What’s the maximum number of competitions to aim for this season ? -
If I was only seeing competition as speed endurance / experience / way to improve for serious competition ( masters ) next year -
Intended Dates so far -
May
21st 100m
25th 100m
June
3rd 100m
25th 100m / 200m
July
1st 100m / 200m
16th 100m / 100m relay
August
5th 100m / 200m
13th 100m / 200m
17th 100m / 200m
25th 100m / 200m
Should I aim for more building for August or is this already enough ?
Am I using invisible ink again ?
Any thoughts anyone ?
I’d appreciate an opinion as I’ve been asked to do more meets running for the local b team ( they must be desparate lol )
Would a greater number of comps hinder or aid my long term speed development - considering my ego doesn’t suffer too much by losing and I’m concentrating on learning relaxation in comp
I’d say much of this depends on your level of technical competence and conditioning. It seems to me that as long as you don’t try to peak for every meet and use some of them as special training sessions, then you are probably ok.
Thanks - Xlr8
Apparently ( and surprisingly to me ) my forms pretty good but suffers as I try and push the last 40m which is something I’m hoping experience will help to cure .
My general conditioning is pretty good now - in fact I don’t think I’ve ever been in such good overall shape - specially since I’ve cut back on weight volume .
I’m looking to peak for August training wise , as it offers the best weather conditions and mentally I’m approaching all meetings b 4 then as preparation.
Cheers
Gloop
Gloop it usually takes 5-6 races to get really sharpe.you will have 6 meets before august so you should be running at top and feeling sharpe,just watch yourself and take note on how you feel
Many thanks X-man -
next ones tomorrow night - I can’t wait
let us know how you do,don’t forget
Comp schedule looks good.
It’s interesting reading the thoughts on this topic and wondered if the competitions I did last season could be commented on too.
I had 45 races in total over a 6 months period (not all were at peak performance). Some/many of these had 3 races in a day as either a heat/semi/final for the 100m or as a training exercise 100/relay/400m on the one day.
Initially I handled it without a problem and but after around 35 races I felt mentally gone, as if I didnt want to race any more. However, withj every race my times were improving, .01 to .1 from race to race, so even though I was getting more and more tired I was still running faster. Can any one tell me why this may be or does any one have a comment on 45 races in a season?
Charlie,
during the third phase (triple perodisation model) of Ben’s training year, before the final peak, did you schedule in much racing? Was it put on hold to allow for a final intensification of training or were such races used for ‘special endurance’?
Thanks.
Lev you’re an animal of a man…after the 35 races you should have quit.you weren’t with it mentally so your game was low,what was the point in continuing.i’d say all of those races may have a real negative effect on you and the funny thing about it ,you don’t even mention injuries
35 cripes - Ida been in a wheelchair lol -
anyway - the rain stopped and I had a successful run in perfect neutral conditions- my target 4 the night was to stay relaxed instead of pushing from 60m - and to try and maintain form no matter what anyone else did - even if it meant a naff time -
well I won my graded heat in 12.3 - new PB and a vast improvement on my gale force wind assisted 12.4 in april and the rain sodden 12.8 two weeks back .
My head did start going back at 85m or so and I was forced to lean slightly to counter it - but I’m inching towards this years target of sub 12 .
Wicked countryside out at the meet too - the track was on the side of a hill over looking a slight valley amazin . 
lol still full of adrenalin I forgot what its like to cross the line first .
Gloop,
Congratulations.
Keep up the good work, and I am sure you will go sub 12.
Cheeers Wullie - hows ur training going ? any upcoming sprints ?
gloop,good man and good win.don’t forget a win is a win-period! you said your head was going back at 85 or so,relax-that was tension creeping in-you were trying to fight the deceleration and thats what happens
cheers x-man - just a quick q - I was chatting to one of the guys about doing the masters when I’m eligible next year - he said 11.5 would get me in the uk top 10 in m40
assuming I go sub 12 this year whats the hopes of me shaving .5 in the next year or so seeing’s how I’ve dropped 2.4 over the last 12 months ?
Well done Gloop on your races and your times. Its sweet to do so well, especially after it was planned like that.
It also seems like the 45 races I had is not the norm. To elaborate, the type of season and running we have is a mixture of amauture running (normal 100’s) and professional running (using handicaps). With professional running, we may often have 6 races in 1 day ie: heat/semi/final of both the 70m and 120m races. That makes it a huge day and by the end of a day like that I would be in bed at night not sleeping. After a few months of this type of running I was very very fit, and had no injuries but like I said was starting to suffer mentally.
I finished the season getting faster, running PB’s and with no injuries but mentally I didnt want to race. Having this many races is quite common here where I live but definately not common elsewhere from what I hear. I thought that the big base work I did enabled me to get through unscaved but maybe there were other reasons. I have already started my base for next season and feel great right now and will definately not run 45 races again, so that being the case does anyone have an ideal number of races? From what I have season, when the top runners have their best season they race around 35 races altogether, so I assumed 35 would be ok but the comments from some of you boys still may indicate otherwise … I guess Im trying to get a feel how many races the are common when someone has a great season. Or does it depend on experience for someone like Michael Johnson didnt race much towards the end of his career??? Sorry for the long post but Im definetly puzzled by it.
35 still seems a lot 2 me - but thats by my own standards / lack of experience - as I personally find them very draining .
Think how many Kenteris does -
I expect it boils down to proper recovery between meets and periodisation - which I am winging a bit at present .
A bloke last night was doing 3 meets 100m & 200m in consecutive days - because he was disappointed at his times so far this season - I managed to talk him out of the 200m lol
Where are u to get those handicap races - they sound brilliant . The only one I know of in the UK is the new year sprint which appeals but sounds mighty chilly .
I live in Melbourne, Australia and these Handicap races have been run for around 125 years here. They are part of the professional running circuit (ie: you get prize money for winning etc.) and it culminates in the Stawell Gift, which is quite popular here in Australia.
Over the last few years guys like John Drummond and Linford Christie have run in the Stawell Gift. So basically the circuit runs during summer, from November to April, culminating at Stawell. They are definately good to get you fit and are a good break from the amature circuit, but as Ive said earlier, they can be exhausting. I think scotland also has alot of these races. The Stawell Gift has $34,000 for the winner which is why it’s so popular.
I think you guys are right though in that 35 comps are even too much. I think what I have to do is choose them wisely to peak in rather than just running in everything. What do you all think about using competitions as training and is that a way of practicing for race day without getting too trained from mentally considering it as a race?