So here I am with chapter two.
With the rugby world cup having left Dunedin, and Sunday nights finally reverting back to times of mere greasy food and blue powerades (for those non – athletes of course), things are getting back to normal down here.
However, to say the cup left with a bang would have to be the understatement of the year. Only an All Black comeback to win Sundays final would get a comparable amount of cheering to that received by the Irish from the 30,000 observers (over half of which – inebriated students) down here in our new stadium. I have never experienced anything like it. It was electric. There can’t have been any more than 500 Italian supporters in the entire stadium – which was sea of green and ensued with a night that was still rampant at 3pm the next day. It would seem the scarfie attitude down here mixed well with the Irish, and vice versa.
Anyway, on to the more important stuff. Dunedin kicked off its 2011/2012 track and field calendar down at the Cale last Saturday. Most using the opportunity to get out there and change up the training. A lot of the sprinters opting for all three shorter distances, and a lot of the distance runners mixing it up with a 400 or 100 as well as their chosen event. For me personally, I think I will kick off this longer stint by running the first 600m of the 800 this weekend, just as an addition to a hurdles session that I will complete in the morning. It will be my first time over hurdles since Europe, primarily looking for rhythm and some consistency, with possibly some 13 striding if there is a favorable tail wind. Am unsure how this 600 will go – could be sub 1:20, could be sub 1:30. Will all depend on what exactly Wardy has in store for me with the hurdles in the morning.
I am frequently being asked: “Is it not boring just training and still being four months away from proper racing?”. But, to be honest, I am really enjoying it. No pressure, no expectation from myself, a chance to really get on top of the studies and, best of all – the opportunity to mix it up a bit and try something new.
An example of this; I did a session with Becky Greene a few weeks ago. 4x500m with 200m walk, 300m jog as the recovery, on the measured out woodchip trail we have down by the track. All four reps between 1:21 and 1:25. What I liked about this is it is that it is a foundation that brings out the best in both of us. I pushed Becky along a bit quicker than she would usually have done a similar session.. but on the other hand, she was recovering 10x faster than me and in turn, keeping the recoveries more than honest. We are getting towards making sessions like that one, and with 600’s as well, into a regular thing, which will no doubt help us both out heaps.
Surprisingly (now that the snow has melted), I’m not finding it hard to keep motivated. For the first time ever, I had a decent break before resuming training. I have always hated being made to have breaks. And never managed more than a week or two. However I took the best part of two months off after Europe and it is probably the best thing I have done for my body in a long, long time. Now that training is back in full swing, I am feeling so much more capable and confident, hammering out hard session after hard session on the track, and in the gym, all whilst having no wee niggles setting me back and causing me to miss sessions. Such a good feeling!
That’s it for this one, I will write again sometime around late December, hopefully after having completed an 800 or two, and maybe even a couple of 400’s. Until then, I hope everyone has enjoyed reading, and I look forward to having a bit more to write about next time.
Peace
With the rugby world cup having left Dunedin, and Sunday nights finally reverting back to times of mere greasy food and blue powerades (for those non – athletes of course), things are getting back to normal down here.
However, to say the cup left with a bang would have to be the understatement of the year. Only an All Black comeback to win Sundays final would get a comparable amount of cheering to that received by the Irish from the 30,000 observers (over half of which – inebriated students) down here in our new stadium. I have never experienced anything like it. It was electric. There can’t have been any more than 500 Italian supporters in the entire stadium – which was sea of green and ensued with a night that was still rampant at 3pm the next day. It would seem the scarfie attitude down here mixed well with the Irish, and vice versa.
Anyway, on to the more important stuff. Dunedin kicked off its 2011/2012 track and field calendar down at the Cale last Saturday. Most using the opportunity to get out there and change up the training. A lot of the sprinters opting for all three shorter distances, and a lot of the distance runners mixing it up with a 400 or 100 as well as their chosen event. For me personally, I think I will kick off this longer stint by running the first 600m of the 800 this weekend, just as an addition to a hurdles session that I will complete in the morning. It will be my first time over hurdles since Europe, primarily looking for rhythm and some consistency, with possibly some 13 striding if there is a favorable tail wind. Am unsure how this 600 will go – could be sub 1:20, could be sub 1:30. Will all depend on what exactly Wardy has in store for me with the hurdles in the morning.
I am frequently being asked: “Is it not boring just training and still being four months away from proper racing?”. But, to be honest, I am really enjoying it. No pressure, no expectation from myself, a chance to really get on top of the studies and, best of all – the opportunity to mix it up a bit and try something new.
An example of this; I did a session with Becky Greene a few weeks ago. 4x500m with 200m walk, 300m jog as the recovery, on the measured out woodchip trail we have down by the track. All four reps between 1:21 and 1:25. What I liked about this is it is that it is a foundation that brings out the best in both of us. I pushed Becky along a bit quicker than she would usually have done a similar session.. but on the other hand, she was recovering 10x faster than me and in turn, keeping the recoveries more than honest. We are getting towards making sessions like that one, and with 600’s as well, into a regular thing, which will no doubt help us both out heaps.
Surprisingly (now that the snow has melted), I’m not finding it hard to keep motivated. For the first time ever, I had a decent break before resuming training. I have always hated being made to have breaks. And never managed more than a week or two. However I took the best part of two months off after Europe and it is probably the best thing I have done for my body in a long, long time. Now that training is back in full swing, I am feeling so much more capable and confident, hammering out hard session after hard session on the track, and in the gym, all whilst having no wee niggles setting me back and causing me to miss sessions. Such a good feeling!
That’s it for this one, I will write again sometime around late December, hopefully after having completed an 800 or two, and maybe even a couple of 400’s. Until then, I hope everyone has enjoyed reading, and I look forward to having a bit more to write about next time.
Peace
