The least important part of this thread is the Title

Oregano_State

Monday 10th November PM - 30min run
Was feeling a bit stressed last night so headed out for a run to clear the head. Probably pushed it a little too hard to call it easy effort, but it did the job anyway. Today my hamstrings are still a bit tight for my liking, so I think I'm going to leave off the hills and just do the gym session this evening, which will be mainly upper body work.

Oregano_State

Tuesday 11th November - Gym
9pm gym last night with hamstrings in mid recovery meant that a mainly upper body weights session was the best call. Decided to do DL as well though, as I haven't done it in ages, and it's more of a full body exercise in my mind than a leg one.

A) Deadlift: 80, 90, 100, 110, 120kg 1x5 each
B1) Pull Up BW+15kg 1x5, BW+10kg 4x5
B2) OHP 50kg 5x5
C1) Dip BW+10kg 3x8
C2) Upright Row 40kg 3x8
D) Kneeling Ab Rollout: 1x10 really slow

Was fairly knackered after that as I fit the whole thing, including warm-up into an hour. I remember roll outs being a lot easier over in Leeds. Hmmm. Maybe I need to start doing more core work, I have been slacking a bit in that regard lately.

Oregano_State

Wednesday - Nothing

Thursday 13th November - Hills: 2x3x230m + Gym
Was on a day trip to Dublin on Wednesday so training went out the window, so I decided to try and make up for lost time yesterday. It was really sunny but cold out when I went for the hill session, so for the first time ever I doubled up on leggings which worked a treat, and didn't compromise movement too much at all. Will be doing this more often for the next few months I'd imagine. The session itself went really well. I tried to go out fast but relaxed, roughly 400m race effort. Rest was walk-back between reps, and 8min between sets.
The times went: 44s, 43s, 42s [8min] 43s, 45s, 43s

I'm pretty happy with that, it's a pretty consistent set of times. I was struggling for the last two, really tying up with lactic over the last 30-40m, but concentrated on pumping the arms to keep the turnover up.

Next up was the gym session about 5hrs later. I decided not to go balls out here as I was already tired and I'm hitting the gym again this evening and there's no point in flogging myself.
A) Back Squat: 60kg 1x8, 2x10
B1) Incline DB Press: 18kg 3x10
B2) Pendlay Row: 60kg 3x8
B3) DB Tricep Extension: 12kg 2x10, 1x8 e/s
C1) Med Ball T-extensions: 5kg MB 2x8 e/s(Not really sure what these are called, they're a bit like single leg deadlifts)
C2) Reverse Crunches: 1x50
C3) TRX Oblique Knee Tucks: 1x20

Got a bit lazy towards the end there, it was getting late. Still a really good day's training. No DOMS to speak of today, getting fitter.

Oregano_State

Friday 14th November - Gym
Was feeling pretty tired and generally sh1t at the start of this session. My warm-up squats felt a lot heavier than they should have, and when I got to my first of a planned 5 sets of 5 at working weight I had to stop after 3 reps as it was just too much. Strange as I did 3x5 last week at that weight, but every now and again by the law of averages one will have a bad session. I rolled back on the squats and changed things up, and by the end of the hour long session I was feeling a lot better.

A) Back Squat: 60kg 2x5, 80kg x3, 90kg x3, 100kg x3, 80kg x5
Box Jumps: mid-thigh height 2x3, hip-height 4x3
C1) BSS: 18kg DBs 3x10
C2) Bench: 60kg x6, 70kg 3x6
D) Core: 2 x[Kneeling Ab rollouts x10, reverse crunches x20]

The box jumps actually went well, although I felt like I was straining more than last week to get up on the big box. Ended up only doing 4 sets on the big box as I just forgot to do the last one, and I was after moving on to the BSS by the time I remembered so my legs were too knackered to return and do the last set.

