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

tang1

Might be around Athlone the weekend of the National Championships, gladly drop by to give you some pointers to work on!!! Happy New Year.

Chivito550

tang1 wrote: »

Might be around Athlone the weekend of the National Championships, gladly drop by to give you some pointers to work on!!! Happy New Year.

Long jump pointers I hope.

Chivito550

Thursday: Gym

A gym session to finish off the year. 15 minutes on the bike, 3 mins each on level 1, 2, 3 and 4, then 1 minute each on 3, 2 and 1. Working at a pedal rate of around 90-100 per minute.

Uphill walking on treadmill of 20 minutes, building up to 15% gradient and 8.0 in speed. Heart rate was up to around 170 bpm so decent work out.

Calf raises, shoulder press, bench press, V-Lat pulldown, chin ups.

Saturday: Jog/Plod

First run since I tore my groin 5 and a half weeks ago. Was told to run for 10 minutes at 50% effort. I went very easy and I was pretty nervous, though became more confident as it went on. Got through it fine, but felt that any sort of increase in speed would have hurt. Covered just 1.53km in the 10 minutes. Have never run so slowly in my life. That's a significantly slower pace than my plod in Rotterdam 6 years ago! The only way is up from here, I hope.

Right, back to continuing my Rocky Christmas Binge. 1, 2 and 3 in the bag. Now it's time to watch the great man beat the living sh1t out of Ivan Drago. If this guy who is usually shockingly unfit just weeks before a big fight, can miraculously gets himself into outrageous shape and defeat a man who was half robot, then anything is possible eh?

Chivito550

A couple more jogs to update on:

Sunday: Jog

Plan was for 15 minutes, but I stretched it out very slightly so I could complete 3 loops of 0.92km in Marlay Park. Total run was 2.76km in 15:43, with splits of 5:22, 5:14 and 5:07. Same loop I ran on Saturday, when I completed only a bit over 1.5 loops in the 10 minutes. Wasn't trying to go faster so was surprised to see I was almost 1 minute faster at the end of the first loop.

Monday: Jog

Marlay Park is closed in the evening so I used a loop in my local area which is exactly 1km according to Mapmyrun. The plan was to be 20 minutes, but ended up running 22:20 for 4 loops totalling 4km. The main reason for this was so I wouldn't have to walk 5 minutes home, which would have been the case had I stopped at 20 minutes. This loop contains a hill. The first 600m I drop down by 11m in elevation, and then climb that back in the last 400m of each loop. I went at the same effort as previous days, but body was a bit looser and I went slightly quicker.

4km in 22:20, with splits of 5:37, 5:37, 5:33, 5:33

Still incredibly slow paces, but at least it somewhat resembles the term jogging now. My body must have been in shock on Saturday after so long without any running, hence the extremely slow plod.

Chivito550

Tuesday: Jog

Same loops as Monday, but only did 3km on this occasion as was tight for time. Pace was pretty much the same as Monday, though I started each lap half way up the hill, rather than at the top of the hill. There were puddles everywhere after the torrential rain which disrupted my rhythm in places. 1km loop times were 5:41, 5:37, 5:36 for a 3km total of 16:54.

Wednesday: Physio and massage treatment

Thursday: Jog and half strides

I've been instructed to include half strides every 5 minutes in these runs now, at about 45-50 second 200m pace, and to do them for around 40-45 seconds. As a good bit of this loop I am running is either downhill or uphill, I opted for a 150 stretch around two thirds into each lap which is pretty flat, with only a slight incline (1-2% gradient). I successfully was able to do these half strides with no discomfort. The times for each 150m half strides were 38.4, 38.1, 38.6, 39.3, 38.6. The effort level was still easy enough, but good to be able to stretch the legs out. The average was 38.6 which is 4:17 per km pace (or 6:54 per mile pace).

In total I did 5 loops, with the total loop times being 5:06.8, 5:03.5, 5:05.6, 5:09.8, 5:00.7 for a 5km time of 25:26. Decent improvements.

I plan to do a Parkrun on Saturday and I will run it exactly like I did this run.

Chivito550

A slightly reflective post. Yesterday was 5 years since I set up this log. I set it up with no real idea what I was doing, and with no real specific goal, and the title reflects that. The first few months of the log was a mess, with sporadic updates to reflect the sporadic training. Honestly didn't think that this thread which I set up having just moved to Melbourne would become such an important part of my life, so I think its fitting to mention this anniversary.

Today marks 5 years since my very first track meet (excluding the race walk and 1500m races I did in the Schools at Santry). Off just a couple of runs/ sessions I headed out to a far flung suburb of Melbourne called Ringwood. I hadn't the faintest idea what I was doing, but I had a blast, and this track thing slowly became a bit of a passion thereafter. Looking back now, the performances weren't very good at all, but I was chuffed at the time. 200m in 28.2 hand timed, with a strong tail wind pushing me along (not far under 29 seconds in real terms). Then followed a 2:44 for 800m in hot temperatures. I jumped 4.17m in the long jump, and then stupidly tried to do a 3000m in sprint spikes, and thankfully dropped out before I did needless damage to myself.

