Carroll meet: Cold but 400H go 1-2-3!

3/31  Temperature never got beyond 43 degrees. On the plus side, Jim got a win and a sub-60 performance in the 400H. Tim was not far behind in second, and Tom got a season best in his third-place finish. Nate and Joe had solid days in HJ, though it ended with a knee injury for Nate as he attempted to equal his PR. IT band got the best of Emily. Aaron was able to compete but the lack of training to protect his shins showed its effect. Jonathon had other commitments and did not compete.

Nate 6-2.75 (2nd)
Joe 5-8.75 (5th)
Mollie 18.63 (7th) NH [5-3]
Jim 59.38 (1st)

Tim 60.38 (2nd) 17.23 (4th)

Tom 63.27 (3rd)

Aaron 72.89 (6th) DQ
Carol 75.13 (5th) [8 5.7 6.0 6.2 6.5 6.9 6.9 7.4 6.9 7.1 7.3]

Emily INJ

Jonathon DNC

Complete results

Mollie...



Tim and Aaron...

Workouts: 3/26, 3/27, 3/28, 3/29

3/26  Tim trained highs. Did a few easy reps over 3 42s and then 2x1H (42) and 2x4H (42/39). Ran some very good splits in 1.2 to 1.25 range (-1.5 spacing). Worked mostly on knee drive into and between hurdles with good effect -- less banging and quicker entries and exits. Finished with 4x4H up/back (-3).

3/27  Nate, Jerome, Joe and Dan trained on their own with HJ -- some run-throughs, u-turns, full jumps (-4) and some box jumps.

3/28  Emily tried to train -- couldn't -- more IT and knee pain. Went for treatment. Mollie and Leah continued, doing a few easy reps over 33s, working on knee drive into, over and off hurdles. Continued to work that over 2x1 and 2x4 (33/30 -1.5). Mollie got all 3s, Leah mostly 3s. Finished with 4x4 up/back (-3). Mostly 3s, a few 4s. Leah fell on last rep, banging a knee on the track.

3/29  Men's 400H practice at MU with Jim, Tim and Tom. Cold and windy. Not the best for this workout, but we did 4x4H, working on race pace. Jim aimed for a 58 pace (splits in 4.5 to 4.7 range for early hurdles); he was hitting splits in 4.5-4.9 range. Tim aimed for sub-60 pace (4.6-4.7) and ran 4.5-4.9. Tom aimed for 64 (4.9-5.1) and hit 5-5.6. Step patterns were inconsistent, some extra steps taken at times -- and Tim left a trail of blood on some hurdles. Next, 3x3H on turn with short recovery and a 100m run to the finish on last rep.

3/30  Warm up, stretch.

Leaning vs. bending

We've talked quite a bit about lean vs. bend lately. Here are some images that help show what we're talking about. All of these shots are about 6 inches after takeoff.

Here is David Oliver, fastest U.S. hurdler. You can see the full extension he gets. Lots of lean without nearly any bend. When you see guys like this hurdling, you get the impression of a bend when you see them on top of their lead leg as they cross the hurdle, but it's just continued lean, which starts right here. This provides tremendous power into and off the hurdle.

Here is Jonathon. Shin angle is pretty good. Not much different than Oliver, but then you see the hinging at the knee because the hip was not pushed forward. He tries to compensate for that by bending slightly. You also see the  lower leg escaping on the lead leg, which also forces the lead arm to extend more than needed to compensate for the swinging lead leg. A better leg action may be all that is needed to correct this. You can push the hips forward when the lead leg straightening out this soon.





Here is Brandon. He's a high school hurdler -- and was a big bender. He has improved since this was shot last year, but this bend is extreme. You lose a lot of push into the hurdle when folding into the hurdle. To his credit, he's doing a great job of keeping the lead leg tucked under, but the bending causes several problems. Bend reduces takeoff power because push off is more upward despite the illusion of lean created by bend. When lean is reduced, you have slower clearances and getaways. Insufficient lean also stresses the hip flexor and hamstring, which also may lead to lateral arm action to compensate for fatigue, weakness or inflexibility in those areas.