Oregano_State

Well the reason I was feeling so weak at the gym on Friday has come to light; I started feeling pretty bad on Saturday evening, and woke up this morning with swollen throat glands, a runny nose and feeling of general lethargy. I'm not quite in man flu territory, more of an annoying cold, but I was disappointed enough to concede that an intense track session would not be the best plan today. I've made do with a token bit of stretching, but mainly have been panned out on the couch all day. Hopefully won't be laid up too long with this.

Bleurgh.

pconn062

Thank God it's not man-flu, you might just pull through!

Oregano_State

Friday 21st November - Gym
I've been fairly laid up the past week with the cold, had no energy and felt pretty sh1te up until Thursday. Decided to go with a gym session yesterday afternoon to get back in the swing of things.
A) Deadlift: 60kg x5, 80kg x3, 100kg x3, 120kg 3x5, 100kg x10
DB Press: 15kg x10, 17.5kg x10, 20kg 3x10
C) Neutral Grip Chin Up: BW+10kg 5x5
D) Dips: BW+10kg 1x10, BW+15kg 3x8
E) Upright Rows: 40kg 3x10
F) Core 2x[30s Plank, AMRAP Reverse Crunch] 1x [30s Plank, Russian Twist x 40]

That went pretty well. Am sore in various places now, mainly my back and traps. Played astro this morning. Probably will miss tomorrow morning's track session as I'm on the booze this evening for my birthday. Quarter century. Getting a bit old now for my liking!

Deano7788

Oregano_State wrote: »

Friday 21st November - Gym
I've been fairly laid up the past week with the cold, had no energy and felt pretty sh1te up until Thursday. Decided to go with a gym session yesterday afternoon to get back in the swing of things.
A) Deadlift: 60kg x5, 80kg x3, 100kg x3, 120kg 3x5, 100kg x10
DB Press: 15kg x10, 17.5kg x10, 20kg 3x10
C) Neutral Grip Chin Up: BW+10kg 5x5
D) Dips: BW+10kg 1x10, BW+15kg 3x8
E) Upright Rows: 40kg 3x10
F) Core 2x[30s Plank, AMRAP Reverse Crunch] 1x [30s Plank, Russian Twist x 40]

That went pretty well. Am sore in various places now, mainly my back and traps. Played astro this morning. Probably will miss tomorrow morning's track session as I'm on the booze this evening for my birthday. Quarter century. Getting a bit old now for my liking!

As a guy who turned 26 in July, know exactly how you feel! It's like it's a weird mental thing to cross. Having said that, being the youngest in my department at work keeps me feeling youthful most of the time :pac:.

That last set of deadlifts sounds horrible! I hate doing more than 6 reps, I just find it's the worst exercise to do high reps in.

Glad to hear you're feeling better now as well.

Chivito550

I wouldn't mind being 25 or 26 again! Try being 6 months from the dreaded 3 0.

Oregano_State

Deano7788 wrote: »

As a guy who turned 26 in July, know exactly how you feel! It's like it's a weird mental thing to cross. Having said that, being the youngest in my department at work keeps me feeling youthful most of the time :pac:.

That last set of deadlifts sounds horrible! I hate doing more than 6 reps, I just find it's the worst exercise to do high reps in.

Glad to hear you're feeling better now as well.

Yeah I'm all good now. Really raring to go hard at the training now for the next few weeks after the past week being pretty much a write-off.

Those DL dropsets do hurt, I find them really good though. Between them and the upright rows my whole back is in bits now, especially my traps.

Chivito550 wrote: »

I wouldn't mind being 25 or 26 again! Try being 6 months from the dreaded 3 0.

Ho-ohh that's a big one. I know I'm one of the younger posters on the forum, so I can't feel too sorry for myself.

