I can't believe it's been 3 months. Wow. A shoulder injury and a hip pointer injury later, I'm finally feeling better and faster. I'm also organizing my ultimate team's workouts, which has been great. We did some full speed work and plyos today. We started off with a 200m, which I ran in 23.7 seconds. I was certainly pleased, as this is a PR for me. Having other folks to run with really helps. The crazy thing is I haven't been working out as much recently, so once I get back into that, I expect to feel even better. We took a sufficient break (actually a little longer than we wanted) and then ran a 450m. I came through in 45.5 seconds and then paced off the beginning distance to check. Turns out we ran closer to 340m, but that's still around 47 seconds. It's encouraging to know I still have my speed. My legs haven't felt particularly good in most of our practices thus far, so I'm going to think about returning to a more sprint season type schedule now that I have done some conditioning in July and August. I'll use Chesapeake this weekend as a gauge. I certainly want to get in the gym more.
At any rate, while I sincerely doubt anyone is really checking this after such a long silence, I thought I'd poke my head up. I'll be posting more and am looking forward to continued sprinting work this fall and beyond. My injuries stymied my racing this summer, so the sub-50 goal is still out there. I know I can do it, but it certainly won't be easy. I will say that I ran in full-health on May 17th and even if ther hadn't been wind, Alison thinks I'd have been around a 51. So, the wind was not the deciding factor. I'm confident I'll be even faster going forward.
I'm excited to line up out there this weekend. I'm itching for some monster plays...
Yeah 200m PR!
Andrew
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Race #1 - Video
First off, a big thanks to Laura for coming and making this entire multimedia post possible! I appreciated her cheering, taping, and interview-conducting skills.
First off, the race. I'm running in lane 2 with the white top and black shorts. I forgot to explain how to zoom in video mode, so things get a little distant down the backstretch but I am in 4th (from the camera's perspective) for much of that stretch. Enjoy!
You can see how tired I was approaching the finish line. I was also disappointed because I knew I wasn't going to hit my time. It also looks like my form suffered a little. If you look, you can also see me stutter-step a little bit in my first few steps. I also moved my back leg right before the gun went off; I need to pick a starting position and stick with it.
Post-race thoughts to follow...
First off, the race. I'm running in lane 2 with the white top and black shorts. I forgot to explain how to zoom in video mode, so things get a little distant down the backstretch but I am in 4th (from the camera's perspective) for much of that stretch. Enjoy!
The 400 Project - All-Comers Race - 400m - 05/17/2009 from The 400 Project on Vimeo.
You can see how tired I was approaching the finish line. I was also disappointed because I knew I wasn't going to hit my time. It also looks like my form suffered a little. If you look, you can also see me stutter-step a little bit in my first few steps. I also moved my back leg right before the gun went off; I need to pick a starting position and stick with it.
Post-race thoughts to follow...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Videos Forthcoming...
I tried to upload them last night but the files are too big... We'll see what I can manage.
Andrew
Andrew
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Week 19 - Day 6 (Race Day #1)
Wow. So much to talk about but the lengthy post will go up tomorrow.
The short version:
It was very gusty today but cool and nice. I warmed up well and felt primed to go. I was put in lane 2. I stumbled ever so slightly out of the blocks but ran a fast 100m. I ran well down the backstretch and entered the final curve with slight fatigue in my legs, which is what I wanted to feel. At the 200m mark, I turned it on 100% and powered through the curve. I entered the homestretch in 1st place. Then, the guy in lane 1 cruised up next to me and we were neck and neck with about 80m to go. A guy in the outer lanes was also in play. The wind kicked up hard in our faces down this backstretch and my legs started to fall off. I pumped my arms as hard as I could but lane 1 pulled ahead and my legs couldn't kick any more. I looked up and watched the clock...48, 49...50, 51, 52 and then I crossed. I ended up finished in at or just under 53 seconds (official time to be posted on Tuesday). I honestly don't remember the wind factor, but everyone else was complaining about it. It was right in our faces coming home. That said, it could have kicked up down the backstretch too and helped out there. I dunno.
I have a video of the race, as well as some post-race interviews, haha, which I will post tomorrow. I checked my splits on the race and my 100m, 200m, and 300m times were all fast. It's hard to pin them down, but they were between 11+/23+/36+ and 12/25/37. I dunno it's really hard to tell. This much I know: my last 100m was awful. I felt terrible and I was slow. The wind certainly hurt, but it's possible I went out a tad strong...my legs felt where they should be at the 200m mark, though. Anyway, from looking at my 53, I know in my heart that I can run much faster than that...it was slower than the 52.6 I ran last year. But, my legs wouldn't have believed you. I was spent.
