DavidG's Progress Log

Members Area My Training Journal
1

Hi guys, I’m new to the forum. Been sent over here by a guy called Rick who I’m assuming is a member on here?

Anyway, here’s where I’m up to so far…

2008 (first year in U20 age group)

[ul]
[li]Not taking it too seriously at this time, just starting out and enjoying a good first year[/li][li]Training twice a week, 1.5hours per session[/li][/ul]

60i - 7.50 PB
100 - 11.2 PB
200 - 22.3 PB (club record)

2009 (second year in U20 age group)

[ul]
[li]Not entirely sure what happened this year, didn’t manage to beat or even equal my previous years times, which at that stage I should have done.[/li][li]Still training twice a week, 1.5hours per session[/li][/ul]

60i - 7.34 PB (club record)
100 - 11.3
200 - 22.4

2010 (first year in U23 age group)

[ul]
[li]Improved PBs for both my main events by a good amount, didn’t do any 60s though this season for some reason[/li][/ul]

60i - N/A
100 - 10.9 PB
200 - 22.0 PB

2011 (second year in U23 age group)

[ul]
[li]Took another good amount of my 200 time[/li][li]Concentrating mostly on 200 from this point onwards, although still trying to improve 100 aswell[/li][li]Starting to go down the track on a Saturday every now and then to pull tyres or just do some extra runs, but still only training twice a week.[/li][li]Joined another forum and after reading a blog by Craig Pickering I started to use the controlled dehydration technique during competitions.[/li][li]Also adjusted my start position based on some settings he gave me, which I was using when I ran the 200 PB[/li][/ul]

60i - 7.25 PB
100 - 11.07/11.0
200 - 21.84/21.8 PB

2012 (third and final year in U23 age group)

[ul]
[li]This year has been the best by far, running huge PBs in the 200m, and getting invited to the Olympic Trials, as well as doing pretty well at various other big competitions such as the U20/U23 England Championships/Word Trials and McCain Birmingham Games.[/li][li]Initially took my 200m time down from 21.84 to 21.75, then 21.47. Then at the CAU inter counties match this weekend I took it down to 21.43 and then to 21.39 in back to back races on the same day.[/li][li]Now doing 3-4 full sessions a week totalling approx. 6-7 hours per week, still no gym work though.[/li][li]Definitely taking it more seriously now, and putting more money into training/travelling and supplements etc. And almost doubled my training, although it’s still not a lot for the results I’m getting.[/li][li]Also re-worked my start following advice from a coach at my 2nd club, raised my hips in the set position and dropped my trail leg back one click in the blocks. Seems to give me more spring, as my start is terrible considering how fast I can do a 200 (I get left behind in the 100s at the start, but I normally overtake them again because of my top end speed)[/li][li]Currently working on technique during the acceleration/drive phase, trying to get used to keeping my feet as low as possible to the ground when I come out of the blocks to reduce the time my foot is in the air, and increase my strike rate[/li][/ul]

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/9899609.ATHLETICS__Gain_smashes_club_record/

60i - N/A (will be entering some when the winter season begins)
100 - 10.99/10.9
200 - 21.39 PB (club record)

And that’s basically where I’m up to so far, I’ve done everything I wanted to achieve this year (break the club 200m record, and to run a PB in the process, which I did easier than I expected)

I’ve got a couple more competitions coming up, before the outdoor season finishes for me (last competition is half way through September I think) And then time to start putting the hard work in ready for indoors and beginning gulp winter training :ninja:

Over Christmas I bought and read a copy of Dr. Ralph Mann’s ‘The Mechanics of Sprinting and Hurdling’ very interesting read, especially the sections on direction of force, stride length vs strike rate and front/back mechanics.

I’m also looking into the possibility of reducing my working hours or going part time so I can do more training. Even if I never get to near elite level I’d still like to know I used 100% of my potential, rather than missing out because of work.

Here are some link to show the sort of training I do:

http://community.myprotein.com/training-journals/38149-my-gym-work-portugal.html
http://community.myprotein.com/training-journals/39172-heres-few-my-track-sesssions.html

2

Most of the above post was copy and pasted from another forum, so here are some updates that I put on the thread after it was written that should bring it up to speed (excuse the pun):

I ran at an open competition at my home club today, ran a new electronic 100m PB of 10.90 (+0.8m/s) which equalled my manually timed PB that I ran earlier in the year.

And because at this particular competition they were doing 400m instead of 200m I thought I’d give it a go.

I ran a time of 49.19 in my first proper 400m ever, so not too bad. It puts me about the same position in the UK rankings as my 100m time, but still nowhere near as good as my 200m.

