pinoyathletics.com

Pirie Enzo

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New Kid at the Track

(Sep 21) I ended up doing more than what i was supposed to at the track tonight in Sydney as i got confused with last weeks program. I did everything with a rolling start as the explosive block starts on back to back days wreeked havoc on my form and caused several injuries from calves to groin issues.

Anyway before i start talking about my session i want to mention firstly the situation as my coach has gone overseas. Four senior athletes including myself are administering/coordinating the groups with him posting us training programs.

This situation was made even worse by the fact that the Track Oval we train at in Sydney City was closed for rennovations from September until March next year. Its good in a sense that the track was long due for a makeover with the oldest surface being almost concrete like, but bad in a way that it has split the group up. Most of the core group is training in the city, but occassionally some of them join me at Olympic Park. Well one positive to come from the split as that more athletes are joining due to the number of different times and places which they find more convieneant. I have lost count of the total number of squad members we have now and it seems to be growing daily.

Yesterday there was a kid (20 year old) at the track who ran 16.3, 16.3, 16.8 and 28.7 off 20 mins rest between for 150 and 250. While he has never competed, i will say he was training with a very good coach for a year so is not a complete novice. He mentioned he was looking for a new group to train with (his current coach had too many athletes so he got cut), so I invited him to train with me on Tuesday. The thing i liked about him was he was very enthusiastic probably just so or dare i say it maybe even more than me, he asked alot of questions and seemed very excited about his new training group. Even offering to buy me chicken nibbles at McDonalds which i politely declined as i mentioned he would realize by the time he is 30.

Anyway onto my session. I did 4×40, 2×60 both 6.8, 2×80 8.9 and 9.0, 2×100 11.0 and 10.9 and then 2 easy 120s. I was going to goto the gym but then another training partner turned up and did a time trial with some of his school mates so i decided to stay and time and watch his runs and postpone my gym session.

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Tuesday Update

(Sept 18) It has been a while since I have updated this and I intend to do a back log at some stage when I have time to compile/scan my training notes. The main stadium we use ES Marks is now closed so are training group has split into smaller groups until a new permanent facility can be found. Some of them are training on grass surfaces. However I decided to train near the Olympic Park near my house. Its a large facility used for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It has two tracks a 12 lane main track and a 10 lane warm up track. The 12 lane main track was the warmup track for the Sydney Olympics, and what is now the Telstra Rugby League Stadium was the main track (the track has since then been ripped up).

Today we trained at the 10 lane warmup track, training started at 6.30. The session was 80,100,120,140 (2 sets), with a 250m at the end. We had 3 4 5 mins betwen reps and 8 mins between sets. And as my training partner needed to get home quickly we reduced the rest before the 250m from 15 to 12 mins. It started off light showers but by the end it was bucketing down with rain. Thankgod we chose an all weather track and not a grass surface that evening.

We used a rolling start i find this start is much better as it is not as explosive and helps prevent injuries.

80 8.9, 100 11.0, 120 13.4, 140 15.5 / 80 8.8, 100 11.1, 120 13.7, 140 15.8 / 250 31.0

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180M = The Beast!, 400m tonight

(Aug 23) This week is my week off weights, so ive been doing more long runs to condition myself for the 400m. At 28 going 29 these are my last competitive years in athletics. On Tuesday started a little bit off on my target session, but still had the best total score of those who turned up of my training group.

I arrived at training late, as the train took an extra 30 minutes as someone had leapt in front of the train at one of the stations. Hence I rushed through my warmup in 5-10 mins rather the usual 20-25 mins i require. So i jogged to the track from the bus stop, i already had tights on underneath, did some dynamic stretching, drills and run-through. Frantically putting spike shoes on as everyone was heading over to the start session.

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This is how it went:

.6 mins between runs & 15 min between 200m and 300m

120m 13.9 , target was 14.0, about 23.2 200m pace.

140m 15.9, target was 16.0, about 22.7 200m pace.