May 30th is my next shot. Oh, and are you ready for this? I partially dislocated my shoulder this afternoon on a defensive bid at pre-season pickup/practice. (And no, I didn't get it.) So, today could have gone better in many ways, but I'm not sure there was a ton I would have done differently. I shall consult Alison on my race strategy/pacing and see if it was sound. The video will be invaluable. Until tomorrow,
Andrew
The short version:
It was very gusty today but cool and nice. I warmed up well and felt primed to go. I was put in lane 2. I stumbled ever so slightly out of the blocks but ran a fast 100m. I ran well down the backstretch and entered the final curve with slight fatigue in my legs, which is what I wanted to feel. At the 200m mark, I turned it on 100% and powered through the curve. I entered the homestretch in 1st place. Then, the guy in lane 1 cruised up next to me and we were neck and neck with about 80m to go. A guy in the outer lanes was also in play. The wind kicked up hard in our faces down this backstretch and my legs started to fall off. I pumped my arms as hard as I could but lane 1 pulled ahead and my legs couldn't kick any more. I looked up and watched the clock...48, 49...50, 51, 52 and then I crossed. I ended up finished in at or just under 53 seconds (official time to be posted on Tuesday). I honestly don't remember the wind factor, but everyone else was complaining about it. It was right in our faces coming home. That said, it could have kicked up down the backstretch too and helped out there. I dunno.
I have a video of the race, as well as some post-race interviews, haha, which I will post tomorrow. I checked my splits on the race and my 100m, 200m, and 300m times were all fast. It's hard to pin them down, but they were between 11+/23+/36+ and 12/25/37. I dunno it's really hard to tell. This much I know: my last 100m was awful. I felt terrible and I was slow. The wind certainly hurt, but it's possible I went out a tad strong...my legs felt where they should be at the 200m mark, though. Anyway, from looking at my 53, I know in my heart that I can run much faster than that...it was slower than the 52.6 I ran last year. But, my legs wouldn't have believed you. I was spent.
May 30th is my next shot. Oh, and are you ready for this? I partially dislocated my shoulder this afternoon on a defensive bid at pre-season pickup/practice. (And no, I didn't get it.) So, today could have gone better in many ways, but I'm not sure there was a ton I would have done differently. I shall consult Alison on my race strategy/pacing and see if it was sound. The video will be invaluable. Until tomorrow,
Andrew
Week 19 - Day 5
Race day! I'm about ready to roll out this morning. Not much else to say. I'm excited to get out there. It rained overnight but things have cleared up, so I think I'll be in good shape. I won't be back around to post anything on my race until early this evening, but, I hope to have some video for you... Peace.
Andrew
Andrew
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Week 19 - Day 3
Today was the last hard workout before my race on Sunday...and I wanted to make it count. I took half a caffeine pill, went out to Cardozo and ran during a slight drizzle, which was very refreshing. I banged my knee pretty hard at pickup last Sunday night, so I treated today as a test to see how my speed was affected, if at all. Here's how I did:
Rest: full (8-9 minutes)
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)
1 - 100m - sub-12 - 12 flat
2 - 100m - sub-12 - 12.1
3 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.8
4 - 100m - sub-12 - 12.1
5 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
6 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
7 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
8 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.7
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I'm happy with my results today. I focused on coming out hard each time and on pumping my arms as hard as I could - especially on the last 4-5 reps. My legs were a little sore from my plyos yesterday, which was a nice change. In the past, my legs have felt depleted after a plyo session but not sore. The fact that they were sore today tells me I had a good, hard plyo workout yesterday. At any rate, today I felt my glutes, in particular, get more and more sore as my workout went on. Again, I saw this as a good thing. I was pushing hard. My left calf also started to tighten up a little, but that's nothing new. I iced when I got home and feel good and prepared for Sunday.
My physical prep is over, but my mental prep is still ongoing. I'll be doing focusing and visualization over the next few days and will be trying out some meditation on Saturday. My priorities over the next 72 hours are to eat well, rest well, and stay healthy. I'm excited!
Andrew
Rest: full (8-9 minutes)
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)
1 - 100m - sub-12 - 12 flat
2 - 100m - sub-12 - 12.1
3 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.8
4 - 100m - sub-12 - 12.1
5 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
6 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
7 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.9
8 - 100m - sub-12 - 11.7
-----
I'm happy with my results today. I focused on coming out hard each time and on pumping my arms as hard as I could - especially on the last 4-5 reps. My legs were a little sore from my plyos yesterday, which was a nice change. In the past, my legs have felt depleted after a plyo session but not sore. The fact that they were sore today tells me I had a good, hard plyo workout yesterday. At any rate, today I felt my glutes, in particular, get more and more sore as my workout went on. Again, I saw this as a good thing. I was pushing hard. My left calf also started to tighten up a little, but that's nothing new. I iced when I got home and feel good and prepared for Sunday.
My physical prep is over, but my mental prep is still ongoing. I'll be doing focusing and visualization over the next few days and will be trying out some meditation on Saturday. My priorities over the next 72 hours are to eat well, rest well, and stay healthy. I'm excited!
Andrew
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Week 19 Workouts
Race week! I still need to sign up for my race, but here's my schedule:
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Conditioning mile, explosive plyos.
Thursday - Track - 8x100 meters, full recovery, aim for sub-12
Friday - Off
Saturday - Warm up and practice curve starts
Sunday - Race
Monday - Off
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Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Conditioning mile, explosive plyos.
Thursday - Track - 8x100 meters, full recovery, aim for sub-12
Friday - Off
Saturday - Warm up and practice curve starts
Sunday - Race
Monday - Off
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