Training wise, today was another zero-day, just had no energy whatsoever. I'm away all day tomorrow doing an interview, so my training week is going to have to start on Tuesday. #life

Oregano_State

Tuesday 25th November - Hills: 2x3x230m
The past ten days or so have been pretty poor for training. Between being sick, going out drinking for my birthday, and travelling around the place job-hunting, the running, lifting, and associated activities have taken a back seat. I've also packed on an extra couple of kg in the past few months; at the moment I'm hovering around the 79/80kg mark in the morning, whereas I was 76/77kg over the summer. I've probably been eating a bit more freely, and my training hasn't been as structured, which explain the difference. I really was in great shape in July and August, I wish I had had the opportunity to race more. I'll just have to be in even better shape this season and make up for it. Anyway, I'm not too worried about the weight, as I know it will come back down as I step up the intensity, although it's something to keep an eye on. 'Tis the season to be bulking as they say.

After all that negativity, I was determined to get back on the right track today, so headed back to my hill for an exact repeat of the session I did on the 13th November: 2x3x230m off walk-back (kept to 3min on the button throughout), with 8min between the sets. Given the fact I haven't ran in over a week and am still on the tail end of that cold, I was half expecting the times to be slower that the last day, but it turns out I've actually improved.
Here are the times from the 13th:

44s, 43s, 42s, [8min], 43s, 45s, 43s

for an average of 43.3s .

Today I did: 43.0s, 42.9s, 41.8s [8min], 41.9s, 43.4s, 41.6s, with an average of 42.4s

So, to take almost a second off on average compared to the last day, considering the circumstances, is something that I'm pretty happy with. I'm planning on hitting the gym later on this evening after I coach the juveniles at the club.

PS I also spent a good half hour doing some static stretching last night, mainly on the hammies, glutes, and hips. Not doing too badly in that department at the moment.

Oregano_State

Tuesday 25th November - Gym
Back in to the gym at 9pm for workout #2 of the day.

A) Back Squat: 20kg x10, 60kg x3, x5, 80kg x3, 100kg x5, 70kg 3x10
B1) Bench Press: 20kg x10, 60kg x5, 70kg x5, 75kg 3x8
B2) Pull Up: BW x5, BW+8kg 4x5, BW x8
C) Core stuff: [MB T-ext x5 e/s] x2, 1min plank, plate-to-toes w/10kg x20, Russian Twist w/10kg x30, Reverse Crunch x20

Spent a bit longer than normal foam rolling and warming up, due to stiffness from the hill session earlier in the day. The above session took just over an hour in total, although I was over the half hour mark by the time I finished the squats. The legs were feeling a bit banged up by the end of them. Today is a light day, just some stretching and maybe a bit of easy running. Another double is on the cards for tomorrow.

Oregano_State

Thursday 27th November - 30min run
Nothing fancy here. Out on sore legs for a run in the wind and cold. No watch, just took it easy all the way around my usual loop. Lower back is still a bit sore after deadlifting last Friday. Gym this evening which will be mainly upper-body.

PS I read this blog/training diary yesterday, written between 1987 and 1991 by a wrestler in the states (not WWE). The guy moved from NY to Iowa at the age of 24 to follow his dream of making it as an All-American Freestyle Wrestler, which is top 8 in the country.
Really really great read.

http://wrestlingforgable.blogspot.ie/search?updated-max=1991-07-27T19:06:00-07:00&max-results=1

Oregano_State

Thursday 27th November - Gym
I found out yesterday evening that there's an open track meet in Castleisland tomorrow, Saturday morning, which I'm going to enter. It's electronically timed, and just to give a baseline of where you are at this stage in the year. Good idea imo, especially as it's over non-standard distances: I'm going to race a 150m and 600m. I'll be hoping for in or around 18s in the 150m, and sub 1:30 in the 600m.

