New Old Guy

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1

Ok, here I am. I am bowing down to the expertise of this board, and exposing myself here to (hopefully) get some feedback to improve as rapidly and efficiently as possible.

I am a 43 1/2yo male, father of 3 (so not a ton of free time). Kids are 3/5/8, the eldest plays comp soccer and I am often shuttling her to/from practice and games, and do coach a bit too when staff is short (I have played for a Long time). I used to just sit on my @$$ at her practice, but I realized I can use that time to run some Tempo, which I’ve never done prior to today. So 2 birds with 1 stone now; practice (and my tempo) is Tues/Thursday.

I also ref 1-2 soccer games every Saturday, and then play a 90min game in an adult league. Players in my league are 18-50, a little better than rec level. So fitness here is not a huge problem. When I play 20yo players, fitness IS a problem. :mad:

My goals are twofold: I want to improve my soccer fitness, and compete in a 100m and 200m race in June, 2009. I have never run competitive track in my life, my only benchmark is when I was 14yo I long jumped 18’ in PE having never trained for it (I was 5’1" maybe 120lbs), which kinda blew away my teacher LOL.

My father ran 440 in college in the early 50s, running 46.*ish. I played soccer and rugby from 6-13, but quit around 13-14yo (puberty hit late and I was VERY small, and got pushed around by the guys that started shaving at 13yo). So I bagged sport until 16 when I resumed rugby, playing with the local college team and my HS squad.

It was then that Politics hit me for the first time, I was starting Fly-half for the college squad AND the East Coast U23s, yet didn’t start on my HS team because the coach had a run-in with my father some years earlier, and I’m GUESSING he held a grudge. WTF. Welcome to the real world.

I was on the National U23 Rugby team for 3 years, then for a reason I can’t remember stopped playing entirely.

2 years ago I was on vacation at the beach, and started noticing that putting on my shoes required me to catch my breath. WTF. Saw the pictures from the vacation and WHATTHE HELL!!! Um, reality hit in. I was 220lbs, felt sorry for myself for around 24hours, but decided right then to get back in shape.

I worked hard and got down to 170, but then started weight training (and eating) and am now 190 @ 5’10". BF is 23-24%, something I’m not proud of and trying to rein in. I’d love to get down to BF of 10% or less. I’m hoping it will with some good hard training and controlling my diet a bit better. My BF is focused mostly from armpits to mid thigh, and is what I consider very tough to get rid of.

I’ve always been pretty “Fast”, always been the fastest guy on the field in every sport. But it’s never been against what I’d consider “elite” guys, like D1 football or the like. So I’m not foolish enough to kid myself into believing I’m World Class or anything. I have never been timed, but my goal for June is 11.5*, certainly <12sec. I may not make it, but I’m going to try. I do have to do my Sprint Training while playing and reffing my soccer games every Saturday. Not ideal but it is what it is, this is my situation.

I have to do a lot of measuring to figure out where I’m at, for the last 6 mos I have worked out pretty regularly, but without a strict plan.

I have done a lot of reading lately, and have a better idea of what I need to do (just got CFTS). I do know that exercise and results are a LOT harder to come by now at 44 than when I was 20. Recovery is a problem due to Father Time.:smiley:

I also currently have a few physical issues.

  1. sprained left ankle. It’s recovering, but I have to take it easy during soccer games.

  2. Turf Toe/Sprained toe. Feels fine, make a hard cut the wrong way and I’m limping again for a week. I am pretty sure my feet are weak, I will be doing some of my Tempo barefooted on the grass to try to improve this.

  3. Bunion on right foot. It’s a bit swollen and painful now, it needs 6-8 weeks of rest. Normally I am not making it worse over the summer because it gets a chance to rest, but I played soccer thru the summer this year, so it never had time to heal and I begin the formal season next weekend.

  4. partially torn ACL in left leg. Does not bother me if my strength is up. It IS an issue if I get weak.

5’10", 190lbs
BF - 24%
Back Squat - max around 305 (DEEP), I can do 5x5@235 DEEP, it’s very tough but I can do it most days.

I do all my squats DEEP, I do not stop @ parallel.

