I thought so too but I’m afraid to peak too soon If I drop the volume by too much. Total volume for monday was 480m and wednesday 470
But I have to admit after wednesday’s session I was quite tight in my legs and was afraid to hit those average times again.
Saturday 10 August
Raceday
100m: 11.12 (+0.8) SB. I didn’t have that same start as usual, but I made up for it during the accel. phase. Was running with guys all under 10.70 so I tightened up a bit once I saw them fly away at the 40m mark. That’s a SB out of lane 1 as well, but that doesn’t really matter
200m: 22.42 (+0.8) I had a great turn, coming off the curve I was still doing good, but after 150m I feel the guys coming back and that’s where I start tightening up
[/b]100m: 10.92 (+2.5) Aaaaaah I finally went under 11s, I know the wind is too much but I’m sure I’ll run that time again this season.
I had an average start followed by great acceleration and transition, finally on the last 20m my heels were almost touching my butt. Ohh I’m so happy with that time!
Congrats buddy! All of us who have followed your journal know what a huge milestone you just broke. You have put in a ton of work over the past couple of seasons, and you deserve the success. Congratulations again, I am super-excited for you! I propose a Gatorade toast!
Peaking too soon??? The example I posted wouldn’t keep you from peaking etc - no sense in loading and risking injuries and shitty performances. I prefer to keep inseason volumes similar week 2 week while dropping weights/mb/jumps/tempo/intensity and accel volume when its time to peak.
I agree with RB34. There is no need to do two speed endurance runs in a session the same week you have a race. 1x120 @95% OR 1x150 @95% is more than enough. Let the RACES be the stimulus during the competition phase, NOT the workouts!
In addition, I am very worried about you not doing any tempo due to your foot. I know you have had ankle issues. Take a look at Maffuletti’s work. The more I see, and the more I use HRV, the more I agree with Maffuletti’s assertion that ankle and foot injuries (not to mention shin splints) are often actually early global overtraining symptoms, and not local foot or shin issues.
If you are not doing ANY tempo right now, do yourself a favor: GET THE BIKE WORKOUT ASAP! I have used this workout a million and one times with my athletes especially during the winter when we are stuck indoors. It will keep your fitness levels very high and causes zero pounding on the legs. Using the bike workout in concert with the medball circuit and abs on a low intensity day got one of my new guys who is coming off a long term injury mega-ripped in no time flat.
I think the bike workout will be a better alternative for tempo. Early season last year I was doing great, training on and off and doing tempo on off days, my fitness levels were getting good in no time… and that’s when a foot injury occured.
Since then I’ve never done tempo anymore and my foot is much better, so I’m going to go with the bike. Perhaps maybe after strengthening my ankle and foot (which I haven’t focused on much) in the off season i’ll be injury free
I’m curious, at what point in time exactly did the foot start flaring up? Did it start flaring up at around the same time in both of the past two seasons? Do you recall the exact timing?
Had lane 8, my curve was really bad compared to other races. On the straight I did good though, overall not a bad time I would say.
After the race I noticed some guys were warming up for the discus throw and decided to do it too, for fun. To my surprise I threw 34m (111 ft) which isn’t a bad performance
The foot issues start to appear in early season. We’re training in the park so the surface is hard, and the volume is kind of high too with all the long runs etc. We do bounding exercises and stuff like that, but I’m always complaining about ankle/foot pain then. And they start to dissappear in the early competition phase, like April when the focus is more on sprinting and less conditioning etc.
I can’t possibly have the same issues next season because I can never reach my potential like that, that’s why I’m going to have to do some serious strenghtening exercises in the off season period
Is there really any difference in the strength between your two feet? Can you have someone measure this objectively? I constantly see foot injuries when athletes get chronically overloaded, especially talented ones who can produce a lot of force, and especially early in a season.
The fact that your foot issues occurred at similar times in both seasons suggests that the foot problem may only be a symptom, and not the cause. As Maffuletti has stated, and I have seen with my own athlete, foot issues and low back issues are often the early symptoms of an overtraining state. I am willing to wager that a weak foot is not the problem, it’s instead probable that you are being pushed too hard overall. Reaching your potential may require you to fake sick and skip a few workouts rather than trying to strengthen your foot in order to slog through them. Being hurt means you can’t progress, and you have been hurt fairly often. Less work is often the answer.
Are you going to refuse to do bounding? It sounds like it would be wise to avoid. Perhaps by mixing in the bike tempo at least once per week instead of pounding on the pavement you could reduce the risk of overtraining / overreaching.
Using an HRV app like Ithlete or Bioforce this season would be an excellent investment. Check out my journal, I’m going to discuss our findings using HRV this past season with one of my athletes. If you take readings daily, it tracks the status of your nervous system objectively and can help you predict and therefore avoid illness and injury- a very valuable tool!
Thank you T-Slow I will look into it. That bike workout I will certainly use, but what about pool workouts? I feel so refreshed and well the day after staying in the pool for about an hour. Now I don’t do too much mainly swimming few laps and stretching in the water…
And a good osteopath I know could measure the strength difference in my feet I’m sure. Few months back he treated me and said my right pififormis was too tight and not as strong as the left one, he fixed it immediately.
Wednesday 28 August
Slow jog
Dynamic stretches, running drills and strides
Relay training:
As I anchor, I didn’t have to run too much. 2-3 baton exhanges were enough
Speed pyramid:
40-50-60-50-40m-120m
I have mixed feelings about this session. I tend to run better on softer surfaces like the track next to my house. (I train on the Brussels mondo track where the memorial van damme will occur friday)
I didn’t go 100% though, just relaxed and focusing on technique which wasn’t that good, nearing the end my heels go up too high
