2017 Australia Day Demo - A test of fitness.

Hard on the heels of the Victorian Country Athletics championships that finished yesterday, I travelled with out fire brigade teams to Maryborough for the Australia Day demo.  I had not originally planned to attend, as I would normally have been representing the CFA at the Pride March in Melbourne instead.  However, with Mark not interested in making the trip to Melbourne, and our C team short on runners, I changed plans to run the demo, which would give us 4 runners, and allow us to run most of the wet events (instead of none!).  Because of the previous 2 days of intense competition, I wasn’t sure how I would handle the high workload.

My first event was the ladder race, as usual, as I don’t normally run the hydrant race which precedes it.  I am considering giving the hydrant race a go in a couple of weeks, after the athletics shield final.  Anyway, the ladder race was another tough draw, and I was a couple of tenths of a second slower than normal, most likely due to the previous competition.

Following the ladder race was the hose and ladder 5s.  We ran a slightly changed team, as well as borrowing from our ranks of previous runners to make up the numbers.  I had another good run, with a time of 25.12 seconds.  As we were the only team, it was a win.

With our low numbers, I ran a couple of the marshalls.  First of these was the 2 man marshall.  Had one of my best runs for a long time here.  Not good enough for a place, but very happy with it.  My last dry event was the 4 man Y.  Here, I ran coupling.  Had a bit of a fumble putting the coupling on the hydrant.  When I turned for the finish, I knew I had to put in a decent sprint to make the 20 or so metres to the finish line with my teammates, which I successfully did.  We got 4th in this event, and even beat our A team. :)

Following the marshalls were the pumper events.  In the pumper and ladder 5s, we had most of the team running in unfamiliar places.  We managed to complete the run, but the time was slow.  And in the pumper 4s, we had a miss, again with almost all of the team in an unfamiliar position.

The first of the reel events was next, with the C sections 4s.  With 4 teams, competition was going to be a bit better than in the ladder 5s.  However, we had a good run, easily winning the event.  I ran in the pole.

The A team were also short a runner or two, so I was called upon to fill in for them in the hose and ladder 8s.  I ran first assist, helping the first hose length to the branch line.  Our run was good, resulting in a second place.

With our shortage of numbers and missing key people, we didn’t run the sixes.  Next was the champion 4s.  We ran the same positions as in the C section 4s.  This time, there was to be a heat and a final.  We won our heat, and in the final, ran 2 seconds faster than in the C section 4s.  This was enough to get 4th place in this open event.  Our day was finished, but…

The A team again needed me, this time, the Y8.  I ran second branch, a position I am very familiar with.  Had another good run, this time we won the event in a good time.

All that was left were the aggregate results and Australia Day medals.  There were 5 aggregates - the C section, which we won, the wet aggregate, which the A team won.  They also won the A/B aggregate and the grand aggregate.  The only one neither team won (or even placed in) was the dry aggregate.  In the Australia Day medal count, All 4 of our C team who competed won the C section medal for champion competitors in our class jointly, with each of us receiving one.  Two of the A team received medals as champions of their division.

All in all, a very successful day.  Despite my competition preceding the demo, I held up very well, and I still could have run more, if needed.

Some statistics - I ran a total of 16 events over the past 3 days, 10 of them today.  This involved a total of 22 (including 6 long jump attempts and the heat and final of the champion 4s) runs of varying lengths.  This was probably the highest number of sprint based races in 3 days I’ve ever done, certainly tougher than even the state championships, where I normally run between 6 and 10 events in the same period. Fitness is certainly good at the moment. :)

Next week, it’s back to a normal demo weekend.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2kGQmoR

2017 Victorian Country Athletics Championships

The Victorian Country Championships were on again over the past 3 days.  This year, I entered javelin, 100 metres, 400 metres, long jump and 200 metres.

I arrived on Thursday after a long drive.  Unfortunately, due to running around sorting the accommodation, I just missed the sign in time for the javelin, so I didn’t get to throw.  I had no other events on Thursday, so we went to our accommodation.  My time spent earlier paid off, as we had arrived after reception closed.

Yesterday, I had 2 events - the 100m and 400m sprints.  This year, fields were small, so there were no heats.  In the 100m, I had a strong headwind.  The run felt good, except I didn’t feel I could quite get up to speed.  Finished 5th in a slow time of 13.66, even taking the wind into account.  Others also had slow times, compared to their normal performances.

