Owen’s training journal

    Posted In: Training Journals

        • Participant
          Owen on February 22, 2010 at 7:57 am #16551

          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!

        • Participant
          Mccabe on February 22, 2010 at 9:43 am #95012

          I think it might be beneficial to find a coach who shares your training philosophy.

        • Participant
          Owen on February 22, 2010 at 9:45 am #95013

          Completely agree. However for one reason or another that just isn’t possible right now. Would you train with a coach who doesn’t coach quite how you would like him to or do you go at it by yourself? That’s where im at right now.

        • Participant
          Nick Newman on February 22, 2010 at 9:57 am #95014

          Often when you find a “great” coach who will work with you, they want to change many things about your program. This might not be best though. But do you do it because they are really good etc…or stay on your own?

          Tomorrow i meet with my new coach and go over “his plan towards the summer”…So i’ll have the same decision to make as you.

          Not sure yet what’s best.

        • Participant
          Owen on February 22, 2010 at 10:07 am #95015

          Good points Nick. I have often found that the “lesser coaches” by definition of who they have coached etc. Are much more open to learn and take on your views. Where as the great coaches often display the my way or the highway attitude. I had a coach when i was young who i moved on from as i improved but looking back i wish i had him to coach me now. I was just too young at the time to make sensible decisions i got obsessed with trying to get to the coaches who had the ‘elite’ athletes.

        • Participant
          Mccabe on February 22, 2010 at 10:36 am #95016

          I don’t have a coach at the moment but I’m not quite as far along as you. Hoping to find a coach next year though, agree its pointless having a coach with a different mind set.

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on February 23, 2010 at 2:53 am #95030

          as a 4 runner myself and coaching myself (and others) i really hope you get your goals, i will keep an eye on your sessions and maybe offer some advice from time to time. hope thats ok.

          from exdperience knoweldge is important when training yourself, the hardest thing is training by yourself with no one else to push you along.

          where are you based?

        • Participant
          Owen on February 23, 2010 at 5:26 am #95035

          Thanks for the input Cov.

          Mon-

          So today was my speed development themed day.

          Sprint Drills
          Medball throws – 3x OHB, OHF, OHF accelerations
          2x(20m sled, 20m, 20m sled, 20m)
          Weights- Single leg squat, DB Row, Glute ham raise, Incline Bench press, Eccentric calf raise

          Still getting use to sleds, first one or two i feel a bit uncoordinated but after that i feel good and just tell myself, push, push, push.

          Tuesday is one of the harder sessions in my week, so looking forward to that tomorrow.

        • Participant
          Owen on February 25, 2010 at 2:23 am #95122

          Tuesday-

          5x long hill ( roughly 250m) off 6mins recovery meaning running clock. so rep times were 45,41,42,41,39 roughly 5mins 20 rest

          hard session as expected! was a very long and zig zagged walk back to the start after that last rep. Huge lactic in the bum and hammies. Interestingly since i started doing a lot more hamstring / glute work ( i have always been a very quad dominant runner) i have started to get the majority of the lactic in the posterior muscles rather than the quads. Not sure if this means anything but either way its doesnt feel any better still!

          Drove back to the indoor centre and just finished off with some upper body weightlifting circuits ( topless in front of the mirror of course! ha! )

          Wednesday-

          Love todays session. Nice and easy. Just did 15mins aqua jogging ( 45secs on 15secs off ) Followed by 1 hours gymnastics + squat walks and finished with some ankle work in the sand pit. Basically i do 2 days on 1 day off, 3 days on 1 day off. So back to the hard work tomorrow.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 4, 2010 at 2:10 am #95435

          Not updated for a few days so here goes:

          Thurs

          45secs, 30 secs, 15secs x 4 ( 30secs and 5mins rest). Quite tough, aim was to make the 45sec effort of a high quality and the other 2 runs as back up efforts.

          PM- Weighlifting circuit. Single leg squat, DB Bench, Stiff leg DL, DB Row, Eccentric hamstring curl ( hamstring i tore back in january fatigues a lot quicker than my other leg on this so will need to work on it.)

          Friday- Tempo day. Hurdle walkovers
          10×200 in <30secs with 1min15 rest. This is done in trainers on a grass track. Pretty comfortable, like to use it to work on technique and rhythm.

          Saturday- my dreaded session!

          5x600m w/3mins rest. Last week i could only manage 400m on the last 2 reps. So was expecting this to be tough. Set the watch at 17sec per 100m and managed to stick with it, slowed a little towards the end
          ( felt like i was running in treacle! ) but better than the week before.

