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SPP 6
13 May – Race Day
County Champs – 100m Final
11.95 secs (+2.3 m/s wind)
The wind in other finals was +4 m/s which is probably closer to the truth. I felt good in the warm up, running a 30m hand timed in 4.33 secs and a flying 20m in 2.13 secs.
I got a little excited when I realised that three of the four guys who are faster than me on paper hadn’t turned up and I could actually win this. The blocks were really worn and in the first few strides I stumbled and put my right foot way in front of where it should be, effectively braking my acceleration. Despite that I recovered well and maintained a metre lead on the guy on my shoulder (who’s in his 50’s as this was a Veterans race) to come through in first. I have a gold medal but it feels a bit silly with so few of us racing (four in total, all in different age brackets).
Given how little top speed work I’ve done this season I’m expecting to run a wind legal sub 12 at some point this summer if I can stay injury free.
15 May
MB Throws – 4 x 3
Accels – 2 x 30m in 4.37, 4.46 (huge tailwind, like a +6 m/s)
70m (40m IL) in 8.93My right quad was bothering me, I was initially going to skip this session but felt good that morning so planned to do half of it. In hindsight it was better off as a rest day because now I’ll need to skip the Wednesday session on the 17th.
16 May
The Speed Code – Week 1 Day 2 (Core/Mobility)
I had a nice chat with someone at the track the previous day, coincidentally one of those who didn’t turn up to the County Champs. He’s 49 and recommended I drop to 2 true speed sessions a week and a third at 90-95% if necessary. It aligns with what I’ve felt I should do, given my times during winter were usually so poor for 1 of the 3 sessions each week that I was unlikely to be going fast enough to improve.
I’ve done Vert Code Elite and really rate the programming from Paul Fabritz and PJF Performance so I purchased The Speed Code. I’m not in a position to drop what I’m doing and follow all of it but I’ll weave as much as I can into my training, starting with core and mobility.
17 May
The Speed Code – Week 1 Day 1 (Warm up, Decels, Drills, Plyos)
BB Step Ups – 3 x 6 x 60kg
BB RLESS – 3 x 6 x 67.5kg
Swiss Ball Reverse Hyper – 3 x 8
RDL – 3 x 6 x 85kg
Rotator Cuff – 3 x 8I did most of the speed code Lower Body day but substituted in my own weights program. I feel aches in muscles that have been dormant forever which is exactly what I hoped for in his programming. Looking ahead to next week I’ll probably do the three core/mobility sessions and maybe his warm up on one of the speed days. If I’m keeping three speed sessions I’ll also shift the volume around so I do more sprints when I’m running fast times.
18 May
The Speed Code – Week 1 Day 4 (Core/Mobility)
I smashed this out at 6.30am before going to the office. It means I can pull mobility out of tomorrow’s conditioning session.
SPP 5
5 May
Drills – AABB x 2
Bike Tempo – 111,313,313,111 lvl 7, 160W
MB Circuit – 10 reps in 3:24
GS Circuit (no pushups) – 20 reps in 8:48
AH Mobility – 2 sets6 May
Box Jumps – 3 x 3
MB Throws – 2 x 3
CMJ 57cm, Broad Jump 239cm
Blocks – 3x30m
4 x 30E20F
60m (35m IL), 35m in 5.11This session was wet and miserable, it started chucking it down as I finished my last 30E20F. The time was slow and I had a slight strain across the full length of my right hamstring so I called it quits and skipped weights.
7 May
Drills – AABB x 2
MB Circuit – 1 x 15 in 4:30
MB Circuit – 2 x 20 in ??, 2:37
Bike Tempo – 111,312,212,111 lvl 7, 160W
Mobility, 5 exercises
Massage gun – calvesI tried putting the circuits before the bike tempo which worked quite well.
8 May
MB Throws – 4 x 5
4 x 30m in 4.46, 4.32, 4.49, 4.35
2 x 70m (35m IL) 9.19, 8.94
2 x 70m in 9.13, 8.80
Back Squat – 8 x 82.5, 5 x 95, 3 x 100, 3 x 1 x 115, 5 x 95kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
L-Sit ISO – 3 x 20 secsThere was roughly a -1.5 m/s wind so I decided to run alternate directions, giving myself a +1.5 m/s every 2nd rep. Interesting to see the difference wind makes, around 0.3 seconds in just 70 metres.
10 May
Plyo Series – 2 x 20m
Blocks – 3 x 30m
2 x 70m (35m IL)
2 x 90m FEF, 60-90m in 3.51, 3.53
Bench Press – 8 x 75, 5 x 85, 3 x 90, 3 x 1 x 102.5, 5 x 87.5kgI’m racing on the 13th so I dropped squats here but otherwise completed the session as normal.