The 400m went fairly well.  The slow track didn’t seem to be as big an issue as the strong headwind in the home straight.  Finished with a time of 1:03.21, which was good for the wind conditions.  After returning to our accommodation and a club BBQ dinner, a couple of us headed to the beach for a recovery soak.
Today’s first event was the long jump.  Here, a strong tail wind was the challenge.  I struggled to get my run up right, but even so, I managed a jump of 4.03 metres, while taking off well before the board.  I could have jumped over 50cm further, if I could get my run up right.  Looks like one to practice, so I can capitalise on improvements in my jumping technique.

The 200 metres was next.  Again, with a strong headwind.  The headwind and slow track left me with a time of 28.23.

All that remained now were the relays.  First up was the 4x100m relay.  As I have all season, I ran the first leg.  This time, I got off to a good start and built up decent speed, getting us off to a good start.  We finished with a silver medal, out of 4 teams, which was as good or better than we anticipated.

The final event was the 4x400m relay.  By now, we had an injury plagued team, with one runner replaced by a substitute, why hasn’t run 400m in years, and another who got an injury in the 4x100.  Before the injuries, we were looking at a potential gold medal, but we had to settle for silver.

Anyway, I pulled up OK, but it’s not over for me yet.  I’m off to Maryborough tomorrow to run in a fire brigade competition! :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2kdwnx1

Fire brigade continues

Back on the fire brigade track this week, with a competition at Mooroopna, just under 90 minutes drive away.  With numbers short, I knew I was in for a busy day.

First up (for me) was the ladder race.  Things didn’t go well, and I had a few slips on the way up, so didn’t get through my heat.

Straight after was the hose and ladder 5s.  During the week, I had tweaked my sprint technique with the hose in the harness, which seemed to give slightly more speed down the track.  I used the same technique in this run and made it to the stage with plenty of time to spare.  Our time was 25.12.  Not spectacular, but 0.67 seconds better than last year.

Because we’re down on numbers, I was called upon for some of the marshalls, which were next, running a 19 second 2 man marshall, which wasn’t too bad, considering the limited time I’ve spend on these events.  Had a solid run in the 4 man Y, but we were slow getting over the line.  After the Y, it was time for lunch.

The first event after lunch for me was the pumper and ladder 5s.  Our run was aborted part way through, due to equipment failure.  As this was not our fault, we were granted a re-run.  In the re-run, I got a good climb, and we finished with a time of just over 17 seconds, which is among our best times.

Now all that remained were the cart events, which have always suited me the best.  First of those was the C Section 4s.  I was in pole, as usual, had a good, uneventful run, and we easily won the event.

Following the 4s, was the sixes, one of my favourite events (the other being the Y8).  Here, I was in my usual position of pole and second branch, so another run with the cart in tow, but at least I had another person beside me in the front and an additional one on the back. :)  This pole is a bit harder though, with the front being heavy to pick up at the start, and the run being 25 yards longer than the 4s.  My run was unuventful, with good speed down the track, then taking my branch before handing the cart over to the catcher.  I was in position in plenty of time to hit the target.  Unfortunately, we got a miss somewhere.

Next up was the champion 4s.  I wasn’t originally on this team, but one of the other guys was suffering from minor heat exhaustion and went off to the rehab facility to get it sorted, so I was called in to take the pole again.  This run went similar to the C section 4s, except I was probably slightly faster, due to being fully warmed up from the previous 2 runs.  Our time was also slightly faster, but as this was an open event, the A and B sides got all of the placings.

With the loss of one of our team, we no longer had sufficient numbers to run the Y8, even with borrowing from another team, so our day ended there.  I was feeling a bit under the weather myself, though nothing serious.  I decided to check into rehab as a precaution.  They found only a slightly elevated body temperature, but nothing dangerous, so I spent 10-20 minutes in a cooling chair with some water and electrolyte replacements, before returning to the team to help pack up for the trip home.

For the team, the day was successful, with a section aggregate win and 5th in the grand aggregate.

This coming week, it’s back to athletics for the Victorian Country Athletics Championships.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2kg0UXD

Back on the fire track

Yesterday, the fire brigade season resumed with a competition at Benalla, around 200km from home in the northeast of the state.  The long trip necessitated an early start, with the team departing on a bus a little after 6:15AM and arriving just before 8:30 for a 9AM start.

This competition was a bit different to the run of the mill ones we normally attend, in that both juniors and seniors ran on the same day.  This was reminiscent of competitions 25-35 years ago, when I initially competed.  I like the idea, because it gives juniors an opportunity to see what senior runners do (the wet events are very different to junior ones).