I have JUST started to clean, still very new at it, will keep practicing light until I get better at the technique. Will also practice some snatches after my upper body strength and flexibility improves. I will probably start with some overhead squats LIGHT to get a feel for where I am here. I do know the overhead position IS a problem for me with back strength and shoulder flexibility.

Bench I normally do around 125 5x10ish. I KNOW my upper body is weak, starting to focus more on it all around (pulls, military, incline, rows, etc). I have always been weak in the upper body, strong in the legs.

My gym is a local Gold’s, a typical Chrome/Glass facility. There is no expertise there (as you’d expect), but I’m left alone so I can do what I need to for the most part. They do NOT have a couple things I’d like and they are not going to get them (rev hyper, etc), so I have to McGyver and do it myself on a curl station using ankle straps and a chain looped thru a freeweight plate. I do 35lbs/leg x 15 for 2 sets, typically after a squat workout. I feel reasonably strong for this particular exercise. I feel my lower back is a weakness. I feel my hamstrings are a weakness. My whole life I’ve been a bit quad dominant, trying to balance this out with the posterior chain work.

I do have an Isorobic unit, I have the rope to do up to 30m starts. I have only used it a couple times, but I like it. I have only used it in a basketball gym, but have the routine down, I just need more hours doing it.

Today I did my first formal tempo. Grass, less than ideal surface which is less than level and the grass is too long since the season doesn’t start until next weekend and it hasn’t been mowed (it’s 6-7" long right now). 20 x 100yards @~18sec. Some were 14.50 at the beginning, I had one 19sec, but got the time down more or less. I’ve never done prior to today so I am having to learn what is the proper speed; soccer template was 18sec. It IS 100 YARDS instead of 100m, but I’m convincing myself it’s a wash because I’m doing them at 5k’ above sea level, so oxygen is a little more of an issue here compared to sea level. Wind was ±20mph today, so that made the 2 directions very different in feel. But I started to get the hang of them a bit. Trying to follow the soccer template and get to 30x100 2-3x/week.

I do have a couple issues when running, but I’m going to try to correct them.

  1. I was “tight” in the upper body during today’s Tempo. Not initially, but as I fatigued I could feel it after my father (the former 400 guy) pointed it out, as he times my tempos. He loves this stuff, kinda reliving his youth I guess.

  2. I think I run with a bent knee more than is optimal, I’m sure I’m giving away some ET here. I’ll take some video in the next couple weeks for feedback and comments. I have always run this way, but will be trying to correct it if it’s a problem.

I’m currently trying to come up with my workout template, keeping in mind my Saturday referee/game situation that doesn’t end until Early November. I have been doing weights 3x/week, when I do this accumulated fatigue IS an issue. I am 43, I may have to cut back to 2 days/week.

Thoughts?

TYVM, I hope it goes well.

John

2

Rested Sunday (weather was horrible, unusual for here in summer). Family stuff Monday. Today’s morning $)&#)& up with work meeting (2 tuesdays/month). I don’t mind this so much now because I’ve had some accumulated fatigue, been dragging. But this afternoon I had a chance to run tempos during daughter’s tennis practice, there is a nice field 100m away.

20 x 100 @ 16-17sec, 45 sec breaks between tempos. 1st was 15sec, the rest 16-17, so I felt pretty good. Working on my form with feedback from pop. Working the arms more, but am still on my heels a little too much (was very apparent when I took the shoes off). I know my calves are going to protest when I get off my heels, so be it.

Ran the first 10 in my Nike Free 3.0s, the next 10 barefoot. I have wussy feet, my skin is so sensitive. I’ll ease into it and toughen them up. But this field is ok with only one dip the whole 100m, just knowing I’m not at risk of rolling an ankle is relaxing in itself.

I am really learning on the fly here, not sure how to do this. But I figure to keep my 45 sec breaks in place until I get to 30 x 100 3x/week, then I’ll reduce break times 5 sec at a crack every several workouts until I’m at 30sec rest.

