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Running Aimlessly Down Under - From 54 to 53 sec 400m
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First week back training. Starting at 4 days a week for the first few weeks before upping it to 5 days.
Monday: Gym
Each gym session is started with some jumping plyometrics. On the Monday it is Double-legged broad jumps. On the Thursday it is single-legged hop and hold.
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Dunbell Split Squats: 3 x 6 @ 10kg, 10kg, 12kg in each hand
C: 45 degree Back Extentions: 3 x 8 @ 10kg
Flat Dunbell Press: 3 x 8 @ 16kg, 18kg, 20kg in each hand
E: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 6, 8 and 8 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
F1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 x 12 in each leg
F2: Front Planks: 3 x 30 secs
Wednesday: Track
Easy enough session to ease myself back. 4 x 200m with 200m jog recovery. Wore road running shoes for this, and went a bit easy on the first two reps. Was also well out in front so sort of running on my own. Times were: 33.4 – 33.4 – 32.7 – 31.9. Recoveries were 1:41 to 1:45.
Thursday: Gym
Did an early morning gym session, so I used a different gym to my usual GAA gym.
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 3 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 6 @ 10kg, 10kg, 12kg in each hand
C: Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 30kg, 30kg, 35kg Flat Dunbell Press: 3 x 8 @ 20kg in each hand
E: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 40kg, 45kg, 50kg
F: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 10kg
Saturday: Grass
3 x (6x40) with 2 and 4 minutes between sets/ Basically sprint 40m, jog out 10, turn around, jog back 10, sprint 40. Do this until you’ve completed 6 40m sprints. Do all of this 3 times. Went off a bit fast in the first set, and the lactic was building up in the second and third sets as a result. I timed the length of the third set at 1:15 so there’s a lot packed into such a short time.0 -
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Monday: Gym
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Dunbell Split Squats: 4 x 6 @ 12kg, 12.5kg, 14kg, 14kg in each hand
C: 45 degree Back Extentions: 3 x 8 @ 15kg Flat Dunbell Press: 8, 8, 7 @ 20kg, 22.5kg, 22.5kg in each hand
E: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 8, 9, 9 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
F1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 x 12 in each leg
F2: Front Planks: 3 x 30 secs
Wednesday: Track
The less said about this the better. We are training about 30 minutes later than usual now, and I arrived early, and made a spur of the moment decision to warm up early, so I’d have time to do some standing long jumps into the long jump pit before the session. I didn’t realise how cold it was, at 8 degrees, which is a sudden drop from recent temperatures. During my first standing single long jump I got a calf spasm in my left calf. I stupidly ignored this, and then went to do a standing double jump, and again got the spasm in the same calf. So I stopped the jumping. Tried a few easy strides and now I am getting cramp in the other calf. I opt for an easy run instead, and when I tried to up the pace it came back in the right calf again. Just wrote off the evening, and opted to make up for it on Friday lunchtime.
For the record I jumped 2.30m on the standing long jump into the pit. I’m sure I’d go a bit further if I got 3 attempts, and had better conditions. Will do these in the gym for the time being. Jumped 3.95m for the standing double jump (1.95m+2.00m) but by this time my calf had already cramped.
All in all an evening to forget and lesson learnt.
Thursday: Gym
Did an early morning gym session, so I used a different gym to my usual GAA gym.
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 4 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Standing Long Jumps: 4 x 1 jump
C: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 8 on each leg @ 12kg in each hand Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 35kg, 35kg, 37.5kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 3 x 8 @ 22kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 50kg, 52.5kg, 55kg
G: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 12kg
Measured out the standing long jumps roughly, based on number of steps and then using a ruler later to measure one step. Not exactly scientific. 2.28m was my best. Apparantly, standing long jumps in the gym are always going to be down on when doing it into a sand pit, all other things being equal, due to the harder landing, and thus naturally being slightly more cautious when landing. I’ve bought proper measuring tape now, so I’ll use that from now on.
