how do you feel on race day when you take that creatine? do you feel like you need it to get that extra edge? I’ve taken some stuff that I feel like hurts my endurance.
*Increases short term anaerobic output, diminishes hard after that.
I like to use it on strength focused days, what are your thoughts?
im not sure which part of my pre race “cocktail” it is, but ever since i started doing this combo ive gotten a HUGE rush right before my race. i know i get very nervous for the couple hours before my race so i have that problem where i cant digest food, so i started doing it as just an energy source i could digest. my times are still improving up to the 300, but since my 55 is my concetration, im not worrying about the endurance part
if i do outdoor then i can experiment around and see how it affects my se in a 100, but endurance is a null factor in the 55
tues jan 25
jogging
stretch checks
activation drills
submax start drills
3 block blast outs
1 4x200m handoff
1 top speed fly
light stretch
self-massage
ice knee
notes:
-meet tomorrow (hopefully the storm holds off). i am running the 55 and the 4x200, goals are:
55m -> 6.6h
4x200m split -> 24.xh
-my fly felt unbelievable today so hopefully that can carry over to my 55 tomorrow. im trying to immitate my start from saturday, which feels less powerful, but i believe thats just me not being used to the fastr stride rate because i still am usually hitting triple ext and actually have a straighter back doing it. i just need to make sure my leg angle stays closed in the start and i should be gold
wed jan 26
meet:
-55m -> 6.7h
-2 resistance/overspeed contrast runs
-50 contacts llrr hops
-4x200m split -> 25.4h
-2 min abs circuit
notes:
-i wouldve lifted after the meet but did not have time bc everyone had to go home bc a snow storm was hitting. nbd bc ill lift tomorrow since my next meet isnt until sunday and im only running the 55m there anyways
-not a spectacular 55 though i did still think it had a possiblity of being a 6.6. rt wasnt my best and my knees and hip height dropped during the last 10m or so, though my acel was good again and my peak speed ws pretty decent
-im surprised with how slow my 4x2 split was bc i felt (and looked according to my dad) very fast. i did take an early handoff in the zone to shorten the 3rd runners leg and may have subconsciously slowed down on the final straight bc i pulled far ahead, but my top speed felt very nice
-abs were very tired during my 2 min abs circuit. im guessing it was the combo of the 4x2 and overspeed bc thats more top speed than i have been doing and hits my abs harder since its more rotational
thurs jan 27
shoveling & snowboarding
2:30 elliptical warm up
2:30 erg warm up
flip
hurdle drills
5x2 power snatch@115/120/125
1 each human flag
a. 5x3 bench press@175/195/210*/200/185
a. 3x5 wide-grip pull ups
a. 1x25 each x-band
a. stability ball drill
handstand push ups
3x100 low int plyos
bike tempo:
-cf store workout 2nd set
light stretch
notes:
-failed pretty badly on my thrid rep at 210, yuck, may have been a bit more tired than usual from shoveling and work
-some hip and upper hammy slight soreness. pcl knee is a bit tender too
-tomorrow im treating like a premeet day and sat essentially off since i have a meet on sunday, but no access to the school’s track on saturday
fri jan 28
4’ jog
stretch checks
activation drills
4 block blast outs
1 top speed fly
2x100 medball throws
light stretch
knee icing
pcl knee massage
pcl knee ice
notes:
-terrible nights sleep last night, stupid cold kept me awake. i seem to have gotten over it almost entirely by now, miraculously, though
-some pectoral soreness today
-took some tape, stride looks much better at start, though my second step still has a little casting out that looks to be beneficial to fix so ill look out for it
fri jan 28
4’ jog
stretch checks
activation drills
4 block blast outs
1 top speed fly
2x100 medball throws
light stretch
knee icing
pcl knee massage
pcl knee ice
notes:
-terrible nights sleep last night, stupid cold kept me awake. i seem to have gotten over it almost entirely by now, miraculously, though
-some pectoral soreness today
-took some tape, stride looks much better at start, though my second step still has a little casting out that looks to be beneficial to fix so ill look out for it
sat jan 29
weigh in -> 150
cf store bike workout warm up (except on elliptical)
a. 2x10 stomach vacuums
a. wrist flicks to gun
some microstretching
light massage
notes:
sun jan 30
meet:
55m -> 6.93 FAT
warm up:
2:00 erg warm up
jump rope
plyos:
5x5 hurdle hops w/ accel
4x14 llrr hops
