Test post from Tumblr, see how far this spreads. :)
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1RVlbOt
via IFTTT
Monday, April 04, 2016
Mixed bag of training.
The last few weeks of training have been a bit mixed. Because I have the Police and Emergency Services Games in less than 2 weeks, athletics training is still in full swing with more improvements being made in fitness and form.
However, autismwalk 2016 is now less than 3 months away, so some longer walks have been creeping into my training mix. In 4 days, cross country also starts. While I will be competing, cross country will be mainly training runs to improve fitness for next summer. This year, I intend to focus on the 1km distance, to give the greatest impact on sprinting performance, especially for the 400m events.
However, autismwalk 2016 is now less than 3 months away, so some longer walks have been creeping into my training mix. In 4 days, cross country also starts. While I will be competing, cross country will be mainly training runs to improve fitness for next summer. This year, I intend to focus on the 1km distance, to give the greatest impact on sprinting performance, especially for the 400m events.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Athletics season ends
As March draws to a close, with Easter taking up next weekend, the summer athletics season came to an end yesterday. With the fire brigade running season finishing on the previous weekend, I turned my attention back to the athletics track, resuming training the day after getting back from Mildura, when everyone else was still recovering, and putting in some tough 400m fitness work on Thursday, an areas I was forced to neglect for nearly 2 months.
Anyway, for my final meet of the local season, I entered the 100m, 400m and long jump. First up was the 100 metres. First challenge was adjusting to the athletics start style and getting re-acquainted with blocks, a piece of equipment I hadn't used since the end of January. My start was a little slower, but I was able to call on some extra speed in the latter half of the race, allowing me to take the heat and a new PB of 13.51 seconds. One of the guys who helps coach me noticed I'm still far from my potential, so there's a lot of technique to work on over the winter months.
Next up was the 400m. I was hoping for a run around 65 seconds, around my PB, maybe a slight improvement, but I had no idea how I would go. The longest sprint I do with the fire brigade is around 20 seconds (admittedly with a lot of weight in tow!), and I needed around 3 times this length of effort. Furthermore, although I ran good times, I found Thursday's speed endurance work tough. Anyway, I got off to an excellent start this time, reaching top speed and passing the two competitors staggered ahead of me, before settling down to race pace in the back straight. I managed to maintain pace and finish first with a new PB of 63.35 seconds, well over 2 seconds faster than the old PB! Obviously my 400m fitness hasn't fallen off. :)
Straight after the 400m was the long jump. After taking a rest for 10 minutes to catch my breath, I started my jumps. First one was a bit shaky, but still a PB, somewhere around 3.4 metres. Second jump was a bit over 3.9m, so I gave it all for the final jump to try and break 4m, which I did, with a new 4,14m PB.
To end the day, myself and another club member teamed up with 2 members of another club to run a 4x100m relay. I enjoy the relays, so this was a great way to end the official season.
With the heavy period of competition now over, I've pulled up really well. Even the minor niggle I had in recent weeks has almost gone away and had no impact on my performance in the past 2 weekends. I'm feeling strong and ready to take on other competition, though I will take the opportunity to do some recovery in between training days, now that things have slowed down a bit. The next couple of weekends also have some social opportunities, now that most of my weekend time has been freed up.
Now that athletics is over, the focus will be on cross country. For me, cross country is more a way to get endurance training, any wins or placings I get are incidental, but I will be using my GPS to track progress through the season. I'm sure this work will give me that extra endurance to break the 60 second barrier in the 400m, especially now that is only a few seconds away. Winter will also be a break from regular blog posts. :)
However, athletics won't go away entirely. Next month, I have the Victorian Police and Emergency Services Games. I've entered the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints, and with 4 more weeks to train for the games and in good form, I'm looking forward to pitting myself against others in the emergency services. Additionally, there is the prospect of a couple of off season athletics meets through the winter months, which I will also have a go at, if only to monitor my progress.
Stay tuned! - Tony
Anyway, for my final meet of the local season, I entered the 100m, 400m and long jump. First up was the 100 metres. First challenge was adjusting to the athletics start style and getting re-acquainted with blocks, a piece of equipment I hadn't used since the end of January. My start was a little slower, but I was able to call on some extra speed in the latter half of the race, allowing me to take the heat and a new PB of 13.51 seconds. One of the guys who helps coach me noticed I'm still far from my potential, so there's a lot of technique to work on over the winter months.
Next up was the 400m. I was hoping for a run around 65 seconds, around my PB, maybe a slight improvement, but I had no idea how I would go. The longest sprint I do with the fire brigade is around 20 seconds (admittedly with a lot of weight in tow!), and I needed around 3 times this length of effort. Furthermore, although I ran good times, I found Thursday's speed endurance work tough. Anyway, I got off to an excellent start this time, reaching top speed and passing the two competitors staggered ahead of me, before settling down to race pace in the back straight. I managed to maintain pace and finish first with a new PB of 63.35 seconds, well over 2 seconds faster than the old PB! Obviously my 400m fitness hasn't fallen off. :)
Straight after the 400m was the long jump. After taking a rest for 10 minutes to catch my breath, I started my jumps. First one was a bit shaky, but still a PB, somewhere around 3.4 metres. Second jump was a bit over 3.9m, so I gave it all for the final jump to try and break 4m, which I did, with a new 4,14m PB.
To end the day, myself and another club member teamed up with 2 members of another club to run a 4x100m relay. I enjoy the relays, so this was a great way to end the official season.
With the heavy period of competition now over, I've pulled up really well. Even the minor niggle I had in recent weeks has almost gone away and had no impact on my performance in the past 2 weekends. I'm feeling strong and ready to take on other competition, though I will take the opportunity to do some recovery in between training days, now that things have slowed down a bit. The next couple of weekends also have some social opportunities, now that most of my weekend time has been freed up.
Now that athletics is over, the focus will be on cross country. For me, cross country is more a way to get endurance training, any wins or placings I get are incidental, but I will be using my GPS to track progress through the season. I'm sure this work will give me that extra endurance to break the 60 second barrier in the 400m, especially now that is only a few seconds away. Winter will also be a break from regular blog posts. :)
However, athletics won't go away entirely. Next month, I have the Victorian Police and Emergency Services Games. I've entered the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints, and with 4 more weeks to train for the games and in good form, I'm looking forward to pitting myself against others in the emergency services. Additionally, there is the prospect of a couple of off season athletics meets through the winter months, which I will also have a go at, if only to monitor my progress.
Stay tuned! - Tony
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
End of the fire brigade season and the 2016 Victoruan Urban Fire Brigades State Championships
In the past few weeks, a lot has happened. Firstly, there was the Junior Urban State Fire Brigades Championships over the Feb 27-28 weekend. I'm only about 30 years too old to run in these competitions, but I do attend, firstly to help out with looking after the kids, but most importantly, I'm one of the officials for the weekend, either judging runs or assisting with preparing the equipment for each run. Turned out to be a fairly easy weekend this time around, with many officials available, so I was only assigned 4 events over the weekend. It's always nice to help out, as well as compare notes with other officials between runs, which helps sharpen one's knowledge of the rules.
The following weekend was the twilight competition in Echuca. This was not one of my better days, with a few minor hiccups all day, and gastric issue complicated matters a bit. However, I still pulled up reasonably well, with only a minor niggle that had developed in training a week earlier. After a hot (40C) day, we relaxed with a BBQ. The season results were also presented, and our team won the C Section aggregate for the second year in a row, due to consistent performances earlier in the season, despite our day's placing only being third.