Friday: Grass
Track session on Wednesday was supposed to be 5 x 200m with a 200m jog recovery. I went out to a local park near work at lunchtime. Very restricted by space so did 10 x 100m with 100m jog back instead, at a strong but comfortable pace. Ran on grass, in runners. Times seem a bit slow, but it was an endurance session and I was running solo. Happy enough with it:
16.0 - 17.4 - 18.0 - 17.5 - 18.0 - 17.6 - 17.7 - 16.8 - 17.0 - 16.5, Average 17.2. Average recovery 55.2 secs
Saturday: Grass
2 x (6x40) with 3 minutes between sets/ Basically sprint 40m, jog out 10, turn around, jog back 10, sprint 40. Do this until you’ve completed 6 40m sprints. Do all of this twice. We did this 3 times last week, so they had to be run at a faster pace this week as a result. Went fine, the 5th and 6th rep of each set was tough.How do you cope? Maybe its my age showing, but I get a lot of shin and joint pain running 3-4 times per week (on grass!)...
I used to get shin splints when I was training for the marathon back in 2010. I also got them in my early days as a sprinter. Since I started gym work and lifting weights in May 2012, I have not had any problems since (touch wood). A bar of soap in the shower to massage the shins is a great trick by the way.0 -
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Third week of training complete, and my first 5 day week of the winter.
Monday: Gym
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1
C: Dunbell Split Squats: 4 x 6 @ 14kg, 14kg, 15kg, 15kg in each hand 45 degree Back Extentions: 3 x 8 @ 15kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 3 X 8 @ 22.5kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 9, 10, 9 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 x 12 in each leg
G2: Front Planks: 3 x 30 secs
Did some skipping too, which my coach has got me to do, to try improve calf strength and co-ordination. I'm fairly shocking at it, but have improved and can now get over 10 skips in a row on occasions. I do this on both gym days. I was doing it first, before the plyometrics, but I found it was tiring me out for the jumps, so now I do it after the plyos.
Wednesday: Track
6x200m with 200m jog recovery, wearing road running shoes, into a strong headwind. I stupidly deleted my times this morning, forgetting that I hadn't logged them yet, but I recall the average being 33.5, and I can vaguely recall the splits as approximately:
34 low - 33 mid - 33 low - 33 high - 33 mid - 33 low
Besides the first one, and one of the middle ones, the rest were all fairly consistent. 33.5 is a slow enough average, but the heavy footwear and the headwind would have had a good bit to do with that.
Thursday: Gym
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 4 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Standing Long Jumps: 6 x 1 jump
C: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 8 on each leg @ 14kg in each hand Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 37.5kg, 37.5kg, 40kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 7, 8, 7 @ 25kg, 22.5kg, 22.5kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 9, 10, 9 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 12.5kg
Skipping for a few minutes in here too.
I measured the distance of my standing long jump. My best was 2.09m, which is down on the 2.30m I did into the long jump pit last week, but you are always going to be jumping further into a sand pit, as the soft landing allows you to stretch that bit further, while on a hard ground, you are subconciously thinking about a safe landing. So pointless to compare the two.
I might be better off doing the standing long jumps first in future if I am measuring them, as I was a bit tired after doing the single leg hop and hold.
Saturday: Grass
2 x (3 x 100) with 3 minute recovery between sets and jog back recovery within sets. The 100 was split into 3 equal distances of around 33-35m each. The idea was to run part 1 and part 3 hard, and run part 2 easier. The idea was 80%-70%-80%, but I was probably more at 85%-65%-85%. I might have eased back a bit too much in the second portion of each rep. Interesting session.
Sunday: Hills
3 x (230-130-70) with 5 minutes between each set, and jog back recovery within each set. Wore an old pair of sprint spikes for the first set, but I didn't like the impact of it on the legs, and how hard each step felt, so I reverted back to my road running shoes for the second and third sets. Times were:
43.3 - 25.9 - 14.3
42.6 - 26.8 - 13.8
43.5 - 24.1 - 11.3
Finished very strong towards the end of that final set, particularly that last rep. I find it is always easier to find that bit extra on the last rep when it is so short.
Day off tomorrow to watch the marathon, and the obligatory all day piss-up which follows suit. For a sprinter, the Dublin Marathon is a wonderful excuse for a session.
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Great day at the Dublin Marathon. 3 and a half hours standing at the finish line, followed by about 9 and a half hours of continuous drinking. Beer Mile preparations begin in earnest!
