3 x 500m UPDATED - correction

UPDATE:  These times were too fast, didn't seem right. I actually ran a 485m, not a 500m.  It was an improvement by a good margin over my last 500s, but not as much as I had hoped.  *I corrected the 500m times and added 2.5 sec to each interval time in the workout summary.  (From this particular starting line, I was supposed to run in lane 6 the whole way, but I cut to lane one for the 2nd turn, so my second "200" was really a 185m).

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The day started out frigid, snowing hard with an inch on the ground, 30º... but by early afternoon, snow melted from the track and the temperature rose just above freezing.  There were still intermittent snow showers during my workout with temps in the 30ºs.  But that didn't stop me from getting a real good track workout, although too cold to run anything short and fast.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

3 x 500m* - 82, 82, 83

*The first two 500s were almost identical, 63.5/16 splits for the 400m and last 100m.  I was amazed at the first one, that it didn't wipe me out.  So, after a good rest I ran my last one a little more aggressively, hitting the 400m in 62.5 and dragged the last 100m in a slow 18 sec.  Nevertheless, best set of 500s in memory.  Quite a bit different when I suffered severely running just 2 x 500 in 83, 87.5 only 2 weeks ago.  An improvement. 

So what has changed?  This, for one:

142.7 lbs after workout.

300s

Beautiful day to train in Sewanee, 56º and mostly sunny with a light SW breeze.  First time this year I was able to take my shirt off for some reps.  Track was wet from rain last night.

Wasn't feeling too great at start of workout but that improved.  I was going to do a tempo set of 4x300, but I ran the first one too fast to complete 4.  I thought it better to do 2 more of quality than to fall apart in my 4th tempo 300m.  (300s were run straight-turn-straight)

Hoka trainers on  

350m warm up, stretches, drills 

3 x 300m w/ 2:30 rest - 49, 50.5, 53.5 

2 x 300m - 45.40, 42.43

The last two 300s were run pretty hard, the first just concentrating on form, and the second, with everything I had left.   Took ample rest between.  I was quite happy to finish the set of 5 with a 42.4 300m, especially after doing 25 min on the stairmaster last night. 

Feeling in decent shape, like I can cruise a 27.5 200m without much effort.  Next thing is to begin work on short speed and acceleration.  That's a completely different thing.  I hope to maybe start that, gingerly,  in a week. 

Weights tonight.  Looks like cold weather Friday, but nice on Sunday, showers on Tues but warm. 

Still a few lbs to lose.  144.3 after workout. 

First shirtless workout of the new decade

split 700, split 500

Cloudy, light winds, 49º at the Sewanee track on a quiet early afternoon.  I was going to try and 'one up' myself from my previous 2x500m workout, but I decided to vary it a bit.   These split intervals are an ass buster, but like any tempo workout, they're over quickly.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

'split 700' - 500m - 82.5*, 1:45 min rest, 200m - 32 

'split 500' - 300m - 43.8, 1:45 min rest, 200m - 31

Took full rest in between sets.  I screwed up on the first 500m and ran 537m.  *Was supposed to cut to lane 1 after 300 but I ran in lane 6 the whole way, so the 82.5sec 500m is an estimate.  I knew something was wrong when I came up a second or 2 short at 400m.  I know for sure my first 300 was about 47 - 47.5, ahead of my goal pace of 48, so my 400m was probably 64ish.  When running these in the past, I had done 1:30 min rest.  So, my intention was to not compromise on speed and take a little more rest.  As far as speed, these times are comparable to past such intervals, not too far off.  The split 700 definitely kicked my butt.  Felt it in the glutes.

Everything feels fine.  Seem to be tolerating this workout schedule ok.  Feeling stronger every time I go out.  Next workout will be midday Tues., and the weather looks fine.  Probably keep chipping away at the long sprint endurance for at least another week before I start to introduce, speed and accelerations.  I think an event run in spikes isn't too far away.  Maybe a couple weeks.

144.5 lbs after workout.

tempo 200s, 300, 200

Beautiful sunny day at the Sewanee track... mid 30ºs with snow still on the ground in shady spots. The bright sun and light winds make the cold temps ok.

I did essentially 2 sets. One tempo and one speed.  I took full rest between sets.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

4 x 200m w/ 75 sec rest - 30, 30.5, 31, 32 

300m - 42.11 

200m - 26.70

The 4x200m set was a full second faster on avg than my previous.  I guess I'll start shortening the rest.

The 300m was essentially an event run.  My splits were about 13.2, 14.2, 14.7, straight-turn-straight.  Even though it was run with a 3 step flying start, it tells me that I could probably break 60 in a 400m right now... particularly since this was after a 4x200 tempo set.  Was happy to finish with a sub 27 200m.  Decent times since I've done zero speed work and haven't put spikes on in over 17 months.  Both these long sprints I felt like I was tying up a bit near the end so I'm far from being in race shape.

