Full Summer Sprint Program (Mar 2024)

[Fraser_9to5]

COMP 3

6 July

Climbed Snowdon – 5 hours

This was a group of 7 with mixed fitness levels so I found the pace very easy. Last time I climbed this was almost 2 years ago, it was a different route but that time was up and down in 3 hours.

7 July

OFF

Spent 7 hours on trains coming back from North Wales.

8 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 3 x 2 x 300m secs in 55.5 secs
Waterloo – 20 reps in 5:45
Mobility A (3 sets)

My legs were heavy after the weekend’s excursions, pleased with the 300’s but I was trying harder than usual to hit those times. I skipped one of the circuits. This is usually my Saturday session but the plan is to do my Sat-Wed sessions on Mon-Fri and then loop back round to Saturday for Comp 4.

9 July

Pogo Jumps – 3 x 12
MB Throws – 3 x 3
Blocks – 2×20, 2x30m in 3.10, 4.30 Freelap
40E20F, 40E30F in 2.31, 3.44 secs Freelap
Front Squats – 3 x 2 x 92.5kg
A1 Sprinter Sit ups – 1 x 12 x 20kg
A2 Bear Dog w Tap – 1 x 12
A3 Fifer Scissors – 1 x 25
Mobility B

Wet track, 17 degrees, -4 m/s wind. I misread the session and didn’t write broad jumps at the start, I will have to do them on Thursday. A lacklustre session, somewhat expected given the weekend. I brought a second phone to use as a starting gun for blocks and was pleased at my reaction times. Pencilled in Wed 17th July for my next race.

10 July

Yoga – 45 mins
Mobility C

Office yoga again. I drove to work and parked in South London as a dry run for next Wednesday, where I plan to compete after work. I can see it going badly but I’m thinking of it more as a data point than an open meeting. I will take my Freelap and get a timed 30m and flying 20m to then extrapolate to a predicted 100m. If I do that enough times I can start understanding what I could theoretically run in nearly every training session, which will help me a lot in programming.

11 July

Broad Jump – 256cm
MB Throws – 4 x 3 x 4kg
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 12.35m
Accels – 30,40,50m in 4.25,5.40,6.48 secs freelap
3 x 60m in 4.20/5.35/7.65 secs freelap (30/40/60m)
150m in 4.30/11.25/14.80/18.55 secs freelap (30/90/120/150m)
Hang Power Clean – 2 x 2 x 60kg
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 115kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 5 x 4 secs
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Ab Ripper X – In & Outs, Bicycles x 2, Crunchy Frog 25 reps each
Mobility D

Dry track, 20 degrees, no wind. I’ll have to check, but that’s potentially a lifetime best in the broad jump. I changed my technique so it could be that, more aggressive with the speed of my arm swing. It didn’t seem to translate to a strong 5 bound so it was likely technique rather than increased explosiveness.

It took me a while to get into the session, I ran some 4.3’s for 30m before finding my speed. My acceleration was there but not the top speed, I always panic when it isn’t there but I know how much it can change from extra rest so I’m still enthusiastic about running on Wed. Nice to have a session with no wind for a change!

12 July

Bench Press – 3 x 2 x 92.5kg
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 80kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg
Mobility G

No issues.

Hard to tell where I’m at this week, and the disruption will continue as I plan to do four open meetings in 29 days.

[Fraser_9to5]

COMP 4

13 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 3 x 2 x 300m secs in 54.9 secs
Waterloo – 20 reps in 5:31
Bataan – 20 reps in 7:22
Mobility A

Good session, pace felt relatively easy and I handled the circuits well too. The plan is to do the speed session as normal tomorrow but skip the weights, then go back to my 10 x 100m tempo runs on grass on Monday as a pre-race taper.

14 July

Broad Jump, 4 – best of 248cm
Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
MB Throws – 3 x 3
Blocks – 2×20, 2x30m in 3.12, 4.27 Freelap
4 x 60m (relaxed) in 5.45/7.75 secs Freelap (40/60m)

Dry track, 18 degrees, -2 m/s wind. The wind faded for some of the 60’s but overall it was impeding me. I had a hectic day yesterday and didn’t sleep well due to hay fever so the times were expected. I didn’t have time for mobility as I was out of the house and then watching the Euro 2024 final. The 15th involves extra stretching so I should be fine.