Always a great day, and there's a really nice buzz in McGrattans after. Ran into Eliud Too in the pub. A bit of craic followed, ending up with him inviting me to join him for a training camp in Iten, Kenya. Great stuff. Maybe sometime in the future who knows! Great athlete. He told me he ran 8:16 for the Steeple in high school!
Bit nostalgic about my one and only adventure into this crazy distance, so for entertainment purposes here's my race report from Rotterdam 2010, incredibly 5 and a half years ago now:Ok now that I've settled back home for a few hours its time to try rehash the experience as best I can.
The week leading up to the marathon was nerveracking. I was really pumped and ready to go about 4 days before the race but I had to try keep the adrenaline at an appropriate level, which I managed to do until the day before the race when I was a bag of nerves!
I met brianderunner randomly in the Irish Pub watching the Munster game and then went and got a monster feed after that. I was reasonably relaxed again, but not for long...
Woke up the next morning absolutely sh1tting a brick. I had to force feed myself my breakfast as I had no appetite whatsoever. After a long struggle I managed to stuff 4 slices of toast, 2 slices of cheese and 2 slices of chicken into my stomach.
So anyway off I went to the changing facilities near the start line. I arrived nearly 90 minutes before the start of the race. I was going to be fully organised for this. I wasn't going to train for 5 months and do something stupid like risk missing the start of the race (like that poor unfortunate soul who showed up 20 minutes late to the Dublin Marathon last year!).
I had double-checked everything before I came over. Nothing was going to go wrong, I wasnt going to forget anything. Wrong. I had set up a 4 hour marathon playlist for my IPod, and charged it up fully before leaving Dublin. I listen to it on the plane over, only silly me I completely forgot to turn the stupid thing off, and as I reach for my IPod 1 hour before the race I notice the battery is at a critically low level. SH1T. Now I'm in a pickle. I decide to save the remaining battery for the second half of the race, and try out this whole "sampling the atmosphere" stuff that everyone seems to go on about quite a bit.
So away we go! The start of the race is very crowded and I found it very tough to get into a rythem over the first 2 km's which I covered in 12 minutes on the dot, well outside a pace that would be needed for sub 4. It was at this stage that I realised that Sub 4 wasnt really on for me. I was on 4.13 pace at this stage, so the I developed a plan to try run each Kilometre under 6 minutes. If I ran one in 5.40 then fantastic, but under no circumstances was I to run any slower than 6 minutes! By following these tactics I felt I could get quite close to 4 hours and if I had it in me at the end then I could push for it. Basically the plan was to narrow the gap slowly and economically.
There was enough going on to keep me occupied as I let my IPod have a rest. The crowd was fairly vocal at times and there was good music every once in a while. However when I came towards 6km I got a bit concerned that I still hadnt passed any water station. I asked some random Greek's did they know when we would be passing it, and they said they were wondering the same thing... the only conversation I had with anybody throughout. I simply cant talk and run at the one time. Its a killer!
Ah here we go, a sign saying "DRINKS 200m". Finally!!! Except in Rotterdam 200m doesnt actually mean 200m! It was more like 500m!! Why would they do that to us!?! Its the greatest form of torture! I may not be a Haile or a Paula but I certainly am not THAT slow that I would cover 200m in 3 minutes!
I got over it though and knew what to expect for the rest of the race.
My mind then went back to the recent thread on boards about MP3's in Connemara, and everybody going on about engaging with the crowd and all that stuff. So I thought, sure I'll give this a bit of a go, why not! So I see this girl, about 6 or 7 with her hand out waiting for somebody to High Five her. So over I go and go for the High Five only for her to pull her hand away in completely embarrassing rejection and a weird look to accompany it. Felt like a right tulip. Right enough of that, back to the centre of the road and focus of the running. The crowd had their chance for a bit of banter and they BLEW it!
I managed to keep a very even pace throughout the first half of the race and came accross the mid-way point in 2:01:47. So I had pulled myself down from 4:13 pace to 4:03:30 pace. The plan was working, if I could keep that level up I could yet get close to 4 hours. I knew I wasnt going to break it, but I was confident that I could get within a few minutes of it.
After 1 hour and 50 minutes enough was enough, the IPod was woken up. I was passing a very boring spot with absolutely nothing going on, so it felt like the right time for it. And boy did it give me a boost.
