Running Aimlessly Down Under - From 54 to 53 sec 400m

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

Feck sake! Again we have another hot one in store for a meet involving an 800m. 3rd time in a row now. We all know about the last one last week, but before Christmas at our last AV Shield meet we had brutally hot weather and I ended up not doing the 800m after my 200m and just focusing on the triple jump after my 200m.

With 34 degrees tomorrow I could end up doing the same. Of course I could HTFU and just do it. All depends on the amount of rest I get after my 200m (main goal for tomorrow). The scheduling is a joke and usually I have to run an 800m 20-30 minutes after the 200m. It’s doable in normal conditions, but in 34 degrees it may not be.

Anyway hoping for a good run in the 200m tomorrow. Haven’t got a single tailwind all year so hoping tomorrow will change that and I can go under 27. I haven’t been close at all this year, with a PB of 27.5 hand timed into a ridiculous headwind, one of the worst I have ever encountered.

Dont run the 800m if you can't give it your all. No point in disappointing yourself with a bad performance or maybe starting a race that you dont want to finish.
Give it your all in the 200m and focus so you have nothing left.
You dont need the distraction of racing your 200m with the worry of an 800m 30 minutes after. You will only ruin your 200m also I think.

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

Dont run the 800m if you can't give it your all. No point in disappointing yourself with a bad performance or maybe starting a race that you dont want to finish.
Give it your all in the 200m and focus so you have nothing left.
You dont need the distraction of racing your 200m with the worry of an 800m 30 minutes after. You will only ruin your 200m also I think.

True, and also if I opt out of the 800m it will give a good shot at the Triple Jump. I’ve done the event just twice this year. The first time was after doing a 200m and 800m and was knackered after the 800m. The triple was 10 minutes later and I PB’ed by 4cm and got 8.97cm. The next time I did the triple after just a 200m (having skipped the 800m) and I was much fresher as a result and smashed my PB by 31cm, with a 9.28m on my last jump. Would be nice to add a few more centimetres onto that. I enjoy that event, but don’t train for it.

RandyMann

What time is it there, when are you going racing?

Pisco Sour

RandyMann wrote: »

What time is it there, when are you going racing?

It's half 9 now. My race is at half 2. Time for some brekkie and to get my stuff in order.

Looking at my race schedule for the rest of the season, this could be my last 200m race of the year so I want it to be a fast one and I really want a tail wind for a change. There's one other meet where I may do a 200m but I have a 400m just an hour later (my last 400m of the season) so I may end up skipping the 2 to focus on my favoured event.

RandyMann

Ok, good luck today, hope it wont be too hot for you

donothoponpop

04072511 wrote: »

True, and also if I opt out of the 800m it will give a good shot at the Triple Jump. I’ve done the event just twice this year. The first time was after doing a 200m and 800m and was knackered after the 800m. The triple was 10 minutes later and I PB’ed by 4cm and got 8.97cm. The next time I did the triple after just a 200m (having skipped the 800m) and I was much fresher as a result and smashed my PB by 31cm, with a 9.28m on my last jump. Would be nice to add a few more centimetres onto that. I enjoy that event, but don’t train for it.

You will surprise yourself with the triple jump, how far you can jump when you need to. Measure 8 meters out from the pit, and jump from there: you'll hit the sand easy. Now set it at 8.5m out: again you'll always hit the sand.

Put it at 9m out, and you're into pb territory. Then its a matter of continuing to refine- its all about control of the first two phases, and hanging airbourne for as long as possible for the third. Decent foot placement technique will add 50+cm to a good jump, and thats something thats learned.

Pisco Sour

‎26.92 electonically timed for 200m this afternoon. A big PB, bettering my previous best of 27.5 which was hand timed. Finally got a 200m race with ideal conditions, with a light following wind, allowing me to run a time I knew I was capable of. Followed it up with a 9.18m in the triple jump, 10cm off my best. Solid, and reasonably happy, but my first jump was a guaranteed PB. It felt great, but I broke the board by about 4-5cm. My 2nd attempt was my 9.18m and I was about 8-9cm behind the board. 3rd attempt was woeful.

Report to follow.