The different format meant both a later start and a different order of events for us seniors.  First event up was the 4 man Y.  Had a good run myself, but there were some hiccups around the Y piece that slowed the us down.  This was the only event in the marshalls that I ran, so it was now a long delay until after lunch, while the juniors ran most of their wet events.

My next event was the ladder race.  After a false start and some confusion caused by the starting system, I ran a solid 7.69.  Unfortunately, I was up against one of the faster guys, who was probably half my age or younger and didn’t win my heat.  Luck of the draw.

Next was the hose and ladder 5s.  Had a good run and got up the ladder in plenty of time to finish with a 25.25 second time.  Enough to easily win the event.  Following this was the  sixes.  Had another good run in my usual position of pole and second branch, and we came second in that event.

In the champion 4s, we fielded two entries.  I was in the second entry.  Ran another solid pole, and we finished 4th.  Our first entry finished just ahead of us in third.

The final event was the Y8.  We made a minor change to our team from previous training.  I was moved from first coupling to hydrant.  This was to allow the two runners in pole to go through ahead of the hydrant.  Once the pole was clear of my path, I could use my speed to make up time to the plug, set the hydrant and then continue with the rest of my run, eventually ending up the ladder.

Got off to a good start, following closely behind the left pole until I took the hydrant off the stand.  By then, my path was clear and I sprinted the 30 yards to the plug.  Just as I was about to lift the cap, I was hit by something on the cart from behind, which temporarily threw me off balance and left me with rather sore right glutes.  I quickly recovered and completed a perfect set of the hydrant.  Next was a short run to collect the Y piece, which someone left for me further down the track and pass it to the third coupler.  This requires a short run, then a stop for a the transfer.  My injury made it a bit painful, but I made the transfer in good time.  My final step was to run to the ladder, wait for the third branch to place the branch and hode in my harness, so I could climb the ladder.  The third branch had some difficulty and I had to wait, which made the climb more challenging, as I would have to lift water near the top of the ladder.  Despite my injury, I made it up in good time, and we came second in the Y8.

That ended a fairly successful day.  After a stop at Maccas (MdDonalds for those of you outside Australia) for a quick snack, we made the 2 hour trip back home, and I nursed a rather sore behind, which made getting on and off the bus a bit interesting.

Recovery is going well.  Today, I trained at the track and managed near race time 200m sprints, before spending a bit of time working on my javelin technique.  I’m sure my massage therapist is going to notice the damage at the next appointment! :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2jg6BWf

Breaking the speed barrier!

With Christmas and New Years out of the way, the athletics track and field season resumed today.  Today was a regular meet, and I entered 5 events - the 100m, shot put, long jump, 400m and javelin.

First up was the 100m.  Conditions were perfect for a good time, with a forecast temperature of 38C and a light NE wind, which would be mostly a tailwind on the straight.  The heat and wind conditions were ideal for me.

After the usual warmup, I lined up at the start, with the goal of breaking the 13 second barrier that has eluded me all season, with several near misses.  After a false start (no,wasn’t me! :) ), the race got underway.  Made a tactical mistake in the early stages, which cost me significant time, affecting my acceleration.  Wasn’t sure if I had achieved my goal, but a check of the results some time later showed a time of 12.99 seconds - yes, I had finally done it, and with a less than ideal race! :)

Following the 100m was the shot put.  First throw, I tried a different technique, didn’t work, ended up with a no throw, and followed that with an ordinary 5.50m.  I passed on my third throw, to get over to the long jump, where I jumped 3.79, then 3.80m, before passing again, to go over to the 400m.

By the time the 400m was run, wind conditions were a little tricky.  In my heat, the wind turned during the race, to be a headwind around most of the lap.  Finished with a reasonable time of 1;02.58, 0.1 seconds short of my PB, with almost nothing left in the tank.

Next up was the javelin.  First throw was a no throw (landed on its side - AKA “belly flop”).  Second throw was over 13.9 metres, a PB.  At this time, I had to go to the 4x100m relay, where I ran a solid first leg, before returning to the javelin.  My final throw was 13.99m, another PB.

So, another good way with 2 PBs and some solid performances.  Now, for a couple of weeks break from athletics as the fire brigade season kicks into top gear.  My next track and field meet will be the Victorian Country Athletics Championships on 26-28 January.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2iOl7UZ

A busy finish to 2016.

