Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

On tuesday I was driving to an all-comers meet about an hour away from my house when a car swerved into my lane and hit me head on. We were both going about 45-50 mph, and while I was able to walk away, the other driver had to be taken to the hospital. I am very sore and am suffering headdaches, which I have never had in my life, so they are a new and painful experience for me. There is also a constant ringing in my ears. I think the accident put alot of things in perspective for me, and I immediately found myself thinking of my friends who I was going to invite to the meet, before we all went off to different colleges. I have to start lightly into my training again, which was going very well before the accident. I figure that this is as good fo a time as any to re-focus and move back into the flow. 

I am going to start again on sunday with some jogging, and some light weights. I had been doing the High Powered Plyometrics program all summer religiously and this will be the first unplanned period of time that I will take off from it. Hopefully this accident will not have effected me to the extent where I will not be able to compete next year, but my grades in college are excellent and considering that I am already under an academic rather than an athletic scholarship I will be able to finish school if worse comes to worse. I am a decathlete for all of you who do not know, and my strongest events being a 50.79 meter javelin and a 11.79 meter shot put. I was a small thrower in high school who showed potential in distance running, and was told I should try it out and I fell in love. 

glad to hear that you were able to walk away! I hope the other party makes a speedy recovery too. If the headaches or ringing persist, i would recommend getting it checked out. good luck!

Sunday the 5th I did some light lifting, and then went for a jog
Sunday the 12th I did a harder lifting workout:
Front Squats,Back Squats,Romanian Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Bent over rows, and Shoulder shrugs, all for 3 sets of 8 with 2 minute rest
Monday the 13th I did a GS circuit
Tuesday the 14th I Ran some hurdles at 39" tall and 27 feet apart, my rythm though slow was smooth throughout the hurdles
Wednesday I went to a college orientation, left at 7:30 and got back at 8:30 at night, then went to bed
Thursday the 15th I had planned on doing another lower body lifting session, but I was sstill sore from Sunday/Tuesdays workouts and I dont want to strain something so I worked all day and rested that night
Today I am going to do my lower body weights workout, and possibly run some hills at a easy pace

The week of Sunday the fifth I worked all week, and that was hard enough, i got some strange pains in my joints and in my elbows and I decided that I didn't need to do alot more than I was doing at work, I work in construction so I was staying active

WOW. Just read this. Glad to hear you're feeling better. I've been in 2 accidents myself (flipped a car in one of them, totaled the car in the other) and I know they suck on many levels. At the end of the day though, if you can walk away you can count yourself as blessed. 

Friday17th:
3 of 10 Overhead Squats
3 of 10 Snatch grip box deadlifts

Sunday 19th:
2 mile XC run

I've decided to cut all auxillary lifts until I go back to school, there is no point in rushing it and I feel like the crash may have taken away some of my body's ability to recover as fast as it did prior to the accident, I'll try to do some more tempo in its place.
Monday 20th:
3 of 10 front squats
3 of 10 back squats
2 minute rest periods in between sets

Thursday August 23:
hurdles, 27' apart at 39" high, had some trouble getting a really smooth three step, i was overstriding a bit too much, and my trail leg was coming around and pulling my body out of alignment

August 25: tempo
August 26: ran/walked up a mountain, I would run up the really steep parts and walk up the lesser parts. It was 3,192 feelt tall, and at the top there was this awesome field of wildflowers, and an amazing view

August 28: hurdles at 27' and 39", felt good, i'll increase distance to 28' next time because on a couple of reps my steps carried me too close to the next hurdle and i was forced to jump ove it instead of running through it 

Wednesday 29th: tempo
Friday 31st: hurdles, 4 @ 39", 1 @ 42", 28' apart, first session wasn't so good, second was better
Saturday September 1st: weights upper, hurdles warmups

Is it a possibility that my left leg mechanics are holding me back in the dec? If I break down all of the events, it seems like the ones that have some major dependence on my left leg are all at fault.
100m: too simple for my left leg to have any major problems
LJ: my right is my takeoff leg
SP: initiate the glide off of my right leg, I have a weak blocking left leg in this event
HJ: I take off of my left leg, this is one of my worst events
400m: again, like the 100 too simple mechanically

110HH: i have a fair lead leg (right) but I have a really poor trail leg
DT: like in the shot, my left leg block is poor
PV: like most low-level decathletes this isn't a strong event for me, but again, i take off of my left leg…
JT: one of my best events, but maybe my plant leg (left) is a weak factor…
1500: the simplest mechanically

Now that I think of it, it seems my left arm is holding me back too in the throws, I have terrible blocking arm mechanics
So, should I really start to work my left side in basic stuff, like left leg hopping, kicking a soccer ball, to try and make it "smarter?" Same with my left arm, I really think that this may be a valid problem that may be holding me back for about 500 points throughout all ten events 

Sunday the second: hurdles, just warmups, some easy lower body weights, and some back weights (I combine my back with my lower body days)
Monday the third: jogged around on some soft surfaces, ran some agonizingly slow 800s, I have shin splints in one leg, but im going on a retreat tomorrow so im going to take it easy and hopefully when i get back on friday ill be good to go

got back on friday and lifted
OH squats 3 of 10
deadlifts 3 of 8
good mornings 3 of 8
seated cable rows 3 of 10
seated OH rows 3 of 10
shoulder shrugs 3 of 10

Saturday 8:
Bench, Military Press
Sunday 9:
Core strength
Monday 10:
Hill sprints in the morning
Lifts in the evening:
Front Squats 3 of 5
Back Squats 3 of 10
Romanian Deadlifts 3 of 10
Seated Cable Rows 3 of 10
Seated overhead rows 3 of 10
Individual arm dumbell Shoulder Shrugs 3 of 10