WMACI World Masters Championships, 200m Semi final

I've been very lucky in my lane draws in these first 5 races, always having 5 or 6.  It's a huge disadvantage to have 1 or 2.   This Semi I drew lane 5 with Jorgen from Sweden in 6 to my outside.  He ran the fastest M60 indoor 200m in the world in 9 yrs this season.  He was world #1 until John W. bested him in the heat before.   

Martin from Trinidad was a no show in lane 4 so it was basically between me and Jorgen.   I stayed with him pretty closely until the top of the final turn about 140m.  He had 2 steps on me at that point but increased his lead to several meters by the end, running his fastest race of the meet in 25.19.   I hadn't run that fast in 6 yrs since S Korea.   I ran almost what I ran in round 1, just 26.11,  0.01 slower.  My last 50m was pretty slow.  

Anyway, it got me into the final later tonight as slowest qualifier, lane 1.  Finally, a terrible lane.  With no real chance to medal I decided at that point I'd run the final but not so hard that I would injure myself, because the M60 relay teams were depending on me for Saturday.   Since I'm the top USA M60 200m man, I'll be anchoring both the mens 4x200m and the mixed 4x200m relay.   It's a lot.  

It's nuts... 3 rounds of the 400m, 3 rounds of the 200m, and 2 4x200m relays.  I wonder if anyone else at this meet is doing this.  I rather doubt it.  

I'll do a separate post on the M60 200m final later.  Got to sleep.  Only slept about 3.5 hrs last night.  

WMACI World Masters Championships, 200m round 1

Ran my first 200m race since I was injured on 12/18/21 racing an indoor 200m.   It went OK.  My time of 26.10 brings me to the #1 USA rank this season in the M60 indoor 200m, but it only ranks as 6th fastest qualifier here.  With 52 competitors representing 20 countries, it's quite a deep field.  I have a slim chance to make the final and if I do, I will likely be in lanes 1 or 2 which is death in an indoor 200m.  No medal chance. 

This is an exceptionally fast group of M60s this year.   It has been 9 years since anyone in this age group ran under 25 in an indoor 200m, and already this season, Jorgen from Sweden has done it, and get this....  astonishingly, John W. ran a 24.7 first 200m split in his 400m final!   And there's world champion Pat from France who ran 25.22 today.  I predict all 3 of these guys could go under 25.  In 2019 Worlds at this same track, 25.30 won and 26.34 made the final in M60.  (If I had the speed I had at my last World indoor in Daegu - 24.82/ 55.17, I'd win everything and smash the WR in the 400m... but that was 6 yrs ago, and that's why they have age groups). 

I'm not in a position to win my heat in the semis as I drew a heat with the world #1 Jorgen who ran an easy 25.41, but he's in 6 and I'm in lane 5, so I can chase him.  I also have Martin from Trinidad to my inside and he's no slouch either.  

As long there are no injuries, these World meets are quite fun.  Race, eat, sleep, repeat.  

I chatted with Phillipe, Bronze medalist in the 400m who I collided with, and I apologized for the incident.  My best thing to come out of that incident is that I didn't screw him up or anyone else with my fall.   He was fine with it.  Of course, seeing his medal stand photos kinda stings.  Phillipe seems to be a 400m specialist, as he didn't make it out of the first round of the 200m.  

Been having difficulty sleeping and tomorrow is my earliest race.  I finally fell asleep last night about 2:30 am and slept til 8am, my longest night of sleep since I've been here.  I fell asleep after dinner about 7pm and woke up at 8:30 pm and thought it was morning.  Well, I'm glad it wasn't.  

So, semis tomorrow local time at 11:20 am, finals if I make it at 8:55 pm.  

Video of my heat:  

https://youtu.be/gRTRUnI-EmA

WMACI World Masters Championships, 400m final

A hard post to write.  A disaster race for me, and a strange one at that.   I was in third position with 15m to go and got bumped by the French athlete as he was passing me, it knocked my off balance and caused me to fall.... and that is that.   It was not his fault as we both were swinging wide of lane one and I just got too close to him - my fault.  I would have been 4th if I didn't fall as he had momentum and I was fading.   A hard way to end this quest.

It was a weird race.  John when out spectacularly as we all expected and just missed the World Record by 0.03 running an astonishing 55.65, winning by a  huge margin.   The rest of us all ran slower than our semi times.  The reason is that a slower guy, Darren, took the lead at the break and caused Mike and I to fight to get by him down the back stretch, expending a lot of energy.  We passed him before the final turn and I came into the home stretch pretty spent.  I was following Mike and as I said Phillipe and I swung wide and collided about 12m from the finish.  I went down quickly and walked across the line.  Both Silver and Bronze medals were in the 59s.  

