Back to it!

Sorry I've been away for so long. Even my log book has got a month behind with one thing and another. No excuses.
Finished my level 3 coaching log book, just need to have the practical assessment now.
I've done a few miles (Clarendon half the most notable), slowly and painfully, played a bit of rugby and done a lot of stretching to try to sort my back out.

Been working on core strength, flexibility and endurance, but probably too much for a light weight sprinter. Had about 3 weeks under the weather but now I'm back and ready to go.

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Transition and start of general preparation

Another good week of endurance work. A couple of Ray's circuits on Monday and Wednesday. Down to the Southampton sports center on Thursday where we did a one mile cross country course 4 times with 1 minute recovery. times ranged from 6.20 to 6.50, so I won't count them as intervals as I couldn't maintain a constant pace. Still a good workout.

Hills on Friday - Camp - 1, Rich - 2 (71/70). Durb - 2 (22/22), Bot - 1 slow
Plus cycled to work
Saturday a light recovery run - 4 1/2 miles over Baddesley common
Sunday - Squab wood, 8 1/2 miles in 77 mins

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Transition phase

Everyone needs a break after a big event, so I've had (am having) mine now. Active recovery they call it in the books. Beer, food and rest and some much less intensive training.
After less than a week I started my low key aerobic traing. Rebuilding my endurance base. In three days I did 19 miles, Friday hills, Saturday Squab wood (8), Sunday 7 miles to Braishfield and back across country.. Very hard work for me since I'd been doing very intensive sprint work for so long. My legs were in a real state.

The next week I cycled to work Monday and Tuesday and did a speed endurance session at Mountbatten on tuesday evening (15x100m) 15 second recovery, each run in about 18 secs.
Wednesday I did Ray's circuit for the first time (despite recommending it to everyone else!), tough work, so I did it again on Thursday and tweaked my back on the pull downs (the don't have a pull up bar at work).
Hills on Friday again (3x Campion, 2x Richmon (75/73), 2x durban(20/20), 1x Botley (36) which is pretty good.
Rest Saturday, then a Slackstead run of 8 1/2 miles on Sunday. Aerobic endurance is coming.

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European masters - Reflections

Just some thoughts on what went well over the year and what I'd change.
I think the biggest difference this year was staying fit and healthy since Christmas. Last cold I had was New year, and my legs stayed healthy all the way through. I'd say my training wasn't as intense as usual, but because I didn't push it too hard it meant that I didn't lose any time to recovery.
I also rested well throughout the year. If I ever felt I was over training I took a day or two off and made sure I was fully recovered before starting again.
I can also recommend my 'super drink' - carrot juice, 3-5 cloves of garlic and some ginger. It won't make you any friends, but it may just ward off that cold or flu.
During the championships I had 4 sessions with the chiros who say my hips and core stability need working on. The work they did probably bought me a second in each race, so I won't argue with them
So next year I will up my core stability work. More weights, squats etc, more yoga and regular check ups with a sports chiro.
There's still more work I can do on my hurdling. I'm currently running a 6.8 second differential between my flat and hurdle times. This is novice level. so I'll spend the winter working on my right leg lead. I think the current world record of 55.18 is achievable with a lot of hard work.

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European masters - 4x400m relay

Our rule of thumb is that we select the relay team from the highest finishers in the individual 400. Unfortunately, although we had 4 Brits in the final Rob Grew had gone home early. So we had three certains (me, Tony Noel and Kermitt) and a couple of possibles. Luckily we found Welsh 800m runner, Sean Price at the last minute. He is capable of 53 so was a strong addition to the the squad.
The French, Italians, Germans and Russians were our big competition, but we went in as favourites.

Tony ran the first leg in lane 6 and came home in the lead handing over to Sean. At this point the French messed up their change and it cost them several seconds. Sean increased the lead and handed to Kermitt who went off like a train. I got the baton 30 metres ahead and went off hard. With the noise of the crowd I couldn't hear a thing and it was difficult to work out where the others were. I never look back so the best strategy was to just keep pushing. We finished in 3.30.4 - a new championship record by 3 seconds.
A great way to finsih the championships

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European masters - 400m M45

Had a beer after the hurdles which wasn't a wise idea (fun, just not wise) as I had to be up at 6am to race at 10am in the 400 heats. Fortunately I had a relatively easy heat and came in first in about 53/54. Nothing sparkling, but enough to get through to the semis. I went home for sleep and some energy food and drinks (a banana and a danish pastry if I remember rightly). Returned to the stadium to race former international Kermit Bentham in the semis. It was clear Kermit was putting down a marker, he ran 52 in the heats, then 51.9 in the semis. I finished second in 52.22 which I was pleased with and felt I had something left. Stefan Malewski, the German World indoor champion was breezing through without showing his hand (although he hadn't fooled me - I knew he could do 51.0 whenever he wanted!)

With a much needed rest day on Tuesday,(I'd had 4 races in 3 days) we went into the final on Wednesday with Kermit in pole position (lane 4) me in 5 and Stefan in 6. I kept to my race plan, hard first 100, flow on the second, crank it up on the final bend. We came of the bend with Stefan and Kermit level and me a couple of metres behind. I'd got there in 37.5 seconds, now the last 100.
Kermit started to fade at 320 as Stefan surged ahead and I moved into second. It stayed like this to the end. Stefan recording a championship best of 50.3, me just behind with a lifetime best of 51.02 - a second quicker than I did in the worlds.
Absolutely delighted! All the winter strength work has paid off.

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European masters - 400m Hurdles M45 Final

The big one. Neil in 4, me in 5. Which is to his advantage.
Everyone is pumped up on the indoor warm up track. Not a lot of talking, plenty of glances at how people are warming up, but nothing given away. 25 mins before the race we are taken into the call room. a tent at the end of the track that is backing hot. (its in the 30s outside).
I went off hard, 17s to 3, 16s to 5 and although Neil caught up by 4, we were still level at 6.

I knew at this point that if I could stay level with Neil I could take him in the last 40m so adopted a conservative pattern for the last 4 hurdles. This did mean 10 was dreadful, but then it was for both of us. Neil touched down slightly ahead, but I was able to sprint past in the run in.
Gold in 57.84, my best for 2 years (and equaling my PB from pre-masters days)

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European masters - 400m hurdles M45 heat.

Saturday - first race. 15 have entered, so two heats with the first 3 plus 2 fastest losers to make the final.
I'm drawn in the strongest heat (World champion, word silver and world finalist all in one heat) I expect their random distribution is a little on the dodgy side.
I draw lane 5, Neil Tunstall (World champion) has lane 4. My coach has encouraged me to go easy. 17 strides rather than my usual pattern. run my own race and see what happens.
Got to hurdle 4 and Neil drew level. He kicked again at 5, putting in two lots of 16 strides and left me for dead. I came back at him in the last 100, but with both of us playing a game of 'who can finish looking easiest' we cross the line in 59 and 59.3 respectively.
Turns out everyone in our heat was quicker than the second heat.

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Countdown to Slovenia

Next few posts are all retrospectives having just got back from Slovenia, anyway here's my thoughts leading up to the European masters.
Tuesday did my last session on the grass at Mountbatten with Tony and Rich. Lazy 100s, several fastish strides on the 100m track. Nothing too strenuous. Feeling OK, although not sparkling.

Evacs 2008 Slovenia from evacs2008 on Vimeo.

Wednesday we traveled up to Chelmsford for the night, then flew to Slovenia the next day.
Ljubljana is stunning, beautiful old buildings, a river running through it and a castle dominating the town. Feels like a mini Paris.
Our apartment initially looks like some communist block of flats (the looks on the girls faces when we arrive says it all), but turns out to be very spacious and with very modern furnishing (the girls quickly forgave me).
Went to the track on Friday to register. Super stadium. Large covered stand, outdoor warm up track and an indoor 100 track under the stand.

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Leg massage!

Never one to miss a good massage, I booked up legendary Andy Cook for an hour long session this morning. Great stuff, the legs feel like they've just run many miles and he found every tight knot he could. Hopefully it will feel even better in a couple of days

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Last big session before Slovenia

After my 3 mile academy run I set off for Swindon for the last real training session before heading off to the European championships. I must admit to feeling pretty lousy before leaving so took another garlic juice to ward off any vampires.
Anyway - great session.
2x 5 hurdles followed by a 300m flat run
The hurdles went very well with a tail wind. Managed 17s to 3, then 16s to 5 fairly comfortably, infect I nearly overran the 5th. First run in 25.7 (quicker that I have run in all my races for the last couple of years). Second run I eased up between 2 and 3 (on the advice of my coach) to save energy and the run left a lot easier, but bizarrely came in quicker at 25.4
Also tried using block and with help from Dave Moles and Howard found a comfortable setting that seems to improve my start

Had a good 15 minute rest then went for the 300m flat run. I ran behind Howard in lane 3 He went off very quickly, nearly 10m ahead at the 100m mark, then i pulled back on the straight. I couldn't get passed on the bend, but we both clocked almost the same time 37.5 - which I think is the quickest I've done in a long time.
On Tuesday on grass my best was 42 seconds, so considerably better on a decent track with Howard as competition.
All in all very pleased with how the session went. Good starting, good hurdling and good flat speed.
This week is basically ticking over before next weekend.
Bring it on!

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Academy rise again

Like the proverbial phoenix, the Harriers academy rose from the ashes, bigger and stronger than ever. I'd promised to pop out at 7.30am and say hello, but the crowd was so big I decided to join them for a sociable 3 miles. Well done to Pete, Pete and Mark for firing it up again. well done to the rest of you for getting out.

Poor turn out from the Celts - some excuse about celebrating a win over Southampton. This could be a very long season if every victory at clubs like Saints is celebrated this hard...