15 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
10 x 100m with stretching in 16.0 secs
Planks – 7 x 60 secs
Mobility C

Very relaxed 100’s, pleased with the times and in hindsight I could have backed off even further. I’m doing a plank program next month and was testing out one of the routines, couldn’t manage two of the moves and stopped at 40 secs.

16 July

Mobility D

17 July – Race Day

Sutcliffe Park Open Meeting – 100m
12.31 (-0.9 m/s wind)

I started warming up a bit early as I wanted a full 15 minutes between my flying 20m run and the race. One of the officials tried to clear my timing gates off the track just as I was about to run, so by the time I spoke to him and laid them out again it was 10-12 mins to the race. I ran a 3 point 30m in 4.25 and a flying 20m in 2.24. I felt a bit quicker than that on the day and my 100m prediction based on those two times would have been 12.47.

The gun was very soon after set, I was off balance for about 6-8 steps and was so close to falling on my face. I kept pace with the guy next to me but I think it might have been worth 0.05-0.1 secs if my start was executed well. The rest of the race was good, I remembered to relax the arms and didn’t stress when everyone else pulled away from me.
I only had ~5 hours of sleep which made me anxious in the morning. Considering this was after a full day in the office I will take it, and if you correct for the wind it’s a 12.24 which is slow, but I know there are clear places to improve.

I’m not sure if I will do all the scheduled races, I do like the idea of competing in a few and lowering the amount of hype around racing. I have ones on 30th July, 6th August and 14th August.

I’m still confident that I can run a sub-12 if my tapering goes well.

18 July

Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility F

I’m doing a 30 day plank program and this was the first workout day. Some variations I’m really weak in so it has the potential to carry over to a more rounded core.

19 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 with 100m in 16.8 200m in 35.2
A1 Pull ups – 10,9
A2 L-Sit – 15 secs, 15 secs
A3 Dips – 15,14
Mobility G

I was a little off the pace and didn’t force it, nice to get back to training again.

Following the race on Wednesday I sat down and did some extensive number crunching. If you look at my training times, my 30m runs last year dropped to 4.36-4.40 at my peak, and this year I’ve only registered a single 4.40 with the rest more like 4.42-4.45. My 10m splits were 1.07-1.10 and right now they’re 1.10-1.13. One positive is that last year they came down nicely when I backed off weight training and I’m yet to fully do that this year. Overall I have a much better handle on what times I need to see to start running low 12’s, which would be sub 12 given the right wind.

[Fraser_9to5]

COMP 5

20 July

Everest – 3 x 3 jumps
Accels – 3 x 30m in 4.17/4.24 Freelap
2 x 150m in 18.45, 18.73 Freelap
Hang Power Clean – 2 x 2 x 62.5kg
Back Squats – 2 x 2 x 115kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Pendlay Rows – 2 x 6 x 80kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility A

Dry track, 19 degrees, no wind. Some Freelap issues meant I didn’t get the first 30m or either splits of the 150m runs. I had a feeling something fast was coming following my 100m race on Wednesday as I tend to see nice training times in the first session post-race.

I combined this session with what usually follows, which is upper body work.

21 July

Mobility B

22 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 3,2,3 x 200m secs in 35.0 secs
Waterloo – 20 reps in 5:06
Bataan – 20 reps in 6:54
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility C

Good session, the slight reduction in volume (1600m vs 1800m) was noticeable and I completed my circuits faster than usual.

23 July

Broad Jump, 4 – best of 251cm
Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
Blocks – 20,30,40,50m in 3.08, 4.22, 5.33, 6.45 secs Freelap
70,80,90m in 8.63, 9.74, 10.80 Freelap
Front Squats – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Mobility D

Dry track, 18 degrees, +2 m/s wind. I bought an Anemometer (wind gauge) and for the brief time before the batteries died it was registering a +1.5 m/s wind. I felt good today, I did a 90/90 hamstring stretch last night and felt like I had a bit of extra range of motion. For the longer runs I focused on more of a “stepping” action at top speed, mimicking the feeling of Knee Dribble drills, and that seemed to work really well.