I didn't imagine then that I'd still be at this now, and how much this would become part of my life, and the many friends, acquaintances, and interesting characters I'd meet through it all, in both Melbourne and Ireland. Not only 400m and other sprints, but the opportunity to compete in things like field events, decathlons, handicapped racing, beer miles. It's been a great journey, and looking forward to seeing what the next few years brings.

Here's my very first track race report 5 years on.

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Ok so today I competed in my first track meet in Melbourne. Absolutely amazing day. As I havent joined a club yet (waiting until the new year starts on April 1st to do that) I competed as an invitation athlete of Richmond Harriers.

I did a tough track sprint session on Thursday. It has been a long while since I have done anything like that and as a result my legs have been sore and stiff since then. I did everything I could think of to try loosen them up today but they remained stiff throughout the day. Maybe that caused some of my performances to be less than maybe what they could have been but its no big deal.

I entered 4 events today: 200m, 800m, Long Jump and 3000m

200m

I finished 4th out of the 6 runners in my heat in a time of 28.2 seconds which I was delighted with. However I was told afterwards that there was a bit of a tailwind but the wind wasnt being measured today so I have no idea how strong it was. One official said that he didnt think it would be much over 2.5 so screw it I'm going to count this time as a PB anyway. I didnt feel extremely smooth probably because of my legs being stiff but I finished strong and pipped one guy from Richmond Harriers to 4th place, edging him out by 0.4 seconds. I was delighted until I realised he was 9 years younger than me :rolleyes: ah well. The winner of my heat ran it in 24.0 seconds. I would have prefered to run in a slower heat but I was in a rush to get to the start line for the 800m (which was being run in lanes 1 and 2, with the 200m in lanes 3-8) so I ran in a heat that was too fast for me and so winning the race was never an option.

800m

As it turned out I had about 30 minutes rest before I ran my 800m race. I ran in the 2 minutes 40 standard heat. I didnt feel too great early on and after 300m I was last of the 11 runners. I overtook one coming up to the bell and completed the first lap in 1:22. I finished quite strong and overtook another 2 runners to finish 8th and run a time of 2:44, even splits! Despite that I was a little disappointed as I have run 2:42 as a time trial back in Dublin, in road running shoes, and yet in a proper race here with spikes I couldnt go faster. I guess a combination of the hot weather, the stiff muscles and the fact I had run 200m probably took a little bit away from me. But still not a terrible run by any means.

Long Jump

I had a good bit of time to rest before the Long Jump and did some practicing and warm up on the other pit which was not being used. In the actual competition my first jump was 3.87m. Below what I expected for sure. Second jump I improved to 4.07m, and my third and final attempt improved once more to 4.17m. I was pleased with it to be honest. I have jumped 4.50-4.60ish back home but that was after about 7-8 attempts. Its a bit different doing it in a competition where you just get 3 efforts. I didnt stick around to see where I finished in my heat but I reckon I was about half way down the 10 or 11 starters.

3000m

I dont know what I was thinking running this. My legs were in pain after the other three events so I was never going to be able to do myself justice here. I guess I wanted to get value for my dollar and get another event in. There were just 2 heats of the 3000m. I went in the slower heat which was basically a mass start type of thing with about 50 runners in it. Must be painful trying to keep track of how many laps each people have left. I settled comfortably about half way down the field. Cardio wise I didnt push myself as much as I could, but there was a reason. My legs were starting to feel the pain at this stage after my earlier exertions and so after 1500m I made a sensible decision to drop out. My time at the half way point was 6 minutes 40 which is well of what I am capable of running. It is the first race I have ever dropped out of and I was a little disappointed with myself for doing it but there was nothing much to be gained from plodding along to a time of 13:20-13:30 when I can run it close to 12 minutes dead. Besides I wasnt competing for any club so I couldnt score points for any team anyway.

So thats my first track meet down here. Really enjoyable afternoon. It is so great to see so many people of all different ages and all different abilities take part together. Many people take part in as many events as possible just for fun. Some even competed in 7, 8 or 9 events today which is insane. Athletics Victoria and the clubs down here have really fostered a great culture of grassroots athletics. After seeing such a great event today it makes me very sad that in Ireland we dont have this. Back home if you are running 400m in 66 seconds there is no future for you. Here you simply run against others of your own level and you get to enjoy the buzz of running in a proper race and score points for your club in the championship standings. Maybe if we created such a thing back home that got moer of the average joes running 400m, 800m etc rather than just road running events then maybe our country would have much more interest in the sport of Athletics. Just a thought.

The only disappointment today was the lack of electronic timing. Supposedly the track at Ringwood is one of the few that doesnt have it set up.