We'll see how it goes anyway. Because of this, I took it easy on the legs at the gym last night. I'll hit the gym again this evening but I won't do a huge amount.
Here's what I did yesterday evening anyway:
Good bit of stretching, rolling and mobility stuff. Legs were pretty sore.
A1) Pendlay Row: 40kg x10, 50kg x10, 60kg 3x10
A2) DB Incline Bench: 18kg DBs 3x10 @30x0
A3) Pec Machine: peg 10 3x10
B1) E/Z Bar Curls: 30kg 3x10
B2) Upright Row: 30kg 3x10
B3) Strict OHP: 30kg 3x10
B4) Hyperextensions: 10kg 2x10, 15kg 1x10
B5) MB SL T-extensions: 4kg 3x8 e/s

That was it. Will do a bit of core this evening.

Oregano_State

Friday 28th November - Gym
This will be a quick one, as I'm about to head out the door to go racing. Took it fairly handy last night, nothing too strenuous, and plenty of stretching afterwards.

A1) Box Jumps: high box 3x3 found this easier than the last time.
A2) Clean: 40kg x5, 60kg 3x3
B1) Dip: BW 3x10
B2) Pull Up: BW x10, x8, x6
C) Core: 1 x [MB rollouts x15, Toe-Touch x30, Reverse Crunch x15]

Then stretching, then home. Feeling decent enough this morning. Worried I haven't done enough speed endurance to handle a 600m, although I'm going to give it a bash anyway.

Chivito550

Good luck. There's also a baseline meet indoors in Athlone on wed 17 dec. 60, 150, 300 and 600 on offer.

Oregano_State

Saturday 29th November - Baseline Track Meet, Castleisland: 150m & 600m
Well, that was probably the most efficiently run track meet I've ever been at. I suppose the fact that there was only 3 events on track, plus long jump in the field helped things, but still, I don't get to say that often about track meetings in Ireland.

Conditions were very good for this time of year, no wind and a balmy 10-12 celsius at the end of November is about as good as it gets. Warming up for the 150m, which was the first race on the track, I felt pretty nervous. I'd had a large enough breakfast and was getting a few grumbles from my belly during the warm-up, although it didn't progress from there and I'd put it down to nerves mainly. My legs felt good, the easy workout on Friday night helped with recovery I think.

150m
I was assigned lane 8 in the faster of the two heats in the mens' 150m. I had a bit of a surprise while practicing block starts, as the blocks slipped completely and I nearly ended up on my face. Luckily I didn't pull anything, and the organisers arranged for people to stand on the back of the blocks for the race itself so there was no danger of a repeat occurrence. I didn't know everyone in the race, although I knew I would be towards the back of the field. The guy that was inside me in lane 7 has a 49.5ish 400m PB so I figured I would do well to hang on to him for as long as possible. I felt I got out well, up into my full stride after about 30m which is ok. After about 50m, the guy in lane 7 pulled up alongside me, and after that I was struggling to keep pace with the rest of the field. I felt like I was missing a top gear, probably due to the fact I haven't really done any max velocity work yet this season. I concentrated on staying relaxed and keeping my form and turnover going. I think I lost a lot of ground in the middle 50m of the race, but the last 50m was ok. I crossed the line in 8th out of 8, but I was only just behind Mr. 49.x 400m which was a little surprising. The times were given out straight away, with me coming in at 18.48s which was roughly what I was hoping for. The winner came in at about 17.2s, so I wasn't miles off the standard. I was pretty happy overall with the run.

600m
I started getting nervous about the 600m as soon as I put my leggings and jacket back on after the 150m. We had bang on an hour to recover, so no complaints there, but I had a nagging feeling reminding me that I hadn't run anything over 200m on a track since July. During the warm up my legs felt a bit dead with my hip flexors feeling pretty tight. I foam rolled the sh1te out of them anyway, and they didn't really bother me after that. My plan was to go out quick but relaxed, hit 400m in 56/57s and try to hold on from there, with sub 90s being the aim. I was given lane 5, with one land outside me in 6, and a girl in lane 7 as she was the only female who wanted to do a 600m.
Again, I felt I got out well. We broke lanes after about 100m and I settled into second place, with the young lad outside me absolutely tearing off over the first 200m. From 200m-400m I lost ground with a couple of people passing me, although I'm pretty sure I kept an even pace. The 49.x 400m guy went by, followed by one or two more. I was in 3rd or 4th passing 400m, and was told later on I went through in 55/56s, so a little quicker than target. The last 200m I was struggling to maintain form, as my fears of my speed endurance being a bit suspect came to light. I held it together as best I could anyway, and came back at the young lad who tore off at the start to cross the line at the same time as him. The time: 1:29.78s, or 89.78s, which was just inside my target. I'm pretty happy overall, particularly with going through 400m so quickly feeling pretty ok. A few more weeks training and a sensible Christmas should have me in great shape going into the indoors. All in all I'm delighted with today, and it's a good feeling to get back to racing.

