Totally changing sprint training protocol

d--

Yes, the guy who runs the Metrodome program is my friend and neighbor. There are too many hobbyjoggers there to permit any real running. Plus, it is concrete, which sucks--last time I tried that kind of thing I got wicked shin splints.

I do train at the U when I can, and have had a great relationship with them over many years. It is really the only place for me because of its proximity--but my job leaves me with an effed-up schedule, I work for myself. I went religiously in the winter for a while, while my wife was coaching at the nearby pool.

Update: tore my rotator cuff doing too-aggressive, too-deep dips with lots of weight. Crap. Legs and everything feel great. Probably no jav this year.

Will be around 90 today, will get to the track even if it kills me. I will further eff my rotator cuff, but you only live once. Spending time at the computer doesn't help it, it is the mouse hand. Accelerations the other day felt terrific, but no doubt aggravated the shoulder.

Box jumps are getting terrific, the spring is really back, and I can feel it on accelerations. The pop is there! Been a long time. Like every year, when I start feeling great, I injure myself--this year, the shoulder. C'est la vie.

Had to do machines in the weight room instead of free weights for upper body, to save my torn rotator cuff. Managed a good weight workout yesterday anyway, but not great.

On hot day, went to track at the hottest time--98 degrees. PERFECT.

Wound it up in 110's for the first time since last July, felt good. Turnover was there, as expected, but at the usual cost of probably shortened stride. Shoulder managed to survive, I think the arm action was actually beneficial for it.

Before winding it up I did a medium tempo set for form during transition, from a mild acceleration. Transition will be the next phase of training, learning to switch gears early and smoothly, and not "waiting for the speed to happen" before realizing it's not there, and having to turn it on.

Weather has been crap, cold and rainy.

Weights have been only OK, rotator cuff is holding me back, even a bit for back squats.

20m accelerations indoors feel pretty darn good, but outdoors they suck, they are all over the place. No control, wandering around in my lane. The cold has something to do with it, but also I think the lack of visual cues makes it seem slower, although I have been trying to concentrate visually on the track surface, it doesn't have details that let you know how well you are progressing. I feel unfocused and adrift.

I've been losing weight since hitting the track, even though I'm not doing long stuff. Now I'm crushing tons of food, especially tons of carbs to make sure I have energy in my muscles. I'm the exact opposite of those sprinters like Dix who have a hard time keeping weight off. It's good in a way, but I feel like since the shoulder injury I've lost some absolute power.

Bench jumps are spectacular, indoor starts feel really good, 110's feel like I can hit a good form. Haven't had an occasion to try to put the components together yet, and still need to work on transition.

SG, do resistance bands for the shoulder on different angles and multiple axises. Its what Dwight Howard does to build up his shoulders.

Go slow and easy and then once you've perfected a certain resistance and built up the strength go faster with quick controlled movements and low reps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rymbrPq-XxA

fan--

Shoulder rehab has been going OK. I can work it, and it gets much better when warmed up. I re-injure it every night when sleeping, so it's still bothering me a bit.

So no javelin, too bad, I was looking forward to it.

Weights have been going well again, and box jumps are spectacular--the best ever in my training history. I don't know why or how. The guys at the gym were laughing at me, it was so ridiculous. Hopefully it will translate to some sprinting benefit.

It wasn't raining today, what a miracle, so I went to the track. Did 110's and 200's, didn't want to push anything after a big weight workout yesterday. Felt GREAT, no tweaks, no injuries, no insane fatigue. Wife is out of town for 5 days, have been eating like a bachelor and working out well. I have the bed to myself now so I can stretch out and let the shoulder relax.

Still slow, but feeling good, better and more focused than before. I think I was just tired from work. Big deal going on right now, demanding lots of attention. This board is my only distraction, and it helps.

Rain forecast for all of tomorrow, looks like a washout.

Went yesterday in between rain storms. Air was thick, I was jacked. I pulled something behind my left knee, doing B's.

I was working on release. My right leg has been releasing slower than my left, which has been unbelievably quick to release. My relaxation got the better of me, and I shot my foot down so fast and released so completely, without feeling for the track, that something tore behind my left knee, joint capsule is now sore.

I have had this before, 25-30 years ago, from playing soccer IIRC. Nothing catastrophic, I just can't snap the leg like I would like otherwise it kills. lol, it's always something, and it always comes from going too hard too soon.

Did 100's and 150's for the workout, working on stretching it out. My turnover's amazing, but like all geezers, it won't get me anywhere without any stride length to go with it. Stretching out my strides, rotating a bit more at the shoulders and in the torso, was fun, and was easy on the knee. I was doing a CL simulation. Man, was it ever easier over 150m than pumping, and probably just as fast.

