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Tue May 27, 2008 6:08 pm

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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 4:53 pm
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

So I have a very unique and challenging training situation that I would like to get some insight into. I'm an M30 400H guy with a 56.79 masters PR. I want to run 55.XX (basically sub 56, not too picky HOW sub, just sub) and be competitive at the Master's Nationals, most likely the 2009 and subsequent editions. Why not 2008 you ask? Well there is where the "challenging" part comes in. I'm a Navy pilot and upcoming deployment and pre-deployment training (Navy kind, not the fun kind) schedules will likely preclude a serious attempt at the 2008 meet. The challenge for me is how to train seriously when I am confined to a small ship for basically 7 months. The particulars of my facilities: treadmill that goes up to 75 second per 400 pace, rowing machines, stationary bikes, a reasonably well equipped weight room and the potential to have a running path around the ship, but the capability to run fast is limited. That's about it. I'm confident that when I get back from deployment I'll be able to pick up where I left off with respect to track work but I would like to be making progress, however slow, while deployed. Well, perhaps progress is asking a lot, but at least not regressing at too high a rate! So any ideas? I figure a message board dedicated to masters athletes has to be full of people that are willing to take a crack at a challenge! Thanks in advance, good luck to everyone in Spokane.



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Tue May 27, 2008 10:19 pm

 
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Master Masters Athlete
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Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 10:03 pm
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Location: Eugene, Oregon

I think just maintaining general fitness is your best course. Don't worry about doing anything specific for your event, just maintain. Jog around wherever you can, do some basic weightlifting, etc. My 2 centimos.

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M45 PRs: 100: 12.04, 400: 54.83, 800: 2:23.5, 5K: 19:27



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Wed May 28, 2008 1:08 am

 
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Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 2:06 pm
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Location: San Diego

JT, I have incredible respect and admiration for your dedication to training aboard ship. But first things first: Come home safe and sound!

As far as treadmill training, you'll lay a great foundation if you use the incline function to do simulated "hill work." 90-second repeats at 10 degree-incline and whatever speed U can handle will pop your cherry.

I wouldn't worry too much about speed training for now. You'll get your turnover back pretty fast. In any case, the 400 hurdles is a middle-distance event. (In the current edition of Track & Field News, Kerron Clement is quoted as saying: "In the hurdles, you have to train like an 800 runner, or even a miler.")

All power to you, JT. Stay safe.

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Ken Stone
http://www.masterstrack.com



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Wed May 28, 2008 7:11 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:20 am
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Location: rochester, n.y. area

Take a look at the CrossFit web site. It's a very demanding, intense general fitness program that may be very well suited to your on-ship situation. If you look at the message boards you'll find a pretty fair number of deployed service men and women posting and acclaiming its applicability. I gave up on cross country as my major off-season training last fall (after 40 odd years) and went to a five day a week crossfit program. In January without any special running training, I ran the flat 400 faster than I expected to and pretty much where I usually start the summer off five days a week of running. The general fitness more than compensated for the lack of running--in my case anyway.
Good luck from an older intermediate hurdler!
Bill
m58



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Wed May 28, 2008 1:48 pm

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Bill, where do you get daily crossfit training workouts



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Wed May 28, 2008 1:50 pm

 
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Location: NW Oregon

How small of a ship?

When I was in the navy, I was stationed on the Kitty Hawk and was able to run on the hanger bay. (they were too busy flying to run on the flight deck)
If I remember, the hanger bay was about 200 meters long (at least the part where I could run) I would go up for an hour run and sprint the lenght of the hanger bay, jog to the other side and sprint back.
Doing this I was able to maintain a 1:56 800 meter time when I got back to San Diego all comers meets.
Be careful not to trip on the tie downs for the planes, becuse that non slip surface is very rough on the knees !!

During my run, I would get several other runners that would want to "race" me, so they would race a few 200 metrers, then quit, and I would continue with my hour run of sprint straight/ jog turn around.



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Wed May 28, 2008 8:55 pm

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 4:53 pm
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

Unfortunately as a helicopter pilot I'm stationed on a destroyer, not a carrier. No way to find 200 meters in any one direction. I'm lucky to find 50.

Thanks for all the tips. I like the crossfit idea but I haven't been to the website yet.



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Wed May 28, 2008 9:04 pm

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:27 pm
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Crossfit is probably the worse thing you can do.

If you are looking for mediocre, its the place to go.



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Thu May 29, 2008 7:14 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
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Location: Houston, Tx

rev gj wrote:
Crossfit is probably the worse thing you can do.