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Light Thursday session

Decide Thursday would be easy. 150, 120, 100 at 85-90%.
Felt OK but not sparkling.
Plan to take Friday off and do some more hurdling in Swindon on Saturday morning. Then next week do some starts out of blocks and off to Slovenia on Thursday.

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Southampton open meeting

Team Southampton put on an open 400m hurdles on Wednesday. These are pretty rare so I thought I'd take the opportunity of a low key run. With 7 hurdlers turning up they ran the U17s, senior women and senior mens all together. It feels a lot better having a full track in the hurdles, much more like a real race. With a 6.45 start it was already starting to cool down and the wind had picked up. After a slow start I ran well to the 6th, including a decent right leg lead over the 4th.
Then at 8 I slowed up as I hit the wind and finished with a poor last 100.Results.

Jess came down and ran in the U11 600m and came second. She ran very well, tucking in at the right time, then passing when she needed to. Excellent style overall.

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Book reviews

Picked up a couple of books from the Oxfam bookshop.
The inner game of tennis - W.Timothy Gallwey
The complete book of running - James F Fixx

The first is one of the definitive sports psychology books that I've been wanting to read for a while. I read his book on golf that was good, but this one came first and as he is a tennis player its a bit closer to home for him. The basic premise is that we all know how to do everything (run, jump, serve etc) but we have a part of our mind that stops us doing the right thing. The trick is to control that blocker.

Don't know much about the second book other than that it was written in the 70s. Now training techniques have changed a lot since then - but have we got any faster? Looking at the state of UK distance running I'd say no, so maybe there's some good stuff in there.
Will try to read them in Slovenia and report back.

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Tuesday 300s - Wednesday race

Did 3x300m flat out last night on the grass Mountbatten track. 15 mins recovery (so well rested after each run) 43/42/43. Which is what I wanted. (I think that equates to sub 40 on a proper track.)
Legs are a bit tight this morning, so did some yoga to loosen up.

Also woke up with cramp in my calf and top of the hamstring. Nothing to worry out, but will do some stretching at lunch to test it out.
Planning to run a 400m hurdles race tonight in Southampton. I want to work on my stride pattern and experiment with a right leg lead on the 9th. This should help make the last 100 flow a bit. Its a low key open meet o worth trying something new.

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More hurdling

Swindon again for the last big hurdling session before Slovenia (I''l do a light one next weekend)
Three runs with long recovery. first over 7, second over 6 last over 3. Tried to work on the right leg lead at hurdle 4, then the change down between 5 and 6.
Didn't go to badly, although as I got progressively more tired the stride pattern went to pot. I found I was really stretching to get to 5 in 16 on the second run

Very tired on Monday and felt something coming on so dosed up with the magic potion. Apples, oranges, peach, ginger and 5 garlic cloves! Followed a few hours later by half a tin of tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves and some lime.
Seems to have done the trick - but no one will come within 20 metres :(

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Burst tyres, monsoon and hills

Cycled to work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday while my puncture was being sorted.
Wednesday did a bit of the indoor circuit with the Mountbatten early morning team. Thursday did a light session at the track. a few 100m sprints and hopped over some low hurdles. Feeling sluggish after the weekend and the weather isn't inspiring.
Lots of work Friday though...

Got back from work, then ran 2 miles to pick up the scooter. Just missed the rain. Then out for hills at 6.30.
Campion slowly, Richmond flat out in 65 (raced a bike up the last 100!), Durban 2x 20 seconds, then once up Botley in 33. Good session and the legs held up.
Very tired by the end of it.
Decided to skip the Saturday morning session so I am fresh for Sunday's hurdle session in Swindon.

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Rain, rain, rain and rain

Tuesday track session started with me getting there late because of a scooter puncture. Then the rain came on half way through the session drenching everyone to the skin. First time I've ended it early for fear of drowning...
My session followed at 7pm and for an hour and a half the rain stopped.
3x(2x200)2', 12'. So 3 pairs of 200, with 2 mins between the pair and 12 mins between the sets

29/30, 29/30, 30/28 which wasn't too bad considering the conditions. The grass was pretty slippery.
Feeling in good shape, managed to up it on the last run when Rich found something left in the tank (possibly because he walked on the 5th run, but I couldn't possibly comment).
Wednesday morning I joined the Mountbatten 7.30am club in the sports hall for a 30 min circuit. Then cycled to work in the pouring rain - horrible. Fortunately my kit was still wet in the evening (it was still raining anyway.)
Character building I'm sure

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British Master's videos

Here' a video of Saturday's race so you can share in the fun. It was filmed by my coach's son and it's Poppy and Jess you can hear in the background.


Points to look out for:
1. The right leg lead over hurdle 4 and the subsequent stumble (cost 0.3 seconds)
2. Going to tight on hurdle 8 (cost 0.2 seconds)
3. Not going to 18 strides on hurdle 9 (cost 0.5 seconds)

So I think there's another second in there

and by way of comparison, here's my coach breaking the World record for the M50 400m hurdles moments before my race.

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British Master 2008 - Birmingham

Traveled to Birmingham for the British championships, hoping for a good trace in the hurdles and then seeing what I had left for 2 400 races. The hurdles went very well despite a very strong wind that hit me at 300m.
My coach Howard smashed the M50 WR in the race before me and came straight over to advise on what my stride pattern should be (never mind that he'd just knocked a second of the record!
Anyway 17s to 3, 16s to 5 was the plan meaning just one left leg lead on the 4th hurdles.

Unfortunately the World champion, Neil Tunstall had to drop out through illness, but they had put the M35s in my race so had some competition.
Ran well to 4, landed clumsily after a left leg lead so more to work on. 5-8 went well then chopped back a bit over 9 and 10. Went to 19 strides when I should have put in a left leg lead at 9 which would have helped me finish faster. anyway, sprinted off the last hurdle to take gold in 58.68. Very pleased in the conditions.
Luckily they decided not to hold heats for the 400 flat and held A and B finals with the medals decided on times. I was in the A final with Kermit Bentham and Tony Noel. The B final was won in 54 so we knew what the target was.
I had a slow first 100 then picke d up in the second and 3rd. Came of the bend in 3rd and moved into 2nd feeling strong. Kermit however was on fire and I couldn't catch him He won in 52.3 I finished in 53.09 (Best for the season so far). Considering the conditions we will both go a lot quicker in Slovenia. But we will need to with the top German looking like a sub 51 runner.
Three weeks to go and lots of work to do!

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Busy week

Interesting week. Started off with the intent of fine tuning for the British master, but ended up doing some really good hard graft. Cycled to work and did some yoga on Monday. Hit the Mountbatten track on Tuesday. Kicked off with a bleep test of 13.2 (my best for a few years). could have possibly done a couple extra but slipped at 13.2 and fell flat on my behind. Got beaten by Bob who did a monster 13.7.
Had a few minutes rest then did a 300/200/300 session. Goal to run each leg at the same speed with 10 mins recovery.

Did the first in 43, then 27 for the 200 and finally 45 for the 3. Pretty pleased with that.
Wednesday was a run run event at Hursley to celebrate 50 years of IBM.
I had entered the 100, 400, 800 and bleep test but thought I might just do a couple depending on how I felt. Sadly I was lured in by the 100. Ran a sensible heat, slow start with a rapid pickup from 50m. Then in the final 10 mins later took on the young pups :)
Got out very quickly (some might say it was a false start, others that old age and experience pays!) and held on to the line - very satisfying.
The 400 and 800 were jog as most people had pulled out. Then finished with a 12.3 bleep test.
A good nights work.
Thursay was just a few strides down at the track to shake the legs out.
friday - a day of rest - and a quick swim in the sea at Wittering.

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Quality hurdling in Swindon

Popped up to Swindon to see my hurdles coach on Sunday, with the British Masters coming up at the weekend it was time for a bit of quality hurdling at pace.
My session was 2 runs over the first 7 hurdles and then 1 over 5. Experimenting with stride pattern on each run.

First run I went with 17 strides (left leg lead all the way) and raced against Jamie. I have the raw speed now between the sticks, but 3/4 and 5 were ugly.
Next run I went for 16s to 5, then 17s. Which means right leg over 2 and 4.
Hurdle two was OK, but 4 was dreadful, too high and lack of any momentum which meant I was struggling to make the 5th.
Last run just to 5. 17s to 3, then 16s to 5. This meant easing off over the first couple of jumps and then picking up the tempo in the straight. This was OK, but I still struggled over the 4th on my right leg lead. Still too high.
I think I need to spend some time on the right leg as the benefit of getting even just one right would be huge.
Will see how the week goes and the weather on Saturday before deciding on a race strategy.
Looking forward to Birmingham.

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Saturday track

Cycled the 6 miles down to the Southampton track this morning and did a '300 sandwich'
300 fast, 5 mins recovery, then 10x30m with walk back recovery and a sprint start, then another fast 300 to finish.
Did the first 300 in 40 then had some sharp sprint work and then did another 40. Very pleased with that considering the week I've had training wise.

A very slow bike ride home afterwards and a good sleep during the tennis!
Planning a good hurdles session in swindon tomorrow

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Tuesday track - then nothing

Good session on Tuesday. 6x150 6' recovery all in 20.x on grass. Then sadly the week went into freefall and I didn't manage another session. Not even a stretch. Too tired, too busy, not sleeping - all the usual poor excuses.
Not going to make European champ again with this approach.

The list of entrants for Slovenia has just been posted here.
61 entrants for the 400 (I'm ranked in the top 4) and only 15 for the hurdles where there are only four of us showing times under 60 seconds.
In the 400 I've got the new European record holder to contend with A German who ran 51.0 indoors) and in the hurdles its World champion Neil Tunstall.