This week was the final week of athletics for 2016.  First on Thursday (2 days before writing this) was a regular meet, where I had 4 events - the 200m sprint, triple jump, 60m and discus.

The 200m turned out to be my best ever run, both in terms of technique, as well as time run.  I finished it in 26.71 seconds into the wind, despite taking the start a bit slower than normal as a precaution for a tight hamstring.

The triple jump wasn’t one of my better efforts, with a jump of 7.61m being my best, well short of my 8.26m PB.  I decided against running the 60m, with another meet 2 days away.  So the next and final event was the discus, where I threw 15.28m, over a metre short of my PB.  Still, not a bad day.

Today was another meet, but something different.  It was the regional multi-event championships.  I entered the pentathlon for this one, which comprised long jump, javelin, 200m sprint, discus and 1500m run.  For those who don’t know how multi event competitions work, completing each event earns a number of points, depending on performance, and the points are added to give an overall score.

First up was the long jump.  My first 2 jumps were well below my PB.  The third jump looked good, but unfortunately was a no jump.  Result was a best jump of 3.95m, scoring 198 points.  Next up was the javelin.  As expected, this proved to be my weakest event, with 2 no throws, and a final throw of 13.44m - close to PB, but worth only 75 points.

The 200m was my best opportunity for points.  Conditions were tough, with a stronger headwind than Thursday.  However, on the plus side, I had a strength advantage from my fire brigade competitions.  Finished the race first, in a respectable time of 27.24 seconds, scoring 430 points.

Discus is an event I have been spending a little time training before the sprint work.  I had hoped to throw a PB, but the best of my 2 good (out of 3) throws was 15.24m, which earned me 184 points.

The final event was a trip into unknown territory - the 1500m.  The longest I’ve ever run on a track was 800 metres, and even in cross country, I have never run 1500m, only 1k or around 3k.  I wasn’t sure how I would hold up over this distance under the difficult, windy conditions.  As it turns out, my fitness held up pretty well.  I kept a fairly steady pace, with a sprint finish in the home straight for a time of 5:57.54.  My score for the 1500m was 274 points, the second highest for any of my events.

I finished the day with 1161 points in total, while the winner in my age group scored 1369 points.  Looks like I need to work on my field events for future multi event competitions.  It was a very enjoyable day with some good results.  Now let’s see what 2017 brings.  I will be maintaining my training schedule over the break.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2hbCJbW

400m and shot put PBs

Saturday was back on the athletics track.  Had a busy program with 6 events total.  First up was the 100m - the first 100m event since my hamstring injury 5 weeks earlier.  Took the first 40m a bit conservative, just to be safe, before going all out to the line.  Ran a respectable 13.19 into a 1.9 m/S headwind.  Now that I am confident I’m over my injury, I want to work on my start and acceleration.  I feel I’m still a fair way from getting all my power to the track early in the race.

From the 100, it was straight across to the shot put.  As I had long jump to follow 15 minutes later, the officials let me have my throws at the start of competition in quick succession.  My second throw was 6.09m, a PB by 15cm.  I’m sure that will improve a lot with practice.

At the long jump, I had a fairly ordinary day, as my head was totally not in the right space for jumping,  My first 2 jumps were pretty ordinary (3.63 and 3.65m).  Managed to find a bit of focus for my final attempt, with a 3.95m jump, but that was still more than 30cm short of my PB.

As soon as I finished at the long jump, it was time for the 400m.  Despite not feeling in the right place for the 400, I quickly got into stride and settled into a good race pace.  Unlike previous runs, I was able to focus on technique and maintain pace right up to the finish line, resulting in a PB of 1:02.48 (0.03 faster) on a day when many seemed to struggle, despite reasonable conditions.

After a couple of minutes to recover (if you have energy left after a 400m race, you’re not doing it right! ;) ), I headed off to the javelin.  First throw was a no throw (didn’t hit the ground point first).  Second throw landed perfectly, though it was only a bit over 11 metres.  I elected to pass on my third throw, as it was time to head over to the 4x100m relay.

In the relay, I ran first position again.  Got off to a good start and built up some good speed on the bend, finishing the run with a good baton change to our second runner.  With a mix of age groups, we weren’t going to win or break any records, but we did finish a respectable race with all changes being good.

The relay marked the end of a very busy, but successful day.  This week, there are two meets - a regular meet with the alternate program, in which I will be competing in the 200m, 60m, triple jump and discus on Thursday night, and a multi event meet on Saturday, where I have entered the pentathlon (200m, 1500m, discus, long jump, javelin).