If you are looking for mediocre, its the place to go.

Interesting comment. I don't know a thing about Crossfit. What is it that leads you to that conclusion?



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Thu May 29, 2008 8:38 am

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
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rev gj wrote:
Crossfit is probably the worse thing you can do.

If you are looking for mediocre, its the place to go.


You are going to have to elaborate on that. Any counter ideas?



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Thu May 29, 2008 9:07 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:20 am
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Location: rochester, n.y. area

Well, maybe I'm mediocre, but since my first and only 400 this year equaled the NMN All-American standard, i thought I was doing ok. The point was, I did it differently than previous seasons and without the usual track training. That's why I recommended taking a look at it for someone who clearly can't get to a track.
Now let me clear, just as the folks at crossfit would be on this: it's for general fitness not specialization. As the season progressed for me I would have shifted slowly to more and more track and less gym work--more like what most sprinters and hurdlers do.
As we age, clearly our bodies and abilities change--generally not for the better. As I've "progressed" through my fifties I've found recovery to take longer and injuries to heal more slowly. Crossfit took me places I hadn't been in thirty or forty years, and some of my daily aches actually disappeared. My results sold me. Your results may vary, just as they may from any suggested training regimen. Do what works for you. You are your own best "black box." Put in your training and diet and see what comes out. I was happy with it.
As for where I get my workouts, they come from the local crossfit affiliate here in Rochester. As a former track coach who at one time was responsible for teaching O-lifts to field eventers, it was clear to me from my first session that Joe Celso who's the coach there, knew his stuff. It was worth going for the refinement in technique alone. If you don't have an affiliate near by, they are an open source business. Their main web site. www.crossfit.com, lists a daily workout, tons of technique video, and one of the politest message boars around. Warning: if you try the site, modify down until you've got the techniques and the base to do the daily workouts. They can be killers!
Again, good luck.
Bill :D



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Fri May 30, 2008 6:31 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:27 pm
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The other posts advice were fine. Incline treadmill 400s mixed in with front squats creates a fairly typical Litinov workout.

To maintain speed without running there is a whole long thread about using part of the bear power workout near the start of this forum. Beware if Barry Ross reads this, cuz he is a freight train. I use the deadlift plyos to train runners.

Partial oly lifts, cleans and power snatches should fill in most of what us older masters need for lifting. Since you are still young, if you can oly lift, do it. Find an oly lifting site, read what people who actually lift real weight are doing.

Learning to do muscle ups, massive junk reps, air sqauts, or taking a $300 course do learn how to jump rope, it not going to help with the 400 meter hurdles.



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Fri May 30, 2008 7:32 am

 
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Journeyman Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:20 am
Posts: 39
Location: rochester, n.y. area

I take it from your post you haven't tried crossfit, rev. That's fine with me. I do continue to believe from my experience that it can be very effective, particularly in the absence of an ability to sprint, hurdle and train normally--or in an off-season. I don't know why you think I paid $300 to learn how to jump rope. You certainly didn't take the same course I took. Mine neither cost $300 not did it teach me how to jump rope--I'm horrible at it. The information is free on the internet. Use it or not. I have nothing to gain or lose from whatever you do in training. If I were a weight thrower I probably wouldn't ever do crossfit. But as an IH'er I've found it useful. End of pissing contest.



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Fri May 30, 2008 8:36 am

 
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Master Masters Athlete
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:27 pm
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I have more than tried x-fit, as it is known in the lifting community.

Have even helped teach oly lifting to the staff at the old Santa Cruz headquarters.

Glad you like it.

Secret of master's training. Keep is simple.



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Sat May 31, 2008 6:37 pm

 
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Junior Masters Athlete
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 4:53 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Jacksonville, FL

rev gj wrote:
The other posts advice were fine. Incline treadmill 400s mixed in with front squats creates a fairly typical Litinov workout.

Litinov workout? I'm not familiar with that term. Are we talking incline 400's and then squating immediately afterward? I can probably make that happen. The benefit of a small ship, no two points are ever that far apart!

As for lifting, I have been concentrating on Oly lifts for most of my masters career and have had pretty good success with them. I have read some of the Bear posts and got the impression that he was more in favor of just doing straight deadlifts and squats and things like that. For shipboard purposes the slower movements are probably better but in general I don't want to be wasting my time. It seems logical to me that the faster movements would be more conducive to running fast but the engineer in me is intrigued by Bear's explanation of the deadlifting etc. Anyone have better results with one or the other? Thanks for all the great inputs!
HURDLE NAVY
Eddie (JT6 is actually a work call sign, long story)
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