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Interlands 2008

Just back from the Interland tri-nations tournament in Ashford, Kent. Great day. Rain, wind, jams on the way over there, plus a load of fast under 40s in the hurdles, so the omens weren't good.
Fortunately it warmed up when we arrived and was positively balmy by midday. The French arrived all kited out in the same cool track suites. The Belgians arrived late, The Brits turned out in our 1950s outfits.
Apart from a strong head wind in the home straight the race conditions were good. Got off to a good start. Took the first hurdles well on my left, switched to my right for the second, then left again for the 3rd.

My plan was to do 16 strides to hurdle 5, so alternating legs. Unfortunately the 4th was a bit of a mare and I ended up stuttering over it and probably did 18 strides. Regained my flow to 5 and then went down to 17s for the remaining hurdles. 6 to 8 went as well as they've ever gone, 9 was a mess, but 10 good, I made up 2 places in the last 50 meters. Finished in 4th place behind 2 Brits and the French winner in a time of 58.51 (splits to 200 26.2, 300 41.2) That's 1.5 seconds quicker than my 3 60.0s this season and only 0.3 slower than the Worlds final last year. I can feel the form coming. With just 5 weeks to go the timing is good. Slovenia - Bring it on!

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Useful circuit session

Ray Needle, one of the coaches I work with in Southampton, gave me this simple circuit. I like the look of it for three reasons.
Little equipment needed
Fairly short session
Can do it several times a week

Well worth a look at, whatever your distance.

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Thursday fine tuning

Decided to do a very light session tonight in preparation for the big one on Saturday. Just 3 flat out runs over 90-100 meters. Felt good to stride out a bit.
Planning a rest day on Friday (maybe a bit of a stretch and a ride on the bike).

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More graft on the grass

Tuesday training at the Mountbatten track - 36 Harriers turned up! Highest ever I think.
My session was 3x(250+150) 1', 10' recovery.
First set in 60 (37+23), second in 57 (35+22), last in 58 (35+23). Pleased with the times, probably cut 3-4 seconds off the total time on tartan.

The first set was tough getting in the swing of it, but the last set I had Rich and Andy with a 20 and 10 m lead pulling me around. Made a big difference having a target to attack.

Wednesday morning helped with the Mountbatten 7.30am cross country club then, as it was cycle to work day, I cycled to work. Not much energy in the legs so slow as aslow thing. Still anything for a t-shirt and free breakfast.

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Home run

Everyone needs a run that they can come back to in times of need. Something fairly short, but well known and loved. Mine is a circuit starting from my house 2.7 miles long with a couple of good hills (up and down). My PB is 16.59 which I did in April 2005. Last year my best was 17.30ish so it was about time to give it another crack to give myself a measure.

Managed 17.02 - second best time ever. First mile was comfortable, but the second very tough. Managed a sprint for the last minute and it took every last ounce of strength to keep it going; but well worth it

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Saturday track - the benefits of training with others

Went down to the track on Saturday morning, but unfortunately it had been booked for a junior league meeting and there were hundreds of kids around. Instead I joined Tony's group for some 200s on the grass.
His group were doing 8x200 with 200 slow walk recovery. I was after more speed and less endurance so decided to do alternate runs with more recovery. So 4x200 8 min recovery.

Did the first 2 on my own in 27 seconds, then hooked up with the boys for the last 2. Did both in 25 which I was very pleased with. Amazing how having someone to run against can lift your performance.
Hopefully this will be the case next weekend when I take on the French and Belgians!

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Friday hills (are my friends)

To make up for the Thursday debacle I decided to get back to hills again. The rest of the Harriers were on a 5 mile slow run so I headed off to the Botley road hills. Its a perfect hill. About 200m -250m one side, gradual climb, and about 100-150m the other but with a steeper incline.

I run up the long side first, jog down the short side, then sprint up the short and down the long. That's one set

Target was to run for 20 minutes. Managed 4 sets in 17 minutes which was plenty. Averaging 32 seconds up the long side and about 21 up the short.
This is a really intense session, but very high value. There aren't many 17 minute runs you can do that give you so much benefit.
The purpose of the session is speed endurance (fast running under load) but it can be easily adapted to be pure speed (fewer reps, longer recovery) or pure endurance (more reps, slower speed, shorter recovery)

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Know when to walk away

Went to the track on thursday with the plan to do 3x(3x200) 1 minute, 15 minute recovery. As soon as I got there I knew I wasn't switched on. Did the first 3 in 27,30,30 and knew it wasn't happening. Started the next set and did another 30 and decided it was sensible to stop as all I was going to do was learn how to run slow. Packed my bag and came home.

Definitely the right thing to do. If your head's not with it then you can't do a decent session.

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Grass speed endurance

Another session on the Mountbatten track. Did 4 x (150+150) 30 seconds, 5 mins recovery.
Quickest run in 20, slowest in 24, averaging 21/22
The first half of each set was relatively easy, but the second, off 30 seconds recovery was very tough.

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Selected for GB 'A' team v France and Belgium

Just had an email confirming my selection for the GB 'A' squad on the 21st June.
This is a tri-nation tournament held in Ashford Kent this year. As home team we are allowed 2 squads. The main team and an 'A' squad.


I've made it in as the 3rd ranked hurdler, behind a 4o year old who has done 57.5 this year and M45 world champion Neil Tunstall. The good news is that I expect we will all race together, so a good opportunity for a great race. I've also been selected for the 4x400m relay, but I'm not sure I can make that as I need to be home early.

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Extreme yoga

After the workout on Saturday (1200m at full pace!) I thought the body was going to react badly, but fortunately I woke up in fairly good shape - nothing an ice pack or two wouldn't sort out.
Liz had booked be on a 2 hour men only yoga class with Yogi 'Shiv'. Excellent session of very basic positions/stretches that pretty much anyone can do. He focused on laying down, sitting, standing and breathing (roughly 30 mins of each) then finished with a 20 minute demo of what you can achieve if you've been doing yoga since you were 7. Most impressive was the feet behind the head routine.

Rest day on Monday, aprt from cycling to work. 20 mins out, 17 back.

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Saturday league meeting in Brighton

Really went for it in the 400m Hurdles and managed yet another 60.0 - the third in a row. !6 strides to 5, then 17s round the bend. Struggled from 7 onward and wasn't really attacking the hurdles enough. Very tired at the end.
90 mins later ran the 400 flat in 53.4, which I was pleased with. Ran controlled until 300 then ran strong for the last 100. Felt good afterwards.
Finished up with a 55 anchor leg in the relay. Not spectacular, but running solo by the time I got the batton.
Will the times be good enough for GB selection?

Probably not. The 400 is way too slow, I hope we have some sub 52 runners, otherwise we are in trouble. As for the hurdles. I suspect 60 is borderline. There aren't too many quicker this year, so I may squeak in as the number 4.

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Toughest race of the season over..

Just back from winning the Dad's race at Jessica's sports day. Lot of pressure, no warm up, 80m grass track and lots of Dad's wanting to take my 6 year unbeaten record away.
Fortunately the race went well. Got out of the blocks early accelerated to 40 the stretched my legs to the finish. No tweaks or aches.
Maybe the lap of honour was a bit over the top :)

So I can now retire from Dad's races undefeated.

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Goals for Saturday

Running for Guildford at the Withdean stadium on Saturday; home of Steve Ovett.
My plan is to really attack the hurdles. 16 strides to 4 then 17 home. First time I've tried this this season, but its time to take a chance.
I need to run sub 60 to be in with a shout of GB masters selection

Later in the day I'm down for a 200 - target 24 seconds. Then finish as part of the 4x400 squad. I'd like to run under 53 for that.

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Thursday fine tuning

Last session before the Brighton race. Thought I'd test myself over 400.
Session was 2x(250+150) with 30 seconds and 10 mins recovery.
The idea is that the total time is roughly your 400 pace.

Ran both 250s in 34 seconds, which I was pleased with, but both 150s were in 22 into the wind; disappointingly slow.
So totaling 56. I was hoping for sub 54 at this point.
Need to up the ante on Saturday.

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Recovery and rain

After the weekend decided to ease off a bit. Big race at the weekend as I need a decent time in the hurdles to be select for GB in the Interlands tournament at the end of the month.
Did a light gym session on Monday - squats and stretching.
Tuesday was planned to be a grass session, but the rains came...

The track was completely flooded so after a quick warm up in the middle of the field we moved to the tennis court and did some sprint work.
I did a handful of drills and then acceleration exercises. Feeling pretty good although conscious of tightness in my legs.

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Hills and hurdles - and not much sleep

did a light hill session on friday evening, just Richmond hill at any pace in 66 seconds. Legs are pretty tired so used it as a bit of a stretch.
Friday nigh I was due to pick up Poppy from her Italy trip at midnight, but they kept getting delayed and I eventually picked her up at 3am. So not much quality sleep.
Headed off to the track not knowing whether I'd do it or if so whether I'd finish.

Decided on a 4x200 speed session with 10 mins recovery. Running over hurdles 5-11.
28/29/29/30 for the 4. For the second and third reps I tried to go 16 strides to the second hurdle, but both times clattered it. I think it was because I wasn't getting enough speed of the first hurlde.
Switch back to 17s for the last run and that went OK.
Pretty good session considering the lack of sleep. Left knee a tad sore. Will rest tomorrow.

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54321

Thursday night track session - my next assault on the 54321 test.
Simple, 500m, 400m...100m with 5mins, 4 mins...2 mins rest in between.
My goal is to average 15 seconds for each 100m (or 60 seconds for the 400m)
Did my best so far, but still a little way off.

500 in 77 (good), 400 in 64 (not sure what went wrong there, didn't feel particularly tired at the end, just didn't run hard enough) 300 in 48 (not too bad). 200 in 29 (Good), 100 in 15 (OK).
Average 62 seconds per 400.
Getting there.
Hammy has recovered well after a lot of ice and compression. Looking forward to some hills tonight and more track tomorrow.

