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61

5 starts, starting at 10m. last one 30m.
Felt GREAT in these. Solid technically, I’m leading with the right arm without thinking about it now. Angles in the block look right. My coach said I’m looking great and very explosive.
Then I did 2x flying 30m.
First one was awesome, my coach was impressed, he said I looked very relaxed and in excellent form and was extremely fast.
I finished with 2x60m.
After the first flying 30 the quality of each run started to degrade, was getting some pain in my psoas again.

Weights :
Hang clean 3x2 65kg
Deep squat 2x3 115kg

Overall a positive day. I’ve never felt this fast and certainly nowhere near as smooth in the first 30m. as I’m feeling now. I’ve seem to overcome the major technical woes that were screwing up my start and acceleration, in barely a few weeks working alone and focused.

62

Massage and regeneration on Wednesday.

Yesterday I had a good session. I did :
2x80m.
2x120m.

I’m dropping the 4x150m. SE sessions and will do 80’s and 120’s only on Wednesday. I’ve made this change after discussing my psoas problem with the massage/regeneration specialist. We came to some logical conclusion. 1) Acceleration tax my psoas a lot but these can’t be dropped, because of the angles involved - so all my runs except block starts will be from a flying start from now on 2) At the opposite end of the spectrum, long SE runs cause as much of a problem and increase in pain as the accelerations. The longer the SE distance the worse. The problem is that because of the longer ground contact times (because of fatigue, lower speed, etc), the psoas stays in an eccentric phase for longer and thus get more fatigued (leg extension when sprinting makes the psoas of that leg eccentrically contract). This has left me contemplating some options. Either 1) drop training to 2 sprint sessions a week, only blocks, speed on one day (20-60m) and short speed endurance runs the other day (80-120m.) and completely drop longer special endurance runs. 2) drop day 2 to 80-120m. but keep the 200’s on Saturday. Either way it seems I’ll pretty much become a 100m. specialist this competitive period to avoid psoas pain trouble. I think I’ll try doing the 200’s tomorrow, but with a flying start and see what happens, maybe without overtaxing the psoas accelerating from a three point start will permit me to complete the long runs.

Something very positive happened today in training, for the first time in months I felt like I was in “the zone”. The last 120 was blazing fast, but what happened was that I found some sort of point of comfort, like my technique all came together in that run. I think what helped we was the flying start, I got my very high but at the same time was able to get to the highest frecuency I’ve achieved in a long time (running in proper position). I hope I can replicate that in future training sessions. That position. That feeling. That’s what I’m looking for. If I can lock in that type of running I’ll blast some serious times.

My first race will be next Saturday, March 6. I think it will be a 60 or 80 (schedule is not up yet). For the first time in my life I’m feeling very confident about my start and acceleration. I feel I can go to this meet and fight for 1st place in a 60. This is a major change from the constant starting woes I had last year because I couldn’t work this aspect well in the training group and environment I was in.

63

I had an awesome tempo session Friday. I did 3x4 150m. with 20 abs and 10 pushups and 50m. walk (which turns into 45 seconds with the pushups about 1 minute with the abs), 3 mins between sets. Times started 24-25 and the last set I ended at 22.6-23.6. I felt really, really light, and really fast. Certainly much faster then when I last did these two weeks ago. Afterwards I ended the day with bench press 2x3 70kg, 3x8 pullups, 3x8 dips.

A pretty much average training session today (Saturday), nevertheless I can conclude it was positive. I only did 2x200m. with slow flying start (to make the time comparable to a standing start) in 23.9 and 24.2. I ran very relaxed the first 100m. in both and augmented at the straight but not to 100%. I felt like I could have blasted mid 23 from a standing start at 100%. So although it’s not the time I’m aiming for, what matters from my training point of view is that each week the 200’s have been better. There was a bada-- sun (Saturdays I train at noon), so I cut the session at two reps. Afterwards I did 3x2 hang cleans, first set at 65kg last two at 67kg and felt like I could have gone 70 or better. Bar was flying up.

Today while doing skips my coach was really impressed by how strong I am, how I glide with the strength of the ground contacts I’m producing. Then during the 200’s I was noticing that as I fatigued the strength of my ground contacts (and time I guess) would increase a lot and I’d hit the ground with such force it would make a loud sound. It might have had to do with the fact the track was baked solid by the sun. The conclusion I think is, if Charlie’s motto “if it looks right, it flies right” holds true I’ll see great results, because I’m in the shape of my life in virtually all aspects.

We bought a digital camera a month ago for our family business, I’ll be taking it to film myself at last within the next week or two. No idea what the quality will be. Can’t wait to see myself running though.