Next weekend hopefully I will get to compete again. 100m and 400m being the priorities but sure I may aswell give a few of the field events a go for the craic. Haven't thrown a Javelin since my one and only attempt 13 years ago! No better time to have another go!

I will update the thread when the official results are posted on the website and do a little analysis of where I ranked overall in each event.

Chivito550

Saturday: Parkrun 5km - jog and half strides

Beautiful morning in Marlay Park for this and huge numbers at 638, due to the Operation Transformation thing. Good atmosphere, though having us standing on the start line freezing our balls off, while they repetitively asked us to shout "OPERATION TRANSFORMATION" and "WE LOVE PARKRUN" (I couldn't bring myself to do it!) was not appreciated!

The plan for this was to run easy, and then half stride the last 45 seconds of each kilometre at around 6 to 6:30 mile pace. Given this, I started about 5 to 6 rows back, which turned out to be right as there wasn't many passing me out in the chaotic opening stages. There was of course a row full of women in red t-shirts standing in a row, a few rows ahead of me, who proceeded to get in everybody's way in the first 200m.

Anyway, the run went pretty much to plan. With regards the strides, it was tricky at the end of 1km to get open space and so there was a good bit of running around people. The end of 2km had a bit more space, but 2 guys were running side by side taking up the whole path. I tried to squeeze through the middle, but ended up unintentionally shouldering one lad. I hear "f*ck sake" in the background. I had loads of space to stride at the end of 3km and 5km, but 4km was very tricky on that mucky gravel path, but I managed it. I felt good throughout, and only felt tired for maybe 20 seconds after each stride, a time which unfortunately one of the volunteers who was directing everyone sees me looking a bit puffed, and says to me "you're nearly there now". Haha, I replied saying I was grand.

Overall it was a good workout, but I must have looked like a complete clown passing out so many people during each 45 second stride, only to slow down and get re-passed out by half of them over the next minute or two.

Kilometre splits were: 4:46 - 4:29 - 4:34 - 4:36 - 4:30. Total time of 22:58 for 96th place. I guessed I'd run around 23 minutes, so pleased to get under it, without pushing it all for about 80% of the distance. Incredible improvement from 7 days earlier.

Sunday: Jog + half strides

Another 5km run this morning (5.02km to be exact) in 24:34 with 4 minutes easy, 45 secs strides, 5 times, with 50 secs easy to finish off. The run was mainly an out and back with one small 0.92km loop inside Marlay Park included. I still have stiffness and some aches, but hoping that will continue to ease out. The intensity is coming back. These solo runs are fierce boring it has to be said.

Chivito550

Wow, as a stats lover, Christmas is very much extended! Was having a gander through the Athletics Victoria website for the first time in quite awhile and came across this, something which I never knew existed.

http://athsvic.org.au/rankings/?gender=Mens&group=All%20Ages&eventyear=2013/14%20Rankings&rankingsevent=400m

It's a ranking list of all male athletes who ran the 400m in AV Shield Interclub meets during my last season in Melbourne, 2013/14 (excludes performances in other meets, in which I ran much faster). 239th out of 730, and in the senior age category 115th out of 202. Having 730 men and 512 women, of all ages from 13 up, running a 400m are incredible numbers. Victoria is the same population as Ireland, and while I don't know the numbers here, I'd guess the numbers who ran a 400m last year would be a mere fraction of this. Would be great if there was a way to entice people of all abilities into sprints (or other track and field events) rather than having the general assumption that running is 5K and up!

Here's the full list of stats:

400m:

All males: 239 of 730 (top 32.7%)
Senior: 115 of 202 (top 56.9%)

200m:

All males: 383 of 900 (top 42.6%)
Senior: 158 of 239 (top 66.1%)

100m:

All males: 399 of 915 (top 43.6%)
Senior: 161 of 245 (top 65.7%)

800m:

All males: 371 of 845 (top 43.9%)
Senior: 173 of 252 (top 68.7%)

Long Jump:

All males: 215 of 498 (top 43.2%)
Senior: 78 of 120 (top 65.0%)

Shot Putt:

Senior: 119 of 151 (top 78.8%)

*no point including all males for shot putt as different age categories use different weights.

Murph_D

Chivito550 wrote: »

...
Overall it was a good workout, but I must have looked like a complete clown passing out so many people during each 45 second stride, only to slow down and get re-passed out by half of them over the next minute or two.

I must say this crossed my mind when I read your plan to do this, especially at a big, crowded parkrun like Marlay. I tend to do a lot of parkruns at MP or tempo rather than 5k pace but don't think I'd have the chutzpah for strides, especially at your kind of stride pace.

Chivito550

Murph_D wrote: »

I must say this crossed my mind when I read your plan to do this, especially at a big, crowded parkrun like Marlay. I tend to do a lot of parkruns at MP or tempo rather than 5k pace but don't think I'd have the chutzpah for strides, especially at your kind of stride pace.