I have a heart rate monitor, but have to dig out the wristwatch that goes with the chest strap so I can use it somewhere other than the gym. I normally use the strap just to transmit to the treadmill/bike, but tempos are way more interesting than the monotony of the gym (scenery at gym is better though :wink: )

I’ll lift tomorrow am, and tempo again on Thursday, light lifting on Friday, no tempo on Saturday because soccer season starts and I’ll be running my @$$ off on the fields with reffing 2 games then playing 1.

welcome any/all feedback, I’m really operating in the dark here.

John

3

Welcome aboard. Nice start.

Rupert
CharlieFrancis.com

4

Hi John,
I’m a masters sprinter in Melbourne Australia and
have been back training again for about 5 years
or so. I’m 47 and my main focus is 60-400m with
200m probably being my best.
After reading through what you are doing at the
moment with your soccer reffing etc - i think you
probably don’t need to do much volume of tempo
work on top of what you are already doing.
If you do want to then i would limit it to say 1200
to 1600 total volume of 100s with 30s breaks.
(remembering not to exceed around70% of your
best speed on these)
If you main goal is for 100/200 then i would try
and do 2 sessions per week of speed and strength.
Be sure also to focus on good sprint
technique and practice starts. Do a few drills
each time you train so they become second
nature also. If you like, do some tempo on the
in between days but really this should only be
a minor concern.
My experience is that at this age you need lots
of recovery and probably no more than four
sessions per week INCLUDING any racing or
soccer etc. You will still improve greatly but
the speed is the key - keep it short and sharp.
You body will soon tell you if you are overdoing
it but remember “less is always more” especially
with sprinting.
Just my thoughts

SB:)
www.40somethingathlete.blogspot.com

5

Sorry I read your first post the other day and meant to reply.

I agree pretty much with everything Stormbikes said re the tempo it is <75% of max speed on that surface. So for grass if we said say 12.5 that would be no quicker than 16.5 sec (12.5*.75).

A good tempo workout is
+=30 sec recovery
100+100+100++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+200+200++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+100++

FYI I’m 46 and you are right about recovery being extremely important. Try and remember ïf in doubt…rest":wink:

6

9/3/08

Was tired last night, so I skipped my indoor soccer game.

This morning I went to gym and lifted for the first time in 3-4 weeks. Felt weak overall due to time off, though I know I needed the break I was very fatigued.

My training partner actually showed up today. He is mentally weaker than me, which is pretty bad. He is getting mentally tougher though, I do not let him cop out of work if he actually shows up for the workout. He’s a pretty lean African from Ghana, 27yo; around 5’11" @160lbs. He has long limbs overall, built for speed but he has no power to go with his leverage. He’d be a fast mo-fo if/when he gets stronger, he IS improving. So he beats me in the distance (he’s not packing around 20lbs of Crisco around the midsection like moi), but I can out sprint/lift him (I squat 5x5@225-235, he’s at 175ish for same volume). He is getting much stronger, faster than me because of his youth (but that’s ok); I remember when improvements came easy 20 years ago.

When he shows up I train much harder, I NEED someone to yell at me, or at least be there so I put the effort in. I do not have the self discipline to push hard alone, though I do have no problem actually showing up.

Warm up squats

4 @ 45, 95, 135, 185, 225

then lifted

3x3 @ 235
1x3 @ 245

then did 1 rep @ 275. I couldn’t have done another rep at 275, I was fatigued from the previous lifts. I do think I could have done 290 barely. My warmups actually wore me out today, which is normally not a problem. I blame the layoff, but it was necessary.

After this, I did 2x10 RDL @ 225. On my 3rd set around rep 5 my grip failed (I broke/dislocated my pinky on my right hand in January right playing basketball, an incredibly painful and debilitating injury. Supposed to take 1yr to heal, after the pins were removed). The current situation is my grip is weak on all my pulls, it does not affect my presses/pushes. I finished my 3rd set by dropping weight, and completed my RDLs 10 x 135.

Then I went to a new exercise to hit where I know I’m weak in the upper ham where it ties into the glute; not sure what it’s called but I describe it as a donkey kickback machine. Hips @ 90 degrees, and knee fixed @ 90 degrees for entire movement; laying on stomach and elbows on pads, kick up/back one leg at a time. Works the upper ham and glute together, hits my weak hamstrings more than Rev Hypers (which I’m good at) do.