My plantar fasciitis is officially gone.  I'm kind of itching to put spikes on but I'll give it at least a few more weeks.  Weights later tonight.

145.1 lbs after workout.  This should be coming down this weekend.  Eating well.

single leg squat night

Massage Gun
I bought a budget massage gun, one of a thousand like it for $160 on Amazon from China.  Top of the line guns can go for $600.  It made me a believer. 

As I was warming up with leg swings, I 'felt something' in my right hamstring, like a knot, strain, vulnerability ... so I tried out my new massage gun on it and it worked.  Whatever it was, the gun fixed the issue.  I was able to run fast without reservation.  I'm considering returning this one and getting a better one since the 'stall force' on this one isn't very high.  It only works strongly enough at full speed.  There are guns for about $300 that have a far better stall rating than this one.  I'm going to hang on to this one for a while.  It wasn't fully charged when I was using it.    It may be ok.  I was looking at a Kraftgun which you can buy for $320 with the optional 4 yr warranty.   The gun I bought doesn't have a warranty beyond the 30 day Amazon warranty.

tempo 300s

Foggy and damp, 53º ... thanks to weather radar, was able find a break in the rain to get my workout in around 10am, earlier than usual.   Did my first set of 4x300m of the training season.  Not particularly fast but, mission accomplished.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

4 x 300m w/ 2:30min rest - 50.5, 50.5, 53, 53

I really wanted to complete 4 so I set my bar low, pacing goal of 51 and bit more generous rest at 2:30 min.   Of course the last one was really hard as usual, but I left feeling not beaten, like I could've done more.  The main thing is I'm healthy and will up the intensity as the training season goes on.   I've not done 3x week workouts on the track for a consistent time since '18, so it's a good start.

I also did weights Sunday and Monday, I switched from glute machine to single leg squats to save my back, and I felt a little sore from the squats Sunday.  Monday night I got back on the stairmaster for 25 min and did some weights and stretching. 

I'm getting serious now about losing this fat, eating real well, intermittent fasting.  144.7 after workout.

Meet Schedule
I've posted a tentative race schedule in the sidebar.   I was actually thinking I might try and race in April if I felt like it. Berry has a meet on April 11.  I can't race in Sewanee 4/17 because my student scheduled a concert that night.   I'll see how I feel in 6 weeks.  Last yr, 5 guys ran over 56 in the Berry meet so I wouldn't be too far behind.  I'd be thrilled to break 58 first time out, elite for M60. 

USATF GA scheduled their masters /open association meet on, May 30 - a week after the Atlanta Relays, a very hyped open / masters event.  That would mean racing 3 weekends in a row.   I still haven't heard when the AL assoc. meet will be. 

Foundation 800s

In Atlanta at the Marist track, was forecast to be 58º and sunny today, actual: 44º, cloudy, damp, rain ending, wet track.   Fortunately no wind.

This was somewhat of a recovery run workout.  A decent work out but didn't kill myself.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 800m w/ about 5-6 min rest - 2:43, 2:51.5

I'm probably in about the same shape as I was in Sept. when I was doing 2x800m foundation workouts before plantar fasciitis took me out for 3 months.  It's really the beginning of a long process and I have to keep chipping away.  It's going to take months to get back, but I have time.  13 weeks til first race, 20+ weeks til Nationals.  The good news is that I'm healthy, able to tolerate track workouts with no problems 3x per week.  My feet are better than they have been in a while.  I shouldn't expect to be turning the same times in interval workouts I was before my championships in '15-'17, at least not for 12 weeks or so.   This is the longest I've not raced since I started masters track, it's been 17 months.

In the not too near future, with nice weather, I'm going to be tempted to put spikes on and see where I am for a 300 or 400.

Looks like steady rain predicted for my next workout day on Tues, but temps in the 50ºs.  I could either take my rest day Monday and run in the rain Tues, or cross train Tues, or... go out tomorrow without a day's rest since it's supposed to be very nice weather on Mon.  We'll see.

500s, 300

Cold but sunny, an occasional north wind blowing, about 33º at the Sewanee track.  It was an exhausting workout despite the relative low volume.  Just felt harder than it should have.  Not yet close to the shape I was in 2 yrs ago.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 500m - 84, 87.5 

300m - 48

I was expecting to run 2 or 3 500s at about 83.  Not even close.  It's going to take some time.   There was a time I could run a 500m in 73 low in spikes less than 2 yrs ago.  First one today was about 66.5/17.5, second one, a gust hit me in the face on the second turn and slowed me to 70/17.5.  It was pretty humbling to run that slow with that much effort.  I finished with a stiff 300m and was going to run a second one but bailed.   The good thing is at least I'm healthy and everything is ok.  Maybe the cold and wind was a factor, or maybe because I had a very light day of eating yesterday... but at least I'm getting lighter.  144.3 lbs after workout. 