Last weekend (12th - 14th March) was the 3 day Urban State Fire Championships. These were hosted in Mildura, a 400km drive away, which we undertook in a bus on the Friday. The long bus trip gave me a chance to read a book (by an autistic author, no less!). We arrived around 4 in the afternoon and after dropping some people off at our accommodation, proceeded to the track to weigh and measure our gear, to make sure it met the legal specs for competition. This is one of those rituals that forms part of the State weekend that I enjoy, it sets the atmosphere of anticipation up. After measuring the gear and setting the hydrants, we headed back to our accommodation and settled in for the night.
Day 1 was the Saturday. The first part of the day was the official parade and opening, followed by the Discipline contest, a competition of dress presentation and marching drills. I didn't take part in the Discipline, but I did take video of both our teams as they marched around the course.
After the Discipline was the ladder race, my first event. Unfortunately, a couple of slips ended my competition in a heat I had the potential to win. Saturday turned out to be my bad day, as things didn't get any better for me in the C section 4s. I was running hydrant and managed excellent track speed, but didn't have it straight enough when setting it, which cost too much time to recover from. These were my only two runs for the Saturday, but I did borrow a uniform and take part in the evening's Torchlight procession, where teams march through the streets in uniform carrying kerosene fuelled torches. I did get a few positive comments about my marching ability, so perhaps I might get to march the Discipline one day. :)
Day 2 - Sunday. This was to be my busy day with 4 events. First was the pumper and ladder event, which was first up on the day. This run went together quite well. On the way up the ladder, I had time to notice that the particular ladders at the venue were a type I found a little more difficult to climb, so I was able to adjust my technique to make sure I got up (which I did in plenty of time). Everyone else got their part together, and we ended up taking third place.
Next was the hose and reel sixes. We hadn't been able to run or train this event as much as previous years, due to injury or unavailability of other team members. However, we did make it through to the finals, though didn't place.
The afternoon saw the second of the pumper events, the pumper 4s. This is an event we've never really done well in, and is particularly challenging for the pump operator, who must perform a precise sequence of adjustments to get a clean run. My position was hydrant, where I set the hydrant in the ground, deliver water and call out to the pump operator that the water is available to draw on. This run went together very well, and we placed 4th, which was a bit special, considering our history with the event.
My final event of the day was the Y8. Here, I was back in familiar territory with the grueling role of pole, assist and ladder, which I have run for the past few years. After pulling the reel almost all the way down the track and helping the third length back, I had a strong ladder climb (thanks to improved fitness!). We finished third in conditions that saw many of the top sides unable to complete a clean run.
Day 3 - Monday. This was the quietest day, with only one event - the ladder 5s. All of my preparation of the past year, especially my foray into athletics was for this run. Last year, I had worked out that a state win would be almost impossible, and a place difficult, based on my track speed. I have put in a lot of training to address this, and this year, for the first time, we had a real chance at taking the event, though it would push me to my limits. My warmup went particularly well - I took the time to do a full track warmup, which takes 20 minutes or more. Unfortunately, a problem elsewhere in the run meant I wasn't able to put my speed to use, and we weren't able to get a good time. One of those things, I'll just work hard and get myself easily able to make the time for next year. :)
Some of the other team members did get a win in the 4 man Y with their best run of the season a little later in the morning, which went a long way to making some of the others feel better. I certainly was happy for them, as one or two took the previous bad run a bit hard, and really needed the lift.
So the end result was quite good after a rocky start to the weekend. As always, I am looking ahead. My new training regime has proven itself through the season (even if I didn't get to fully utilise my speed at the State), and my new area of attention will be skills, to try and improve both my hand coordination, as well as general agility - my straight line speed is now excellent, but changing direction isn't as quick for me as it is for others. I'm also going to focus on 1km cross country events during the winter season, which will give me a bit more stamina in the longer runs.
The following weekend was the twilight competition in Echuca. This was not one of my better days, with a few minor hiccups all day, and gastric issue complicated matters a bit. However, I still pulled up reasonably well, with only a minor niggle that had developed in training a week earlier. After a hot (40C) day, we relaxed with a BBQ. The season results were also presented, and our team won the C Section aggregate for the second year in a row, due to consistent performances earlier in the season, despite our day's placing only being third.
Last weekend (12th - 14th March) was the 3 day Urban State Fire Championships. These were hosted in Mildura, a 400km drive away, which we undertook in a bus on the Friday. The long bus trip gave me a chance to read a book (by an autistic author, no less!). We arrived around 4 in the afternoon and after dropping some people off at our accommodation, proceeded to the track to weigh and measure our gear, to make sure it met the legal specs for competition. This is one of those rituals that forms part of the State weekend that I enjoy, it sets the atmosphere of anticipation up. After measuring the gear and setting the hydrants, we headed back to our accommodation and settled in for the night.
Day 1 was the Saturday. The first part of the day was the official parade and opening, followed by the Discipline contest, a competition of dress presentation and marching drills. I didn't take part in the Discipline, but I did take video of both our teams as they marched around the course.
After the Discipline was the ladder race, my first event. Unfortunately, a couple of slips ended my competition in a heat I had the potential to win. Saturday turned out to be my bad day, as things didn't get any better for me in the C section 4s. I was running hydrant and managed excellent track speed, but didn't have it straight enough when setting it, which cost too much time to recover from. These were my only two runs for the Saturday, but I did borrow a uniform and take part in the evening's Torchlight procession, where teams march through the streets in uniform carrying kerosene fuelled torches. I did get a few positive comments about my marching ability, so perhaps I might get to march the Discipline one day. :)
Day 2 - Sunday. This was to be my busy day with 4 events. First was the pumper and ladder event, which was first up on the day. This run went together quite well. On the way up the ladder, I had time to notice that the particular ladders at the venue were a type I found a little more difficult to climb, so I was able to adjust my technique to make sure I got up (which I did in plenty of time). Everyone else got their part together, and we ended up taking third place.
Next was the hose and reel sixes. We hadn't been able to run or train this event as much as previous years, due to injury or unavailability of other team members. However, we did make it through to the finals, though didn't place.
The afternoon saw the second of the pumper events, the pumper 4s. This is an event we've never really done well in, and is particularly challenging for the pump operator, who must perform a precise sequence of adjustments to get a clean run. My position was hydrant, where I set the hydrant in the ground, deliver water and call out to the pump operator that the water is available to draw on. This run went together very well, and we placed 4th, which was a bit special, considering our history with the event.
My final event of the day was the Y8. Here, I was back in familiar territory with the grueling role of pole, assist and ladder, which I have run for the past few years. After pulling the reel almost all the way down the track and helping the third length back, I had a strong ladder climb (thanks to improved fitness!). We finished third in conditions that saw many of the top sides unable to complete a clean run.
Day 3 - Monday. This was the quietest day, with only one event - the ladder 5s. All of my preparation of the past year, especially my foray into athletics was for this run. Last year, I had worked out that a state win would be almost impossible, and a place difficult, based on my track speed. I have put in a lot of training to address this, and this year, for the first time, we had a real chance at taking the event, though it would push me to my limits. My warmup went particularly well - I took the time to do a full track warmup, which takes 20 minutes or more. Unfortunately, a problem elsewhere in the run meant I wasn't able to put my speed to use, and we weren't able to get a good time. One of those things, I'll just work hard and get myself easily able to make the time for next year. :)
Some of the other team members did get a win in the 4 man Y with their best run of the season a little later in the morning, which went a long way to making some of the others feel better. I certainly was happy for them, as one or two took the previous bad run a bit hard, and really needed the lift.