24 July

Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)

Yoga – 45 mins
Mobility E

Early upper body session, under 10 minutes, followed by planks. Did yoga at the office again, a bit tougher than usual with a lot of quad dominant holds.

25 July

Box Jumps – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 4 x 3 x 4kg
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 12.60m
Accels – 3 x 40m in 4.38/5.55 secs freelap
120m (relaxed) in 16.27 secs freelap
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 x 5 sec
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
Mobility F

Wet track, 16 degrees, -4 m/s wind. Miserable. I felt really sluggish warming up but was pleased to go quite far in my 5 bounds. The accels were only a little off the pace, annoyingly I didn’t switch on some of my Freelap cones so the only split I got was at 90m which was 12.17. While it was a strong headwind, I would normally expect a relaxed 90m to be under 15.5 secs so this was my cue to immediately pack up and go home before the second run. I was using a new receiver chip but I can’t see why it would add a delay, I’m struggling to believe it was quite so slow today.

26 July

Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility G

Routine.

Excited to see how fast I run tomorrow having had such a dire last speed session. I weirdly find myself losing motivation at this point of the season when it should really be a culmination of all the hard hours I’ve put in.

[Fraser_9to5]

COMP 6

27 July

Everest – 3 x 3 jumps
Accels – 30, 40, 50m in 4.23, 5.35, 6.46 Freelap
60, 70, 80, 90m in 7.40, 8.56, 9.52, 10.90
Mobility A

Dry track, 22 degrees, +2 m/s wind rising to +4. I had my wind gauge out and ready to go, to be fair it’s quite close to my estimate which is reassuring. Where I struggle is anything above +3 m/s. Good session, lovely weather and the wind helped me to some fast-ish times. Around 1.08-1.10 per 10m which is 1.10-1.12 adjusting for the wind. The last run may have been longer than 90m, I didn’t have my measuring wheel so I paced it out conservatively after seeing the 9.52 80m.

Interesting to see how well I recover in 72 hours. I almost cut the 90m but wanted to see how I run in 3 days time. Next season I’m going to seriously consider dropping to 2 speed sessions and maybe doing weights on different days so the sessions aren’t 2.5 to 3 hours long.

28 July

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 10 x 100m with stretching
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility B

Last time I did this session I ended up going quite hard. Dialled it right back to 17.0-17.5 secs per 100m. I did a 90 minute hike later in the day but at a relaxed pace, then lots of BBQ food. Tomorrow is a rest and Tuesday I plan to run a 100m and a 200m at my local track and time it with Freelap.

29 July

ILL

Had a stomach bug that left me inactive for 7 hours until I finally threw up. Depending on how I sleep I may push back the 100m run but it’s a tight schedule so not many other places I can fit it.

30 July

Broad Jump, 2 – best of 251cm
Full warm up
30m 3 point – 4.26 Freelap
20m fly – 2.21 freelap
100m from blocks – 4.22/7.58/9.79/12.02 Freelap (30/60/80/100m)
Mobility D

29 degrees (!), dry track, +0.4 m/s wind (thanks Anemometer!). In one of my most stubborn moves to date I completed this session as planned. I wanted to still run a timed 100m today despite struggling with a stomach bug. I kept down my breakfast and an early lunch, then decided if I can broad jump at least 240cm I’m in good enough shape to sprint. What I didn’t factor in was that the broad jump was in my cool garage and the track was roasting. I struggled a lot with the heat, having to crouch down to catch my breath after the shorter warm up sprints. My initial plan was to wait 30 mins and do a 200m but I was feeling the ill effects from the 100m so called it a day.

Race execution was strong, my track doesn’t have 100m straight so the first 10-15m was a bend. I didn’t have a time in mind and I’ll take what I ran. If you add in 0.20 reaction time you get 12.22, and correct for the wind and it’s 12.25, very similar to what I ran in my last race (12.24 wind corrected).

My 100m calculator spits out 12.34 when I put in my 30m and 20m fly but I think the pressure of running a timed 100m makes me faster. I feel like I’d go even faster competing against someone but given how I felt 24 hours ago I’m really happy to get the session done. It’s now 2 light days, then tempo, then speed, and possibly an open meeting next Tuesday.