Not sure what to do on Sunday.  I was doing some 2x800m foundation workouts last Sept. and maybe I need to do at least one of those a week for a while.  Feel like I need more long sprint foundation, not sure that extensive tempo alone will do it.  Taking a month off is like starting from scratch.

 This is going to be hard.  It always is.

200s, 150s

46º damp and foggy in Sewanee today.  At least there was no wind or rain.  Fog wasn't too bad, visibility about 80m, I've seen it much worse.   My first set of 200s, did them conservatively so as to complete the workout.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warm up, stretches, drills 

4 x 200m w/ 75 sec rest - 32.5, 33, 33, 32.5 (track) 

6 x 150m w/ 50 sec rest ~ 25 (turf)

I ran the 200s in lane 8, in both directions.  Didn't want to get too fatigued to finish 4.  I probably could have done 5 but I saved some for the 150s.   Would eventually like to work back to a standard of where I was doing 4x200 w/ 60sec rest in under 30 avg.   That'll take time, but this is a start.  I was also 5 lbs lighter and 4 yrs younger when I was doing that.  After a relatively lazy day on Mon, save for a light one set weight workout Mon. night, I was a bit heavy for this workout... 147.5 lbs.

Pretty healthy now, save for a little lower back soreness, maybe because of weights.  I think this 'Sun, Tues, Friday' training schedule on the track will be what I'll stick with, but in addition to weights, probably need to supplement with some additional cardio stuff, like stairmaster or water running.  Weather looks ok for Friday and Sunday, but cold on Friday, mid 30ºs.

146.6 lbs after workout.

Rainy day musings...

Good recovery day, slept a lot and feel like I'll be good to go for a light weight workout tonight and track tomorrow if the rain stops.

Here's a couple thoughts on various things...


Shoes:

My Clifton 1s are the best training shoe I've ever used.  7.1 ounces, good traction, responsive, and protective.  The soles have a combination of white soft foam with patches of more durable green rubber.  The problem is that the soft foam wears very quickly, especially where I strike near the outside of my foot.  I built up the wear area with a liquid rubber product called Shoe Goo, and it seems to be working.  Here is a photo of what I'm talking about.  Both the same shoe, one new, the other used with the glue product added.

The used shoe has the red tint from the track and I've added a second coat to the circled area on right, and a first coat to the circled area on left.  I think it's going to help these shoes last a lot longer.  The circled white areas are very soft and spongy, which gives this shoe it's great spring and shock absorption.

We'll have to see how it wears over time.







Competition, not getting any easier 

Looks like Ron, Mike F., and Ben are already laying down some great early season M60 indoor times.  Ron ran a 58.23 in Jan. on a flat 200m track.  He's #1 M60 indoor right now, Mike F. at 58.8 also on a flat 200m track, and Ben at 59.1.  By July, these guys will be fast.  Add Tyrone, Jim, and others, it'll be a very competitive Nationals.  Trevor has run 57.7 in Australia's outdoor season, now leading the M60 world.  Many other Aussies and Jon. W from the UK will make the Toronto meet a challenge.  Benoit, Gerhard, and others have yet to make their presence known, but will likely appear on the world scene.  Don and Alan are likely to be smokin' in the 200m by Nationals. I may or may not run the 200m, especially at Worlds due to the f'd up schedule.

One good thing about this is that if we can organize it, the M60 indoor and maybe outdoor relay records should fall.  Anselm just broke the indoor M60 800m WR, and with him, and any of these guys above, the M60 indoor 4x4 record will be gone... it's only 3:58.03, a 59.5 average.  The outdoor record possibly as well, 3:51.33, a 57.8 avg.  I also think the 4x1 and indoor 4x2 WRs could be had by the right team in the right venue.  For indoor, I'd say Armory 2021.  Still bitter about that WR we ran in the 4x200m that was taken away from us due to an officials' error (that did not give us any time advantage).  That 1:37.88 was more than 1.5 seconds faster than the listed WR of 1:39.40, and would have stood for a long time.  We averaged 24.47 a leg... indoors.

Training going forward

Looking back at my previous pre championship training cycles, 2015 and 2017... I did a huge amount of foundation and volume in 2015.  Over distance 800s, 600s, 500s, and 400s for about 5 weeks in April - May.  In 2017, before Korea, a lot of tempo work, 300s and 400s with limited rest, and long 'split intervals,' hills, and event runs.  I'll probably lean more toward the '17 training cycle with the tempo runs with gradually increasing speed and less rest.  It's going to hurt if I think I can just dive into 4x3s w/ 2m, and 2x4x2 w/1min and run what I usually do, so I'm going to try and lessen the speed and increase rest and work my way back up, otherwise it will be an exercise in torture and frustration, well... it's always torture, regardless.  I'm leaning against the 300m hurdles, I think it may be just too risky and too hard to learn.