So the end result was quite good after a rocky start to the weekend. As always, I am looking ahead. My new training regime has proven itself through the season (even if I didn't get to fully utilise my speed at the State), and my new area of attention will be skills, to try and improve both my hand coordination, as well as general agility - my straight line speed is now excellent, but changing direction isn't as quick for me as it is for others. I'm also going to focus on 1km cross country events during the winter season, which will give me a bit more stamina in the longer runs.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Kerang (14/2) and Echuca (21/2) competitions
The peak of the fire brigade season rolls on, with another two weeks in a row on the track. Both competitions involved some travel, a bit over 100km. On the 14th, there were only a small number of teams, which made for a short but very busy day, because each event was over quickly, with the small number of teams. As a team, we did well, with clean, consistent runs for the most part, and placing well against higher ranked teams.
Yesterday, by contrast was a much bigger competition. However, having our A team present and mutually helping out another team meant that I had 4 extra runs. Events won were the C section hose and ladder 5s, and the C section 4s. I was back in pole for the 4s and ran well. I also ran in the ladder race (where a slip put me out of contention), 2 man marshall (had a good run), 4 man Y, pumper and ladder 5s, and ran pole in the A team for their hose and ladder 8sfor the morning. During the morning, I had a scare with my right hamstring showing signs of stress. However, putting myself through some sprints revealed no issues, but I did have some tightness in the lower back and glutes, which I was able to manage with some stretching. That set me up for the afternoon.
After lunch, were the C section 4s, which we won, as previously mentioned. I was back in pole, to get the reel down as fast as possible. Next were the A section hose and reel 8s. This was an experience, because I was put in a position I've never run before. However, I had a good run, because I understood the role reasonably well. Following the 8s were the sixes. Because us and another team were short of runners, we exchanged one each way. I got to run with the other team in pole and assist. It's always interesting running with someone else, because each team has a slightly different way of doing things. This run went well, with some complimentary comments from the other guys about both cart speed and the run back to the hydrant, both of which I had a key role in. Several minutes later, we had our own run (with one of the guys from the team I helped filling in). Again, I ran assist with a near identical performance.
After the 6s were the champion 4s. For this, I ran hydrant, with a good, fast run. This gave me plenty of time to be setup, before the others came along with the reel. We had a good, solid run, but not fast enough to win our heat.
The final event was the Y8. Our run was good, but didn't place. I later filled in for the A team, running second branch. By this time, the long day was having an effect, and I had a brief mement of sensory confusion, before realising which hose I had to put the branch on, just in time, before the water arrived, and managed to hit my target. It was almost a reflex, once I was able to find my space. :)
Yesterday was a generally good day, with a few minor hiccups. My fitness is holding up well in the face of repeated demanding weeks - this is probably the highest workload I've ever had. The athletics training that I did up until the end of January is really agreeing with me.
This coming weekend is a rest from competition with the junior state championships. Although way too old to compete, I will be attending, both as a junior leader, helping to look after the kids, as well as to officiate all weekend. I'm one of many judges who will be required.
Yesterday, by contrast was a much bigger competition. However, having our A team present and mutually helping out another team meant that I had 4 extra runs. Events won were the C section hose and ladder 5s, and the C section 4s. I was back in pole for the 4s and ran well. I also ran in the ladder race (where a slip put me out of contention), 2 man marshall (had a good run), 4 man Y, pumper and ladder 5s, and ran pole in the A team for their hose and ladder 8sfor the morning. During the morning, I had a scare with my right hamstring showing signs of stress. However, putting myself through some sprints revealed no issues, but I did have some tightness in the lower back and glutes, which I was able to manage with some stretching. That set me up for the afternoon.
After lunch, were the C section 4s, which we won, as previously mentioned. I was back in pole, to get the reel down as fast as possible. Next were the A section hose and reel 8s. This was an experience, because I was put in a position I've never run before. However, I had a good run, because I understood the role reasonably well. Following the 8s were the sixes. Because us and another team were short of runners, we exchanged one each way. I got to run with the other team in pole and assist. It's always interesting running with someone else, because each team has a slightly different way of doing things. This run went well, with some complimentary comments from the other guys about both cart speed and the run back to the hydrant, both of which I had a key role in. Several minutes later, we had our own run (with one of the guys from the team I helped filling in). Again, I ran assist with a near identical performance.
After the 6s were the champion 4s. For this, I ran hydrant, with a good, fast run. This gave me plenty of time to be setup, before the others came along with the reel. We had a good, solid run, but not fast enough to win our heat.
The final event was the Y8. Our run was good, but didn't place. I later filled in for the A team, running second branch. By this time, the long day was having an effect, and I had a brief mement of sensory confusion, before realising which hose I had to put the branch on, just in time, before the water arrived, and managed to hit my target. It was almost a reflex, once I was able to find my space. :)
Yesterday was a generally good day, with a few minor hiccups. My fitness is holding up well in the face of repeated demanding weeks - this is probably the highest workload I've ever had. The athletics training that I did up until the end of January is really agreeing with me.
This coming weekend is a rest from competition with the junior state championships. Although way too old to compete, I will be attending, both as a junior leader, helping to look after the kids, as well as to officiate all weekend. I'm one of many judges who will be required.
Monday, February 08, 2016
Fire brigade PB!
Sunday saw a return to the fire brigade track for the first of 3 competitions in a row. Since the end of January, I've focused my training purely on the fire brigade events. This has reduced my training load considerably for the rest of the season.
On Sunday, my day started with the first event, the hydrant race, which I normally don't run. However, I ran a reasonable time in the 14.30s range. Next event was the ladder race. My heat time was 8.06, equal to my post comeback electronically timed PB. In the final, I easily beat this with a 7.88 run and narrowly missed out on a place.
The day ended up being one of my busiest ever, with a total of 13 runs in 10 events, 3 of which were filling in for the A side, as they were short one person, and I'm one our fastest and most experienced. Highlights of the day were second in the hose and reel 8s, despite a few hiccups elsewhere in the run, as well as running our first 6 for the season. And in the final event, the Y8, I ran twice - once with the A team and again with ours. The A side won the Y8, and we finished 5th, which effectively meant I was represented in two placings! :)
The other thing to come out of the day was that despite a very heavy workload, I was still performing at my best and without any niggles at the end of the day. The extra training with the athletics club over the past 6 months has not only given me more speed, but also better capacity to handle a heavy workload.
On Sunday, my day started with the first event, the hydrant race, which I normally don't run. However, I ran a reasonable time in the 14.30s range. Next event was the ladder race. My heat time was 8.06, equal to my post comeback electronically timed PB. In the final, I easily beat this with a 7.88 run and narrowly missed out on a place.
The day ended up being one of my busiest ever, with a total of 13 runs in 10 events, 3 of which were filling in for the A side, as they were short one person, and I'm one our fastest and most experienced. Highlights of the day were second in the hose and reel 8s, despite a few hiccups elsewhere in the run, as well as running our first 6 for the season. And in the final event, the Y8, I ran twice - once with the A team and again with ours. The A side won the Y8, and we finished 5th, which effectively meant I was represented in two placings! :)
The other thing to come out of the day was that despite a very heavy workload, I was still performing at my best and without any niggles at the end of the day. The extra training with the athletics club over the past 6 months has not only given me more speed, but also better capacity to handle a heavy workload.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Last athletics meet for a while.
On Thursday evening, I competed in my last athletics meet for around 7 weeks. This long break was always planned and is due to the bulk of the fire brigade competition season falling within this time.
I entered my usual events for this program, namely the 200m, 60m and triple jump. First up was the 200m. With a successful country championships behind me and a fairly well rested week, I was confident in my fitness. I went all out from the start, into a stiff headwind for the first 70-80 metres, before getting only slight assistance from a near cross wind in the main straight. Although wind conditions were nowhere near as good as last week, I ran a PB of 27.19 (down from 27.47).