I wanted to be a bit more conservative this race but it didn't work out.  I could have won the break and force the others to try and pass me.  If I had done that, my chances would have been better.   If I had run the same exact race as I had done in the semis, I would have medaled.  Oh well.  It's pretty devastating to end like this after all the work.  But it's pretty clear, I'm simply not as fast as I was during that glorious 2021 season 2 yrs ago.  An inevitable thing as we age I guess.  But still happy to be able to compete at this level.  

I'll finish this indoor season #6 in the world in the M60 400m, #1 in USA.  I never really put together a good 400m indoor race this season.  I had my chances, never produced.   

The 200m starts tomorrow.   The first 3 places are pretty obvious, the 2 world medalists Pat and John, plus the Swede,  Jorgen who has run under 25 and new to M60.  I'll be doing real well to run under 26, which is doubtful.  My goal is to get the US #1 time of under 26.25 and maybe make the final  - slim chance.  Problem is, I haven't run a 200m race in almost 2 years.  I have no idea where I am.  I just hope I can get through it without injury and help the US relay teams on Sat.  I've almost forgot how to run a 200m.   Hard to believe I was a world champion in this event 6 yrs ago.  If only the pandemic hadn't delayed this meet, if only it were during my peak M60 season in '21.   Too many 'if onlys....'   Anyway, the 200m could be fun if everything works.

Moving forward, I will likely run Penn Relays at the end of the month, including 2 relays and a 100m race.  I may run a college meet next month.  Pretty hard to get my ass back out there after this result.   

Anyway, it's about the journey, and I'm still glad I came.   Today is a day off, and I did not sleep well last night, so I may not do much.   I really should go into town and see this place later.  Might never be in Poland again.

WMACI World Masters Championships, 400m semifinal

Well... I won my semi.   It was not a good race.  I went out way too fast and rigged terribly in the end ... really just stumbling over the finish line...  but I still ran 58.93, only the 4th fastest semi time.   All 3 faster times came out of heat 1. 

I hit the 200m in about 27 flat, was about 41.5 at 300m, but my last 100m was at least 17.4.   I had a huge lead through most of the race but lost so much time in the last 15m, I won only by a half second.  The thing is, if I had taken a second off the first lap I would have gained probably at least a half second+ net in total time.  It's going to take a 58 low to be in medal contention.  I think I can do it but I have to execute perfectly.   

And here's the kicker... and this is crazy, but I have lane 5 in tomorrow's final the top choice lane.   And my competition for Silver and Bronze are in lanes 2 and 3.  This is the way it works:  heat winners get best lanes: 4,5,6, and the next 3 by time.  The slowest heat winner, Darren in 60.11 gets lane 4 and the other 2 are decided randomly (I guess)... probably by a computer program.  I expected John, by far the fastest semi time, 57.10 to get 5 and me 6.   But it must have been decided randomly.  To run only the 4th fastest semi and get the best lane is a stroke of huge luck.  Phillipe ran 58.43 today and gets lane 2, because he finished 3rd in his heat, the fastest heat.  Vadim who ran second in my heat got the last qualifying spot.  Since the 3rd heat was so slow, Waldemar who finished 3rd in my heat in 59.73, will not make the final,  despite having a faster time than the winner of heat 3!   And that is that.  I'll have more time to post after the final tomorrow and a day off.   Physically, I feel better after today's race than I felt after the first round.  So, I'm good to go for tomorrow's World Championship FINAL. 
 

WMACI World Masters Championships, 400m round 1

I won my round one heat today in 58.96, faster than I really wanted to run, but I got it done.   I was totally surprised by the Polish champion, Waldemar P. who went out in a crazy 26.9.... crazy for him because that's about how fast he runs a 200m.   My 200m split was nominal, probably 27.2 ish.  He made a move on the far turn and won the the break.  I could've challenged him for it, but I let him go and stayed close behind.  It turns out that was the fastest 200m split of any heat of the 6 heats, by a lot, like almost a second.  As expected he faded about the 270m mark and I eased past him before the final turn, showing him the nice shiny purple soles of my Adidas.  The extra energy expended made it a hard effort and I did rig a little in the last 10m.   Based on Waldemar's history, this was his fastest 400m in 6 yrs, he finished in 59.88.   He ran 61 at his Nationals recently, 26.98 in the 200m.  

I was third fastest qualifier and of all the top qualifiers, I ran by far the most uneven splits.  As expected, John W. cruised to an easy win in 57.93 with no effort, running almost even splits 28/29.   My splits were like 27.2/31.7.   Phillipe from France was right behind John in 58.87, his splits were about 28.9/30. 

