Tuesday, July 13th- Austin High School
Speed workout:
warmup (Texas style)
buildups- 1x10m, 20m, 30m accel in flats, 1x10m, 20m, 30m accel in spikes
2x 1x60m, 1x80m, 1x100m, 6 mins rest, 10 mins between sets
This was the day after I ran some 10’s, 20’s and 30’s but the volume was very low, so we came back the next day with an intermediate distance speed workout.
Before we started, Frank wanted me to change to his style of warmup from the mostly CF style that I usually do. Here is a breakdown of my normal warmup:
2 lap jog
active stretching (side hops, butt kicks, carioca, backwards run, straight leg bound)
static stretch
Power Speed (A-skip, B-skip, A-run, B-run)
2x60m easy accel in flats, 2x60 easy accel in spikes
Honestly, with the heat, his warmup makes more sense down here. Basically, he eliminated the two lap jog because I usually work up enough of a sweat on the 50 metre walk from my car to the track anyway. Most of the active stretching (called “mobility work” down here) is done stationary, and he eliminated some of the Power Speed. We did A-skips, “high knees” which are basically a Running-A with more of a “running-H” form, and “step-overs”, which are Running-B’s without the exaggerated forward kickout. (I suppose this is the Pfaff interpretation of the Mach drills that Charlie spoke of?)
Instead of doing 4x60 easy accels, we did build-ups of 2x10m, 20m, 30m accels.
I remember Number Two saying he only uses the running A-skip and eliminates the B, so overall don’t think any of these changes are a major departure or cause for any concern. I’ve actually enjoyed the warmups and feel very loose and ready to go when they’re done.
First set of 60m, 80m, 100m
Frank reminded me that I was pushing out the back from the get-go, and my first 60m was timed in a very poor 7.7 seconds. He reminded me to focus on dorsiflexing and maintaining my frontside mechanics. My 80m rep was much better, with me splitting the first 60m in 7.4, which is probably in 7.9x FAT territory, what I was running indoors this year. The last rep was OK, with lots of tightness remaining in my upper body, but I may have been tiring somewhat.
Second set of 60m, 80m, 100m
This set wasn’t too bad. I was muscling the 60m rep somewhat, and Frank noticed my feet starting to overpronate and my hips starting to twist. He dropped me down on the track, and did some active release on my hips / glutes. It hurt somewhat, but it alleviated the overpronating. Awesome! I had a pretty smooth 80m rep, but the 100m was a bit tougher as the rest was shorter than I was used to, so I was probably a bit tired for the final 100m rep. I will probably just ask for a bit more rest next time, there is no point running at full blast on half a tank of fuel!
The warmdown was pretty simple, with some barefoot skipping, jogging, and walking on the grass.
Overall, I was really happy with this workout because I split the 60m a couple of times at 7.4 pace. The focus on technique was something I really appreciated. Of course, the instant therapy was awesome too, because it allowed me to get the last two reps done properly.