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

Ok so today I competed in my first track meet in Melbourne. Absolutely amazing day. As I havent joined a club yet (waiting until the new year starts on April 1st to do that) I competed as an invitation athlete of Richmond Harriers.

I did a tough track sprint session on Thursday. It has been a long while since I have done anything like that and as a result my legs have been sore and stiff since then. I did everything I could think of to try loosen them up today but they remained stiff throughout the day. Maybe that caused some of my performances to be less than maybe what they could have been but its no big deal.

I entered 4 events today: 200m, 800m, Long Jump and 3000m

200m

I finished 4th out of the 6 runners in my heat in a time of 28.2 seconds which I was delighted with. However I was told afterwards that there was a bit of a tailwind but the wind wasnt being measured today so I have no idea how strong it was. One official said that he didnt think it would be much over 2.5 so screw it I'm going to count this time as a PB anyway. I didnt feel extremely smooth probably because of my legs being stiff but I finished strong and pipped one guy from Richmond Harriers to 4th place, edging him out by 0.4 seconds. I was delighted until I realised he was 9 years younger than me :rolleyes: ah well. The winner of my heat ran it in 24.0 seconds. I would have prefered to run in a slower heat but I was in a rush to get to the start line for the 800m (which was being run in lanes 1 and 2, with the 200m in lanes 3-8) so I ran in a heat that was too fast for me and so winning the race was never an option.

800m

As it turned out I had about 30 minutes rest before I ran my 800m race. I ran in the 2 minutes 40 standard heat. I didnt feel too great early on and after 300m I was last of the 11 runners. I overtook one coming up to the bell and completed the first lap in 1:22. I finished quite strong and overtook another 2 runners to finish 8th and run a time of 2:44, even splits! Despite that I was a little disappointed as I have run 2:42 as a time trial back in Dublin, in road running shoes, and yet in a proper race here with spikes I couldnt go faster. I guess a combination of the hot weather, the stiff muscles and the fact I had run 200m probably took a little bit away from me. But still not a terrible run by any means.

Long Jump

I had a good bit of time to rest before the Long Jump and did some practicing and warm up on the other pit which was not being used. In the actual competition my first jump was 3.87m. Below what I expected for sure. Second jump I improved to 4.07m, and my third and final attempt improved once more to 4.17m. I was pleased with it to be honest. I have jumped 4.50-4.60ish back home but that was after about 7-8 attempts. Its a bit different doing it in a competition where you just get 3 efforts. I didnt stick around to see where I finished in my heat but I reckon I was about half way down the 10 or 11 starters.

3000m

I dont know what I was thinking running this. My legs were in pain after the other three events so I was never going to be able to do myself justice here. I guess I wanted to get value for my dollar and get another event in. There were just 2 heats of the 3000m. I went in the slower heat which was basically a mass start type of thing with about 50 runners in it. Must be painful trying to keep track of how many laps each people have left. I settled comfortably about half way down the field. Cardio wise I didnt push myself as much as I could, but there was a reason. My legs were starting to feel the pain at this stage after my earlier exertions and so after 1500m I made a sensible decision to drop out. My time at the half way point was 6 minutes 40 which is well of what I am capable of running. It is the first race I have ever dropped out of and I was a little disappointed with myself for doing it but there was nothing much to be gained from plodding along to a time of 13:20-13:30 when I can run it close to 12 minutes dead. Besides I wasnt competing for any club so I couldnt score points for any team anyway.

So thats my first track meet down here. Really enjoyable afternoon. It is so great to see so many people of all different ages and all different abilities take part together. Many people take part in as many events as possible just for fun. Some even competed in 7, 8 or 9 events today which is insane. Athletics Victoria and the clubs down here have really fostered a great culture of grassroots athletics. After seeing such a great event today it makes me very sad that in Ireland we dont have this. Back home if you are running 400m in 66 seconds there is no future for you. Here you simply run against others of your own level and you get to enjoy the buzz of running in a proper race and score points for your club in the championship standings. Maybe if we created such a thing back home that got moer of the average joes running 400m, 800m etc rather than just road running events then maybe our country would have much more interest in the sport of Athletics. Just a thought.

The only disappointment today was the lack of electronic timing. Supposedly the track at Ringwood is one of the few that doesnt have it set up.

Next weekend hopefully I will get to compete again. 100m and 400m being the priorities but sure I may aswell give a few of the field events a go for the craic. Haven't thrown a Javelin since my one and only attempt 13 years ago! No better time to have another go!

I will update the thread when the official results are posted on the website and do a little analysis of where I ranked overall in each event.

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Great stuff. Those meets sound brilliant. Would be brilliant if we had something similar here. Best of luck next week but don't take your eyes off the main prize. You have to run a sub 5 min mile soon to sicken some of your pre Christmas doubters

Yup, thats still on my mind but for now I just want to enjoy some of these track events.

