Hey guys,
Well i really enjoy reading the other journals and feel like they can be a good learning place for other athletes so i decided i would try and offer my own experiences over the next few months.
Event 400m:
PR: 48.06i 2009
22.38i 2009
Goals for 2010: Average of 5 best times – 47.7. One off target of 47.3.
Do not blow up with 100m to go.
Execute races with more consitency ( This should help the second goal too)
So a quick recap. I had a fairly successfull indoor season in 2009 peaking with 48.0 in February. I had hoped this was the start of things to come but following a few injuries my outdoor season was cut short and i failed to beat the time from indoors.
I took the decision in September 2009 to leave my coach of 3 years to design my own programs focussing heavily on speed development ( the majority of my research for this was influenced by Mike, charlie francis and Dan Pfaff.) Well to cut a long story short i got hurt, then had minimal improvements in my speed but lost what has always been a strength of mine, the endurance side. Following this unsuccessful period i have returned to my original training ( lots of volume, lower intensity). My thoughts on why the speed focussed 400m plan didnt work: 1. I havent got the innate abilities to develop my speed much further and the minimal gain would never outweigh my loss in endurance. 2. I didn’t give it enough time. 3. I lacked the experience to sufficently write a program. 4. A mix of them all.
A definite setback but we learn and move on. So i started back into training a week ago and here is how it looked:
Monday: Hurdle w/o 1 3x (20m sled, 20m accel, 20m Sled) + Upper body weight lifting circuit
Tuesday: Hurdle w/o 2 + 5x250m hill with 5min30 rest. + Weight circuit -lower body
Weds: 10min jog to gym + General strength circuit + squat walks and ankle conditioning
Thurs: Drills + Hurdle w/o + 10x200m with 90secs rest @ >30s. Weightlifting circuit upper and lower
Fri: Ad lib warm up + 5x600m with 3mins rest.
Sat: Drills + Hurdle w/o + 5x20m Hill + 4x75secs,60s,45s with 1min between reps and 5 between sets. Weight lifting circuits.
Sun: Rest.
So a bit more emphasis on volume rather than intensity. I’m sure to anyone just looking over this journal the training will seem very haphazard but hopefully over time there will be some logic to why each session is done. But the general pattern is for volume to decrease and speed of sessions to increase as we approach the season. I have also kept the one speed day as i no ultimately 400m success will come down to how fast u can run over the 200m etc. Why so much long stuff? Purely because i now know what my body does and doesnt take well too. Even the very best training program would not suit everybody.
Well enough from me, if anyone wants more info on what i plan to do the next few months or what i have done in the past. then get posting. Let’s do this!