Keep the updates coming! I knew you would like Hyde Park.
You could probably do all of your sessions on Austin High’s track if you wanted to. Have you gotten much therapy from Frank?
Damn, you wake up early! Frank is with me four days on the track, and I’m getting therapy twice a week, it’s been terrific. I’ll do the updates below.
I’ve been running with Jordan, you ever work with her? Nice kid, and pretty strong too.
Ya I’ve worked with her a few times, she’s a pretty good 400m runner. She can handle a lot of volume on the track because of how often she can get ART, etc from Frank.
It’s only been a couple of weeks for me, but you are totally right. The ability to get therapy on a regular basis is incredibly beneficial.
It is especially helpful for masters guys like me who can’t generally take as much volume. It’s such a treat to have a coach who does his own body work.
Thanks for the Hyde Park tip by the way, I meant to credit you in my original post. It’s such a great place to work out!
Monday, July 12th- Austin High School
Speed Workout:
warmup
buildups- 1 set of 1x10m accel, 1x20m accel, 1x30m accel in flats, 1 set of 1x10m accel, 1x20m accel, 1x30m accel in spikes
3x10m accel
3x20m accel
3x30m accel
multi-jumps (two foot hops, one foot hops, tuck jumps)
general strength
This was my first day working with Frank, and the volume overall was very low, as he just wanted to take a look at how I run.
He wanted to see how I normally warm up, so he had me warm up in my normal Canadian fashion. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the regular Canadian warmup is rather excessive when it’s already 100F outside. It’s not that his warmup is shorter necessarily than the 35 to 45 minutes I usually take, there just isn’t as much movement required to get the same effect.
He wanted to take a look at my basic mechanics, and right away he said, “You’re all hamstring!” In my rolling starts, I was pushing way out the back from the get-go. I also wasn’t fully dorsiflexing, nor getting full extension in each stride. Basically there are lots of mechanical issues to work on. I was actually very relieved to hear that, as if I was running this slowly and was mechanically sound, I’d be in deeply upset!
He had me concentrate on dorsiflexing, stepping down and “maintaining frontside mechanics.” When he started to emphasize the concept of stepping down during acceleration, I knew he was going to be good.
I knew going in that he is a Dan Pfaff fan, which frankly worried me because I know Pfaff does some stuff differently, but he didn’t go wild trying to change things.
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.
Wednesday, July 14- Austin High School
Tempo workout:
jog 2 laps
warmup 1
2x6x100m+50m, 3 mins between sets
CF medball workout x1
abs
Thursday, July 15- off day
Therapy session:
I went to my coach’s place and got my first therapy session. I got 90 minutes of ART and massage with a focus on hips, glutes, and quads. I felt like my hips were much more open afterward. This was deeper work, so there was some residual soreness that lasted a couple of days in the glute / hip area, but mostly in areas that don’t bother me when I run.
Friday, July 16- Austin High School
Speed Endurance workout:
Texas warmup
buildups (1x10m, 1x20m, 1x30m flats, 1x10m, 1x20m,1x30m spikes)
1x250m @95%
1x200m @95%
1x150m @95%
This was my first speed endurance workout with Frank, and he wanted me to run them at 95%. It was a swelteringly hot day, and we started the workout at 1 pm or so, thus the midday sun was at its peak.
I got about 10 minutes rest between reps, which is less than I’m used to, but I’m used to running my speed endurance flat out except close to important races, so I thought that would be fine.
I ran the 250m and he wanted me to split 200m in 27.0, but my splits were a little quicker than that. Here they are as follows:
100m- 13.1
150m- 19.4
200m- 26.5
250m- 33.0
In the 200m rep, I was nearly the same:
100m- 13.3
150m- 19.4
200m- 26.2
The final rep was the 150m, and my stomach was feeling a bit queasy before the start, but I just ignored it (dumb!) and decided to go ahead with the rep. I ran this rep pretty haphazardly, I had a very choppy acceleration out to 45-50m but hit the turn with decent speed. I managed to get through the 150m split in 19.1, which wasn’t bad at the effort level I was giving. Unfortunately, I puked about ten minutes later. Working out in the heat has been an adjustment. It takes less exuberant of a warmup to get ready, but I think that a little more rest is required between reps as well, as my body doesn’t recover as quickly, and cools down much slower. It all makes logical sense.
Post-vomit, I felt better in less than 15 minutes, but the weights got cancelled.
Saturday, July 17- Hyde Park Gym
Tempo workout
1x10x45sec
CF medball circuit
abs
The tempo work wasn’t much of a problem to get done. It was pretty hot out, so I decided to go to the gym and do a bike workout instead due to my previous day’s pukeage.
Sunday, July 18- Off day
Therapy session
There was a lot of lower body work starting to get into the calves and hamstrings, as well as more ART work on the hips and glutes. I went to the grocery store right after, and just walking around there it felt like my hips were much more open and I had a looser stride. I am in heaven with all this therapy happening!
