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Comp – Week 8
3 August
Rest
4 August
Tonbridge Open Meeting
100m – 12.21 (+1.9)
Solid warm up, no major Achilles flare ups. I got out well to 10 metres then we were called back for a false start. The second time around was a touch slower, plus the fatigue of having just run 10-15m out of blocks. I felt good but not great at top speed, it was a really strong tailwind in the first 30m but it was swirling so much the actual wind readings were hit and miss.
200m – 25.08 (-1.3)
I was happy with my first 80 metres and then instead of just going up a gear off the bend I went too aggressive and turned it into some sort of max effort 20m fly, and I blew up with 50m to go and got passed on the outside. I think a better strategised race would have seen me dip under 25 but not by much.
Overall I’m relatively happy with that series, my 200m was weaker than last time and my 100m a touch stronger. The wind was all over the place so I find it hard to trust either reading, as I thought we had a nice tailwind for the whole 200m bend.
The plan is to take a break for a few days and then pick things up next week with a more gym-based program for a few weeks. I’m not sure whether to call it the off-season or if I should continue training another few weeks. Competition week 8 seems like a sensible stopping point and my body could do with a few weeks of less CNS fatiguing efforts.
5 August
Rest
6 August
Cycling – 2 hours
It was a rest day, but I was in London and cycled a cargo bike from Battersea to Tower Hill via Buckingham Palace and other landmarks with my daughters in the front (37kg total) which was relatively demanding.
7-9 August
Rest
Comp – Week 7
27 July
Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 10, 20, 30m in 1.95 / 3.23 / 4.46 secs Freelap
3 x 200m, 2 x 200m in 31.1, 29.4, 29.5, 29.6, 30.2 secs
Bench Press – 8 x 67.5kg, 5 x 77.5kg, 3 x 82.5kg, 5 x 80kgDry track, 22 degrees, -4 m/s wind. This was done at 6pm after a day out, so a long way from ideal prep. I thought the blocks were laboured but given the wind I don’t mind those times. My main goal with the 200’s was to not blast the first rep and I went too far the other way and ended up very casual. The rest of the series was really nice, target times between 28.8 and 29.7 secs, though again with the headwind on the home straight that final rep was probably sub-30.
It felt silly to do bench press at 7.30pm but it wasn’t taxing and I’m trying to extend my bedtime anyway.
28 July
Rest
Relaxed day, afternoon walk and probably ate a bit too much.
29 July
Sutcliffe Park Open Meeting
100m – 12.41 (-0.4)
I got a little disorganised in my warm up as I tried to squeeze in my flying run before doing anything longer than 10m during acceleration and it didn’t really work for me. Thankfully there was a 10 min delay due to a fault with the timing system, so I was able to do a 10m, 20m and then build up to a 5m fly.
For the race itself I felt I didn’t get away very well but everything else was smooth and the guys either side of me who went on to run 11.8-11.9 didn’t open up a gap through to the line. The wind was also -2 m/s in all the other races so either it was a genuine lull or it was stronger than that.
200m – 25.00 (?? wind)
A weird race. I knew on paper a few of us would run very similar times, but being in lane 2 and having the chance to gauge my speed against everyone else was a bit surreal. I was probably the tiniest bit too relaxed because I was keeping pace with them rather than making up ground as I should be with the stagger. I chose to go hard from 80m and I did feel a nice kick off the bend, and I felt strong and thought I would take the win but we all fatigued at the same rate. I came 4th with the top three running 24.88, 24.92 and 24.96.
I thought the wind was stronger in the 100m and given my slow start I can’t complain with 12.41. I’m quite happy with 25.00 as it’s faster than last year and I should be able to go faster still in six days’ time.
30 July
Rest
A fair amount of walking during a day out in London
31 July
Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
Bike Tempo – 10 x 45 secs @ 190WIt felt good to get moving again. I gave myself an extra 15 seconds rest between reps on the bike, which I decided to use instead of running on the track to rest my Achilles.
I had poor sleep on Wednesday night and didn’t really make it up last night so I’ve been sluggish since mid-afternoon.