My hydration methods for the race were simple. Water and gels. I wasnt chancing any of this Extran stuff. Best to stick to what I know (though I did accept a Banana off some randommer from the crowd towards the end). I took the gels every 45 minutes and it gave me a much needed boost when i really needed it at aroun 2.15. I found that time quite tough mentally, as I knew I had still so far left to run and had no idea what may or may not be ahead of me.
I started to notice at this stage that I was struggling to break 6 minutes per Km's at some stages. During the first half of the race I was doing 5.40-5.45's, now I was doing 5.50-5.55's and the occasional 6. It just gradually got harder and harder. Nothing dramatic at all, just very very gradual.
I never hit "The Wall" though. There was never at any point where I felt in utter agony and that I wanted to stop. My mind didnt go into depression of anything like that. Mentally I was right there (for the most part), I just physically couldnt quite keep up the same pace as I had earlier. I gave it a good go though, and only at around the 35km mark did I start to drop below 6 mins/km.
It was at this point that I saw the first Irish flag of the day, to which I shouted at the top of my voice "COME ON IRELAND, GO ON IRELAND", to which the randommer in the crowd screamed back identical sentiments. It was a good buzz indeed but nearly gave myself cramp in the process. Got way too excited, back to the job at hand!
Around 35-36 km was when the race reached its toughest for me and then after that it started to gradually get easier (though perhaps my split from 35-40 wouldnt agree, see below). The last 3-4 km was an incredible feeling. It was at this stage that I knew I was going to finish, and finish in a time I could be very proud of. At this moment on comes Teenage Wasteland by The Who. Its amazing what some songs can do for you! I started to get very emotional. Was close to tears of happiness, but managed to hold myself together.
I really picked it up the last 2 kilometres and was full of energy for a final sprint to the line. In I came in 4 hours 07 minutes 35 seconds. I had given it everything. I was very proud of myself and how the whole race panned out for me. The amount of people I passed at 35k onwards who were walking was astonishing. The fact that I felt (relatively) good at this stage was a testiment to how I prepared for and ran the race and I gave myself a little pat on the back.
Later that evening I went to the Irish bar and met brianderunner, Robinph, Moycullen1, KentuckyPete and Misty Floyd. Great craic was had, and a half dozen pints of Murphys were guzzled in the process. It was great to meet up with everyone (though very bizzare experience hearing everybody introduce themselves by their Boards usernames
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So today I am in an absolute heap. I can barely walk. Climbing the stairs is borderline impossible, but it was worth every second of it.
I'll take a good week or two off any sort of running now and have a think about what I want to do next. A part of me wants to focus on 10km's for the next while but I wont make any decisions too soon.
A few extra stats:
Net split times (difference)
5 Kilometer 28:56 (28:56)
10 Kilometer 57:43 (28:47)
15 Kilometer 1:26:26 (28:43)
20 Kilometer 1:55:12 (28:46)
Half marathon 2:01:47
25 Kilometer 2:24:26 (29:14)
30 Kilometer 2:54:01 (29:35)
35 Kilometer 3:24:12 (30:11)
40 Kilometer 3:54:59 (30:47)
I covered the final 2.195km in 12:36, which was 5.44-5.45 pace. Delighted that I managed to step it up at the very end.
My first half was done in 2:01:47
My second half was done in 2:05:48
A positive split on just 4:010 -
Fourth week of training complete.
Tuesday: Gym
Because of the marathon being on Monday I moved my gym session to Tuesday. I was feeling tired after the plyometrics and with a running session the next day, I cut some of the leg exercises back by a set each.
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1
C: Dunbell Split Squats: 3 x 6 @ 15kg, 15kg, 16kg in each hand 45 degree Back Extensions: 2 x 8 @ 15kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 7, 5, 6 @ 25kg, 25kg, 22.5kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 8, 8, 6 @ 9, 10, 10 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 2 x 12 in each leg
G2: Front Planks: 2 x 30 secs
Did some skipping too.
Best standing long jump was 2.17m.
Wednesday: Track
250-200-150-100-80 wearing road running shoes on a fairly wet track. One of the girls was late arriving and missed the 250, so did it at the end, and so I voluntarily decided to do an extra 250 at the end with her. I still felt like I had plenty of gas in the tank. I guess it takes awhile to stop thinking like a 400m runner, where you expect to feel like crap after every session.