The big news of the day is my draw for semi-final.  I got really lucky.   The fastest guy will probably be Vadim to my outside in lane 6, who also is generally not a fast starter, doesn't use blocks, ran 60.48 in round one, with a first 200m split of 28.3.  He did run 57 last year outdoors so he's capable.    3 other guys in this heat I've beaten already... Waldemar (again), Stuart, and Marcus.  Waldemar has the fastest round one time behind me in this heat, but has lane 3.  I have lane 5.  I wonder if he'll try and pull that super fast start again tomorrow?   Either way, I should win the heat and if I do, I'll get lane 4 or 6 depending on the likely heat 3 winner, Darren.  World champ John will certainly get lane 5. 

Getting adjusted to the time, slept last night for 7 or 8 hrs in 3 shifts.  

Here are some photos from today:

1) 320m mark

2) home stretch

3) call room

4) Post race with Rox in the Team USA Normatec compression machines

First Day in Poland

Left my house about 8:30am on Friday for the journey, arriving just before sunrise in Amsterdam and then on to Gdansk just before noon local time.  So, I completely missed a night of sleep.  Got my car and drove the almost 2 hrs to Torun through mostly flat green farm land, ancient farms, and modern wind turbines.  I haven't seen much of the city, but outside of the historic medieval part, the city is rather bland ... reminding me of parts of the NE US where I'm from.  So driving up on this incredible world class modern track facility, it looks sort of out of place.   I must say, this track certainly rivals the Armory, it is one of the finest indoor tracks in the world, and totally different from the track in Louisville where we ran Nationals.  I'd say the straights are 15m longer than Louisville and not as much turn.  The layout, lighting, big screens, and technology is second to none.  When I walked in, they were preparing for the opening ceremonies with a setup for a full orchestra and bleachers on the track, etc...  I had the time to do a short workout but frankly, my foot was hurting from walking miles lugging luggage in the Amsterdam airport, and I was extremely tired so I got my packet, went grocery shopping, and to my hotel.   I chatted with US teammates Ben, Damon, and Paul from the UK, and Thomas from Switz.  

My hotel is a 19th century palace, a large mansion on many acres of park-like land in the middle of a rural farming area about 10 miles outside of town.   So far so good.  It has a complete kitchenette but no stove, just a microwave, refrig, sink, kettle.   No bathtub, just a shower.   So, I got back late afternoon, took a  short walk around and went to bed about 7:30pm.  The place does have a sauna and hot tub, but I don't like public hot tubs.   I fell asleep after I called my dad, slept 3.5 hrs, now I'm up at after 2am local time writing this.   I expect to get my second round of sleep soon.  

First Round 400m - tomorrow

Heat sheets are out.  There are 36 declared competitors in the M60 400m - more competitors than any age group in the 400m, 18 countries represented.  11 have seed times under 59 sec, but probably half that many will produce that.   They are using all 6 lanes and are going with 6 heats of 6.  Heat winners + next 6 fastest will go to semis.  I think they may go with 3 heats of 4 in the semis.   If so, heat winners + next 3 fastest. If they do 2 semi heats, it will be top 2 each heat, next 2 fastest.  I like the 3 heats better.   Semis will be a completely different ball game from the first round.  

I lucked out in the first round with lane 6 and a relatively soft heat.  I doubt anyone in the heat can break a minute, and in lane 6, I'll probably not see anyone.  So, heat 3 lane 6 in the first round.  In my heat I have guys from the UK, Poland, Denmark, Mexico, and Sweden.  The 2 fastest are the Pole and Brit.   My only issue is that I hope my body hold up to the rounds. I just need to get through this first round without injury and with a good time to secure a good semi lane. The 200m is bigger, about 50 competitors.

Poland is 6 hrs ahead of eastern time.   My race is after 5:30pm Sunday (11:30am eastern), so I have plenty of time to sleep again.

Find coverage here:

Results

https://wmaci2023.domtel-sport.pl/

Streaming

https://wmaci2023.com/online/

Schedule

https://wmaci2023.com/schedule/

Torun Sports Arena

My Hotel: Pałac Romantyczny 

500, 100, 100 - Last workout before worlds

Beautiful warm day, mid 60ºs, sunny, and quite windy with a steady 15mph wind from the S-SW at the Dean Hayes track at MTSU.  First workout here in a while.  It went quite well.  Feeling good to go!

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 2x100

Adidas trainers on 

500m - 78.72 (61.69, 17.03) /90 sec rest/ 100m on the turn 16.30

100m form run - 13.38

This was the fastest 500m I've run in quite some time.  I was planning on a split 700m, but I bailed on the last 100m and just ran 100m on the turn into the wind.  I rested and did one more relaxed 100m with good form with a tailwind and it felt good.   I'm racing in 3 days, this was enough.  MTSU's track is much tighter and faster than what I'm used to in Sewanee, but still, this 500m was fast.  To run 61.69 and be able to finish in 17 is good.   That was faster than my last 100 at Nationals.  

