Light day today, nice weather, 73º, cloudy, humid, calm winds. My foot was sore from yesterday's tempo set so I did a very brief workout.
I also saw a video of my last 100m of my recent race and it drove home the point of how bad my running form truly is. I made some videos today of my running for study. It's not like I can do much about it now, but maybe a little. My basic problem is my bowleggedness, and quasi elliptical motion of my stride, instead of a straight line - forward and back. Looking at me running next to Calvin, who has great form, was such a contrast. He can run faster due to his form, despite the fact my turnover is faster than his.
Another thing I read today squares with the fact that my body type is really ill-suited for this race due to my height. All of the top ten 400m runners of all time are over 6' and there has never been anyone under 6' to run under 44 sec. (UPDATE 7/5: This is FALSE. Rusheen McDonald Jamaican record holder - 43.93 is 5'7". Yousef Ahmed Masrahi is 5'9" - 43.93. Lee Evans is 5'11" - 43.86. Larry James 5'11" - 43.97). Here's the reason according to this article, and why the last 100m has always been hard for me:
Taller sprinters do not naturally have a higher top end speed, but they maintain speed much better, because for short athletes it is very difficult to maintain the high strength required for top speed due to the energy costs to produce that much power, and this then causes them to tap into their lactic system much sooner which eventually reduces the amount of power that is produced at the end of a long sprint.
So, there you have it. Couple my 5'7" height with my bad form, and my inconsistent execution, it's amazing I've achieved what I have. I just work hard and do the best I can. Being as light and strong as possible helps. Top masters sprinter Gerhard Z. is my height, but his form is impeccable. That has enabled him to win so many world championships, even well into his age group. He's also a PhD physicist and quite smart about his training I'm sure. Some people are gifted. I am not.
This was today:
Hoka trainers on
stretches, 100m, drills, bands
Negative split 400m - 64.20 (33.32, 30.88) / 60 sec rest / 100m - 15.07
Was going to do more but decided to save it due to my foot. Want to do some race pace intervals tomorrow. It was a good sweat due to the humidity.
Hanging about 140.0 lbs. Will be a lb lighter by next race.
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