ECOLII

Great runs man fair play nice marks to put down before the indoor season kicks off fair play.

dna_leri

Nice opener there - those extra 0.04 in the 600 takes you inside my 1:29.82 that I set at Athlone Baseline last year. Hoping to go again but not sure if I'm ready for that speed yet.

Oregano_State

dna_leri wrote: »

Nice opener there - those extra 0.04 in the 600 takes you inside my 1:29.82 that I set at Athlone Baseline last year. Hoping to go again but not sure if I'm ready for that speed yet.

Thanks. It was the opposite feeling for me before the race. Strangely, I've been working a lot on speed this winter, but I haven't done a huge amount of endurance or aerobic work. That seemed to shape the way the race went for me, I was relatively comfortable going through 400m in 55/56 but the wheels started coming off soon after.

If you're 50/50 about whether you should run, assuming you've no niggles, I'd say go for it. Gives a true assessment of where you're at, and there's no better training stimulus than a race imo.

Oregano_State

Sunday 30th November - Track: Split 600s, 3x2x300m
The legs were sore enough this morning after the racing yesterday, but I wanted to get started straight away on improving my speed endurance and aerobic strength. I knew if I did a tempo session at about 70% effort I wouldn't be in any danger of pulling something and I'd be able to give the lungs a good workout. The session, 3x2x300m is one that I've done before, but usually at a faster pace with a little bit more break between reps. This time I was aiming for 90s between reps, and 5 or 6 mins between sets. I decided to go out fast enough, but relaxed for the first one, and try to keep all reps the same or quicker. I did this session in racing flats. The weather was mild, partly sunny, with no wind.

The times went: 49.8s, 49.1s, [5:00], 47.6s, 50.4s, [6:30] 49.4s, 48.8s

I'm really happy with this as I maintained the tempo throughout the session, which is the number one focus. I was working pretty hard from the 3rd rep onwards, and I really needed the extra 90s rest between sets 2 & 3. My legs are pretty beat up now, I'll definitely be taking it easy tomorrow. It's been a good week for training.

Oregano_State

Here's a couple of photos from yesterday for the creeps among you .
They're not amazing by any means, but I don't have too many photos of me running.

The first four are of the 600m in chronological order. The last photo is about 20m into the 150m

Oregano_State

Tuesday 2nd December - Gym
My legs, particularly my calves, have been in absolute ribbons after the weekend. So I didn't do any running on Monday or Tuesday, just a bit of painful foam rolling and a gym session last night. Here's what I did:

A1) Back Squat: 40kg x8, 60kg x5, 80kg 2x3, 100kg 5x5
A2) Squat Jump: BW 3x3
B1) Bench Press: 40kg x10, 60kg x5, 70kg x3, 80kg 1x6, 2x5
B2) Bulgarian Split Squat: BW x8 e/s, 18kg DBs 3x8 e/s
C1) MB SLDL: 4kg 2x5 e/s
C2) Dips: BW 2x10
C3) Hanging Leg Raise: 2x10 (this was tough)
C4) Reverse Crunch: 2x15

I wanted to do 5 sets on bench and BSS, but was running short on time, I only have an hour to get these sessions done usually. I felt very strong on the squats once I'd warmed up. That was the easiest I've felt squatting 100kg. Will lump it up to 105kg next week and see what happens. Will keep on this linear progression train as long as I can. I would like to go heavier on the BSS, but the heaviest DBs at that gym are 18kg, although there are heavier ones being ordered. In any case, as long as I keep the main lift, i.e. the squat going up, the assistance work doesn't necessarily have to be heavier for me to get the benefit.