Yeh it was always going to be tricky. Fortunately my strides were never going to be too fast given I am recovering from injury. They really are only half-effort strides at around 6 minute mile pace. But I suppose when you're trucking along with the 23 minute runners and you throw out a 45 second 200m surge, it's going to look a bit weird alright.

The main reason I did the Parkrun for this was a break from the monotony of running by myself. I enjoyed the Parkrun. It was nice having other runners around me. I don't like long runs by myself. I get very very bored, particularly during the week after work, when the park is closed, it's dark and cold, and all that's available to me is very very boring routes.

Chivito550

Monday: Jog and half strides

3:45 easy, 0:45 stride, 3:30 easy, 0:45 stride, 3:15 easy, 0:45 stride, 3:00 easy, 0:45 stride, 0:40 easy, 0:30 stride. Total time was 17:38 for 3.6km. The route was one big loop, along with an in and out part from my house to the loop.

Tuesday: Jog and half strides and gym

I didn't do any gym sessions last week because I was focusing on starting back running. I'm getting bored of it now though, so I opted to shake it up a bit. I ran down to my local gym, then did some upper body work in there, and then ran home. I took a longer route than what I would normally take if walking to the gym. The weather was among the coldest I can recall running in. It was 2 degrees, but the wind chill factor made it feel like about minus 6! And I forgot my hat, which really was a poor oversight.

So I did 2 sets of 1.77km. Each run was 3:00 easy, 0:45 stride, 3:00 easy, 1:00 stride, easy until the end. I ran for 8:12 on the way down (net downhill), and 8:27 on the way back (net uphill).

The intensity of the strides is much higher than last week, without really trying to make them so, which is pleasing. Getting there slowly.

I did shoulder press, chin-ups, flat dunbell bench press, and calf raises in the gym.

A week and a half out from the Galway Championships and I know I have no hope of racing at those. In fact I have booked in a night out on the sauce the night before it, so I will no longer entertain any thoughts of it. AAI Games are in 3 and a half weeks, and that is the one I am going to hopefully get myself back for. If I am not able for the intensity of a 60 and 200 at that stage, and I have to run an 800 (and come DFL) then so be it. I hate not being involved in indoors. Obviously I won't do anything stupid, and won't race unless I've been given the all clear to do so.

Chivito550

Thursday: Jog

Plan was to do the usual jog with half strides every few minutes, but with the weather around freezing levels I was afraid of ice forming, so I took it handy. I ran the same route as Monday, but started and finished at my house on this occasion, rather than 30-40m up the road, so I ran 3.66km on this occasion, compared to 3.59km on Monday. Was cautious early on but picked up the pace towards the end of the run when I realised ice hadn't formed yet. Time was 18:03 which was almost the same pace as Monday's run, despite doing no strides this time.

Probably the coldest I have run in. Met Eireann had it at about 0.4 degrees celcius at the time I was running, but given I was running in Ballinteer, which is a bit higher up in altitude, then it is very possible that I was running in sub 0 temperatures for the first time since becoming a sprinter. Wore 5 layers, a hat and a scarf. First half of the run was miserable, but warmed sufficiently after that and it was grand then.

Friday: Massage and Physio

Saturday: Track

Given the all clear to do track sessions now, but at less intensity. 6 x 200 at 80% with 400m jog recoveries by myself at Santry, while the rest of my group did block work. I jogged 200m at the start and end too, bringing the total to 9 laps (3.6km). Wore runners, track was wet, and the temperatures were Baltic, but I feel I probably only went at 70-75% and could have pushed more, but lacked the confidence to do so. Having said that, I felt like I was working hard enough, so the times were very slow and did not reflect the effort. I guess very cold weather can make something feel harder than it is. Times were:

39.2 - 38.7 - 38.7 - 39.0 - 39.2 - 38.3

Recoveries between 2:15 and 2:27. Total time for the session was 18:02.

Slow times, but obviously the fastest speed I have operated at since the injury, so it will take the body awhile to adjust to it all. Body felt grand throughout, but afterwards my left hip flexor became very tight and achy, and it still is. But it's not the injured area, so I'm not too worried. Probably a case of waking up lazy muscles. Will keep an eye on it.

Did my drills beforehand too but at a lower intensity.

Stayed around afterwards to volunteer at our club's junior pentathlon event which is organised every year. Bit of craic and in general just good to see everyone after being away for so long.

Sunday: Jog and half strides

Was told not to do 2 sessions in a row yet, so did the usual jog with strides every few minutes. I did 4 loops of 0.92km within Marlay Park, and strided the last 150m of each loop.

Stride times were: 34.6 - 34.5 - 34.1 - 34.3 which are around 45 seconds 200m pace. Nice and handy.