Eating more, fueling up.  139.0 lbs, which I think is my best race weight.

Most of my team is already in Poland or in route today.  I get home at around 8 tonight, then out the door 12 hrs later.  Surreal to think I'll be flying to Amsterdam tomorrow evening.  

Bike climb, workout schedule, countdown to Poland

Fair weather today and I couldn't bear to sit around and do nothing, and I didn't think it wise to do 2 running workouts on consecutive days, so I did a bike climb.  Low 50ºs and breezy, hazy sun.  

Bike climb up Roark's Cove - 22 min

The first half, the steep part I did in PR time of 10 min, but then backed off a bit and finished in 22 flat.  Actually a decent time.  There were cascades of ice-sickles clinging to the wall of bluff, an indication of how cold it has been past few days. Unusual for late March.   

Tomorrow the weather doesn't look good.  70%+ chance of rain (not showers, rain)... so I will probably move my last workout to Thursday morning.  Forecast: partly cloudy, windy, and 70º.  

I work Thurs and will be home by 8pm.  I'll be leaving the next morning at 9am, flying Chattanooga-Atlanta-Amsterdam-Gdansk.  If on time, I will arrive in Gdansk by noon, and hopefully at Torun registration by ~ 2:00pm.  I just got the text that allowed me to declare on line, so that is good and I won't have to be pressed to make it to the venue by 6pm, but I should easily anyway.   I purchased underground parking at the venue.  Was only $15 for the whole week.   

I just saw the detailed schedule and all my 400m races will be in the late afternoon and evening, which is great.  I much prefer racing in the evening instead of morning.  The 200m semis and finals are on the same day, Friday 3/31.  Semis 11:20am and Final 8:55pm local time.  Saturday is relay day.  There are 4x200 relays and new for this year 4x200 mixed relays.  If I'm ok I could do both.  They are 2.5 hrs apart.  They're paying $100 to relay members who win a medal (any color).  Prizes for individual events are $400, 200, $100.  

Anyway, it's getting real.  

Still pretty light, 137.8 lbs after bike ride.  

4x300 tempo

Good training weather, light shifting N winds, 45º and sunny.  I was determined to do this intensive tempo set hard and I did slightly 'one up' myself in a season's best avg for the 4.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100, bands

Adidas trainers on

4x300m w/ 3 min rest - 46.31, 48.29, 50.37, 54.22 (avg 49.79) 

I started out obviously too hard, and was ok til the last 100 of #3 where I started getting lactic.  Normally I would have quit at this point but I kept telling myself 'this is for Poland.'   The last one was soul crushingly hard but I got it done.  I was on the ground for a while, but the endorphins kicked in and I felt good afterward.   No pains or injuries.  Afterward, I peeled off my shirt ... 46º actually felt 'warm' in the sun.

I did a brief 2-set strength workout yesterday.  Core, squats, upper body, hams.  I thought I had eaten a good amount - 3/4 lb chicken, lettuce, 3 slices bread w/ almond butter, pint protein ice cream w/nuts and chocolate chips, juice, etc...  but I still weighed a very light 137.4 lbs after workout today. 

Next workout Wed morning.  Planning a split 700.  Weather not so great, 48º, moderate wind, 40% chance rain.

Now, for my triple espresso affogato with protein ice cream and chocolate chips. 

 

400, 150 tempo

After Thurs and Friday completely off, I went out today and it was quite cool, low 40ºs and occasionally windy, but partly sunny.  Didn't want to do anything full speed.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100, bands, 50m

400m - 62.31 (14.23, 16.08, 15.35, 16.65 / 30.31, 32.00)

4x150m w/ 30 sec rest ~ avg 24.2

Was a bit disappointed in my 400m, wanted to go more even splits.  But, it was cold and windy and I was wearing my more protective Hokas and not my higher performance Adidas trainers.  Even so, the last 100m seemed hard than it should have.  

I continued with a conditioning set of 150s on turf running straight.  Went OK.  I felt like I should have done more but I didn't want to push it.  I almost hooked up the sled but the wind was picking up and getting colder.   Friday I didn't do anything at all except some stretching.  Got involved in a music project and I took a Sunday church gig tomorrow, which is a day off and very cold.  Expecting to do much of my packing and preparing tomorrow and Monday.  I get back here at around 8pm Thurs and leave for the airport Friday at 9am.

The good news is I have no hint of injury in my hams, my knee is about 100%, my lower back issue is much better, and I'm tolerating the usual foot issue.  

I'm down to 2 final workouts before Poland and I'm going to do hard conditioning workouts both days and the weather looks ok but cool for Monday and Wed.  45 - 50º.   Planning a 4x300 on Mon, split 700 / split 400 or 500 on Wed.   I have the morning free on Thurs and it's supposed to be quite warm so that might be an option for a last workout.  Travel Friday, arrive Sat, race Sun 1st round.  