I’m contemplating how to structure my training next week. I can’t decide whether to move the 200’s to Thursday or do a 200 or maybe even run the 150 or 300 (if there is 60 I assume there will be 300, if there is 80 there will probably be 150 too). I think I’ll move the SE to after the race, because I’m concerned that if I do the 200’s on Thursday my psoas might not be recovered enough by Saturday. Besides I want to do blocks both Tuesday and Thursday, so it would make sense to do blocks-flying30’s-60’s Tuesday and blocks-80’s-120’s Thursday.

64

Had a good tempo session today. I did 100-100-100-100 100-200-200-100 and 200-200-100-100. Very nice workout. First time I do tempo at 200m. No idea about the times as I didn’t have my watch with me. Pushups at one end and abs on the other, no idea how much I took between sets because I didn’t have a stopwatch, I assume 2-4 minutes.

Afterwards :
Bench press 2x3 70kg
Pullups 2x8
Dips 3x8

Keep feeling strong in bench press.

I’m looking forward to running this Saturday. I’m not feeling as anxious to run as before. I’m just outright looking forward to running. What I can’t wait for is to do speed tomorrow and see how I feel.

65

Had a very much average training session. Didn’t feel great, but didn’t feel bad either. I did :
8-9 starts 20-30m. (the cinder track has no marks and I don’t set any either, I also don’t really keep track of how many I’ve done).
3xflying 30’s
2x60m. 6.9, 7.0

I felt good at max v. and maybe a little sloppy accelerating, not as explosive as last Monday. We’re working on optimizing the blocks settings and distance from the line. The positive is that there has been a very major improvement in arm mechanics. I don’t know if it was a breakthrough or it’s gradually built up, but when I was at max v my arm felt so loose at the shoulder joint, it was as if my arms were independent from the torso and moving at their own pace and completely relaxed. I think the change has been gradual and now I’m really feeling the relaxation. My coach also noticed that and commented on it without me saying anything, he said form looked great and that my arms looked finally looked like they are doing the right thing. By the 60’s my psoas was beginning to bother, and I had little or no spark left, consequently my acceleration was dismal. Being fresh I could have done .2-.3 faster the first 30m, which would have been 6.6-6.7, which makes sense since there was a 3-4m/s assisting wind I estimate. With legal wind, if I have a good race I think I can run 6.8-6.9 right now. If I run a poor race I think I’ll still do 7.1 or 7.2. I’m looking forward to see how I feel on Thursday and how that session goes.

I had no time to do weights today :frowning:

66

I ended up having to miss training on Thursday. We had a business meeting and the other people came in late, then I had to go to a seminar, and couldn’t even fit time to pop in the gym and do some bench press at least. My initial reaction was “shit, I’ll skip the competition and train Friday and Sunday”, because this will screw up my taper. Then I analyzed the situation better and seeing I’m in good shape NOW, I’ll take this as an opportunity to have a good run. I just wish this wasn’t the first race, because I might waste this short term taper if I run poorly. Running a 60 the same weekend of the WiC is pretty motivating though. I would have been awesome if the final was tomorrow, that would have really hyped me up, to go out there and imagine I’m in the WiC final. Unfortunately I’ll have to run in the National High Performance center, I was hoping not to have to touch that rock hard track yet, but the competition in the other nearby track only has 150 and 300 and I want to run 60 and 150. I really wonder what type of shape I’m in for 150. Tomorrow we’ll know. It should be a good 150, because I’ll be activated by then. For the 60 I’m not sure how I’ll do to get my CNS activated enough after 4 days inactivity with no stimulus.

67

I felt good, the weather and organization was terrible. That’s a good description of what happened today, in short.

I ran 7.59 (NWI) into a wall of wind and light rain. Surely 3 m/s headwind at least. I got second. The guy that won, got 7.43, and he has 10.80 to his name. So that’s the only measure of what the run was worth that I have. A 10.80 guy must be able to run around 7 flat I assume, so my run must have been worth around 7.20 in good conditions, which is around what I was aiming for.

I had bowed to never run again in the National High Performance Center, I got a good reminder today of why I had made that bow, and hopefully I won’t be that stupid again. The track is absolutely wrecked, the tournament was absolute shit. Piss poor organization. The 60 started half and hour late. Heck the starters was nowhere in sight for 15 minutes after the women’s 60 went. We didn’t have the least idea what the hell was going on, even if it was still going to go on. Then the guy finally came, by this time I had lost all my warmup, and he rushed us to get into the blocks. Then shot before we had even gotten up into set position. A complete disaster. This is why these countries are called third world countries. As minor consolation, for some reason they decided to use electronic timing, which is a rarity, although they have it at their disposal for all races. They then screwed up the wind reading, since long jump was going on at the same time and the jumpers were jumping the opposite way around they recorded a wrong (positive!) wind reading for the 60. Sigh. Now I’ll definitely NEVER run again on that track unless I absolutely have to run and can’t travel for an hour or so to the track in La Plata. Unfortunately they only had 150 and 300 in La Plata so I decided to run here in Buenos Aires 60. The 150 wasn’t even worth running with the headwind there was. I would have gotten 18 or something dumb like that, so I called it a day.