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

‎26.92 electonically timed for 200m this afternoon. A big PB, bettering my previous best of 27.5 which was hand timed. Finally got a 200m race with ideal conditions, with a light following wind, allowing me to run a time I knew I was capable of. Followed it up with a 9.18m in the triple jump, 10cm off my best. Solid, and reasonably happy, but my first jump was a guaranteed PB. It felt great, but I broke the board by about 4-5cm. My 2nd attempt was my 9.18m and I was about 8-9cm behind the board. 3rd attempt was woeful.

Report to follow.

Good job in your 200m, a considerable improvement.

Pisco Sour

My 7th AV Shield meet of the year took me to the distant Melbourne suburb of Ringwood and it's charming track with long bends and short straights. The weather was 34 degrees but with just a gentle breeze (which was a cool Southerly breeze thankfully, rather than a hot northerly wind). The breeze was a headwind throughout the day which was just what I was looking for with a 200m to come.

200m

The 200m has been a disappointing event for me thus far this year. Yes I PB'ed in both my races this year (27.6 hand timed and 27.5 hand timed), and yes, I ran into headwinds on both occasions (the latter being a ridiculous head wind, the worst I have ever run into perhaps), but still my 200m performances were way out of line with my 400m runs this season. While I am not expecting to be running quite to the same level in the 2 as I am in the 4 (given the fact my training is set out with the 4 in mind) I expected to be a lot closer than I have been this year.

With the conditions perfect, and with some decent training behind me since the 800m disappointment a week and a half ago, I knew there could be no excuses for not doing the business this afternoon.

In my heat, lanes 1 and 2 were reserved for the womens 800m, so there were 6 in my race. I grabbed lane 3 which was the perfect lane, with everybody outside me. The psychological advantage of eating up the stagger on somebody, rather than having somebody do it to you, is huge.

My clubmate in lane 5 false started rather stupidly and the race was down to 5. As the gun went off I got out well, much much better than my last 200m, and after 50m I was flying and eating up the stagger quickly on 2 of the guys outside me. Coming into the straight I had 3rd place easily in the bag, and was closing on the 2 in front of me. I made it my business to keep relaxed. I pushed as hard as I could, but didnt strain. I crossed the line in 3rd place, and after a long wait for the electronic results to come through, it was confirmed that I PB'ed with a time of 26.92 seconds. I really felt like I ran a great one and was not one bit surprised with the result. Incidently, the race was won in around 26.2 and second place was around 26.6, so not a million miles off, and 4th place was well behind me in 27.99.

One thing unusual about today was how my body responded to the heat. It was so hot out that before the race my feet were literally burning inside in my spikes. The actual track itself must have been at ridiculous temperatures, and a combination of these 2 factors, along with the speed I was going at, caused my feet to be very uncomfortable in the last 20-30 metres of the race and I developed a blister as a result. Feet are fine now though.

Triple Jump

The 800m was never going to happen in conditions like today, and with still 2 800m runs ahead of me this season, I had no great desire to get one in today. So instead I kept fresh for the triple jump. My PB from last month was 9.28m, and I hoped to surpass that.

I jumped off the 7m board and my first jump was a cracker. It felt great and I knew I had jumped a PB, but sadly I was just slightly over the board, by about 4-5cm. My 2nd attempt was also good, though it didnt quite feel as good as the first. This time I had 9-10cm to spare on the board and jumped 9.18cm, so with those extra centimetres I lost I would have been operating at PB level. My 3rd attempt was appalling and I ended up landing in the pit about a foot and a half to the right of where I took off. I dont know how I managed that, and my jump ended up being just 8.84m I think.

Satisfied with the performance but I wanted more, but cant PB all the time.

I wont have another shot at the Triple Jump until the last meet of the season on March 31st. Hopefully I can improve on my 9.28m PB then. Today could well be my last 200m of the year also. There's one more that I may run, but it will be a hand timed meet and is on just an hour before my last 400m of the year so we'll have to see. But I'm very happy that I have finally done myself justice over the distance. My 200m PB now equates to a 60.74 second 400m, so it is not massively out of line now with mt 59.44 second 400m PB.

Next week is the last AV Shield meet of the season and I hope to finally run a good 100m (havent run well in the distance since my first race of the year back in Collingwood), give a better account of myself in the long jump, and get under 59 seconds over 400m for the first time.

