 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
| forum | soapbox | profiles | logs | blogs | results | rankings | media | interviews | games | aow | pow | store | links |
|
 |
Training Camp with the Gee Gees INTRO Hey, my name is Katie O'Hearn, and it's my second year on the Gee-Gees X-C team. I have not been a runner my whole life. It all started two New Years Eve's ago when in a drunken stupor I made my resolution to run a marathon. That was quickly downgraded to a 10K, which I ran during National Capital Race Weekend. I now consider myself a runner, and I absolutely love it. Where last year was more about staying in shape, this year I have goals. i want to run 5K in under 20 minutes. I have run a 5k twice in my life. My first one in 22:45 (brutal) and race weekend this year in 20:20, so I'm on my way. Our team worked hard over the summer to prepare for camp. Those who could make it to practise did so 3-4 times a week, and those who couldn't followed a schedule emailed out weekly by our coaches. Oh and did I mention 3 of those practises were at 6:15 am? Now that, my friends, is dedication. Here are a few journal entries from our training camp at the Petawawa Army Base. DAY ONE So we arrived at camp on Saturday. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I'll tell you one thing. The men in full army gear with assault rifles slung over their shoulders are most definitely intimidating. Then we went for a run around the base and were shown the lovely bear traps and warned that black bears frequent the area surrounding the base. Hmmm. Now I'm wondering what have I gotten myself into, and will I get out without being shot at or mauled?? The afternoon was fun. The ladies hit up the beach for "cross-training" and then we got our first taste of delicious mess hall cuisine. It was actually pretty cool. For a couple bucks and you could pack a bowl full with as many random items from the salad bar as you wanted, although I must say at by the end of the week the thought of having to eat canned tuna ever again in my life makes me want to gag. The evening was full of lectures, nutrition and injury prevention. They were awesome. Over the week I really learned so much about nutrition and about choices I thought were healthy (my precious Power Bars!) but are actually pretty junky foods. Everyone keeps talking about this hill workout coming up on Monday. It sounds hard, but I'm actually really excited about it. I love any workout that makes me want to swear like a sailor and sweat like a hooker. And now it's off to my bunk bed to get some shuteye. By the looks of it, I got a hard week ahead of me. Goodnight!! DAY THREE I can honestly say that I don't think my ass has ever been this sore in my life. Neither have my hamstrings actually. Or my calves. But it's that good I-worked-my-ass-off-and-I-loved-it kind of sore (if you know what I'm talking about). Today we did the hill workout. It was awesome. Straight up this sandy hill, and then around a loop at the top that was flat, then a steep, sandy downhill, then back up part of the same sandy hill for five minutes. I really pushed it and tried to concentrate on form and I felt great, but it was definitely a workout. Then we ran to another set of hills in the forest, and did a couple of loops there. By this point, my legs were feeling like a set of big fat tree trunks, but I pushed through it and kept on running. It was awesome. This afternoon we had a pool workout, designed by Jacquie. I have never been a strong swimmer. I can dog paddle with the best of them, but if you ask me to swim any faster that 100 cm/per minute, your asking too much, so I definitely found this workout difficult. It was cool though, we'd do laps and then get out and do push-ups, sit-ups, the dreaded windshield wipers or dips. It was something that I would never have done on my own, and an excellent workout (even though Jacquie was kind enough to give us the "marshmallow" or toned down version!). I also think I swallowed enough pool water to thoroughly rehydrate myself from this morning. So far this camp has been amazing, working out, eating and sleeping: three of my favorite things to do!!! DAY FIVE Good job by the coaches today. We did a fartlek run this morning and the way they arranged it was so fun, it made it a lot easier to push ourselves and forget about our stiff muscles. We were divided into groups and arranged in flying-v's (just like the geese that for some reason are EVERYWHERE, even the parking lots where there is no water to be seen except for small puddles). The runner in the front would pick 1, 2 or 3 minutes and push it for that time. Then when there was thirty seconds or less left on the clock the girl in the back would surge to the front and try to pass us, and we had to speed up and stop her from passing. Oh, and did I mention that the coaches stole our watches so we would have no idea how much time was left in each interval except for the surging runner?? It was cool though. I never realized how often I look at my watch when I'm running a fast pace like that, definitely a habit I'll have to break, cause I think you can push it a lot harder when you aren't concerned with the seconds ticking down on your Timex. In the afternoon, we went through the army obstacle course, crawling under barbwire (well metal strings, but barbwire sounds much cooler), jumping over 6-ft stone walls, you know the usual army stuff. I learnt two very important things. First, teamwork is very important. Only by working together and helping each other out were we all able to make it through the obstacle course. The second thing I learnt? Never, in my entire life, will I join the army. It is definitely not my cup of tea. DAY SIX I'm sad today cause I'm leaving. I went for my last run around the base this morning. I learnt so much this week about nutrition, cross-training, injuries, and stretching. I got to meet many new people who have joined the team this year. (There's like 30 of us, it's awesome) Definitely developed some new muscles, or rediscovered some. I feel great. Completely focused and ready to start the 2005-2006 x-country season, cause I think this year the Gee-Gees are going to kill it!!!!
Post a comment |
|
|