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Handicapped pigeons?

Went to see the Pigeon detectives in Pompey on Tuesday night so missed out on a track session. Did a light gym session at work to make up.
Wednesday did 45 mins of yoga in the morning and then entered the 'Handicapped 800m' at the Southampton sports center 70th anniversary meeting.

I was given 70m head start, a couple of guys in front of me had 100 and 150. The idea was that we all hit the line together. I made it to 700 without being passed, but didn't make any ground on the two in front. Lack luster best describes my performance, although one positive was that my hammy didn't play up. Its been tight all week since the hurdling at the weekend.

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Edinburgh marathon

Dave and Ian ran the marathon on Sunday and both recorded superb times.
Ian 3.13 (A new club record)
Dave 3.26 (A new over 50 club record :o)

Both have put in a lot of hard work and really deserve this. Well done to both of them.

What next guys?

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Yoga, swimming and a rain dance

Did 50 mins of yoga on Sunday - my legs are sore after the hurdles. Think I may have tweaked my left hammy.
Did a bit of swimming at Jess' party to help ease it off.
Monday (bank holiday) it tipped it down all day. went out in the moring for 5.7 miles in 44 mins. Fairly good pace and some more running in the legs.

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Hurdling in Swindon

Another great hurdling session on Saturday. Warmish weather but a breeze down the home straight. Howard had me doing 5 hurdles on the straight with first 7 paces between, then 8.

7 paces was OK, although I had to stretch a bit over the first couple. 8 was trickier as it means using alternate legs. I landed very hard each time I use my right leg and this slows me down a lot, meaning I have to stretch to keep pace for the next.
Worked on this for a few reps and managed to get to a point where I was powering off on landing pretty well.

Got back for lunch and did a 10 mile cycle ride with Liz - very civilized.

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More speed endurance

Thursday track session on tartan. Target of 5x300 with 8 mins recovery,
I had to be home by 8pm so had to drop the final rep.
Did 41.9, 44, 44, 43.9 but felt pretty tired at the end - although could have probably done another 44.

Discussed the session with Howard and he says I'm not going fast enough with this recovery. Need to be doing sub 42 with this recovery. I think I can do it, but am probably holding back at the moment. Too many slow reps during the winter. Need to get into the habit of running faster now.

Rest day on Friday

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Graft week

Tony and I have deemed the next couple of weeks as graft weeks. Plenty of hard work.
Cycled to work on Monday and then did a grass track session on Tuesday.
6x150 with 6 mins recovery. Good speed endurance work.
averaged 20.5 with best of 20.3 and worst 21.0 so pretty pleased.

The important measure was doing the first and last in roughly the same time
Wednesday morning I went back to the track with the Mountbatten kids. They did some parflouf work which fortunately I didn't have to join :0).

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Harriers altitude training camp

Big weekend for the Harriers - booked the whole hostel on the Ridgeway near Wantage and spent the time running, drinking and watching football.
Did a 4 mile slow run on Friday night - plenty of hills and getting lost. then a 10 miler on Saturday morning. Again nice and slow but good to get some stamina in the legs.

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Thursday track work - for lactic lovers

Looks like the weather has turned and all that warm weather training is over. Headed off down the track in Gore-Tex, jumpers and two pars of running tights. The session (in the drizzle) was 3x300 with 8 mins recovery.

Running with Tony, we started conservatively on the first rep doing 44 seconds. Then got into our stride on the second with 41. Sadly 8 minutes isn't enough to get all the waste out of the legs and the third run wasn't as clever. 43 seconds for me (Tony was a bit ahead) with my calves cramping up over the last 50m.
Good session. Speed/endurance work. Now need to run those faster. Tony reckons sub 40 is possible. Let's see.

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Wednesday gym work

Cycled down to the gym only to find that a power cut had shut the place down.
Did a quick 6 mile sprint up some hills and around. Came home and did a few weights and hurdle hopping.

Stuck 25kg on the bar and did some presses, dips and curls interspersed with 3 sets of 3x3 hurdles. Two footed jump over then exploding quickly up and over the next one. Strangely the pain is in the stomach rather than the legs.
Good exercise though..

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Tuesday track

Another great turnout on the track tonight. Started with the bleep test. Some outstanding results (see below). Then the Masters group did 20x150 with 30 seconds rest and the academy did 10x150 with a minute rest. Both groups working very hard.
At 7pm DaveK, DaveP, RichP started our session with some strides and ladder work.

Then onto the bleep test. Good start to the summer. I did 12.5 but need to crank that up over the next few weeks. Target 14. I promised Rich that I wouldn't publish his result or indeed compare it in any way to my 11 year old daughter ,Jessica's result. So I won't.
Our main session was 4x200 with 4/5/6 minutes rest. Did 28/29/30/29 which I'm fairly pleased with. Lop off a couple of seconds for the grass and the times look quite respectable.

Some of the Bleep test results:
DaveK 12.3
Rob 12.1
Mountbatten boys Jack/Jack/Will 10.x
FrancesA 9.6
Judy 9.6
Jess 8.8
Laura 8.8

Good start!

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Monday cycle to work record

Slow ride in - hampered by various trucks and traffic, but coming home....flying.
16.58 for 5 1/2 miles average speed 19.2 mph, top speed 37mph.

Couple of goals to attack now. The 20mph average and the 40mph top speed!

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Warm weather training

Many top athletes get to jet off to California, South Africa, the Carribean for there warm weather training. I got to go to Swindon yesterday. Gorgeous sunshine - just about perfect conditions,
Did about 2 hours of hurdling. Long warm up, stretching and drills. Then lots of drills over hurdles. Started on the lower hurdles then moved up to the 3 footers. I don't want to get lured into thinking the low ones are normal.

The main session was over the first 3 hurdles. Short lead in the up to full pace. Working on different stride patterns and different positions in the lane. Hurdle 2 is crucial. I tried 17s fairly comfortably, but end up on the outside of the lane trying to lose the half a stride. Then went to 16s an I'm really stretching to make it.
Did a few of these, but the legs were still tired from Saturday. Need to experiment with this over the next few weeks. I'd like to do 16s to 5 to try and conserve energy and give me a better flow over the first part of the race.

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Second in the County Championships

Set off for Pompey at 8.15 this morning so I could register an hour before the race. Not the best time of the day for hurdling, but the sun was out and there was no wind, so ideal conditions.
Four in the field, I had 21 years on the youngest and I'm guessing 15 on average. Drew lane 4, my favourite and had two quick guys inside and the slowest outside.
Finished in 60.0 (exactly the same as last week), second to Peter Irvine from the Channel Islands who won in under 54 seconds (as he has done for the past few years)

Set off very quickly and took the first 2 hurdles very well, stuttered a bit over 3 and 4, but overall felt good to 5. 6/7/8 were very poor and I was nearly overtaken at 8, but unluckily for him he clipped 7 and then fell over 8 effectively taking him out of the race.
Once I was over 8 I took 9 and 10 fairly easily, without really attacking them. Pity as I felt strong in the run in and should have dipped under 60.
The medal standards in the Counties are very tight - you need to run sub 57 to get a bronze. So despite finishing 2nd I didn't get a medal. Which is fair enough, I've always believed if a medal is worth having it has to be earned.

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Friday rest day

With the Hampshire champs tomorrow at 10am I'm taking a rest day today.
Did 30 mins of yoga first thing and am still tired from yesterday's speed work.
My goal for Saturday is to run sub 60. Position isn't important as most of the competition will be youngsters.

Targets:
sub 60 happy
sub 59.5 very happy
sub 59 delighted

Also planning to do some hurdles training on Sunday morning with Howard.
After that I will go back to hard graft for a few weeks. More gym work, more reps.

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Track and cycling

Cycled to work again - another 10 miles on the bike, a few cups of petrol saved.
On the trip back I averaged 17.4 mph and topped 34 mph down hill coming out of Ampfield.

In the evening I did a track session with Tony and Michele. Since we are running in the counties at the weekend this was just a fine tunning session - in theory.

Long warm up followed by 1x250 then 1x150 with 20 mins rest in between.
Managed 32 and 18.
Which I reckon equates to a 53 400 in ideal conditions. Good speed work. I tend to be pulled along by tony, he takes off very well and I spend the last 100 trying to keep for and still catch up. Need to work on hitting full speed earlier so I don't have so much work to do at the end.

Michele did 44 and 23 and looked strong in both runs. Need to work on speed and sharpness over the next few weeks.

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Wednesday Mountbatten run

The great weather continues so the 20+ Mountbatten school group did their session on the grass. 30 mins of relays kept them busy.

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Harrier's Tuesday session

At last some decent weather. Very hot all day and it held for the evening.
25 people turned up to training - we split into two groups, the Advanced group did 4x(600+300) with 1 minute recovery. The academy did 5x300 with 1 minute rest.
Seemed to work well with everyone get just about the right pace on each lap. Rob and Mark ran particularly well, pushing each other all the way.
At 7pm DaveK, Rich Pye and Dave Parsons turned up for my session.

3x2x200 1 minute, 15 minutes rest.
28/30, 28/30, 30/33 for the 6 runs. Much faster than last week, primarily down to the weather, but also because I am actually getting a bit faster. I'm trusting that the grass is costing me a couple of seconds at the moment.
The 1 min recovery is tough as I have to run across the field from the finish line to the 200 start line. In future I may change where I start from to make it a bit easier.
Both Daves held up well, Rich ran the first one well then pretty much jogged the rest.

Also did 30 mins of yoga this morning

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Bank Holiday rest

Decided not to train on the bank holiday so did an hour of yoga in the morning and then did nothing, with a clear conscience of course :)

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Guildford results

Well the weather held for probably the best start to the season in a few years.
The 400mh went well. 60.0 for second place (the winner did 56.9 so well behind him and clear of third place). Strong wind in the home straight, but that meant we had a tail wind in the first 200. Overall the stride pattern was good. Left leg all the way and unusualy started on my left leg. This means I'm about one stride down at the moment, but this isn't suprising with my lack of speed work.