Next event was the triple jump. This time, I couldn't get my step right, and only managed a best jump of 7.95m, well short of Saturday's 8.27m. Immediately after the triple jump was the 60m sprint. Yet again, I narrowly missed out on a PB, running 8.76 seconds.
Due to a lack of entries, there were no relays, so that was the end of the meet. I doubt I will compete in athletics until the middle of March, after the fire brigade season ends, as that is my focus from now on.
I entered my usual events for this program, namely the 200m, 60m and triple jump. First up was the 200m. With a successful country championships behind me and a fairly well rested week, I was confident in my fitness. I went all out from the start, into a stiff headwind for the first 70-80 metres, before getting only slight assistance from a near cross wind in the main straight. Although wind conditions were nowhere near as good as last week, I ran a PB of 27.19 (down from 27.47).
Next event was the triple jump. This time, I couldn't get my step right, and only managed a best jump of 7.95m, well short of Saturday's 8.27m. Immediately after the triple jump was the 60m sprint. Yet again, I narrowly missed out on a PB, running 8.76 seconds.
Due to a lack of entries, there were no relays, so that was the end of the meet. I doubt I will compete in athletics until the middle of March, after the fire brigade season ends, as that is my focus from now on.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Some action replays.
I don't get the opportunity to do this often, but a good friend was kind enough to come down and shoot some video of the Victorian Country Athletics Championships with me in action. I've setup a playlist. 5 of the 6 videos are of the mens 40+ events, which I was taking part in, the other one was an extra one with some of the womens 4x100m relay. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHUwx6R4chyATV2JwqTPcTtWhz7Ilv2Bj
And so you know which one is me, here's a pic from the weekend. :)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHUwx6R4chyATV2JwqTPcTtWhz7Ilv2Bj
And so you know which one is me, here's a pic from the weekend. :)
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Victorian Country Athletics Day 3
Day 3, the final day of the Victorian Country Athletics Championships started with packing all my gear up and checking out of our cabin, then off to the track. My first event, the 200 metre heat was scheduled for 11:31, but as luck would have it, 4 out of the 10 entrants withdrew, which meant that the heat wasn't needed, and I would instead be running in the final at 3:45 PM. So most of the day was spent watching the competition, cheering on club members, chatting and keeping up to date on Facebook. :)
Finally, my 200m final came around. I was a little concerned about my left hamstring, as there had been some tightness there all day, but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue during the warmup. However, I did take the start a little slower than I might otherwise have, knowing that the relays would follow soon after. However, once up to speed, everything felt good, and my second half was probably the fastest second half of a 200 ever. Finished in 27.48, missing out on a PB by 0.01 seconds.
Next was the 4x100m relay. I had the second leg, down the back straight and into a stiff breeze. This went well with a fairly clean change to take the baton, a strong sprint into the wind, and a quick batton change to the third runner. We narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing 4th.
My final event for the championships was the 4x400m relay. With the longer distance, I knew I would have no issues with injury, but I was concerned that my endurance might not hold, after the preceeding 2 events and the previous day. The day before, in the 400m events, I did struggle to maintain pace for the last half of the race, and conditions were identical for the relay. Again, I ran in second position, taking the baton in a clean change in my lane, then ran my usual 400m strategy of accelerating hard for the first 40-50m, before settling down into my cruising pace. Around the back, I had to cut in to the inside lane. By the halfway mark, I felt surprisingly good, and became aware of someone not too far behind my from the noise of the crowd, so I pushed hard and maintained my pace. Unlike the solo race, my pace held right to the end, where I passed the baton on. We finished with the silver medal and proceeded to the dais for presentations after the race. That was a good note to finish the weekend on.
As time was tight, I headed home as soon as the medal presentations were complete, after saying a quick goodbye to club members and others I knew that I encountered along the way. Since getting home, I've contemplated the weekend, savoured the weekend's successes, reflected on how far I've come and how much further I have to go, and started looking at what I need to work on to gain more speed. However, other than a local meet this coming Thursday, athletics now takes a back seat, as the fire brigade season is about to hit its peak.
Finally, my 200m final came around. I was a little concerned about my left hamstring, as there had been some tightness there all day, but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue during the warmup. However, I did take the start a little slower than I might otherwise have, knowing that the relays would follow soon after. However, once up to speed, everything felt good, and my second half was probably the fastest second half of a 200 ever. Finished in 27.48, missing out on a PB by 0.01 seconds.
Next was the 4x100m relay. I had the second leg, down the back straight and into a stiff breeze. This went well with a fairly clean change to take the baton, a strong sprint into the wind, and a quick batton change to the third runner. We narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing 4th.
My final event for the championships was the 4x400m relay. With the longer distance, I knew I would have no issues with injury, but I was concerned that my endurance might not hold, after the preceeding 2 events and the previous day. The day before, in the 400m events, I did struggle to maintain pace for the last half of the race, and conditions were identical for the relay. Again, I ran in second position, taking the baton in a clean change in my lane, then ran my usual 400m strategy of accelerating hard for the first 40-50m, before settling down into my cruising pace. Around the back, I had to cut in to the inside lane. By the halfway mark, I felt surprisingly good, and became aware of someone not too far behind my from the noise of the crowd, so I pushed hard and maintained my pace. Unlike the solo race, my pace held right to the end, where I passed the baton on. We finished with the silver medal and proceeded to the dais for presentations after the race. That was a good note to finish the weekend on.
As time was tight, I headed home as soon as the medal presentations were complete, after saying a quick goodbye to club members and others I knew that I encountered along the way. Since getting home, I've contemplated the weekend, savoured the weekend's successes, reflected on how far I've come and how much further I have to go, and started looking at what I need to work on to gain more speed. However, other than a local meet this coming Thursday, athletics now takes a back seat, as the fire brigade season is about to hit its peak.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Victorian Country Athletics Day 2
OK, so where did day 1 get to, you ask? Well, yesterday was basically a travel day. I drove the 180 odd km from home to Geelong, checked into the caravan park where the club is staying, and then proceeded to the track. As I had no events, I simply watched some of those that were on.
After a lousy night's sleep due to too much stimulation combined with not enough exercise, I arrived at the track in plenty of time for my first event, the triple jump, which started at 9:00. My first jump was off to a good start of a clear PB of 7.99 metres (previous 7.24). Being so close to breaking 8 metres, I gave my next jump a bit more effort and achieved 8.06, which was bettered again in the third jump with 8.27m. I had 3 extra jumps, but none of them beat my third jump. Off to a good start with a massive PB, and not bad for an event I only started 2 weeks ago! :)
Next up was the 100 metres heat. Felt good after the warmup, though a little sluggish. Race went well, with a PB of 13.57 (prev 13.68) with neutral wind conditions, but not quite enough to qualify for the final.
My final event was the 400 metres. By now, the wind had picked up and also turned to be a tail wind down the home straight (a serious headwind around the back). In these tough conditions, I easily qualified with a 66.37 run. Just under half a second shy of a PB. The strong wind really played havoc with my race tactics and energy reserves. 4 hours later, at the end of the day, the final was ran. The wind was still difficult, and by now I was completely exhausted. Managed to finish in 67.73.
Returned to the caravan park for a BBQ dinner and some conversation, before heading off to the beach with one of the other guys for a recovery session in the cold water.
Feeling pleased with today and quietly confident about tomorrow, with my strongest events to come. Now to get a good night's sleep. :)
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Victorian Country Athletics Championships - 1 day to go...
Tomorrow, one of the major athletics meets for the season commences - the Victorian Country Athletics Championships. As well as being my biggest meet for this summer season, it will be one of my last for some time, due to fire brigade commitments taking precedence for all of February and the start of March.