That session sounded pretty brutal! I guess you’re not used to the 95+ degree and humid weather?
Well, I hadn’t done a 250m run in ages, so I guess that was a bit new, but I’m used to running my Special Endurance workouts flat out, so running this workout at 95% made it a bit more bearable.
The breaks between runs were around 10 minutes though, which is shorter than I’m used to, and even though I wasn’t going flat out, by the third run I guess things got a bit overcooked. I will take a bit more rest next time, and things should be fine.
There are definitely major differences based on the weather though. The warmup is definitely less active down here, with no jogging and lots of stuff done standing on the spot, and I can see why. I also for the first time understand why sports drinks like Gatorade exist. I have never felt they did a damn thing for me in Toronto, but they are pretty much a necessity in Austin’s summer heat!
That heat sounds brutal…Try coconut water with lime, a pinch of sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of flaxseed oil add some crushed ice… Much better than gatorade… tastes better too…
My ART guy told me about the coconut water, he says it’s good stuff.
If you don’t mind can you detail your warmup before the buildups? I live in Mississippi and feel like I may need to modify warmups due to the 100 degree heat and humidity. Just looking for some ideas.
Also, what was your fear of him having a Dan Pfaff? From what I have seen in his seminars Pfaff follows Tellez mechanics philosophy which is of course very good and classic sprint technique.
Great journal, thanks for posting.
Hey guys,
First off, I did pick up some Goya coconut water at La Michoacana (where incidentally they also have super-fresh and excellent lunches), so I’ll try it out tomorrow. It seems like coconut water is the new it-drink, as Whole Foods HQ here in Austin is pushing several luxury coconut water brands at near-energy drink prices.
lr400, I will try to get some of the warmup videotaped tomorrow, and I’ll write down the order of what we do overall just so you don’t have to watch my uncoordinated ass for too long. I’ll definitely try to tape the first part with all the activation stuff.
Monday, July 19- University of Texas
Speed workout:
warmup
build-ups in flats- 2x10, 2x20, 2x30
hill runs:
4x20m run-in+30m hill (flats)
4x20m run-in+30m hill (spikes)
1x30m A-skip on hill
1x30m A-run on hill
explosive medball throws:
3x5x double hop over hurdles + squat throw
cooldown: easy skipping, jogging, and walking on grass
This was a really hot day. There is an oddly shaped track on UT’s property mainly used for jogging that is rubberized, which also includes a hill that is rubberized. This allowed us to do some hill runs in spikes, which is a novel concept. The focus was on keeping everything out front and extending the hip fully to engage the glute, something I have not been doing properly. Also, it forces me to dorsiflex my foot fully during acceleration, another concern.
I was pretty surprised at how taxing the hill runs were, probably due to the 20m run-in letting me tackle the hills at higher speed than I’m used to when I did them in my GPP. Overall this was a pretty cool workout. I drank about 1.5 litres of water plus a small bottle of Gatorade just to keep up with the fluid loss!
I was feeling really jacked up after this workout, and went Hyde Park Gym a little bit later on in the afternoon. I asked Frank if I could lift, but he wanted me to hold off, so I did a CF medball circuit and abs.
I ended up lifting the next day after my tempo session, but my lifting session was crap. I’m used to lifting on my high intensity days, and I was ready to go after this workout. In future if I feel like I can have a great lifting session, I’ll just do it. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission!
Next time you go to the market see if they have the young/green coco’s usually they have someone with a machete who can cut it open and put a straw in it… If you dont have that most hispanic/mexican groceries carry zico or one brands which are the better brands… If youre going to be in austin for a while pick up a case… the goya brands are ok but they put too many preservatives… Zico and One are pretty natural… but the sea salt, lime and flax are pretty important too if youre out in that heat…
Cool. Thanks, look forward to it.
Tuesday, July 20- Yellowjacket Stadium, MLK and Chicon
Tempo workout:
warmup 1
6x200m in 31-32 seconds
skip, jog, walk cooldown
Weight workout- Hyde Park Gym
Squats-
1x8x135lbs
1x6x225lbs
1x6x275lbs
2x5x295lbs
Bench press-
1x8x135lbs
1x6x155lbs
2x4x175lbs
Pull-ups-
3x6x body weight
The tempo went very well, but I was not thrilled with this weights session. I was ready to go the day before after speed, and did not feel energetic after tempo for a weights session. I prefer keeping my high days high even though I only do two speed days. I don’t like spreading the load out. I ran out of time or would have included some seated rows and single leg squats with perhaps 25 lb dumbbells.
All in your head, nothing wrong with your setup.
You mean lifting the day after speed? I’ve never felt good doing that except in GPP when it’s just upper body circuit weights.