0.92km loop times were: 4:20 - 4:26 - 4:20 - 4:11. Total time for 3.68km was 17:19. 15 days ago I did my first loop of 0.92km in around 6:20-6:30ish, so I've come on a lot in that time. I'm still a shadow of my former self though. Just have to stay patient.

Chivito550

Monday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 4 x 8 @ 20kg, 22.5kg, 25kg, 27.5kg
B: Split Squats: 2 x 6 on each leg @ 5kg in each hand
C: Shoulder Press: 3 x 4 @ 32.5kg, 35kg, 37.5kg
Chin-ups: 3 x 6
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 8 on each leg
E2: Straight leg raises: 3 x 8 on each leg

Wednesday: Track

Plan was to do 200s on my own again like on Saturday, but as luck would have it my training group were doing 5 x 200 off a very slow 200 jog recovery, so I decided to do it with them and hang at the back. It was nice to be part of a group rather than doing it on my own. I ended up doing 7 x 200. I built up the intensity as the reps went on, but eased off a bit on the last one. Wore the road runners. Times were:

38.0 - 37.5 - 37.5 - 36.5 - 36.6 - 36.5 - 38.8

Average was about 1.7 seconds faster than Saturday. Still was going awfully easy and slow. KU was at the track doing 800m reps at around the same pace as my 200s, so that says it all really. I was bringing up the rear for the early reps, but later in the session I was actually beating some of the slower runners in the group.

Friday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 8 @ 27.5kg, 30kg, 32.5kg
B: Split Squats: 1 x 6 on each leg @ 6kg in each hand
C: Dunbell flat bench press: 3 x 6 @ 22.5kg in each hand
Chin-ups: 3 x 6
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
E2: Dynamic clam: 3 x 8 on each leg
E3: Heel raises: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 14kg

Body was feeling a bit hesitant doing the split squats so may leave them out for awhile.

Saturday: Track

6 x 200 with 200 jog recovery. By myself on this occasion. Wearing the road running shoes again. Slight headwind in the home straight. Increased the intensity gradually as the reps went on, but still running comfortable. Times were:

37.6 - 37.2 - 36.6 - 36.0 - 35.2 - 35.2

Average was 36.3, which is about 0.8 faster than the average from Wednesday, so a nice improvement. Looking back, I did this session in my third week of winter training back in October, also in road running shoes, and the average was 33.5 then, so that gives a bit of a comparison. Obviously using runners ads a significant amount of time to each rep, so pointless comparing to sessions that I did in spikes or flats.

Sunday: Run and half strides

Hungover run around Marlay Park. 3.55km in total, of 3:30 easy, and 45 seconds striding comfortably. Did this 4 times, though with less than 3 minutes easy before the last stride. Total time was 16:19, just under 23 minute 5k pace, so handy enough. Very warm temperatures at 14 degrees, and it was a bit tough climbing the hill around the tennis courts area as the wind was going straight into my face

Chivito550

As the indoor season starts to slowly pass me by (I haven't given up the ghost yet on getting a race or two in), I feel I need to track the recovery a bit, to look at the positives over the last 2 frustrating months.

The day after the injury: 300m walk to the bus in 6 minutes (32:xx minute mile pace)

5 and a half weeks later - my first jog: 1.53km in 10 minutes (10:30 minute mile pace)

8 and a half weeks later - most recent 200m session: Fastest rep 35.2 in runners (4:43 mile pace)

Discomfort is now just a tiny fraction of what it once was, but an element of tightness and mild ache and sensitivity is still frustratingly there. I hope to do my 200s in flats or spikes on Wednesday, at similar effort to the last day. Another physio trip then straight after. Will see if an 800m at AAI Games is possible or not. Sprint races are 100% out of the question until I have done full sprinting sessions, and some block work. If I was to run an 800m it wouldn't be a great time, but if I'm able for it, I'd like to be involved somewhat in this indoor season, and use it for fitness.

Some better news recently. Passed my final professional exam, so I'm now qualified, and done with exams now.

Chivito550

Tuesday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 8 @ 32.5kg, 35kg, 37.5kg
B: Leg Press: 3 x 8 @ 50kg, 70kg, 100kg
C: Shoulder Press: 3 x 4 @ 35kg, 37.5kg, 37.5kg
Chin-ups: 1 x 9
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 8 on each leg
E2: Straight leg raises: 3 x 8 on each leg

Wednesday: Track and Massage

First proper session back in 9 weeks. Trained with the group doing 2 x (60-80-100-120) from a three point start with 5 mins between sets, and walk back recovery within sets. I wore middle distance spikes, and ran flat footed mainly, as I didn't want to chance any calf issues so soon after coming back. I wanted to make sure I got the session done. I went hard but probably only 80%. I hung back and ran with some of the girls. I gradually built up the intensity as the session went on. I timed the second 100 for reference and it was 15.1 seconds. For the final 120 I was probably going at my fastest of the evening but didn't time it.