It hurt and was tough, but I did 3 x 10 @ 75lbs/leg, which maxed the unit. They have a similar machine that has more weight, but it’s setup for 2 legs at a time, I suppose I could just do one leg at a time on that machine with more weight if I need it, but on that machine the way it’s setup the leg actually extends during the motion, instead of keeping the knee locked. I will continue with the machine I used today for a few weeks and see how it works out.

not watching calories today since I lifted, no exercise scheduled til’ tomorrow am, I’ll do some upper body work only tomorrow am. Tempo tomorrow evening, partner said he’d show up. He’s never done them, so it will be interesting to see how he handles them, but I think he’ll fair better than me at that particular workout given our history.

Scheduling constraints: My tempo days work best on Tues/thursday afternoons due to daughters tennis (I am there for an hour, I may as well do SOMETHING).

I figure lift legs medium on Monday, heavy on Wed, for my 2 days for weights on legs/PC. Saturday is game day, so a lot of running then, no other exercise needed, rest on Sunday. But what about Friday? I suppose I can do shoulders/back on this day. I do not mind hitting the gym mon-fri, it is easier to do this than to skip days, it’s just a matter of figuring out what do to on what days so I do not overdo it. Input? I’d rather show up every morning mon-fri than skip days, even if I go easier on the 5 days I’m there.

I do have a 2lb, 4lb, and 12lb medicine balls (rubber bounceable), and have my Isorobic device to do <30m starts anytime I feel like it. It’s also worth noting that the location I do my Tempos for the next 5 weeks of daughter’s tennis, there is a nice 20-30m grass hill to do runs up, if that can be worked into my workouts. After tennis is over, I still can do Tempo on Tues/thursdays, but the location only has a hill (quite steep, like 30 degrees) on Tuesdays. I need to figure out how to get more medicine ball work in, that’s a good one for Fridays and maybe mondays.

John

7

9/4/08 11am Grouchy today. Partner didn’t show up again (surprise). I’m reasonably sore and a little stiff, so it didn’t break my heart.

I did 5x8 bench @ 115, then did 3 sets of incline situps. I hate ab work BTW.

Went to the hardwood and did skips for 10 minutes, some crossovers each way, then played with the medicine ball for 15 minutes. Was not into it today. I normally like the m-ball, but only with a partner. It sucks alone, I HATE training alone for everything.

But I was able to just kiss the ceiling on my sumo-tosses for the first time, on about half my throws. It’s maybe 25’ up there, M-ball is 12lbs. I also tried the around the head movement (on the GPP video) while on my stomach, that is very tough for me to keep elbows and knees off the floor. I can do it, but it’s hard. I’m obviously weak on that one.

Tempo this afternoon, will report back this evening. I am going to heed the advice of keeping the volume down and quality up. My soccer will be fine, I’m already one of the most fit guys out there, and I’m not going to get paid to play soccer in this lifetime, so I’m doing ok.

I’ve been running 2000m on my whopping 2 tempo days I’ve had, I originally wanted to get up to 30x100. I have to get my rests down from 40 to 30sec, and it will be tougher also because the template I’m following is the one posted by John (TYVM sir)

100+100+100++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+200+200++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+100++

for 2200m total.

the 200s are going to be tough, but I’ll make it.

Remember, 5k’ elevation, when guys from sea level come here to play they look like gasping fish. I like reminding them during the game how much time is left, LOL.

John

8

9/4/08 7pm

Finished evening Tempo following this template

100+100+100+100++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+200+200++
100+100+200+100++
100+100+100+100++

the reason for the extra 100s was because I’m doing out and backs, and if I do the double rest where I started I can chat with dad. :slight_smile: I’m actually surprised how easily I’m handling this volume. It’s probably because I have the 40 sec rest, but still I’m doing better than I expected this early in the program.

the 200+200 leg was a little tough, but not too bad (no heaving/puking, just a lot of huffing). I have actually adjusted pretty quickly to this, now I have to drop the rests to get to 30sec. I already felt better today, and dropped to 40sec rest.