Being uninjured and healthy is #1 and I feel ok.

138.0 lbs after workout.

tempo 200s, 300

Conditions much better than expected today, sunny, mid 40ºs and light winds.  This is the first of 3 conditioning workouts before Worlds and it was encouraging.  Starting to get it back.   

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 2x100

Adidas trainers on

4x200m w/ 1min rest - 30.91, 31.35, 31.97, 31.60  (31.45 avg)

300m - 42.74 (13.09, 14.13, 15.52 / 27.22, 15.52)

0.35 slower avg for the 200s than the same workout a few weeks ago, but way faster on the concluding 300m... a whole 2 seconds.  I just wanted to get complete the tempo workout, so I had a bit left.  

The best news is that I have no signs of injury, knee feels better, no ham issues.  Just the usual foot soreness and a little in my R lower back.  

Also, back to my race weight.  137.4 lbs after workout. 

I'm expecting to take Thurs and Fri off from the track, however I may do light workouts late Fri and Sat, leaving my last 2 conditioning workouts for Mon, Wed.  Leave for Poland the following Fri, race prelims, Sat.  

Split 700, sled

Back to it.  This was especially hard.  First conditioning workout in 12 days, felt like starting over.  Couple that with cold, breezy conditions, and a lot of aches and pains ... it was brutal.  

I went to the track to workout at 1:30 and was surprised to see a lacrosse game going on.  I had to come back after 3:30 when it was colder and windier.  At least it was partly sunny.  40º, NW wind, wind chill mid 30ºs.   After running in spikes 5 of 7 days last week (Sun-Sat), my foot was especially hurting.  I could barely get on the ball of my foot in warmups.   My knee felt ok but I physio-taped it for support.  My lower back and upper glute was sore on the right side.  After warmups, it was all manageable.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 2x100

Adidas trainers on

100m strider - 14.56

'split 700' - 500m - 82.97 / 90 sec rest / 200m - 34.29

4 x 65 yd sled pulls with 130 lbs

No 'one upsmanship' today.   I just wanted to get it done.  It was slower than my last 2 'split 700s' but thats ok.  The sled pulls were hard, done to failure.   It was like early season.  A little lung burn, was salivating hugely afterward for some reason. 

For me, peak fitness goes away so fast.  I'm going to keep the every other day regime on the track next 2 weeks, no spikes.  It will give me 5 more workouts.  3 of them will be hard conditioning, replicating my pre time trial workouts late Feb.  I may do a light 6th workout early Friday or Sat when I get to Poland.  It was tough today but it'll get less tough as I get back toward peak condition.  I sure miss that warm weather of a few weeks ago.  At least I don't seem to have any ham issues and I can resume a little resistance and prehab on off track days.

138.2 lbs after workout.   

Competition

World M60 400m champion John W. is in a class by himself.  No one is going to beat him unless he's hurt.  He ran an incredible 39.62 300m indoor yesterday.  That's 3x100m at 13.2 avg.   There are very few M60 guys that can run one 100m on an indoor track at that speed, let alone 3 consecutive.  He is definitely likely to break the WR.  All he would need is a 16 sec last 100 with that 300m time and it's a WR.  And, most astonishingly, I believe he is right at the end of the age group.  64 yrs old or near that.   What an amazing talent.  

  

Masters Indoor Nationals 2023 - Day 2/ plan for pre world training

I pretty much laid around all day Saturday and decided I wasn't going to race in the 800m on Sunday early morning since I had no chance to win, and our 4x800m relay went off at 8:30 pm. Joe ended up winning the 800m M60 US title this morning in 2:18.74 (right at about my '21 800m PR),  following 2 Canadian in 2:15 who were competing exhibition.  We failed in our attempt at the American Record, just didn't have the horses and all of the relay team but me had raced a 1500m earlier that same day, plus two of our guys were M65 coming down to M60. We weren't even close, off by 17 sec. However, we beat all of the non club teams except for the M35 group, and 10 of the 14 club teams. We needed to average 2:27 and we just averaged 2:31. Joe was the only one who broke 2:27. To balance out Michael's time we all would have had to run 2:24. They probably could've done it if fresh, and I could've given a better effort if necessary. When I got the baton, I knew the record was not possible. I went out too fast, running the first 400m in 69.3, then by the time I got to the last lap, I pretty much gave up and finished in 2:30.61, my last 200m split being a ridiculously slow 42. I was suffering on that last lap due to going out so fast.

4x800m relay - Me, Joe, Michael, David

Our team splits were:

Joe - 2:26.12 (72.93, 73.19) 

Dave - 2:34.50 (77.56, 76.94  

Michael - 2:36.28 (76.78, 79.50)  

Me - 2:30.61 (69.31, 81.30) 

You can see the difference between these seasoned distance runners and me in pacing.  

