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WEEK -1
19 August
MB Chest Pass – 3 x 8 x 5kg
MB Slams – 3 x 8 x 5kg
Clap Push ups – 3 x 6
Front Plank – 3 mins 36 seconds
Bench Press – 4 x 90kg, 6,6,5 x 85kg
Pendlay Row – 3 x 6 x 80kg
A1 Pull ups – 4 x 6 x 5kg
A2 DB OHP – 3 x 8 x 15kg
B1 Russian Twist – 3 x 30 x 5kg
B2 Hanging Leg Raise – 3 x 5
Mobility (5 exercises)I really liked that. Started off with explosive exercises then the heavier stuff. I was retesting for a front plank program which is why I had one long hold, next week it’ll just be reps of the front plank. Made sure to up my calories to support the volume.
20 August
Standing 5 bound, 2 per leg – best of 12.25m
5 x 40m in 5.35 secs Freelap
Back Squat – 3 x 5 x 95kg
A1 Single Leg Standing Calf Raise ISO – 2 x 30 secs
A2 Single Leg Bent Knee Calf Raise ISO – 2 x 30 secs
Mobility (4 exercises)Dry track, 20 degrees, no wind. A little disappointed in my 5 bounds, the other three attempts landed below 12 metres and I had no consistency. 40m runs were okay, my final run was 5.27 but looking at the 10m splits it may have been because I was late releasing the button, as I had an incredible first 10m then similar 10-40m speed. Squats were very easy but that was the plan, calf raise isometrics are for Achilles prehab ahead of the depth jumps and I find them very challenging for the full 30 seconds.
21 August
Yoga – 45 mins
Mobility (4 exercises)Wow, I was not expecting the DOMS I have from 3 sets of relatively easy squats, so glad I didn’t push it. Yoga helped, I was worried I’d pull something putting my shoes on in the morning.
22 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 – 4 x 400m in 79.0 secs
A1 Res. Band Face Pulls – 3 x 12
A2 Dips – 3 x 15
B1 DB Curls – 3 x 8 x 15kg
B2 Res. Band Rotator Cuff – 2 x 2 x 15
Scap Push ups – 3 x 10
Mobility (5 exercises)More leg DOMS, not easing up at all. Very tentative in the warm up and drills, thankfully the 400m pace is only ~20 secs per 100m otherwise I’d have struggled more. The upper body session was accessory and prehab movements, I liked it.
23 August
Mobility (5 exercises)
Much needed rest for the body.
24 August
5 x 40m
Back Squat – 3 x 5 x 100kg
Mobility (6 exercises)Wet track, 16 degrees, headwind. I forgot my phone so I couldn’t time my 40m runs. It took a while to get into my running which is likely due to not having any med ball throws or jumps before my sprints as these usually help with muscle activation. Squats went up easily, I thought about a 4th set but given the DOMS I got the first time round I’m not taking any chances.
25 August
MB Chest Pass – 3 x 8 x 5kg
MB Slams – 3 x 8 x 5kg
Clap Push ups – 3 x 6
Bench Press – 4 x 6 x 85kg
Pendlay Row – 3 x 6 x 80kg
A1 Pull ups – 4 x 6 x 5kg
A2 DB OHP – 3 x 6 x 17.5kg
B1 Ab Wheel – 3 x 45 secs
B2 Russian Twist – 3 x 30 x 5kg
B3 Hanging Leg Raise – 3 x 6
Mobility (5 exercises)Spot on with bench press, the last rep was very slow. Pull ups were a touch easy, OHP can be bumped a rep or even two reps. Abs were a mess, I don’t think 6 leg raises is too much but it should be first in the superset not last. Only a lingering amount of soreness from squats, potentially more tomorrow, will see.
COMP 8
10 August
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility AGood session, my planks progress a little each session which is the sort of approach I should be taking with my normal core workouts. Nice restorative day today.
11 August
MB Throws – 4 x 3 x 4kg
5 Bounds – 2 per leg, best of 12.30m
3 x 40m in 4.22/5.35 secs Freelap
2 x 120m (95%) in ~15.60 secs24 degrees, dry track, cross wind. Good session, my 40’s were close to my best and I made a point to err on the side of being too relaxed in the 120’s so that I’m fresh for Wednesday. My diet has felt overly restrictive lately and I’m down to 68kg so I may push the calories for the rest of the day as I always feel more powerful when well fed.
12 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 CI was really cruising these but still hitting 16.5 for 100m, it felt low effort so I didn’t try to go any slower. I’m quietly optimistic about Wednesday and also ready for the season to end.
13 August
Mobility D
14 August – Race Day
Sutcliffe Park Open Meeting
100m – 12.20 (-0.2 m/s)
The final race of the season! Happy to get a season’s best, a shame I couldn’t get a tailwind or a larger improvement. I felt great in the warm up, registering a 4.15 second 30m with Freelap and then a 2.18 flying 20m. That would predict a 12.16 second 100m and I’ve previously been running about a tenth faster than my predictions.
Race execution wasn’t great, I was overly focused on my top speed running cue to the point of not really having a cue for the start. I was half a stride behind those around me coming out the blocks and never made up the ground. Top speed was good, usually I fade and this time I kept with the pack. With a stronger start I think I could have been low 12.1’s but nothing more.
My time only moves to 12.19 with wind correction which means my four races this season have been 12.26, 12.24, 12.23 and 12.19. I’ve not felt the same freshness in any race this season that I experienced last year so I don’t know if my taper is off or there’s still more fatigue for me to recover from.
It’s my last race but not the end of my season, I’ll be doing some 40’s for the next 2 ½ weeks and then a 6 week weights & plyo’s program that is an alternative to the usual start of my winter season. I did a very high volume program this year and it didn’t pay off, so next season I’ll be going the opposite direction and seeing how my body responds to lower volume with the same intensity. I trust my Freelap timing system enough that I don’t feel the need to compete in any more open meetings, though I may do my County Championships in March 2025.
Here’s a video of my race, I’m in lane 6, number 112.
15 August
Abs (Planks, 2 sets of 4 exercises)
Mobility FMore aches and pains post-race. I had to cycle across town and do my final plank session, otherwise I stayed relatively inactive for fear of pulling something.
Reflecting on the final race, it was a bit anti-climactic. I was resigned to not going sub-12 seconds and I’m so dialled in on my race predictions that it’s hard to surprise myself when I see the times.
I’m going to record the next few weeks leading up to the next program in a separate log so that’s it for this one.
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 ADry 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 BCruised 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 EYoga 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 BA 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 DDry 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.
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 ADry 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 BLast 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 D29 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 FA 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 GI’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).
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 ADry 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 CGood 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 DDry 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 EEarly 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 FWet 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 GRoutine.
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.