The Countrys as they're known informally will be a totally new experience. Until this year, I had never been to an athletics meet bigger than inter school sports, and none outside of a school setting since I was a young boy. This year was also my first running on a synthetic track. However, the Countrys will involve a 3 day meet with dozens of clubs involved and unfamiliar procedures.
This year, my events will be the triple jump, 100m, 200m and 400m. I am also representing the club in my age group in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. I'm looking forward to competing and experiencing the event, and will endeavour to blog each day.
The Countrys as they're known informally will be a totally new experience. Until this year, I had never been to an athletics meet bigger than inter school sports, and none outside of a school setting since I was a young boy. This year was also my first running on a synthetic track. However, the Countrys will involve a 3 day meet with dozens of clubs involved and unfamiliar procedures.
This year, my events will be the triple jump, 100m, 200m and 400m. I am also representing the club in my age group in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. I'm looking forward to competing and experiencing the event, and will endeavour to blog each day.
Fire brigade season resumes
On Sunday, the fire brigade competition season resumed after the Christmas break with a competition in Mooroopna. This was a small gathering, with only 8 teams entered. I was expecting to run in 4 or 5 events, hoping to take it relatively easy, so I could save myself for a bigger target a week later - the Victorian Country Athletics Championships.
Instead, due to a combination of shortages and injuries across both of our teams, I ended up running in 9 events. First was the ladder race. In the heat, I ran a PB (post comeback) of 7.88 seconds (hand timed). For some reason, I was getting on the ladder better, with the only change in recent times being the commencement of triple jump training at athletics in the preceding week. Although narrowly beaten in my heat, I got into the final on the "fastest losers" rule. In the final, I ran 7.93.
Following the ladder race was the C section hose and ladder 5s. My run was a bit ordinary, as I missed grabbing the coupling at the start and had a hiccup getting onto the ladder, but we still ended up with a reasonable time (25.70) and a win. I managed to recover strongly to get up in plenty of time. Following the 5s, I was substituted into the A section side for the hose and ladder 8s. In this event, I ran pole. Nothing too dramatic happened with my part, and we ended up with second place.
In the dry events, I ran the 2 man marshall, where we got 4th place, and the 4 man Y (no places there). Then the pumper events, where I was in the pumper and ladder event. Ran my usual ladder position, with a slow start to the climb. Still made it up in time, but we just missed out on a place.
After a short lunch break, it was time for the reel events. My first event was the C section 4s. This time, I ran branch, requiring me to hit the back of the reel (with someone else) to get it moving, then pushing it almost to the branch line, where I got off, attached the branch to the hose and hit the target. The time was good and we had another win. Following the 4s I substituted in the A side again, this time for the hose and reel 8s. Had a good run, and we ended up with a second place.
We didn't field a team for the 6s, but the A side did. They had enough to run it, but they needed a 7th person to "catch" the reel. This requires standing just behind the targets during the event pretty much in the path of the reel. As it comes past, I have to grab it, so the last person in the pole can get out and finish the event. While I don't often catch these days, I am actually very experienced, mostly from my earlier days in the sport. Following the 6s was the champion 4s. With the only other available person injured earlier in the day, I had to run pole in this event. Although I was starting to get some muscle tightness from the multiple runs (and now hauling the cart), this was completed without incident. We didn't win our heat, which meant the end for us in that event. We also didn't run the Y8, due to insufficient injury free runners by this stage.
Finally, I had to substitute for the A team in the Y8. Here, I ran second branch, with a fairly routine run. Unfortunately, there was a problem later in the run after I hit my target, and our time wasn't good.
Since Sunday, I have been endeavouring to taper down for the Victorian Country Athletics Championships, which start tomorrow. On Tuesday, I just did the warmup, then spent a little time working on my triple jump. At fire brigade training, the hot weather and other factors saw us doing a lighter than normal session, focusing on dry work.
Instead, due to a combination of shortages and injuries across both of our teams, I ended up running in 9 events. First was the ladder race. In the heat, I ran a PB (post comeback) of 7.88 seconds (hand timed). For some reason, I was getting on the ladder better, with the only change in recent times being the commencement of triple jump training at athletics in the preceding week. Although narrowly beaten in my heat, I got into the final on the "fastest losers" rule. In the final, I ran 7.93.
Following the ladder race was the C section hose and ladder 5s. My run was a bit ordinary, as I missed grabbing the coupling at the start and had a hiccup getting onto the ladder, but we still ended up with a reasonable time (25.70) and a win. I managed to recover strongly to get up in plenty of time. Following the 5s, I was substituted into the A section side for the hose and ladder 8s. In this event, I ran pole. Nothing too dramatic happened with my part, and we ended up with second place.
In the dry events, I ran the 2 man marshall, where we got 4th place, and the 4 man Y (no places there). Then the pumper events, where I was in the pumper and ladder event. Ran my usual ladder position, with a slow start to the climb. Still made it up in time, but we just missed out on a place.
After a short lunch break, it was time for the reel events. My first event was the C section 4s. This time, I ran branch, requiring me to hit the back of the reel (with someone else) to get it moving, then pushing it almost to the branch line, where I got off, attached the branch to the hose and hit the target. The time was good and we had another win. Following the 4s I substituted in the A side again, this time for the hose and reel 8s. Had a good run, and we ended up with a second place.
We didn't field a team for the 6s, but the A side did. They had enough to run it, but they needed a 7th person to "catch" the reel. This requires standing just behind the targets during the event pretty much in the path of the reel. As it comes past, I have to grab it, so the last person in the pole can get out and finish the event. While I don't often catch these days, I am actually very experienced, mostly from my earlier days in the sport. Following the 6s was the champion 4s. With the only other available person injured earlier in the day, I had to run pole in this event. Although I was starting to get some muscle tightness from the multiple runs (and now hauling the cart), this was completed without incident. We didn't win our heat, which meant the end for us in that event. We also didn't run the Y8, due to insufficient injury free runners by this stage.
Finally, I had to substitute for the A team in the Y8. Here, I ran second branch, with a fairly routine run. Unfortunately, there was a problem later in the run after I hit my target, and our time wasn't good.
Since Sunday, I have been endeavouring to taper down for the Victorian Country Athletics Championships, which start tomorrow. On Tuesday, I just did the warmup, then spent a little time working on my triple jump. At fire brigade training, the hot weather and other factors saw us doing a lighter than normal session, focusing on dry work.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Happy New Year. Time to get serious.
Since the last athletics meet, 3 days before Christmas, I maintained my training schedule. This was one of my key goals, because in previous years, the interruption to training over Christmas caused issues. I was able to work on sprint endurance, top speed and starts/acceleration, making good progress in all areas. In addition to normal competitions, I am preparing for the Victorian Country Championships, which are held in 2 weeks on January 22 - 24.
Yesterday (9/1), athletics competition resumed after the short Christmas break. My troublesome hamstring has been holding up well to training, and I was interested to see how it would go under competition stresses. Unfortunately, I had a heavy pair of sessions on Tuesday and was still feeling the after effects. With the Victorian Country championships in 2 weeks, I didn't want to take too many risks.
First event was the 200 metres. The first 80m felt a bit slow off the mark, but there were no issues and my form was good, so I gave it everything at that point, and reached top speed very quickly. I was able to maintain top speed for most of the straight and finished with a PB time of 27.47 seconds, 0.81 seconds than my previous PB.
There was a long wait until my next event, the 60m. Again, the start felt slow, and I didn't get up to top speed. This was partly due to caution, and I suspect due to the odd timing of the day causing my to mis time and under do my warmup.
