Meet list 2016 - season in review

My annual summary.  2016 - a very good year!

USATF National Indoor Champion M55 400m

•    55.22 - fastest M55 indoor 400m in World since 2008

USATF National Indoor Bronze Medal M55 200m 

•   24.65 - ranked #3 in world M55 indoor 200m

World Record - 4x200m relay 1:40.22 (McGee, Chin, James, Yelverton)

USATF National Outdoor Champion M55 400m - 55.93

USATF National Outdoor Silver Medal M55 200m - 24.74

World Masters Championship: 6th 200m - 25.04

World Masters Championships - Gold Medal 4x100m relay (McGee, Thomas, Yelverton, Aurelien) - 45.15

Season PRs in Blue

--INDOOR--

1/10 - Nashville -  TSU, Ed Temple Classic (flat 200m)

• 400m - 57.36 
• 200m - 25.46

1/24 - Birmingham - Emory Invite

• 55.91 - 400m

1/31 -Birmingham KMS Invite (200m banked Mondo)

• 60m - 7.77
• 200m - DQ FS

 2/12-13 - Vanderbilt Music City  (300m Mondo)

• 200m - 25.36
• 400m - 55.97 

2/20 - NYC Millrose Games - 2nd place, Masters 4x400m GPTC

• lead off leg - 55.97 split

3/4-6 - Albuquerque USATF Masters Indoor National Championships

• 400m - 55.22
• 200m - 24.65
• 60m - 7.77
• 4x200m relay - 1:40.22  WR

--OUTDOOR--

3/19 - Atlanta, Emory Invite

• 400m - 55.72

3/25-26 - Nashville - Vanderbilt Invite

• 200m - 25.16 
• 400m - 56.11

4/9 - Mt. Berry, Berry College

• 200m - 25.12 
• 400m - 57.56    

4/15 - Sewanee, Mt. Laurel

• 200m - 25.18

5/7 - Atlanta - TrackLab, Emory

• 100m - 12.42 

6/11 - KY Bluegrass Games - Centre College

• 200m - 25.01
• 400m - 56.16

6/18 - Atlanta SE Regionals

• 200m - 25.43
• 400m - 56.70

6/25-26 - Brentwood -TN State Finals

• 200m - 25.22 
• 400m - 55.78

7/14 - USATF Masters Nationals

• 400m - 55.93
• 200m - 24.74  

 9/17 - Nashville District meet

• 400m - 57.1 (h) 

10/16 - Chattanooga District meet

• 200m - 24.92 (h) 
• 400m - 55.99 (h)

10/31-11/6 Perth, Australia WMAC World Masters Athletic Championships

• 400m semi - 56.24
• 400m final - DNF
• 200m final - 25.04
• 4x400m relay
• 4x100m relay - 45.15

Totals

18 meets 

13 races indoor

27 races outdoor

40 - total races including relays

3 - 60m
2 - 100m (1 relay)
17 - 200m (2 relays, 1 DQ)
18 - 400m (2 relays)

compare:
2016: 18 meets / 40 races
2015: 12 meets / 30 races
2014: 19 meets* / 42 races) *not including 3 fall senior games meets

Hard day

Hard day because prior to my workout I spent 4+ hours working on my porch roof which entailed a lot of up and down ladders, stairs, moving a 300lb wood stove etc...  I also am running on empty, having not eaten today and very light yesterday, just some nuts and a little tuna.  So, my times were slow.

Nice day to train.  42º and sunny but there was a light wind.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 600m - 1:49.5, 1:49 

3 x 300m w/ 2min rest - 49, 51, 53.5

I was really dragging my butt on the last 300m.  My feet hurt from all the walking I did in FL, several miles on Wed and some Thurs, and 25 min Stairmaster on Wed.  The first 600m was brutal but the second was better, easier.   So thankful for my hot tub right now.

Even after a light day of eating, I still weighed 148 when I got home last night.  But today, I've made a good dent in my fight against adiposity.  144.9 after workout.

Feel like I probably will not start my season at TSU next weekend.  Weather looks bad for Monday, so I may try to train on the track Sunday if I'm feeling it. It's getting warmer and wetter here next few days.