Followed up half an hour later with an A string 800. Did the first lap in 61 which was way to quick. The winner clocked 1.54 and I trailed in in 2.25 for a point (which in hind sight was worth it as we won the meeting by half a point in the end!).
Ran the first leg of the 4x4 in 55 second. Handed over in second (just) on the shoulder of the leader and holding off third place. Good race, we clocked 3.34 for second place - our team were 37, 37, 45, 49 years old so a Guildford masters record.

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Saturday's goal

It's Saturday morning and my first Southern league match is today in Guildford. I'm down for the 400mH at 3pm and the 4x400m relay at 5.30pm. The weather is looking good and it should be the ideal start to the season.


My targets are to run about 60 seconds for the hurdles and about 53 for the relay.
under 61 for the hurdles would be OK, sub 60 very good. I'm feeling fairly fit at the moment, but haven't done a lot of specific speed or technique work. I expect the 200-300 part of the race will be the deciding factor today.

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Catchup part 2

Wednesday morning was raining again so the Mountbatten group stayed in the sports hall and did a circuit - propably the hardest session they have done. Groups of three, one resting, one running round the hall and one doing and excersise from a list of squats, press ups, sit ups, dips etc.
In the evening I did 45 mins in the Rapids gym. Warm up on the X-trainer then some squats and dips. Technique is coming along and I handled 42kg in the basic squat pretty well. Need to introduce some more techniques and start upping the weight.

Thursday was a fine tuning session on the track. Ton Noel and I did some fast 150s (19/18 seconds) with long recovery. The goall was just to feel sharp and flowing. Then we did a few hurdles of the bend. Overall a good session.
Friday, yoga in the morning and cycled to work again. 20 in and 19 back (av. over 16 mph) I'd like to get as close to 20 mph as I can over the summer.

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Quiet blogging week

Apologies for not keeping this up to date this week - no excuse. Anyway, here goes on what went on.
The weekend was a wash out. Geared up to run hurdles on Sunday but weather and Howard's injury put paid to that. Did a plyometric session in the garden (hoping over 3 hurdles in a row and jumping off one chair and on to another). Didn't feel any effect at the time, but have suffered all week from aching stomach muscles - means they were doing some good and that I was out of shape.

Monday I cycled into work, 5 1/2 miles each way, 22 mins in and just under 20 back. The new bike is pretty quick.
Tuesday, yoga in the morning then planning for track in the evening. The forecast was for rain, rain and more rain, so I emailed the Harriers to say I'd be there whatever. Fortunately, the rain eased of between 6 and 7pm and we had 10 Harriers (including 2 newbies) turn up and do 5x300m (1 min recovery) as fast as they could (attempting to do a 'fast mile'). Good session and everyone worked hard considering the soggy track.
I started my session at 7pm and the heavens opened again. I'd planned to do one of Howard's sessions. 3x3x200(1', 15') in 27/28. But just couldn't fire myself up to do it. Instead did 2x2x200 same rest, in 30,33/29,31. The tarck was very very slow, probably worth a couple of seconds. Overall pleased that I'd done it, but the quality was low.

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Thursday night 500s

Track session, 2 x 500m with full recovery. first one in 77 seconds, 15 minute rest, then second in 78 seconds. Very tough work. The first 300 is fine, but the last 200 is hell, everything switches to jelly. Tony set the pace and looked very comfortable. I was heavy breathing most of the way.

Probably means I've pushed the training to the max this week. Will take Friday releatively easy (just some yoga and a cycle to work) and then rest Saturday

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First race outdoor race of 2008

Ran in the Southampton open meet last night. 300m in 41.2 seconds. Second behind 50 year old David Elderfield and ahead of Tony Noel. Pretty slow time, primarily down to the head wind in the home straight. (Tony and I have done sub 42 in training and we were both hoping for sub 40). Good race though, I was on the outside and had a fairly slow start. Tony and David were past me at the 200 mark. Managed to relax into the last 100 and came back into it well.
Update:
The times for our race were recorded incorrectly - looks like we've been given the Senior Womens results. I suspect we did about 39 :) Check out the results here.

Highlight of the evening for me, Mike Smith (greatest 400m coach of all time) used my name in the same sentence as Euan Thomas. Admittedly it was to say "Euan thinks he's the oldest here tonight, but I told him you're much older.....'.

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Grass speed session

30 mins of yoga to kick off the day. Coaching in the evening, then my session from 7-8.
Lovely evening, but starting to cool off by the time I started.
Replicating the Harriers' session I did 2x(300,200,100) 100m jog recovery (1 1/2 mins) 6 mins between sets.

Managed 48,32,14 for the first set and 50, 33, 15 for the second. Pretty pleased with it overall.
Heavy day tomorrow, out with Mountbatten school in the morning then racing in the evening, undecided on whether to do 300 or 600 at the moment. Probably 300.

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First training session of the summer

Good turnout tonight, 15 people and a star appearance from an extremely fit deer.
Started with some basic warm up and drill exercises, then did some speed/acceleration drills before moving on to the main feast. Two sets of 300,200,100 with 100m walk recovery, and 6 mins between sets.


Split into 3 groups, the first decided 2 sets were not enough and added a third. I think an element of not trying hard enough on the first two!

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Harriers' Summer Training 2008

The time has come for summer track training for the Harriers. Imagine now the next 4 months of glorious, sun drenched evenings, a large gathering of fellow athletes and some fun sessions.

The high level schedule can be found here.
First session, Tuesday 22nd April 2008. Then every Tuesday through till end of September (or whenever it gets too dark to train)
We meet at Mountbatten school grass track ready to start at 6pm sharp.


If you need directions, here is a link to Multimap. If you look carefully you can even see the track marked out! No Harriers there sadly.

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World record for my coach

My hurdles coach (Howard Moscrop) smashed the M50 400mh world record today in Walton. 57.68. should put it beyond most people for a few years.
Howard's been chasing the world record for a few years now and finally has one - well done H!

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Tough weekend

Not strictly training, more abuse of the body.....
The weekend started with a Friday night 'Silver Stag' night to celebrate the 25th Wedding anniversary of one of the founding fathers of the Harriers. too much beer and too much curry I'm afraid - the body is no longer a temple. I'd meant to get to the track Saturday morning, but opted for sleep instead.

The festivities resumed Saturday evening with more beer and more food. I'm now at least 10 lbs over race weight. Sunday morning finished me off with a 4 egg bacon bap - well no one else wanted the eggs and it would have been unfair on the chickens.
I did manage a gym session this evening. Some squats and dips working on core strength. Moved up to 47kg on the squat, handled it fairly well so looking to go over 50 soon.

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Grass session

Good yoga half hour on Wednesday morning then down to the track on Thursday. I joined Tony's group for some 'fast work' (that's fast for middle distance runners) We ran round the top cricket pitch for 20 minutes, with 8 fast runs for half a lap.

Good session this as you choose when to do the fast bits, either get them out the way early or, as I did, do a lap slow then a lap with a sprint in. Good mentality for a race, training you to alter the tempo at different times. Also good doing the session on flat, soft grass, with a bit of spring.
20 mins of quality running, the heart and lungs suitably stressed and some good mental training.

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Tuesday speed

Another track session on Tuesday, nice and bright, but a bit of wind and a chill. Tony Noel my fellow 400m relayer turned up and we planned a speed/endurance session. 2 sets of (300, 250, 200m ) with 3 and 2 mins between runs, 10 mins between sets.

We set of fairly briskly on the 300m, Aiming for about 42/43 we clocked 41.9 which turned out to be too fast for me. Managed the 250 in 36 seconds, then the 200 in 30, not enough recovery to do any quality speed. I decided that discretion is the better part of valour. Or put simply one set was enough!
Tony battled on and completed the second set, but it looked like it really hurt.
The aim of the session was to maintain a very fast pace over a set of run, building up speed as well as endurance. In reality, I think my base speed is OK, my endurance is OK, but the two together aren't working yet. Still time to sort this, but I'll need to change my sessions to cope with this.

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Saturday track

Inspired by my Thursday ride I decided to ride to the track. Only 6 miles, so nothing strenuous. It took 23 minutes, which compared to 15 in the car is not bad. Joined Tony's quick group for the session. They were doing 10x300 @48 (100m jog recovery), so I did 5x300, running alternate reps and taking a longer rest.

Managed all 5 at 46 second pace which was very pleasing, felt fairly comfortable, with no drop off at the end. Will need to drop the number of reps and increase the speed fairly soon.

Pleasant ride back, not so quick, but got home just before the rain arrived

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Friday hills

Kicked off the morning with some yoga with Liz, getting back into the swing now.
In the evening joined the Harriers for a hill session.
2x campion for a warm up in 20 seconds. 2x Richmond flat out. 65 and 67. Really pushed it and very please with the speed. I think that's the fastest I've done Richmond. The hill is about 400m long with a steep rise to finish, just when all your energy is gone.

The recovery is just a slow walk back to the bottom of the hill, which, to be honest is not enough for this kind of intensity. Managed a second at another credible time, but that was pretty much it for the evening. Slow jog to the next hill. a sharp 20 second up Durban (not too shabby) but then the tank switched to empty. Managed a very slow walk home with both legs cramping up!
Overall, very pleased with the pace.

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On yer bike

Thursday: Got back late from Exeter so didn't have enough time to get down the track for some hills, however, took the opportunity to get my new bike out for the first time and race it around the country side. Brilliant fun with the bike just whispering 'go faster, go faster' all the time.

