taking today off for my leg, just going to work where I will be standing up for a few hours.
just recieved my parents’ graduation present offer: go to see the olympic trials in cali 
(without them, obviously)
Your parents stole my parents idea!! 
Should be a sweet meet. 
YAY good day
-took my first of 5 APs so I was sitting still and writing for 3 hours… stifffffff
-workout was kind of weird- we ALWAYS run before lifting, but for some reason we lifted before running today… furthermore we switched over to “phase 3”/comp lifts, so the weights are coming down and we’re doing lifts timed and lifts for speed, which is always fun
-did squats 5-3-3-1 @ 75/85/85/90, jump squats 2x10s@95, speed squats 3x5@95, and step-ups 2x10s each leg @40
-headed out for our run of 3x300: this was ummm interesting… I was doing them with the first 150 over hurdles, second 150 flat, in the rain, in shoes, having just lifted, so I felt a little flat. I went 49, 50, 52, with 4 min. recoveries. The first two were pretty strong, the last one I faded a bit, but it could have been worse
-jog cooldown and stretching. I felt my hammy tighten up during the first 300, but I judged it would be ok to finish up the workout, and I was right- now I am icing it, hopefully it will be behaving for comp on wednesday. Luckily if it’s not, the teams we’re going against on wednesday aren’t exactly big powers in our league, so I don’t have to knock myself out.
edit Almost forgot- I actually slept really poorly, I feel like these is some fundamental upset in my body’s routine… could be the weather? the stress of AP’s? overtraining? I need to start taking my heart rate every morning again, that was really useful… I did it last year and made a chart (i am such a dork) and one morning it spiked to 105… lo and behold I got sick and was overtraining :rolleyes: I think mid 70’s is average.
I am interested in your chart…It would be nice of you to share what it is…
I would have thought someone of ur fitness should have a resting HR bpm at least as low a 50’s 60’s - mine goes as low as 48 sometimes when I’m doing more cardio and I have mates who get down to 42 bpm when really fit and rested.
squats b4 hurdles - sounds V risky - it’ll b a real bummer to blow ur hamstring now.
You didn’t get a restful night’s sleep, took a 3 hour exam, started a new strength training cycle, changed the order of your workout, and then went out to run hurdles in the rain? Sounds like you may have been fortunate to escape that one with just a tight hammy. I haven’t read all your posts, so I don’t know when the hamstring issue started. You certainly ask some good questions at the end of your post. Congratulations on your decision to attend Williams.
I made a chart, and for a while a graph as well last year of my heart rate and my weight, and I kept track of everything that I ate. Keeping track of the food and weight was a little dangerous as I have had some issues in that area in the past, but the heart rate actually told me a lot and I ought to start keeping track again. This morning it was 72, which is not bad for me. I still keep track of weight pretty carefully too. I don’t know if you were interested in numbers more specific than this…
Otherwise, did a really short, easy workout today, the day before comp:
-3x4 hurdles (100’s) out of blocks, 3x40m flying starts, 3x50m handoffs
-timed bench press 3-5-7 @60, timed incline press 3-5 @50, 3x10s push press @55… it feels SO weird to do such light weights!
-the hurdling is what seems to make the hammy tighten up- I was really surprised to feel it today, because I have chronic hamstring microtears which usually stop hurting after a few days, but this has lasted longer than usual and feels different. It actually hurts less, it’s more that I am conscious of it being tight and clenching a bit over the hurdles (it’s my trail leg, not my lead, or I would not be going over hurdles at all) Tonight I’ll try heat and then ice instead of just ice, and see if that helps.
Of course I am doubling hurdles tommorow, as well as doubling jumps. I had a moment of hope that I was going to come out of one of the jumps, but of course that idea was crushed. But tommorow is a meet that I would be comfortable scratching one of them or passing on some of the jumps if my leg starts acting up.
Let’s pray for sleep… last night I turned out the light at 10 and had the alarm set for 6, and I woke up at 4, again at 5:30, and again at 6, and dragged myself out of bed at 6:40. And I’m not even worrying about APs! 
WHY DO I PRETEND THAT I CAN DO TRACK
How did I get a scholarship? I must be the best liar in the world.
Meets like today make me feel like a f*cking idiot and I don’t like embarrassing myself in FOUR GODDAMN EVENTS IN ONE DAY. My coach can make all the excuses he wants about the cold temp, the rain, my leg, lack of competition, blah blah but when I start needing excuses for every event at every meet, I definitely stop believing them. Yes I have been lifting very heavy, but SO WHAT? That shouldn’t make me stutter hurdles or jump 2 feet under my PR or just generally mess up every single event and have to try really hard not to cry before I’m even done competing. I have been working harder this season than I ever have before, and to what end?? For THIS?! :mad:
I did a short tempo after I was done with my events, and my leg started to tighten up slightly (it was fine during races) and it was raining and cold, but I was still wearing shorts… And I just thought about how badly I want a break, I have never had a good outdoor season because after indoor I start getting exhausted of always doing the maximum number of events allowed, being expected to win whatever I am entered in, and just dealing with the pressure of the team counting on me EVERY SINGLE TIME. I have never missed a meet- I have run sick and injured, and I never scratched an event. And I started thinking, what I if I tweaked my hamstring right now? And I realized I would be so happy, because I want so much to sit out of the meet we have on saturday to get ready for the big one we have on monday… I need to be kept out so that I can feel like I am missing something and get back that passion and hunger for competition, because today I couldn’t have cared less. I didn’t even feel like I was at a meet.