Now about the race and preparation itself. My first fast 30’s during the warmup were awesome. I was blasting away the first 10 meters. Unfortunately after this it took at least 15 minutes till we finally started and I lost the warmup. I still had a good start, I was first alone at 30m., then I think I cut my acceleration and relaxed, and by 40m. suddenly the other guy ran over me. I think I didn’t reach top speed, that was the problem. Because the acceleraction was very good. Apart from that, since I had no observers I don’t know about how arm action and other technical aspects went. I can’t remember anything specifically bad from the first 30m, all I knew was that I had no one in my field of vision, I was alone, maybe this made me relax too much, but it was a good experience and keep gethering confidence in my start. There is no reason why with the strength and explosiveness I have at the moment I shouldn’t be with the leaders at the start in all races to come. It’s definitely a strength and I have to exploit it. Now I have to work on running my own race after the start and reaching top speed. Now I can’t wait till next weekend. I’m sure there will be 60 or 80 in La Plata since there was none this weekend. On that track I’d also run 150 if it’s on the program.

I’m going to do my upper body circuit today before supper, since I haven’t done an upper body workout since Monday.

68

Excellent training session today. I did :
8xblock starts 20-30m.
3xflying 20-30m. (first two with 30m. run up last with 40m.)
1x60m. 7.0
1x80m.

There was no wind today so the 60 was probably a good indication of where I am without assisting or adverse wind conditions. Probably 7.05-7.10/6.8 manual or so if fresh (not after 8 block starts!). What was very encouraging was the 80m. My coach didn’t time it, but it was excellent. I got set in a much better position and higher hip height and reached a high top speed. It was definitely faster then the 7.0 60m., so maybe 8.8 to 8.9 which is excellent.

This weekend I’ll be running 80m. on the good track in La Plata! Which is perfect for my preparation. Then on March 20 I’ll probably run my first 100 of the season or another 60 (depends on what there is in La Plata) and I should be in top shape for the two early April South American GP meets that will be staged here in Argentina. Yesterday I introduced that 80 into the speed session and will look to introduce some longer block starts (60m. then last week of March maybe 80 or 100m.) in the next few weeks. Things are looking very good. I think I’m right where I thought I’d be, and the goal of running sub 11 electronic is right there for me to grab with a good run (and hopefully I’ll get faster these next few weeks!)

69

The last three days have been excellent days.

On Tuesday I did tempo, 100-100-100-100-100 / 100-100-200-200 / 200-200-100-100 . Pushups one end, abs the other. Around 3-4 minutes between sets. Average time low 16 for 100’s, 33 for 200’s. Afterwards I did bench press 2x3 70kg, pullups 3x8, back extensions 3x8. Heck of a workout. In particular the 200’s, after I did the first in 32 I thought “uh-oh, let’s see if I make it”, because on that end I had pushups (less then 30 secs active recovery), but everything ended fine and it ended up being a hell of a workout.

On Wednesday I had a good massage session, I really needed it.

Yesterday, was a spectacular day. I did :
4xblocks starts (20-30m.), I had never felt so explosive in the cinder track (which dampens your explosiveness), 3 of the starts were great, and very solid technically.
1xflying 80 (10m. slow buildup)
1x80m. (standing start) 9.0 - training PB!
1xflying 120 (15m. slow buildup) untimed - excellent quality
1x120m. (standing start) 13.3 - training PB!

I’m clearly in the best shape of my life. I hope for good things in the races in the next few weeks. The climax yesterday was the flying 120, I think I hit the highest top speed I’ve ever hit in that one, and felt so smooth and fast. It was much faster then the last 120 (by which I was a little tired), so I might have been able to hit 12.9 or 13.0 on that run from a three point start. Form and speed endurance in longer runs is clearly on the uptick, I’m feeling solid throughout the long runs. I felt the same thing as in that last 120 that I did a week ago, exactly the same feeling - excellent form and smoothness and very, very fast. I’m very excited now about the prospects of getting that feeling in a race. I think 10.7-10.8 is possible if that happens in a race (combined with a good start). The track also has to be factored in. Last year I always trained on a hard synthetic track, so I’m running better times on a crummy cinder track then I was running last year on a fast (destroyed) mondo track. So the times I’m running right now probably transfer to at least .2 seconds faster on a synthetic track 9.0 = 8.8! and 13.3 = 13.1!