Pisco Sour

With January almost done and a 200m and 400m PB in the bag, it's time to have a quick look at the schedule of my final 2 months of the season:

1) Sat Feb 4th - AV Shield Round 12 - Box Hill - 100m, Long Jump, 400m
2) Tues Feb 14th - High Velocity Club - Albert Park - 400m
3) Sat Feb 18th - Interclub End of Season meet 1 - Doncaster - 800m, 100m, Long Jump
4) Sat Feb 25th - Victorian Decathlon Championships (Day 1) - Albert Park - 100m, Long Jump, 400m
5) Sat/Sun Mar 10th/11th - Victorian Track and Field State Championships - Albert Park - 400m
6) Sat Mar 17th - Interclub End of Season meet 2 - Diamond Valley - 400m (maybe a 200m before the 400m)
7) Sat Mar 31st - Interclub End of Season meet 3 - Collingwood - 800m, 100m, Triple Jump

The 3 interclub end of season meets are a more relaxed type of meet as the season winds down and is all hand timed, which doesnt matter for the 800m but will be important to note for the sprints.

For each event this is the amount of races I have left:

100m (PB - 13.4h)

1) Sat Feb 4th - AV Shield Round 12
2) Sat Feb 18th - Interclub End of Season meet 1 (HAND TIMED)
3) Sat Feb 25th - Victorian Decathlon Championships (Day 1)
4) Sat Mar 31st - Interclub End of Season meet 3 (HAND TIMED)

200m (PB - 26.92)

Nothing planned for the rest of the season but I may do the following event, but with my final 400m race of the year just an hour later it is doubtful:

1) Sat Mar 17th - Interclub End of Season meet 2 (HAND TIMED)

I would love another crack at a 200m, electronically timed, but it probably wont happen. I would perhaps enter the State Championships for it, but only if it doesnt impact on my 400m and takes place after that race.

400m (PB - 59.44)

1) Sat Feb 4th - AV Shield Round 12
2) Tues Feb 14th - High Velocity Club
3) Sat Feb 25th - Victorian Decathlon Championships (Day 1)
4) Sat/Sun Mar 10th/11th - Victorian Track and Field State Championships
5) Sat Mar 17th - Interclub End of Season meet 2 (HAND TIMED)

800m (PB - 2:27.9)

1) Sat Feb 18th - Interclub End of Season meet 1
2) Sat Mar 31st - Interclub End of Season meet 3

Long Jump (PB - approx 4.50m, SB - 4.25m)

1) Sat Feb 4th - AV Shield Round 12
2) Sat Feb 18th - Interclub End of Season meet 1
3) Sat Feb 25th - Victorian Decathlon Championships (Day 1)

Triple Jump (PB - 9.28m)

1) Sat Mar 31st - Interclub End of Season meet 3


Lots of competition still to come

Pisco Sour

First session back after Saturday's PB and it was a good one.

Did a 6x150m on the Oval with 2 mins rest. Running into a strong headwind so times were never going to be fast but very happy with how I got faster as the session went on:

26(high) - 26(low) - 25(high) - 25(low) - 25(low) - 25(mid)

Afterwards, while I was doing my core workout, I somehow got into a discussion with some random middle aged muppet about tennis. He said there is no great skill in the sport :eek::rolleyes:

Tough day today. Just 5 hours sleep after staying up until 2am watching that epic tennis final.

Pisco Sour

Just seen that my 200m PB at the weekend was aided by a slightly illegal wind of +2.2. To be honest the difference between 2.0 and 2.2 at an elite level is negligeable, and at my level almost non-existant. I probably gained no more than 0.01 of a second from it, so screw it I’m claiming the PB. If I PB’ed with a +5 m/s wind then it would be a different story.

Pisco Sour

Back to the Tan for a hill session yesterday evening after work. 5x100m with 2 minute recoveries. The wind was very all over the place, hence the variation in times, but while it wasn’t my fastest session to date, the last rep was my fastest individual rep, which is a big confidence booster:

24(low) – 22(mid) – 23(low) – 23(Low) – 21(very high)

Another positive is, that while I was exhausted, I wasn’t as exhausted as I was after my previous hill session 2 weeks ago, when I hadn’t the energy to do my core workout after. Yesterday I managed my core fine afterwards. Maybe the mild weather yesterday had something to do with this though.