          Sunday – Rest and a chinese all you can eat buffet! Best session of the week was the number of times i went up and back to the buffet!

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 4, 2010 at 2:50 am #95437

          Nice work, that Saturday session looks very tough! I like the Sunday session though, similar to my Friday night sessions.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 4, 2010 at 2:52 am #95438

          haha. I went to the one next to the odeon in Bath. Next time you feel like a binge its definitely the place to go!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 4, 2010 at 2:58 am #95439

          Week commencing – Mar 1st

          Monday- Usually my speed day but having a little tendinitis issue with my hamstring and speed seems to aggravate it. So did 9x200m @29secs w/1min15secs rest. PM i did weightlifting circuits ( last week of these).

          Tues- Last week of hills. 5x250m w/5mins. Last week i went slightly slower on the first rep and finised strong. Did the opposite this week and man it made it hard to finish. times were 41,40,41,43,43…. more horrible glute lactic! hate it! it always takes me forever to get back down the hill ( note to self…park car at top of the hill from now on)

          Got a tough rest of the week with 5x300m w/6mins on thursday so today was fairly easy. Just did 20mins fartlek running. Slow, Medium, fast.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 5, 2010 at 9:34 am #95510

          300m on a track seems so far!! ( not a good sign when you are a 400m runner!)

          tonight was 5x300m w/5mins20 rest

          38
          39
          39
          40
          43! ouch!

          Average times were pretty close to the target but i new right away that i would suffer for the quick first run. Overall i cant complain, i didnt feel too good, the track felt like a sponge, more like my legs just were not reacting to the ground!

          Popped to the gym after and did some weight lifting circuits – GHR, Pull ups, russian hamstrings, shoulder press, Henks ( kicking a swiss ball as fast as u can).

        • Participant
          Owen on March 8, 2010 at 8:55 am #95632

          Friday 4/3/10

          Long warm up
          Hurdle mobility

          5x600m w/3mins

          much better this week than previous 2 attempts! average time was 1.42. Definitely feel like im getting better endurance for these longer reps. looking forward to the distance decreasing though as the training progresses!

          Dan Pfaff style circuits after to finish off.

          Sat 5/3/10

          short warm up
          multi throws

          6x flying 10m with 20m gradual build up.

          4x 60secs, 45secs, 30secs ( 45secs and 5mins rest)

          Pretty pleasing session, worked on getting into the right positions on the flying runs and each run felt better and better.

          Tempo after was quite difficult, was working the 60sec run hard in each set. Last 15sec of each run i tried to think of the home straight of the 400m. So pump arms and lift knees! Train hard…..race easy!

          Sunday – Rest and more unhealthy food! i am a prime example of the weekday diet lol. I fall off the wagon big time at weekends.

          Back on it again tomorrow as i enter week 4. Week will start with 9x200m.

          Peace.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 9, 2010 at 6:37 am #95647

          monday 8/3/10

          long warm up
          hurdle mobility
          drills

          9x200m @29.0 w/75secs rest.

          2x GS circuit

          I normally cut across the infield between the reps so as to run with the wind but today there were some hefty hammers been thrown across so i didnt take any chances. Meaning half the runs were into a bit of a headwind.
          With the wind behind me i was hitting 28s and into the wind 29s. Tired slightly towards the end but i think the session was ok. Not really able to compare this session as its knew to me so i will just keep hitting target times. Next week it will be 8×200 in 28 with the same rest.

          Meeting with a new coach on wednesday who has coached some world class athletes over the 400m so that will be interesting. As for tomorrow…..4x350m with 6mins. anybody jealous?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 10, 2010 at 5:33 am #95696

          the dreaded day!

          Short warm up
          Multi throws
          Sprint drills
          Accel – 4x10m, 4x20m

          4x350m [6mins] 46,46,45,48.

          This hurt! Last rep i was gradually slowing down after only 50m into the run! Sadly by 300m i was barely moving and the last 50m was a slow crawl.

          Would say the session was a 6/10! The pace of the runs feels really comfortable, I’m just lacking a bit of endurance right now. The reps build up in my legs.

          V.Easy day tomorrow. Can’t wait.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 11, 2010 at 6:06 am #95726

          Well sat down with my new coach this morning. Im working with a fairly young coach who himself is being coach mentored by Kevin Tyler / Dereck Everly. Im really excited about this new situation. We will be going over the program tomorrow so i will have a better idea then on the ins and the outs. But basically it will be a 12 initial block of training. This may mean i miss some of the early competition in April / May but im really confident in the long run this is a great step forward.