Deano7788

Oregano_State wrote: »

Tuesday 2nd December - Gym
My legs, particularly my calves, have been in absolute ribbons after the weekend. So I didn't do any running on Monday or Tuesday, just a bit of painful foam rolling and a gym session last night. Here's what I did:

A1) Back Squat: 40kg x8, 60kg x5, 80kg 2x3, 100kg 5x5
A2) Squat Jump: BW 3x3
B1) Bench Press: 40kg x10, 60kg x5, 70kg x3, 80kg 1x6, 2x5
B2) Bulgarian Split Squat: BW x8 e/s, 18kg DBs 3x8 e/s
C1) MB SLDL: 4kg 2x5 e/s
C2) Dips: BW 2x10
C3) Hanging Leg Raise: 2x10 (this was tough)
C4) Reverse Crunch: 2x15

I wanted to do 5 sets on bench and BSS, but was running short on time, I only have an hour to get these sessions done usually. I felt very strong on the squats once I'd warmed up. That was the easiest I've felt squatting 100kg. Will lump it up to 105kg next week and see what happens. Will keep on this linear progression train as long as I can. I would like to go heavier on the BSS, but the heaviest DBs at that gym are 18kg, although there are heavier ones being ordered. In any case, as long as I keep the main lift, i.e. the squat going up, the assistance work doesn't necessarily have to be heavier for me to get the benefit.

Could you do barbell BSS?

Oregano_State

Deano7788 wrote: »

Could you do barbell BSS?

Was thinking about that. I suppose I could, although I've never tried it before. Might give it a go next week.

Oregano_State

Thursday 4th December - 8x60m
This was just a loosener really. Glutes and upper hams have been in a bad way after Tuesday night, so I spent some time on the roller before heading out the door. Warmed up with about 2km of easy running, then did some drills and dynamic stretching. I started the accelerations easy enough, building up to about 90% effort after 2 or 3 of them. Recovery was walk-back. The legs felt much better afterwards.

I'd planned a gym session for tonight but events conspired against me and I couldn't go. Will have gym tomorrow instead.

Oregano_State

Friday 5th December - Gym
Was raring to go today after missing the gym last night. Had planned a tough enough session. I'm really trying to get as strong as I can at the moment, it should help a lot with developing more power out of the blocks and good acceleration.

A) Deadlift 60kg x10, 80kg x3, 100kg x3, 110kg x5, 115kg x5, 120kg x5, 125kg x5, 130kg x3, 110kg x8
Neutral Grip Chins: BW x3, BW+10kg 5x5
C) Seated DB Press: 12.5kg x10, 17.5kg 2x10, 20kg 2x10, 1x8
D) Upright Row: 25kg x10, 42.5kg 3x8
E) Dips: BW 2x12, 1x16
F) Core: 2x[10kg plate-to-toes x20, 30 russian twists w/10kg] 1x[toe-touch x18, reverse crunch x10]

That was tough enough. On the deadlifts, I wanted 130kg x5 and 110kg x10, but I could feel my back giving out so I had to stop. The last thing I need is a herniated disk! I found the core work tough going, it was really painful at the end of the last set. Good session anyway. Came home and ate about 1400 odd kcals, in the form of a pint of milk and a full pizza. Lovely.

Oregano_State

Saturday 6th December - 4x230m
Was up bright and early for this one, which is pretty unusual for me. I had a track session planned for Sunday morning so this was a less intensive, more aerobic session. Did a 1km-ish warm-up jog, then a few stretches and drills. I ran the 230m reps on a section of tarmac path around my local green area, although I had to cut across the grass to take a bend about 150m in. I ran these at about 75% effort, untimed, and with walk-back rest. The first two were fine, but I was working on the latter two. Felt fine overall.