That could be my last session on the Tan. It really is a pain in the @rse trying to out there after work. I’ve nowhere really to leave my stuff, as my access to my work building is gone after6pm, and it is just awkward in any case. Yesterday I left my stuff with my friend who is staying in the hostel I was staying in up until recently, and the guy at reception spotted me coming in in a suit, and then all of a sudden I was in running gear. He went mad and said I cant do that, so I pretty much will have to give up on the Tan which is very disappointing.

Pisco Sour

I havent talked much about the core strength aspect of my training so I thought I'd just mention what I am currently doing for reference sake:

3 times a week, after a session, I do the following:

1) 10X hip raises
2) 10x leg lift on each side (lying on your side lifting your leg up and down)
3) 10x leg swing on each side (lying on your side, lifting your leg slightly, and then swining back and forth)
4) 3x10 one legged squats on each side
5) (30 second front plank, 30 second left side plank, 30 second right plank) x2
6) 3x15 pushups
7) 10 heel rises 2 footed, 6 heel rises one footed, on each foot.

04072511 wrote: »

1) Sat Feb 4th - AV Shield Round 12 - Box Hill - 100m, Long Jump, 400m
2) Tues Feb 14th - High Velocity Club - Albert Park - 400m
3) Sat Feb 18th - Interclub End of Season meet 1 - Doncaster - 800m, 100m, Long Jump
4) Sat Feb 25th - Victorian Decathlon Championships (Day 1) - Albert Park - 100m, Long Jump, 400m
5) Sat/Sun Mar 10th/11th - Victorian Track and Field State Championships - Albert Park - 400m
6) Sat Mar 17th - Interclub End of Season meet 2 - Diamond Valley - 400m (maybe a 200m before the 400m)
7) Sat Mar 31st - Interclub End of Season meet 3 - Collingwood - 800m, 100m, Triple Jump

I've been doing a bit of thinking and I've decided that I will more or less end my season after the biggest meet of the year, the State Championships, on Mar 10/11. I will skip the Mar 17th meet, and just do the Mar 31st meet for a bit of a laugh to cap off an enjoyable season. A few reasons why:

1) It's been a long season and I am beginning to feel tired, mentally more so that physically at the moment.
2) The state championships will be the biggest event I will have ever participated in in my life. The likes of Craig Mottram could very well be competing in the same championships as myself. Hard to get terribly motivated for a low key meet after this is done.
3) The 400m on Mar 17th will be hand-timed, and there would always be that nagging doubt if I set a PB in such a race, and those doubts would be with me until the next season.
4) Mar 17th is St Patricks Day
5) My friend is celebrating her birthday that day, starting at 1pm. I think I'd rather have a nice pint of Guinness to celebrate my country's national holiday with my friends, than run in a very low key end of season race, out in Diamond Valley, in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, with the race not starting until 4.30pm.

So I'll be training hard right up until Mar 10/11, and after that will be winding down, and will perhaps do a bit more specific 800m work for the 3 weeks between state champs and the final meet of the season on Mar 31st.

Pisco Sour

I discovered a new Oval near my house this evening, which is in MUCH better condition than the other piece of crap I was running on beforehand. The grass was very well maintained and quite soft, which probably didnt make for fast times but certainly is good for the shins! I did 2x500m with 5 minute recovery. Times were:

1:45(low) - 1:43(high)

No real point comparing it to my previous times due to the different surface, and the fact I was running some tight corners and up a few very gentle dips. Happy with the session though. It felt tough. Not the most enjoyable session in the world I will admit but hoping it will pay dividends on Saturday with a sub 59.

With just 1 round to go in the 2011/12 AV Shield I thought I'd give a brief mention to the Richmond Harriers Club Championship. I haven't been paying much attention to the standings of it but with a week to go it is worth having a look at.