I was a bit tired just starting off, my whole family has the sniffles and sore throats, I’m sure I have a bit of it too, so <100% there, and I’m still sore from )#&)#(& going heavy on my back squats the other day instead of just putting in my reps. Hams are tight/sore, but it didn’t affect the evening workout at all.

I am getting more comfortable barefoot. I once again did the first half w/shoes, 2nd half bare. After 1/2 my barefoot tempos, I have had slight cramping on the bottoms of my feet in the evening/night. So I’m not overdoing the barefoot thing, just about right. Another couple weeks and I should be able to do the whole template barefoot. Yikes I have some ugly feet though!

Am going to take tomorrow off, I can tell I am tired and Saturday will be a full day.

Though it’s more of a scheduling headache, I’ve considered Lifting on Sunday/Wed, the spacing is about right for recovery, I just worry about how effective it would be if I have my big soccer day on Saturday. Because Saturday is fixed everything has to work around it. Input?

John

9

Keep that as the focus. If you think hmmm will this add or detract from how I will be on Saturday :confused: you will find it easier to be objective. Don’t be afraid to cut volume or take time off.

Good work on the tempo session :slight_smile:

10

I had a reread of your first post again to see if i
might come up with some sort of weekly schedule
for you. I think i need a better idea of how you
are situated with your current injuries or niggles.
Are you able to do at least one dedicated short
speed session per week??
If you want to get fast again - you gotta train
fast but sparingly.
Are you able to do a speed session on either
Tuesday or Thursday?? (trying to keep it away
from Saturday)

SB:)

11

I can do speed sessions on Tues or Thursdays until the weather turns in early November. Injuries right now are insignificant. Tuesday would be best, I know if I do one on Thursday it will affect Saturday. After a hard day I’m generally sore for at least a couple days.

I also have been thinking about my training, and hitting the gym is great but WRT Sprinting Leading Weights… I haven’t been doing that!

My weight work has plateaued, I am sure I need to SPRINT instead of so much gym work, at least for a bit. When the weather turns in 3 mos I’ll be inside for 4-5 mos anyways (winter is long here), so my as well Sprint now while I can.

I am sore this morning, yesterday’s Tempo affected me more than I thought. Feet still lightly cramping, not a problem though, but it is noticable.

John

12

Tuesday’s sound good. That is the the day you
probably want to hit it the hardest if you can.
Plenty of time for recovery then before Saturday.
Perhaps try something like this -
Warmup (perhaps a light jog for 2 or 3mins)
A few sprint drills - high knees/bum kicks etc
A couple of easy strides out to 30 or 40m
then -
3 x 10m (1min rest between each)
3 x 20m (2mins rest between each)
3 x 30m (3mins rest between each)
When you do these try and be explosive, take off
as fast as you can and do take enough recovery
in between each so you can hit the next one hard.
This may not seem like much but best to keep the
volume down and go for quality.
You could run a 60m at the end if you want but
i would leave it out the first couple of weeks.
A light jog to cooldown is also good.

This would also be a good day for your heavy
weights (low reps/very heavy weights). Be sure
to do them after your speed session.

If you can do a session on Thursday then you
may want to keep the 60m runs until then.
Perhaps something like this -
Warmup - light jog then
sprint drills etc
A couple of strides - say 2 x 40m easy
then -
3 x 60m (fast relaxed with good form)
light jog to cooldown
If you are going to be running 200m races then
this would be the day to gradually get the runs
up to around 120m (no real need to go longer).

If you have the opportunity to run in Master’s
competition in you area, have a go it’s great
fun and really helps.
Hope this helps

SB:)

13

9/6/08 7pm.

phew, day is over, I’m pooped. I ran center in 2 games, and AR (line) in 1, 3 games total. I was capable of playing in the adult game, but opted to give my ankle another week before finding out if it is really better or not. Was a good thing too.

