Sunday, August 27, 2017

Rest and restart

    Today is my 10th day of rest and I feel I'm ready to go again. My energy has been creeping back slowly and more importantly my mental state has come back. Once I allowed the idea of ending the season into my thoughts it was immediately clear that it was the right thing to do. My goals for the 400 have evolved into a 3 year thing, which will put me at 49 years old, so I need to be extra patient and let my body adapt at it's own pace. I don't feel I can force it as much as I used to be able to do. I did force it this summer and it ended up melting me. I had a great summer though. Running a 56" 400 just 8 weeks into the training shows potential for much more as long as I learn from my mistakes and am more patient.
     I'm going to start back tomorrow and begin the build towards the indoor track season which starts in December. My focus points will be:
 Speed. I'll be using a 200 meter training methods and concepts.
 Plyometrics, medicine ball, and tire pulls.
 Lifting. Weights are something I enjoy immensely, probably more than running, so I'll be in the weight room more.
     The "base" period for sprinting is a huge departure from the endurance world's idea of base. Tomorrow I'll be running 2 sets of 3 X 300 meters at tempo speed or about 80%. BB who has been commenting on my previous posts (and I appreciate the advice!), suggested I leave my stopwatch at home more and I couldn't agree more. I'll be using splits much less in the coming months and trying to feel the effort and speed. I think this might lessen the pressure I put on myself to perform up to an expected level which will help me to keep my mental state healthier. We'll see.
     

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