Managed to squeeze in a 40 minute ride around Braishfield and Farley church, plenty of hills, up and down. The calves were very tight by the end!

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Back to training - speed endurance

Great session last night. 16x200m, 30 second recovery, target 37/38 seconds for each run.
The goal of the session is to raise the heart rate to a high tempo, giving it just enough time to recover slightly then pushing it again.
Through the winter we have been doing these runs at 40 seconds, so 37/38 represents a considerable speed increase. This is training the body to go at 5 minute mile pace for just over 2 miles. Quality stuff.

The first run is always the hardest to get right and I led off with a 34 second 200. Much too fast! and everyone in the group felt it. However with that as a marker we were able to judge the rest just right. averaging high 37, low 38s for the next 14 reps. The last one is always a bit of a sprint. £ of the group cranked it round it about 34, I did a fairly comfortable 36 - but was glad we were only doin 16.

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Hampshire Sports Awards 2008

A couple of weeks ago I received and invite to the the Hampshire and IOW sports award dinner at the Rose Bowl. I'd been short listed for the veteran sportsman category.
Unusually I didn't do any research on the event before hand so was amazed to arrive along with 200 top sports people from Hampshire. Roger Johnson (BBC South today) hosted the event and did a superb job, interviewing every nominee on the stage and then presenting the awards. I was very chuffed to share the vets award with fellow 400m world champion Dave Elderfield.

For me the stars of the show were Steph Twells (destined to be the next Paula) and her coach along with the disability awards - very inspiring stuff.
Such was the calibre of the nominations that England Flanker Tom Rees and the Waterlooville & Havant FC both missed out.

Here's a couple of links that detail the event:
Daily Echo with a picture of us
more details and a quote I'm sure I didn't make :)

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Listen to your heart

Unusual for me, I'm actually taking my own advice. After the tough hurdles session at the weekend I could feel a cold coming on and my heart rate was up 10 beats a minute. So rather than try and train through it I've taken a weeks rest and I feel much better for it.

9 days without any form of training, (apart from a light jog with Poppy on Wednesday morning). Now ready to get back to it again.

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Hurdling in a gale

Well at least the rain held off.
Very windy, blowing across the track, which made any quality work very difficult. Instead Howard had us doing some hard graft.
First set, 3x 6 hurdles with 10 min recovery. The wind hit me hardest from 1-2, then dropped a bit for the final 4. Managed 35.2/34.6/34.9 for the three runs. The first one I tried to use alternate legs but failed dismally. Second two were just heads down and run. Much more my style

After a few minutes more recovery we finished with 2x5 hurdles with 200m jog recovery. (about 2 minutes) First one in 29 second in 30, hard work but a good session.
The key to this session was adapting to the conditions. You can't be elegant when the going is tough, sometimes you just have to grind the yards out.
This will ultimately benefit me as a speed endurance session.

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Rest

I've got a hurdling session planned in Swindon for tomorrow which I want to do well. So today is a rest day. I've had a few tough sessions this week and not sleeping incredibly well. Yoga session this morning and a beer this evening should sort it :)

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Speed hills

Did a few hills last night with Tony's group. Instead of the usual 300m run we did some short sharp bursts. Two hills at right angles to each other. 80m up the first one, fast, 50m down the second slow. Then reverse it.

I ran well for the first few (about 5) really powering it up the hills and flowing well. But my back tightened a bit (probably due to the cold and the lack of warm up) so I eased off and stopped after 15 mins (of the planned 20). Not too concerned at the early stop as the quality and speed were good on the first few.

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How good would Carl Lewis be today?

When we do our Masters competitions I'm often asked how we compare with the guys who were Olympians in our youth. A few keep going (Willie Banks the triple jumper still competes), Ed Moses tried to make a comeback and then disapeared, but what about the huge stars like Carl Lewis?
Well here's the answer:

The race doesn't start for about 5 minutes, so scroll through the fluff.

Bottom line - Dennis Mitchell wins in 11.6, Carl Lewis is at least half a second behind. In the Master's World rankings that wouldn't make a dent. (In fact my best 100m last season was 12.6)

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Morning run, evening gym.

7.30am run with the Mountbatten team. I went with the top group again, slow jog to the letter box on Halterworth lane then a fast 600m run through the meadow. Roughly 2.09 for 600m which is pretty good. Few minutes rest and then 800m back again. All the lads ran well and earned the slow jog home.

Went to the rapids in the evening. Warm up on the cross trainer, few lunges to stretch out.
Strength (S) and strength endurance (SE) session:

• Body weight dips (5x11 dips) (SE)
• Back squats (3 sets of 5 squats, 4 min recovery, 42kg) (S)
• front squats (3 sets of 5 squats, 3 min recovery, 32kg) (S)
• Row (5 sets of 30 second fast row, 30 seconds rest (150m average)) (SE)

Good workout, took about 50 mins.

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Upping the tempo

Tuesday morning, excellent yoga session with my resident yogi, Liz. Plenty of leg focus. I've been slacking recently on the stretching front, so good to get back to it.
In the evening its down to the track. 12x400m 1 min recovery. target time 78 seconds. That's 2 seconds quicker than we have been running all winter. Two seconds doesn't sound like much, but its approaching 10 meters in distance. Started with a 77, which was a bit quick and made a big difference later on. Most laps were in 78/79 although a few slipped to 80. The last one was 76, which was pleasing.

We had a new athlete start tonight. Half marathon PB of 1.39 and relatively new to running. Tony noticed he was struggling over the first 2 400s so he switched him to just running 200s with us. This was a good plan as it gave Peter a longer rest, but still gave him the feel of the pace we were running at.
It shows how important it is to adjust the session to the athlete - no prizes for driving them into the ground.

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Measuring recovery

Nothing much planned for Easter Monday so decided to do a gentle recovery run with Rob and Jack Finch. Also took the opportunity to mark out some measured runs for future rep session. The recovery run was about 5 miles in total - slow jog.
First measurement (using the trusty Garmin) from the letter box on Halterworth lane, down through Tadburn meadows to the climbing wall is 600m
Next one, 800m from the entrance to Tadburn meadow (by the wall again) running on the flat all the way along the stream until the end of the fence (on the path up to Hestia close).

We then jogged over to Fishlake meadows to the start of Robert Whitwoth drive. Its about 2 miles from the clubhouse, so not too far for a warm up.
I've been looking for a flat, well lit, safe area do do reps during the winter and this looks to fit the bill nicely.
If you start at the entrance to RWD and run along Fishlake meadow road its a 300m straight run on a wide flat, well surfaced path. Perfect for high tempo running. Then take a left in RWD and follow it round until you hit the mini roundabout. That's exactly 800m. This is then a short walk back to the start.
This area would be perfect for multiple 800m reps (6x800m with 1 min recovery, running at 5K pace for instance). You could also do a speed session with 300 fast, 200 slow, 300 fast, 1 min recovery (repeat about 5 times) or 10x400m with 1 min recovery.

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Hurricane hurdling

Saturday morning I decided I needed some more speed work so headed off to the track. Great conditions, strong winds, cold and trying to snow. Arrived not sure what session I'd do (thoughts of 54321 and hurdling (but not together)). Tony's group were doing 10x200 with 200 jog recovery. So I decided to do the 200s with hurdles (the last 4). Fortunately the gale was behind us.

Ideal session as I used the pack to pace me round and it gave me that little spur on. I just did alternate runs, so 5 set with about 3 or 4 mins recovery.
31/29/29/32/32
Slow start, excellent next 2 then degraded dramatically over the last two. With the strong tail wind I found I was being pushed onto the hurdles for the first 3 which meant I could keep left leg lead all the way (17s?) but as I tired I should have switched to alternate legs but didn't. Too long out of hurdling and lack of confidence to try it. This meant I was slowing up on each hurdle and that cost me a second or so each rep.

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Squabb wod and Farewell to JK & Elspeth

Good Friday - good day for a run!
I decided that to get back into it again I need some fast miles - preferably over my favourite cross country course. Set of at 7.45am with rob, DaveA and Ian at a good pace. Plenty of water on the way but we finsihed in an excellent time of 65.40 - close to our best for the 8.3 miles. I think sub 60 is possible, but probably in the summer when the track has dried out.
Got back to the clubhouse with enough time to get a drink in and let the legs stiffen up before heading off on the Harrier's farewell to the Kaputins run.

Great turnout, lots of Academy runners. We set off around Crampmoor and Baddesley common at a sociable pace. Reached the common and Martin produced a bottle of champagne and I brought out the hot cross buns. Very socaible - very Harriers.
An even gentler trot back, including dropping the JKs in the biggest puddle we could find.
Good luck in Oz Elspeth and JK - set up the Perth wing of the Harriers!

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Back to the gym

Went down to Romsey Rapids for the first time in a while and did a good strength, strength/endurance session. Started with 5 minutes on the elliptical trainer, then did some warm up exercises (lunges mainly). Moved on to supersets of squats and dips. Three sets of 3 squats, 42kg on the shoulders, with 3 minute rest. In each rest period I did 10 full dips on the dip machine.

That was the strength work, for the strength/endurance I did some rowing. Set the machine to do one minute hard, 30 seconds rest. Goal was to do 5 sets at about 1.45/500m pace. First 2 set were very tough and I had convinced my self that 3 sets would be enough. Fortunately saw the light and kept going to complete the 5. Only a slight degradation on the last 2. In the first 3 mins I was covering about 290m, the last set I covered 275.
Good session, I'll do this again.

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Coaching dilema

OK, I'm back feeling more inspired. Wednesday morning I took the top group of Mountbatten students out running. All six highly motivated, no moaning about the cold or how far we were going, they just got on with it. We did a couple of miles interspersed with 3x100m sprint (15 second recovery) and a sprint up Seward rise. Finished the run with some Indian file, sprint to the front work.
Coaching a group like this is easy and fun, but a philosophical question, where should I invest my coaching effort?