600s / tempo 200s

Nice 70º morning at the Villages HS track in FL.  A little more humid than I'm used to but fine.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 600m - 1:48.5, 1:49 

4 x 200m w/ 1 min rest - 31.5, 33, 34, 35

The 600s weren't too bad.  I didn't push them too hard and stayed at 72 sec 400m pace.  Being tired after the 600s, my 200s were hard and really slow.  It was the first tempo workout I had done this season and I am heavy.  Hard to keep up with my parents level of eating, hard to refuse good food and sweets.   Over all, a good hard 2000m workout.  Friday, I racked up 1800m.

Was 147 lbs after workout.  (inaccurate bathroom scale).

Next track workout will likely not be until Friday in very cold TN.  Temperatures will likely be about 40º.

If I want to, I could race in a college meet every weekend in Jan.  Not sure yet which races I'll do.

Merry Christmas

Santa claus is coming to town...

He knows if you've been bad or good...

speed endurance ladder

In FL visiting my parents.  Not used to early morning workouts so I felt a bit weak.  Got a good solid workout in at the Villages HS, nice weather mid 60ºs calm winds.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

600m - 1:45.5

500m - 86 

400m - 66.5 

300m - 45.5

This was my 3rd track workout in 5 days + an evening weight and stairmaster workout, so it felt hard. times weren't too fast.  The 600 was a hair too fast, below my 1:48 target, so my 500 suffered.

Still feel heavy, but no accurate scale here.  Next track workout on Monday.

brief blast

Had just a little time on a beautiful day in Sewanee, 50º and calm winds, but increasing clouds.   I was on the track Monday, weights and Stairmaster yesterday, so I didn't want to do much.  Just one hard blast.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

800m - 2:30.5 (73, 77) 

3 min rest 

200m - 32

This was like a 'split 1000m'.   Was still recovering when I started the final 200m.

I'll be working out again on Friday, so this was light in order to save the foot.  What I haven't mentioned too much here is my every third day on the Stairmaster.  It's really a killer workout - doing the 20 min Hill program on level 16 (of 20).  I'm dripping sweat in 12 min.  I have sometimes stepped off in between hills for 5 seconds to take a drink, but no cheating, no elbows resting.  It's a good pump for the legs, good aerobic work and foundation.  It's comparable to running a brisk 2 miles.  Forget your treadmill and elliptical ...  good old fashioned Stairmaster is the gym workout.

If the 800m was at the end of the meet in Daegu, I'd consider running it.  It was 'low hanging fruit' in Perth (just 2:17 won Bronze).  I really would never want to train for an 800m.

Still heavy.  Woke up at nearly 149, 145.7 after workout.

more foundation

Cold.  28º, dark and breezy at the Sewanee track.   Just above the threshold of not being able to wear shorts.   Trained in short tights and a wind breaker.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

800m - 2:38 

600m - 1:52 

400m - 65.5

Not really fast times today.  My stride felt tight and tense, feet hurt, wind in the face on the home stretch, but I got it done.  Way too cold to run fast.  But, the 400m felt so mercifully easy after running 800s and 600s for the past week.

Was a bit heavier today.  I woke up at nearly 149 lbs, but after workout, was 146.0.  That is why it is hard for me to train in the early morning.  I'm really not 'empty' and at lowest weight until early afternoon.  I almost always eat my first meal of the day in the evening.

I may go out again on Wed. if I have time and my feet feel ok.  I stopped taking glucosamine, now I think I'll start again.

cold 600s

Dark, windy, and cold at the Sewanee track Friday afternoon.  38º but the wind and darkness made it feel much colder.  This was really the first 'winter workout' since I wore gloves and a wind breaker, but the usual short tights.  I usually only go to the long tights when it's below 25º or 30º and windy.   'Sun and no wind' at 23º feels warmer than 'dark and windy' at 35º.   I sheltered in my car between repeats.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches drills 

3 x 600m - 1:51, 1:49.5, 1:52

Slower than last time due to conditions.  2 of 3 straights into the wind.   15 min between.

Getting there, but have yet to ramp up to any real speed or tempo work.  Perhaps after Xmas.  144.3 lbs after workout.  Monday - next track workout.