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 11, 2010 at 7:11 am #95730

          Ian Fudge?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 11, 2010 at 8:03 am #95745

          Try steve and you have got it!

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 11, 2010 at 8:18 am #95747

          Thats what I meant!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 11, 2010 at 8:24 am #95749

          Then full marks to you! Do you know him? I no he did some s&c work with Rhys and Christian when he was based in Cardiff?

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 11, 2010 at 8:27 am #95750

          Ive never met him, but Im pretty good friends with David Greene, who Steve was S&C coach with in Cardiff. Do you know David Maris?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 11, 2010 at 8:47 am #95754

          Who doesn’t no Maris lol. He is in Loughborough too, i have spoken to him only a few times though. He is coached by the other sprint coach Jared Deacon.

          There were lots of rumors you were meant to be coming to Loughborough, did you ever consider it?

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 11, 2010 at 9:21 am #95758

          I was going to Loughborough back in 2005, then two weeks before the start of Uni, UKA advised me to go to Bath. I am constantly aware of the rumors that I am supposed to be coming to Loughborough, but I dont know where they come from. Adidas once rang me up to ask me for my new address in Loughborough!

          Im happy with my coaching situation now in Bath, and the relationship I have with my coach, wherby I have a fairly large say over what I do, suits me really well. I also own a house here, and have a very long term girlfriend who has a job here, so hard to see me moving pre-2012. After that, Malcolms contract expire with UKA, and he might retire, so who knows?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 11, 2010 at 9:31 am #95760

          Ever since the early Gbap days you seemed to have had rumors follow you.
          At one point there was a part time estate agent / athlete who thought he was finding a house for you in Loughborough lol. Take it as a complement i guess.

          I think you have made a great decision staying in Bath. You can never escape athletics if you are up here. I hope to move to Bath when i have graduated.

        • Member
          Aaron Springer on March 11, 2010 at 10:20 am #95765

          the dreaded day!

          Short warm up
          Multi throws
          Sprint drills
          Accel – 4x10m, 4x20m

          4x350m [6mins] 46,46,45,48.

          This hurt! Last rep i was gradually slowing down after only 50m into the run! Sadly by 300m i was barely moving and the last 50m was a slow crawl.

          Would say the session was a 6/10! The pace of the runs feels really comfortable, I’m just lacking a bit of endurance right now. The reps build up in my legs.

          V.Easy day tomorrow. Can’t wait.

          That’s a rough session. Especially for a strictly 400 guy! Looks more like some work a 400/800 runner could be doing.

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 13, 2010 at 12:52 am #95841

          Bath is a nice place. Does your girlfriend live here, or just go to uni here?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 17, 2010 at 4:39 am #96039

          Ok so i started with new coach this week.

          Monday-

          Long warm up ( 400m jog/skip/ shuffle) followed by 20 exercises over 20m distance. Lunges, squat walks etc.
          Static flex
          Hurdle mobility
          Multi jumps.
          Core work.

          Aim of this session was just to analyse my strengths and weaknesses in certain areas and to also keep it fairly low intensity before the high int day tomorrow.

          Few interesting discoveries, i had one side much tighter and restriced than the other and that i cant fire my glutes very well, i tend to use my hamstrings and lowerback. We think this is more to do with my tight quads and hip flexors rather than weak glutes though they are probally inter-related.

          Tues-

          Short warm up
          Multi throws
          Sprint drills
          Accelerations – 4x10m, 4x20m, 3x30m, 3x40m from a falling start.
          Special endurance- 300m (7mins) 350m ( wrong stagger so ran 360m)
          Weights – Very light weights here as i am learning new exercises. Just did front squat, dumbbell bench and hang clean.

          Really noticed today how much my speed has dropped off over the last 2 months. End of 2009 i was doing a lot of accel/ max v work but since January and i pulled my hamstring i lost a lot of confidence in sprinting and removed nearly all of it from my program. It felt really good to be running fast again, though i definitely dont think the times would have been anything special. But really pleased to be back focussing on it now. Volume was towards the upper end of what i am use to and i noticed this slightly towards the end.

          Then came the fun and games. 2 reps at around 95% intensity. 300m was 35.9, time was spot on but i just dont feel comfortable / relaxed running fast at the moment. I feel very heavy on the floor and i think this related back to my lack of speed work the last 2 months. Anyway 7mins later i didnt have much fatigue in the legs but by the time i got 150m into the rep i was starting to fade the time came out as 46.3, after this we realised i had gone off of the wrong 400h mark on the first bend and had ran 10m too far. So roughly 45sec 350m (most of that time coming in the final 150m! ouch!)