1 August
Rest
2 August
Warm Up 1
Lunge Jumps – 2 x 3
Tuck Jumps – 2 x 3
Squat Jumps – 2 x 3
Blocks – 2 x 20m
3 x 200m in 30.2, 30.0, 29.3 secsI was going to do the full plyo series “Everest” but realised that’s unnecessary volume with no real upside right now, so I selected three exercises for 2 sets each. The blocks were okay, Freelap failed both times so I don’t know how fast they were. Again with the 200’s the target was 28.6 to 29.5 but my priority was not going too fast in the opening rep. I went through 100m in 14.9, 14.7 and 14.3 respectively and it wasn’t much trouble.
My Achilles is feeling a little better, I noticed it a bit during the session but another 48 hours recovery should help it.
On paper I thought six days after a 100m, 200m double before the next race would be sufficient, but the extended walking I did the next day and the poor sleep means I could probably do with an extra 24 hours but we’ll see how I get on.
Comp – Week 6
20 July
Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 2 sets
Bike Tempo – 111,212,212,111 @ 190W/180W
Bataan – 8:16
Waterloo – 4:52
Abs – 4 minsCouldn’t make the track today so did drills in the park then tempo on the exercise bike. I’ll have to check my old journal entries but I thought I was doing 10W more than usual. I still feel flat and will go for another 3000 kcal day.
21 July
Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Accels – 30, 40, 50m in 4.32, 5.47, 6.66 secs
60,70,80m in 7.53, ??.??, 9.80 secs (30m in 4.28 secs, flying 20m in 2.18 secs)
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 110kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kg
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 10kg x 30 secs
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 1 x 10kg x 30 secsDry track, 24 degrees, +4 m/s wind. I felt quite good warming up but once again the Achilles was threatening to disrupt the session. Adding a 10 seconds single leg isometric after each sprint seemed to help, and there was a step change in speed once I moved to the longer runs. I had two 4.28 second 30m runs and the third felt just as good but annoyingly my phone screen switched off so it didn’t record.
22 July
Warm Up 2
Posture Hold 2 x 10 secs
Wall March, Wall Switch – 2 x 6 per leg
A March, A Switch, Carioca – 2 x 20m
Lateral Skips – 2 x 10m
Alt Scissor w high leg, SL scissor – 2 x 30m
2 x 40m build ups
Tempo – 111,212,121,111 in 16.7, 34.9 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 2 sets
Pull Ups, Dips, Handstands, L-Sit, Rope Climb – 2 sets
Abs – 3 minsNoticeably shorter session, even though it was just a set of hurdle mobility and 100m less tempo. I feel really good right now and I’m ready to see what I can do in 7 days time.
23 July
Warm Up 1
CMJ Series – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 4 x 3
Accels – 3 x 20m in 3.18 secs
2 x 2 x 150m in 19.0, 19.6, 18.7, 19.9 secs
Swiss Ball Kicks – 2 x 20 secsDry track, 22 degrees, no wind. Great conditions and I felt really well rested and as if I’m tapering (funny that). There were some other sprinters at the track which is a rarity for me and I joined one of their relaxed 150m reps (my 3rd rep), and despite knowing I’m likely to run too fast I still did, passing through 100m in 12.5 secs.
I’ve got some speed work on Saturday and then relaxed 200m reps on Monday before competing on Wednesday evening.
24 July
Rest
25 July
Warm Up 1
Everest – 2 x 3
Accels – 3 x 20m in 3.23 secs
60,80,100m (95%) in 8.15, 10.53, 13.44 secs
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kgDry track, 24 degrees, -2 m/s wind. I moved this session to the evening to let my body get used to running at the same time as my race will be. Glad I did, I was so flat and lacking sharpness that I need to do this more often. I may even move my bedtime from 10pm because the 200m race will be ~8.30pm and my body will not be primed to exercise at that time.
The 100m rep was probably too relaxed but the other two reps were spot on.
26 July
Bike Ride – 10km
Very gentle as I was going at my daughters pace, which was 6km/hr.
