Bike

Mon and Tues on the bike.  Did a Roark's Cove Rd climb on Monday in under 24 min, not fast but still hard as my VO2max is gone.  On Tues just a 9 mile local ride with some hills.  Had to do a full effort sprint away from a pit bull toward the end of my ride and my foot felt sore afterward.  Maybe put off running another week.  

Finally some cooler weather.  Was 59º this morning.  Dry weather for the foreseeable future.   By early next week, back in the mid 80ºs and swimming weather.  

Training Methods

I had always been using the tried and true long to short method of training.  Working on long sprint foundation early in the season (800s) and transitioning to speed work, with only spare max speed or race pace work mid season.  A radically different approach is being championed in Masters circles focusing on max speed almost exclusively.  Tony Hollers so-called 'Feed the cats' approach.  It focuses on specificity of max speed only.  No intervals, no V02 max development.  No training runs ever longer than 200m and mostly very short.  Lots of plyo type drills, etc...  It's a short to long approach.  I've enthusiastic to try anything new but a bit skeptical that it would satisfy the needs of an aging 400m sprinter who is running just under 60 sec which undoubtedly has an aerobic element, unlike elites that run under 48.  But, I do recognize speed reserve is improved by top speed.  This year was the first year I've ever failed to break 26 in a 200m, came very close (26.07, 26.10) and I really could use some work on max speed and acceleration.  Perhaps it would be better than the soul crushing volume I have been doing in sub maximal intensive tempo workouts, as many very reputable coaches have used (Clyde Hart, R. Banta, etc...).  I'm reaching the end of my competition viability in the M60 age group and may only do indoor season next year so maybe I'll try to develop my 60m speed.  Here's more on this philosophy.  

swimming

Hey John, are these the dog days?

Yes, I'd say so.  "My ever-lastin' summer I can see it fading fast." ... coming to the end of an epic 4 month vacation.  

The past 4 days have been exactly the same.  Hot, humid, sunny, low 90ºs with a heat index over 100º.   I've done almost the exact same thing everyday.  Morning, split a little firewood.  Noon, watch the World Athletics Championships on USA network or Peacock til 3pm, and then go to the lake on the cycle and swim across and back.  4 or 5 pm, home for afternoon tea and play guitar.   It haven't seen it rain since the day I left for Canada on 2 weeks ago today.   So, it's a good time to deal with firewood.  Same weather for tomorrow.  No possibility of rain til Sun/Mon.  Just got a new roof and gutters so it would be good to see how they do.

My V02 max and sprint endurance is in the shitter by now.  I can tell just by my swimming and water running.  It goes away fast, some say in 9 days or so.  Especially fast for me because I've never been an endurance athlete.  It takes about 90-95 strokes to cross the lake.  I can get about 75-80 in usually, but now I tire by 44-50.   So, I think I'll try to run a little by next weekend, as my aches and pains are going away.  Knee and feet feel better already.   Maybe I can start like I did last August with 1 running session/ week.  I'm not even biking yet.  

It's astonishing that I have had this lake totally to myself for an hour or so, 4 days in a row.  

This photo was taken by a photography student who I met at the lake just before I left for Nationals in July.  He just texted me this photo, (a rare film photo, not digital).  I've probably gained about 4 to 5 lbs since then.   

Not eating badly but not great since I'm back from ATL.  Generally plant based, beans, corn, seed crackers w/ almond butter and preserves, protein ice cream, chocolate, tomato sandwiches on bread, watermelon.  

144.5 lbs after my swim.  

Detraining, gaining weight

Finally back in Sewanee.   As I mentioned previously, last year I took one week off from running then began again on Aug 8 with 1 running workout a week.  This year, I'm going to need more of a break.  My feet and knee were still hurting a bit after the mountain hiking in BC.    

Even after the 2 days of hiking, on my first 'day off,' I climbed to the top of the Olympic ski jump in Whistler.  (I really wish I had this staircase and hill to train on regularly).  This was the first time I had been at the top of a ski jump since I climbed one at age 10 in Slovakia.  

Due to the slope, you can't even see the top in this photo.  After about 500 steps, then there's the 100' tower.

While in Whistler, I had some incredibly tasty food that I always avoid.  The fried fish and chips with garlic fries were so good, I returned the next night and had the exact same thing.  Amazing.  

