Heat in 7.01sec , should have been easy and relaxed, but it wasn’t. Thoughts anyone?
Hi Philip,Its hard to tell from a still from mid race…After I race…I always ask myself how I felt rather than how did I look…I always remind myself that this ain’t no fashion show and u don’t get prizes for looking great and coming last.
U’ve mentioned the time u’ve run…was this a PB? SB? Are you pleased with the time?
Neck is tense, as is facial expression.
There are two ways of deeling with the face, in terms of avoiding a grimmace (when it comes to sprinting.)
Either A;
“Jelly jaw” - let all hang loose, ala Ben Johnson, Marion Jones.
Or B;
"Eye ball stare, with closed jaw, (Linford Christie), or pursed “Kissing” lips (Donovan Bailey).
But if you open your mouth, whith tense face, that is quickest way the tension will spread to the rest of body. :eek:
philipp,picture looks good.good range throughout.
7.01 sec is a SB, only race I did indoors. Picture was taken at Nationals Indoor. PB is 6.83 sec.
I’m preparing for the 200m outdoors and did only about a week of Speed training prior to the Nationals.
Phillip,
As many on here will tell you it is hard/impossible to draw any conclusions from a single frame without knowing where it fits into your ‘sprint cycle’.
Looks to me like you are pretty much at the ‘end’ of your stride, based on the position of your trial leg/arm. Knee lift looks good, and that looks like the beginning of some dorsiflexion. 
As Goose said, there is tension through your face and it looks like you might be craning your head slightly foward. I don’t think this is too serious though.
I might suggest from the photo that you aren’t bringing your arms up high enough on the recovery phase of your arm action. That knee looks awful high for your front arm to be making it up to chin height. 
(Position of your back arm suggests this too).
Also, your wrist looks like it has rotated inward and flicked back which can, (if I remember rightly) close up your arm action by limiting the elastic response of the biceps.
So perhaps work on keeping your thumbs turned out and getting your hands to chin height. But then, it was your first race of the season so there’s no need to draw too many conclusions from the race.
Like I said, it’s hard to say much with any kind of certainity, but that’s my two cents, and there are others here who are far more qualified to comment than me. Hope that helps.
p.s. What do you think about when you are swinging your arms? ie. What are your cues?
I’ve always had that problem with my shoulders coming to high, and shoulder-neck tension.
The hands are awful, I’ve been doing tons of drag work, and long runs. This may have caused my bad form/mechanics at this race.