31 July

Mobility E

1 August

Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Res. Band Rotator Cuff – 2 x 2 x 10
Pendlay Row – 2 x 6 x 80kg
Pull ups – 2 x 6 x 12.5kg
Mobility F

A bit tougher than usual given my recent stomach bug, I’m likely a bit undernourished but don’t want to rush out and scoff a load of food. I’ve entered the next open meeting which will be Tues 6th August, instead of dreaming of sub-12 I’ll settle for a wind corrected season’s best, which is anything under 12.24.

2 August

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 20m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 3,2,3 x 200m secs in 35.3 secs
Waterloo – 20 reps in 5:32
Bataan – 20 reps in 7:18
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility G

I’m happy to now be able to run 35 secs so consistently for 200m. Kept the circuits relaxed but didn’t reduce the volume. I’ve learned from previous seasons finishing that my fitness drops quite quickly when I stop working hard so I’m keeping the tempo and circuit volume into the final weeks.

Obviously not the best week given the stomach bug but I got a 100m time under my belt and feel like it’s set up nicely for my final races of the season (Tues 6th and Wed 14th).

[Fraser_9to5]

COMP 7

3 August

Everest – 3 x 3 jumps
Accels – 30, 40, 50m in 4.25, 5.38, 6.56 Freelap
3 x 80m in 9.85 secs Freelap
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Mobility A

Dry track, 22 degrees, -2 m/s wind. I was pleased with my top speed given the headwind, I still have some lingering fatigue which may be from all the weights I’ve done this summer. I’m already thinking ahead to next season where I’d like to have more focused periods of weight training then back off and mainly do sprints.

4 August

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 15m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 10 x 100m with stretching
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility B

Cruised these again in ~17.0-17.5 secs per 100m. I cut back on the volume of the first four drills, next season I want to try a minimum effective dose and it felt like an easy 4 x 2 x 5 metres to cut without much impact. Knowing I only have 15 metres means I give the drills more attention.

This time last week I did this session then ended up getting a stomach bug so I’m washing my hands very frequently out of paranoia. Ready for Tuesday.

5 August

Mobility C

6 August – Race Day

Tonbridge Open Meeting

100m – 12.22 (+0.1 m/s wind)

I started warming up 10 minutes early because it’s very crowded with ~50 people signed up for the 100m. I did two 30m runs as the first one I was distracted by the people near my lane who might accidentally step into it. Times were 4.25 and 4.22, it felt like the tailwind was 2 to 3 m/s. Flying 20m run was 2.15 secs. Correcting for wind I’d be happy to say that was 4.24 and 2.19 secs, which my 100m predictor says is 12.29.

As for the race, I was really happy with my start, though I was racing boys who weren’t using blocks so I’d expect to get a metre lead. Transition was good, probably too much focus on what other lanes were doing and no real plan for top speed running cues. I’d have liked to relax through the arms more and have better tunnel vision.

Once you adjust for the wind it’s 12.23, so it’s actually only 0.01 faster than 3 weeks ago. I still have some tapering to do, though it has been two weeks since I lifted weights.

Race video below, I’m in lane 3.

7 August

Yoga – 45 mins
Mobility E

Yoga in the office. Good focus on unlocking the hips.

8 August

Drills – A walk (MB), A March, A Skip (MB), A Switch 2 x 15m
Dribble Ankle, Calf, Knee, SL scissor w runout 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Technical Runs
Tempo – 3,2,3 x 200m in 35.2 secs avg
Waterloo – 10 reps in 3:00
Bataan – 10 reps in 3:45
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility B

A good session. Plenty of aches and pains today, a little left Achilles tenderness and my left glute has DOMS. My body is ready for a rest.

9 August

Broad Jump, 4 – best of 250cm
Pogo Jumps – 3 x 8
30,40,50m in 4.30, 5.43, 6.44 secs Freelap
70,80,90m in 8.65, 9.86, 11.01 Freelap
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 92.5kg
Mobility D

Dry track, 22 degrees, cross wind. Very rusty in my first few runs, then realised I’d missed parts of the warm up. Still felt a bit flat today but it’s less than 72 hours since my race and the only place I could fit this session in my schedule.

Will do some submax runs on Sunday and then my final race on Wednesday. I’m after a season’s best on Wednesday, I’d like a decent tailwind so I can get something better than 12.22.

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