Sunday 7th December - Track + Gym
During the warm up today I felt a few little twinges in my right hamstring which sent alarm bells ringing, so I pulled the plug on the session, having just done a fairly long warm-up. I headed up to the gym instead and did a make-shift gym session that was based around exercises that wouldn't aggravate the hammy. The leg will be fine, it just needs a couple of days rest before I sprint on it. I'm just being careful based on my previous hamstring troubles, when I ignored things like this and trained through them.
The following is what I got up to at the gym anyway:

A1) Single Arm DB Row: 25kg x8, 38kg 3x8 e/s
A2) Face Pulls: 20kg x15, 25kg 3x15
A3) Front, Y, and Lateral DB Raise: 3kg x10
Seated E/Z Bar Curls: 30kg 3x8
C) Lat Pulldown: 30kg x10, 25kg x10
D) Close-Grip Bench Press: 20kg x10, 40kg x10, 60kg 3x10
E) Stretching + Mobility: MB SLDL 1x8 e/s, Lying hamstring, glute and hip stretches w/ purple band

It wasn't a particularly difficult session. I got through a decent amount of shoulder mobility and prehab with the face pulls and DB raises. I need to keep on top of the shoulder mobility if I'm ever going to have a hope of getting decently good at the oly lifts.

Oregano_State

Planned Races for 2015 Indoor Season
Now's as good a time as any to put together a plan for the upcoming indoor season. I've already had two races this year, a respectable 18.48s 150m and a decent 1:29.78 600m in an outdoor meet in Castleisland. However yesterday morning my right hamstring didn't feel quite right to sprint on so I'm going to have to be careful with it over the next week and make sure it doesn't cause me to miss any more training. I'm looking forward to getting a few races under my belt now as I haven't raced regularly in a long time.

Planning out what events I'm going to run is a bit tricky at the moment as the timetables aren't out yet, but this is what I intend to do anyway.

1. January 18th - Munster Senior & Masters Indoor Championships, Nenagh: 60m & 400m

2. Febraury 1st - GloHealth Open Indoor Games, Athlone: 60m & 400m

3. February 14th & 15th - Leinster Indoor Championships Days 1 & 2, Athlone: 200m & 400m

4. February 21st & 22nd - National Senior Indoor Championships, Athlone: 400m

5. March 1st - Connaught Indoor Championships, Athlone: 60m & 200m

Days 3 & 4 of the Leinster Champs are on the 7th and 8th of March, but I'm not sure what the story is with them, I might have to wait until they release the timetables so I know what events are on then. Seems a bit strange to need 4 days for the champs, but maybe they're expecting big crowds of athletes.

The above schedule gives me 3 x 60m, 4 x 400m, and 2 x 200m. I might consider the Welsh Champs on the 24th and 25th January, although I currently don't have the money to go.

Performance-wise, I want to go sub 8s in the 60m, ideally 7.8s; sub 53s in the 400m, ideally under 52.5; and sub 24.75s in the 200m, ideally sub 24.4s.

I think the above times are achievable if I train, eat, and rest right. My weight this morning was 78.9kg, up between 2-3kg since the summer. At the start of January I'm going to start cutting down to 76-77kg again which I think is my ideal race weight. I was about 7-8% bf during the summer so I don't know if I'd be able to maintain that all through the indoor season and onto next summer, but I'll give it a go anyway, it would require me to be more careful with my diet than I've ever been before.

There it is now, solid, concrete aims on (digital) paper. Now I just have to go out and do it.

Chivito550

Apparently only one of the 4 days for the Leinster Championships is for Seniors and Masters. I think the other 3 days are for Juvenilles.

Would you not consider both rounds of the League? You can enter as an individual.