3 standing triples
5 medball between legs throw
some bounding
weights:
5x2 power clean@155/160/165/170/185
2x3 parallel squat@285/300
core:
2 min abs circuit
cool down:
light stretch
notes:
-decent, but not good start today. a coach got video of it and mechanically it looks pretty good, but my stride rate felt slow in the race. my top speed sucked bc i was tight, so i was probably tense at the start too. it didnt help that i was the 22nd heat so i had to stand in place in my heat line for like 20 min before running. regardless, i need to work on running my own race. i think i can also try to be more reactionary at the start and more concentrated at top speed, because as a weak sophomore with no idea how to use blocks i ran a 6.98 FAT coming off a pcl partial tear, and im still only running 6.9x’s, so maybe the cue i used in that race (big leg angle, high knees) is what i need to do to get back the top speed i used to catch people with
-lifting still felt pretty easy, today was the last day im doing parallel squats for the season, and 185 still goes up pretty easy in the pc. this tells me that i still have much to unload bc im not even really seeing a decrease in my strength levels. plus im stilling seeing hypertrophy gains in muscles of which ive stopped isolated training of (shoulders, neck, obliques, calfs, etc.) so im still having muscle adaptations which i think may be another sign i overtrained, but also lets me know its unlikely im losing significant strength if the muscles are still growing
-i wouldve benched today too, but the gym i go to closes at 4 on sundays. i can just do it tomorrow though, because i dont have another meet til saturday
-i took some video of the accels after the hurdle hops, and when i dont hit triple ext all the way, it looks much faster, my stride rate feels way higher and from the video, my stride lengths for all my steps after my first one are actually are actually longer. maybe less emphasis on the triple ext could actually help my transisition phase
mon jan 31
800m jog
stretch checks
activation stuff
flip
weights:
25 each x-band
swiss ball balance bw squats
1 each human flag
tempo:
2x5x150m
weights:
5x3 bench@175/190/205*/195/185
3x5 wide-grip pull ups
handstand push ups
core:
2x100 medball throws
2x10 stomach vacuums
notes:
-some hip and gluteal soreness. big storms will be limiting my training tuesday and wednesday, though i will try to fit in a benching session to at least give my cns some work. then i will probably take thursday very light, pre meet friday and i have a meet on saturday
tues feb 1
shoveling/snowblowing
microstretching
self-massage and icing (knee, pcl)
notes:
-huge snowstorm today, was going to take an offday anyways though
-was going to do light speed work tomorrow, but its suppose to still be snowing so i may have to use benching as a cns stimulus and make due with what i can do in a basement
wed feb 2
erg warm up
stretch checks
a. 1x3,1x1,3x3 bench@175,225,205/200/185
a. 3x5 wide grip pull ups
b. 2x3 1/4 squat@300
b. 1x10 jump/explosive squat@135
b. 1x10 explosive rdl@100
various low to mid int plyos (~100 contacts)
some acrobat holds
2 min abs circuit
5 handstand push ups
light stretch
shoveling/snowblowing
wrist flicks to gun
notes:
-waist deep snow everywhere. my through the woods neighbor has a weightlifting cage in his basement so i trudged over there to get in a final high int workout for the season. was planning on going light with weights and doing some relaxed sprinting, but the indoor track is closed so i just tried to do some cns and plyo work. i’m thinking about cutting weights entirely at some point, maybe in a week just because i think my strength is fine, so it may just be making me tired. no real other option today though
-i was happy i got the 225 up in the bench. thats 1.5x my bw which is pretty good. i may drop all other lifts to very submax for the rest of the year and just use ~50 reps high int plyos in a session and benching as my extra stimulus to racing
thurs feb 3
jog a couple laps
activation drills
cf bike workout warm up
hammy massage/self-massage
microstretching
wrist flicks to gun
contrast showering on hammys
notes:
-took today off, but had hammy doms. this is a bad muscle to have sore with the big races coming up so i tried to do what i can to speed up the recovery. probably the combo of lifting and shoveling did it, because my hammys havent been sore in this spot (kind of towards the inside of my legs) since i dropped rdls in the fall (i doubt one set of rdls at 100 is enough to have made me sore on its own)
fri feb 4
800 jog
handoff practice
