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201

thursday
hip squats 3:10 30, 1:10 50, 1:5 53
BE 1:10 BW, 1:5 10
rev hyp 1:20 BW

friday
rev hyp 3:10 12.5
cupping - back

saturday
chiro (lower and mid-back adjustment)
treadmill - 400, 300 (10), 200 (12), 300, 400 (10)
cupping - right shoulder area

sunday
4x100 60-75%
2x50s/50f
2x100 50%
cupping - hamstrings

monday
cupping - upper body

tuesday
sliding - hamstrings/calves

wednesday
rev hyp 1:20 BW, 3:10 12.5
BE 1:10 BW, 1:10 12.5
rev hyp 1:40

thursday
treadmill - 400, 300 (10), 200 (12), 300 (12), 400 (10)

had an ultrasound/x-ray analysis on my knee last week. no structural damage, although there is some slight calcification of the quad tendon at there top of the kneecap. there is a bit of extra fluid in the area, as well. this indicates that the knee is “unhappy”, although the guy couldn’t locate a specific problem. his suggestion was that there might be some strain to the ligaments that isn’t showing up. he recommended 2 months of rest, which ain’t going to happen. it was more welcome advice than I got from my doctor who suggested I might need to think about changing sports!

since the scan my knee has been settling down.

bought myself a hip belt (thanks TrevorS), and I’m finding it to be a brilliant way to load up the legs without ruining my glass back. it does seem to put all of the weight straight onto the quads, although I guess that isn’t a bad thing since the hamstrings get a good high intensity workout from sprinting. I’m keeping hamstring weights under a “speed (weight) limit” so that I can be sure I won’t risk an injury. I don’t want to overdo it like I did a few months back.

I have only been to the track once since my gold coast debacle, so it kind of feels like I’ve hardly been doing anything, but when I look at my notes I’ve actually done something every day. my current weekly program looks something like this:

wednesday - speed
thursday - tempo
friday - weights (quads, hams, glutes, back)
saturday - tempo
sunday - sled/SE/calves
monday/tuesday - regen

I leave the calf work to sunday because I tend to get a bit sore there when I work on them (probably why I avoid it and probably why I think they are weak). the SE takes a bit out of me as well, so the two full days of recovery are well placed. it also leaves me fresh and ready for a high quality/injury free session on wednesday. tempo follows high sessions to flush the system.

further input is welcome…

202

There is a cf dvd, fundamentals, i think its, “solving problems”
He uses a Jade stone to break up scare tissue, adheasions etc.
Works a treat, and should help you break up the calcium on your tendons.

Im finding i can do the same with the Cups. But jade stone is worth a try.

I would also do foamrolling on the thighs, i find i get better results from the cups from clients who do regular foamrolling.

203

sunday
rev hyp 1:20, 3:10 12.5
BE 1:10, 2:5 12.5
hip sqt 2:5 66
rev hyp 1:40
calf raises 1:10

very busy and stressful weekend, so only managed to fit in one session of weights on sunday night. not long before the end of the school year and I will be able to devote a lot more time and energy to training.

bold, the calcium in my quad tendon appears to be a couple of milimetres from the patellar. could a jade sone deal with that??

204

monday/tuesday
cupping - back
sliding - hamstrings

wednesday
400, 300, 200, 300, 400 - 65-75%

sunday
2x50/50
1x50 accel
rev hyp 3:10 12.5
BE 1:10 BW, 2:5 10
hip sqt 1:5 52
rev hyp 1:40 BW

wednesday
300/200/100/200/300 65-75%

thursday
rev hyp 1:20 BW, 3:10 12.5
BE 1:10 BW, 3:5 12.5
hip sqt 1:5 52, 1:5 65
rev hyp 1:40 BW

saturday
300/200/100/200/300

sunday
120/100/80

the knee issue is gradually fading away. it is still there but I can run faster and longer without it flaring up on me. counter to what should be happening, I often find that the soreness decreases with exercise. not quite sure what that’s all about.

my weights routine is working well for me. I think I’ve got a good balance going that is not interfering with my track work, which has often been a problem for me in the past. the hip squats are good because I can add more weight without needing to worry at all about my back. in fact, my legs are really looking quite a bit different already. you might think that 65kg is no great shakes, but it’s quite a bit harder to do them with a hip swuat than a regular back squat, I find. I’m not certain why, but I think it’s because more of the work is focussed on the quads and less by the hamstrings. this is ok by me because most of my weights work targets the posterior chain, and it’s good to be able to exert without having to worry about how you are going to pull up the next day.

the pyramid and SE sessions are really having an effect. I feel a lot fitter already. the first set of pyramids started off with 400 on the track with spikes. my calves hurt for about 4-5 days after, so now I do them in runners and I start from 300…