Now I’ve got it pretty much nailed as per my supplement thread I thought I’d post it on here.

As of last Thursday I’ve been taking the supplements in the following pattern…

Making sure to drink plenty of water as I’ve heard the stories of people getting cramps when taking Creatine, but I think that’s more down to people not drinking enough while the muscles are taking on water rather than a direct effect of the Creatine itself.

Well as you can see in the above chart, my weight when I started the supplements was 72.1kg. The first few sessions after I started the supps I felt much more energetic and less fatigued.

However this Tuesday I felt really sluggish and tired from what was a relatively light session, so I re-weighed myself tonight. (I will weigh myself again in the morning, as that’s when I took the first weight)

I’m now 75.3kg! So I’ve gained 3.2kg in nearly 4 weeks, and I’m really feeling it now. Although that’s not a bad thing, as it will create extra resistance while training, making me swing my arms and legs harder to go the same speed, so in the long term it will benefit me, but right now I hate it. lol

I haven’t been ‘loading’ either, just taking the normal dose of 5g per day, so I’m surprised I’ve gained this much in that length of time.

With such a big weight gain, I’m almost certainly going to have to come off it during competition season, unless my weight levels out over the next few weeks.

Following on from last nights post, I re-weighed myself this morning and came out at 165lbs, or 74.4kg. Which means I’ve only actually gained 2.3kg which is more in line with what people say you will gain on Creatine. Still waiting to see if it levels off though.

Had my first proper gym session since April last week, I went to Oxford Power Sports gym with my coach and a guy who used to train at the track, who is now an MMA Strength and Conditioning coach at the gym.

We did squats, hang cleans, benches and a load of other stuff I can’t think of the names for.

I’m mostly recovered, although I can still feel it in my lower back.

And in other news, I contacted the GLL Sports Foundation and have managed to get myself a regional award, which basically gives me a free gym membership to use at any gym they are partnered with

I’ve run at 2 competitions so far this year, both indoors.

In the first one I reduced my 60m time from 7.25 to 7.19. I then ran again today and brought it down to 7.13, and then in my second race reduced it even further to 7.10

Which now means my PBs stand at:

60m - 7.10
100m - 10.90
200m - 21.39
400m - 49.19

I also ran a 200m indoor last weekend in 22.19 seconds which isn’t anything to shout about, but the indoor tracks are horrible to run on (steep banked corners and they slope up/down before/after the corners too, so you can’t run properly flat out on them)

But it was still the fastest time of the day and also enough to put me at the top of the 2013 UK rankings for 200m…for now. lol

And in other news, because of the 200m time I ran last year I’ve been invited to the 2013 British Athletics European Trials and UK Championships which are being held at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on the weekend of 9th & 10th Feb, so I’ll be mixing with the likes of Jess Ennis, Holly Bleasdale and Dwain Chambers in the warm up area.

3

And here’s a video of one of my 200m runs, I’m in the red/white/blue vest right in the centre of the picture when the camera looks at the start. I ran 21.47 in this race.

//youtu.be/nkzXkRQ1vy4

4

Not bad! I think you have more speed in you with a few adjustments on arm action. What I saw in the start was the arms coming too far back. Off the turn into the straight I think a slight movement towards midline will help keep strides longer. Towards the end, the arms were in too close to the chest, maybe a few more inches away as well.

A suggestion from KK to me was to run on the line off the turn and bring arms to the line in view (similar to Charlie’s line drill in the South Africa series).

Keep up the good work!

5

DavidG, Glad to see you posting. As I said before, you will find that this is the best site in many ways.

6

I’d like to think so, as my technique is still fairly ‘raw’ so plenty of room for improvement I hope. I see what you’re saying about the arms too. Trouble is I was always told to drive the arms really far back and get the knee high during the start phase. But now I’ve been told, and also read and seen in videos of elite athletes that the best thing to do is actually keep the foot as close to the ground as possible to minimize air time and increase strike rate for the first few meters before stretching out into full flow.

Interesting that you say about moving further out on the exit of the bend, is this just to make the exit of the corner less tight and allow me to ‘stretch out’ as I come into the straight?

Definitely seems to be a lot of information to soak up here, I think I’m in the right place :slight_smile:

7

8

Great quality video! I was able to still shot several areas of the race. See if you can do the same with the original video file. Go frame by frame and see what you notice. This is only from a youtube clip at slow FPS rate.

bottom photo: my correction to you would be to keep hands in front of you a few more inches.