On the last day in Whistler, we took a sea plane flight from Green Lake over the glacier fields.  The heavy old Otter seaplane ride was a bit unnerving at times because we were really close to the cliffs and the plane felt like it was barely making it.  The pilot told me it doesn't fly over 10,000'.   The views were tremendous.  At altitude, the glaciers seem to go on as far as the eye could see.  

A couple snags on the way home... we almost missed our connection in Toronto because we stood in the wrong line to get our boarding passes and had to ask permission to get past the line at passport check and run through the airport.  I couldn't find my car keys and thought Roya had them, but she said no, and later found them.... in her purse.  

Back in Atlanta, the decline continued.  Had my once a year pizza and it wasn't particularly unhealthy - cauliflower crust and vegetables, light cheese.  But, the trip to the French bakery, not so healthy...

Back in Sewanee, I swam across the lake yesterday and did some water running, and will again today.  It's the hottest weather of the year.  The students haven't returned and the lake was ethereally quiet, had the place totally to myself, and it was seemingly cool considering the heat index.   I was doing ok, staying under 145 lbs, but after eating a lot yesterday, I maxed out at 147, so I'm going to fast a bit today.  

Really enjoying the last days of summer, watching the spectacular IAAF World Championships.  Was up at 4:00am today watching the 200m prelims and the polevault.  5 more days to come.  Track and field heaven.  Will definitely need a nap.

I will probably refrain from any leg exercise including biking for the remainder of the week and see what it feels like next week. However, I may move some wood today which is alway hard work.  Now at 10 days post running. 

   

Two days of Alpine hiking

 

Canadian Masters Athletic Championships - meet report

No fast times, stiff headwinds for the 100/200, no competition, 3 Golds.   Calling it a season.  After 13 meets and 25 races, I'm so done.  So, today we're off to Whistler for a vacation  

I underestimated the toll this season has taken on my body and foot.  I do think I'll recover soon but I need a break from running.   I really should not have raced the 400m in this meet.   It wasted me for Sunday's 200m.  Even if I was fresh, the conditions were not good to run a good time with the stiff headwind.  Glad I didn't come here specifically for this meet.  The competition was very thin.  Hard to believe this was Canada's finest.  They made me look like a superstar, even running slow times: 12.95 (-1.3), 26.91 (-2.6), 59.00.   

200m

Limped off the track on Sat after easily winning the 100m and 400m, and by the time of the 200m on Sunday, it was tough to warm up.  (Probably ate a bit too much on Sat night as well as we went to a waterfront seafood restaurant).   But with the capsaicin cream kicking in, I got ready and did a few strides, just wanting to get it done.  It was hot, but low humidity compared with TN, so it only felt hot in the sun. 

I was feeling OK by the time I got in the blocks.  I actually got a very good start and opened a 10m lead by the time I hit the straight and extended it to at least 20m by the finish.  Stiff headwind the whole way, especially coming off the turn.  

100m

After 3 false starts, we finally got away and my start was just ok.  I won by more than 10m, and it was probably my best race.   At least I ran under 13 into a headwind.  That time would have won at Penn and medaled at Nationals.  

400m

I unfortunately ran from lane 2 and had Greg, the fastest Canadian to my outside.   He got a rather slow start and I never saw him after 30m.  It was just between me and Dave who was in M55.  I pulled up even with him at the top of the stretch and we were even with about 50m to go, then he turned on his world class speed and beat me by several meters.  I was pissed I missed running under 59 .... exactly 59.00.  Dave is the M55 world Champion in the 100/200.  He ran 11.36 this season.  Greg finished in M60 a few seconds behind.   

I was happy to see Greg, Mark, and the Canadian team smash the M60 4x800m world record later that day.  They bettered it by a whopping 13 sec.   I delivered the news to Pete, who had been talking to me about making an attempt on that WR, but he had kept me hanging for weeks, so glad to NOT be doing that in a few weeks.   I do think this record by the Canadian team has put it out of reach for the US team.  They'd have to average 2:19, it would be a stretch.  

Vancouver

So, after the 200m, Roya and I went into Vancouver to enjoy the city and get a taste of the Granville Is. Public Market.  What strikes me about Vancouver is the ethnic diversity, Indians, Persians, Asians... it's really great.  Roya was hearing Farsi being spoken everywhere.  The waterfront was very clean, virtually no garbage or plastic floating around.  We walked through the shipyard and by the docks, there were some fresh seafood outlets.  I had a fresh lobster roll:

Roya had an Asian noodle dish, and we also got some granola bars from a bakery.  

I felt totally stuffed even though I hadn't really eaten that much.  Was really tired by the time we got back to the hotel. 