205

Sorry, just noticed.
Yes, the jade stone should work a treat

206

Sorry, just noticed.
Yes, the jade stone should work a treat

207

wednesday
reverse hyper 1:20 bw, 3:10 12.5
BE 1:10 bw, 3:5 12.5
hip sqt 3:5 (65, 78, 65)
rev hyp 1:40 bw
(knee soreness = zero)

thursday
short jog - 5 min

friday
upper body 3k kettle ball unilateral exercises
2x50/50 (-, 13s)
1x100 (13s)
various hip squat lifts 40-60kg

saturday
lawn mowing
hot/cold on hip joint

sunday
1x100 (60-8s, 100-13s)
2x60 (8s, 8.3s)
eccentric calves 2:10

the good news is that I have found a cool training partner. the bad news is - he cheats!

I started using a countdown timer to keep track of my training times. I set it to the time I want to complete the run in and press the button just before I start. it beeps and I take note of where I got to in that time. sounds great, but after using it for a couple of sessions I was feeling puzzled and disappointed with my results. having run 12.76s when at death’s door I found that I was now coming through in a touch over 13s! granted I was on spongy grass with no blocks, but I still wouldn’t have guessed that the time would be that much slower. until last night I worked out what was happening. when I press the button it does not wait 1 second before counting down to the next number! it changes almost immediately. so my training partner has been cheating.

so it looks like my times have been overestimated by close to a second, which is much more encouraging.

the solution is to count the timer down to zero before I start, then take off on the buzzer and count the beeps before I finish.

more good news is that my knee pain has faded into the distance. slightly concerning is the return of my hip/back pain while using the shipper snipper a few weeks back. it hasn’t stopped me doing anything yet, but I don’t want it to get wosre, so I’m seeing someone about it this afternoon.

hip belt squats have been great (no, they are not the cause of my hip pain. I started getting it just before I used the belt and I don’t get increased hip pain after a session). I’ve tinkered with a few things so that I can load/unload easier and not have to compromise with my stance. instead of using dumbells I now have the strap going through the plates themselves. that way they are not really wide, which was banging against my legs and endangering my manhood. using this method I should be able to load up with 100kg+ in a month or so. I haven’t been able to do that with squats for many years. probably close to 10…

208

monday
eccentric back extensions 1:10 bw
eccentric deadlifts 2:10 26kg

tuesday
ecc DL 2:5 26kg
cupping hamstrings

wednesday
1x60m grad (8.5s)
2x60m (7.8, 7.9)
3x100m (19, 17, 17)
ecc DL 1:5 26kg
hip squat 1:10 40kg

hamstring tendon was very sore on monday and most of tuesday. eccentric deadlifts had an instant effect. cupping was an excellent follow up treatment. I think I will only do eccentric hamstring exercises with my weights.

quads were a bit tight today, but I was still able to cross 60m in about 7.8s on grass and with no blocks. I’ve got no idea how much difference a proper track and a set of blocks would have made in terms of time. I’m guessing it would be something like .2-.4s difference, but I would be interested to hear any opinions on that…

209

thursday
light kettle ball exercises
ecc DL - 1:8 26

friday
SI joint massage
hip squat - 1:10 20, 1:8 30, 1:6 40, 1:4 50, 1:3 60/70, 1:1 80
ecc DL - 1:10 20

saturday
lawn mowing

the eccentric DL’s have worked wonders, in tandem with cupping. hamstring tendons are much better. I can actually sit down, now!

I noticed yesterday morning that even though my lower back, TFL, hamstring and glute were all feeling better from the treatment, there was still a dull ache in the pelvis area from which all other pain was eminating. I felt around and found a bony protruderance on the left side that I could not find on my right side. all around it was tender, so I massaged and mobilised the area. afterwards I found that the ache has vanished and with it was all of the joint soreness that I have been experiencing. I wonder if the various attachments to the joint have been tight causing pulling on the hamstring, etc.

anyway, I put it to the test with a session of hip belt squats and I have pulled up very well. only an appropriate amount of light general soreness the day after.

legs are starting to look right. hopefully they will soon learn to fly right, as well…

210

sunday
1x50/50 (13.5)
1x100 (60m-7.7, 100-12.8)
ecc DL - 1:10 20
ecc calves 2:10 bw

monday
400 (75)
300 (55)

tuesday
cupping - back/hamstrings/quads

wednesday
60m grad (8.5)
60 (7.6)
100 (60-8, 100-13, -w)
60 (8, -w)
3x100 (slow)
ecc DL - 2:5 20
hip squat - 1:10 30, 3:5 40, 1:8 60

thursday
300/200/100/200/300

friday
ecc calves - 1:10
hip squat - 3:3 40, 3:3 60, 2:2 70, 1:2 80
ecc DL - 2:5 20

friday
light gardening

I had a surprise visit from and old friend (and forum member) on monday. we met up for a session (400/300/200/100), but we had to cut it short. still, it was good to catch up with him. we’ve been having some very interesting discussions about training and technique.