Before the race, my knee was still feeling a bit weird but afterward, it actually felt better.  I wish I had some good physio tape, the budget tape I had wasn't sticking.  (I just ordered some good tape).  My foot was pretty sore though.  I did race in the padded Hoka spikes.  It was really a good and needed conditioning workout.  

I do think I could have won the 200m title because Ron won it in 26.29.  Alan and Don aren't running it.  I just didn't want to take any chances of injury since I haven't raced a 200m since 12/17/21, a long time ago when I had my L proximal ham injury.

Today, Sunday, I'm off from the track for a needed rest.  I do feel like I've lost peak fitness and am a lb or 2 heavier.  

Moving forward

It's fairly obvious that I peaked too soon for this meet, so I'm going to roughly try and replicate the training regime I had going into my Sunday and Monday time trials.  If I were to follow it exactly, this would be my pre-world workout schedule for the next 2 weeks:

Mon:

'split 700' - 500m - 80.47 (62.90, 17.57) - 90 sec rest - 200m - 33.82 

4x70m 130 lb sled pulls 

Tues:

4x200m w/ 1min rest - 30.47, 31.23, 31.82, 31.28 (avg 31.20) 

300m - 44.75  

Wed: 

200m - 26.56 (12.82, 13.74) 

100m - 13.87 4 x 75 yd w/ 140 lb sled 

Fri: 

800m - 2:28.85 (31.75, 38.13, 39.56, 38.21 / 70.38, 78.47) 

4 x 80 yd sprints with 130 lb sled 

Sun: 4 x 300m w/ 3 min rest - 47.31, 48.53, 51.41, 52.85 (Avg 50.02) 

Tues:

100m on turf - 15.00

400m - 60.17 (15.10, 15.23, 14.22, 15.63 / 30.32, 29.85) 

200m - 27.82 1 x 130lb sled pull - 80 yards 

Wed:

'split 700' - 500m - 80.59 (63.47, 17.12) / 90 sec rest / 200m - 33.16 

'split 400' - 300m - 44.31 / 60 sec rest / 100m - 14.35 

Sat (will do Friday am or when I get to Poland on Sat)

2 x 200m w/ 1 min rest - 27.39, 30.96 200m - 28.23

Travel Friday-Sat. 

Race: 400m - Sun, Mon, Tues, rest Wed, 200m - Thurs, Fri, relays - Saturday.

We'll see how this goes, I'll just have to listen to my body.  Being uninjured and healthy is #1.  Unfortunately, the weather is not what it has been the past few weeks, which will make it even more challenging.  We are going back to colder temperatures with the first freezing weather in a month.  Next ten days .... Monday and Tues - sunny but cold and windy, wind chills in the mid 30ºs.  Friday - rain, wind, in the mid 50ºs.  Sat-Sun - sunny, windchills low 40ºs, Mon - low 50ºs sunny, Tues - 50ºs, showers.  At least we have longer days and later sunsets.  This is going to be hard.  If I were retired, I'd go to better weather to train the next 2 weeks.  

Weight right now is ok, exactly 140.0 lbs

Masters Indoor Nationals 2023 - 400m

It did not go well.  Yea, I won - with my B game.  I grossly underperformed.  Went out pretty hard and rigged very badly in the last 25m and lost a lot of time.  At least I broke a minute.  Very disappointing in light of the times I put down on Monday and Tues.  I ran two races slightly faster 2 months ago.  It's like all this painful hard work for the past 2 months went right into the shitter with this poor race, and it really surprised me.  I thought I was in much better shape.   I did have this knee issue that required me to put ice on it today.  It very worrying, and I really couldn't get myself to eat much of anything all day before the race.  I was nervous I might get injured.  But, I felt ok after warmups.     

My 200m split was not ridiculously fast.  I have no reason or excuse to have run this poorly.  Maybe I already peaked earlier this week?  

My approx splits: 

27.50, 32.37 / 27.50, 14.90, 17.44 / 42.4, 17.44 = 59.84

42.4 is not a terrible 300m split... if only I ran the last 100 without rigging so badly.  Even 16 on the last 100 would have brought me in at 58.4... but 17.44?  That is how rigging can mess you up!   

I really thought I was ready to run a world lead 57.   But blew it with a 59.84.   But, no one else was under 61.  Not a National Title I'm particularly proud of.  It is my 8th National Title, 7th in the 400m.  

Hopefully, this knee issue will go away and I can get some meaningful training in next 2 weeks before Poland.  

I really don't want to run the 4x800m relay tomorrow because we no longer have a chance at the World Record.  It was just broken by the Brits in a time that would require us to go 2:22.7 avg.  Not going to happen with this team.   BUT, they have convinced me to do it because we should at least get an American record.  

