Tuesday, June 14, 2005
OK, OK, OK - Event 6 - 800m!
I am planning to start selling advertising space on my blog, as my readership is a highly discerning, yet demanding market - both of you! First things first....
RunDiary.net has gone to a general announcement level (getting CoolRunners to find the last few bugs), and has had 155 downloads in the last week, which is a small, but important start. Still a long way to go, but now I have something tangible I can throw myself into, rather than spending the rest of my life coming up with new features to delay release... scary isn't the half of it...
Also on the exciting news front, I have taken my first tentative steps getting back into running. Four runs and my foot is still attached - woo hoo! The longest has been an enormous 3.5km, and my pace is hovering around 5 mins/km, but patience is foremost in my mind.
My double decathlon goal has not been neglected - I have been hitting the weights at the gym regularly, and have put on 3kg. Everyone at CoolRunning drinks commented on how buff I looked - well actually no one did, but I'm sure they were all thinking it. Finally went to the local athletics club to try and arrange a throws coach, only to find out he retired last year. Will broaden my search, but this is a bit of a setback, as the location and timing (after Louis is in bed) were perfect. Speaking of double decathlons...
Event
800m
PB
1:54.4
Background
Way back when, this was my best event. How good is 1:54? On the Hungarian Points Tables (a comparison of various performances), it scores 916 points. My 1500m scores 768 points! So this is the event where I can clean up. I have run a 54 second first lap, and a 28 second last 200m (not in the same race, let me assure you), so I am fairly flexible in my tactics. Unfortunately, there are two problems:
1. I last ran 1:54 in 1996 - my best since then is 2:05
2. After my last big 800m run, I spent 30 minutes unable to stand up, lying on the ground throwing up! Not a good look, and not conducive to performing well in four more events that day.
In the actual competition, I will need to run this as conservatively as possible, and keep my lactic accumulation to a minimum. I have run good 800's as part of multi-event contests before. I once ran 2:01, and then went on the run PBs for 400 and 200 later that day (as well as a high jump PB). And I ran 2:02 (with a 58 second 2nd lap) half an hour after a 9:34 3000m. So I can hopefully run a fast time whilst still running within myself.
Potential
Of all events (with the possible exception of the 10,000m) this is the one I most doubt I can beat my current PB in. When I ran 1:54, I was training 7 days a week, three track sessions a week, and doing sessions that would make my head spin these days (eg. 5x4x200m in 28 seconds with a 200m recovery). My only caveat would be that I did the 1:54 off a small winter base, and peaked fairly early in the season. If I had a solid endurance base, and aimed to peak later in the season (ignoring lactic work until about 8-12 weeks before my key races) ala Lydiard, then there is a chance I could achieve better results. However, mixed with all the other training, this is a long shot.
Goal
Getting back under 2 minutes is my big goal, with 1:56 the pipe dream. The Australian M35-40 record is 1:53, just to put it in perspective
Double Decathlon Goal
Still recovering from the 5000m, and having to save a bit of fuel, I think something between 2:02 and 2:04 would be good - 834 much needed points.