I’m finding the eccentric exercises followed immediately by cupping directly over the tendon is a great combination for me. my range of motion is increasing while my level of discomfort is decreasing. the latter effect is allowing me to recover faster and train harder/more often.

the little timing system is working well. it doesn’t take too long to get the hang of it. I’ve showed it around a bit and I already have two people who have gone out and bought one for themselves. my 60m time is heading down towards 7.5 without blocks, so I’m hoping it can get even lower when I get the blocks going. I haven’t been doing my sled work yet, either.

weights are going quite well. I got my squat up to 2 reps at 80kg. once I’m doing two sets of that I’ll step it up to 85kg. as much as anything, though, I’m looking to increase the volume of weights I’m doing cause I’ve got to get a bit of meat on my skinny pegs. seems to be working out, so far. I’ve got the hamstring/back/glute exercises on hold for a bit because my lower back has been playing up a little bit…

211

sunday
trampoline sprints - 1x15s, 3x12s, 1x10s, 1x8s
hip thrust - 3:10 40

tuesday
60m - 7.9h
5x40m
hip sqt - 5:5 60

wednesday
SI joint adjustment
ITB massage
soleus origin massage

we had a thunder storm on sunday, so I did some trampoline sprints to substitute for the SE work I was planning to do. rather than measure by distance I sprinted flat out for a certain amount of time. it was actually quite demanding. my hip flexors are still a bit tight from it, in fact. it seemed to hit the shoulders, too.

had a race on tuesday but I sucked. I knew I was feeling a bit stiff and sore, but I didn’t get any grunt at all. I was kind of annoyed with myself so I ran some very aggressive 40’s. I seemed to be able to get a lot more power when I used slightly wider steps in the acceleration. I also ‘bunched up’ a little more in my starting position. I think I tend to spread out a bit which feels easier but doesn’t provide enough coil to generate power over those first few steps.

it’s been a tough week for me, so I booked myself in for a bit of therapy. I was correct in my analysis that my SI joint was out - way out, in fact! I had some work done in that area but I still need another appointment to get it better. also, she confirmed that the “knee” soreness I have been getting is actually coming from first at the top of the soleus. I got a good solid painful massage on that, but it also needs more work.

going to have a bit of a shift in workload this week. also going to change things up a tiny bit…

212

friday
reverse hypers - 3:10 bw, 3:5 12.5
hip squat - 2:5 70, 2:5 80

saturday
hill sprints - 10x40m

it’s amazing how quickly your strength can improve. a few weeks ago I was struggling to get out one rep at 80kg. now I can easily do sets of 5.

there were cricket matches going on where I was planning to run, so I scouted around and found a nice hill to use, instead. in fact, it’s probably beter. as a bit of variation I’ll be adding in some hill/sled stuff over the next few weeks.

got a 100m race on tuesday. no idea how I’m going to go. I’ve been sleeping kinda badly for the last week or so. on the plus side, I’m getting better at managing my SI joint…

213

tuesday
1x100m (time?)
hip sqt 2:5 60, 2:5 80

wednesday
4x200 75%

thurs-fri
sore hip - SI joint

saturday
6x100m (17, 17, 17, 16, 16, 17)

sunday
rev hyper 1:20 bw, 2:10 12.5
hip sqt 2:3 60, 2:2 80, 1:5 90
rev hyp 1:20 bw

tuesday - return to work

thursday
back ext 2:10 bw, 1:10 10
rev hyp 1:20 bw, 3:10 12.5
hip sqt 2:5 60, 2:5 80

saturday
treadmill 3x300 (9, 12, 9)
back ext 1:10 bw

sunday
1x60m grad (8s)
1x100 (60-7.6s, 100-12.1s)
1x60m (7.6s)
1x100 (60-7.5s, 100-12.0)

I had a race on tuesday that supposed to be electronic timing. it had been raining that afternoon, but I felt like I executed the run really well. there were a couple of other guys ing the race who are quite quick (around 11.5s) and I didn’t finish too far behind them. I was keen to know my time, and there was an announcement that the results would be on the website by the following evening. despite this I had to wait for nearly a week before they were available. when I eventually downloaded the results I was disappointed to see my time was 12.5. I then spent the next couple of days brooding because I have been training really hard and wasn’t getting any faster. heck, I had run 12.76s in qld when I was at death’s door with tonsillitis!