Massage after, and seems like I'm good to go back to full training now and racing, so hopefully I will get half an indoor season now.

Thursday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 8 @ 37.5kg, 40kg, 42.5kg
B: Walking lunges: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 5kg in each hand
C1: Dunbell flat bench press: 3 x 6 @ 22.5kg, 25kg, 25kg in each hand
C2: Bent over row: 3 x 6 on each arm @ 22.5kg, 25kg, 25kg
Chin-ups: 1 x 8
E: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
F: Myrtl routine
E3: Heel raises: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 14kg

Off to Newcastle this weekend for a stag so training won;t be high on the agenda. Will hopefully get out for a hungover run one of the days.

Chivito550

I packed my running gear to Newcastle, but it was never on the cards from the get-go really. 5am to bed on Friday night, activity during the day on Saturday, then 7:30am to bed after Saturday night, and as a result in a heap all day Sunday. It really is a smashing place to go for a stag party.

I did get one piece of “training” done. In one of the bars on Friday night there was a pull-up/chin-up bar which they were doing a challenge on. £3 to play, and if you could hang on it for over 2 minutes you win £30. I thought, even with a few in me, this would be grand. Sure I saw women managing close to that on Ireland’s Fittest Family recently. Well, whatever way they designed the bar, it was very difficult to keep a grip for a sustained period of time, and I came a cropper after 59 seconds. The guy before me, some beefed-up looking lad only managed 41 seconds. Supposedly nobody had actually lasted the full 2 minutes. Bit of craic anyway.

Still feeling the effects on the weekend even now. A bit of time off the booze would go down a treat!

Back to real training:

Monday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 45kg, 47.5kg, 50kg
B: Romanian deadlifts: 3 x 8 @ 30kg, 35kg, 40kg
C: Shoulder Press: 3 x 4 @ 37.5kg
Chin-ups: 3 x 6
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 8 on each leg
E2: Front Plank: 3 x 45 secs
F: Myrtl routine

Looks like I will have a mini indoor season after all. The plan is as follows:

Sunday 7 Feb: AAI Games – 800m
Sunday 21 Feb: Connacht Championships – 60m & 200m
Saturday 27 Feb: National Championships – 60m & 200m

I don’t want to do any sprint races until I have done a couple of top speed sessions from blocks, so I’m going to do an 800m this weekend as a fitness test. No expectations, no pressure. If I get under 2:20 it would be a good result, given the circumstances.

Chivito550

Track session this evening. 3 x 300 with walk around 100m recovery. I wore my middle distance spikes for this and flat footed. Over the next few weeks I will build myself up to running them on the balls of my feet, maybe starting off with early reps only. Anyway, my main focus at the moment with this is fitness, so getting through the session was the most important thing. Times were:

47.8 - 49.8 - 51.4

Recoveries were: 2:34 - 3:01

I've never done a set of 300s with recoveries so short, so that can partially explain the slow times. But I've lost so much fitness, and was way behind my training partners, some of which I would normally be up there with. I wasn't last on the final rep which was some consolation. Felt I was going well on that final rep, then my legs filled with that familiar feeling of lactic acid in the last 100m and I felt like I was crawling.

I've decided to give the 800m at AAI Games a miss. I had decided this before I even did this session. The entry list is fairly formidable. I did a quick Google search of each entrant, and the slowest was 2:04 (probably faster, but that's the result I found quickly), and almost all of them have gone sub 2. With just 22 entrants, there will probably be only 16-17 show up on the day, meaning 2 heats, resulting in me racing guys who can drop a 1:56-1:57. My PB is 2:14, and that was 12 months ago when I was in very good shape. I'd be nowhere near that right now. So rather than trekking it to Athlone to run on my own, I'm going to train through the next 2 weekends, and then give the Connachts and Nationals a go in the 60 and 200 to set down some markers for the outdoor season.

Chivito550

Thursday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 50kg, 52.5kg, 55kg
B: Walking lunges: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 7kg, 8kg, 10kg in each hand
C1: Dunbell flat bench press: 3 x 6 @ 25kg in each hand
C2: Bent over row: 3 x 6 on each arm @ 25kg
Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
E: Myrtl routine
F: Heel raises: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 15kg

Saturday: Track

4 x (2 x 60m) with the first 60m in each set being with a sled attached weighing between 5kg and 10kg at a guess, then the second rep without the sled. The recoveries worked out at about 2 minutes between each rep and between each set. This was extremely tough and I felt quite out of breath from it, much worse than I usually am from speed sessions. This could partly be down to poor fitness, but also the extra intensity of pulling the sled made the 60m feel like about 90m.

I did the first 3 sets fine, then I managed the 4th sled rep but was starting to feel tightish in the groin area then and I lowered the intensity. I decided after about 20m of the last rep then to pull the plug to be safe. I probably should have stopped after 3 sets and not done that 4th sled pull but at least I had sense to stop after that.