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gB6Qvh

Fire brigade season opener

Sunday saw the first competition for the fire brigade competition season.  This time, only my “C” team were competing, our “A” side were missing several due to illness and other commitments.

As usual, first up for me was the ladder race.  Managed 2 solid climbs (heat and final), with a final time of 8.11 seconds.  Following the ladder race was the hose and ladder 5s.  This event, with its long sprint to the ladder is the main reason I took up athletics, so it’s always a good indicator of progress.  Despite slowing down earlier than I needed to, we got a time of 23.99, a time that I would have struggled to physically get to the top of the ladder in, 2 years ago.  In addition, it turned out I was lifting water by the time I got to the top, but didn’t notice, so my overall fitness is far better too.  Track training is really paying off here!  Anyway, our time gave us second place, as one of the other sides put in a really good run.

Following the ladder 5s were the marshalls, the dry events involving hose work.  Due to injury of other team members, I was substituted into the 4 man Y and 2 man marshall at the last minute.  Ended up running 5th in the 4 Y, much to our surprise. :)

After lunch, the C section 4s were next, which we won.  I had a good run in pole, so looks like my hamstring is back to 100%.  Following the 4s was the hose and reel 6s.  Had another good run in the pole, but some issues in the middle of the run cost us a few seconds.  However, we still got 5th place.  After the sixes, I was rested for the champion 4s, to give a new guy, who has just come up from junior ranks more experience in the pole at his first comp.  They finished 4th in a time similar to our C section 4s, so he also had a good run.

Final event was the Y8.  With the new guy also very capable in the pole, my role has changed.  I now start on the back of the cart, put the first coupling onto the hydrant, then pick up the Y (left on the ground further down the track) and pass it to the third coupler while on the way to the base of the ladder.  For me, a much easier run which gives me more energy for the climb.  Anyway, although the time wasn’t our best, we ran second in the Y8, which was enough to give us the C section aggregate.

At the end of the day, we had a win and several placings, won the C section aggregate, second in the wet events aggregate and 4th in the grand aggregate.  Nice way to start a season! :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2g3MveR

2016 Vic Relays. Men 40+ 4x100m

2016 Vic Relays. Men 40+ 4x100m:

My 4x100m final at the Victorian Relay Championships, courtesy AthsVic TV.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gHaDG3

2016 Vic Relays. M40+ 4x400m

2016 Vic Relays. M40+ 4x400m:

My 4x400m final at the Victorian Relay Championships, courtesy AthsVic TV.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gTQGi1

2016 Victorian State Relay Championships

Yesterday, the 2016 Victorian State Relay Championships were held in Melbourne.  This was the first time I’ve competed in these championships, as I didn’t put myself on the list to go last year.

With the championships being in Melbourne, it meant an early start and a 2 hour drive to the stadium.  I was in two events, the 4x400m and 4x100m relays, running in first position.  Checking the provisional timetable before leaving, I was to run a heat of the 4x400 around midday, before the final 3 hours later.  With fewer entries, the 4x100m was to be a final only, around 5PM.  With that in mind, I planned to arrive around 10AM, to allow plenty of time to sort out any administrative issues.  As it turns out, I arrived just after 10, and met up with the rest of the team.  Just before 11, an announcement came over the PA that there would be no 4x400m heat, so now it was to be just the 2 finals.

The cancellation of our heat left plenty of time for lunch and to watch the action from the other events.  It soon became pretty obvious that this was a big step up from local competitions, and the times would be very fast.

After a full warmup and checking into the start area with officials, we were lined up for the 4x400m relay.  As first runner, I setup my blocks and waited for the starter’s call.  Shortly after the gun went off, it was obvious the competition was very fast, well beyond my capabilities (for now ;) ), but I stuck to my race plan, which went well, other than a minor bit of hamstring tightness at the 250m mark.  The run was very similar to last week’s 400m race.  I handed the baton over at just over a minute into the race, and my 400m time (the changeover happened several metres before the 400m mark) would have been very close to last week’s time as well.  We finished 7th, with a time around 4:15, with everyone running pretty well.  The winning team finished in 3:36.

About 90 minutes later, after a short warmup and some practice baton changes, we were back again for the 4x100m relay.  Again, I was in first position, starting the race.  With the shorter distance, this was the biggest test of my hamstring,  The start went well, and after a cautious transition into full flight, I got up to full speed without any issues, and maintained speed until the changeover.  Hard to say what position we changed over in, but we were definitely close to at least some of the other teams.  We finished 5th in a little over 51 seconds (winner was around 45).  We were pleased with that result.