          Overall an ok first speed session. I have a long way to go for sure. The lack of sprinting seems to have really effected my Stretch shortening cycle / leg stifness qualities. I feel spongy when i sprint! Not good! lol.

          A few general points about the program. I am going Long to short on special endurance and short to long on my speed.. I have 2 high qualitiy sessions a week, 2 tempo and 2 General strength. The high quality will always follow the GS days so that i am able to be run fast on the speed days. The theme for the special endurance days are one at around 300m and the other over distance. So for example today i had 350m, 300 and later this week i have 600m, 500m. These will gradually decrease so for example in week 6 i have 300m, 250m and 600m, 450m.

          I am really confident that brining this speed back in and having a coach with a great technical outlook will really pay off. I am in week 1, i will race after 12 weeks. Lets go!

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 17, 2010 at 6:58 am #96043

          Nice, hope it all works out for you! Do you have any training partners? When is your first race? Im opening in Loughborough over 200m, but thats less then 12 weeks away, so I am guessing……. County Champs?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 17, 2010 at 7:15 am #96044

          plan is to actually open at loughborough international too! Sneeky 200m hey, stepping up from the 150m you did last year? 2011 the 300m at loughborough international? lol.

          At the moment i am steve’s only offical athlete. He is an assistant coach with Khemel too. There is talk that Christian might be coming to Loughborough but im not sure if thats just temporary while Dan Pfaff ( who he has been working with) is in san diego. Are you, Rhys, dai etc off to san diego too for warm weather?

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 17, 2010 at 8:13 am #96045

          No, we go to Formia in May, should be good I hope. If I did the 300 at Loughborough I would feel bad beating all the 400 guys when I drop my 32.5 on their asses!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 17, 2010 at 8:42 am #96046

          haha but if you did that malcolm would see your 400m potential and before you know it you are out there banging out fartleks on the grass in your cross country spikes

        • Participant
          Owen on March 18, 2010 at 6:24 am #96079

          Weds 17th

          Day 3-

          400m jog/skip/side shuffle
          shoulder and back flexibility circuit
          dynamic flex
          16x100m tempo @ 15.0s w/30secs rest.
          Gym- Split squat, Single leg RDL, transverse ab work
          Self myofacial release.

          Most of todays training was focussed around my weaknesses. So we are trying to get more range of motion at the shoulder when i run and also to try and use my glutes more rather than just the back and hamstring.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 20, 2010 at 8:29 am #96176

          Friday 19th/3/2010

          400m jog/skip
          Static Flex
          Dynamic flex
          Multi Jumps – From deep squat position onto a box
          Drills
          Accelerations- 2x10m, 2x20m, 2x30m – I keep throwing my head around 10m in which halts my acceleration is forces my body position up. So need to work on that!
          Specific End – 1x600m (20mins) 1x550m ( 1:24 & 1:15)
          Weights – Hang clean technique and Front squat

          Pretty good session, had no idea how to run the 600m so i just ran 14sec for each 100m. Felt comfortable. I have 600m for the next 6 weeks so i hope to run close to 1:20 by the end.

        • Participant
          Nick Newman on March 20, 2010 at 8:50 am #96177

          Is this coach of yours American? Schooled in America?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 20, 2010 at 8:58 am #96178

          Canadian! I think the program has been drawn from elements of Charlie Francis and Dan Pfaff. Speed is the key, Run fast or run slow ( tempo) nothing in the middle is the general theme.

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on March 20, 2010 at 9:05 am #96180

          Is he really Canadian? I just assumed he was Welsh/English!

          Like your sessions though, very good.

        • Participant
          Nick Newman on March 20, 2010 at 9:12 am #96182

          lol..wow i’m getting good…I can tell pretty much from program style that he was! Good stuff.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 20, 2010 at 9:15 am #96183

          lol well as you have heard from craig…if it involves tempo it basically is not british!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 21, 2010 at 6:03 am #96205

          Saturday 20th

          400m jog/skip
          static flex
          shoulder and trunk flexibility
          8x200m @ 75% w/30secs rest
          gym- single leg squat, sl rdl, ab roll outs

          nice easy day. A bit tired from speed yesterday. Curry and a rest tomorrow… Priceless!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 21, 2010 at 6:07 am #96206

          Is he really Canadian? I just assumed he was Welsh/English!

