temp 300s / 200s

Solid tempo workout tonight on my third consecutive day on the track.   The weather in Sewanee could not have been better for the last day of June ... 72º, dry, low humidity, falling into the 60ºs after sunset.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

4 x 300m w/ 2 min rest - 47.5, 49, 51, 48.5 

4 x 200m w/ 1 min rest - 29.5, 31, 32, 30.5

A solid workout and strong effort on the last reps of each set.   Serious suffering at the end of each set but not beat up, and felt good after recovery.   Felt like I could have run one more long sprint, but decided to not over do it.  The left ankle and right foot always start out sore but feel fine after warmups.  No other issues.

Finally under 142 for the first time in a while, 141.9 after workout.  Have been eating light and very well.  Yesterday just had a protein shake, a 2-egg sandwich, big bunch of broccoli and some peanut butter.   Some juice, coffee and an orange during the day.   Starting to eat some Hammer carb gel closer to workouts, to give me some more fuel.  Normally I can't eat solid food within 5 hrs of a workout, but the gel I can eat 2 hrs before.

Olympic Trials !!
The US Track and Field trials start tomorrow.  Jamaican trials started today.
US Trials Broadcast Schedule
US Trials official schedule

Some bad news from the US team.   Allyson Felix will be running injured and in pain.  Sanya Richards-Ross will be running injured and in pain. Nick Symmonds and Carmelita Jetter have withdrawn due to an injury.  Anyway, looking forward to these events.  Just wish that NBC would cover the semis instead of just the finals.  Sunday is a big day, both men and women's 100m and 400m finals will be contested.  Hang in there Allyson.

strength/ endurance

Similar workout to one I did last week.  Sewanee was awesome this evening, cool, low 70ºs, less humid, and a breeze.

Saucony trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

800m - 2:27 (71, 76) 

4 x 100m hill sprints w/90 sec rest ~ 18 

3 x 150m hill sprints ~ 27

I wanted to run the 800m faster than last time, set a goal of 2:24 but ended up with the same time as last time.   This hill sprints were tough.

I think I should be a lb lighter.  I'll get there.   143 lbs after workout.

4x4 tempo

The dreaded 4x400m tempo tonight.  Sewanee was nice at sunset, 78º and noticeably less humid.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

4 x 400m w/ 2 min rest - 68, 69, 73, 76.5 

200m - 27

Looks like the days of me being able to do this workout and avg 70 are gone.  It was a bitch to get my avg under 72 for this one.  A year ago I did this workout in avg 70, today: 71.75.

Looking back, before nationals and especially between nationals and world, I did a lot of fast event runs and stayed pretty much to an every other day track schedule.  I'm going to try 2 days on one off:  Tempo/volume, speed/hills, rest.  If I start to get beat up, I'll go back to every other day.  2 days on 1 off would give me about 10 more workouts before Nationals.  I will taper end of next week.

143.2 after workout.

TN State Finals - meet report

400m - 55.78
200m - 25.22

It was a better showing than last week.  The conditions for the 400m were decent, but warm.   About 84º and humid, heat index about 90º but mostly cloudy and no wind.   The track was your typical black high school track, seen worse.    I seemed to tire quickly in my warmups and was sweating like crazy in 10 minutes.  Not used to the heat or running in the morning, I rested in my car in a/c til 10 min before the race.   I was feeling a bit nervous because I felt prepared and didn't want to blow it.  Ultimately, I wanted a PR and to break the Jim Mathis record, but that didn't happen.

In lane 4, I got out in front entering the back straight and never saw anyone, so it was like a time trial.  Someone in my heat ran a 58, which is faster than what I usually see at these meets but, I never saw him.  I thought I'd have a chance at a PR since the meet clock was at 51ish with 25 meters to go.  Again, my last few steps were slow, but I didn't rig up and I didn't feel as 'beat up' as I did after that race last weekend where I ran a second slower.   It was 0.07 seconds under my M50 State record of 55.85.

I then watched Stanley Patterson break my M50 400m record running 55.55.   Never thought my record would go down that fast since the record I broke was a decade old.  Stanley is for real.... the first world class guy I've seen in the local Senior Olympics program in my 5 yrs ... just one look at the dude, definitely a superior athlete.  He's 53 now,  turns 54 later this year so for Senior Olympics, I race him in district meets this fall, because they go by what age you will be next year - at the end of the year.   So, you can be 53 and race in the M55 age group fall district meets.   Odd.  They don't do it that way for any other masters program.