Schedule

I'm probably only going to run 3 meets this season before Nationals and Worlds.  I might add another if it fits my schedule, like maybe the AL or GA assoc.  We'll see.  I thought about running Sewanee 4/19, but my student scheduled his Sr. Recital that night.  I'm really gunning for Nationals at the Armory in '21.  I'm hoping to continue good training through the fall and improve from what I run this summer.  Of course, being uninjured is #1.

May 16 - Nashville masters
May 24 - Atlanta relays
May 30 - USATF GA Association
June 20-21 - Nashville Sr Games
July 9-11 - USATF Nationals
July 20 - Aug 1 - WMAC Toronto

Track and turf

Low 50ºs and windy on the Sewanee track this afternoon.   Happy to be healthy again, but today reminded me that 400m training is a painful business. 

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drill 

3 x 300m w/ 2:15 min rest - 48, 49.5, 52.5 (track) 

6 x 150m w/ 50 sec rest ~ 25 (turf)

When in top shape I can sometimes do 4 x 300m w/ 2min rest at 49.   That has been my goal for much of my masters career, but most workouts, I've fallen short of that mark, even when in shape.  I think I've only exceeded a 49 avg a few times over 4x w/ 2 min rest. 

This was my first set of 300s in a year+ and it reminded me how hard 300 repeats are, especially with limited rest.  To ease into this, I decided on 3, but not to compromise that much on speed or rest.  It was very hard, there would have been NO chance I could have done a 4th.  The 3rd took me to my knees, although the first was pretty easy.    Perhaps next time, I'll ease off on the speed, and add a bit more rest in the interest of volume and try to get 4.  Definitely a painful business. 

I finished with some easy turf running, nothing fast.  Overall 1800m, decent volume. 

I did my track stuff with the Clifton 1s today. On Friday, I applied this stuff called Shoe Goo to try and shore up the part of the sole that wears.  First application was fairly successful.  It didn't peel off and I'm going to build up that spot with another layer.  Hopefully it will give these great shoes more longevity. 

I was in the gym Friday night for a glute superset, and Sat night for a light ab and hip flexor workout.  Calves are still a little sore from the Wed stadium stairs!

A lb heavier than last workout, probably due to the partying last week at Guitar Fest.
145.5 lbs after workout. 

This coming week looks a lot like last week.  Rain all week and turning cold by Friday.  I may try to get a track workout in mid day Tues., then again Friday. 

We had a surprise snow in Sewanee Saturday morning, it was really enchanting, especially with my Guitar Festival performances over.  Awesome weekend.

Stadium stairs

At MTSU on Wed, was able to get in a stadium stair workout just before the big rain.  It was fairly warm, almost 60º.

It was really hard.  I hadn't done this workout in more than a year I think, and it was grueling.

Hoka trainers on, 200m warmup stretches, drills 

15 x stadium stairs

It was hard because I ran the first few at full sprint, I took significant rest after each group of 3, including a bathroom break after 8.  Even so, it definitely produced a type of fatigue I've haven't felt in while.  Not so much a cardio workout, more of a strength workout that left my legs shaking.   My calves are the most sore today, moreso than quads, which I expected. 

I may do a light shake out workout on Friday, but it's supposed to be brutally cold, below freezing and windy, so my next real track workout may not be until Sunday, when it's forecast to be mid 50s and sunny.

On the track, brief speed workout

Wasn't planning to go to the track today, but I felt fine, so I let it fly.  It was sunny and 60º today, but a bit breezy.  The rest of next week is rainy and busy so I may not be out again til Friday.  If it stops raining long enough this week, I'll hit the stadium stairs.

This is the first time I'd been out after just one day's rest so I just did 2 hard long sprints, some band work, stretching, drills, and called it a day although I wanted to do more.  This was somewhat of a breakthrough workout for me because it was the first workout exclusively on the track in almost 2 months, first since the plantar fasciitis injection, and the fastest I've run in a year.  I've been chomping at the bit to run a little fast, still not 100%, but close to 400m race pace on the 200m.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

50m striders 

300m - 44.5 

200m - 26.56

Running with the new Clifton 1s is on the track is like running on air.  Wish these shoes didn't wear so fast.  It feels really good after putting in some miles on turf.  Still running no faster than 90% effort on the 200m, but even with a 3 step running start and a little tailwind, 26.5 in trainers for me is faster than I've run in a long while.  I was concerned my quad would fail so I held back just a little, but everything felt fine.  I think I could definitely run 61 or less in a 400 right now.

144.2 lbs after workout.  Starting to get my sprinter body back.