          Like your sessions though, very good.

          Steve is Scottish! But his coach mentor dereck everly is Canadian so the program is heavily influenced by him. I trained in bath today, forgot you run on a Sunday instead!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 25, 2010 at 8:48 am #96332

          Tues 23/3/10

          400m jog/skip
          Static flex
          Dynamic flex
          Multi throws
          4x10m, 4x20m, 6x30m, 3x40m
          1x300m + 1x350m
          Weights – Front squat, Hang clean, Snatch technique

          Good session today, accelerations were much improved. I was a lot more patient with it today and the end result was a lot better. The 2 long runs were good too, both faster than last week.

          Weds 24th

          Woke up with a very sore foot this morning, the tendon on my big toe is slightly inflamed. With that in mind i adjusted the session.

          Bike tempo 16x15secs on 15secs off
          Single leg gym work
          Core

          I think the sore foot is from where my trainers have been rubbing on the tendon because my foot is raised now due to orthotics. Will see how it is tomorrow. Hoping nothing too serious as things are starting to pick up!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 27, 2010 at 8:15 am #96476

          Fri 26th

          400m jog skip
          dynamic flex
          multi jumps
          sprint drills
          2x10m,20m,30m with 10m roll in
          600 20min 550m
          weights – snatch, sumo dl, pull ups

          So had to do the accelerations with a rolling start due to foot still being a lil sore and its aggravted my pushing off at the start. Feeling very good at the moment though, speed is really picking up.

          600m- 82.8 this was a bit quick…couldnt really recovery properly! my lungs! lol. Well the 550m was harder than last week and i was touch slower at 76 but overall pretty good. I really want to run under 80s by the time i do my last 600m in 4 weeks time. See how it goes!

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on March 27, 2010 at 9:10 am #96477

          are you doing a mini GP with your new coach?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 27, 2010 at 9:22 am #96478

          do you mean general prep? If so im not 100% sure. Im doing 2×6 week block. I have seen the training for the remainder of this 6 week cycle. As for the next 6 weeks im not too sure. But you are probably right as i am doing longer distances in my special end right now which will gradually decrease.

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on March 28, 2010 at 3:17 am #96515

          when is your first race? ya seem to moving pretty well already though, good target of the 600 under 80

        • Participant
          Owen on March 28, 2010 at 5:01 am #96521

          First race wont be till May, we want to get a 12 week block of this new training under the belt seeing as its all fairly different. 12 weeks takes me to middle of may roughly. But we will see how things are progressing. On my tuesday sessions i no i need to be running 34secs comfortably to be ready to race, so if that were to come sooner then we might look at racing.

          Regarding the 600m target, im not sure how hard going under 80secs is. I might have to ask an 800m guy. But it seems a reasonable target considering i am at 1.22 in week 2. Its a long way though! im still scared to committ to it at the moment so im just running even paced 100m times. I think to run under 80 i might have to go for it!

        • Participant
          Owen on March 28, 2010 at 5:07 am #96522

          Sat 27/3/10

          Pre session – We did some treatment on my hips. I have very limited internal rotation, so did a lot of ART and it seemed to help.
          400m jog
          Static flex
          Shoulder mobility
          Dynamic flex
          14x120m @ 75% with 30secs rest
          Gym- Single leg squat, SL RDL, Transverse abs,
          Pull up, inverted press up, clap push up x 3
          Ankle Conditioning

          Pretty relaxed session today. I did the tempo with a 10.0 100m guy who was doing what he called tempo….3x4x120m needless to say my 75% and his pace were a world apart lol!

          Recap of week 2- Slight niggle with the foot which has taken some managing but i completed my two quality sessions of the week and the times continue to improve. I have an idea of the training now so will start to set some new goals for the coming weeks.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 30, 2010 at 5:44 pm #96644

          Week 3!

          Mon-

          400m jog
          Static + Dynamic flex
          General strength warm up circuit
          Hurdle Mobility
          Low intensity jumps. Working on ground contacts / preparing for ground better.
          General Strength
          Isometric Core holds.

          The normal conditioning type monday. It really helps me feel good for the first big session of the week tomorrow.

        • Participant
          premium on March 31, 2010 at 3:37 am #96665

          your speed days (accel +se run) seem to be a bit high in volume…why is that?