160m 18.7, target was 18.3, about 23.4 200m pace.

180m 21.7, target was 21.3, about 24.1 200m pace (we nicknamed this repetition ‘The BEAST’ because as it’s just after mid set if you exert too much effort in this you die in the 200m)

200m 24.7 target was 24.0, (however I was a good 15-20m in front as everyone exerted too much effort in 180m)

300m 39.0 target under 38 (shoe nearly came off as lace not done up correctly, round curve)

Total Score was 133.9 (my best for this so far is 131.3 correction).

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The last time I did this session I DNFED at this last year skipping ‘The Beast 180m’ , However 2 years ago  (2010) i ran 134.3 in week 1, 133.9 in week 2, and 131.3 in week 3.

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Two Days of rest followed by a Gruelling Session (rev 1)

Pinoyathletics has now exceeded 10,000 visits in the two months since it started. A special thank you to all are readers for helping make this possible.

After Saturdays double session Hill Sprints and Weights . I have felt somewhat tired for the last two days and not really been sticking to my diet. What looked like a blocked nose this morning was quickly blasted away with Fes Nasal Spray. At lunch time today the main street in Sydney was crowded with a parade of winning Australian Athletes

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Lunch

I did lunch healthy at a Japanese Sushi restaurant (some photos to come). Ordering softshell crab, Octopus balls, and Tonkatsu Pork, i always took away sushi from this restaurant after my training I really love this Sushi for several reasons. Firstly Its cheap at like $4 AUD for 5 rolls doesn’t get any better than that in Sydney. Secondly its really healthy, raw fish is a common diet in Japan and South American countries where they have the highest number of people living to be over 100, not that i would know what to do if I ever lived that long, life is a struggle as it is already. Thirdly the food can be eaten cold, no need to worry about it cooling down and tasting different its cold to start with. Four its packed easily so i can put it in my bag and eat it on the 45 min train ride home or while I’m waiting for the train. After this I got my accounting done for end of tax year, looking forward the tax refunds coming back my way.

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The Session

Now thinking ahead to tomorrow as I nearly fell asleep on the train. tomorrow is a gruel ling Tuesday session. I was supposed to go for a jog today but i felt too tired, so will jog and stretch tomorrow morning to loosen out the hamstrings. Tomorrow evening at 6.00 is training. The session is 120m, 140m, 160m, 180m,200m on 6 minute rests followed by a 15 minute rest and a 300m. So far my best times for this session have been 13.9, 15.9, 18, 21.3, 23.7, 37.9. With best score from 2010 being (14.0,16.4,18,21.3,23.7,37.9). My goal will be to get that down below that tomorrow, and within 3 weeks break 1:30.0 total time. Which will mean having to get the 200 and 300 time down. I think im better prepared as i have gotten used to running 6x200s in 26s (last one was 24.8s) on 3 minute rests so 6 minutes will be enough recovery time. However at that time of the evening its a bit cold so important to keep the thermal 2xu wear on.  My team-mate has actually got the record at 1:27.0 for this session with his 200m/300m at 22.5 and 35.7!.

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Related articles

• The History of Sushi (theflyingfugu.com)
• Sushi – Trend and Tradition (aboriginalpress.blogspot.com)

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Training articles

(Aug 30) My last training article was published on August 20 . As there has been a lot going on both in reporting and upgrading this site I have not had the chance to update this.

I took Friday and Monday as rest light jogs and stretches. Saturday i did hills.

