4/21/05
Week-19 Thursday: Alisal Dual Meet
Race: 800m
This was a race to win situation, and so I dragged the first lap out in 64 and change. Only, the guy I was supposed to beat turned out to want to win too. So I had to book it down the home stretch, and got a 57 and change for my second lap for 2:03, total… not bad for gravel, with strong winds.
Workout Meterage
8000
Weekly Meterage
33000
no “not bad” for gravel and wind…not bad at all…great dude!.. congrats.
I’m sorry I forget, your 800 PR and what you want to do this season and when?
My pr is a 1:56.73 I ran last year at CCS trials. I want to be hittin’ about that speed this weekend. My first post shows my goals, though. I think that 1:51, though, would be a godsend. Not that I’m not capeable of it, just that I would need to be chased by something very big and ugly to run that time (right now, who knows in 3 weeks…)
LOL! 
That cracked me up! 
yeah you go guy…
that 1:50 is real benchmark…
I have a coach friend who keeps saying that if Joe can run a 49.sec 400m he should be able to do a 1:48 if he trained for the 800.
I know he is shooting in the dark… since unless you know how to train for an 800 given you are a sprinter or coming from the distance side, it is a mother…
when this season is over, come what may, I hope you will give us your assesment of how you train; speed and endurance. I know you show what you do, but you can sum it up for us and maybe compare the 800 training philosophies.
(according to his theory; 2x400m time plus 8 seconds or so…) if you have a 51sec 400, that does equal around a 1:50…
Heh, that theory is a little bugged… That’s the way an endurance runner-type 800 runner can run the 800. +4 seconds 400PR every lap. For Seb Coe that was 49.8-9 his first lap and a 50.4-51.2 Which was +3.8-9 seconds above his 400 pr and 4.0-4.6 seconds above his 400 pr. And seb was one of the best 1500 runners of all time! Anyway, I’ve had a tough meet. I’ll post in the morning a run down of “my” (how I am, and how I would have/should have ran my program this year).
4/22/05
Week-19 Friday: CCS Top 8 Invitational
Races: 800m, and 4x400. 1:59.2 3rd and 53.9 (3:282nd)
Today was a tough meet. The wind was phenominal. No actual wind readings, but well… The vaulters had the wind at their back, and the girls set 2 CCS records 12’ 9" and then 12’ 10". The jumpers were running into the wind, and jumpers who usually go 22’8"-23’ 5", jump 20’ 8" (the winning hop) So it was a bit gusty…and cold. During the 8, I got a good start edged into 4th right away (More like 3rd, because the leader at this point had gone out in 52!!) I slacked the 3rd 200 a bit, and then kicked it in, moving from 4th and a half, into 3rd. My 200 splits were
28.3
29.1
32.9 <-- Can you say chargin up for…
28.7 <— my kick?
I could have sawed off easily 2 1/2 seconds from my time which would have brought me down to a high 1:56 and a winning time, but I slacked the 3rd 200. shrug
The 4x400 was ugly… I ran a 53.9. I definately think I’m significantly weaker than last year. I’m gonna run into the weight room this next week and check all my maxes just to be sure.
Workout Meterage
10000 (Try 40mins total of warming up, cooling down, skips and my races… sheeshe)
Weekly Meterage
43000
you da man! your times (800) are getting exciting.
I guess its hard to gauge strength vs recovery; if we want to be strong we train hard , if we dont get the right balance of recovery we get weaker; if too much recovery, well…
4/23/05
Week-19 Saturday
Off
Pushup Test: 45 ugly ones
Crunch Test: 129 straight crunches
Gonna test my weights/lifts on monday. These 2 numbers are about equal to what I was doing last year.
Weekly Meterage
43000
4/24/05
Week-19 Sunday
off
Weekly Meterage
43000
4/25/05
Week-20 Monday
Workout: 800m jog, drills, 10 min run, 2x30m block starts, 3x12m block starts (on curve 400m), 2x 300+200+100 @RP, 29 minute cooldown
(300m walk 50, 200m walk 50, 100m, 5 min recovery)
Splits:
46.1, 29.9, 15.2
45.4, 29.6, 14.8
+14.18 100m
Ummm today was very tough. I had to do some starts for the 400, I’m running that on thursday in a “must-win” dual meet, also doubling in the 800. 400, 800 and depending upon how bad meet is going, 4x400. Should be tough. For the 800m pace workout, I was supposed to do 3 sets, but I felt a gnarly calf cramp coming on, so I cut it short after the first 100m of my third 300. Over all it felt real good to be doing a workout like that and not be real tired. Hitting 29-28 second pace comfortably is real refreshing. But the wind was pretty bad, though. I wasn’t supposed to do the 50m walk, but I didn’t want to be running into the wind so I ran with it at my back as much as I could. For the 4mile cooldown… well that was the distance guy’s idea. They yelled at me to go cool down with them, and so they set out at an easy pace (Yah, easy pace for a 9:08 2miler, and 4:21 miler are kind of a twisted use of the word) So we ran a little bit over 7:00 mile pace for four miles. My feet hurt 
But I do have good news. 
