PTC Race report. Risked it and took it out too hard today in a race with 18-19 yr olds. Yet another disappointing time: 59.35. Based on a video I saw, I think my 300/100 splits were something like 41.85 / 17.5. It was a pretty bad rig and last 100m. I could have run alone but I took lane 4 with four teens ahead of me in lanes 5,6,7,8. I definitely chased them too hard and stayed fairly close for 150-200m. It was my last chance before nationals to get a good time and I blew it. Probably lost a second in the last 100m, compared to that 400m I ran in training this week. Conditions weren't bad for AL in mid July but there was a headwind on the homestretch. Although very humid, not super hot. Low 80ºs at race time.
Oh well. This pretty much proves that I don't have the speed I'd hoped for this season. I've run six races since indoor Nationals. All within the narrow range of 58.93 - 59.39. Maybe that's all I can do. It's quite a decline from 2 yrs ago. I should feel better about it, presently still ranked #6 in world, #2 in US. I just was hoping to run at least what I did last yr. 58.39.
I'm not giving up. I'm going to do more event runs before nationals and see if I can execute a bit better.
Interesting that your birthday race, where you paced well and didn’t rig significantly, was about the same time as this race where you rigged badly. Suggests to me that pacing is not going to get you to the promised land. I still think the main gap to 21 is aerobic capacity as you could run 2:18 800, much faster than this year. No way to make up a capacity gap in a short time span. I think you had developed aerobic capacity from multiple years of painful over distance and repeats and with foot limitations and a drift towards less volume aerobic capacity has declined faster than age related decline. Need a cross training method to develop aerobic capacity and VO2 max without killing your foot.
ReplyDeletePartly yes, and partly execution. I'm a slow learner.
DeleteAlso, think about how difficult it is to pace precisely. My training times prove as little as 0.5 seconds too fast in the first 200m can cost as much as 1.5 sec in total time. Imagine doing any physical activity to the precision of 1/2 second over an interval 27 seconds long. Harder than you think to get it right. I got it right yesterday, now I have to do it in a meet. Gotta keep my cool.
DeleteActually did reach the promised land with pacing. 57.59 in the 400m Final today. Fastest time in almost 2 yrs. It's really not about V02 max as much as it is about speed endurance and pacing. Speed endurance is different from V02 max, but V02 max undoubtedly plays a bigger roll as we age and times get slower, making the event increasingly aerobic.
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