After the 4x100, I said my goodbyes to everyone and started the long drive home.  As for the day, it was a real experience competing against the best in the state.  I’m not at that level yet, but it is early days, and I am still developing my potential.  It was also good to have great teammates to run with. I will definitely be back next year.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2ghXse4

Taking it easy(!)

My hamstring recovery is going steadily.  I’m able to manage at least 95% effort, though I haven’t given full acceleration a test yet.

For the track, I had a choice of 100m, 1500m and 400m, as the events I’d attempt.  After a brief discussion with my coach, who confirmed my own thoughts, I opted for the 400m only.  With the state relay championships only a week away, I didn’t want to risk a re-injury in the 100m.  I figured I could take a slower start in the 400 and focus on technique and fitness to run the race.

For the field, I had entered in shot put, long jump and javelin.  First up was the shot put.  Already, it was obvious that I was going to have some serious scheduling issues.  Without the benefit of a full warmup and 100m sprint before the shot, I decided to drop the long jump to allow for some time to warm up.  Anyway, shot put was a bit ordinary, with a best throw around 5.45m.

Even without the long jump, events conspired to severely limit my warmup for the 400m.  As a result, I knew I would have to take the race carefully.  However, weather conditions were perfect, with the temperature around 28C and almost no wind.  I took the start a bit easier than normal (though apparently at least one spectator didn’t notice! :) ), and maintained pace in the back straight.  From there the idea was to hold on as best I could.  Unfortunately, in the middle of the bend, my injured hamstring tightened up and I slowed down slightly to play it safe.  Luckily, the tightness only lasted a few seconds and I was able to push on towards the finish.  Finished the race in a PB time of 1:02.51.

Final event was the javelin.  Here, I wasn’t expecting any miracles.  I’m still in the early days of getting my technique sorted, and the usual advice of “It’s like throwing a tennis ball” isn’t the most helpful, because I’ve never had a good throwing action.  Here, I’m in unexplored territory (which is one reason why I’m interested in working on the javelin more).  Anyway, I got two good throws in, including a PB around 13.5m. :)

Next week is the Victorian Relay Championships.  I’m looking forward to running a few  relays, teaming up with other locals.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gpjSx5

All set for another day at the track. :-)

All set for another day at the track. :-)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fqxrZ7

A Test of Fitness!

This week’s track and field was a bit different to recent times, due to my slightly strained hamstring.  As a precaution, I didn’t run my usual sprints and ran an 800m event instead.  The 800m is an event I’ve always found challenging, with my last attempt in August at around 2:45 no better than this time last year.

My first event was the triple jump.  Although I had previously entered, my decision to go ahead wasn’t made until after a test jump, which proved my hamstring would handle the jumps.  I jumped a couple of 7.80-7.80m jumps - over 40cm short of my PB, but good, given that I was being fairly conservative.

Next was the aforementioned 800m.  My main goal here was to keep my fitness up, but I also wanted to break my long standing 2:45 PB.  However, weather conditions were tough, with a strong headwind in the final bend and to a lesser extent in the back straight.

I got off to a good start, and had to push the first run down the back straight to merge in to the inside cleanly.  From there, I settled back into what I figured would be race pace in second position.  Got passed late in the first lap, leaving me in third place at the end of the first lap with a split of around 1:16-1:17.  Maintained the pace and position in the back straight and around the final bend.  By this time, the first placed runner ran out of steam and fell behind, leaving me in second place as we left the bend.  At this point, I figured I had something left in the tank and opted for a sprint finish in the home straight.  Easily won my heat with a new PB time of 2:39.21.

Next up was discus.  Despite some good practice during the week, my performance was a bit disappointing.  First throw didn’t come out right, and ending up around 12 metres.  The second throw was better at 14m, but still well short of my PB, while the final throw was wide.

Final event was the 4x400m relay.  Following after the 800m, this was a test of both my hamstring and fitness.  I ran the second leg, taking the baton in my lane, then moving into the inside lane in the back straight, similar to the 800m.  Unlike my normal 400m run, I accelerated carefully to race pace, to avoid any issues.  The biggest challenge turned out to be following up the earlier 800m with another longer run (for me).  The run went well, and I handed the baton on to the next team member.  Our time was roughly 4:33.