hurdle drills
25 each x-band
3 block blast outs
1 top speed fly
hammy rolling
laser tag
notes:
-league championship meet tomorrow. goals are:
->win the 55m (goal 6.84 FAT)
->win the 4x200m (goal 24.9h split)
-concentrated on stride rate while exiting the blocks because after looking at tape, this cue increases my stride rate and increases my stride length because i end up pushing more than pulling
-concentrated on hip height and relaxation on the fly. im going to try to use the cue i used as a soph when i ran a 6.98 while not being able to squat 200 for top speed which was getting a big split and high hip height instead of just arms and stepping down
sat feb 5
meet (150m rubber flat track):
55m (2 heats) -> 6.91,6.90
4x200m -> 24.7h split
notes:
-bad start but good second half in the first heat, tightened up really bad for the second half in the second heat, but had a great start (55)
-my leg in the 4x2 felt pretty decent, but my handoff was messy and i think i couldve been more relaxed. i ran a shorter leg than usual (more like an actual 200 versus the 205-210 leg i usually run to get the baton out of the third legs hands) so its hard to tell if i ran well, but regardless i hit my goal for like the first time this season which feels good
-all the 55 times seemed very slow today (i was one of only two kids to run sub 6.95, and some of the kids who ran today have run 6.7x’s and below pretty consistently, and almost all of the 6.7h kids from the season didnt even run in the 6’s.). im not sure why something like this happens whether its just bad luck, the camera or the track but it felt good to run the fastest time for my league for the day
-i had a lot of soreness today actually (left hammy still tender, left glute, right ankle, calves, right quad) im thinking from the laser tag. not sure if that affected my races at all but ill try to feel fresher for the district meet on saturday
you may want to consider moving your hard day of the week (the past week it was Wednesday) to Tuesday, itd give you more time before the next meet to recover from it
my plan this week is to do a low volume of the HI stuff i couldnt fit in today (25 hurdle hops, 3x3 submax clean, 1x5 1/4 squat, some upperbody and core) along with the bike tempo and ~100 LI plyos/jump rope
then monday essentially off, ill stretch,self-massage,ice,contrast shower,do some hip mobility stuff
then tuesday ill do a low volume of sprinting (im thinking an extended pre meet day with some llrr hops) with some snatches
then wednesday ~1500m of tempo with upperbody and corework
then thursday like monday
then fri premeet and meet saturday
same line of thinking as you, though the bench shouldnt interfere with my freshness and gives me that three day out cns stim which is why i have that with the wed tempo
sun feb 6
cf bike workout warm up
2 flips
5x5 hurdle hops w/ short post-accel
1x1 each human flag
a. 3x3 pc@155
a. 3x5 wide-grip pull-ups
b. 5x3 bench@185/195/205/200*/190
b. 1x6 1/4 squat@300
b. swissball balance drill
b. 1x25 each x-band
b. 1x5 handstand push-ups
cf bike workout (first set)
jump rope (100 contacts)
notes:
-soreness actually less today than was before my meet yesterday. still mainly in my left glute
-during the donkey kicks i did in my warm up, doing it with my left leg is becoming easier. this may be a sign that the low-int stuff ive been doing pre and post workout may be strengthening my left leg to help prevent that casting out problem as the folded position becomes easier to hold. i really do think my pcl injury from two years ago is what has been hindering my accel abilities
-accel is looking better and better from the tape i take of it after the hurdle hops. my back is straighter, im casting out less, im not overstriding as bad. strange enough my heel recovery is higher than it was, but not excessively, and since both my stride freq and length has improved from my cue of scrambling away instead of pumping arms, i see no reason to really worry about that
-after reading that thread on football players having poor hip height from tightened hips from squatting, i think i may be suffering from this. before lifting i remember getting my knees up was very easy, and i was very good in the second half of the race, whereas my hip height and knee height drops much easier now. i think in these coming weeks trying to loosen up my hips could really help my hip height and therefore top speed. if my hip height is being harmed badly by this, it would explain how even with a more mature body, and being so much stronger ive only improved by .08 (if my top speed is actually slower).