Sunday: Hills

First hill session in 2 and a half months or so. Since my last time there they have paved the gravel path, so we don't use the last 70m of the hill anymore because a lot of the group use spikes and so it's not safe to run over it in them. I wear runners so makes no difference to me. It's a shame we can't use that last bit of the hill anymore as that is the best part of the hill.

Session was 10 x 70m with a jog recovery. I didn't do these at full throttle as I was feeling a bit tight from yesterday, but I didn't hold back too much at the same time. Times were:

12.1 - 13.4 - 12.4 - 12.9 - 12.5 - 12.7 - 12.5 - 12.9 - 13.1 - 12.8

All were under 13 seconds except the second rep which I had to dodge a dog in, and the ninth rep where the headwind got up stronger than in the other reps.

Happy to get my first proper 5 day week of full training in the bag, but fitness levels aren't great.

RacoonQueen

Where do you do your hill sessions J? I haven't done a hill session in longer than I can remember - detrimental to me methinks, mentally probably more than physically, great session to teach you how to hurt.
Anything within close proximity that would give me something similar to what you'd get out at magazine fort? Plenty of hills round here like but I always think of hill sessions as the ones I did with Donore at the magazine.

RacoonQueen

Where do you do your hill sessions J? I haven't done a hill session in longer than I can remember - detrimental to me methinks, mentally probably more than physically, great session to teach you how to hurt.
Anything within close proximity that would give me something similar to what you'd get out at magazine fort? Plenty of hills round here like but I always think of hill sessions as the ones I did with Donore at the magazine.

Chivito550

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Where do you do your hill sessions J? I haven't done a hill session in longer than I can remember - detrimental to me methinks, mentally probably more than physically, great session to teach you how to hurt.
Anything within close proximity that would give me something similar to what you'd get out at magazine fort? Plenty of hills round here like but I always think of hill sessions as the ones I did with Donore at the magazine.

We do our hills on the grass at Kilbogget Park, near the cinder track (National Beer Mile Stadium).

No idea what Magazine fort is. There's a top notch hill on grass in Kingston in Ballinteer. I'd highly recommend that one. I haven't run on it, but it looks fantastic and it's so vast, that you can find various different terrains for different kinds of hill sessions.

RacoonQueen

Ah I know the one you're talking about in Kingston...that leads back up towards our estate, see some guys doing cyclocross on it sometimes but never ventured onto it myself.

Chivito550

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Ah I know the one you're talking about in Kingston...that leads back up towards our estate, see some guys doing cyclocross on it sometimes but never ventured onto it myself.

Just Googled Magazine Fort. You can tell that sprinters don't venture out to the Phoenix Park all that much!

RacoonQueen

That's where most dublin clubs do XC training. Crusaders, Sportsworld, Raheny, Donore etc all out there on Saturday mornings from like August onwards.

Chivito550

Monday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 52.5kg, 55kg, 57.5kg
B: Romanian deadlifts: 3 x 8 @ 40kg
C: Shoulder Press: 3 x 4 @ 40kg, 40kg, 37.5kg
Chin-ups: 3 x 6
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 8 on each leg
E2: Front Plank: 3 x 50 secs
F: Myrtl routine

Am getting the strength back bit by bit, but I'm still a considerable way off where I was this time last year. Will keep with this programme for the next few weeks.

Wednesday: Track

Cold but still and dry, so not the worst conditions for a sprint session. 10 x 80 with a walk back recovery. It probably worked out at 1:30 to 2:00 between reps. Started from a three point start. I wore my distance spikes because they were the only ones I brought as I assumed we would be doing longer stuff.

My start is not very strong at the moment, which can be explained by my lower strength fitness since the injury. Got through it all though and was happy with the session. Coach said we were to run the reps at 75%. Hard to start and then relax. I was pleased to get through all 10 reps on the balls of my feet with no calf issues.

Won't be expecting a lot at the Connacht Championships in 11 days time, but will be a good chance to blow off some cobwebs ahead of Nationals, and lay down a marker for outdoor season, which is really all indoors are about for me at this stage this season.

Chivito550

Thursday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 55kg, 57.5kg, 60kg
B: Walking lunges: 2 x 6 on each leg @ 10kg in each hand
C1: Dunbell flat bench press: 3 x 6 @ 25kg in each hand
C2: Bent over row: 3 x 6 on each arm @ 25kg
Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
E: Myrtl routine
F: Heel raises: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 15kg

Saturday: Track

Block session on the bend, starting at the 200m start. 6 reps in total, with the first 5 being for 50m, and the last one being 100m. Plenty of recovery between each rep. First time I have sprinted flat out on the bend since the injury. There was tightness but no soreness so I was fine. First rep felt very slow out of the blocks, but after that I felt I went decent.

Nothing will prepare me for the tightness of the indoor bends next weekend, but this type of session is as close as you can get to preparing for it.