Today, we leave for Whistler.  We have tickets for the Peak to Peak Gondola on Tuesday, and the Joffre Lakes Provincial Park on Wed.  

I'll post more photos of Vancouver soon....

Pre race day - Canadian Nationals - surprises

The first surprise was at 3 am on Thursday morning.  A horrendous thunderstorm hit with 60 mph winds  from the N (very unusual), knocked out power and topped a 100' poplar tree which just missed destroying my boat, by 2'.  The top 40' of the tree just grazed my boat, knocking it off the jack stand, breaking a teak rail at the corner, and ripping the mooring cover in numerous places.  I barely slept Wed night,  maybe 2-3 hrs max.   Instead of a recovery day on Thursday when I planned to leave in the morning for ATL, I spend 4-5 hrs on my feet with chainsaw, hauling wood, and tediously sewing canvas for hours.... but I got it done.  Then spent 4 hrs riding in a tow truck taking Roya's car to ATL which needed service.  The tow truck offered a punishing ride, could feel every bump.  

Had to get up at 5 this morning to drive through a driving rainstorm and beat ATL rush hour, park, and beat the huge lines at the airport, so Roya could get through security and attend an online meeting for work.  We got it done. 

Now in a relaxed Minneapolis airport watching a severe thunderstorm pass hopefully before we board in 45 min for Vancouver. 

The second surprise was the start list for tomorrow's 400m.   Seems like I have the fastest seed time in both the M55 and M60 age groups but they combined sections and I don't have a clue how I ended up in lane 2.  Fellow American M55 David G. seeded himself at 60, which is ridiculous because he can run 56 easily (having run 23.6 in the 200m M55 Nationals final), and he gets the choice lane 5 in my heat.  They put the next fastest M60 - Greg A. (seeded at 60.4) in another heat with much slower M65 guys.  Makes ZERO sense, really dumb.  The 400m is less than an hour after the 100m final.  Wondering if I should even run the 400m?  We'll see how I feel after the 100m.   

Anyway, just looking forward to seeing Whistler next week and having some fun running the 100m.  

 

2x150 tempo, blocks

Light workout today, rain approaching mid afternoon, mid 70ºs and a little drizzle.  I did a short set on turf today and some blocks with the sprint starter app.   Last workout before Sat meet in Vancouver.   

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100m

2 x 150m on turf w/ 30 sec rest - 22.13, 22.85

4 x starts from blocks - best reaction = 174ms

The 150s were brisk and smooth, tiring but not super taxing, close to 400m race pace. 

I haven't heard anything about the 4x8 relay, so this may have been the last workout of my competitive season.    I think I'm good to go for one last meet.  I'm healthy, so I could conceivably do the 4x8 but I've been kept hanging too long, I'd have to really think about it if I'm asked.  It would require some hard painful training to reach optimum endurance that I'm willing to do, since I'm in decent shape to start.  I'll make a decision by Monday.  

Feeling pretty good considering the long season.  It's been 8 months since my competition season started in Dec.  Most masters don't start that early, nor are they still racing now.  I took just a week off from running last Aug a year ago, then slowly ramped up.  Ended my '22 season Aug 1, started training (running) 1x/ week Aug 8,  twice a week in Sept., and by Oct.,  I was training pretty much full scale which is 3x/week.   

Going to enjoy a meet where I can win with my B game and just have fun.   I wish Roya had entered, she might have medaled in the 100m.   Another episode of 'athletic tourism'.   The weather looks fantastic, no chance of rain and 80ºs during the day.  Really looking forward to seeing Whistler.  

139.8 lbs after workout.  

2x300

Beautiful evening in Sewanee, low 70ºs, clear, light N breeze.  Worked a little today on race pace.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, 100m, bands, drills

100m - 14.31

Adidas trainers on

300m - 43.54 (13.22, 14.65, 15.67 / 27.87, 15.67)

Adidas Prime SP2 spikes on

300m - 42.74 (13.88, 14.24, 14.62 / 28.12, 14.62)

I didn't get the pace right 1st 300, second one was about right - about mid 58 pace, after running one.  Need to remind myself to really take it easy on that first 100/200.  28 is ok.  

Since I probably won't be able to train on Thurs, I may go out tomorrow and do some blocks, since I will be running the 100m Sat.  

A lb lighter today made a difference.  139.8 lbs after workout.  