Sunday

On Sunday i tapered my 200m down to five times on 5 minute rests. I ran 24.9, 25.8, 25.1, 24.5, 25.2 (average time was 25.1) I was  happy as the runs weren’t wind aided like last week as their was no wind present. Next week i will be switching to broken 400s (200m 30s 200m) repeat after 20 mins. In the afternoon I hit the weights room.  For the most part my weights have now gone from 5 sets of 20 to 5 sets of 15 to 5 sets of 12 now. The twelve rep range is still considered muscular endurance development. In Bench i started at 45kg, accidentally did 13 at 50kg I forgot I wasn’t going to 15 anymore. 55kg, 60kg and by the time I go to 65kg i could only manage 8 paused and then did another three. Did Full Squats 60kg x 12 this time i used the lifters rack so i had to go right down almost ass to ground. I followed each one of these with very rapid step ups onto a small box. Lats, Hyper extensions with 15kg plate, my friend the ab machine, dumbbell swings.

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Tuesday

I did however improve on my Tuesday session August 27 with a new score of 132.9 total. 133.8 on August 20. The session was 120,140,160,180,200 on 6 mins and then 15 mins and then 300. This time i went 14.0, 16.0, 18.8, 21.7, 24.6 and 37.8. It was funny because holding back a fraction on the first reps led to very big gains in the 300m. My coach advised me to hold back a little and then aim for around 37.5 in the 300m. Some of the training partners went way to hard on ‘The Beast’ 180m and where not able to get to the 300m. However i felt a bit fresh after the 200m.

In the 300m my training partner who had saved his energy for the last rep applied the same tactic. So this time in the 300m i went out fast and really focused on attacking the curve which has been my weak point in the 400m.  He was on the outside lane so I didn’t see him i heard him coming. But i threw in everything to hold him off and held on 37.8 to 37.9 this time.

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Wednesday

On Wednesday i did 3x350s on 5 min rests, 47,48 and 50s i was really tired halfway through the third one so forget about focusing on kicking on the curve I was trying to stay awake. In the later evening did weights. Dead lifts 12 reps on 60,80,100. then only managed two on 120kg so i had to review this for next week. Got all the way up to 44kg on my 5th set in the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press which I was happy with. Tbar row, db swings, abs. I skipped seated rows as the machine always seem to be occupied.

Thursday felt really hungry. So pretty much ate the whole day. I was late to training so had to warmup quick and do some speed work.

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Related articles

• Is the Barbell Bench press “Dead?!?!?” (northadelaidefitness.wordpress.com)
• Strength Training Log: Cycle 4, Week 2, Day 2 (andersbore.com)
• Dave Tate: 15 Quick Training Tips | EliteFTS (becomeunafraid.wordpress.com)
• Dumbbell Bench Press (tidaworkout.wordpress.com)

Saturday Hills, Gym and Babylonian Demi-Gods (rev 1)

(Aug 19) It has been a tough week for Sports Blogs Post Olympic Games. Especially Track and Field blogs in the Philippines. We had 189 views on Saturday which is are lowest count since August 1 (where we had 166 views). Pinoyathletics has now covered there Olympic back log and will now be getting up to date on local sports news. We have also looked at the situation with the PSC reaction to the results of the team of 11 sent to the Olympic Games.

I am posting my Saturday session to fill in the time between events. I get up at 7.00, but in this case i was unable to sleep so I pretty much just lay in bed from 1.00 in the morning. When i get up i need to have a breakfast which wont make me spew up or at least not spew up too badly later on. I opted for a large bowl of Nutri-Grain with a little bit of Milk.

As i get to the station i realize i need to buy a ticket, Saturday is the worst day to get a ticket as the ticket office is closed I have to go and get out money from the ATM for the ticket machine. I hate being in this situation as the ticket machine doesn’t do weekly tickets (which are much cheaper). So I end up having to waste money on an extra one way ticket to the city. PAK! But it’s still  better than getting a $200 fine by the NSW Police for not having a ticket.

The trip to the city to do my hill sprints is a 45 minute train ride and then a 15 minute bus ride (I don’t have a car), followed by a 10 minute jog to centennial Park in Sydney.  I knock back half my creatine with water on the way down (im saving the other half for later when I goto the gym). When i get off from the station I swipe my ticket and remember to go and buy a weekly ticket.