-i feel as if ive bruised my right heel on the inside part. im thinking this is from the running surface of the indoor track i have to run meets on (a hard,rubber 150m track) so i have to brake hard on turns and after the 55, so i may have hit my heel hard
mon feb 7
Weigh in->148/149
800 jog
stretch checks
activation stuff
hip flexibility stuff (hurdle drills, stretching, activation drills)
gymnastic hold
tempo:
-5,3x150m
flip
light stretch
4x200 handoffs
contrast showers 30s C, 30s H on each hip and pcl knee
notes:
-abs, obliques and chest region sore today
-wouldve done 2x5 for the tempo, but used the handoff to take place of the last two. my coach wants our 4x2 to score at districts, and we had to put in a new kid because our lead leg failed off the team, so hes having s do handoffs everyday. its not so bad because i only receive a handoff so its all submax anyways
-hips got a workout today, but nothing HI so they will be fine by tomorrow. i have two weeks to loosen them up more which i really think will help me in the second half of the dash and maybe even in the first half too
-ive been working on my pcl knee’s ROM to help it stay folded and I can see/feel a difference already in the movements ive been practicing (brining a donkey kick in too my chest is the motion i have a hard time doing with my knee joint folded). i am hoping this helps me keep good knee joint angles while accelerating
tues feb 8
team warm up
flip
two shot put throws
some hip mobility stuff
a couple handoffs
submax accel drills
speed:
3x30m blocks relaxed r: 5’
2 top speed flys r: 7’
3x5 widegrip pull up
1 each human flag
swiss ball balance drill
25 each x-band
more handoffs
5 handstand push ups
2x100 medball twist core throws
light stretch
left hip self-massage
wrist flicks to gun
contrast shower 3x30" c then h left hip and left knee (front and back)
notes:
-low volume speed day, my last speed workout of the season. felt quick in the accel of the 30m, i am naturally still down at the end of the 30m, and i believe i am not during my actually races, so maybe thats limiting my top speed
-coahc is bssessed with having good handoffs for the 4x2. they are very submax and act as a good warmup and cool down so i dont really argue
-mainly my left hip was sore (this is the one with worse ROM too) so i a not planning on doing the hip mobility stuff on friday, but ill do them tomorrow bc i dont want to be sore for the meet on sat
-on the first fly i did today i really felt opened up and i look very fast (for me :)) in the video i took so hopefully i can get like that in a meet. i am sure i was running 6.7x speed so with a good start, i think i can see major pr’s before my season ends
-exiting the blocks didnt look as explosive today as i think it usually does. on my premeet day on thursday ill take a look at that again but it might just be relative to how im coming much faster on my first few steps now than i was
-hip felt very good right after the contrast shower, but slowly returned to its soreness 
i may end up just stretching it tomorrow and no drills if its not feeling fresh