In order to qualify for the club championships, you must:

1) Compete in 6 events throughout the season
2) Do 1 sprint event (100, 200, 400 and Hurdles)
3) Do 1 distance event (800 and up)
4) Do 1 field event
5) and then 3 others
6) Compete in at least 4 of the 12 AV Shield meets

Scores are based on the 2011 IAAF Scoring Tables (see they do have use. haha to all the doubters, namely RayCun and TheRoadRunner ), and only performances in AV Shield events count, so nothing from Vic Miles, State Championships, Country Championships etc can count.

With 1 round to go in the Men's competition, 25 of us have competed in at least 1 event throughout the season. However only 9 of us have met all the criteria and therefore qualify to win the club championships.

At the moment I am lying in 4th place, with just over 2000 points, and am around 180 points behind the Bronze medal position. It will be a very big ask to overtake him. My 400m score is only based on my 60.35 as my 59.44 wasn't in an AV Shield meet so there's a good 50 points I can make up on him in that event, but besides that I'd need big PB's in the 100m and the Long Jump, probably close to 13 seconds, and maybe 4.75m. This is assuming he doesn't make any gains in his best events. It's a 40-1 shot that I'll get into the medals, but sure we'll see how I go.

Incidently the lad in 3rd is around my standard in the 100 and 200. I'm way way ahead of him over 400 and 800 (his 800 is so slow, barely under 3 minutes), but where he has me is in the field events. With a 4.98m long jump and a 1.60m high jump he is scoring big points.

Being honest if all 25 that have competed in at least 1 event this year, all made an effort to do 6 events, I'd probably come top 8. But it's not my problem that some of them see themselves as above the club championships.

Pisco Sour

Nicely pumped up for tomorrow's track meet, the last Round of the 2011/12 AV Shield. Sub 59. Let's go!!!



Housemates having a poker session tonight. All drinking nice cold bottles of beer. Would kill for one right now, but screw it, I'll just take all their money instead

Brianderunner

04072511 wrote: »

Nicely pumped up for tomorrow's track meet, the last Round of the 2011/12 AV Shield. Sub 59. Let's go!!!



Housemates having a poker session tonight. All drinking nice cold bottles of beer. Would kill for one right now, but screw it, I'll just take all their money instead

Don't call an all in with a low pocket pair

Best of luck in the race.

bart simpson

best of luck in the race, il be down in melbourne myself in may:)

Pisco Sour

Brianderunner wrote: »

Don't call an all in with a low pocket pair

Best of luck in the race.

Came 3rd out of 7, but mainly due to conservative play (didn't get a decent hand all game). Have played once since leaving Ireland and that was in New Zealand with fellow backpackers and I dont even think we were playing for money.

bart simpson wrote: »

best of luck in the race, il be down in melbourne myself in may:)

Cool. How long you heading down here for?

bart simpson

04072511 wrote: »

Cool. How long you heading down here for?

at least a year anyway, hope to get sponsered down there and stay for longer:) are you a member of a club down there?, il be looking to join one

Pisco Sour

bart simpson wrote: »

at least a year anyway, hope to get sponsered down there and stay for longer:) are you a member of a club down there?, il be looking to join one

Hoping to get sponsored myself. On my 2nd year visa now but have 10 and a half months left on it so fingers crossed I'll find something.

Yep I'm with Richmond Harriers. There's tons of clubs down here. What sort of stuff are you looking at doing? Track, road running or both? Unlike Ireland, the road running scene doesn't go all year round down here. It takes place in winter, with the track taking precedence in summer.

bart simpson

04072511 wrote: »

Hoping to get sponsored myself. On my 2nd year visa now but have 10 and a half months left on it so fingers crossed I'll find something.

Yep I'm with Richmond Harriers. There's tons of clubs down here. What sort of stuff are you looking at doing? Track, road running or both? Unlike Ireland, the road running scene doesn't go all year round down here. It takes place in winter, with the track taking precedence in summer.

Im a pure road runner at the moment, but i wouldnt mind giving track a go, id like to train for 1500m or 5k, it would be different, i am only running a few years and am not in a club in ireland, im 28 now so im getting a bit old for it but id love to see what id be capable of, but finding work will be the priority first, i hope to find it in mebourne because i heard its a great place to live over there, im a civil engineer

Pisco Sour

bart simpson wrote: »

Im a pure road runner at the moment, but i wouldnt mind giving track a go, id like to train for 1500m or 5k, it would be different, i am only running a few years and am not in a club in ireland, im 28 now so im getting a bit old for it but id love to see what id be capable of, but finding work will be the priority first, i hope to find it in mebourne because i heard its a great place to live over there, im a civil engineer

You've heard correct. It's a super city!