Here's Kevin. He was a lead foot swinger, too. But he has a decent lean here and is pushing the hip forward pretty well. Not bending; just not fully extending at knee joint. With better lead leg action, he might have been able to get a lean like Oliver.

Bottom line: triple extension in ankle, knee and hip contributes to better force vectors for more power and faster clearances and getaways.

Note to women: This doesn't apply as much in women's hurdles because the lower height requires less lean. Slight lean is needed -- but again, don't bend.

400H splits

Posted race splits for Carol and Jonathon. Starting this week, we will start working on hitting some target times in practice in preparation for upcoming races (provided we can get outside).

Here is what a 60 would look like (with calm weather):
7.2  4.6  4.7  4.8  4.9  5.1  5.3  5.45  5.65  5.8  6.5

You can work out your own target splits with these percentages of the race time:
12.2  7.7  7.8  8  8.2  8.5  8.8  9.1  9.4  9.7  10.8

For now, I suggest these as target times (I can bring splits to practice):

Jim and Tim 59
Tom and Jon 64
Aaron 67
Carol 72

These are about a second or two better than your previous best this season. Once you do that (or faster), we can keep moving it down. This is to give us some feedback for practice purposes.

Ripon meet: Nate soars to another record

3/24  Nate set school and conference records with his winning jump at 6-4.75 at Ripon. He also had some very close attempts at 6-6.75 (2.00m). Temperatures in the high 50s with light winds also contributed to some other good performances. Emily hurdled to a PR and conference record 15.68 to win her specialty -- with a zero on the wind gauge. Mollie jumped a PR 5-8.25. Jim had a solid win in the 400H, which was noteworthy mostly because he ran a 400 less than an hour before the hurdles.

Nate 6-4.75 (1st PR SR CR)
Joe 5-7 (4th)
Mollie 4-8.25 (3rd PR #4 all time) 19.03 (6th)
Dan NH (5-5)
Emily 15.68 (1st PR CR #2 all time)
Jonathon 17.15 (3rd #5 all time) 65.13 (3rd)
[7.2 5 5 5.1 5.4 5.65 6 6.4 6.4 6.3 6]
Jim 60.82 (1st)
Carol 75.74 (3rd) [8 5.75 5.9 6.1 6.6 6.7 7 7.5 7.1 7.1 7.5]

Nate's best attempt at 6-6.75...



Mollie's 4-8.25 PR...



Emily's 15.68 PR...



Jonathon's entry to H1...

Workouts: 3/19, 3/20, 3/21, 3/22

3/19  Nate and Jerome did a circuit at MU with plyometrics, med ball throws, body weight exercises and some  pickups and stretching all on the turf. On the track, Tim, Mike and Aaron had a good day on the hurdles. Started with some slow speed 33s, working on forward lean and knee-up, toe-up. Moved into a few warm ups over 42s over 2H and then 3x 2H at 42 (-1). Mike and Tim ran splits around 1.2 and Aaron in mid- to upper 1.2s. Went 6 hurdles next, first set at 42, second at 39 (-1.5) -- first set splits were around 1.3 average. Set of 39s were better -- Mike and Tim back in the low 1.2s, Aaron around 1.3. Finished with 5x110 on turf with walk back recovery.

3/20  Nate, Joe, Dan and Mollie worked HJ. Started with some short-approach reps and moved into run-throughs and full jumps -- a couple at starting heights and then 6 jumps at -2" season best. Then took optional jumps at requested heights.

