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.
I would be interested in Poland’s track configuration, hopefully being a departure from running in a ‘near circle’ as was Louisville. Also important …. Get that ‘knee’ rehabbed!
ReplyDeleteCongrats. Yeah it sucks to feel that you under performed but hey, you won. Maybe the track is slow. I can imagine a raised track with rebound could absorb energy. Not eating probably didn’t help. As you found with a finger prick test endogenous glucose production goes through the roof with a hard training session but if that response was delayed and you were light on carbohydrate consumption you might not have had the fuel you needed. If your stomach is sensitive there are gel packs that you could try to give a little glucose boost. Being really light and defined can be a sign that your glucose stores are low because each gram of glucose is bound to 3 or 4 grams of water. So eating a couple of bigger meals approaching the event and eating well the day of the event and being slightly heavier and flatter looking is actually a good thing as you ensure your muscle cells have the needed glycogen and liver has the stored glycogen to release. Else you have to ingest some carbs and even that might not make up for low glycogen stores.
ReplyDeleteBummer about the knee. I don’t know how your body can tolerate all the varied training you do at our age. It’s probably minor, age related arthritic changes that you’ve annoyed and with a little rest will subside.
A 7 or even 10 day taper is often appropriate. So yes, you probaby peaked a few days early without time to recover for race day. I am going to disagree with JP, glucose and glycogen storage are less relevant in sprint distances/duration. Also, your training is not too `varied`, your schedule is a model of race pace specific training. Strength and bike work have benefits without thrashing the body too much. However you exceed the rule thumb for our age of 2 hard sessions per week. You sometimes compress multiple high quality sessions into a week or two. I never speculate on reasons for injury without a specific cause/effect being established.
ReplyDeleteAlso, not to make excuses but there were two false starts in that race, kind of takes the edge off, expends energy. I also have heard that at age 60+ peak conditioning goes away or is compromised in as little as 9 days. My last conditioning workout was March 1, that was 5 days before I ran my fastest time trial.
DeleteJD
DeleteLow muscle glycogen will have a significant neg impact on top end sprint capability. There are two direct mechanisms, the first is a lack of substrate for ATP synthesis (less ATP) and the second is glucose mediated calcium kinetics which drives contractile force and muscle excitation.
So it is important to be fully glycogenated for top end sprint performance. The mechanism for endurance sport is lack of substrate for aerobic energy synthesis then alternate energy pathway utilizing lipid metabolism is required which is very inefficient. Different mechanism but obviously well known. The sprint mechanism is not well known but nonetheless real.
Here are two papers you can review
Muscle glycogen metabolism and high-intensity exercise performance: a narrative review
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2019&q=glycogen+in+sprint+sports&hl=en&as_sdt=0,45#d=gs_qabs&t=1678568979694&u=%23p%3DHKB1pshb9b4J
The Role of Muscle Glycogen Content and Localization in High-Intensity Exercise Performance: A Placebo-Controlled Trial
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C45&as_ylo=2019&q=glycogen+in+sprinting&oq=glycogen+in+sprinti#d=gs_qabs&t=1678569132640&u=%23p%3Djmw5C7OXQ2IJ
Whoops it is DJ not JD my apologies.
DeleteNevertheless, well done on your title!
ReplyDeleteA wins a win. Especially for a title. Wish I could break 70 secs..... Sympathise on the false starts I blew a hamstring summer before last after that happened to me in a 100m. I would put the performance factors down to a less familiar indoor banked track, race modelling on short track, false start, CNS and muscle fatigue from 400m event runs earlier in the week (early peaking) lack of top end conditioning (you know your body) and little competition in the race..
ReplyDeleteJP I dont see any sessions that would deplete glycogen after Monday. I can't access the details of the above studies but you should check how the depletion was introduced in the study. Typically this is done by repeated efforts or diet within say 24 hours of the tests (or less). Which is a sensible way to prove cause and effect. But is less valid where the athletes has tapered. I know what low glycogen feels like in an endurance race and have never felt like it in a sprint. With the exception of never having raced indoors I have made every 'mistake' I describe above and more.
You need to think on cellular level about all the complex chemical reactions that are occurring to generate individual fiber contractions. In the sprint model within fiber glycogen, or lack there of, can be a rate limiting step as it is used for ATP production. It would never be something “you can feel” just if intrafiber and intra muscle stores are depleted performance is affected. Now at what point does reduced calories result in intra fiber and intramuscular depletion? Good question. I’m sure we’d both agree if you fasted (water only) for 7 days performance would suffer. But in Bills case he said he didn’t eat all day and he has been losing weight and is at his adult lowest weight. Cause and efffect? Understanding the science behind it I think it is a reasonable hypothesis, but a hypothesis nonetheless.
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