Nonsense, you are not nearly getting too old for it. My club has loads of auld fellas, too many actually as it impacts on a good social scene. One of the coaches only took up the sport aged 43 or so, and now he is 48 and has run 58 for 400m, 5:01 for the mile, 17:xx for 5000m, 37 or 38 for 10k, and does every field event (and every other track event) under the sun!!

Yeh the AV Shield is great down here. There's 12 meets during the year and you'll always have plenty to chose from. There's a 3000, 5000 or Steeplechase every week and also an 800 or 1500 every week. There's also Vic Milers which has around 5 meets through the year with races ranging from 800 to 3000. There's always lots of other stuff aswell like the Zatopek where you can get a 10000m race in on the track.

One of the lads in the club, in his 40s, does nothing but 800 and up (his 400 PB is only 63ish, but can run under 5 for the mile). He spends the winter doing all the road races, and then during the summer races a 3000 or 5000 every week, and also one of the shorter events. Could be a good way to split the year.

bart simpson

Yeah that sounds great i read eamon coughlans book there a while ago and it really got me thinking about the mile... might give the melbourne marathon a go in oct, and train for the mile for the summer. i might get some contact details of that club off you before i head down if thats okay

Brianderunner

Bart, civil engineer in Ireland? Amazed you havent left yet. Nothing in Ireland for us. My while civil eng year from trinity are in Oz or NZ. I got the consolation prize of London

Melbourne marathon would be awesome alright. Doubt you'd miss Ireland, break 60 first though, 04072551 will show you how its done

Pisco Sour

Mixed day at the track today. Ran 13.36 into a 0.4 headwind for 100m, which is a legit PB, beating my previous best of 13.4 hand timed, set on the opening day of the season. Was confident that this would set me up for a sub 59 over 400m. Felt like I ran pretty well, but could only manage a 59.96, which is well down on my 59.44 from 3 weeks ago. Pretty gutted to be honest, but onwards and upwards. Still hopefully 3 more chances of a sub 59 this season. A few pints tonight to forget all about it.

On a side note, I got chicked by a fellow Richmond Harrier for the first time over 400m. Cant say I am too happy about that :mad: But she's very talented. Ran a 59.07 today in her first ever 400m race, and her start was appalling. She's a 2:13 800m runner at the moment and around low 4:30s for 1500m, and actually currently ranked 18th in Australia at that event so far this year. Early days though. She'll only get faster and is a relative newcomer to the sport. Still though, don't like being chicked!

Report to follow

Pisco Sour

Round 12 of the AV Shield, the final round of the season. In total 11 meets took place (with one being cancellend due to bad weather) and today was my 8th Shield meet of the season, a satisfactory attendance.

The plan today was to run a 100m first. If my time for the 100m was a huge PB then I'd look into doing the long jump to try and reel in my club mate in the club championship standings and try get into the medals. If I didn't improve by much on my 13.4 from earlier in the season then I'd skip the long jump. In any case the 400m was the main focus where I hoped (and expected) to go sub 59.

100m

There was a tailwind all day long. Strong at times, weak at other times, but always a tailwind. A female club mate was delighted with a PB of 14.14, so I had a good feeling about my chances. Conditions were good for a quick time. This hasn't happened this year with pretty much every time I have ran a 100 being greeted with a headwind.

There were 7 in my heat. My start was very good and was up on a few people early on. 3 guys sailed away, but I overtook the guy to my left (who was looking for high 12's) and easily defeated him. I kept relaxed throughout and felt like I ran a good one.

The results eventually came out after what felt like an eternity and I came 4th of 7 in 13.36 seconds which is a proper PB, improving non my hand timed 13.4 recorded twice this year (equates to 13.64 seconds electronic). More encouaging was the fact that I actually ended up getting a slight headwind of 0.4 m/s, so my big improvement wasn't enhanced by a crazy headwind, which did my confidence no end of good, and I felt great about my prospects going into the 400m.

