RT Journals The Workout Series | Maudie Skyring
I train in Wollongong with my coach Paul Micale. We have a fairly big squad of boys and girls who all push each other hard. I love turning up to training and being able to socialise with all the squad, and although that’s one of my favourite parts, I also have some favourite sessions. Here they are.
Session 1: 400 Repeats
In the winter and at the beginning of the track season we do 400 repeats. I usually aim for 10 and they are done on a 2 minute cycle. These 400 repeats are mentally tough, as there are so many of them, the recovery is pretty short and gets shorter if you get slower. The aim is to keep your time for each 400 even. So you really have to push yourself when your lactic and fatigued kicks in towards the end. This session is great for building speed endurance, as they’re done at a high intensity and they are reasonable lengthy.
Session 2: Hills
Although they are tough, I really enjoy them. They’re great for building strength and improving fitness. We have a few different hill sessions we often do, but my favourite is light house hill. Its the steepest one we do, it’s on the grass and its got a great view over the ocean. The effort is around 250m and the recovery between is a short walk, and then a jog back down.
Session 3: Freeman (200s)
This session was part of Cathy Freeman’s training program and is great for 400m and 800m runners, to build speed and a tolerance to lactic acid build up. This session consists of 6x200m with decreasing recoveries. So after the first 200m there’s 5mins recovery, then 4,3,2 and 1. In this time you also need to walk/jog back to the 200m start. It’s also very important to keep all your times even in this session and perform each one at a high intensity. We usually finish this session with 6x80m sprints really focusing on speed and technique.
The great thing about running is you can do it anywhere and anytime! Here’s a picture of me training on the Great wall of China, by far my favourite trying location ever!
In the end I believe it doesn’t matter what you do, it matters what you put in and how hard you push yourself each and every training session.
So happy training to all, and remember as always have fun!
