Chris6878's journal.

Why your times not getting better?

im gonna say my chassis is to heavy for my engine. I had one decent strngth phase this season, but I had planned on two more which I couldnt do because of injury and family obligations. I am about 170 right now, at 5’8 thats not gonna work.

After the calf injury healed, I didnt have time to realy hit the weights like I wanted to because I had meets each weekend. Came back from injury in may, and only had the end of may-june left meet wise. SO I wasnt going to miss the rest of the meets that I had left.

Last meet is next week, so after that ill be going into a stregth phase plus cutting more weight, since im off work for the summer.

Other than that, I have no idea why im running sooo slow, cause as you can see on the videos, my legs are moving pretty swiftly. Fastest 11.6 ever. lol

Let’s look at the past 6 years - your times are all similar… Is it age - meets - training etc…

Wish i could race again one day but i think my racing days are over - its been over 5-6yrs since i had a race and 3 since i touched a weight/track. I am too competitive to step on a track and run 8sec 60m. If my cash is right ill start back training this fall.

RB34, quite a bit of natural ability to to have stopped “cold turkey”. I still have a video you sent me years back when we discussed coaching. Why the total absence of training/competition?

Age may play a part, even though I still feel the same as when I was running fast. My training has gotten smarter over the years. I think its a combo of also coaching, not getting enough meets in during the seasons and weight. Last year I was hit with plantar fascitis which screwed up my training. I opened up last year with a 11.8, ran 11.1 in june. (also ran an 11.4 into a -4.5 at one meet that year) and ended the season in august with an 11.3 turning it off the last 20 meters. So I know the speed is still there is just a matter of getting a good injury free season in with weight loss and strength training. THis season i opened up with 11.4 before hurting the calf muscle. THat screwed up my training and all but killed my season. It was damn near impossible to keep losing weight while not training cause of injury. Couldnt hit weights heavy and you have a recipe for a slow season. I expected after my first meets to be weighing about 165 or below and running 10.9 or lower. But getting hurt killed all that. I found a therapist that got my calf back right this season. I will be seeing him atleast twice monthly plus my groupon massage guy so I can stay injury free for next season. Im gonna run two more meets and call it a season and begin my weight loss/ strength gain for next season. im 172 this AM and I want to start next season at 160.

Well I hope you get back at it, cause ive tried to stop, and i cant fathom not training for something. I have had 5 partners this season who made comebacks from 3-5 year lay offs. All sprinters. Its hard to lose that competitive edge, especially with KIm still dropping times. I have another homeboy, who I used to beat every meet. He is 43 or 44 now and the last two years I say him transform. Lost weight, is chisled like never before and now He would give me the bizness. He has the fastest time in the world in his age group. Dropped a 10.72 early this season. Has done it a few more times. 5 years ago he was a running 11.5-11.2 now he lives under 11!

Im thinking he stopped so he could get his finances in order

Your turnover looks fast - have you looked at old footage from when you were at your best to see any technical differences?

Would you say lack of stride length is due to lack of strength? as in weight room? or is it lack of elastic strength, as in plyometrics, bounding, explosive med ball, and sprinting itself?

I wish I could, I tore my quad in 2008 and thats when i went from a mid 10 runner to 11. I dont have any footage of when I was rolling, only pics

I think mine right now is a lack of strength. Im much weaker weight room wise this season as compared to other seasons. I also need to lose some pounds

Good info. What’s with Masters Class Sprinters and FL? I don’t put much stock into FL times btw…haha lol j/k
Then again, I may have to go over to FL to chase sub 11 at 46 which I think I would get.
Anyhow, keep at it bro.
I myself currently weigh approx. 162-163lbs now…also cut and flying like you wouldn’t believe. Last Monday in Softball I hit a med. height grounder right to the Shortstop and I STILL beat it out like a champ. It was a tie actually but tie goes to the runner/sprinter …and it was with two outs. It’s funny the things I hear from ppl that never sprinted before…my teammates were telling me after the hit- It was like you were running easily in the park…very easy looking but so damn fast.
I dedicate that base hit which won the game for us btw to Kim Collins for keeping me highly motivated and to the FL master sprinters lol

Ha HA Ha, I think the secret to being a fast Master is training as if you are still young, which includes diet. Many masters I run into have Dad Bods. THose are the guys getting blown up. Cant run fast if you dont even have a six pack. Cant be a weekend warrior and expect to run fast.