My final event was another that I hadn't done for 30 years - the triple jump. I had two good jumps, with the best being 7.24m. It's early days, and I need to do a lot of training to get better distance. As I need to reduce my training volume significantly for the country championships, this might be a good opportunity to focus on the triple jump.
Next week, it's back to the fire brigade track for a regular competition.
Yesterday (9/1), athletics competition resumed after the short Christmas break. My troublesome hamstring has been holding up well to training, and I was interested to see how it would go under competition stresses. Unfortunately, I had a heavy pair of sessions on Tuesday and was still feeling the after effects. With the Victorian Country championships in 2 weeks, I didn't want to take too many risks.
First event was the 200 metres. The first 80m felt a bit slow off the mark, but there were no issues and my form was good, so I gave it everything at that point, and reached top speed very quickly. I was able to maintain top speed for most of the straight and finished with a PB time of 27.47 seconds, 0.81 seconds than my previous PB.
There was a long wait until my next event, the 60m. Again, the start felt slow, and I didn't get up to top speed. This was partly due to caution, and I suspect due to the odd timing of the day causing my to mis time and under do my warmup.
My final event was another that I hadn't done for 30 years - the triple jump. I had two good jumps, with the best being 7.24m. It's early days, and I need to do a lot of training to get better distance. As I need to reduce my training volume significantly for the country championships, this might be a good opportunity to focus on the triple jump.
Next week, it's back to the fire brigade track for a regular competition.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Last athletics meet for the year.
Had my last athletics meet for the year last night. It was supposed to be on Saturday, but with forecast temperatures of 42C, the Saturday meet was cancelled, and last night was organised as a cut down replacement.
With my leg now healed, I entered the 100 and 400 metres, as well as the long jump. The 100m was first, and although healed, I needed to take things a bit cautious. Despite taking the start slower than normal, and taking my time to reach top speed, I ran a PB of 13.68. I pulled up a bit tight in the left hamstring, but still able to run. My technique wasn't as good as it has been at training in the last month, so there's plenty of room to bring that time down.
Next was the 400m. With my hamstring now a bit tight, I took the start very cautiously, before settling into the rest of the race. Finished well, with a PB of 65.76.
My final event was the long jump. I still have a lot to learn with any of the field events, but it was fun taking part. My first jump ended up being my best at 3.51m.
It was good to back running sprints. I plan to train through the Christmas break to keep my fitness up, and fine tune my technique for the country championships in late January.
With my leg now healed, I entered the 100 and 400 metres, as well as the long jump. The 100m was first, and although healed, I needed to take things a bit cautious. Despite taking the start slower than normal, and taking my time to reach top speed, I ran a PB of 13.68. I pulled up a bit tight in the left hamstring, but still able to run. My technique wasn't as good as it has been at training in the last month, so there's plenty of room to bring that time down.
Next was the 400m. With my hamstring now a bit tight, I took the start very cautiously, before settling into the rest of the race. Finished well, with a PB of 65.76.
My final event was the long jump. I still have a lot to learn with any of the field events, but it was fun taking part. My first jump ended up being my best at 3.51m.
It was good to back running sprints. I plan to train through the Christmas break to keep my fitness up, and fine tune my technique for the country championships in late January.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Change of pace (literally!)
Back on the athletics track this week. Unfortunately, I picked up a minor niggle on Thursday, which was sufficient to rule me out of the sprints. As a consolation, I decided to run the 800m, which would cause less stress on my legs.
Unlike the other week, I had sufficient leg strength available to perform a near normal start, then I settled into the rest of the race. First lap was completed within 1:18-1:19, significantly better than any previous attempt at this distance. During the second lap, I was passed by a couple of other runners. However, in the last 100m, I was able to surge ahead and overtake one of them, finishing third in my heat, with a PB time of 2:45.25, 6.03 seconds better than any previous race.
While I'm not a middle distance runner, I was happy with my performance today. Hopefully, I'll be back to sprints next week.
Unlike the other week, I had sufficient leg strength available to perform a near normal start, then I settled into the rest of the race. First lap was completed within 1:18-1:19, significantly better than any previous attempt at this distance. During the second lap, I was passed by a couple of other runners. However, in the last 100m, I was able to surge ahead and overtake one of them, finishing third in my heat, with a PB time of 2:45.25, 6.03 seconds better than any previous race.
While I'm not a middle distance runner, I was happy with my performance today. Hopefully, I'll be back to sprints next week.
Monday, December 07, 2015
Fire brigade season begins!
Yesterday was the start of the fire brigade competition season for me. This was the first competition since I started athletics training, so it was always going to be interesting to see how I went. The weather was hot and overcast, but with only a slight breeze for most of the day.
First event was the ladder race. Because the sprint part of the race is only short, and I haven't been able to work on my starts, it was difficult to tell if there was any effect on my performance. However, due to a lack of ladder training (as our training track is under repair), the climb wasn't as smooth as normal. Following the ladder race was the hose and ladder 5s. Here was the real test, and the reason I took up athletics. After collecting my gear off the reel and starting the sprint stage, I took off. For the first couple of seconds, I had to be a bit careful, due to hose near my feet, then I could open up to top speed for a few seconds, until my assistant needed me to slow down (about 15 metres short of where I normally would). The final part, was the climb, which had a bit of a slip near the top. However, the run still finished in around 26 seconds. I estimate that the short burst at top speed took a good 1/2 second off the time it took me to get to the top. A combination of sprint and specific skills training could take another second off.
Next event was the 2 man marshall, one of the dry events. Here, I'm at a disadvantage, because I'm not as quick at the turns, and there's no long sprints. Unfortunately, a loose coupling put us out of that event. Following the marshalls was the pumper events. In the pumper and ladder 5s, I ran my usual ladder position. By now, I was getting my muscle memory back and the climb was smoother. However, a technical fault prevented the run from being completed, and we were granted a re run. In the re run, everything went well, and we got a time of just over 18 seconds, which was enough for a 5th place, and less than a second slower than our 2014 state winning time. Following the 5s was the pumper 4s. In this event, something didn't go quite right, resulting in a "miss".
The rest of the day was hose and reel events, starting with the C section 4s. There were only two C section sides, so we got to race against each other, instead of running singly. This made the event more exciting. I was running hydrant - a position I haven't run for some time. However, with our pole only able to run on the right hand side of the reel due to injury, the hydrant person has to cross over in front of the reel, after picking up the hydrant, and my speed is a huge advantage here, not only allowing me to safely cross over well in front of the reel, but also have plenty of time to be setup. The run went well, I got to the plug in plenty of time and was setup just as the coupler came to couple the hose on, allowing me to turn the water on immediately. Not only were we first to hit the disc, but the other side was given a miss, meaning either way, we had won the event.
After the 4s, the A side asked me to fill in as first assist for their hose and reel 8s. I had a good run here as well, though the guys on the opposite side of the reel to me had some sort of major hiccup. Despite these problems, we actually won the event in a surprisingly good time (29 seconds)! :)
Due to a lack of training (because of the track maintenance issue), we didn't run in the hose and reel 6s. This event can be very dangerous if not run properly, and half the team has never even run in a 6 team. Following the 6s was the champion 4s. We fielded a different team to the C 4s, and I was back in pole for this event. I had a good run, though by this stage, I was being a little cautious not to overstress my hamstring (it didn't give any trouble). Unfortunately, there was a miss somewhere.
The final event was the Y 8. We didn't have enough people to field a team, and we hadn't been able to train it either. However, another team was also short and asked if we could provide 2 extras to make up their numbers. I ran pole and third branch - pull the reel to the far end of the track, hand it over to the catcher, then put the branch onto the hose and clip onto the ladder runner. I used to run this position a few years ago, so I knew what I was doing, and only had to learn the specific way the team ran their Y8 (there's _many_ ways to run this event!). Had a good run, with everything going well. It's certainly not the first time I've filled in for another team, and I always enjoy that experience. It's good to get a feel for how others run things.