I’m excited for Wednesday, but also aware that it’s one of two opportunities to run well, with another 100/200m on 4th August.
A minimum goal would be to go sub 25 seconds in the 200m, having only done a single race last season (25.23). I’d also like to run sub 12.20 with wind correction, which would mean I’m improving on the last two seasons.
Comp – Week 5
13 July
Waterloo – 20 in 5:28
Abs – 5 mins
Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 16.9, 35.2 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Bataan – SKIPPED
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kgFlipped the order to keep myself entertained. I got back and had no desire to do the Bataan circuit so left it out. Did the Achilles holds later in the day as I didn’t want to aggravate it before the tempo runs.
14 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 10kg x 30 secs
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 10kg x 30 secs
Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 20, 30, 40m in 3.18, 4.33, 5.38 secs
70,80,90m in 8.72, 10.07, 10.94 secs (30m in 4.33 secs, flying 20m in 2.20 secs)
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 110kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kgDry track, 24 degrees, +6 m/s wind.
15 July
DB Snatch – 30 x 15kg
DB Lunge – 30m with 2 x 13.5kg
Goblet squat – 30 x 16.25kg
Burpee Broad Jump – 30m
Plate Clean & Press – 30 x 15kg
DB Push Press – 30 with 2 x 13.5kg
Overhead Carry – 90m with 15kg
Bear Crawl – 60mWith a 200m to start, and then after each exercise.
200m times: 41,39,42,48,51,57,53,56,54 secs
Something a bit different today. I’m potentially doing a competition for a bit of fun in Nov/Dec and wanted to see how unprepared my body is. It humbled me fairly quickly, the goblet squat slowed my 200m times and the clean and press slowed it further, until it was basically a plod.
I’d like to focus on a few of those exercises more on tempo days, especially the clean & press and the DB push press, to start getting some movement-specific improvements.
16 July
Warm Up 1
CMJ Series – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 4 x 3
3 x 200m, 2 x 200m in 27.1, 27.7, 27.2, 27.7, 27.5 secs
Swiss Ball Kicks – 2 x 20 secsA great series, though with a healthy tailwind on the home straight. The 100m splits were 13.2-13.6 secs, I misread the first rep split as 13.9 and thought I had to make up time so ended up running too fast. Really pleased to not fade on the final rep.
17 July
Rest
Super-relaxed day, deliberately spending more time with my feet up.
18 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 1 x 30 secs x 10kg
Warm Up 1
Everest – 3 x 3
Accels – 20m, 2x30m in 3.22, 4.38 secs Freelap
2 x 120m in 14.56, 14.62 secs (4.40/7.75 to 30/60m, 30m fly in 3.36 secs)
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 110kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kg
DB Rows – 2 x 6 x 42.5kg
Pull Ups – 2 x 6 x 15kg
Nordic Eccentrics – 2 x 3 (incline)
*DB Push Press – (27+3) x 13.5kg per handDry track, 24 degrees, +4 m/s wind. Incredibly flat in the warm up, I was being careful with my Achilles but I could still feel it a fair bit. I felt low on calories, low on sleep and low on energy, and I just wanted to cut the session short and have a nap. The tailwind helped mask my times, the back squat was surprisingly smooth, and I had zero enthusiasm for the additional upper body work. I told myself I’d have a calorie blowout but I went more reserved and just made sure to hit 3,000 kcal.
19 July
Rest
I feel like I’m in equal shape to early May when I ran ~12.20 wind corrected, but if my Achilles behaves I believe that this coming training week will be the one where my times come down further. My last hard session is 21st July then it’s some submaximal sprints leading up to the first of two races, on 29th July.
Comp – Week 4
6 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 8.5kg
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 8.5kg
Warm Up 2
A Skip, B Skip, A Run, B Run – 2 x 20m
Dribble ACK – 2 x 20m
SL Scissor w run out – 2 x 20m
2 x 40m Build Ups
Tempo – 111,312,312,111 in 16.4, 34.4, 53.2 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Waterloo – 2 x 10 in 2:52, 2:43
Bataan – 10 in 4:15
Abs – 5 minsA good session, yet another heatwave so this was done at 8.30am and wrapped up by 10am. Again I noticed great mobility in the hurdle drills and also a freshness to my legs having taken it easy yesterday.