A day to forget. I'll try put it into words as best I can.

Last tuesday in training I had a very tough session. The coach ran me hard and had me do 5 150m sprints flat out with 4 minutes rest between each one. I probably should have stopped after 3 as I have never done anything like this before and it takes time to get used to it. After I finished on tuesday the front part of my upper left thigh was extremely sore. It felt tight, heavy and well...sore. When I pressed against my thigh it was very sore. I assumed though that it was just the usual stiff muscles after a tough training session and that after a few days rest I'd be right as rain.

Well after a couple of days the soreness had completely gone. When I pressed against my thigh I felt no discomfort whatsoever. So as far as I was concerned that particular problem had dissappeared.

What was more concerning to me the last 2 days was my feet. The top of my feet were very sore the last few days, mainly in the middle part of the tops of my feet (I have no idea of the medical terms of most parts of the body). It is probably due to my change in running style since I have started training with Richmond Harriers. Beforehand I would just run naturally but since training with the club the coach is on to me to get up on my toes more. This is obviously something that I have to do to sprint faster but it is taking some getting used to and I guess the muscles in my feet are feeling it as a result. Maybe its caused from something else but that is my best guess.

However I felt that it was something I could run through and which wouldnt hold me back too much. Today at the AV Shield meet in Doncaster I went for a short jog and felt fine. Feet a bit sore but I could shut that out I was thinking. However as soon as I did my first warm up sprinting strides my damn thigh acted up again. Out of nowhere it felt as painful as it had the previous tuesday. WTF! After that I knew it was a hopeless cause. I kept doing strides hoping that I could run it off but to no avail. It just felt so uncomfortable, tight and heavy. I couldnt believe it as I was certain it was just DOMS and the soreness had dissappeared.

I really shouldnt have run the 100m but I guess I wanted to give it a go so I would have no regrets. I'm not sure what the time was, I will have to wait for the results on the net, but I felt AWFUL. All technique went out the window. My start was awful, I didnt pump my arms enough. I didnt get up on my toes at all really. I felt like a drunk penguin. As soon as I started my thigh felt sore and that overtook my mind. I wouldnt be surprised if my time was 15 or 16 seconds. It really felt so slow. However I wasnt last, but I felt miles behind guys who apparantly have run as fast as me (13 seconds) so that doesnt bode well for what my time was.

After that there was no way I could attempt the 400m a couple of hours later and I pulled out of that which was terribly dissappointing. That was the event I was looking forward to the most. I had run 66.2 in a time trial in Belfield in September and really believed that in a proper race I could have run 64/65 seconds today. The conditions were PERFECT, barely a breeze at all. Absolutely gutted.

Earlier in the day before the 100m I did the Javelin just to pass time before my 100m. This was before my thigh acted up. The Javelin was good fun although I was fairly hopeless at it and threw a pitiful 13.21m.

After I made the decision to pull out of the 400m I decided to throw the discuss so I could get some value for my entry fee. I didnt enjoy it as much as the Javelin but that was mainly because I was pissed off after the 100m. I was dreadful again and threw just under 15m. I dont have a lot of upper body strength though to be honest and no technique (first time I threw a Javelin in 13 years and first time I threw a discuss ever).

The coach has said to me to not run for a week or so. Thats what I plan to do anyway. Not do any sort of running for a week or 10 days. The next AV Shield meet isnt for 2 weeks anyway, and the next meet to have a 100m and 400m isnt for 3 weeks I think so hopefully a bit of rest will do me good and that its not something worse.

For now I dont even want to think about running. Going to go to the Australian Open tennis a few days next week at Melbourne Park which will take my mind off today.

I'm in a bit of heap right now. Not just the left thigh but both feet hurting as much as any time in the last few days.

Ok so today was a great day in my running career (I use that word in the loosest sense of the word of course!!).

A quick summary of the races I had done up to today. After Christmas there was 4 AV Shield meets left in the summer track season. At the first of those I ran a PB for 200m with a time of 28.2 seconds, jumped 4.17m for long jump and ran 2.44 for 800m. The next weekend at the 2nd of the meets I was badly injured and ran an appalling time over 100m of 15.5 seconds and had to sacrifice the 400m then. I was gutted. I sat out the 3rd meet to be ready for the 4th but unforeseen circumstances (flood damage) got in the way of me being motivated to attend that meet.

After the AV Shield was finished there was 3 extra meets put on for some extra competition between some of the clubs. No points at stake, just a more laid back event. I missed the first of these as I had already planned a trip through the great ocean road that weekend so today was to be my first track meet in what felt like an age.

As per my previous post I picked up an injury on tuesday night. I spent the rest of the week recovering and on friday lunchtime I tested it out by doing a few strides. I passed the test and felt fine so I decided I'd give this meet a go.