        • Participant
          Irish100m on March 31, 2010 at 9:10 am #96670

          Sat 27/3/10

          Pre session – We did some treatment on my hips. I have very limited internal rotation, so did a lot of ART and it seemed to help.
          400m jog
          Static flex
          Shoulder mobility
          Dynamic flex
          14x120m @ 75% with 30secs rest
          Gym- Single leg squat, SL RDL, Transverse abs,
          Pull up, inverted press up, clap push up x 3
          Ankle Conditioning

          Pretty relaxed session today. [b]I did the tempo with a 10.0 100m guy [/b]who was doing what he called tempo….3x4x120m needless to say my 75% and his pace were a world apart lol!

          Recap of week 2- Slight niggle with the foot which has taken some managing but i completed my two quality sessions of the week and the times continue to improve. I have an idea of the training now so will start to set some new goals for the coming weeks.

          Who was that?

        • Participant
          Owen on March 31, 2010 at 9:14 am #96671

          400m jog
          static
          dynamic stretch
          sprint drills
          Multi jumps
          Accel – 4x10m, 4x20m, 4x30m, 1x40m, 1x50m
          SE- 2x300m (9mins)

          Tough day today. Had to drive an hour to get to an indoor centre as it was too cold and wet outside. Accelerations were quite good, mainly working on being smooth when transitioning to up right running.

          2x300m – 35.5, 35.9 Horrendous wind first 100m of each rep. Lovely tailwind last100m so i guess it was evened out! First rep felt comfortable but second was hard work! Still moving forward, and in a few weeks time with hotter temperatures i will hope to be running in the 34’s.

          Premium- Regarding the volume a few weeks ago i would have agreed as i was finding the speed before the speed end was too taxing with that much volume but i have come to terms with it now and tonight felt fine. The volume will rise slightly each week till week 6 where it will then start to decrease slightly.

        • Participant
          Owen on March 31, 2010 at 9:18 am #96673

          Irish- He is called James.

        • Member
          bales on March 31, 2010 at 10:55 pm #96683

          Irish- He is called James.

          Dasaolu?

        • Participant
          Owen on April 5, 2010 at 8:58 am #96867

          After tuesday i had a few issues with my foot so i didn’t run weds or thurs.

          Friday –
          Sprint drills
          Throws
          2x 10m, 20m, 30m
          600m (20mins)
          500m.
          Gym

          First time for this session that it was a headwind in the home straight so i ran into the wind twice. The time was still a shade faster than last week but it didnt reflect the effort i had put into it. 82.2. It felt more like a 79! Struggled to recover and the 500m was 67. Overall i was fairly pleased but just slightly annoyed i didnt get the time i wanted due to conditions.

          Sat-

          GS warm up ( upper body)
          Static flex
          dynamic flex
          8x200m @ 75% w/30secs rest
          Gym – SL RDL, kneeling squat

          Sun-

          400m jog
          static flex
          GS warm up – Lower body
          hurdle mobility x 16 sets
          Low int – hops
          quasi-isometric (sp) core circuit – v.similar to the circuit mike demonstrates on his youtube page.

          So the end of week 3. A bit up and down. I had a good session tuesday but it knocked me back with the foot injury and now these last few days i have started to feel a bit run down with a sore throat. With that in mind i am fairly pleased with the times i ran. Will rest tomorrow and then see if i am good to start week 4 on tuesday. But i wont be rushing things as i fly to europe in 7 days for a warm weather training camp so need to be 100% there to take advantage of the weather.

          Just to add a few goals, in spain i will be doing a 100m, 300m and 600m time trials
          Targets- 10.8, 34.5, 79 ….using gates so no RT.

        • Participant
          Owen on April 10, 2010 at 6:24 am #97072

          Bit of a frustrating week this week. Picked up a throat infection so been on antibiotics for that also i am working full time in an office earning some money. Now for the good news….i just had my last day of work, i managed to get fairly good session in after and sunday i am off to spain for 2 weeks to train.

          So this week i managed:

          Tues- General strength day
          Weds- Tempo
          Thurs – General Strength
          Fri- Speed + weights. 4x10m, 4x20m, 6x30m, 2×40, 1x60m. 60m with gates was 6.91 so i guess around 7.1 fat? Which is about my pb so pretty good. 2x300m (10min) 36.0 and 36.2. Slower than last week and conditions were probably better but will put this down to being ill and a horrible office job the last 2 weeks lol.

          Looking ahead i really hope that once i get out to spain and with no work and hopefully in good health i can start to run some faster times. At the moment im not forcing anything in training but eventually i will need to be running 34sec 300m’s if im to run 47.