IT always amazes me when non sprinters watch a sprinter in person run. Especially if the sprinter is doing another sport and knows how to run. I bet they thought you were as fast as bolt. lol

5/18
Had a meet this weekend at a school in Palm Beach. Im finally starting to feel more comfortable with my races. TOo bad this track surface didnt allow me to really drop a fast time. I ran 11.5 in the prelims and 11.4 in the finals. Pre i felt ok, final felt better but in both races I was scared to get really into my flight phase because the track was a thin layer of rubber on top of asphalt! Plus it appeared that they painted it so my spikes were sticking to the track in certain places.

THis track gave zero return, I had to work to get my foot back up on each step. In the prelim race I ran against some 10.3 guys and was disconnected from the race. THe 10.3 guys didnt run as fast as usually cause of that track also.

In the final I ran against people more my speed and I had a chance to really execute. I had a good start, the guy next to felt like he was about to run away the first 40 meters from us, but this race felt like it did back when I was running fast. He was infront at 30, I got up and got into my max v about 40-60m, hit a mean relaxation and got into my marching up and down with everything locked in like I wanted phase. I walked passed dude and away from the field the last 20 meters. I was like damn, were did they go. lol

I definitly felt I couldnt ran faster but the hard track and the lack of return kept me from really going for it for fear of injury.

It didnt matter cause as soon as I crossed the finish line the track hit me with a nice congratulatory injury. I felt a shockwave come from the track , through my body and stop in my left trap,neck, and upper back. lol I knew I shouldnt have ran. It felt as if I had slept wrong and had a stiff neck. I left the meet not being able to turn my neck. I had to turn my whole body to talk to people. It got worse as the day went on, but today 6/20 its feeling a little better but I still feel pain. Im getting therapy today after I try and do some light tempo.

IT was a good meet cause they let everyone get a prelim and a final. THe track is just so bad that I will never return. THey catered the meet toward pro’s, but I doubt they come back either. A few brazilian sprinters showed up and also kerron stewart. I know she wont come back.

Hopefully I can convince the meet promoter to find a better track for next time.

Performing sprinting when you are not at your best has a high risk of injury. This is where judgement is important. At least you ran faster in the second race.

Creating a rule that says you won’t run in bad conditions or on a bad, poorly maintained track might also be a good idea.

My concern for you Chris is having an injury that prevents you from enjoying running. Big strong guys who sprint might just tear something that can’t be fixed or fixed easily. I am not trying to scare you but I am trying to get you to think about when you decide to compete.

Biggest obstacle for most masters I know (including myself) is injury. Sounds obvious for all athletes, but for masters it is easier too get injured and its takes longer to recover. Track is a short season so one even moderate injury just before or during comp period almost guarantees a poor season.
I read an article from a coach who charted all their athletes performances and found a very high numeric correlation between the number of high intensity race specific training sessions and their peak performance.
It was somewhere around 35 sessions. About 30 training sessions, + 5 races then they peaked. At a rate of 2 hard sessions per week that means almost 4 months of solid training to get in the 30 pre season efforts. I looked at some of my old training diaries and found how infrequently I had got in 4 months without some sort of injury.

Not suggesting this 35 session model is gospel - a good 4 month GPP>SPP is another way of describing it. Its just the difficulty of getting in that period of injury free training as you get older.

Charlie expounded upon the pertinent point of this matter in my view, which is the fundamental need to establish task specific work capacity going into the season. He used Ben Johnson as the example regarding the volume of 60m efforts he established year after year in the SPP. The result is an inoculation to the forthcoming stressors of the competition calendar, not to mention all the speed/performance adaptations.