9

I had noticed I was bringing my arms a bit close to my chest when I watched the videos, I think it’s down to fatigue and that my arms find it easier to just bend at the elbow rather than maintain the angle. But definitely something to watch out for when I come off the straight.

Bit difficult to keep track of my technique at the moment as I’m doing indoor 200s, and I’m putting most of my mental effort into not falling down the slopped corners rather than perfecting my technique.

10

All this means is more room for improvement coming shortly!!

11

Latest update…

Did an indoor 200m at the London Indoor Games today, unfortunately I arrived a bit late due to traffic and by the time I arrived they had re arranged the lane draw and added an extra runner to my heat so I ended up getting given lane 1.

It was way too tight and I found myself struggling not to drift up the banked corner, tweaked my ankle when I hit the first bend too, but still managed a 22.05, which wasn’t too bad considering it’s only my 2nd indoor 200m in about 4 years. And still faster than the 22.19 I ran on new years day as well.

12

Hey DavidG,

Congrats on a great performance under less than ideal circumstances. I coach an athlete with with a very similar progression to yours. He came into last season with 6.95, 21.62, and 49.06 PB’s. We are based in Toronto, so we know too well what you face during an indoor season.

I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but I think you’re getting to the point where you’re too fast to run in Lane 1! If you get a crap lane assignment like that in future, it might be wise to consider blowing off the event and sneaking some special endurance in a reasonable lane afterward. I know that’s not a very appealing prospect, but the last thing you need is an injury running in some fairly meaningless indoor race.

I’ve been following your posts with interest. Keep us up to date!

13

Since your last posts of the youtube race, any adjustments? or just keeping on plan?

14

Had 2 rounds of 60s today, ran another PB of 7.06 in the first round with what I thought felt like a bit of a lazy run. Went into the second round hoping to go under 7 seconds but my start let me down, still managed to bring it down slightly to 7.02, so maybe next time.

I’ve not really had much chance to get any technical work done recently as I’ve been competing most weekends and our track has been shut because of snow for the last week!

The times do seem to be pretty close between me and your athlete, good to know I’m managing to keep the times fairly consistent across the distances.

And after yesterday I would certainly think twice about taking an inside lane for the 200 again. Even lane 2 would probably be pushing it, although luckily at the European Trials next month they don’t use the inside 2 lanes anyway so they clearly acknowledge that it’s not a good idea for higher level athletes to be running such a tight bend.

15

Just come back from the Birmingham Indoor Games, I entered in advance for the 60m yesterday and the 200m today, but as both events had heats, semi-finals and a final I decided that might be too much for one weekend so I skipped the 60m and decided to just concentrate on the 200m today.

The track at Birmingham has much better banked corners than the London one does so I was hoping for some better times at this one.

There were 10 heats, so the winner plus the next fastest 5 went through to the semi finals, I ran 21.67 from lane 4, coming first in my heat.

I then ran 21.45 from lane 6, winning my semi-final which I was pretty impressed with as it was only 0.06 slower than my outdoor PB.

I was pretty tired by the time it came to the final as I had to put more effort into my first heat than I planned because of the qualification rules. But despite that I finished 3rd running 21.65 from lane 4 again.

So all in all it was a good day and I came home with a bronze medal :slight_smile:

16

Fantastic! Continue updating us. You are starting to run some fast indoor times. Pretty soon sub 21 is coming!

17

Congrats, way to go almost equalizing your outdoor PB on an indoor track!

I’m impressed with your 60m progression too. Keep up the great work :slight_smile:

18

That’s my hope, I’ve just got 200m at the European Trials next weekend and then that’s my indoor season finished. Then I just need to keep up the training and stay injury free and we’ll see what happens :slight_smile:

I’d like to think with another competition or two that I could go under 7 seconds with the 60m, but I don’t want to do too much too soon. Getting that close to my outdoor PB is certainly promising though.

19

Also on the subject of the Birmingham Games, I’ve managed to track down some footage of all 3 of my races on Sunday. I’m just waiting for the full resolution copies to be emailed to me.

I had a quick look at the low quality versions, and you would not believe how slow I was getting out of the blocks on my fastest run! (21.45)

I’d love to play it through some video software and actually see how much time I lost!

Anyway, once I’ve got them I’ll stick them on YouTube and see what you guys think…

20

Actually I won’t keep you guys waiting, for now here is a link to the low quality version of the semi-final in question. It will be fairly obvious once the gun goes, but just so you know, I’m in lane 6.

http://www.athleticos.org/coverage/250427-2013-Birmingham-Indoor-Games/video/691176-SM-200m-SF3