So in summary, it was a very successful day. Both our A and C teams won their respective sections, with the A side winning the grand aggregate and the C side getting 5th overall. As for myself, the hard work of the last few months is bearing fruit, with significantly faster track speed when not on the reel, helping in the ladder 5s and when running the hydrant position. The next competition is not until January 17, so my focus will switch back to athletics for the next several weeks. I plan to keep training right through the Christmas break, and there are only 2 weeks without athletics meets. The plan is to run athletics until the bulk of the fire brigade season, then focus there until the state championships in March. A fortunate coincidence is that my last week of athletics will be the Victorian Country championships in late January.
First event was the ladder race. Because the sprint part of the race is only short, and I haven't been able to work on my starts, it was difficult to tell if there was any effect on my performance. However, due to a lack of ladder training (as our training track is under repair), the climb wasn't as smooth as normal. Following the ladder race was the hose and ladder 5s. Here was the real test, and the reason I took up athletics. After collecting my gear off the reel and starting the sprint stage, I took off. For the first couple of seconds, I had to be a bit careful, due to hose near my feet, then I could open up to top speed for a few seconds, until my assistant needed me to slow down (about 15 metres short of where I normally would). The final part, was the climb, which had a bit of a slip near the top. However, the run still finished in around 26 seconds. I estimate that the short burst at top speed took a good 1/2 second off the time it took me to get to the top. A combination of sprint and specific skills training could take another second off.
Next event was the 2 man marshall, one of the dry events. Here, I'm at a disadvantage, because I'm not as quick at the turns, and there's no long sprints. Unfortunately, a loose coupling put us out of that event. Following the marshalls was the pumper events. In the pumper and ladder 5s, I ran my usual ladder position. By now, I was getting my muscle memory back and the climb was smoother. However, a technical fault prevented the run from being completed, and we were granted a re run. In the re run, everything went well, and we got a time of just over 18 seconds, which was enough for a 5th place, and less than a second slower than our 2014 state winning time. Following the 5s was the pumper 4s. In this event, something didn't go quite right, resulting in a "miss".
The rest of the day was hose and reel events, starting with the C section 4s. There were only two C section sides, so we got to race against each other, instead of running singly. This made the event more exciting. I was running hydrant - a position I haven't run for some time. However, with our pole only able to run on the right hand side of the reel due to injury, the hydrant person has to cross over in front of the reel, after picking up the hydrant, and my speed is a huge advantage here, not only allowing me to safely cross over well in front of the reel, but also have plenty of time to be setup. The run went well, I got to the plug in plenty of time and was setup just as the coupler came to couple the hose on, allowing me to turn the water on immediately. Not only were we first to hit the disc, but the other side was given a miss, meaning either way, we had won the event.
After the 4s, the A side asked me to fill in as first assist for their hose and reel 8s. I had a good run here as well, though the guys on the opposite side of the reel to me had some sort of major hiccup. Despite these problems, we actually won the event in a surprisingly good time (29 seconds)! :)
Due to a lack of training (because of the track maintenance issue), we didn't run in the hose and reel 6s. This event can be very dangerous if not run properly, and half the team has never even run in a 6 team. Following the 6s was the champion 4s. We fielded a different team to the C 4s, and I was back in pole for this event. I had a good run, though by this stage, I was being a little cautious not to overstress my hamstring (it didn't give any trouble). Unfortunately, there was a miss somewhere.
The final event was the Y 8. We didn't have enough people to field a team, and we hadn't been able to train it either. However, another team was also short and asked if we could provide 2 extras to make up their numbers. I ran pole and third branch - pull the reel to the far end of the track, hand it over to the catcher, then put the branch onto the hose and clip onto the ladder runner. I used to run this position a few years ago, so I knew what I was doing, and only had to learn the specific way the team ran their Y8 (there's _many_ ways to run this event!). Had a good run, with everything going well. It's certainly not the first time I've filled in for another team, and I always enjoy that experience. It's good to get a feel for how others run things.
So in summary, it was a very successful day. Both our A and C teams won their respective sections, with the A side winning the grand aggregate and the C side getting 5th overall. As for myself, the hard work of the last few months is bearing fruit, with significantly faster track speed when not on the reel, helping in the ladder 5s and when running the hydrant position. The next competition is not until January 17, so my focus will switch back to athletics for the next several weeks. I plan to keep training right through the Christmas break, and there are only 2 weeks without athletics meets. The plan is to run athletics until the bulk of the fire brigade season, then focus there until the state championships in March. A fortunate coincidence is that my last week of athletics will be the Victorian Country championships in late January.
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Athletics week 7 - a rollercoaster ride
Been a bit slack posting this update. Since my previous post and success, I had put in a good week of training. Some technique improvements that significantly increased my top speed at training. Later that week, I was also running 200m even faster than the PB I set 5 days earlier. So, with my 100m having been around for over 2 months, I was pretty confdent of setting a new time for myself. However, around 30 metres into the race, my left hamstring gave out, and I was unable to maintain speed. I did finish the race, in a time of 20.95. That ended my day there and then.
3 days later, I had already entered in a Masters meet. After the hamstring issue, I changed my entry to include the 800m event. I don't normally run the 800m, it's a bit long for me to be really competitive, but it is a good one when I don't have power available. Despite a (deliberately) very slow start and being unable to push into the wind on one part of the track, I finished with a PB of 2:51.28 (previous was around 2:55). I also competed in the long jump, taking it easy, with a best jump of 3.20m.
The rest of last week was light training sessions and some massage. The massage revealed a lot of lower back/upper glute tightness, which is likely to have contributed to the hamstring problem. Last Saturday, there was no local meet, and I took the opportunity to mostly rest, but did some walking, running, strength work and stretching in the hydrotherapy pool at the local gym. My last day of work for the year on Friday also helped recovery, as I do quite a bit of walking and light to moderate physical work on the job.
Returned to training last night. This was my first real test since the weekend rest. At athletics training, we were doing 400m starts. I did take a couple of precautions to avoid overstressing my hamstring. Firstly, I did a "rolling start", instead of a normal block start, and I did slightly limit how much power I used in the first 7 seconds, especially in the early acceleration phase. After several starts, we finished the session with a full 400m run. I completed that in 67 seconds, which is comparable to my 66.65 PB.
A 15 minute drive across town and it was fire brigade training time. Because we were time limited, we trained the dry events, known as marshalls. On the positive side for me, there are no long stretches where I would be likely to stretch out too far, but these events require you to stay low, which does increase stress on the hamstrings. However, I had no issues during this session either. With a bit of care, I'll be 100% for the weekend.
This weekend is the first of the fire brigade competitions, so I'll be putting my sprint training to the test, especially in the wet events, where there are relatively long sprints required. More news as it comes to hand! :)
3 days later, I had already entered in a Masters meet. After the hamstring issue, I changed my entry to include the 800m event. I don't normally run the 800m, it's a bit long for me to be really competitive, but it is a good one when I don't have power available. Despite a (deliberately) very slow start and being unable to push into the wind on one part of the track, I finished with a PB of 2:51.28 (previous was around 2:55). I also competed in the long jump, taking it easy, with a best jump of 3.20m.
The rest of last week was light training sessions and some massage. The massage revealed a lot of lower back/upper glute tightness, which is likely to have contributed to the hamstring problem. Last Saturday, there was no local meet, and I took the opportunity to mostly rest, but did some walking, running, strength work and stretching in the hydrotherapy pool at the local gym. My last day of work for the year on Friday also helped recovery, as I do quite a bit of walking and light to moderate physical work on the job.