Tommorow I am sitting for two AP tests in a row, with not more than 10 minutes in between them… that is 6 HOURS of testing.
I hate my life. 
I fight and I suck it up and I do the right things and I keep my complaints to myself without always expecting great rewards, but there comes a point where I have to wonder what I bothering for?? ahhhhhh
Sounds like a real bummer Kras - tread water - get ur AP’s out of the way and chill out a bit. U have a huge load and it’s no surprise u had a bad one.
Get thru this season healthy - then look forward to ur new college and hopefully a new regime that is gonna be more centred on improving ur performances over time, not on running u into the ground.
Hang in there - things’ll pick up 
Hey that pigeon pose has been a real help BTW Thanks
I think you know what the problem is but dont want to admit it
It appears to me reading your posts that you are pushing too hard and not giving yourself enough time to rest and heal.
Lots of weights are a big CNS demand you have to be careful or you’ll fry.
Please take time recover properly from your injuries or you are going to really hurt yourself
Take the meet as a learning experience. I bet as you recover you’ll bang out some PBs
This is precisely the problem… it’s lucky that I am strong and flexible- I have never pulled a muscle (yet… :o )
Meet today. Meet on saturday. meet on monday. Meet on wednesday. meet on saturday. championship the following wednesday. meet on saturday.
I could continue this list for the next 6 weeks.
Honestly, there are times when track makes me want to stab my eyes out with forks. YET I keep coming back…
my coach’s quote of the day: “you sucked. your form was awful. you looked like you were sleeping, but we’ll work on it- (UMMM NO WE WON’T, WE NEVER DO!) you’ll run a 43. now go do tempo and don’t pull your hammy.”
Don’t remind me…I got to go to those meets…forget social life! :mad:
feeling a little better today…
I sat for two AP exams with very little time in between, so I was sitting and hand-writing 16 pages of essays and answering a couple hundred MC question for 6 HOURS… very intense. So naturally I was a little stiff going into my workout, both hamstrings felt a little tighter than usual, but the warm weather helped me out.
-2x200 flat (untimed)
-3x150 over hurdles (no stuttering… why did I stutter yesterday? I don’t know)
-phase 3 lift: jump squats, speed squats, timed bench, step ups, push press, cleans 5-3-3-1
-good stretch eventually… perhaps while studying for my next AP tommorow :rolleyes:
I must be a masochist.
Hey Kra,
Shit happens. It happens all the time. And only these who can go through these up hill struggles to the end will have the joy of going down hill on the other side. And these who don’t hold on either fall back. Or waste their time at one spot forever. Don’t do that. I wish you can hold on. Good luck
4/5 on APs… the last one is psychology- EASY, so the worst is over.
The test today took four hours, so I missed practice entirely, but I knew what I had to do anyways.
It is BEAUTIFUL outside, too bad the temp is supposed to drop about 30 degrees for the meet tommorow. I pretty much warmed up, did a couple strides, extended hurdle drills, visualization, and a couple of starts 1x1h, 1x2, 2x4 with the hurdles pulled in and down.
Sooo off to stretch well, ice my shin, and then get up early tommorow in the rain- ugh.
Was in bed last night for 11 hours and slept for most of it, everything somehow seems so much more happy
I’m in such a good mood, it’s unbelievable!
The weather at the meet turned out to be perfect- warm, sunny, little breeze of tailwind. Gorgeous.
-ran 15.98 hurdle trial and 15.71 (FAT) to win… I think my starts have improved a lot, but I focused so much on them in indoor that my form has suffered. I don’t feel as low to the hurdles as I used to and I they are less crisp- the swimming arm is throwing things off a bit, need to work on that one. But season best so far, so I can’t complain.
-long-jumped ok: 16’5"… about a foot under my PR, but for three meets before this I had been barely jumping 15’s and it was starting to get really sad. I have not practiced long jump yet this season, so I am satisfied enough… biggest issue is bringing the legs down too early.
-ran a 61.4 for our 4x4: this was awesome because I haven’t run a 400 since december, and I haven’t PRed since soph year (61.8) and today I passed a couple girls but still felt that I was being slightly conservative since it’s been a while. I’m sure I could get under 60 were I to keep running 400’s, but I think that might not end up being what the team needs from me
-really good cooldown, strides, very throrough stretch and I feel great! Big meet coming up on monday, today was good confidence for it.
The pizza was lame…but the meet was good and many PBs were present.
slept FOREVER, woke up with some back and neck soreness, and I think I twisted my ankle slightly cooling down… but in general feeling good, today I will probably take completely off or maybe just warm up and do strides.
meet tommorow… :eek:
warmed up and did a 10 minute tempo of 30s on, 30s off.
went to work and felt crappy for 5 hours… I have bruises and tender spots up and down my spine and on the back of my neck- owww :mad:
ankle still a little woozy, but not enough to worry me yet.