Stanley - the new TN M50 400m record holder

The 200m race was the final event in the meet the next day.  The usual ankle soreness went away with my warmup.   I was about 1.5 lb heavier on Sunday, but still OK, about 144.  By the time our heat came around at 11:30 am, the heat was pretty intense on the black track with clear skies.   It was near 90º with a heat index near 100º.   Most of the 200m guys scratched... of the 9 or 10 scheduled, I think we ran with 4.   Just before we started, a light headwind kicked up.  We had a tail wind earlier, but it shifted.

I got a really good start and felt pretty strong coming off the curve.  I felt Dwayne might gain on me down the straight so I put the hammer down just a bit too early and tightened a bit toward the end, and that cost me a sub 25 and the record.  Again, another chance to break the ancient J. Mathis record of 25.0 was lost.   My 25.22 was much better than the disastrous 200m race I ran 2 yrs ago, (25.71).  This would have easily been an M50 record, which stands at 25.7.

Sorry to see Dwayne go down with an injury in that race.  Sorry to see Stanley scratch the 200m, as he had won the 800m earlier in the day in 2:19.

Bummer, I think that was my last best chance at these records because next year, I may not run this meet, especially if I go to indoor worlds, and, they will probably have a poor quality track again. We'll see.  Anyway, at least I have a local guy to race with now.

Overall, a good showing.  If I can run these times on a black HS track, I should be able to improve significantly on Mondo, and with some more training.    These times are better than my pre-Nationals races last year where I ran 56.23, 56.22 and 25.38, 25.29.

I wouldn't mind not winning at Nationals if I can go sub 55.  That is what I've been after for years now.

pre race day

This evening workout schedule is definitely an issue.  I'm simply not used to running in the morning.  I was going to get up early and get on the track and do a warmup this morning, just to get used to the early morning schedule of racing, but no way.  After a decent night's sleep, only my second this week, I got up at 9ish and, after 4 days in a row on the track, I hobbled up my stairs for coffee.  No way was I going to the track.

Hard to predict the time of race on Sat.  They are supposed to start the 1500m at 8am, followed by the 400m.  Old to young, women then men.  I'm guessing I won't race much before 9:45-10am.   Forecast for Nashville is 98º, humid, with light winds.   Should be about 90º at race time, hopefully there will be some clouds.   Heat index probably upper 90ºs.

It'll be more a time trial than a race, there likely won't be anyone in my age group under 62/28 in the 400/200.  However, that will be changing with the emergence of a new world class masters guy in Nashville - Stanley P. who I think is 54, ran a 55.73 in May.  If he is now in my age group, it will be a race.  If he is M50, he has a shot at breaking my meet record of 55.85.  

It's a black worn HS track, so if I can pull a good time here, I should be able to on the Mondo at Nationals.   I feel prepared but like music, you can practice all you can and still perform badly.   Got to bring it.

event runs

Warm evening, about 84º when I arrived at the Sewanee track.  I brought out the blocks but did not put the spikes on today to protect my feet and ankles.

4th day in a row on the track, so I did just two fast long sprints.

Hoka trainers on 

400m warmup, stretches, drills 

2 x 60m striders 

350m - 48 (13, 13, 14.5, 7.5) 

250m - 33  

5 block starts

I ran the 350m in lane 6 from the 400m start.  I hit my 200m split right at 26 but was slightly off my goal of 40 flat at the 300m mark.  Still not bad for running in trainers.   The 250m I ran from mid straight to mid straight, thinking I needed work on my turn running.

Did a few starts and made a valuable adjustment.

Overall a good brief powerful workout.

Didn't sleep well again last night so I'm going to bed and going to the track in the morning to just do a warmup.  I'm not used to going to the track in the mornings, and I need to get used to it since I race in the mornings.

Light... 141.2 lbs after workout.

Speed endurance, form 150s

Started this workout like the last one, with a hard over distance run.  Then went to some hard 150s.  Very humid, low 80ºs at sunset in Sewanee.   Very quiet.

Hoka trainers on 

300m warmup, stretches, drills 

600m - 1:37 (63.5/33.5)  

2 x 150m - 19, 19

It was one of my fastest 600m training runs not in spikes.  The 150s felt ok.  I think the fast over distance is good at this point, doing just one hard one is good in that it doesn't wreck me with a lot of total mileage.  With this new metric wheel measuring device, I can finally measure out an accurate 150, 250, 350, etc...   There is actually a mark beyond the 400m start in each lane (for 4x800m?) that marks a 150m to the lane one common finish of the 200m mark.   So, tomorrow, I think I'll do just one event run... a 350m.  Maybe in spikes.

I often think of simple phrases in different phases of the race to remind me of what I need to do.  Like Michael Johnson's 4 Ps - push, pace, position, pray.   But I have my own, including a new one to help me in the last 100m.