Jog recoveries in between which were a little over a minute to 1:30 each. I didn't time the 80, but the last 100 and 80 were pretty much flat out with whatever I had left. Strong enough headwind in the straight. Times were:
41.6 -34.4 - 24.2 - 15.2 - 43.4
Thursday: Gym
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 4 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Standing Long Jumps: 6 x 1 jump
C: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 8 on each leg @ 16kg in each hand Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 40kg, 40kg, 42.5kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 7, 5, 7 @ 25kg, 25kg, 22.5kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 8, 8, 7 @ 9, 10, 10 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 12.5kg
Skipping for a few minutes in here too.
Best standing long jump was 2.06m, down on Tuesday.
Saturday: Grass
2 x (3 x 120) with 3 minute recovery between sets and jog back recovery within sets. The 120 was split into 3 equal distances of 40m each. The idea was to run part 1 and part 3 hard, and run part 2 easier. The idea was 90%-70%-90%. Times for each 120m were:
20.2 - 21.7 - 21.0 - 20.3 - 21.2 - 19.9
Jog recoveries were around 1:10 each. Very warm day for the end of October.
Sunday: Hills
3 x (230-130-70) with 5 minutes between each set, and jog back recovery within each set. Absolutely stunning morning for it. Can you believe it is November? It feels like June. Times were:
46.5 - 25.9 - 12.8
46.1 - 24.8 - 12.6
45.6 - 24.4 - 12.2
Despite the amazing weather, the grass was incredibly wet, and my feet got soaked before I even started the session, which was a slight inconvenience. Happy enough with the session but the 230s were noticeable slower than last week, but the 130s and 70s were better. I guess not training for a 400m, I sort of know I don't have to be insanely fit, so there's less incentive to run yourself into the ground to the verge of almost spewing afterwards. It's just not required for the long jump, 100 and 200. You need to be fit for the 200, but not to the level I was pushing last year. I probably kept a bit in reserve after the 230s, and fairly hammered it for the 130 and 70. I'll try get those 230s quicker next time I do that session. I don't feel like I was going easier than last week though, so maybe the wet heavy grass had something to do with the slow times.
Have to say I am enjoying training a lot again. Deciding not to do 400s this year has been a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.0 -
Update from the first half of this week.
Monday: Gym
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1
C: Dunbell Split Squats: 4 x 6 @ 16kg in each hand 45 degree Back Extensions: 3 x 8 @ 20kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 8, 6, 7 @ 25kg, 25kg, 22.5kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 8, 7, 6 @ 10 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 x 12 in each leg
G2: Front Planks: 3 x 30 secs
Did some skipping too.
Best standing long jump was 2.15m, just 2cm down on my best in a gym.
Wednesday: Long Jump
The group were doing 300-250-200-150-100, but I wanted to start doing long jump specific work now, so I sat out that session to be fresh for the jumping. Made sure I was well warmed up as it was a bit cold. There was a good bunch of us jumping, of all ages, including some of my training group, who jumped in after their session. The 3 who were there are all jumpers of some variety, so it worked well for them to do it.
We did the following:
1) Standing Two-Legged Long Jumps (3 jumps)
2) Standing Triple Jumps (Hop step and jump) (6 jumps, 2 starting on left leg, 4 starting on right leg)
3) Drills – 2 steps and jump - with 2 cones just before the board to exaggerate getting the knees up on the last 2 steps. Jog in before the 2 steps. (Around 4 jumps or so)
4) Drills – Short run in and 2 steps and jump – Same as above except with a longer and faster run into the 2 steps. (Another 4 jumps or so)
5) Jumps off 6-step run up – Cones removed. Full long jump off 6 fast steps run up (Around 6 jumps)
I wore flats throughout to ease myself into it (though they are new flats which aren’t broken in, so a little uncomfortable. My long jump spikes have arrived from the UK today, so I will use them going forward.
I was jumping very flat until the last 2 jumps, when it clicked, and I really worked on pushing my foot down onto the board and driving myself up. I could feel a really noticeable feel to how I was moving in mid air, and got so much more height on it for those last 2 jumps. The coach said they were greatly improved. So lots of practice will hopefully make that action a habit.
