Inexperienced and Out of Shape

I'm starting out this project out of shape and inexperience, and the idea of jumping into hurdling (that was a pun) is pretty intimidating. I'm going on runs using the Horse Trail that is right behind the high school. It is just under 2 miles long, and I usually run through it twice before going through the first mile of the cross country course, which is a grand total of around 4 miles. What I hope to be able to do is get into shape for the season as quickly as possible. 

(The trail that I run)

Since I've never cleared a hurdle before, I though it was best to look up workouts to do in preparation for when track season starts. I've found a few links that I am currently using. In addition to this, my mom has forced me to practice going over a hurdle using a gate that's kept at the bottom of our staircase to keep out dog from going upstairs. Every time I go upstairs I have to stick my left leg straight out over the gate and use it to push myself up. Then, I bend my right leg and swing it over as well. Coming down the stairs I just have to jump over it, which is pretty simple.

During the cross country season, I hurt my back while I was at the beach. I had to sit out of some runs during practices and go on a bike in the weight room instead. My back has been fine since the season ended, but I've recently hurt it again. I'm pretty sure it happened while I was at stage crew, preparing for the upcoming spring musical. I'm carrying heavy props daily, which can't be great for a previously injured back to begin with, but I hurt it even more by jumping off the edge of the stage to get down quicker. My mom/coach suspects that one of my legs is longer that the other, and when I land the long leg puts pressure on my lower back. To prevent this from affecting my track season, I use an inversion table almost daily to stretch out. An inversion table is pretty much something you strap yourself to and then hang upside down for a few minutes.

Over the next week in going to try to improve my ab strength and hopefully will be able to try clearing a hurdle a few times. I hope that my confidence won't be an obstacle that I'll have to overcome and that with hard work and dedication I'll be able to achieve my goal.

Links Used:

http://digitaltrackandfield.com/hurdle-speed-workouts/

This website includes drills that improve a hurdler's technique, speed, endurance, and rhythm 

http://www.coacheseducation.com/hurdles/tonie_campbell_mar_01_2.htm

This is a site used by coaches to help hurdlers, and includes several beneficial workouts that can get me physically prepared for the season.

The Goal:

The Genius Project is one that I think won’t be a hassle to work on. I get to pick something I enjoy and spend time on it every day. With track season coming up, I’ve decided to focus on hurdling (well, my mom has decided, I’m going along with it). This would be easy to incorporate into my schedule because daily attendance is mandatory, and with my mom as the coach, there’s no way I would miss any practices or meets. I have never cleared hurdle in my life, let alone several lined up along the distance of 300m. What I hope to be able to do by the end of this project is confidently clear all of the hurdles and do so in a shorter amount of time than when I begin. I’m starting out of shape (I haven’t run since late October) with no  experience with a hurdle. I can only improve from there… unless I fall and break my leg or something, but I don’t really plan on doing that. I want to first focus on being able to actually clear a hurdle, but as weeks go by I will try to decrease my time. Despite never having had cleared a hurdle in my life, I think that my main challenge will be a confidence issue. I'll be too scared to try to jump over a hurdle in fear of falling and embarrassing myself, or I'll tell myself that I won't be able to do it and psych myself out. This project will not only help me learn to clear the 300m hurdles, but hopefully will be an experience that will boost my confidence.