As I didnt gain a lot in terms of points for the club championships, I decided to give up the ghost with regards getting into the medals, skipped the long jump, and resigned myself to a 4th place finish, just like Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O'Sullivan, Derval O'Rourke and Robert Heffernan have had to endure.

Being honest I wont lose a nights sleep about it. Would have been nice to have got into the medals in our club championships but it was not to be.

400m

Unlike the 100m and 200m where everybody queues up behind and basically picks their own lane, the 400m heats are selected beforehand with everybody crowded around some punter basically begging for a good lane. After about 7 fast heats I finally decided to go for heat 8 as it appeared to be more of my level. However after he gave away the first 6 lanes he was about to give me lane 7, but I hid my number and walked away (very immature I know, but I didnt want lane 7 or 8). I came back again when he was giving out the lanes for the next heat, heat 9. He was about to give me lane 5 until the b@stard recognised my face and skipped me, and then proceeded to give me lane 7. W@nker. But anyway, I just got on with it. Wouldn't make a great deal of difference.

The lad in lane 8 was a 62 second runner at his best, so I knew I needed to be going past him at the end of the back straight. The gun went off and I got off to an ok start. Nothing amazing but ok. I cruised the first 150m, and then coming to the end of the bac straight I sailed past the lad in lane 8. I was well behind the rest though but tried to run my own race and keep relaxed. Pushed hard with 215m to go and tried to maintain. With about 150m to go I was probably about 5-6m down on the nearest guy in front of me, but I finished much stronger than him and realed him in. I thought I had him at one point but he didn't slow as much as I thought he would, and he hung on to defeat me by a mere 0.15 seconds.

I stuttered a slight bit with 15m to go but besides that I felt I ran a good one, and had convinced myself I had run a PB. So when my coach who handtimed me informed me I had run 59.8 I was dreadfully disappointed. Not only had I missed my goal, and my PB, but it looked like I even missed sub 60. However the electronic timing was kind and I just barely squeezed under 60, for my second sub 60, a 59.96 second clocking.

Being honest I am dreadfully disappointed. I wanted to be running a good second faster and I felt I was in the shape to do so and that my training was going well, but it just wasn't to be today, even though I felt I ran well and the conditions were great for sprinting. A real headscratcher.

What can I learn from the race?

I think I need to push just a little bit harder in the first 150m. Of course you need to reserve energy in a 400m, but maybe I took the first 150m TOO easy, I was breathing through my nose for a good bit of the back straight which maybe indicates I could have gone harder there to bag some time. It very much is a balancing act. Go out too fast and you are f*cked. Go out too slow and you wont make back that time in the later stages of the race as you cant go faster than your top speed no matter how easy you go early on.

I havent been happy with the location of my training since I have moved house and I think I am going to make the extra effort to get to a track more often the next few weeks. It will mean a long commute but I just am not satisfied with having to run on crappy Ovals.

The positives?

Well there are a few:

1) It is a second consective sub 60, which backs up my 59.44 from 3 weeks ago, and proves that that was no fluke. I'd like to think of it along the same lines as David Gillicks 44.82 just a week after he ran his breakthrough 44.77 to finally beat that 45 second barrier. Backing up a good run is important, and in terms of sub 60, that is what I have done, so can take some consolation in that.

2) I have been hitting PBs every time I have run a 400m. This couldnt go on forever. Maybe it is a good thing that the run has ended. I now know the disappointing feeling of not hitting that PB. With this pressure relieved I can hopefully go into my next race with a clear and refocussed head.

Chicked

Today for the first time in our 99 year history, a female Richmond Harrier has run a 400m time faster than my 59.44 PB. One of the girls, who is a newcomer to the sport, and very talented, who trains for 800 and 1500, ran a 400m today (after front running to a 4:38 in the 1500m). She got out of the blocks so badly. Worst start of the lot (she admitted afterwards she hasnt used blocks for 12 years and didnt know what to do with them), but she ran a great race and smashed the club record (previously 62 second) in a time of 59.07 seconds. A great run, but there is so much more she can take off that. I don't like getting chicked by a club member (and indeed on average only 4-5 out of 60 women will run faster than me in a 400m at each AV Shield meet), but sometimes you just have to stand up and accept that somebody is superior. Still though I expected to go faster than 59.07 today, but if she bothers with the event she will be down in the 57's pretty soon.