Really enjoyable session. I think I’m going to make Wednesday evening my long jumping session throughout the winter, and do speed on Saturdays, and hills/endurance on the Sunday.
Thursday: Gym
Did an early morning gym session, and so used a different gym.
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 4 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Standing Long Jumps: 6 x 1 jump
C: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 8 on each leg @ 16kg in each hand Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 42.5kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 2 x 8 @ 24kg
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 3 x 8 @ 55kg, 57.5kg, 60kg
G: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 14kg
In a bit of a rush so no time for skipping and could only do 2 sets of the Dunbell Press
Best standing long jump was 2.09m, down 6m on Monday’s best.0 -
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Notwork Error wrote: »I was commenting on the Thursday's jump being 6m short of Monday's:).
You've got to see this jump by Byron Jones at the NFL draft combine last year.
Absolutely nuts to look at, 3.7 metres!! Have to think they'd be close to that although you never know.
That's pretty cool, I must admit.
Reminded me of this
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Update from the second half of this week. Challenging weekend of training as pretty much my entire training group were away this weekend, so I opted to train alone locally, to save myself an unnecessary journey to and from our usual training locations.
Saturday: Grass
2 x (3 x 120m) with a walk back recovery within sets, and a 7 minute recovery between sets. Was quite breezy, but it was more of a cross wind the direction I was running. It was raining on and off, and the ground was quite muddy and slippery underfoot. I was wearing the road running shoes for this. Times were:
18.9 - 18.7 - 18.8 - 18.6 - 18.6 - 18.0
Sunday: Hills
A session from last winter. The "15 minute run". Basically 5 mins on, 5 mins rest, 5 mins on again. For each 5 mins of running, you start at the bottom of the hill, run up 200m, back down 100m, up 100m, back up 200m and so on until the 5 minutes finishes. Then for the second set, get as close as possible in terms of distance covered to the first 5 minutes.
For the first set I covered:
200 up, 100 down, 100 up, 200 down, 200 up, 100 down, 100 up, 125 down. Total distance covered 1125m.
For the second set I covered:
200 up, 100 down, 100 up, 200 down, 200 up, 100 down, 100 up, 165 down.
Total distance covered 1165m.
I covered an extra 40m on the second set, so I didn't quite push hard enough on the first set as last year I'd usually be about 10-15m down on the second set. But I was on my own which makes it tough, and it was extremely windy out there too. Just happy to get it done to be honest.
That's 5 weeks of winter training in the bag now.
My first pair of long jump spikes arrived the other day. Looking forward to getting a lot of use out of these, and hopefully many new PBs.
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Update from the first half of this week.
Monday: Gym
A: Double-legged Broad Jumps: 4 x 4 continuous jumps
B: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1
C: Dunbell Split Squats: 4 x 6 @ 16kg in each hand 45 degree Back Extensions: 3 x 8 @ 20kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 8, 8, 6 @ 25kg, 25kg, 25kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 8, 8, 7 @ 10 plates (unsure how much each plate weighs in the gym)
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts: 3 x 12 in each leg
G2: Front Planks: 3 x 30 secs
Did some skipping too.
Best standing long jump was 2.05m.
Wednesday: Long Jump
Wore my new long jump spikes for this.
1) Standing Two-Legged Long Jumps (3 jumps)
2) Standing Triple Jumps (Hop step and jump) (6 jumps, 2 starting on left leg, 4 starting on right leg)
3) Drills – Short high knees run in and 2 steps between cones and jump (Approx 6 jumps or so)
4) Jumps off 6-step run up – Cones removed. Full long jump off 6 fast steps run up (Around 6 jumps)
Coach is getting me to work on pushing the hips up when jumping. So many little things to think about all in one split second. Plenty of practice needed.
Thursday: Gym
A: One-legged hop and hold: 4 x 4 continuous jumps on each leg
B: Standing Long Jumps: 6 x 1 jump
C: Walking Lunges with dunbells: 3 x 8 on each leg @ 16kg in each hand Romanian Deadlift: 3 x 8 @ 42.5kg, 45kg, 45kg
E: Flat Dunbell Press: 8, 8, 4 @ 25kg in each hand
F: V Bar Lat Pulldown: 8, 8, 6 @ 11, 10, 10 plates
G: Dunbell Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 14kg
Some skipping too, which is coming on a lot.