I did a light, explosive weights session to end the day. 3x30kg, 3x35kg, 3x40kg hang snatch, and 3x8 back extensions.

I’m going to get a massage and final adjustments today for tomorrow’s race. I can’t wait. I’m going to the race with a lot of confidence and I like that. There is no doubt in my mind I can drive out of the blocks among the leaders, and there is a good possibility that I score my first ever win. So it will definitely be a very exciting experience to see how I perform this being the first time I really think I can win a competition. The best thing is that I’m getting “the rush”, I hadn’t felt this type of adrenaline rush and anticipation in years. This is exactly what I have been training for, to get to this point.

70

Overall I think it was a positive day. Not perfect, but positive.

I got 4th overall out of around 30 runners/5 direct finals, with 9.4 (NWI) but it was into a slight headwind. As always organization of the tournament left MUCH to be desired. I either ran 9.2 or 9.4, because I was second in my heat, but I got beaten in the dip, so obviously either both of us ran 9.2 or both ran 9.4. But even common logic seems too hard to understand for the incompetent judges timing these tournaments. Anyone who read my journal last year will remember this also happened last year in this same track all the time, they only seem to time the first place of each heat right then guess/draw out the rest. So for example first runs 9.0 but three other guys come in at the dip next to him (which obviously should be same time for all 4), they give 1st 9.0, 2nd 9.1, 3rd 9.2 and 4th 9.3. So stupid. Of course the problems weren’t limited to the timing. I was so lucky to have the pleasure that our race got called after 40m. YES FORTY METERS. I wasn’t able to understand what happened, apparently a kid wasn’t ready and started, then stopped, something like that, and after forty meters the starter called us back. OF COURSE, instead of logically placing our race as the last race, they called us back into the blocks and our race went right after we came back. With no rest. This is why these are called third world countries.

Among other complaints : 1) They still didn’t get an anemometer yet, so the marks are worthless. 2) The heats (actually there was no final so they were direct finals) were very poorly made, I don’t think they even took into account PB’s to structure them, they just randomly put everyone where they felt like putting them. Given that these were direct finals, a competent organization should put the favorites in the same final. But things couldn’t be farther from competent here. Evidently the overall results can’t be computed properly either, since the guy that got second overall with 9.1 was in a different race then me, so who knows if his or my time was right, at least if we’re head to head there is no doubt about places. 3) I also got a poor lane, the inside lane, despite that I surely had a PB better then 5/6 of the other runners in my heat. 4) To not vary, the men’s 80 went over half an hour late, and between each race we’d wait like 5 minutes for the judges to decide on the (wrong) times of the previous race.

So that’s the story of another adventurous outing in banana country track and field.

The only good news is that, I again had an EXCELLENT start, I was leading clearly at 40m., but again I had the same problem as last weekend, I either relaxed or had some screw up getting to top speed and the guy that won the race I was in passed at this point. By 60-65 he was about a meter and a half ahead, but then I don’t know if he tightened up or what but I began making ground and almost caught him by the line. So it was a very interesting race. But the important thing is that I’m identifying a problem. I’m definitely having a problem transitioning from acceleration to top speed. When I do flying work I have no problem with reaching top speed, but when I come out of blocks, standing/three point start I just can’t reach the same top speed, it’s like something doesn’t work somewhere along the way mechanically and I can’t shift to that final gear. I’ll talk to my coach and try to determine what’s going on this week.

But there is more bad news. I got a hamstring pull in my left leg somewhere in the race. I didn’t feel it during the race, but as soon as I stopped and started walking back I felt it and it really began to hurt. After stretching and resting it has gone away. I don’t know what it is. Evidently having to run the 80 right after running a 40 must have had to do with this.

Among other notes : the guy that won did 8.6 (I timed 8.45). He ran in the last race, so I was sitting and could watch. It was spectacular. This guy must be in shape to run 10.50. It was the best, cleanest, most dominating run I have seen here in Argentina. So evidently 1st place was out of the question with this guy here, but I executed quite well and beat everyone I had to beat getting 4th (virtually tied with 3rd) and the guy that got 2nd it’s not certain if he really beat us (3rd and 4th) due to doubtful timing or would have beat us if he had run in the same race. So I’m very satisfied with the result apart from all the headaches and how mad one gets because of the poor organization.