Anyway, another mostly successful day with an emphasis on fitness.  I’m looking forward to when I can get back into the sprints.

Here’s my GPS log of the race.

http://ift.tt/2fKmzF1

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eRxfUS

November off to a (mostly) good start

Back on the track yesterday, after a particularly busy week, physically.speaking.  Even on my rest days, I had some physically demanding chores to get out of the way.  Also, fire brigade training has now hit full stride, making for some full on training nights.

Anyway yesterday, I entered 4 events - 200m, 60m, triple jump and discus.  The 200m was first.  Like the previous times with this program, there was a strong headwind.  I managed a strong start and bend and ran 27.41 - a decent time under the conditions.  Next was the triple jump.  My run up issues still seem to be plaguing me, but at least this time, I was short, rather than long, hitting the board up to 40cm short.  Even so, I still managed 8.15 metres, 11cm short of a PB.

After the triple, it was back to the track for the 60m, into the headwind again.  Despite a minor hamstring strain in the last 10-20m of the race and not feeling like I reallt got into full stride, I ran 8.41 seconds, 0.14 better than my previous PB.  That ended any chance of taking part in the relay later.

My final event was the discus.  I’ve actually had a chance to do some training with one of the women in our club who is a strong in discus, with my regular coach adding his pointers as well.  The result of this little bit of training is already showing, with my PB increasing by around 4 metres to 16.66m. :)

Well, now it’s time to revocer and get myself back running.  I will be entering some middle distance events next week, in case I’m not ready for sprints, as well as discus, which I’ll be using my downtime to train for.

It’s looking like I may become a thrower after all, something I’ve never considered before. :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2fpiAkM

October 2016

Athletics continued through the rest of October.  This year, I’ve added some throws to my list of events.  This is for a few reasons.  Firstly, in the event I’m injured, throws are the events I’ll be most likely to able to do.  Secondly, they are also a category which I’ve had the most difficulty with, so constantly doing these difficult activities might be beneficial, especially because the throws are relaxing and fun to do.

With my sprints, a different pattern has emerged this year.  My longer runs (200 and 400m) haven’t seen much improvement so far, unlike last season, where these events saw the biggest improvements.  However, the short sprints (60 and 100m) have seen some big improvements.  Last year, my 100m PB was 13.51, and 60m was 8.74.  This year, I’ve run the following:

60m:

October 8 - 8.55 (unspecified headwind)

October 22 - 8.59 (3.6 m/S headwind)

100m:

August 28 (pre-season) - 13.41

September 25 (pre-season) - 13.53 (unspecified headwind)

September 30 (pre-season) - 13.47

October 15 - 13.01 (3.1 m/S tail wind)

October 29 - 13.10

There was a sudden improvement in the first week of October, which was due to some time well spend working on my start and acceleration phase.  There is more work to be done in this area, but the results so far have been encouraging.  I’ve also improved my top speed, and can now run down many others in the final stages of the 60 and 100m sprints.

My last run for October was the Bendigo Fun Run.  I ran the 5k event, mainly to support the community.  However, I did want to break the 5min/k barrier that has eluded me in previous 5k runs.  My previous best performance over a similar distance was 5.31k in 26:35 at the O’Keefe Ekiden Relay in May, and the previous best on a true 5k course was 25:37 at last year’s Bendigo Fun Run.

Knowing the course, with its long hill between the 3 and 4km marks, I knew I had to go out hard early, so I had more time to get up the hill.  My goal was to reach the 3k mark by 14 minutes, and be at the 4k mark by 20 minutes in to the race.  My first 3k were 4:20, 4:42 and 5:01 respectively, making 14:03.  So far, so good.  Passed the 4k mark ar around 20 minutes in.  Once I saw that, I knew I had a PB in the bag.  The question now was by how much?  I stopped my watch at the finish at 24:34, which was a clear PB on all accounts, and comfortably under the 5 min/km goal pace.  Official results haven’t come out yet, but I’m happy with my time, whatever happens.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2eKi00q

2016-2017 Track Season Begins

Saturday marked the beginning of the new athletics season, with the first of the Athletics Victoria Shield series.  Prior to that was the last pre-season meet on September 30.  On the 30th, I was a bit out of sorts, which I put down to this year’s unusual stretch of gloomy weather.  However, I still managed a respectable 13.47 in the 100m, my second fastest time yet.  Other results were 4.01m in the long jump, 5.20m in the shot put and 1:04.62  in the 400m.