Best standing long jump was 2.07m. I'm sort of consistently in the 2.00 to 2.10 range in the gym, with occasional jumps of up to 2.17m.
That's the end of the 6 weeks of phase 1 of gym training. New programme starting next week, including some new plyometrics.0 -
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Tuesday: Gym
Because of the Ireland game being on Monday, I moved my gym session to Tuesday. First week of the new gym programme. For a couple of the leg exercises I only did 2 sets, as the plan was to do a long jumping session the next day.
A: Skipping: Double leg, and single leg
B: Standing Triple Jump: 6 x Two foot, right leg, left leg
C: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1 1 & 1/4 DB Split Squats: 3 x 6 @ 10kg, 10kg, 12kg in each hand
E: Back Extensions: 2 x 12 @ 20kg
F1: Flat DB Press (with pause): 3 x 6 @ 20kg, 20kg, 22.5kg in each hand
F2: One Arm Bent Over Row: 3 x 6 @ 20kg, 20kg, 22.5kg on each side
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts (with pause): 2 x 8 on each leg
G2: Side Planks: 3 x 30 secs on each side
Didn't measure the standing triples with my measuring tape but they were in or around 6 and a half metres. Best for the standing long jump was 2.18m, a 1cm improvement on previous best.
Wednesday: Skipping
Training at Irishtown was cancelled due to the weather forecast of strong gusty winds which was disappointing, as it meant losing out on my long jump session. The weather didn't seem all that bad, but maybe it was worse down at the track as it is near the coastline. Stopped off in my gym on the way home from work and did 20 minutes of skipping, both single and double legged, so the evening wasn't a complete write off.
Thursday: Gym
A: Skipping: Double leg, and single leg
B: High knee Power Skips: 6 x 4 on each leg
C: Standing Long Jump: 8 x 1 Snatch Grip Jump: 4 x 4 @ 25kg, 27.5kg, 30kg, 32.5kg
E: BB Static Lunges: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 30kg, 35kg, 37.5g
F: 30 Degree Incline DB Press: 3 x 6 @ 20kg in each hand
G: Chin ups - Palms facing each other: 3 x 6 @ bodyweight
H: DB Single Leg Calf Raises: 3 x 8 @ 14kg on each leg
I was in really good form with the standing long jump this evening. I usually do 6, but given how well I was jumping, and how I wasn't certain exactly how far my furthest jump went, I went for an extra two. All my jumps were over 2.09m. In my 5th jump I went really far by my left leg lost balance and fell back, so I'm not sure how far I went. My right foot stayed steady on landing, but my other foot was definitely behind it, so I can't measure from my right foot. Right foot was at 2.27m, so at a rough guess I jumped 2.22m. Not to worry, on my 7th jump I managed 2.23m, a new PB for non-sand standing long jump. 2 more of my jumps were around 2.17m or so. Definitely the best I have jumped so far. 0 -
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Saturday: Track
I planned to do a bit of jumping on the indoor pit at Santry as part of an extended warm up for my track session. However another group were using the pit. They were doing testing with standing long jumps, and measuring the jumps. I asked could I join in and they kindly allowed me to for a few jumps. I wore my flats, and did 4 jumps in total. The distances were:
2.40m - 2.42m - 2.47m - 2.34m
I was delighted with these jumps and a best of 2.47m. It must be noted that the sand in this pit is a little bit lower down than where you jump off from, so you gain a bit more distance than if the sand was at the same level as take off. It would probably be no more than 5cm gained, but worth nothing.
Session after was 2 x (3 x 60m) from 3 point starts, wearing the sprint spikes, with slow walk back recoveries within sets, and 5 minutes between sets. Weather was cold, but warmed up a bit by the time we started the session. Very little wind, and the sun was out so it was nice enough to run in. Felt I ran well. A bit inconsistent throughout the set, which is common in sessions like this where technique is everything.
Sunday: Hills
Challenging session this morning, with a lot of continuous running. 9 x 120m with jog back recoveries. I did 8 x 100 last week on my own, but this was much harder as this was on grass, which has gotten quite long, and the reps were longer. Times were:
25.0 - 25.6 - 26.9 - 27.0 - 25.9 - 27.1 - 26.4 - 26.4 - 24.7
Recoveries were: 1:05 - 1:04 - 0:59 - 0:58 - 1:00- 1:03 - 1:09 - 1:05
Stunning morning for it. Glorious sunshine, and fresh temperatures, and not overly cold, with no wind. I love running in these type of winter conditions. Give me 7 degrees, sunshine, and no wind, over the misery of last week any day of the week.