Before I went to practice today at approximately 9:00AM, I went to my first ART session. The guy was great, Jay Cook, works with marathoners, runners, triathletes, and is even on the board of directors for the Big Sur Marathon, which was ran this weekend. Anyway, he points out to me almost within a couple minutes that it isn’t my hammstring that’s been giving me problems, but one of the abducters underneath hammy. shrug I’ll be seeing him again on Friday before the Alisal Festival.
Workout Meterage
10000
Weekly Meterage
10000
4/26/05
Week-20 Tuesday
Workout: 800m jog, stretches, drills, 10 min warmup, 4800 tempo, 10 min cooldown, stretches, warm shower.
150+150+150
150+250+350+150
150+350+450+250
150+250+350+150
150+350+250+150
150+150+150
Around 39=40 seconds per 200, or 16:20 5k pace.
Kinda sore today. My left foot around the big toe and inner arch. The running phase was nice and easy, I guess. I pushed the last couple 150’s and hit them all at about 25 second pace. During the run I stopped a couple times to stretch my right leg/abductor. It was pretty tight the first few lines, but after I’d stretched it twice, it was okay. Sittin’ down now a few hours later, my right calf is gettin’ a bit of a crampie poo.
Workout Meterage
8300
Weekly Meterage
18300
4/27/05
Week-20 Wedsnday
Workout: 800m jog, stretches, drills, 20 min warmup, 2x150 (accels), 3x10-20m block starts (on straight, not curve grr…) 3 lap cooldown, stretches, 10min warm/hot bath, 10 min cool/nuetral shower
Today was a decent day I guess. My muscles are a bit sore, probably because I loaded almost 20k in the first 2 days, when I usually do 40k in a 6 day week. But biggest soreness was my left foots big toe and subsequent knuckle on the ball of my foot. They were a bit sore during the entire 20 min run. Shoes wearing down? Eh, maybe just week feet, heh 
) My first and last starts where good, but my middle 2 sucked (too much thinking).
Workout Meterage
5500
Weekly Meterage
18300
4/28/05
Week-20 Thursday (Dual Meet Rained Out… stupid babies, I’ll run in the rain)
Workout: 800m jog, stretches, drills (extra long today, lord knows why), 5 min run, flying 4x150’s, 3 mile cooldown ( no watch on it).
My Watch’s splits
20.14
20.24
20.27
20.54
That’s about 53 second quarter pace… in flats on a windy dirt track. Not bad
We did these with a steady acceleration, though, I need to teach my very well informed distance coach that 400m speed and 200m speed, are not “gears” that distance runners can “shift around”… I almost tightened up real bad after he told us to "Accel the first 50, after you’re flying start, then the second fifty should be at 400m pace, then 200m pace the last fifty. Ahem. Yah, I just strided a bit below sub-max the whole way, and tried to maintain, which was a bit of an effort during the 4th interval.
My abductor (aka hammy) got a little tight during the fourth one, so coach wouldn’t take anything but me callin’ it quits. I stretched thuroughly after my workout, and it seemed to help. I’ve spent about 3 hours with my legs elevated… okay I’ve been playing computergames and had my feet on the desk, but still… Gonna run fast on saturday
Workout Meterage
7800
Weekly Meterage
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Gonna run fast on saturday
Hope so
4/30/05
Week-19 Saturday
Races: 800m, 4x400m
See results section for details.
Workout Meterage
8000
Weekly Meterage
34100
5/1/05
Week-19 Sunday
Workout: Nada, slept in, hung out with Christi. Walked for maybe 2 hours. “So long and thanks or all the fish”
Workout Meterage
0
Weekly Meterage
34100
5/2/05
Week-20 Monday
Workout: 800m jog, stretches, drill, 10 min run, 4x100m barefoot grass strides, 5 min cooldown.
Important dual meet tommorrow, and I’ve got to bust out with a fast 400 in order for us to secure the win. Should be mucho fun
Workout Meterage
4000
Weekly Meterage
4000
5/3/05
Week-20 Tuesday: Seaside, Monta Vista, Pajaro Valley Tri meet.
Races: 400, 800, 4x400
51.2 2nd, 2:1X??, and 5X.xx1st
Good day. 800, I was cramping pretty bad. But in the 400, man I’m happy about that race. I came outa the blocks strong, and just worked the whole race. I gained a lot of ground on the leader in the last 200m, and he beat me by barely a couple inches. 4x400 was very low key. So low key, in fact, that my coach’s watch decided to malfunction and so we didn’t get any splits.
Workout Meterage
6600
Weekly Meterage
10600
51.2, that’s damn good palmtag. Looks like you’re set to go.