On Saturday, the normal sunny weather returned for the day and I was back to my normal self.  First event was the 200m, which I ran in 27.62.  I’m not sure why it was slower than expected.  There was a headwind, but that doesn’t explain everything.  Next was the triple jump.  I hadn’t done this event since March, but still managed 8.20m, 6cm shy of my PB.  Not a bad way to start the season! :)  Discus, like all of my throws is very much a “work in progress”, with 12.57m being my best throw.  More work needed there. ;)  I’m doing the throws for sheer enjoyment, as well as trying to expose myself to even more different forms of movement, especially ones that have been a challenge in the past.

In the 60m sprint, everything went perfectly.  I have been working on my starts, and this showed, getting off to a good start, then finding even more speed in the latter part of the race to gain a position, and a significant PB of 8.55 seconds, 0.19 better than my previous PB.

Finished the day with a solid run in the 4x200m relay.  Anyway, I’m glad to see the season underway and looking forward to the next meet. :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2dYuOBN

My events at the last “Winter into Spring”...

My events at the last “Winter into Spring” pre-season meet in Bendigo. Events in order were: Long Jump. 100 metres. Discus. 200 metres. 400 metres. Shot Put.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2daZqyb

Last of the Winter/Spring series at the track

Had a good day at the track and field meet today.  Entered 6 events.  They were:

100m, 200m, 400m, long jump, discus and shot put.  Despite a stiff headwind in the 100 and 200m, I ran 13.52 (0.12 over PB) in the 100m and 27.29 (0.18 over PB) in the 200m.  Missed out on a PB in the 400m, despite conditions being conducive to it, and having run faster in training.  My time was 1:03.60.

In the field events, I was a bit rusty in the long jump, having to adjust my run up.  I haven’t training this for 6 months in any case.  Similarly, discus and shot put are extra events, more for fun and to expose myself to new movements, which will only help in the long run.

Stay tuned for videos.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2dalAkc

Back on the Track!

Today marked the completion of a big weekend of sporting activity.  Friday evening, we had the fire brigade winter competitions.  This is a fun social night where we run a few of the dry events in teams drawn out of a hat.  I did quite well, scoring a first, second and fifth place.

Yesterday was the cross country breakup and 800m handicap as described in yesterday’s post.

Today was a full track and field meet at the local athletics track.  The weather was cool and sunny with a light north wind which favoured the 100m and 200m events.  I entered the 100, 200 and 400m as my main events, and added the shot put and discus for something different.

While I’ve been training consistently, a couple of things in the lead up added a little challenge.  Last Sunday during speed drills I stressed my left hamstring slightly, though it didn’t affect my training.  On Thursday I did a lot of speed, starts and acceleration which worked that area a fair bit, and it remained a bit tight on Friday and through the activities of the last few days.  I also had some coordination issues with my block starts on Thursday which really affected my starts.  Possibly something I’ve just become aware of with increasing awareness.

First up was the 100 metre event.  This was the most likely time for something to go wrong.  For my start issue, I tried a visualisation (it’s actually more a sensory immersion in my mind) technique to get my first step right.  I have used similar techniques in the past for a lot of physical activities, including teaching myself to swim as a kid.  From my practice starts, it was obvious that this technique worked.  Anyway, with a bit of caution during the acceleration, I ran a (official electronic)  PB time of 13.41.

Next up was the discus.  Here I was in it purely for the fun.  Managed one legal throw with a distance of a bit over 12 metres. :)

The 200m was my third event.  This one felt really good the whole way, got off to a good start, and for the first time, maintained full effort for the entire distance - the first time I’ve been able to do this.  My time was short of my 27 second goal, but still a PB at 27.11.

Following the 200m after a long wait was the 400m.  My goal here was to break the minute barrier.  With the slight breeze not being optimal, this was going to be a tall ask, but I was out to give it a go.  My first 200m was quite fast, with a friend recording it in a similar time to my 200m race!  For the rest, I maintained as much speed as I could manage.  Ran 1:03.72, 0.37 seconds outside my PB.

To finish the day, I competed in the shot put.  Like the discus, I hadn’t thrown a shot put since school.  Managed 2 legal throws, with the best being 5.06m.  Not exactly earth shattering, but I’m in this one purely for the fun. :)

Another good day, especially for pre-season. My fitness is better than at any stage last year.  Have to work on technque for acceleration and speed, and race strategy for the 400m.

Lookinf forward to next month’s final pre-season meet and the start of track season a week after.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2bZS2SL