Returned to training last night. This was my first real test since the weekend rest. At athletics training, we were doing 400m starts. I did take a couple of precautions to avoid overstressing my hamstring. Firstly, I did a "rolling start", instead of a normal block start, and I did slightly limit how much power I used in the first 7 seconds, especially in the early acceleration phase. After several starts, we finished the session with a full 400m run. I completed that in 67 seconds, which is comparable to my 66.65 PB.
A 15 minute drive across town and it was fire brigade training time. Because we were time limited, we trained the dry events, known as marshalls. On the positive side for me, there are no long stretches where I would be likely to stretch out too far, but these events require you to stay low, which does increase stress on the hamstrings. However, I had no issues during this session either. With a bit of care, I'll be 100% for the weekend.
This weekend is the first of the fire brigade competitions, so I'll be putting my sprint training to the test, especially in the wet events, where there are relatively long sprints required. More news as it comes to hand! :)
Friday, November 13, 2015
Athletics week 6 - 200m magic and a nasty headwind
An interesting day on the track today. Conditions were mild, but with a headwind starting at least as strong as last week and increasing from there at times. This week, I entered the 200m and 60m events, same as last week.
Now that my injury issues are behind me, I could focus on running at my best. The 200m started well. Around 70-80 metres into the race, I felt the headwind take effect on the final part of the bend. I noticed I was somewhere near the front of the field, so I gave it everything from there until the finish and hoped that my fitness carried me to the line, which it did. End result was a new PB of 28.28 seconds (0.33 seconds off last week's time). I also won my heat by 0.38 seconds.
The 60m sprint was run in difficult wind conditions, as the wind had picked up by this time. Unfortunately, official wind readings weren't available, but by feel, it was probably in excess of 5 m/S. I got off to a good start, but took a bit longer than normal to settle into rhythm (pity it wasn't a 100m event!). Ran a solid 9.11 seconds, which was still OK, given that everyone else's times looked around 1/2 a second slower than their normal times too.
This week's relay was a 4x400m event. There was no chance of a record this time around, as the existing record was set by a combination much faster than ours. However, it was a great experience, as I had never run one of these relays before, but had watched them on TV. I ran the second leg, which meant that my first change to receive the baton was done in lanes, then I was the runner to cut into the inside lane on the back straight. Had a good run with a reasonably clean change to receive the baton, a smooth transition to the inside lane and passing another team on the home bend. I finished my leg strongly, before passing the baton on to the third runner. I really enjoyed this experience and look forward to the next opportunity to run a 4x400m relay.
Next week, it's back to the 100m and 400m sprints, as well as the 4x100m relay. I'm also looking at competing in the long jump for something different. Training wise, I still have to work on my starts to get out of the blocks faster, as well as more repetition, and managing the balance between my various training sessions.
Now that my injury issues are behind me, I could focus on running at my best. The 200m started well. Around 70-80 metres into the race, I felt the headwind take effect on the final part of the bend. I noticed I was somewhere near the front of the field, so I gave it everything from there until the finish and hoped that my fitness carried me to the line, which it did. End result was a new PB of 28.28 seconds (0.33 seconds off last week's time). I also won my heat by 0.38 seconds.
The 60m sprint was run in difficult wind conditions, as the wind had picked up by this time. Unfortunately, official wind readings weren't available, but by feel, it was probably in excess of 5 m/S. I got off to a good start, but took a bit longer than normal to settle into rhythm (pity it wasn't a 100m event!). Ran a solid 9.11 seconds, which was still OK, given that everyone else's times looked around 1/2 a second slower than their normal times too.
This week's relay was a 4x400m event. There was no chance of a record this time around, as the existing record was set by a combination much faster than ours. However, it was a great experience, as I had never run one of these relays before, but had watched them on TV. I ran the second leg, which meant that my first change to receive the baton was done in lanes, then I was the runner to cut into the inside lane on the back straight. Had a good run with a reasonably clean change to receive the baton, a smooth transition to the inside lane and passing another team on the home bend. I finished my leg strongly, before passing the baton on to the third runner. I really enjoyed this experience and look forward to the next opportunity to run a 4x400m relay.
Next week, it's back to the 100m and 400m sprints, as well as the 4x100m relay. I'm also looking at competing in the long jump for something different. Training wise, I still have to work on my starts to get out of the blocks faster, as well as more repetition, and managing the balance between my various training sessions.
Friday, November 06, 2015
Athletics - Week 5
So where was week 4 you ask? It was on, but I had to pull out of all events due to injury. Anyway, I came back this week, almost fully recovered from my injury, and now armed with a pair of spikes. I had hedged my bets, entering the 800m, in addition to the usual 200m and 60m events. The plan was to run the 200m, see how everything was holding up - if good, run the 60, otherwise run the 800, which wouldn't stress any weak areas.
First event was the 200m. Conditions were tough, with a stiff headwind (later measured at 3m/S), blowing almost directly up the home straight. This was my first actual race in spikes.. Anyway, I took the start a little easier than normal, so any acceleration issues didn't overstress my groin. About 120m from home, I felt the full force of the headwind and felt it was safe to open up and hold that to the finish. My energy held up and I finished strongly with a PB time of 28.61 (down from 28.96) seconds.
Next event was the 60m sprint. This would be a test of my recovery, as there's no room to take it too easy over such a short distance. Got away to a good start, and cautiously accelerated to near top speed, finishing in a PB time of 8.70 (down from 8.91). As is common for me, the effect of the headwind was hardly felt in the shorter race, doe to the excess power I have. In both sprints, the spikes were certainly responsible for a significant portion of the improvement, as well as improved fitness, especially in the 200m.
To finish the day, we ran a "Swedish relay", which consists of 4 legs - 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m. The teams were mixed together in age and gender, rather than tuned to win specific age groups, as this was more of a fun event, rather than a serious one. I got the 300m leg in my race, which is towards the longer end of my range. However, this run went better than I expected. The whole 300 metres felt good, even the upwind in the home straight, just before passing the baton to the 400m runner. This was my first experience with a "400m" style of changeover ever, which went well.
Anyway, a good day in all, I'm back on the track with a vengeance, and ready to build on this success. Next project is to (carefully!) work on my starts and sort out the issues there.
First event was the 200m. Conditions were tough, with a stiff headwind (later measured at 3m/S), blowing almost directly up the home straight. This was my first actual race in spikes.. Anyway, I took the start a little easier than normal, so any acceleration issues didn't overstress my groin. About 120m from home, I felt the full force of the headwind and felt it was safe to open up and hold that to the finish. My energy held up and I finished strongly with a PB time of 28.61 (down from 28.96) seconds.
Next event was the 60m sprint. This would be a test of my recovery, as there's no room to take it too easy over such a short distance. Got away to a good start, and cautiously accelerated to near top speed, finishing in a PB time of 8.70 (down from 8.91). As is common for me, the effect of the headwind was hardly felt in the shorter race, doe to the excess power I have. In both sprints, the spikes were certainly responsible for a significant portion of the improvement, as well as improved fitness, especially in the 200m.
To finish the day, we ran a "Swedish relay", which consists of 4 legs - 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m. The teams were mixed together in age and gender, rather than tuned to win specific age groups, as this was more of a fun event, rather than a serious one. I got the 300m leg in my race, which is towards the longer end of my range. However, this run went better than I expected. The whole 300 metres felt good, even the upwind in the home straight, just before passing the baton to the 400m runner. This was my first experience with a "400m" style of changeover ever, which went well.
Anyway, a good day in all, I'm back on the track with a vengeance, and ready to build on this success. Next project is to (carefully!) work on my starts and sort out the issues there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)