Can still feel knee today, I'm hoping it's sufficiently well by tomorrow that I can get to the track. Pouring rain all day today, tomorrow is supposed to be only thunderstorms so there is a chance.

It's so wet here and the track sucks so badly that there are depressions that fill with water. While getting ready for a 150, a duck landed in one right in front of me. It then proceeded to walk over to the ivy wall and join its mate, which was just hanging'.

Talk about motivating. By the end of this summer I'll be as fast as a newt.

As a geezer, this is how things go: you formulate a plan that you think will work, then life takes over and your plan goes to hell.

As is evident from my posts, I have been dabbling in the longer stuff.

Worked out yesterday, did 60m accelerations, then 150's! WTF with the 150's.

All I was trying to do was to not have my L knee tear issue act up, and in that I succeeded totally--it never held me back, and today it feels perfect.

BUT the tradeoff was that now I tore something muscular in my left butt, I think the very top of the hamstring, the glutes seem OK. It was from getting the reach and the good knee lift on the 150's, which felt very strong especially in the middle 100m. I think I stretched it out a bit TOO much, especially in the turn.

Might have to take off leg stuff until, hopefully, Sunday. Best-case scenario, it will be better by tomorrow, and ready to go Sunday. Unfortunately, I can even feel it now, just sitting. Not good.

I've had this before, like everything else. I'm pretty sure it's muscular, and it will therefore go away without any special treatment. Life as a sprinter--but MAN, did those 150's feel good.

So what races are you training for exactly? Just some summer track stuff?

As a geezer myself I find that I always have to take plans with a grain of salt. If only my brain didn't think it was 17 still! Glad the 150s rocked.

Yes, just some summer track stuff. Got "All-American" in " indoor track stuff", should easily do the same outdoors.

Just a recreation, you know, but fun to do something at which you're OK.

Well, it turns out that this might be my last season sprinting!

I limped to a local meet last night, and went 25-mid in the 200 and 12-mid in the 100, trying to protect my hamstring tear--which, I must say, I did quite well.

I got a good 50m in the 100, but then tried to hit top speed and the ham didn't cooperate. I fell apart at 70m and just scrambled into the finish.

I slacked the first 100 in the 200 to save the ham around the curve, but just couldn't extend in the second 100m the way I need to in a 200, because the ham was catching.

Those times are laughable. I was hoping for a slacked 25.0/12.0 for an injured rust-buster, but I'm behind where I should be. The absence of training this year due to weather means that I have forced it too quickly, gotten injured, and am now not racing to go fast, but just to preserve myself--which is no way to race, at least not for me. Laughable!

I will see how it goes over the next 2 weeks, but if things don't get better and I have to keep dogging it, I might write off the season and change everything, beginning this year a system of gradual progression to next season.

The synopsis is that trying to make use of an abbreviated season by doing an intense short-to-long regimen hasn't worked, at all, it has only left me injured and pathetically conservative in my form. I think I need the longer stuff to loosen up my hams that get screwed up from sitting in front of a computer too much. After a day of that, doing a hard, short workout is a recipe for disaster.

Took .25 off my 100 time last night to go to within sight of 12.0, going about 90%. Ham survived, but is sore today, because I did something stupid--instead of sticking around for the last event, the 200, I did the LJ to try to bail early. Even though I took it easy and just ran through the jumps, the quasi-takeoffs I did aggravated the ham.

Now the ham issue extends to the knee and even the foot, lol. Nice move. Would have gotten home not much later had I done the 200 instead.

Going to try another one of those 200 workouts today and see how it goes. At this point, I'm just trying to make up for lost training earlier this year due to the weather situation here. Going camping for 3 days, so will miss workouts completely, but on the bright side, should lose a lot of blood to mosquitos.

Corresponding with you guys on this board, I'm actually going to try to put together a structured program aimed at the 100, 200, and 400 for next summer, and start on that program in September this year. Base, slow and steady progression, all that good stuff, and see how it goes.

Last 200's workout, I lasted 80% of the workout, then the ham grabbed around the turn. Ouch! Limped on the leg for 3 days since, went camping, swimming killed it, driving sucked.

Went to the track today, stretched it out, and did drills, concentrating on dorsiflexing the foot, and keeping the knees tight and pawing with the lower leg, actuated mostly at the knee rather than at the hip.

The ham survived the warmup OK, so I did a Kim Collins-style 100 workout, 4x100, 3x100, 2x100, 1x100, running like him--not digging, just cycling, pawing, not extending like Gatlin or Greene, landing my feet right underneath me--and survived! I even did a bunch of Collins-esque starts and accelerations--I figured that if I'm not able to put out so much power these days, then I should switch to a form that works well for those with less power, like Collins.

