Obstacle #1: Hamstring

My biggest obstacle for the past two years has been my hamstring. There are many different aspects that affect my hamstring. First, the number of miles and the intensity of those miles. Sprinting all out would not be a good idea. Plus I when I am sprinting all out I am not going that fast anyway. Fast strides I can handle, but anything that approaches the pace that I could run for 400 meters is off limits. In terms of the number of miles, I am going to closely monitor the # of miles. I plan to run the fewest miles this year so that my hamstring will hold up. In terms of the intensity, well this summer won't be extremely intense, but I plan on it being easy enough for my hamstring to stick in there but intense enough to ensure that I come into the xc season in good shape. Second, the strength of my hamstring. If the hamstring is weak it won't last a cross country season. What can I do about the strength of my hamstring? One activity that I really like, and I will probably do this summer is stadium steps. Running up two steps at a time. The next day after stadium steps I am sore in the hamstrings but that soreness eventually goes away and my hamstrings eventually feel stronger and thereby handle workouts better. Also, after every run I do leg curls: 3 x 10. The first set is with my foot straight and lifted up and down. The second set is with my foot pointed in and the third set is with my foot pointed outwards. This works three different areas of the hamstring. Eventually I will find ankle weights and start utilizing ankle weights for the three sets of 10. The third aspect is my flexibilty. Most of the stretching I do focuses on the hamstrings(my problem area). Probably focus solely on stretching out the hamstrings for 5 minutes after every run, and then stretch other areas. After going through all the different stretches with the hamstring and other areas, I see if I can comfortably touch my toes. If I can't I further stretch out the hamstrings until I can.

Tomorrow I will discuss Obstacle #2.