Sunday: Hills

An interesting session this morning, and very different to any other hill session. 6 x 180m downhill, with jog back uphill recoveries, with a 5 minute break at half way. This is so much harder than it sounds, and about half way through each rep it levels out and the flat second half feels like you are running uphill after you come off the downhill. Recoveries are also much tougher as it is uphill so you don't feel as recovered as you would usually. Wore my road running shoes, and the grass was a little slippy and soft in a few places but for the most part it was fine. Times were:

28.7 - 28.1 - 31.1 - 28.7 - 31.2 - 30.3

Chivito550

Monday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 57.5kg, 60kg, 62.5kg
B: Romanian deadlifts: 3 x 8 @ 40kg, 42.5kg, 42.5kg
C: Shoulder Press: 4, 4, 3 @ 42.5kg, 42.5kg, 40kg
Chin-ups: 5, 4, 4 @ 5kg
E1: Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
E2: Front Plank: 3 x 55 secs
F: Myrtl routine

My 6 rep squats are just 5kg off what I was doing at this exact time last year, which is not too bad all things considered.

Wednesday: Track

Was supposed to be 6 x 150m with walk back between reps (around 2 and a half minutes) with a 5 minute recovery at half way. However after the 4th rep, with the ice on the end of the bend getting more slippery, we just did 2 x 110m reps on the straight to finish off (actually around 113m, as we started a few metres behind the high hurdles start line.

Because of the ice, despite wearing my distance spikes, I was a small bit cautious from the 30m mark until the straight, and then kicked on. Found the 4th rep the toughest, and truth be told, I was relieved when I heard we were only doing 110m for the last 2 reps. Fitness definitely not what it was. I finished strong though for the final 2 shorter reps. It was only on the last 2 reps that I felt tightness in the general groin area, probably because I was going quicker, but no soreness, so that's a positive. I ran on the balls of my feet for each rep and got through it all, so that's a positive too.

It was absolutely freezing out there this evening. I had 5 layers on, and I was still feeling quite cold. Fortunately there was no wind to make things worse.

Just a few days out from Connacht Championships. Expectations are not high. It will be a chance to get the race rustiness out of the way in the 60m and 200m, before having a better crack at the same events at Nationals.

Chivito550

Thursday: Gym

A: Back Squats: 3 x 6 @ 60kg, 62.5kg, 65kg
B: Walking lunges: 2 x 6 on each leg @ 12kg in each hand
C1: Dunbell flat bench press: 3 x 6 @ 27.5kg in each hand
C2: Bent over row: 3 x 6 on each arm @ 27.5kg
Floor one-legged hip thrusts: 3 x 10 on each leg
E: Myrtl routine
F: Heel raises: 3 x 6 on each leg @ 15kg
G: Skipping

I did skipping on Monday too, I just forgot to log it.

The below is the gym sessions I did on the same week last year (the second last week before Nationals). Not the same sessions given I have been coming back from injury, but with the exercises I am doing, I'm not very far off what I was doing below, which is pleasing.

Chivito550 wrote: »

Monday: Gym

BB Back Squat (with heels raised, with full depth): 3 x 6 @ 62.5kg, 65kg, 67.5kg
Bench Hops: 3 x 4
Split Squats: 2 x 6 @ 18kg in each hand
Standing BB Shoulder Press: 4, 4 and 2 @ 37.5kg, 40kg, 42.5kg
Chin-ups w/ Shoulder Retraction: 3 x 4 @ 8kg, 9kg, 10kg
Bench Glute Thrusts: 3 x 8 on each leg
Straight Leg Raises: 3 x 15 on each leg

Thursday: Gym

A: Front Squats (w/ heels raised, and low depth): 2 x 6 @ 55kg, 57.5kg
B: Snatch Jumps (from below knees): 3 x 4 @ 32.5kg, 35kg, 37.5kg
C1: Flat DB Press: 3 x 4 @ 27.5kg in each hand
C2: DB Bent Over Row: 3 x 4 on each side @ 30kg
D1: Floor Hip Thrusts: 2 x 8 on each leg
D2: Dynamic Clam: 2 x 12 on each leg
D3: Heel Raises: 2 x 8 on each leg @ 14kg

Chartsengrafs

Chivito550 wrote: »

Just a few days out from Connacht Championships.

What sort of numbers/turnout do you see at provincial championships such as that?

Chivito550

Chartsengrafs wrote: »

What sort of numbers/turnout do you see at provincial championships such as that?

Pretty good numbers. I've done Leinster Outdoors and Leinster Indoors, Connacht Indoors and Munster Outdoors. For the Leinsters they have just the seniors and masters on one day, and the juvenilles on other days. I can't quite remember what it was like at Munster Outdoors but I think it was the same. Connacht Indoors though has all age groups on the one day, so the arena becomes a bit of a circus and events never run to schedule (it can run early and late in the same meet). Expecting more of the same on Sunday.