However some friends who I had not seen in 2 years were in town so I decided to go out for a few alcoholic beverages. Double whiskey, a few beers, and an irish car bomb. Not good preparation but I made sure to drink plenty of water during the evening and get plenty of sleep to minimise the damage.

Woke up this morning, a little hungover but not too bad at all. Downed about 2-3 litres of water over the course of a few hours and I was completely fine. A bigger worry was the fact that my legs were stiff and shins were hurting a bit. I may have pushed myself yesterday a bit more than I should have.

Today there was 200m and 400m races on. I faced a dilemma: whether to do them both or to focus solely on the 400m. I had already registered a good PB this summer in the 200m and as the 400m was after the 200m I felt that if I wanted to focus on the 4 I had to sacrifice the 2.

Getting to the start line I did not know what to expect. My previous best was 66.2 seconds so I raced in the 65-70 second heat. As it turned out I was running against 5 women, but they were all quick and would provide a very good challenge.

As it turns out the race went perfectly. I paced myself well. Went off hard, settled after 50 metres. I was in lane 3 and my clubmate in lane 2 ate up the stagger really quickly. I knew from training that I was much faster than her so being innexperienced at racing the distance I wasnt sure whether she had gone off too fast or I had started too slow. Anyway I just shut it out and ran my own race and by the 200m mark I had passed her again as she died a slow death. Coming into the homestraight there was 2 ahead of me, but I felt great and with 60-70 metres to go I knew the race was mine, and went passed them with about 30-40 metres left and won comfortable by about 0.8 of a second. I was thrilled with the victory. Yes they were women but they were of my level so winning felt good. Then I was told the time. I couldnt believe it. 63.9 seconds, an enormous PB. I was in shock!! Did not think I was in the shape to run that quickly. The slowest of the 6 of us ran 68 seconds so it was a good competitive race.

One of my coaches said I ran the race perfectly, paced myself just right. The other coach said that he thinks I should have an extra beer or two next weekend before the final track meet as it appears to have done me good

To be honest today was probably the best I have ever ran a race, of any distance. It went perfectly and on the day I couldt have done any better. A great feeling!

So next weekend is the final track meet of the season. The events that concern me next weekend are the 100m and the 800m. Provided the 100m is first then i'll do both events but if the 800m is first then I will skip it as the 100m is priority. After my disaster a month or so back when I was injured I have unfinished business over the event. If I get a slight breeze behind me and am fit I know I am capable of going sub 13 seconds.

Since my 400m race last weekend I did absolutely no training at all. I wasn't in the best of moods earlier in the week and consequently didnt feel like making the trek to the track for training after work. I said to myself "sure I'll go thursday instead". However I had completely forgotten that thursday was Paddys Day so needless to say training was given a skip then aswell!

So maybe not the best prepared but I headed out to the track at Box Hill yesterday for the final track meet of the summer track season. I had originally planned to not run the 800m and save myself for the 100m. However I had a change of heart and reckoned there was more PB potential in the 800m.

800m

Going into the race my PB was a 2:42 I ran as a time trial in Belfield wearing road running shoes. Amazingly in January despite being in an actual race, wearing spikes, I could not better this and ran a dissappointing 2:44. I entered the 5th of 6 heats and felt great from the start. There was 8 in the race and after 200m I was 6th but coming up to half way I went past 2 people and moved up to 4th. I went through the 400m mark in 75 seconds and knew I was on for a good one. I chased down the lad in 3rd place and darted past him on the final bend (I felt like Sonia for a brief moment ) . I really pushed on in the last 80 and finished so strong. Sadly one other guy was finishing like a formula one racing car and came flying past me out of nowhere. I finished in 4th lace in a time of 2:34.9, a PB by 7 seconds. I was delighted. However I feel there was maybe another 1-1.5 seconds in the legs had I kicked earlier. I knew I was onto a fast one and was a little paranoid that I was gonna tweek something in my calves and so on some level didnt want to risk the PB. Was absolutely delighted with this run all in all.

100m

Not much time to catch my breath. The 100m was up straight away and only 20 minutes after I finsihed the 800 I was in the starting blocks. There was 5 in my heat and I came last with a time of 13.8. I just didnt run as well as I could. Got out slow from the blocks, didnt feel smooth and was always chasing down the guys in front of me. It wasn't terrible but I was expecting to run low 13's. Of course the fact that the guy to my left ran 12.4 to win the race (the same guy who pipped me in line over 800m) made me feel like I was going slower than perhaps I was. There was a slight headwind aswell so that made me feel a bit better.

Triple Jump

I was dissappointed there was no Long Jump on the program so I entered the Triple Jump despite the fact I have never done a single triple jump in my life. As it turns out I hopped, stepped and jumped 8.93 metres which I was pretty pleased with considering I had never done it before.