As I get off the bus, im still wearing my heavy back pack with my spikes, four drink bottles (creatine now empty, whey protein with milk, gatorade and plain water)  gym towel (yes im going to the gym after this even though i had no sleep), skipping rope (for warmup), bottle of amino tablets, wallet (of course). I put on my headphones attached to my cellphone and begin the jog past the cricket grounds to the park. As i go for the jog i overtake recreational runners wearing my backpack. I see this almost as a type of resistance training, and i remind myself i need to buy a weighted vest for some of my training sessions in particular the 6x200s in 26s off 3 mins. I stop by the bathroom to change into my 2xu running shorts. Then head over to the trees where my training group is showing up.

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Hill Sprint Session

For warmup i have now switched to a dynamic set of exercises recommended to me by UST Sports Science Graduate Trecia Ricalde now working as a personal trainer. Inchworm, Running arms, Lunges, Walking High Knee, Lunge Twist, over-under (basically walking a march). I then follow-up with some wall drills swinging straight legs, swinging cross legs, and hurdle tucks. After this i do a stride out followed by a skip 3 times, followed by a stride out butt-kick run three times and then i put my long spikes on. As we are running on grass the spike nails are 12mm long, on track they are 6mm long. I do a couple of run throughs on the grass.

I had come prepared for the standard 120,130,140,150,150,140,130,120 hill session but today the coach tells us we will only be doing four runs. He doesn’t tell us what distances wherein lies the rub. He gets us to run a further four times up the hill over 40m to complete are warmup, I clearly win all of these despite the coach is the one who says go and he takes an early start after i win the first one. The session ends up as 100, 120,150,200, at least we have 8 minute rests. I’m close behind on 100-150 in the top 2-3. However on the last one the coach makes up a bet, he says whoever finishes last on the last one will be buying coffee for the winner. He then proceeds to handicap everyone according to ability for this event. In the dying stages of the race the older sprinter in the group Iain passes me and i see him raise his hand going over the line Ben Johnson style. I then look over my shoulder and see the coach being passed on the last stride by Tim one of are younger student sprinters and looks like the one who made the bet is the one buying the coffee.

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At the Gym

After rewarding myself with a tasty bacon and egg roll and downing my bottle of whey protein I decide to head to the Sydney University Gym. My warm down jog is the same route back to the bus stop I did this morning. Luckily due to fluids being consumed my back pack is now a bit lighter. I get off the bus a bit later and grab another bus to the University. When I get to the University I notice this really cool statue I never saw before and thought it was very appropriate outside the gym.

As I am now focussing on the 400m in my last competitive season of athletics. I am doing a much higher rep range. Last month i started on 5 sets of 20 reps, now i am down to my third and last week of 5 sets of 15 reps. I will have one week off weights and then move down to 5 sets of 12 reps. 12-15 reps is considered muscular endurance which is specific for the needs of a 400m run.I started with the Deadlift I like to keep warm so i kept my track suit tops and bottoms on for the first lifts warmup was 50kg x 15, then a short rest then 80kg x 15 the speed of the lifts was still good at 80kg. I then decided i was going to make this third rep my last one and went for a rep pb my previous was 95kg a month ago for this number of reps. I put on 105kg put a good song on my head phones, chalked up my hands, and removed track suit. These were definitely all ‘Dead’ Lifts as i found by after number 12 I had to really concentrate with reseting the lifts. However was surprised i could get to this many. Later i tried 180kg but failed, but was able to get one out at 130kg. Interesting how important gradual progression is.

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Incline Dumbell Press – 12kg (each hand) x 15, 18kg x 15, 22kg x 13

Tbar Row pulls 5 sets 20,20,20,32,32 kg.

Situp Machine 5,5,10,10kg (usually do this last but someone was using seated row)

Seated Row 25,32,39,45,45 kg. (exhausted)

Dumb bell swings 3 x 100 swings x 3kg

Wrist strengthening exercises 2×4 exercises with 5kg in each hand.

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