Anyway, not the way I wanted this to go before going to Poland.  I just want to be healthy and confident.  Not feeling it so much now.

Home stretch

pre race day - USATF Indoor Masters Nationals

Went to the track today at the Norton Center in Louisville to try out my wheels.  Good to see some friends there and go out to dinner, although the restaurant wasn't so good.  

I did a full warmup and was going to run one race pace 250m in spikes but I ended up running 2x200.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 200, 50

Adidas spikes on

2 x 200m - 26.85, 26.91

It felt ok but based on those times and that effort, I should be able to break 58, but probably not 57.   The thing about this track is that it's got huge turns and short straights.  Out of 400m, 330m or so of it is run on the turn, so it's not like an outdoor track.   

It felt ok although, strangely, my L knee felt a little stiff afterward, but not bad.  I think those 200 times I ran at a 400m pace could come close to medaling in the 200m, considering who is here (and not here).  

I saw both of my main competitors here, so there will be a race.    It's mine to lose.

light day, 100s, drills, bands

Gorgeous day, 70º with a N-NW wind.  I didn't want to do too much today, my 4th day in a row on the track, so I did some 100s on turf with the chute and one about race pace on the track.   

I went through my warmup routine and band work twice, before and after workout.  Used the balm, massage gun, and stick to thoroughly loosen up.  No significant soreness after those 2 hard 400s Sun-Mon.  

Hoka trainers on

Stretches, drill, bands, 2x100

Adidas trainers on

4x100m with chute into the wind ~ 15.5 - 16

100m - 13.56

stretches, drills, bands 

The chute runs were actually harder than I expected.  I walked back and ran against the wind each time.  I finished with a 400m race pace 100m and it felt real easy, with the wind.  

Still remarkably light.  136.7 lbs after workout.  Close to my lightest weight as an adult.   

I'm thinking I'll take tomorrow off from running and do a shake out on Thurs at the facility.  Race Friday late afternoon for the Championship.  

When training and racing, it's weird that I have to be sure and remind myself to totally relax when I sprint. It apparently doesn't come naturally, especially in the shorter races.  

I used to run like a caveman, all brute force and tense, especially in all out 60s and 100s.  

Compare these photos... from a 400m I ran beginning of last season to the 60m indoor final 2014...  Amazing I could race at all with that tension.  

 

 

The speed is real - 400m time trial

 

Beautiful day, mid 70ºs and south wind.  I was wondering what I might do today.  Thought about another 400m but it seemed too windy, but at the track the wind wasn't as bad, just a light/moderate head wind blowing up the home stretch.   I brought my blocks but didn't use them much.  I decided to go after it.  400m time trial, no holding back.  

Fastest 400m training run for me in YEARS, probably going back to '17.  So, my 57.72 yesterday was no fluke.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100, bands

Adidas trainers on

100m - 13.29

Adidas Prime SP2 spikes on

100m - 12.62

400m - 56.81 (12.78, 13.35, 14.37, 16.31 / 26.13, 30.68 / 40.50, 16.31)

2 block starts

I took it out, definitely faster than optimal pace.  26.13 is a crazy first 200m, that time would be #2 in the world in the M60 200m event indoors.  It really didn't feel that fast.  My split at Nationals in '21 was ~ 26.8.  My 300m split today of 40.50 was ~0.6 faster than Nationals which was 41.1.  At this pace, a last 100m in 15 sec would be in M60 WR territory indoors.  My last 100m today was far from that at 16.31, but into a wind.   In warmups I ran a 12.62 100m no where near full effort.  Leads me to believe I could be competitive in the 200m.  I haven't raced a 200m in almost 2 yrs so I have no idea what I can do.   So, running 56 today is the first time unofficially I've run 'my age minus 6'.   Again, this was self timed and 3 step rolling, so far from real deal, but a good indictor and confidence builder.  

Loving these Adidas Adizero Prime SP2s.  They feel so much better than the Maxflys!  

Seem to be moving pretty well toward peak but I don't think I should go out and run a fast 400m 3 days in a row tomorrow.  Probably will do some mild conditioning and form work.    

Part of the reason for my speed I think is my present strength to weight ratio.  I'm nearly as light as I've ever been as an adult.  136.8 lbs after workout.  

All systems go.  

After my 400m time trial

400m event run in new spikes

Spikes make a difference.  I guess I like 'em.

Beautiful weather, upper 68º and sunny.  Light S wind.