71

Aln,
I’m having the exact same problem. A while back I posted about fluctuations in my training, a lot of it has to do with me transitioning to top speed badly on the bad runs. I too feel great during fly runs but many times during a 50-60m run I will either relax completely once I feel I have reached top speed or keep pushing, both of which mess up the run. One thing I think has helped so far is to use the cue in acceleration of feeling every contact getting shorter and every stride getting longer by completely relaxing while at the same time using aggressive arm action. Sometimes this will cause me to stop thinking about top speed and I’ll transition naturally and have one of my good runs in training. I’m getting closer to narrowing in on the feeling and my fluctuations are narrowing, but it’s hard without a coach. Let me know if you end up finding a particular cue helpful with this.

Sorry to hear about the strained hamstring and nice job on the race also. That’s pretty awesome you were beating that top guy out to 40m!

72

Fortunately it seems the hamstring pull has gone away, I’ll know more exactly tomorrow when I warm up.

Hopefully we can solve this transition problem, I know I really need to solve it soon, as I need to be in top shape within the next 4 weeks to try to qualify for sub-23 nationals.

My initial theory is that there must be some problem with hip height. Maybe we’re ending up the acceleration phase with our hip “sagging” and don’t get up to ideal hip height. The probable cause is that we’re rushing to get to top speed after the acceleration instead of gradually getting into the right position. What supports this theory is that during flying runs we have no problem (ie the hip starts higher and it’s easier to get into optimal sprint position/hip height).

I also feel that my stride is smoother and I get better knee lift during flying runs. But when I come out of a three point start, I feel like I don’t get the same knee lift and it’s as if I have to quicken/rush my stride to get to top speed. So this also supports the hip height theory, the lower hip height modifies the stride (hip is lower thus stride is shorter and feels rushed as opposed to the smooth strides accomplished during flying runs).

Any thoughts? Does this sound as a good theory?

73

I had my first poor training session in a while. I couldn’t work on any of the problems I mentioned. From the accels I was already feeling with zero spark. I started doing blockwork and had two ok starts, after that it was all downhill. Losing form, couldn’t accelerate well, couldn’t run 100%. A disaster.

I ended up doing :
6x blocks starts 10-20m.
5x flying 60’s at 90-95%, relaxed trying to keep hip position high.

I had orginally planned to do 4 x 30m. block starts and a 60m. from blocks, then 1 or 2 flying 30’s and then maybe an 80. I think I made the correct decision in doing submax runs and focusing on technique. I then did 6x4 hurdle hops. Despite the fact this could flare my psoas again, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to keep moving forward without a new stimulus, and this terrible day was a great day to introduce it, at least I feel that I somewhat salvaged the session by introducing the jumps, now that I need a new stimulus to not stagnate.

In the gym I did :
Hang clean 3x60kg, 2x60, 2x60 - with a crummy 10kg barbell because he olympic barbells were all being used. This thing had no grip but I felt extremely strong, which was logical because I expended little energy on the track.
Deep squat 3x110kg, 3x115kg - also extremely strong, bar flying up
Back extensions 3x8

There was some great news though, a guy that has 21.10 to his name, that hasn’t trained in 4 years, started training today with us. This completes our 4x100m. relay. This guy is the missing piece. With this guy we have a sub 43 relay and become podium contenders for the National Cup of Clubs in October. I really hope his guy makes it that far and successfully comes back. It would be a dream come true. Just thinking about that relay is exciting. We’d come out of nowhere and surprise all the clubs. I can’t imagine anything cooler then that.

Well, I hope tomorrow is another day and today was just an isolated bad day.

74

Aln, are you sneaking inside my body when I’m not paying attention? It’s really cool to hear someone have the exact same feelings on the track and then come to the same conclusions. I am also thinking that most of the time the error for me is probably not running the top speed section badly but in the acceleration itself. I think what might work for me is to concentrate on the relaxation but vigorous arm pumping at the same time with the “every stride getting longer” cue and then just try to pay attention to when I get upright and feel the “pushing” off the track AKA the “up and down” feeling and at this point just try to relax and become a spring, let the race " come to me" and if I have to concentrate on anything make it arms or posture.

I also have the same thing where the lower I am to the ground the tighter I am. Fly’s I can fly even on the end of the accel in section, standing I can relax pretty well, from four point without blocks I fluctuate a lot and often start breathing hard and pushing the acceleration, and I tried blocks the other day for the first time this season and was being launched out which was causing me to completely tighten up and lose form.

So I think the main thing is just transference of the relaxation to the lower runs. I think hill runs up a short incline while concentrating on complete relaxation might help this.

I was initially thinking that in the short speed runs picking a point might be necessary since it works so well on the top speed runs but I think going by feel probably will work the best.