        • Participant
          Nick Newman on April 10, 2010 at 6:26 am #97074

          How was the 60m with gates timed?

        • Participant
          Owen on April 21, 2010 at 6:41 am #97584

          Sorry for lack of updates. I am stuck in Europe due to the flight situation. I am sat by the beach right now and have sneaked some wifi ( thank u iPhone) my first week I ran a 80.9 600m. Sub 80 will be hard. I got to 500m and needed to run 13.5 to make the time. Last year I would have been happy to come home that fast in a 400m! Still a pr for the 600mand I have one last chance this Friday, I have been running evenly so far but for swan song I will be hitting for 400m and praying I don’t end up blowing it! As fir my 300m session today I did my first 34 all be it a 34.9. Gotta shoot now, update soon! Come on fast times!!!

        • Participant
          Owen on April 27, 2010 at 5:52 am #97766

          Back in the UK now. So back to some more regular updates

          Mon 26/4

          Jog
          static flex
          dynamic flex
          General strength warm up circuit
          Hurdle mobility – 20 sets x 10 hurdles
          Multi jumps- Double leg / single leg hops x forwards and backwards.
          Core circuit

          Nice to be back home and with the coach. the training is continuing now with the long to short progression. just over 3 weeks till my first race. looking forward to it!

        • Participant
          Owen on April 28, 2010 at 2:24 am #97793

          Tues 27/4

          jog
          static flex
          dynamic flex
          speed- 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120
          spec end- 300, 200

          had a good session today. Working on a few technical issues such as trying to limit how much I reach out with my lower leg so my touch down is under hips rather than ahead. My times for the 300 and 200 were 34.7 and 22.2. So I was pleased with this as they are my fastest this year. I’m sat in a lecture right now and I am tired! Got weights in an hour! Argh.

        • Participant
          premium on April 29, 2010 at 12:06 pm #97821

          whats the rest for these workouts

        • Participant
          Owen on April 30, 2010 at 3:34 am #97837

          15mins between runs.

          Tueaday’s Weights :

          Overhead Squat + Snatch Catch type movement ( went from standing upright with bar in front squat postion to deep catch for a snatch, aim was not to move the bar but my feet)

          Hang Snatch + Box Jump + Hurdle hop x 3
          Hang Clean from box.
          Back Squat
          Bent leg calf raise

          A good session, my shoulder flexibility is getting much better so the snatch is improving now. Also we moved the hang clean to boxes so it rested 1″ above the knee, which helped me get a better starting position.

          Weds 284

          Dynamic shoulder mobility circuit
          Tempo – 16x100m @ 15 w/30secs
          Gym Circuit – All done with a cable machine. 3x shoulder retraction, pull through and single leg squat.
          x2 Hanging ab series, Plank rotations, med ball trunk stability.

          Gym circuits are hard. Im pretty weak at that stuff so i have to work hard at it!

        • Participant
          Owen on April 30, 2010 at 3:42 am #97838

          Thurs 29/4

          General strength warm up. This came from loren seagrave. I don’t know many of the names but it was quite good.

          Then i did spiderman crawls, low walks, squat walks

          Then the fun….A gymnastics session which included: Forward / Backward rolls, Hand stand progressions.

          This was a new session template my coach used today, basically we are trying to improve my awareness of my pelvic alignment and he felt this would help. Good fun though a little embarrassing learning how to forward roll properly!

          My coach also sent some video footage to dan pfaff of me running my speed session on tuesday and he responded with some great ideas. Particularly that he thinks a lot of my twisting problems when i run come from my right arm which blocks out very early on back swing and so that to get this rotation my body uses the lower back to achieve it. Coach and I are learning a lot at the moment. Good times at the moment. Speed day tomorrow! woo

        • Participant
          Owen on May 1, 2010 at 1:34 am #97873

          well interesting session today.

          The primeminister turned up at the athletics centre! ( its election time in the uk) basically meant it was quite busy with tv crews and general entourage of Mr Brown. We also had to adjust the timing of my training so that it fitted in with his speech. Anyway onto the session.

          Static Flex
          Dynamic Flex
          Sprint Drills
          flying 10, 20, 30 w/ 30m upright acceleration. This is because i picked up a little knee pain from accelerations.
          600m |(40mins)
          450m

          I am the only athlete in my training group and i have been finding it hard to go to the next level with the 600m by myself. so we asked a 200m guy to run the middle section with me! ( this is where i slow!) I had my tactics set out for this one, go hard and hold it for as long as possible. I went hard. 24.5 to 200m, 50 to 400m and then oh my it started hurting. the home straight was lactic hell!! I have my watch beep at 13sec intervals and i heard it beep just out from the line so i threw myself at it….the reward 79.1. The pain was worth it.