With the top group who respond and improve or the slower group who are much tougher to coach and don't seem to improve? The top group will reach a decent level without my help, the slow group will probably stop running. Tough call.

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Catch up

Nightmare training week - work trips to Exeter and London, plus a weekend away in Devon. Long winded way of saying I only managed one run in a week. Poor excuses. Fairly good run on Saturday morning. 7 miles in total. Did the first half slowly with the marathon guys. Peeled off on my own at Knapp and ran home through Ampfield wood. Fair pace - round about 7 minute mile. Overall covered the 7 miles in under an hour.

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What's the point of it?

Don't panic - I'm not losing the faith. Just read an interesting article in 'The Coach' magazine. It was basically saying that its every athletes right to ask, and every coaches responsibility to articulate, exactly what each session is for. If you don't know what a session is going to give you then why are you doing it?

Every session, ask the question, 'what is this work out doing for my body?'. If you can't answer that (coach or athlete) then you've got a problem. Training is all about doing the right things at the right time, so what might be the perfect session one day can be junk the next. Don't just train because you think you have to, junk miles just wear your shoes out.
Think quality, quality, quality - all the time.

In future I'll try to remember to blog why I did a session and what benefit it was meant to give me.
Please comment if I haven't.

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Adapting to the conditions

Great storms starting Sunday night and going through to Tuesday! Nearly blown off my scooter on the way to work.
Monday night spent drying the conservatory out after it was flooded during the down pour. So just a quick session in Jon's gym. Chin ups 9/8/7 interlaced with squats. Upped the weight to 45kg which was tough and difficult to handle in such a small space. I really need room to drop the bar.

30 mins of yoga on Tuesday morning, then down to the track in the evening. The rain had cleared up, but it was still fairly windy. Tony set us the challenge of 25 mins of 'bends and straights'. Slow job on the bend, stylish sprint on the straight. I averaged 17 seconds for each run which I was pleased with. This is an ideal session in poor conditions because you have to keep moving. Key focus is on style during the sprint rather than absolute speed.

Wednesday morning was brighter again so did a couple of miles with the Mountbatten girls.

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Sunday 'recovery' run

Spent Saturday watching the girls competing in a 'Sportshall' event in Portsmouth.
Poppy won a couple of medals for the 2 lap run and the speed bounce, Jess ran her first sprint since she started training properly. Her technique was good, couple of things to work on. A quicker start and running on her toes.
Unfortunately got back in time to watch the England- Scotland game - enough said.
Anyway, needed a recovery run on Sunday to shake the legs out. Did 10 miles slowly with the Harriers.

Lovely run, got caught in a brilliant hail storm. At the moment I'm stuck between upping the speed and keeping the endurance going - not really succeeding at either, but over the next few weeks I'll adjust the speed work to be in shape for the start of the season.

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Weights, yoga and hills

Thursday was a bit of a rush - guitar lesson at 7.30 so I had to squeeze a weights session in Jon's gym (my garage). Decided to do some 'super-sets' to cut down on the time. So 3 sets of chin ups (9/8/7) with squats of 4okg during the rest period. Finished up with some step ups onto my bench. 3x1 min with 1 mins recovery, holding 8kg in each hand. I'd like to up the weights and drop the reps over time.
Very tired on Friday...

Started with a 30 min yoga session and ended the day with a hill session. First two hills were fine, then really caned the Richmond hill 400m run. 69/68 sec for the two runs. Best combination so far.
However, legs completely blown out so didn't do any more sprinting. Pleased with the base speed though.

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Ice cold pensions

I guess this is where the life of a masters athlete differs from that of an international athlete.
I was back with the Mountbatten school early morning runners - 7.30am and the car claimed it was -4 degrees Celsius. My group was slightly down in size, but still not a bad turnout. This week at least two of them have realized that T-shirt and shorts won't keep you warm in this weather. The rest undergo yet another practical lesson in thermodynamics. Good run though - couple of miles around Whitenap and Halterworth.
Now that pension...

I had a gym session penciled in for the evening, but I've realized that time is running out to get my pension stuff in for the end of the tax year and sort out all those tax breaks I'm being offered. Does Paula have to worry about all this?
The good news is that its now all sorted and I've managed to secure a tax free bike for the year so even the most boring tasks can have silver lining.

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Back to full training

Right - I'm back home and back to full training again, no messing about trying to peak for the indoors. Plan is to go back to some core strength training and rebuild. The indoors say that I'm on track, just need to keep healthy and improve strength and speed until the track season starts in May.

Monday night - back in Jon's gym - my garage. Did a circuit with 3 sets of chin ups to exhaustion, some squats, 3 sets of 5 with up to 40kg, 3x1 min rounds on the punch bag (with 1 min recovery) and then some step ups on to the bench. Took about 40 mins. Good all round strength session although I need to start to up the load.

Tuesday - yoga in the morning and track in the evening.
12x400m 1 min recovery. We have been doing the 4s in 80 seconds, but Tony said its time to up the tempo and aim for sub 80. Cranked most of them out at between 77 and 79, but a couple of the later one went to 81. Its amazing how much harder it is to maintain the speed at just 1 or 2 seconds faster. We had been very comfortable at 80. Reps 10 and 11 were very tough, but pushed the last one in 75 so very pleased with that.
Key thing here is that training has to be progressive - If you do the same things you get the same results. To get better you have to push yourself outside of the comfort zone.

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Final CC6 of the season

After 10 hours sleep on Friday night I overslept and missed the chance of a hurdling session in Swindon. Body knows best in this case - so a good call in the end.
Sunday morning was the last CC6 of the season at Manor farm. Decided to run just to get some miles in the legs.

Most of the Harriers opted for a longer run so the team was reduced to Rob Finch, Liz and me. I opted to run with Rob and try to push him to a quicker time. Pretty good course, mainly dry with a few slippery patches. We kept a good pace around 7.30 per mile and Rob finished in his best placing so far (26). Good fun, but the legs were very tired. Got home and fell asleep in the bath!

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Cold weather training in Arkansas

Had a week in Arkansas visiting Bentonville (the home of Wal-Mart, the largest company in the world). Having visited 3 time zones (UK, Raleigh, Arkansas) in two days I was pretty shot away so training went out the window.

To be fair it was a good week to miss anyway - I'll call it a recovery week after the British indoors.
I did manage a bit of yoga, a light jog on a treadmill and a swim, but that doesn't really count.
Bizarrely after a week of American food my weight has dropped a couple of pounds...

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Sad loss of a great athlete

Monday night I received an email from Kermitt Bentham to say that Fran Scott, a fellow M45 400m runner, had lost his battle with liver cancer.
Fran was a true gentleman, on and off the track, and he will be missed by all of us.

Last time I saw Fran was on the podium at the world championships in Italy.
He ran the first leg in the 4x400m relay and set us up for a great win.
Here's the report in Masters News - An American Master's blog.
49 is no age to go. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
We'll miss you Fran.

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British indoor championship 2008

Decided not to do any more training in the lead up, just yoga sessions Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Difficult to get properly prepared for the race as I'm flying to the US on Sunday and my mind isn't totally focused on the race.
My target is still sub 54 (remember Howard's prediction).
Two hours drive up to Picketts Lock, but well worth the effort, the sports complex is superb. Six lane, 200m track, with a six lane 100m warm up track that overlooks the main areana.

Warmed up for the heat. Lots of good quality athletes. Including the British record holder, Darrell Maynard, who hasn't competed for a few years.
I'm in the easiest heat and win fairly comfortably in 54.8 from the front. Difficult to judge anything at this point. The next heat Darrell wins in 52 ahead of Tony Noel, Nick Grewcock and Neil Tunstall (hurdles WC).
I had lane 6 (the outside) for the final as I was second slowest qualifier. Not ideal as I wouldn't see anyone for a while and its the toughest lane to break from at the 150 mark.
Got to 100m and Darrel and Tony were storming and already ahead of me despite the lane stagger. At the break I was 4th.
Managed to squeeze into third before the bend and got up onto Tony's shoulder. Attacked on the back straight, but Tony wouldn't let me past. so had to settle back behind him on the final bend. Into the last 100 I felt I was gaining on him and just clipped his heels (so he knew I was there). Came off the bend and turned on the speed, flowing to the line to get a silver in 53.77. bang on my target time, so very pleased.
Darrel Maynard won in 51.11, a new British and European record (he was disappointed it wasn't a World record as well) - he then retired! Talk about going out on a high

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Tapering week for British champs

After a good session Saturday morning it's a week of easing off before the big one at the weekend.
Complete rest on Sunday and Monday (although did manage to tweak a muscle in my back cleaning the shower door - how bizarre is that?)
Tuesday down the track with the intention of a light, fast session.

Got to the track and it was freezing, literally, with the first bend coned off to keep us off the ice. My plan was for a few fast 100s, focus on flowing style, but that wasn't going to happen in the conditions.
Instead I joined in with my group doing 16x300 with 100m jog recovery. Cranking them out in under 60 seconds. I did the first 4, took a rest, then did 3, rest one, then another 3. The goal being to feel good all the way, not going into any sort of debt
Pretty much succeeded, back feeling OK, right calf a bit tight, otherwise all in working order.
Will try to get one more short sharp session in later in the week.

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One step back, two steps forwards.

After a second tough week of training (endurance the first week, speed the second) I'm getting pretty tired and, dare I say it, starting to lose the faith. Fortunately a rest day on Friday (with a little bit of yoga to sooth the soul) and a change of approach today seems to have inspired me again. Started the morning with the third yoga session of the week, then headed to the track.