Their is also the issue of blowing a good acceleration by sort of pulling the plug at top speed when trying to relax which happens to me occasionally but that’s a separate issue and I think would probably be much easier to fix.

So, what do you think?

75

On Tuesday I barely did 2x5x100m. tempo, no timing. I had to do this midday under a burning sun, so I kept the session as short as possible. In the gym I did :
Bench press 2x3 70kg
Pullups 3x8
Dips 3x8

On Wednesday I had a massage. The guy used some weird spray and I could tell he massaged a different way then in previous times.

After the bad workout Monday and short workout Tuesday I had decided to make this an “unloading” week and go sub-max today … but …

Today was a great day. I did 4xblock starts 20m. or so. We corrected a technical problem, I was too far from the line and thus my hip wasn’t going up enough on set. Moving an inch forward immediately solved the problem and there was a substantial increase in hip height in set. At this point I was planning to do either a couple more starts or move on to my sub-max 80’s and 120’s, but as I was walking towards the 80m. line I felt great. I walked back to my coach and told him to time this one. The rest is history :slight_smile: The workout ended up being :
4xblock starts
80m. (three point start) 8.9 - PB!!!
flying 80 - untimed, relaxed and fast
flying 120 - untimed, very high quality
flying 120 - DNS

I decided to cut the session after the first 120. I was absolutely fried after that one. What was weird is that I didn’t feel in that technical “zone” I was feeling in the previous sessions of flying 120’s. I was just plain fast. I’m fast right now. That’s all one can conclude. I wonder if I’ll keep getting faster. I’ve clearly been getting faster and faster through the last few weeks. Needless to say I’m very excited about this weekend, running my first 100 of the season. I’ll consider objetives have been met if I open with 11.1-11.4, although in the back of my mind I’m aware or at least think that under good weather conditions and a perfect race I could pull off 10.7-10.8 (sub 11.00 FAT), but that will have to do mostly with the gods of luck. The objective now that I have a clear idea of where I am, for this competition period, in terms of absolute result will be 10.9-11.0 (around 11.10-11.20 FAT), and in terms of consistency I’m aiming for all races 11.4 and under (11.60 FAT and under). There are only three weeks till the planned peak, and I’m sure time will FLY!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

In the next post I organized my speed sessions since the start of my new program to put the progression into perspective :

76

Week of - speed day 1 - speed day 2 - speed day 3
Dec 29 to Jan 3 - 200 26.7 90s 100 13.1 7m 200 28.8 90s 100 14.2 - 4x30m. (falling start) - rest
Jan 5 to Jan 10 - 200 26.5 90s 100 12.9 7m 200 26.3 90s 100 12.5 - 4x30m. - 2x20m. flying (20m. accel) 2x50m.
Jan 12 to Jan 17 - 200 26.0 90s 13.1 7m 200 26.6 90s 100 12.6 - 4x30m. 2x50m. - 2x20m. flying (20m. accel)
Jan 19 to Jan 24 - 4x30m. (3 three point, 1 falling) 1x50m. (lying down) - 3xflying 20’s (30m. accel) 1x50m. - 250 32.2 14m 250 33.3 14m 250 33.0
Jan 26 to Jan 31 - 2xflying 20’s (20m. accel) 60 7.2 60 7.5 60 7.3 - 5x20m. - 300 39.8 22 300 42.4 (rain)
Feb 2 to Feb 7 - 3xflying 20’s (40m. slow buildup) 60 7.3 60 7.4 (rain) - 6x20m. 2x30m. (95%) - 300 39.2
Feb 9 to Feb 14 - 3xflying 20’s (40m. accel) 60 7.0 60 7.2 60 7.2 - 6x20m. 2x30m. (submax) - 200 24.2 200 25.2 200 24.6
Feb 16 to Feb 21 - 5x10m. blocks 2xflying 20 (20m. accel) 60 7.1 60 7.2 60 7.1 - 2x150 - 200 24.4 200 24.7 200 26.1
Feb 23 to Feb 28 - 4x10m. blocks 1x30m. blocks 2xflying 30 2x60 - 2x80m. 1x120m. 1xflying 120 :eek:
Mar 1 to Mar 6 - 8xblocks 20-30m. 3xflying 30’s 60 6.9 60 7.0 - rest - RACE 7.59 (strong headwind) 2h1
Mar 8 to Mar 13 - 8xblocks 20-30m. 3xflying 20-30m. 60 7.0 80 untimed :eek: - 4xblocks 20-30m. 1xflying 80m. 80 9.0 (standing) PB :eek: flying 120m. 120 13.3 (standing) PB :eek: - RACE 9.4 (slight headwind) 2h3
Mar 15 to Mar 18 - 6xblocks 10-20m. 5xflying 60’s (90-95%) - 4xblocks 80 8.9 (three point) PB :eek: flying 80 flying 120 :eek:

The eeks represent excellent runs. I can’t believe 12 weeks have gone by, it seems like nothing on paper. I hadn’t put into perspective what I have done in the new program till now. I now see many correct and opportune decisions were made that have taken me to an excellent level (the first being switching to Charlie’s methods!!!). It all seems to have happened so fast when I look at it on paper. Key points in the program were the 10 days of submax work on the second and third weeks of February by recommendation of Charlie. I now see that was a turning point, right from my first speed session after this onwards excellent results started to come in the short speed workouts. Another wise decision then seems to have been to drop the SE and concentrate on max v. and shorter speed endurance runs. Wise decisions were made when I dropped workouts or reps when I wasn’t feeling up to snuff. Also, without really thinking about it, I varied workouts every 3 weeks at the most. This leads me to conclude next week the work needs to change if I want to continue progressing. So I’ll think about what to do next week over this weekend. The important meets are barely 3 weeks away. The only thing I have planned is a weeklong taper with submax runs the whole week before the big races. So this leaves 2 weeks of hard training to make final improvements in some area and hopefully to keep improving overall.

It’s impressive that 6 weeks ago I could barely do 7.3 and probably 9.5 in 80 now I’m around 8.8-8.9 in 80. The main thing I note is that every week I got better. I wonder if I didn’t just have luck with the sessions I chose to do and if I’ll be able to repeat such an excellent progression in the next period. What is clear is that I now have to capitalize on the speed I’ve gained and build excellent SE runs from this speed in my next GPP/SPP. Fortunately now that I’m training myself the same mistake I was forced to make in the past (throw away all the speed work and then have to rebuild the speed after the GPP) won’t happen again. I worked as hard as time and commitments have allowed me to work to get to 8.9 (which will hopefully transfer to a sub 11 manual clocking in 100m.), it would make me mad to through away such effort.

77

I had a good day today, albeit as always littered with organizational problems.

On the positive side there was no delay in the start, and since there was no final, the direct finals were properly made this time, with all the right people in the first heat.

On the negative side there was a lot of bad manual timing and in the 400m., though I wasn’t running I got involved in a discussion because they made a false start but the judge blew his whistle very faintly and half the people in the race didn’t stop. 3 runners didn’t stop till around 100m. So first some people started to argue about the guy not properly blowing the whistle and then when he called the athletes back to the blocks with no rest instead of sending the heat back to the last heat like that the athletes rest, I joined in because this really steamed me as it was exactly the same thing he did last week (though last week he didn’t blow the whistle at all till after 40m.).

I got 5th overall in the 100m. (5 or 6 races/finals), and 4th in the 1st race. The guy that won blasted the field away with 10.5. Then second got 11.0 or 11.1 (didn’t hear the time well) and was about a meter ahead of the “pack”, then from third to fifth there was less the 1/2 a meter, I was in this pack. 3rd got 11.2 but they gave me 11.4, so given the time that 2nd got and 3rd got and that I was right there I probably got 11.2, at worst 11.3.

As to the race itself, I didn’t have a stellar start, but I had a decent start and was clearly in second until 60m. (around a meter ahead I think), then I got passed after 80m., but after the guy that was next to me in lane 3 passed me (he got 3rd, I was in lane 2 and 2nd was in lane 6 so I couldn’t see him) I was able to hold on the last 10m. and not lose more ground. So this would lead me to think that 1) I had some remnant because I unconsciously didn’t put full effort from 60 to 80 or 2) the other guys finally began to decay in the last 10m. but I started decaying a lot around 70-90m. which is when I lost around 2m. of ground.

I have no idea if I again had problems reaching top speed, I think if I had top speed problems they were smaller then they were before. So that is positive. And overall the whole run was positive. I felt solid from end to end. I had no stellar section and no bad section, a very even effort throughout I think. Hopefully with a few more races I’ll hit stellar sections at some point which will make that difference between 11.2 and 10.9. A very good start, or very good top speed or a combination of both. Now it’s all a thing of luck and getting races in, albeit of the fact I’ll always be trying 100% :slight_smile: .

