Because of all my missed-meet woes lately, I've gotten a LOT of good practice in. At first, that lots of practice messed with my body a little bit. I think at this point in the season, a track and field athlete's body is ready to compete, not keep pounding in practice day after day.
Something's gotta give,and I had two somethings kinda give! About three weeks ago, my upper right back/shoulder blade area and my left Achilles tendon became aggravated for no apparent reason. Both those issues have plagued me slightly since, but are clearing up nicely now. Ty says that sometimes your body just does weird things before competing at a championship! I guess...
All year, I've been working hard to improve my technique. Some main points we've been trying to develop are landing behind my block after impulse, really slotting my right arm in a good position, landing closed, and waiting to push my chest until my left is down.
The mind is a powerful thing,and I really feel that when I am forced to take time off from throwing by injury/aching, I get better when I come back to the runway because of all the thinking I get done! My last two throwing sessions have been awesome as far as hitting the positions I mentioned consistently. Yay!
If you ask Russ (or anyone really, including me), I'm not the most explosive athlete out there. This can make my weightroom sessions somewhat frustrating! I'm strong, sure, but maybe I use the wrong muscles for certain lifts or maybe I'm not explosive in the right directions. Lifting weights the right way transfers much more to throwing than my awkward way, though. Therefore, I've been doing my very best to learn proper Olympic lifting technique! On Thursday, I had snatch pulls (that's not the best link...), and I finally used my hips correctly and kept my back solid on all my repetitions! I was SO happy. I'll keep that up I think :).
I'll be roommates with Britney at USAs! I'm planning to throw on Friday night, watch some events on Saturday, drive my rental car up to see my Grandparents and hang out with Mom in Fort Dodge on Saturday night, and head back to Des Moines to watch Russ throw shot and catch my flight on Sunday!
In other news, I got into another meet! Pre was already on my schedule, and now I'm throwing on July 5th in the Harry Jerome International Track and Field Classic in Vancouver, B.C.! I haven't been to Vancouver to visit in my adult life, and I'm really excited about it. Russ, Melinda, and Krista Woodward will be there, too! If all goes according to plan, I'll go straight to Europe after Harry Jerome.
nice
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