Two months to go

Well, the hamstring is getting better, and I'm running distance as hard as I can, but it's still not 100%, so I'm not sprinting yet.  That means no hurdling or pole vaulting, so my technique work is hurting a bit.  I'll be back to sprinting about the same time we leave for a European vacation, so the pole vaulting is going to have to wait until the 1st of July now, which leaves me only about three weeks of practice before the meet.  I'll probably be able to find some tracks with hurdles in europe, so I should be ok there.  

I ran 4 miles in 26:10 today which is back on pace. The last lap was 1:24.  Just this past monday I ran it in 26:53.  I should be down to 25:30 by mid-July. The shoulder is still a problem, I think the only solution for me now is Motrin and Vicadin.  With enough painkillers I should be able to get through the second day just fine.

Aggravated hamstring- 68 Days to Worlds

In the middle of last week, I aggravated the hamstring injury, so I haven't been able to workout too hard since then.  It's getting better quickly again, so I should be running full strength here pretty soon, although it puts the decathlon on May 30th in jeopardy.  I'm concentrating so hard on the world's that I can't blow out my whole season for this "warmup" decathlon.  I do want to do it if I can, however, so I'll make the decision at the last moment.  

This past Saturday I ran 400's in 68-70, and it was pretty easy. I threw the discus before that, and realized how important it is to throw flat, and have my throwing arm come around flatter, in other words have my hand not so far below my shoulder, because then you get a wider arc, which creates more momentum at the hand.  On Sunday the 17th I just threw the shot a bit and rested the leg, and on Monday I jogged 2 miles and then tried to hurdle, but that hurt the leg, so I stopped right away.  I think I stretched the hurt hamstring too much, so I need to go easier on the stretching until it's better again.  Yesterday I rode the stationary bike for 15 minutes, lifted, then after that I jogged 30 minutes.  Today the leg is much better, so I should be able to run distance full speed. Will report later.   

Tuesday May 12

good series of workouts over last three days. Saturday: hurdles 8X7 hurdles, discus throwing from ring. Weight workout. Sunday, 5X415m in 66,73,68,73,68. Yesterday, three hour workout, hurdles, long jump pop-ups, shot, ran 18 minutes, then lifted weights/legs. Made a discovery while throwing shot, if I keep my head and gaze higher in back of ring, I added two feet to throw for same effort. Not sure why, maybe because it forces me to keep shoulders pointed towards the back of the ring during glide, and gets the upper body into a more efficient throwing position.

Back on Track

Hamstring seems to be all better, and I've had a productive last couple days. On Wednesday, I threw the discus 125', then I threw the shot some and ran a 800 and two 400s with a jog in between. Yesterday I tried to run 4miles at 6:40 pace, but didn't quite make it, so that shows my running has fallen off, but it shouldn't take long to get it back. In the evening I was able to vault OK, and I was really surprised that the hamstring got better after only a week! Today was a longer slower run of about 40 minutes, then 4X200 in 28-30 afterwards. Some shot glides to finish up.

Hamstring better

Sent off the meet entry form yesterday for the world champs, now it's for real.
Hamstring's getting better quickly, I ran 3 miles yesterday pretty fast, and it didn't hurt at all.
A couple hours after that I tried to high jump a little bit, and do some easy pole vault drills, but I started to feel the leg, so I stopped and just did drills on the gym rings. I'm not too worried about being able to sprint again, but I do need the vault practice. The worlds are just 83 days away now... I'll try to post some throwing video later today.

Hurt hamstring. Let's hope for speedy recovery.

Great. I hurt my hamstring on Tuesday doing a sprint workout. I was doing 50y repeats, and I felt like I was really flying. Apparently I was running too fast, because I guess I pulled my left hamstring low on the muscle. It's gotten better after a couple days, but it's going to put me out for quite awhile I'm afraid, and I'm also afraid now I'll keep hurting it when I sprint top speed. I'm not surprised I hurt it, considering how the other injuries to my left leg have weakened it. I'll have to really work on it's strength and flexibility as I'm rehabing and getting back into the workouts.

Here's a 20 foot long jump, first practice of the year from a full run-up on 4/15
video didn't convert very smoothly on this one for some reason.