The next event is on Feb 14th where I will run a 400m at the High Velocity Club meet at Albert Park. It's not confirmed yet as only the top 24 (based on season's bests) will get in to the meet, but fingers crossed that 24 people dont apply, or that my 59.44 will be enough to gain me a lane.

Pisco Sour

I found out today that Athletics Victoria have pushed back the closing date for applications for the High Velocity Club meet on Feb 14th from Feb 2nd to Feb 9th. This is a higher class meet and only the top 24 athletes in each event based on season's bests will get a lane on the night. However considering that not one meet this year has filled up I was pretty confident that I'll get to run. I sent AV a email today when I heard of the dates being pushed back. This is my email and response:

Hi,

When can I expect to find out if I have gained a lane in this meet? Entries were supposed to close last Thursday but now it seems like they have been kept open. It would be nice to know well in advance whether I will be competing in this meet, so I can plan the rest of my season. Waiting until a few days before the meet is far from ideal and it is a little frustrating training for a race which I am unsure whether I will be competing in.

Can you confirm how many people have applied for the 400m at this stage just so I can get an idea of the likelihood of gaining a lane for this meet.

Thanks


Entries for this meet were extended to allow as many athletes as possible to compete in this important meet, which is a great lead in to the Olympic tryouts at Lakeside three weeks later.


As entries have been extended it is not possible to tell you how many athletes we have had apply. As soon as entries close, AV and the HVC Team do their best to publish the start lists the next day. That will be Friday of this week. With competition on the Tuesday night, this should be sufficient notice. To publish the start lists earlier would require the closing of entries earlier, and then we would have many complaints about that.


A number of people do their best to put on this competition, so please be patient.


We will use your 59.44 pb. I hope we can offer you a run, but this meet will be used by many as a trial for the Melbourne leg of the Australian Tour Meets (2/3 March), so it may be hard to get a run. Remember, we offer a start to the top 24 applicants in the State. If you are in the top 24 applicants, you will get a run. Either way, you will find out Friday afternoon when the start lists are published, or if you miss out, I will send you an email.


Good luck.


Cant say I'm too happy. The deadline was there for everybody in writing, and was set ages ago. Because probably not enough fast guys applied in time they have now extended it and I may miss out on one of my 3 remaining attempts at sub 59 this season. In addition I dont think they refund those who dont get a lane. It's only 8 dollars but it's still bad form.

bart simpson

that would drive me nuts, you should have at least 10 days notice for a race.

Pisco Sour

bart simpson wrote: »

that would drive me nuts, you should have at least 10 days notice for a race.

Absolutely, and check out the recent messages (mine being italics, his being bold and italics).

I'm guessing that they hadn't filled up the 24 spots by deadline day, so gave people another week to get their entry in, showing complete disregard for somebody like myself, a slower runner who got the application in well in advance. I'm fairly pissed off to be honest. Complete elitism.

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to email me.

I fully understand the motives for pushing the deadline back in an attempt to get as high a quality of competition as possible. However to be honest the deadline of Feb 2nd has been on both the AV and the HVC website for quite some time and really there is no excuse for missing such a deadline, no matter how quick somebody is. I think all athletes who pay 8 dollars should be treated equally, whether they are 49 second runners or 59 second runners. The deadline is there for all. I went to the trouble of getting my application in well before the deadline, there is no reason why others cant do the same. If they are not organised to get their applications in on time then that is their problem. Because of this I will likely miss out now.

Again thank you for your reply.


No worries.


However, that deadline was set pre-season as a default deadline before we set the actual deadline, which we normally have about 4 days prior to the event.


I hope you get a run. We do treat all athletes as equal as possible. But this is an elite competition for the best in the State.


Regards


Thanks

I understand. However the fact that the AV Facbook page put up a status on Thursday 2nd Feb urging everybody to get their applications in by the end of the day indicates that the change of deadline was a last minute decision, and you can't blame me for thinking that such a decision was only made due to a lack of numbers. You can understand why I would be a bit disappointed by this.