7 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 10kg x 30 secs
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 10kg x 30 secs
Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
Blocks – 2 x 20m, 2 x 30m in 3.18, 4.32 secs
4 x 60m (95%) in 7.95 secs (20/30/40m in 3.30/4.48/5.62 secs)
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 110kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kg
Standing Calf Raises – 2 x 10 x 70kg
Seated Calf Raises – 2 x 10 x 50kgDry track, 28 degrees, +4 m/s wind. Having dealt with 30+ degrees I’m no longer phased by 28, though it was a little uncomfortable when the wind stopped. I felt this extra bit of power and spring on my 2nd and 3rd steps out the blocks which was very satisfying. Three of my four 60m runs were almost identical times then I ran 8.05 secs on the last rep. It was very much within myself and nice to take it easy.
More calf raises in the gym, the seated ones do nothing for me, I’m loading lots of plates on the tops of my knees and I may look at getting a machine if it’s going to be a key exercise for me.
8 July
Warm Up 2
Posture Hold 2 x 10 secs
Wall March, Wall Switch – 2 x 6 per leg
A March, A Switch, Carioca – 2 x 20m
Lateral Skips – 2 x 10m
Alt Scissor w high leg, SL scissor – 2 x 30m
2 x 40m build ups
Tempo – 111,212,212,111 in 16.7, 35.9 secs
Hurdle Mobility 1 – 3 sets
Pull Ups, Dips, Handstands, L-Sit, Rope Climb – 2 sets
Abs – 4 minsAlmost 30 degrees but didn’t struggle that much due to a nice breeze (and being topless).
9 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
Warm Up 1
MB Throws – 4 x 3
Blocks (on bend) – 20m, 2 x 30m in 3.18, 4.38 secs Freelap
3 x 200m, 2 x 200m in 27.8, 27.6, 28.0, 28.2, 28.6 secs
Swiss Ball kicks – 3 x 20 secsAround 30 degrees by the time I got to the 200’s and I could tell I wasn’t getting my breath back as quickly as usual. I feel strong during accelerations, like I’ve got better at activating the muscles I use and I feel my legs working harder. My main goal with the 200’s was to not smash the 4th rep, and I ended up slowly fading across all reps.
10 July
Rest
11 July
SL Achilles ISO Straight Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
SL Achilles ISO Bent Leg – 2 x 30 secs x 10kg
Warm Up 1
Everest – 3 x 3
Accels – 20,30,40m in 3.28, 4.45, 5.57 secs Freelap
100m, 120m in 12.16, 14.52 secs (7.67 to 60m, 20m fly in 2.21 secs)
Back Squat – 2 x 2 x 110kg
Bench Press – 2 x 2 x 90kg
Nordic Eccentrics – 2 x 3 (incline)
Standing Calf Raises – 2 x 10 x 70kg (3130 Tempo)
SL Seated Calf Raises – 2 x 10 x 30kg (3130 Tempo)Dry track, 28 degrees, +6 m/s wind. The wind kept me cool which was nice. My left Achilles was really tender during Everest (jumping series) and probably needed a steadier ramp up instead of going right into max effort tuck jumps. I felt it impeded my force production in all my runs, and the big tailwind disguised a very mediocre session. Single leg seated calf raise was much nicer in the gym, I could feel the movement more.
12 July
10km jog/brisk walk
First bike ride with the girls and I wasn’t sure how much they’d struggle so I went on foot. I ended up having to break into a jog for the first 4km before we came to an agreement that they’d stop regularly for me to catch up. I really didn’t like the whole experience and it’s a lesson learned. I had a bag with food and drinks in it too so I was really not set up to jog any kind of distance, especially on a rest day. It took enough out of me that I needed a nap in the afternoon and I will possibly reduce my Monday tempo session if my body is still tired.