Today was the first day of the adult league. It was almost funny. Take a league of men/women that are 30-50yo, that haven’t played soccer in 20 years, and think it will be fun to do it again. Mind you as soon as I blew the whistle to start the game, they thought they were 18 again. The carnage was mind-boggling! I warned them to take it easy, a core group of 10-15 have been playing all summer. We play full 45min halfs, and despite my warnings of the game being long and them not being 20 anymore, Pfffffft. Boom, pulled hamstring, limp off the field. Ball goes the other way, wham twisted knee. Crawl off the sideline. 90 second later ARGH pulled back muscle. After the restart another ankle, then another hamstring… We started with 11v11 and before halftime we were at 7v7, it was ridiculous. I called halftime early to give them a break and to try to ensure we had enough bodies for next week!:smiley:

After halftime things calmed down and everyone stopped trying to be the Hero, and the injuries letup. There was also a bit too much testosterone, typical of the “new guy” that is re-living his glory days. That usually takes a couple weeks to wear off. All in all I’m glad I reffed the game instead of getting caught up in the bodies flying around, I very easily could have been in a cast til December.

I’m pretty tired, will take tomorrow off, or maybe lift upper body ONLY light, in preparation for Heavy Tuesday. I’m guessing I could Tempo on Monday? I can do weights and/or speedwork on Tuesday.

After readying Slow White Boy’s personal best in the SBJ, I decided to go out and try a few on my concrete patio. Granted I’m a little tired from today’s games, but still was very discouraged to do 8’4" 3x, then I quit. Even fresh I think I’m only capable of a 9’ best right now. I have always had a problem with vertical jumps, or SBJ, but still this is discouraging that I did so poorly. It also made my bunion hurt like hell, so I won’t be doing these again for a while.

also, as a side note I bet a friend at my soccer game a lunch that Univ of Michigan wouldn’t win 8 games this season. I think they are in for a tough season and are going to be so run down they can’t possibly win 8 games. They are in for a rough stretch coming up. All this hoopla of their new coaches… pffft. I can’t see them only losing 3 more games (more like 4-5), so I put my $ where my mouth was.

John

14

9/8/08 8am.

still very tired, much more than I expected. Not too sore, just feel tired and weak. I do have an Indoor Soccer game tomorrow night, that is usually pretty intense and takes a lot outta me. That is the last game of the season, won’t have more indoor for 6 weeks.

So I’m taking this am off. May run this afternoon, will evaluate in 8 hours.

BTW, are there any side effects of Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen? I normally stay away from medicine unless I need to, but I’m wondering if it’s ok on days I’m real sore (not today).

Update 4pm; no time for running, wifey has me doing honeydos for this afternoon (2 hours of grass plugs bent over, my back hurts already). So I’ll kidnap dad and do some 10/20/30m starts tomorrow am instead of weights, will rest for soccer game tomorrow night.

John

15

9/10/08 10:15pm

we got clobbered in the indoor game Tuesday night… Player to player we matched up ok, but our squad has 3-4 guys that are black holes; they get the ball and it will not come out of their possession unless the other team has it. Guarding a guy that WILL NOT PASS is pretty easy. Oh well. Glad I don’t have to play with them anymore. Pft.

I tried to post for a couple days, but the site was hiccuping. Despite taking things very easy, I’m very tired. Maybe I have what the rest of my family did (bad cold), but I’m not showing many symptoms; despite that I feel only 80% in strength for no apparent reason.

Going to continue to take it easy and see how things workout on Saturday (game day). My workout partner informed me he’s NLA. He told me that he had to take a 2nd job to make ends meet, so workouts are nixed. )#$#)&

Will likely do speed and tempo work as a majority of my workouts til’ the weather turns for winter.

John

16

9/13/08 - didn’t have to ref a game, so only had to play. We went really hard, I was dogging it by the end of 90. Scored 3, assisted on 4 more. :smiley: And I KNOW everyone else was way more tired than I was, so things are coming together, at least on the pitch.

9/15/08 11am - Feel the fatigue from Saturday’s game, legs heavy. Extensive warmup (including some bumkicks, high knees, x-overs and heel clickers), then did 1 x 3 depth drops (bodyweight @ 23-24"), 1 x 3 depth jumps, then 1 x 3 depth drops w/60lbs.

Then did some pushups/situps and did 2 Isorobic resisted 20s, then 8 30s. Self-Timed the 20s before the resisted ones for benchmark; hand timed 20m was 2.65ish, during resistance was 3.15ish (felt slower than this though). Drops and sprints were on a basketball hardwood floor.