150s

Yesterday, did some easy running.  Nice weather, moist, temperatures falling to the low 70ºs by sunset, the track was wet.  Just did some low volume work.  A little conditioning, a little speed.  Roya joined me in a few runs.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, 100m, drills, bands, 100m

2x150m w/ 30 sec rest on turf - 23.80, 24.01

Adidas trainers on

150m - 20.13 (13.10, 7.03)

150m - 19.87 (12.84, 7.03)

50m - 6.57

The first set was more tiring than expected, but felt better after that.   The 150s in Adidas on the track were a little faster than 400m pace but slower than 200m pace.  Just working on form, relaxation.  I made some videos for analysis.  Seems like my left leg is more bowlegged than my right, if that is possible.  

On a masters track group, I was cited as a high cadence runner (fast turnover).  I was asked what exercises I do to increase turnover.  The truth is I don't do any.  The little amount of work I do on top end speed, leads me to believe that turnover is generally innate and has to do with fast twitch muscle, strength, and leg length.  They talk about 'cadence' which is strides per minute, (even if the race is well shorter than a minute).  My 'cadence' is about 234 (stride/min) in a 400m race and 270 at top end in a 100m race (4.5 strides / sec), which is on par with elite sprinters, of course elites have far more power and far greater stride length.  According to Dr. Steve Peters, there are 2 general types of sprinters: high knee lift and fast turnover.  Usain Bolt has a slower cadence than I do (257) but is a high knee lift runner, with much longer strides, longer legs.   Tyson Gay has both, a cadence of 281 and high knee lift, that's why he runs 9.69, although he is 6" shorter than Bolt.  Someone said that aging sprinters lose stride length before they lose turn over.   

A little heavier today after eating carbs at a Chinese buffet the other night.  140.6 lbs after workout.

Couples that sprint together stay together.  We're 62 and 63.  Sprinting makes you young.

3x300m tempo

 Mid 70ºs sunny and humid at the Sewanee track.  Returned to the same workout I attempted before, 'hair of the dog that bit me' last time.  A little lighter, and a better paced set, I got it done.  3 x 300m w/ 3 min rest is a good workout without being soul crushing like the 4x300m w/ 3 min I was doing at peak before Nationals.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, bands, drills, 2 x 100m

Adidas trainers on

3 x 300m w/ 3min rest - 49.62, 50.19, 49.56

Was able to finish it strong with the last one being the fastest.  Got it done and I just wanted to complete it, unlike last time.  That's why I didn't run the first one fast.  

I'm signed up for all 3 sprints at Canadian Nationals.  Not a huge turnout with one heat in each event in my age group.  Looks like a nice blue track, they've had elite meets there.  Not that much competition except Greg in the 400m who runs 60 flat.  Should be fun.  

As I said, I was lighter today.  That helped. 139.3 lbs after workout.  

brief tempo - 2x300, 2x100

80º and cloudy, felt warmer.  South wind.   Yesterday biked up the mountain in just under 22 min, so did something.  The 600m I ran 2 days ago made me think I could run a decent 800m, but todays workout makes me think otherwise.  It was a struggle.  Makes me think I'm rapidly losing fitness.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 100m, bands

300m, 300m, 100m, 100m w/ 3min rest - 48.06, 49.56, 15.62, 13.72

Maybe I didn't warmup enough and maybe I ate too much yesterday but the first one was really clunky and tiring.  My foot and knee hurt.  The second one felt better, pain went away, but the head wind caught me in the last 100m and I ran slow.  It was unusually tiring.  I opted out of the 3rd 300 and ran 2x100m with 3min rest.  

The problem is that I've been sprint training essentially for years without much of a break.  After I won the Silver in the 800m at Nationals last year and anchored on my club 4x400m relay on Aug 1st, I took just ONE WEEK off from running, then started back to the track once per week on Aug 8.  That is part of my problem right now.  The previous year in '21, I raced through mid Aug and took a month off because of that proximal ham soreness that eventually resulted in the injury in my second indoor meet in Dec. '21.    I was forced to take some time off in spring '22 but even then, I was still running hills and biking.  So, need to wrap this season up. 

At this point, I don't think I can improve on my 57.59 400m time, so thinking about maybe just running the 100m and 200m in Canada.  The 4x800m I'm not going to worry about since I don't yet have a commitment.  

Anyway, maybe will do better next time.  Some say, if you take a lot of time off you NEVER get it back.  Some say that's untrue.  But I do know how hard it is to start over.  It's really really tough, and painful.  But we do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. 

140.1 lbs after workout.