My main concern was that despite all the endurance work I'd put in over the winter, when I switched to speed I found that whilst the basic speed is there, the ability to maintain it over a few sets is not. Tuesday's 200 session was fine for the first 2, but the last 2 were tough, Thursday's 300s were the same.
So today I opted for a 400, 300, 200 session - full speed and, on Tony's recomendation, full recovery (about 15 mins). The weather was bright, but cold and a slight wind on the back straight. The track was full off top athletes, Euan Thomas making a comeback, Rob Tobin, Emma Duck, Rob Lewis (to name a few) so no place to hide :)
Did the 400 in 56, the 300 in 42 and the 200 in 26 (all rounded down). All bang on target.
The important thing was to prove to myself that the basic speed is still there and is repeatable.
Nex week is the British indoors, I have the 400 heats at 1.40 and the final at 5pm, so plenty of time to recover in between. Gut feel says a 54/55 in the heat will be enough to get through (although I'll have to be careful as the final is graded based on heat times). Ultimate target is sub 54 in the final. I think today's times show that is achievable. So I'm happy again.

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The need for even more speed endurance

Wednesday was primarily a rest day - just a light run with the Mountbatten girls at 7.30am with the temperature at minus 3 degrees. Apparently it was my fault that everyone turned up in T-shirts and shorts, except for me who had four layers on.
Tonight I thought cranking out another speed session would be a good idea. It wasn't.

Fairly cold, but little wind on the track.
3x300m with 5 mins recovery
44,44,48 First 2 runs not too bad (although from Tuesday's times I should have been doing low 40s) but by the end of the second I was really feeling it. The third was just a slog. Desperately hanging on in the last 100m.
I'll keep at this. Try another of these sessions on Saturday and then taper off next week.
Maybe a hill session tomorrow, but easing off the speed a bit.

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The need for Speed...

Tuesday morning 30 mins of yoga, I think I'm getting the hang of it.
Evening track session. Very cold. Tony Noel (my Masters 400m buddy) is working in Southampton for a few weeks so we did a speed session together. 4x200m, full on, 5 minutes rest. target 26/27 seconds each run.

Tony is one of the most effortless, elegant runners you will see in masters. Most of my training group are in awe watching him glide around with me in tow.
First rep, 26.8 feeling OK. second in 26.0 and flying. Third, starting to tire, 26.4. By the start of the 4th I am shot. That woolly hat feeling kicks in, arms and legs tingling. Did the 4th in about 39 with very little umph.
Overall very pleased with the speed, but interesting that with all the endurance work I've been doing I couldn't maintain the speed over 4 reps. It probably means its the speed/endurance work I'm missing. Basic speed is good (26 for 200 equates to about 54/55 for the 400), just need to be able to do it over multiple reps.
Will try to do a couple more of these sessions before the British masters.

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Next target - British Masters Indoors

Two weeks to go to the British Indoors. I've entered the M45 400. My goal is to run sub 54 seconds. Not sure how many races there will be. Its a 6 lane track and I'm hoping at least Tony Noel , Neil Tunstall , Fran Scott and Kermitt Bentham will be there. All good runners to make it a fast race.

Coach Howard reckons 54.2 is realistic, 53.7 would be very good.
He's challenged me to prove him wrong :)

I'll spend the next 2 weeks dong more speed work to build on the strength base.

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Hills, Hurdles, more hills and mud

Great end to the week, not exactly what I'd planned but some excellent base work.
Hills, a two hour hurdle session, CC6, 4 miles in the mud

Friday kicked off with 30 mins of yoga and finished with the Harriers hill session around Romsey.
A couple of strides up Campion way to warm up, then to Richmond hill for some speed endurance work.
First one in 77 secs, jog down then 68 for the second. Approaching summer speed.
On to Durban, first in 20, second in 22. Good pace, but tiring on the last.
Managed a slow jog home (about a mile and a half). Legs too tight to sprint up Botley rd.
Just before the hills I got an email from my Hurdles coach in Swindon - the weather's good - fancy some hurdling?

Even though the legs were tired you don't turn down a hurdling session with Howard.
Two hours focusing on the first 8 hurdles. Trying to get the right stride pattern. Coach worked out that I was losing half a second between hurdles 5 and 7. doesn't sound like much, but I lost the world champs by the same amount, so its worth working on.

By the time the CC6 arrived on Sunday morning (9.30!). I was shot. Race plan, knowing it was going to be hilly and muddy was to hang in there and finish without getting cramp.
Managed to get round in one piece in 20th place - behind 2 Harriers, Ian and Mark.
Definitely need a rest day tomorrow.

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Weights and hills

Wednesday evening I squeezed in a 40 minute gym session in the garage. Chin ups and squats where the order of the day. Would have liked to do more, but probably a sensible compromise following Tuesday's session.
Thursday, down to the track for some more hills. 21 minutes to do 8 reps up and down the 300m hill we use. Fast up, very slow down. Fatigue kicks in on about the third rep, especially in the last 50m. By 7 it just hurts the whole way up.

Still think this is one of the best sessions you can do - 20 minutes of effort is pretty good value.
Over a long hill like this you can tap into pure speed in the first 100m, then speed endurance for the rest. As you tire you are teaching the legs to cope with the lactic build up. Do this for a few weeks and you'll never fear a hill in a race again.
Remember - Hills are our friends....

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Coaching lesson

Learned a few good lesson this week.

1. Listen to your athletes - they know what's best for them
2. Its easier to change yourself than it is to change a group of athletes

I've been struggling trying to enthuse my group of Mountbatten girls on a Wednesday morning. Every week we all turn up at 7.30am with the intention of doing a 25 minute run around Romsey. But the last few weeks have been increasingly frustrating as we spend more time moaning about injuries, the wrong footwear and why can't we run somewhere else.

Tuesday I asked Poppy what the solution was. She was very clear - 'Dad, you need to change your attitude'. 'You're too nasty'. Not the answer I was expecting, but on reflection she had a point. My frustration with the group meant I was always shouting at them all the time. Not ideal if your trying to get the best out of them.
So I gave it a go and changed my attitude. We did a mystery tour of Romsey, a couple of miles on paths they hadn't seen before - and I was nice to them. And guess what - they were good as gold - probably the best run they've done so far.
As my coach says: 'It's the athlete that makes the coach, not the coach that makes the athlete'.

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Wind, Rain, 200s - Bring it on...

Spent Monday moping around and whining about a stiff neck and a sore head. A triple garlic and ginger juice sorted that.
Up early Tuesday for an invigorating yoga half hour. Down the track in the evening.
20x200m with 30 secs recovery.

200s are my favourites, you can run them at a fair pace without getting completely exhausted.
My group have been averaging 80 seconds for 400m for all of our sessions, so I aimed for 39s for the 200s. The wind was very strong against us in the home straight (and bizarrely very strong with us in the back straight). So we adjusted the target to 39/40, with the second one into the wind slightly slower.
30 seconds rest is just enough to catch your breath and make sure the rest of the group is still standing.
The first couple are always the toughest to gauge, so we cranked them out at 40 seconds. Once into the swing of it our times started to come down. Averaging 38/39, with a best of 37.
Last one in 36.
Fortunately the rain arrived with about 5 to go - excellent fun.
First time out in spikes, so ran a lot on my toes. Calves pretty sore by the end.
Overall, great session - it's sessions like this, on nights like this that medals are won.

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Squabb wood

Saturday morning 7.30am - its cold and clear. Perfect for an 8 mile slow run around Squabb wood. Ideal conditions, bit of mud and puddles full of ice cold water.
Relatively slow run (just over 75 mins) but good to get a few miles in the tank.

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To the Hills.....

Friday morning is the usual yoga session. 30 mins of stretching.
The evening brings the Harriers weekly mountaineering trip. This week I focused more on all out speed rather than endurance. So quick times were more important than finishing the reps.

First couple of hills are the wiggly path on Campion drive - just a warm up, so no clock on them.
Next up the long run - Richmond drive - about 400m, with a steep climb in the last 100m.
First run in 77 sec, not really focused and dodging cars on the way up, so not as fast as it should be.
Second run 69 sec. That's more like it. Approaching summer times.
On to Durban - short and sharp. 20 sec for the first one - flying. 21 for the second. Very pleased, but completely out of energy. Walked home a skipped the last hill.
Very pleased with the runs I did. Need to be in fair shap for the 400m indoors at the end of Feb, so this is a good marker.

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Swiss ball for core strength

I've just got myself a swiss ball for sitting on and doing balance work.
£3.99 form Aldi in Romsey - what a bargain.
Here some background info on swiss balls.

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Back to grafting

The Romsey 5 normally marks my transition to fast work, so I was a bit concerned when Tony's track session involved several 800ms. However, Tony had cunningly combined 800s and 200s to give the sense of speed after the grind of the 800.

So the session was:
5x (800 + 200), with a slow 200m jog between each run (about 2 1/2 mins recovery)
We did all the 800s in 2.50 (aiming for 80 sec laps, but degrading on the second) and all the 200s in under 40 sec (the last in 35!).
The key to this session is the ability to feel a bit sharper on the 2s and simulate either a sprint finish or perhaps a change of pace during a race.
Wednesday evening I did a strength session in Jon's gym (my garage).
Warm up with lunges, 3x5 chin ups with legs raised at right angles, 5x5 squats raising weights from zero, 20kg to 40kg. With some swiss ball balancing during the recovery periods. Session took about 40 mins. Ideally would have done an hour, but had to squeeze the session in before ferrying the girls from swimming to guides to brownies to home.....

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Romsey 5 Recovery

This is part three in the Romsey 5 series. You have had the tapering, the race it self, now here's the recovery.
Three halves of Guinness on Sunday as a reward followed by an afternoon of footie on the box.
Monday lunchtime, spent an hour in the gym at work doing stretching, some balance work on the swiss ball and some light squats.

Tuesday morning did 30 mins of yoga with Liz. The legs are now back in shape so should be OK for track session in the evening

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