In the case of the masters athlete, or any level athlete who is less durable, slower to recovery, lower tolerance for high intensity work, aside from programming discussion (ergo long to short), it becomes a question of dose.

Thus, regardless of performance level (excluding youth athletes), the commonality that must, necessarily, be shared amongst all physically mature performers is the establishment of task/competition specific work capacity going into the season (ergo quality SPP).

It should also be pointed out that the actual intensity of the high intensity work is not a rule. Kim Collins is a great example of this regarding his promotion of sub-max track work.

Nor are there hard/absolute rules as to frequency of dose (ergo 1 high intensity session every other day, 2 times a week, 1 time a week, once every 8-10 days…) So long as the requisite amount/total is achieved going into the competition calendar. It’s the additional supportive track sessions that must be carefully constructed so as to compensate for the lower frequency of high intensity training that tends to benefit the aging athlete.

Good points James particularly on the frequency and period in which relevant doses are introduced.

What do you consider to be the the additional supportive track sessions, do you mean tempo type runs ? Any suggestions as to how to fine-tune them for masters runners - shorter/longer reps, lower/higher volumes etc ?

BTW2 - just to torpedo every model we know about the most successful masters sprinter I know has reached top 10 nationally over 60, 100, 200 throughout his 50s and 60s. Throughout his training is limited to hard work on the track Tues + Thurs. Virtually all sessions are 80-150 in duration. And that`s it - no tempo, weights, circuits etc. Always a source of amazement to his rivals.

Yea I probably shouldve sat out, but that 30$ I had paid to run was in my head. Plus the fact that I have probably one more meet this season made me run.
I woke up this am and tried to do some jogging, that was a no go as my neck was in to much pain. Went to get therapy today and my left shoulder was visibly higher than the right. I was all out of wack. left upper trap and back had seized up and my right lower back was tight.
THerapist got the knots out and that released the pressure. I can now turn my neck with minimum pain. THats the last time I run on a damn near concrete track.

I would assume James is talking about weights, tempo, medball plyos, pool work stuff like that. Correct me if Im wrong.

when I state “supportive work” this accounts for any and all work other than actual max V and speed endurance training (the most specific training). Thus, starts, acceleration, power speed, tempo, bike, med ball, jumps, weights, calisthenics…

The proportions and amounts will clearly differ for each sprinter so I hasten to offer any blanket suggestions.

The continuity of the max V and speed endurance (even if the intensities are reduced and end up being 40-70m and 80-120m reps of whatever intensity) is what’s important. All other supportive work must be dosed and constructed (in terms of taxonomy) so as to bolster the key performance indicators which the max V and speed endurance serves. In this way, whatever frequency of max v and speed endurance is decided upon is what serves as the barometer for all other work performed.

In all cases the minimum effective dose is sensible, thus in the case of the master level sprinter, we understand the nature of the high intensity dose will be lesser in volume, and possibly in relative intensity, thus the creativity imparted to the supportive work is what will make the biggest difference.

It’s a long term investment approach for the successful. It’s not luck that we are still able to do the things we do.
For the last 2 1/2 months I have not done anything for my legs (weight room wise) except Hip thrusts 315 lbs 2-3 sets of 6-7 reps. I do a few sets of 1-2r of deadlifts to test every two weeks as well.
I finally got up to 315 lbs after 3 years. This past month however, for some reason it is feeling very very easy for me to do now…so after I take a break in Aug. or Sep. I will start adding more weight. I’m still learning about myself.
+++Don’t be fooled however…my 315lbs and a housewife’s 315lbs reps…the velocity of the bar is not in the same ballpark.

Teammates are like Damn lol but my Family is used to it…they always say-you could have run faster…you could have got a triple or inside the park homerun instead whatever I got…etc, etc. I just look at them and say it’s all “Situational”