          For the next 20mins i had the worst headache! I was banned from laying down because once i do this, i wont get up again. One time i actually went to sleep on the massage couch lol. Middle way through i did a mini extensive tempo type session. then last 5mins did some activation work again. The 450m i ran even 100m splits, 50 through the 400m and finished in 57.0. Very happy with today and the week in general. Just waiting for weights which are in 1 hour.

        • Participant
          Craig Pickering on May 1, 2010 at 2:58 am #97881

          The beeping watch is a great tool, I use it in paced 200s/250s/300s to make sure I hit pace properly.

          Good time for the 600 too, glad to see things are coming along well!

        • Participant
          Irish100m on May 3, 2010 at 2:13 am #97921

          The beeping watch is a great tool, I use it in paced 200s/250s/300s to make sure I hit pace properly.

          Good time for the 600 too, glad to see things are coming along well!

          I do the same, couldve done with it in the winter. Great piece of kit

        • Participant
          Owen on May 11, 2010 at 9:06 pm #98096

          Week beginning May 3rd

          Mon

          Mobility Warm up
          Hurdle Walkover 20sets x 10 hurdles
          Multi Jumps
          General Strength

          Tues –

          Sprint drills
          10,20,30,40,60,80,100,120 speed

          PM- Weights

          Snatch,
          Hang clean
          Back Squat
          Hurdle bounds
          Box Jumps
          Bench

          Weds-

          Upper body mobility
          Tempo 16x100m @15.5 w/30secs
          Weight lifting circuits

          Thurs –

          General mobility circuit
          Gymnastic circuit
          handstand progressions
          General strength

          Fri – TIME TRIAL!

          Sprint Drills
          10,20,30 speed
          2x300m with 30mins

          PM Weights – Snatch, Hang Clean, Jump Squat, Pull up, calf raise

          Ok so this week was week 4 of our training block. From previous training periods we have learnt that i cannot handle 4 weeks of loading this we intentionally lowered the volume this week by 40%. So we didnt do the special endurance runs after speed on tuesday. The aim for this week was to just be ready to go on friday.

          My times were 34.6 and 34.4 which are both PB’s for me. Really pleased with how they went. It felt like the rep was stopping too early for my liking! Right now i am in fantastic shape for 500m but the max v is still coming into place. I was going through 200m in around 22.8 and it felt fine but i dont think my 1 off 200m is much better than 22.3 right now. This is where we are going to next with our long to short progression and will hopefully get me in the 21.9 range for 200m.

          I am opening my season on Wedsnesday with a 4x400m relay leg. I will then have 30mins and do a 500m rep after. This is a training / race day. Chance to work on race tactics while still getting a good training effect. Now for the good news. I| have the weekend off!!

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on May 22, 2010 at 4:08 am #98345

          have you quit lol how the prep going, you still racing this weekend?

        • Participant
          Owen on May 24, 2010 at 10:35 am #98400

          sorry for lack of updates. Every time i tried to i had problems with the website!

          But basically i ran the 4x400m today at the Loughborough International today to open my season. I got 2nd leg and split 47.5. It was a fairly good run, made one little mistake on second bend where i got stuck behind someone but didnt want to go around the outside so i waited 50m or so till we came off the curve but then i didnt have quite enough and he just held me off. Other than that it was a good first run out.

          Looking forward to doing an individual race now. that happens on wednesday.

        • Participant
          Owen on May 27, 2010 at 1:07 am #98535

          the time has come….

          The season starts in 3 hours, im doing a 400m.

          I am in great shape. The body is ready, just got to keep my head in the game and deliver.

          Let’s go!

        • Participant
          COV-GOD on May 27, 2010 at 7:34 am #98551

          Hope it went well

        • Member
          AddictedToSpeed on May 28, 2010 at 8:56 am #98600

          How’d your race go?

          And do you only run the 400?

        • Participant
          Irish100m on June 9, 2010 at 11:54 pm #99123

          Hows it going lad?

        • Participant
          burkhalter on July 14, 2013 at 8:41 am #120095

          That 100m sprinter you referred to running tempo with ran 9.91 today. Looks like Kevin Tyler and Dan Pfaff setup a good system for you Brits. We know this guy trains like Charlie Francis and Dan reccommend.

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