3min rest between runs. After the tenth I was starting to get pretty tired, but took off the belt and ran one more 20 unresisted, ran 2.60. So though I was tired, I was still not falling off, but I know if I had continued I would have either gotten hurt or form would have fallen apart. Quality over quantity, right?

Then did 2 sets of Donkey Kickbacks, weight was lower than last week because of fatigue.

Will do tempo tomorrow afternoon.

John

17

9/16/08 8am; 45min @ 115BPM walking 3.5mph (adj incline for target HR, normally around 8 degrees). Nothing else this am. I gotta get rid of this Crisco 24%BF. IT WILL NOT GO AWAY!!! $)(&#)(#&_@

5:30pm

Tempo following

100+100+100+100++
100+100+200++
100+100+200+200++
100+100+100+100++

200s are stop-n-go out-n-backs; these suck! I really wish I could just run thru a straight 200m on these. Grass is 6" long here. Elevation 5k’. 80F.

16+16+16+16 feeling pretty good.
16+16+(16, 18) that back end of 200 legs got heavy, coming off toes and onto heels. A little tight in shoulders. Spotter says form looks ok despite how I feel.

Nike Free 3.0s off during this break.

16+16+(16,18)+(17,18) ok that hurt! GASP Heartrate at 168BPM; never exceeded 170BPM. Legs got heavy in 1st leg of first 200.

16+17+17+17 still hurting, glad this is over for today. Definitely feeling weak right now. Normal heartrate at end of rest 13*BPM.

John

18

how is your diet?

19

My feeling is that you might be better to slow the
100’s down to around 18 for your tempo with the
30s breaks. If the session gets too taxing it will
need a recovery of its own rather than being
partly one itself. Just my thoughts and others
may disagree.

I know what you mean about the body fat thing!
I’m having the same issues and it really is a diet
thing.

SB:)

20

not sure how the diet is. Probably less than ideal for sure. Wifey does all the cooking, and it’s mostly for convenience rather than health.

I do not eat much junk, with the exception of my morning cereal. Perhaps I will resume oatmeal for breakfast. Lunch is normally a 6" Subway sandwich (on wheat), no mayo or fatty sauce), with water (no chips nor drink). Dinner is usually some protein (steak, chicken, etc) and a veggie. No potatoes, but occasionally have rice if mom makes it.

I used to have a bowl (or 2) of cereal (College habit) before bedtime, but I KNOW that is really bad so I cut them out a month ago. Actually my weight is starting to drop this week a little bit; weighed in @ 184.0 this am. I’ll keep the board posted.

Temp Intensity: If I go 18s, am I actually getting anything out of it? I think I’m going to give it a couple weeks and see how they feel as they are now before changing it up. My indoor soccer season for the summer ended last week, so that’s 1 less activity to wear me down. Yesterday’s tempos were pretty tough (the recovery seemed too short), I’m assuming because of 5k’ elevation. There is 20% less O2 up here, at sea level I’d feel like superman. I do know that 16sec 100m is no problem at all, a little more than a jog. The recovery is the problem, but just for the 200m legs, I’m ok on the 100s. That back to back one is a ball buster, also because of the stop-n-go to do it. My reasoning is it should be ok to do a 40sec break (instead of 30) due to the thin air. Is that better than slowing down the tempo pace?

Next week I’m going time some full on 20/40/100m on grass to get a benchmark for where I’m at on grass and what times to run Tempos at.

9/17/08 8am

no partner as usual.

Squats (all deep)

warmup 2 x 45, 95, 135, 185, 225, 235

Then 3 x 3 @ 255 The first set was harder than the 2nd two, probably because I have not done squats in a couple weeks. I could have done 4 reps per set but form was breaking (I start to good morning out of the hole when I am struggling). I decided to do 3x3 instead of my normal 5x5 today.

Then went to Rev Leg Press Machine (Cybex) and did

2 x 6 @ 450 I could have done 8 reps without too much difficulty. 10 if I had to.

knee reminded me I hurt it 20 years ago. So only did 1 more set

1 x 6 @ 540

Will eat well today and rest.

John