The really cool thing is how I’ve clearly moved a level up from before, now I’m a “first heat guy” because of my performance and also mentally. I’m ready and confident to mix it with the guys in the 1st race or final. Now I’m in the pack of the guys that are doing well in the local level (around 11 manual), but I’m clearly a step behind from guys like the one that won today. So it seems like this season I’ll be fighting and clawing every time out for the lower podium steps, which makes things very, very interesting and makes for great races. Today was definitely a classic to be remember, the guy that got 3rd and passed me was an ex-training partner, so it was an awesome race regardless that he got 3rd and I got 4th, it seems like this has been the first of many epic battles to come in this competitive period. :slight_smile: :stuck_out_tongue: :smiley:

After about 20-30 minutes I ran a 200 with one of my ex-training partners who was running a fast 250. They timed me at 23.2, and I didn’t feel so much decay as I thought I would. So that was also good news. And this will certainly help my endurance, which appears to be my weaker spot at the moment. Given that I was ahead of a guy that ran 11.2 at 60 I probably passed 60 in 6.9, at 80 I was on par so that was probably a 9.0 so the last 20 in which I lost over a meter of ground were covered in a relatively poor 2.2. At least that’s my take of the race and my current condition. So for these vital next two weeks I’ll increase the length of runs slightly to get appropriate work in for speed endurance.

78

Awesome work aln!

79

Thanks! I’m looking forward to the next few weeks so much. The minimum qualifying mark for sub-23 nationals is 11.1 and I’m a whisker away. Luck and health willing I’ll crack that within the next competitions.

I didn’t notice it earlier but today was a hard session, with that mini SE session (200). Now it’s taking its toll, my legs are destroyed, I need a hot bath badly (tub is filling as I write!).

80

Today was an average day. Didn’t feel great but didn’t feel bad either. Just plain average. I did :
4xblocks (10-20m.)
2xflying 30’s (40m. buildup)
1x80m. blocks 9.1
1x100m. blocks (relaxed but fast, focusing on race stages)
8x4 hurdle hops

What felt great were the flying runs, I felt like I was hitting the best top speed I’ve ever hit. But then I couldn’t hit the same gear/feeling during the 80. Nevertheless 9.1 is damn good on that track, the state of the track is horrible, the cinder is more like sand after so many days with no rain and the maintenance people don’t water it. The 100 didn’t go as planned either, I didn’t feel very smooth though it wasn’t maximal and I was focusing on correct execution of all race phases.

I checked the minimum marks again, the minimum mark for the sub-23 Nationals is 11.0 manual not 11.1 as I had been thinking up to now. No real difference though. I just need ONE good legal run before May. The huge problem is that there will be no local competition these next few weeks (ask the idiots in the federation why there are no races when athletes need them). There will be a meet in Mar del Plata on Saturday, but I don’t know the program yet. If there is 100m. I’ll certainly make the trip. I’m in shape to put up the required mark NOW. Plus that is the fastest track in the country, and PERFECT for my characteristics at the moment (since it’s a very hard track it will be ideal because my strong point is my acceleration and I’ll be able to fully capitalize on it on such a track - less energy wasted and faster start). I’ll definitely gain .1 or .2 seconds just from the acceleration compared to the slow track I’ve competed in so far and the horrible cinder track I train on. The big wild card is the weather, since it’s a coastal city, there is illegal wind 60% of the time, another 20% of the time the wind acts up and becomes a headwind and barely 20% of the time you get good conditions. So I might make the 5 hour trip and run against a wall of wind and waste the trip or have a great run and then find out there was illegal wind. At least I’ll have an electronic mark from there. I’m also considering going to Santa Fe the next weekend (another 5 hour ride), there will be a meet there opening the new track in the regional IAAF development center on April 3. So that will be another chance to get an electronic mark.

Apart from the fact I need to get a legal electronic mark before nationals, I also need decent electronic times these next two weeks, because I’ve found out the big international meets on April 10-11 and April 14 which I was aiming for will be very selective. I don’t think my 11.37 from last year will be enough, I’ll need to post something in the range of 11.10-11.20 to be sure I’m accepted.

Apparently the Southamerican Federation will be paying for the plane trip of the top ranked Southamerican sprinters and will also offer a small purse of money for Grand Prix events ($300 first, $200 second, $100 last). But even to participate in the “sideshow” events - the grand prix event in short speed will be 200m. - like the 100m. they’ll be extremely selective and have two or three heats max.

So I’m not in the position I’d like to be. My back is against the wall. I have barely two weeks, two opportunities, to not only run well but be accompanied by favorable weather. I need 11.10-11.20 and that is around the best I can probably run at the moment in good conditions (wind in favor). So there is NO margin for error. Damn. :frowning: I’ll try my best, that much is for sure.

The ideal thing will be if there is 100 in Mar del Plata this weekend. If there is no 100 then I’ll be in a bad position. I’ll have to post results in Santa Fe and I don’t think that new track is a fast track (it’s in the regional IAAF center so one can assume it’s a soft training track because that’s the main purpose of the facility).