Senior Journal #4: Back on Track
After a mentally tough week last week, my body was ready for some higher-intensity training. I was ready to get back to it and put in a solid week of quality work, and that's exactly what I did:
Training Week of 1/29-2/4:
Monday January 29, 2018
Kicked off the second week of official practices right with a brisk, hilly mileage day. Our coach had lined up one of my favorite workouts for the day: "Stadium Loops". The route consists of a 1.3-mile loop with three distinct hills, each one getting progressively longer and harder as you make your way around. For me, I ran four loops (5.16 miles) at a surprisingly comfortable 6:49 average pace (6:40=fastest mile split). Then, we hit the weight room for five sets of ten curls and five sets of 10 tricep pull-downs. I am beginning to see significant development in my upper body strength, which I am hoping will help propel me to some fast 800 times this spring. Topped off the day with core.
Daily Mileage/Yardage: 5.16 miles
Tuesday January 30, 2018
Gave the legs a bit of a break today and stuck strictly to swimming. Tonight's practice consisted of less yardage than last week's workouts (4,200 vs. the usual 5,000+); however, we did what are known as "test sets", which are basically time trials. We completed 4 100yd. test sets. My splits were as follows: 1:02, 1:04, 1:04, 1:02= 1:03 avg. Since I have not done this workout in over a year, I saw significant improvement in my times. Gave maximum effort in the water today. Ended day with core.
Daily Mileage/Yardage: 4,200yds. swim
Wednesday January 31, 2018
Met with the speed trainer and teammates today for a quick workout:
· 1-mile warm-up @ 7:30 pace
· Agility Drills
· 3x10 curls
· 3x10 inclined sit-ups
· 3x10 tricep pull-downs
· Hip mobility/stability drills
Felt decently strong tonight even though my legs were still recovering slightly from my fast-paced hill workout on Monday. Decided to roll out, make a protein shake, stretch and do some core before calling it a day.
Daily Mileage/Yardage: 1-mile WU
Thursday February 1, 2017
First and only double day of the week. Track practice today consisted of 10x350m hallway relays with a 10-minute warm-up and a 5-minute cool down after. Completed this set of hallway relays much quicker than we did last week since we had gotten back into the swing of group practices again. We hit the weight room to do 3x10 bench press at 75lbs., some ladder footwork drills and a quick set of lunges with weight and balance (10 ea. leg).
Tonight's swim practice consisted of less yardage, but a higher intensity. Focused in on butterfly and I.M. drills with many 25yd. sprints. Felt a bit wore out at the end, but definitely a good kind of wore out. Ended day with light core. I felt like I was reaping all the benefits of the training week: and it wasn't over yet!
Daily Mileage/Yardage: approx. 5 miles + 4,000yds. swim
Friday February 2, 2018
Attended the optional sprinter workouts this week, and boy was I surprised! I realized that while I emphasize a lot of speed and strength work in the distance training that true sprinter workouts were way different than what I have been doing. We started with the usual 10-minute warm-up and drills with some dynamic stretches before jumping into the circuits:
· X3 (30 jump ropes, 20 high-knee box jumps, 15 burpees, 25 "wall shufflers")
· X3 (30 sec. each of Russian twists, lemon squeezers, bicycle crunches, side crunches, regular crunches, w/ 1 min. plank)
Some of these workouts were different than anything I've ever done before. For instance, I had never done "wall shufflers" before (shuffle from one side of the hallway to another as fast as possible), and the way that I personally do box jumps was totally different than the way the sprinters do. It made me realize that I have a lot to learn yet, but also that I would rather just stick to running!
Daily Mileage/Yardage: approx. 1.5 miles
Saturday February 3, 2018
Met once again with the speed coach for some morning workouts. Light work today since both me and my teammate were experiencing some typical aches and pains from all the hallway sprinting:
· 2-mile warm-up @7:30 pace
· 12x accelerations (6 with parachute, 6 without) @ 75% effort
· 3x8 bench @ 85lbs.
I was pleased to see much development in my overall strength, and I look forward to maxing out on the bench sometime next week. I am expecting to see some improvement from last time. Went home to do some extra core before carrying on with the day.
Daily Mileage/Yardage: approx. 2.6 miles
Sunday February 4, 2018
Recovery day, only did core.
While I did not have as many double days this week, I did not feel as if my training was suffering because of it. In fact, I appreciated the shorter, higher intensity workouts this week after having kind of an off week last week. The future is looking bright, as the count down to the first meet is now within one week! Happy almost track season everyone!