11 May
Drills – A-Skip, A-Run, B-Skip, B-Run 2 x 20m
Drills – Ankle, Calf, Knee dribble, SL scissor 2 x 20m
2 x 40m build ups
Tempo – 10 x 100m with stretching between repsThe tempo was about 16.5 seconds, run on uneven grass. I took 75 seconds between reps, holding 20-40 seconds of various stretches while resting.
7 May
Warm up
Pushups – 58
Cool downAs with my first test I did this mid-morning and with a metronome set at 50 beats per minute. My body doesn’t feel completely recovered but it may be I need a load of soft tissue work to fix that.
9 May
Warm up
Pushups – 60
Cool downI gave it 48 hours and tried again, this time mid-afternoon and with a metronome at 52 beats per minute. I felt worse going into this than I did 2 days ago but due to scheduling I can’t really fit this in any other time. I was happy to reach 60 but wanted more.
10 May
Weight – 71.4kg, 16.3% body fat
Measurements: Bicep tensed (36.5cm), Chest (103cm), Waist (81cm)Bench Press – 1 x 110kg
I was pleased to see my 1RM hasn’t moved, and in fact this went up a little smoother than my attempt back in March prior to this program. That said, I have put on 2.3kg (1.7kg is muscle) so by body-weight strength I’m weaker.
Here are my 58 reps
SPP 4 (easy)
28 Apr
Drills – AABB x 2
Bike Tempo – 111,3121,3121,111 lvl 7, 160WSkipped circuits, my upper body is wrecked from a pushup program.
29 Apr
Box Jumps – 3 x 5
CMJ 57cm, Broad Jump 240cm
Blocks – 3x30m
3 x 30E20F
2 x 60m (35m IL) in 7.89, 35m in 5.00
Back Squat – 8 x 82.5, 5 x 95, 3 x 100, 3 x 1 x 115, 5 x 95kg
Prone Cobra – 3 x 20 secsThe squats are something called a “power matrix” and based on my 1RM that’s what I should follow. I had been repping at 115kg but it was singles with a focus on speed (and therefore power).
30 Apr
Drills – AABB x 2
Bike Tempo – 111,131,212,111 lvl 7, 160W
MB Circuit – 1 x 10 in 3:07
Mobility, 6 exercises1 May
MB Throws – 3 x 5
3 x 30m in 4.38, 4.39, 4.40 +1 m/s wind
2 x 3 x 60m (35m IL) first 35m in 4.96
Back Squat – 8 x 82.5, 5 x 95, 3 x 100, 3 x 1 x 115, 5 x 95kg
A1 Nordic Curls – 2 x 4 (4 secs)
A2 Seated Leg Kicks – 2 x 8 secs
L-Sit ISO – 3 x 20 secsI was hoping for something “easier” for my easy week than just a reduction in strength training but it suits me ahead of a race on the 13th.
3 May
Plyo Series – 3 x 20m
3 x 30m in 4.53,4.47,4.48 headwind -0.5m/s
3 x 60m (35m IL)
2 x 90m EFE
Back Squat – 8 x 82.5, 5 x 95, 3 x 100, 3 x 1 x 115, 5 x 95kg
Stomach Vacuums – 6 x 10 secsDespite poor sleep I was happy with that session and enjoyed the 90’s.
This was a solid week of training and I’m glad I’ve been able to build on the indoor season and run consistently well. My first 100m of the year is on Sat 13th May but I don’t plan on doing much of a taper, other than reducing the volume of the conditioning session scheduled for the 12th.
If I’m slower than 12.35 over 100m I’ll consider it a wasted trip, anything 12.15-12.35 is expected, 12.00-12.15 is really good and if I break 12 seconds at the first attempt (with a legal wind) I’ll be thrilled.
WEEK 7
28 Apr
Warm up
Push ups – 20,32,26,26,25+9+9+7
Cool downDeveloping some intense tightness across my elbow in certain positions and also my upper traps. There’s definitely something that is either being missed by the post-workout stretches or that just can’t handle the volume.
30 Apr
Warm up
Push ups – 20,20,24,24,20,20,23,34+10+8+3
Cool downThe volume is too much, I’m knackered by the final set. Using 2.5 mins rest until the final set and holding firm at 52 bpm.
2 May
Warm up
Push ups – 24,24,31,31,26,26,24,29+9+7+7+8
Cool downHuge amounts of cumulative fatigue have built up in my arms and I felt tired before the first set. For the final set I tried to sneak it up to 54 bpm but that turned out to be far too fast so I dialed it back. I was using 3 minutes rest between sets and barely finished some of these.
Today is Tuesday, I would say the earliest I would consider a max effort set would be Sunday. I’m tempted to do something in between especially given the extreme tightness across my elbow. I have Kelly Starrett’s Becoming a Supple Leopard which will likely have some nice exercises to go through on Friday.
100 reps is very unlikely but I’m expecting to land north of 50.