Shot Putt

After everything else was done I decided to enter this event for the craic. I have no upper body strength but decided to see how I'd get on. 5.67m was my best. Awful, but it was a bit of a laugh anyway!

So the track season is over which I'm pretty gutted about. I find it so much more enjoyable than the mass participation road races which dominate the sport at the recreational level and indeed on these boards. But there is no more track meets until October so I guess it is time to focus on the Road Racing and Cross Country season. I will join Richmond Harriers as a full member and will compete in the numerous Athletics Victoria winter season events that will be taking place.

I'll come back later with some final statistics from the track season.

So with the track season over now I thought I'd update my PB's and to compare my PB's across various events I will divide my time by the world record. The lower the number, the better my time. I wont do it for 100m though as everybody has natural speed over such a short distance and so wouldnt be great for comparing to other events where you would be found out more if you haven't trained (and also because I don't know what my exact PB is)

100m - 13.1ish seconds (in belfield). Sadly I didnt run faster in a real race so its hard to know exactly what my PB is.

200m - 28.2 secs - Melbourne, 2011 (1.470 times the world record)
400m - 63.9 secs -Melbourne, 2011 (1.480 times the world record)
800m - 2:34.9 - Melbourne, 2011 (1.536 times the world record)
1500m - 5:16.00 - Santry, 2003 (1.534 times the world record)
Mile - 5:48.00 - Belfield, 2010 (1.560 times the world record)
5K - 21:02 - Rathfarnham, 2009 (1.666 times the world record)
10K - 45:32 - Crookstown, County Kildare, 2009 (1.732 times the world record)
Half Marathon - 1:49:06 - Wexford, 2009 (1.869 times the world record)
Marathon - 4:07:35 - Rotterdam (1.997 times the world record)

Long Jump - 4.50m (ish) - Belfield, 2010 (0.527 times the world record)
Triple Jump - 8.93m - Melbourne, 2011 (0.488 times the world record)

I haven't bothered listing my PB's for the throws as they are simply dreadful

So if you compare my PB's for all running bases events from 200m, down to the marathon, my best events are as follows:

1) 200m - 1.470
2) 400m - 1.480
3) 1500m - 1.534
4) 800m - 1.536
5) Mile - 1.560
6) 5K - 1.666
7) 10K - 1.732
8) HM - 1.869
9) Marathon - 1.997

Althugh my 200m is marginally ahead, I am happier with my 400m times as there may have been a tailwind in my 200m.

This method of comparing performances over different distances isnt perfect but its as valid a method as any. It is clear from this that I may be suited more to shorter events. With the exception of my 1500m being marginally better than my 800m, my performances get weaker as the distance increases. It would be interesting to see somebody who is more slow twitch do an experiment like this to see what his/her results would be. If anyone has done such a thing please do post it.

My marathon training got a bit of stick off some people, but maybe part of the problem also is that comparatively I may not be that great over such long distances.

In any case the Road Racing and Cross Country (+Relays) season is coming up soon and I'm looking forward to it.

Took yesterday off and hit the road again this evening. Legs were feeling quite stiff from Saturday's run so I decided to run easy to begin with.

Went off very easily and ran the first 3.3km loop in 16:27 (49:50 pace for 10k). Running well within myself. Then for the second 3.3km loop I tested myself and upped the pace, and ran it in 14:55 (45:12 pace for 10k). I was probably running at 90%.

So overall, 6.6km in 31:22 (47:31 pace for 10km).

It remains to be seen how realistic sub 45 is.

After a day off yesterday I opted for time on my feet this evening rather than a lung bursting session. So I decided to run 10km, at a comfortable pace.

The first 3.3km loop was run in 16:13, the next in 16:04 and then I did a bit of striding as suggested by Brian at the end of my final 3.3km loop and did that in 15:31. I then ran another 24 seconds to round out the full 10km.

So 48:12 for 10km, but I wasn't pushing it one bit, except for the last 700 metres. My legs were feeling stiff and heavy for much of the run, but I ran very much within my comfort zone and was not breathing heavily at all really.

The fact I am running 48:12 for 10km with very little effort shows that I am in reasonably good shape. But there is a big difference between 48 minutes and sub 45 as everybody knows well.

That was actually the longest I have run since the Rotterdam Marathon 13 months ago. Madness eh?!

Went out today and put in a big effort to run quickly. Splits were as follows:

First 3.3km : 14:28 (43:50 pace for 10km)
Second 3.3km : 14:45 (44:35 pace for 10km)
Final 0.85km : 3:31 (41:42 pace for 10km)

So 7:45km in 32:42 (43:53 pace for 10km)

I was pretty wrecked by the end of it, but that run has brought be a lot of confidence that I can run sub 45 next sunday. After getting around at a sub 44 pace for three quarters of the distance, a sub 45 pace will feel a lot more comfortable.

I need to get a loan of a Garmin for next weekend though to help with my pacing.