I got the new Adidas Prime SP2 spikes.  Initially I was pissed because they are more than an ounce heavier than advertised.  I had seen spec sheets saying these were 4.2 oz in sizes larger than mine.  Mine weigh 5.68 oz, about 0.4 oz more than the Nike MaxFlys.  It leads me to believe that these are a different production run from the same model black shoes the elites were using last year.  Perhaps a heavier nylon sole, which looks shiny on these, not like the black ones.  More on the shoes later.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, bands, 2x100m

100m - 13.85

Adidas spikes on

100m - 13.26

400m - 57.72 (13.66, 14.15, 14.15, 15.76 / 27.81, 29.91 / 41.96, 15.76)

The first thing I did with these spikes was to run an easy 100m, somewhere around 400m race pace.   It was way faster than I expected for the effort.   I had intended to run sub optimum first 200m split, goal was 29/30.  I was way under 29.  My pace awareness is out the window with these shoes on.  I ran the last 100m into a slight headwind but 15.76 is a bit slow for the last 100m.  My 300m split about 42 was about optimum.  So, what started out as a calculated sub optimum pace, turned out to be pretty darn close to or right at an optimum event run.   I don't want to read too much into this because it was self timed w/ rolling start, but it would be the fastest time in the world right now.  And it felt relatively easy, no rigging.  Fastest training run in 2 yrs.  And this was not intended to be an all out effort / time trial.   Unexpected after a fairly subpar workout yesterday.   But yesterday's 27.4 in trainers would probably been mid 26s in these shoes.  

As I mentioned, I was ready to send the Adidas back until I tried them.  A fraction of an oz in weight is negligible compared to fit, feel, performance, and function.   You can lose several times as much weight by taking a pee.   I haven't run in these enough to make a final judgement but they are supremely comfortable without socks and don't seem to beat my foot up as much as the Maxflys.  They seem a bit narrower and more 'focused'.  They do seem bouncy, snappy, and tall.   I just may use them at Nationals.  Will decide in a few days.  Definitely a confidence booster.

138.2 lbs after workout.

I see that 2 Frenchmen M60 guys ran 58 at French Nationals.  But, only one of them will be at Worlds.  Lot's of competition.  Finally some results coming in to knock me down a few pegs in the rankings.  

3x200

Beautiful cool evening, sunny mid 50ºs.  Back after 2 days off.  There was a horrendous storm yesterday that knocked out power for 11+ hrs so I was feeling a bit traumatized by the experience and the clean up as it trashed my porch with 60 mph winds.  Power was off from almost noon to midnight.   I spent a lot of time on my feet doing stuff but did zero in terms of specific exercise for 2 days, save for some pullups.  Didn't eat particularly well but did sleep ok.

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2 x 100, bands

Adidas trainers on

2 x 200m w/ 1 min rest - 27.39, 30.96

200m - 28.23

Didn't want to do much today or run super fast, but I did run the first 200m in about 400m race pace.  I didn't give my brain an assignment to relax and flow, so I spent more effort probably than necessary and my second 200m was well above goal.  I was expecting to run #2 under 30 sec.  Was being cautious but still, it makes me think I have no business running a sub 27.5 first 200m split.  Harder than it should have been today.   I walked 200m and ran one more, relaxed but fairly hard.  Not a great show of speed but out for the first time since Wed morning, so I wanted to be careful with Nationals in 6 days.  Generally feel ok, no ham issues or vulnerabilities.  

The weather is awesome the next few days so I'll probably go out and do a little every day.  Maybe just try out some 400 pacing.  

Ridiculously light.  137.0 lbs after workout.  

'split 700', 'split 400'

Hazy sunshine, 70º, light SE wind.   Wasn't sure what to do today because I needed a hard conditioning workout today, 9 days out from Nationals, but didn't want to do too much volume or run race pace two days in a row.  I thought about 5x300 w/ 6 min rest.  Too much volume for my foot.  Then thought about race pace split 400s.  Too fast 2 days in a row.  So I settled on the always agonizing 'split 700' ... and then some.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 2x100, bands

Adidas trainers on

'split 700' - 500m - 80.59 (63.47, 17.12) / 90 sec rest / 200m - 33.16

'split 400' - 300m - 44.31 / 60 sec rest / 100m - 14.35

100m strider

The split 700m was very hard.  On the ground for a few min after the final 200m.  In previous yrs I'd often follow this up with a split 500, but didn't have that much time to recover today.  So after about 15-20 rest, a split 400m.  Wasn't bad.

My split 700 was a half second in total faster than one I did 10 days ago, but not near to what I was doing in April of '21 (79.1/16.8).  

I wanted to get this in because I may take Thur-Fri off from running because of weather.  Should be back out by Sat.  

138.3 lbs after workout

I noticed my main US competitor raced last weekend, he ran about 60 flat on an unbanked track, which is fast.  So, he's definitely a threat.   

Tracking my my new Adidas Prime SP2s.  They've cleared customs in Cincinnati and hopefully will arrive sooner than the Mon scheduled delivery.