#21- March Madness!

1. I have less than 100 days to get to ready for the Olympic Trials.
2. Thank you to the person who has made numerous donations, a little bit goes a long way. Again thank you
3. The rest of the story…

March Madness does not refer to The NCAA Tournament, well at least not for me. Track is one of those unique sports that has two distinctive seasons (3 if you run cross country). And March is the very treacherous bridge that traverses the Indoor and Outdoor seasons. That is to say that March is probably as important, if not more important than June. A successful transition between the two seasons usually leads to athletes reaching their full performance potential in championship meets. At the end of February I was pretty beat up, so March has been a rebuilding period. We have been in the weight room 4 days a week and done more long sprints and resistance runs (see workouts below). We have committed all of the pole vaulting practices to creating more fluidity in the swing and inversion (vault for distance and 50’ drill). This extra attention to technique has hampered my ability to make big jumps from long runs, but I continue to PR from my short runs. I have FAITH that this WILL stick when I move to my longer runs. March’s weather has also been madness, keeping us indoors for most of the month. For Example: a blizzard at the beginning of March almost cost me my Jeep and possibly my life. It was a crazy experience and there is no need to go into it; just some quaint advice…AVOID DRIVING ON ICE AT ALL COSTS. With the weather changing and the seasons changing, we should soon be able to jump and run outside again.

My Plans: I know this is odd, but I am going to take a vacation in Mid-Season. I am not going to take a vacation from training however. The hotel has a weight room, a bike and a treadmill and I plan getting creative while I am there. But more importantly I am committed removing myself from stress and worry, while I relax and enjoy some much needed time away. Then it will be April. I don’t have an official Outdoor schedule planned out, once I know the meets I am going to I will post links/results on the right.

More info: In terms of my approach to making the trials. I plan to run from 9 or 10 lefts (125-145 feet), I hope to grip between 15’- 15’4” and I will jump higher than I ever have before. I probably could hold higher, but I feel like this is the best grip for my technique right now and I am confident I can jump 18+ feet on a 15’6” pole.

That’s all y’all. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions my new email is cgarricksmith@gmail.com. Thanks.

Workouts:
3/5- Vault Day: 6 Lefts, 84', 15' 17.9/17.5, Bungee @ 5.20 (Practiced in Cincinnati)
3/6- Sprints 8x80m, Stretch, Cool Down
3/10- Lift (Squat 3x10, 9, 8 and Bench 3x8, 7, 6 and Lower Body Circuit), Vault for distance (see videos below), 10x200m Progressives
3/11- Lift (Clean Pulls 3x8 and Upper Body Circuit), 10x40m Sled 25lbs, 4x200m
3/12 - Vault Day: 50’ Drill (basically do what you have to jump from 50’…confidence drill, try it), 14' 18.4/17.6 Grip 13’, Bungee @ 14’/14’6”/15’, 10x Speed Plyos
3/13- 10x8L Weighted Pole Run, 6x150 @ 19 secs., Lift (Bench @ 185 3x6, 5, 4 and Upper Body Circuit
3/14- The Tunnel Stair Workout x 12 (running in circles up and down steps until your legs burn) at 7am
3/17- 10x400m Progressives Indoors
3/18- Vault Day; 4 lefts, 56.5', 14' 18.4/17.1 15' 21.8/20.0, Bungee @ 4.90m
3/19- Core Workout Circuit and Nursed a sore leg
3/20- 10 Min. Run on Flat Ground and 10 Min. Run on Stair Loop
3/21- 5x200m (30, 27, 27,27, 26 secs.), Still had some soreness @ 80%