Gym session will have to be moved to Tuesday again this week, as I'm off to U2 tomorrow. 0 -
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A pretty dreadful last 24 hours, picking up a bad injury doing long jump, the first bad injury I've got through athletics.
Tuesday: Gym
Because of U2 being on Monday, I moved my gym session to Tuesday. I'm studying after work most days, so it was 8:30pm by the time I got to the gym, which is late. By the time I got to the last 2 exercises I was shattered so I just did 1 set.
A: Skipping: Double leg, and single leg
B: Standing Triple Jump: 6 x Two foot, right leg, left leg
C: Standing Long Jump: 6 x 1 1 & 1/4 DB Split Squats: 3 x 6 @ 12kg, 12kg, 12.5kg in each hand
E: Back Extensions: 3 x 12 @ 20kg, 20kg, 15kg
F1: Flat DB Press (with pause): 3 x 6 @ 22.5kg in each hand
F2: One Arm Bent Over Row: 3 x 6 @ 22.5kg on each side
G1: Floor Single Leg Hip Thrusts (with pause): 1 x 8 on each leg
G2: Side Planks: 1 x 30 secs on each side
Standing long jump best was 2.22m. I measured just one of my standing triple jumps and it was 6.53m.
Wednesday: Long Jump
Coach was sick, so left the session for us to do with one of the girls. There were only 5 of us, and nobody watching us giving feedback on technique, so we sort of rolled through them a lot quicker, with less rest in between each jump than we would normally have when getting technique feedback after each jump, so we ended up doing quite a lot of jumps which would come back to haunt me. 3 Standing long jumps, 3 bunny hops, 4 standing triple jumps. Then 3-4 two step jumps, then 5 six-step jumps. After this we did full run up jumps. I did 4 of them, and on my 4th one, I felt a sore cramp like feeling in my lower ab area just after I launched from the board. At first I thought it would subside. I then decided no more jumping, but hopefully I could join in on the back to back 50s we were to do after (2 x 4x50). When I realised it wasn't subsiding, and was starting to feel worse, and I could barely walk without throbbing pain, then I knew it was bad.
This morning was a real struggle just getting out of bed, to the bus, and into work. It was taking me twice as long to walk to places as it normally does, and I'd get throbbing spasm like pains with any kind of relatively sudden movement.
Went to Myles this evening for an emergency massage, and it does feel noticeably better now. The good news is that the severity is not as bad as I feared. It's a low grade 2 pull on the left groin. The pain I initially felt in the ab area was just it radiating to other parts of the body. It looks like at least a week and a half, maybe 2 weeks off training, as opposed to what may have been 6 weeks. Relieved that it's not as bad as I thought it would be.
I'm very nervous about the idea of trying to jump now after this happening. But at the same time, I don't want to just give up after one awful experience. I've a lot to learn about this event. Being a 400m runner for the last few years I have distance mentality. Not to the same degree as distance runners, but I still have it, and it is bloody dangerous to have this. You perceive events where you are not out of breath as being "easy". This is absolute codswallop. I associate tiredness with being out of breath, feeling like getting sick etc. I'd never in a million years say "sure I'll do another 300m, after a 3 x 300m session, but it's so easy to say "I'll do one more jump", as you feel grand, not out of breath or anything like that. And then it hits you. I need to learn my limits in this event.
I've never had problems doing long jump before, but in the past I'd just be sprinting up to the board and jumping, while now I'm trying to do it properly, and really lift off the board, so that extra force I'm trying to generate is causing extra stress on the body.
So a fairly crappy 24 hours, which has knocked the stuffing out of the 7 and a half weeks of good training I had up to now.
Just to tidy up my long jump session. On my second last jump I roughly measured it afterwards. I don't know where I was on the board or anything like that but it was between 4.55-4.60, which is not too bad, after a rake of jumps at that time of the evening, and only about 10-15cm behind one of the girls who jumps around 5.30-5.40. None of this means much to me right now though.0 -
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