600s in the mist

Gettin' it done today in the classic Sewanee mist/drizzle/fog ... known locally as 'mizzle'.   The fog was dense and by workout's end, visibility down to 30m.  Dark, wet, but not raining.  Thankfully not much wind and temperatures at t-shirt level 45º.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

3 x 600m - 1:49, 1:48.5, 1:49

I did these with ample recovery so, not too bad.  I was going to do 4 but ran out of daylight and visibility.   I hit the 400m mark right around my target of 72 on these and I kept a very consistent pace of about 36 / 200m, all were about the same pace.   Faster than the 800s when I'm running 38-40 / 200m.  Keeping my long to short regime, at least a few more foundation workouts like this and then after Xmas, I'll start tempo intervals and speed work.  For now, I'm doing 3-day cycles of track - weights - rest - repeat.   That means just 2 or 3 workouts before I leave town for a week.  I only have access to a track on one day (23) the week I'm gone so I may be running on grass the rest of the time.
Seems like I probably won't be ready for the TSU meet on Jan. 8 but I may give it go just to see where I am.  The Vandy meet on Jan 14 is really the one I want to run but they are unpredictable about entry. With Nationals so early this yr, I need meets under my belt.  Here's a possible Jan

Schedule:
1/8 - TSU
1/14 - Vanderbilt
1/22 - Emory Crossplex
2/10 - Sewanee?

It would be nice to get one more but we'll see.  I could always run in Sewanee's Feb. meet on their 160m track... but that's always hard.  Probably too close to Nationals.

Weight is still high, 145.5 after workout.  Left foot is a whole lot better, right foot the same.

Most people would be inside by the fire ...

Medal stand photo

I knew this photo was out there somewhere...

M50 4x100m World Champions

Foundation 800s

Foundation work is always a bitch.  Especially 800m repeats.  No sprinters do these, although most would agree an aerobic foundation in the off season is necessary for an aged 400m masters.  Bill Collins certainly agrees.

Cold today, low 40ºs but sunny at the Sewanee track.  T-shirt weather for training.  

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills  

3 x 800m - 2:38, 2:41, 2:48

It felt a bit better than last time and it wasn't too bad because I didn't push super hard and I took ample rest between, about 15m.

Looking back at my cycle between nationals and world this year, I did about 4 workouts of high volume 600 and 800 repeats, not as many as I did in '15, before going to shorter interval and tempo workouts.   Did more tempo workouts, they are the hardest.   I have less time this year.  Just 4 weeks before the first opportunity to race and 10 weeks before Nationals.

Planning to keep it to long foundation intervals for next week.  Two times on the track and 2 in the weight room.  I may do stadium stairs Thurs.  I'm hoping to ramp up but Xmas week I'm traveling and it will be difficult to find a track while out of town.    

My weight sucks.  Ranging 146-150.  Woke up at 147.8, 145.8 lbs after workout, but hadn't eaten anything all day.  My left foot is definitely recovering.  It's ok and I'm not taping or padding it at all except for heavy socks.  My right foot has the usual low level soreness.  Much better than I was in Sept. when this metatarsalgia reared it's ugly head.

Beginning again

A nasty day at the Sewanee track, 47º and light drizzle, fog, dark, dank.  This would be just a rust buster, nothing serious, but I did what I set out to do.  Foundation workouts, my least favorite, are beginning.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

200m strider 

2 x 800m  - 2:38, 2:49

The first 800m hurt as I pushed it a bit.  The second one I just ran easy, wasn't too bad, but I needed full rest in between them.

In the past 4 weeks, I've been on the stairmaster, like last night, doing 20min; been on the bike including 2 ascents of Roark's Cove Rd., and some weights.  It's been a decent rest. Have gained 5 lbs, and I'm lingering around 146-148, actually down a few from my peak.  The metatarsalgia on my left foot is almost gone and the arthritis on my right is better, but not gone.

I hope to ramp it up and cross train a bit more before going back to a 3 to 4 day a week regime.  Probably be back out on Sat.  Colder weather is coming later this week, Sat. should be sunny in the low 40ºs.

It's been a crazy never ending season.  Outdoor Nationals - 15 weeks -  then World meet - 15 weeks, then Indoor Nationals - 4 weeks then Indoor Worlds.  I really wish the Perth meet was a month or 2 earlier.  It would have given me more rest.