3/21  Emily came out to work some highs. Warmed up, did some easy 3-step and then 4x2. Shut down because of soreness from Monday's sprint workout and a knee that was bothering her. Mollie arrived later and did the 4x2 (-2 33) and then 2x6 (-2 33/30). Held her 3s throughout. Had some nice splits on the shorter reps in the mid-1.2s. Longer reps ranged from mid-1.3s to upper 1.4s. Jonathon did a split workout, running  a couple reps of 2 and one of 4 (1.25 - 1.35 range). They ran into a slight breeze. Worked on getting lead leg down and lowering the arms. Tom, Jim and Carol ran 2x6H (-1 30) and then 3xH6-7-8 (short rec). Tom ran splits in 4.9-5.9 range; Jim 4.7-5.3; Carol 6.0-6.8. Worked on finding rhythm, attacking hurdles and staying relaxed. Jonathon did one 6H rep and then 3xH6-7-8. Splits ranged from 5 to 5.5. Good consistency but some shuffling into hurdles to stay on right lead -- need to be more aggressive and be willing to go oppo when needed. Carol made some improvements in lead leg mechanics and had some nice reps in the turn. Tom, Jim and Carol had a fairly wide split range. Splits will drop off a little as you go along, but only about a tenth or two early. With these times and a race Saturday, we should be able to start mapping out some target times for training and racing. For now, the mission is to stay in rhythm, attack hurdles and stay relaxed while moving fast.

3/22  Aaron did the same 400H workout -- 2x6H, splits ranging from 5.0 - 6.0. Held 15 through 4 or 5 hurdles on left with good technique. Did some change downs to right for 16s at H4 or 5 and got better on the oppo in later reps. Also did the 3x3 turn hurdles with short recovery, with splits in 5.3 - 5.8 range. Finished with some 3-step oppo work at 33 on turf. Shins held up.

Workouts: 3/12, 3/13

3/12  Emily, Tim, Aaron and Mike hurdled at MU. Leah worked out a Kern. Not sure about others. At MU, we did a few 5-step warm up reps over 2H at regular height, then 4x1H, working on stepping up with knee drive and toe up -- no bending. Then, 4x7H (-3' -3"), working on the same things. Emily ran 3x100. Finished with some plyos: single-leg hops (10y), speed bounds (20y), high skips (50y). Important to stretch and/or roll after practice. When we have time, we can do the stretching at the track. If not, do it  back at the Kern or when you get back to dorm/apartment. Doesn't matter when you stretch as long as you get it done, though it's best while you're still warm.

3/13  Joe, Nate, Dan, Mike and Mollie did backovers, short approach takeoffs, run throughs, ramp jumps, opening height jumps (-6 max) and quality jumps (-4 max). Ramp jumps were pretty impressive, Nate going 7-0, Mike and Joe going 6-7, Dan 6-0, Mollie 5-4 (ok, there was a little sag, but fun to see the high flying).

Workouts: 3/5, 3/6, 3/7

3/5  Jonathon: 10x 3 7-step 33s at 15-relative spacing over 40m followed by 80m jog, 40m walk.

3/6  Joe, Nate and Dan jumped for 45 minutes -- an endurance jumping session aimed at bringing more speed to the approach and planting at the correct angle. Jerome had to leave at 5, so he didn't get as many jumps, but we squeezed the curve a bit more, bringing him in to 14 feet to help his plant and rotation. Mollie didn't arrive until 5, but she had some nice jumps, holding her lean into the curve and staying away from the bar on the plant.

3/7  Emily, Tom, Tim and Carol ran at MU. Not enough hurdles out there to do all we wanted, but we improvised and got done what we needed to do. Emphasis was more on technique and endurance. Emily did 8x 5H (-3" -3'), then 3x110 fast but relaxed. Tim and Carol did 4x5H and then joined Tom for 2x 1-2-3 walk to 4, run 5-6-7. Then, 2x start at 7 and run 8-9-10 + finish on last one.

UNF meet: Mike, Tim set PRs; Nate gets outdoor record

3/2-3  Mike and Tim set 110H PRs on Friday. Emily ran both 100 and 100H -- converted 80%. On Saturday,  Nate got bars at 6 and 6-2, tying the school outdoor record. Opening height was higher than PRs for both Jerome and Joe. First 400H race of the year had mixed results, but Tim got a PR.

Mike 16.58 (PR #3 all time) 65.29
Tim 16.83 (PR #4 all time) 60.52 (PR #6 all time)
Aaron 17.72 (#8 all time) 69.15
Tom 66.10
Jim 60.26
Emily 15.92
Mollie 19.93
Joe NH
Nate 6-2 (SR)
Jerome NH