New Training Cycle!

My coach, Dan Pfaff, writes my running and lifting and plans each part of my training weekly.  Every 3 weeks, I start a new training cycle, adding some things, changing some things, and if I'm lucky- taking out some things.  I just started my second training cycle with Dan- which still includes 2-a-days (running in the morning and lifting in the afternoon) every day but Thursday (just running Thursday morning) and Sunday is an active rest day.  My last cycle was 2-a-days every day, which as you can imagine, can get very exhausting!   Not only do some of the exercises change, but also the intensity and volume.  The training season is divided into several different cycles, the first of which- I'm currently on it- is General Prep- which prepares you for the more intense workouts to come.  These workouts contain a lot of conditioning type exercises, such as up-backs (which I have tomorrow- Yikes!) where you run 70m at about 80% intensity and then turn right around and run back- sounds a lot easier than it is trust!  The workouts I have are very challenging and kicking my butt- just what I need.  Just finished my second day on my new training cycle and I'm exhausted!  Time to rest up for more work in the morning!

Drug Testing and Supplements

Yesterday morning I was awoken by a knock at the door at 7:12 am.  I almost didn't wake up- but then realized who it was and knew I had to- it was USADA.  USADA is the United States Anti-Doping Association- the organization that performs the random drug tests on all the athletes in the registered testing pool, which is athletes who are trying or currently do represent the U.S. in various sports.  As an athlete, we are subject to random testing- including at 7:12 in the morning!  We have to let USADA know where we are staying and what our daily activities are, including giving them a one hour time window stating exactly where we are and remain there for that entire hour (mine is usually 6am-7am just because I know I won't have a workout at 7am lol).  So I got up, did everything necessary for the drug test (which includes a full frontal urine sample), and then went back to bed before getting back up at 8:30am to start my day.

The trickiest thing about USADA and drug testing is not whether or not your directly taking banned substances- it's the supplements.  Many athletes, including myself, take supplements to help not only recover from workouts, but also for general health reasons- stuff like a multivitamin, fish oil, etc. etc. supplements many of the average population take for various health reasons.  The tricky thing about the supplements is you can never be sure if it doesn't contain a product that is a banned substance.  Supplements are not controlled by the FDA, so what the label says is in the product may or may not be actually what's in there.  USADA's stance on supplements is not to take them, however, with the amount of training we all do, we need things like multivitamins as our training places so much stress on our body.  As athletes, we must be very careful of what we put in our bodies and each time we take supplements we run the risk of testing positive.  Many supplement companies now put guarantees on their supplements stating they are clean and rewarding you monetarily if you do happen to test positive, which is great, but it's still always a risk.  Personally, I take supplements, and check USADA's drug reference religiously to make sure my supplements or their ingredients aren't banned (however, most of the supplements are not on the drug reference!).  For me, I feel that the supplements help me stay healthy, which is a risk I have to take each time a pop a pill. 

Back In Chula!

Just got back to Chula and I'm so excited to be back!  It's such an advantage to be able to stay at an Olympic Training Center.  The training center in Chula Vista is probably my favorite of all the training centers (other centers are in Colorado Springs, CO, and Lake Placid, NY); everything is right on site here!  I wake up in the morning and am able to get worked by the athletic training staff for any ailments I have, get made to order eggs for breakfast, and then walk down to the track to start my workouts.  Then after my track workouts, I can go right to lunch, get some more treatment by our staff, and relax a little before my second workout in the state-of-the-art weight room.  Not to mention the scenery is great around this place and the weather is always nice!

I am working with the Director of USA Track and Field, Dan Pfaff, and after only two weeks on his workouts I'm very pleased.  Last season I worked with Billy "Whiteshoes" Johnson, who is a great coach, but I needed someone who would be at the training center- and Dan Pfaff was highly recommended.  Dan trains many athletes here, and I am very fortunate to be working with him.  I also get to train alongside some of this country's top track athletes and I'm excited to see what the rest of the summer holds!  Stay tuned!

Oh Deer!

This summer I have decided to train out in Chula Vista, California, in the training center.  I first traveled out their by plane on May 1 to get situated and then flew back to Atlanta on May 8 for my sister's (Elise, my younger sister) graduation from Georgia State University.  I decided to drive back out to CA in order to have my car and to be able to bring a little bit more stuff for my new summer home.  Elise and I left for Chula on Sunday afternoon.  A little into the evening, as my sister and I were listening to an audio book and traveling at 70mph (the speed limit) down I-20 in Forest, Mississippi, a deer ran out in front of my car.  I slammed on the brakes and thought I'd avoid a collision, but wasn't so lucky.  The car is currently in Meridian, Mississippi, and is very close to being totaled.  The deer, on the other hand, did not survive the crash.  Luckily, both my sister and I were ok, just bummed that our road trip was cut short.  If you never hit a deer or know anyone (besides me) who hit a deer, as you can see, it can do a lot of damages.  Deers be trippin'!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog, the first part of my journey to the web!  Feel free to look around and post. Thanks for visiting!  :)