The ham survived! It is really only striding out--actually, probably slightly overstriding--when it grabs. It actually feels OK now.

I even did some Carter-esque starts, to see how they felt, and survived those, too.

I observe that it is easier to get transition using a Collins-esque start than it is a Carter-esque start, likely because in the Collins-esque the turnover is already there and the amount of force being applied and more importantly how it is applied to the ground remain more consistent from early acceleration to top speed than in probably any other start mechanic, including the Carter-esque.

I don't know what I will try my next race. I plan on going a bit harder, maybe 95%, but not all-out yet. lol, now it's all about maintenance, and picking a form not because it is the fastest, but because it doesn't hurt, or hurts the least. Anyway, it still felt fast, even though I was probably only going an honest 11.8-12.0, but I was going into the wind. I wanted to feel good, so I did the last 2 with the wind, and practiced my turnover more than anything.

Somebody video'd my last race, and what I noticed was that my turnover looked absolutely crap--I think it came from lazy arms. Today I made it a point of moving all limbs quicker, hopefully bringing the feet down quicker, while trying to maintain a stepping-over action. I think it worked, it felt very smooth. Maybe not fast, but smooth.

I live to fight again another day.

Got what I wanted, a time that when adjusted for wind (massive headwind) is below 12 basic, around 11.7x-mid, or 11.8 Let's say 11.9 to be conservative.

Stayed around for a 200, made the mistake of taking an inside lane, paying for it now with a sore achilles.

Hopefully I can continue training. Wife wants to go away again this weekend for 3 days, which would kill any track work. Ah, the life of a masters guy...

Lived to fight again another day, but now ham/butt, achilles, and knees are starting to feel the push to actually getting "fast" after an abbreviated "base" period.

Every time I run into a big headwind, I come up too early. On the vid, I can see it, as well as my inferior turnover--other than that, form looked good.

200 was good but I dogged it because I was totally dehydrated and warmed-down. It was late, around 9pm, which sucks for me.

Looking forward to the next meet. Hats off to the officials who man these things, they do a darn good job where I am, considering that it is a labor of love.

And I have to say about the people I run with/against, they are the nicest bunch of people I have ever known. Ever. Whether they're old or young, black or white, male or female, fast or slow, they're great--the sprinters, anyway.

Was able to shift camping to another weekend, it will be perfect for training, mid-90's.

Was feeling weak, so did some weights, doing extreme ROM like ass-to-grass squats, etc. It seems to have helped, I feel like I have some focus back.

Next week's forecast is good and hot again, but again figures to have a huge headwind on race day. This time I'm taking at least a gallon of water.

Accelerations today, working on turnover and drive, staying low between 10-40m, and really picking it up from 40-70. Hope the body holds together.

Damn, I love this heat. If I had this all year, I'd be a 11-low/mid guy--either that, or irreparably injured from over-training! lol, probably just another masters moron.

I've had a similar thing, with noticing that your ham/glutes start to ache from sitting down too long. Ah man, I wish I could still run 11.9/24.0/57.5. I must feel older than you at running, yet I'm still only 23! My peak was at 15-16! Yet Collins is the total opposite. His peak has been going at least the last ten years and before! Are you older than Collins? I wonder if someone like Collins could take down Masters WRs, he equalled the 35-40 WR right?

The concept of a slow 25.0 is interesting to me, as in my experience I did a 24.0 in a proper race (at the oval, scene of chariots of fire filming), and stuff like mid 25s in races where I was the front runner or one of the top runners, usually on grass. Running with faster runners, warm weather, an actual crowd (all new experiences), made me go so much faster just to try and keep up, perhaps more stimulation than my CNS had ever had. I think I was passed by about half way round the bend, as I didn't have any blocks to start from/never a good starter haha. A bit like Weir being passed by Bolt by 50m! Yet holding form down the straight when up to speed/able to try and catch up/now there's a race on! I always ran flat out, never really eased up as we see the leaders do on TV in rounds, but I only ever ran 2 rounds in a single day meet at most so never really had to. A bit like Dasaolu going all out in the semi, haha.

I never worked out much, been to a gym less times than my age, but I have recollections of being introduced to plyometrics and after some PE sessions in the year I went from starting 200m and doing 25.5s to 24.0. So plyometrics is number 1 in my mind for speed, I saw a thread on here? where it showed to increase speed in middle distance runners from better efficiency, I guess it strengthens the tendons? Which give the reactive spring in sprinting. I guess, remaining strong to deal with that is the other end of the coil and I agree short training, trying to go 0-100 in too fast a time too early was never good for myself either, in my limited training attempts :) Perhaps if I started getting stronger I could have gone faster, man I would have loved to have raced someone like Harry AA, for that comedy shot you describe in the other thread with Collins (2012 indoors).