after a while it occurred to me that the times listed were all to one decimal place, so they must have been hand timed, but I was pretty sure there hadn’t been anyone timing the races. when I thought about it some more I remembered that I had to write down an approximate time that I thought I would run when I signed in (to assist with organising heats) and 12.5 had been the time that I nominated (I always nominate a slow time so I can be sure to beat it). I remembered the nominated time of another athlete from that meet, so I went back and had a look. lo and behold, his time was identical to his nominated time, as well! in fact, the more I looked the more I found things that didn’t add up. for instance, the guy who ran last place in the slowest heat of the night was way back behind the next slowest, yet his time was listed as being only .1s slower.

so it seems to me that the timing system has failed (possibly due to the weather?) and they have used the nominated times to guestimate the approximate results. no wonder it took so lo come out.

I wanted to test this out for myself, though. so this morning I headed to the track with a set of blocks and my timer. my suspicions were confirmed when I timed myself as running very close to 12 flat, rather than 12.5+. this means that I am actually reasonably close to personal best form. in fact, I may well have run a pb at the untimed meet.

looks like I have 2 more chances this season to nail in a good time…

214

What kind of timer do you use to time your own sprints?

215

I described it a bit earlier in the journal, but I’ll go into it again with more detail.

it’s a simple kitchen timer that I bought for $10 from dick smith. it counts down from a set amount, but when it gets to zero it beeps every second for a minute. if you set it beeping and take off right on the mark you can count them out as you run. I use them for speed sessions to know how fast I am going, but also for tempo runs so I can pace myself and hit the desired time. I just thread my pants string through the wire loop and tie it so that it just dangles in front of me.

the beeping pattern isn’t a single beep per second, so you can actually get a good gauge on fractions of seconds as well. of course, you have to estimate a bit and use your judgement, but I think it gives a pretty accurate indication.

in music terms (which I’m hoping you will understand, stormy), it starts off with triplet quavers for the first half of the second, then another quaver marks the halfway point. so if you number the beeps in order and use dots to signify silence, it kind of works like this:

1 - 0.00
2 - 0.16
3 - 0.33
4 - 0.50
.
.
5 - 1.00
6 - 1.16
7 - 1.33
8 - 1.50
.
.
9 - 3.00
etc.

of course, you aren’t thinking about it in that much detail when you’re at full flight. I just count "GO…1…2…3…4…5…6…(here I’m getting close to 60m)7…(I try my best to hit 60 before 7.5, but so far I have always been just a little bit after it). after I hit 60 I start to count again - 1…2…3…4…(getting close to 100m and trying to beat ‘5’)5(this is the 12 second mark - on sunday I crossed 100 right at this point, hence 12.0s).

clear as mud?? :smiley:

216

I had a similar experience with hand timing, unless you win, its hard to know if its remotely accurate.

217

Thanks for the explanation HB - is there a photo of it somewhere so i know what to look for?

218

I hate to say it vic, but I think your result was pretty accurate. perhaps your race could have been measured in metres, though?
how’s the recovery coming along?

stormy, I’ll send you a text…

219

Wednesday
4x40m blocks

Thursday
Cupping - hamstrings

Saturday
4x40m blocks, soft grass (5.7-5.9s)

Sunday
Rev hyper - 2:20 bw
Hip squat - 2:5 60, 2:3 80, 2:3 90, 1:3 100

My squat has hit triple figures for the first time in nearly 10 years. 60kg now feels like nothing. If I want to go heavier I’m going to have to get creative.

Sunday speed session was on grass. The ground was so soft that the blocks slipped for every start and each step left large divots in the turf like I’d been running on sand. The times were between 5.7 and 5.9, but it is harder to judge late in the second.

Work has restarted so I won’t have as much freedom/energy to do as many sessions as I have been. I’ll try to bump up the intensity a little to compensate…

220

tuesday
treadmill 3x300 (9,9,9)
quickness drills, 2:5 for each movement

wednesday
2x50m grad
3x40 3pt (<5.5)
1x60 (<7.5)

thursday
hip squat 5:3 60, 5:3 80, 5:3 60

saturday
treadmill 3x300 (9,9,9)

sunday (wet track)
2x50m grad
1x40 (5.5), 1x60 (7.8), 2x100 (12.8, 13.5)
rev hyp 1:20 bw, 1:10 12.5
hip squat 1:3 60, 1:3 80, 1:3 100, 1:3 110

added another 10kg to the squat today. times on the track were slower than they have been lately, but I put that down to the wet track and waterlogged spikes. I conked out a bit for the last run and finished badly…