads on Day 2 brought me back the next day. And I've been back every year since.