Archives for August 2019

August 10, 2019

I had a chance yesterday to catch up with my former athlete Keni Harrison, who had a rare day off from training in Austin, TX, where she trains under coach Eldrick Floreal. We talked on the phone for about 45 minutes, and I was able to embed an interview within our conversation. Keni answered questions about her 2019 season, her thoughts on the upcoming World Championships, her past disappointments on the track, her emotional growth as a person and as an athlete, and her thoughts on Sally Pearson’s recent retirement announcement. The interview portion of the conversation is transcribed below:

Steve McGill: When we talked in 2016, you were telling me about how you felt your growth as an athlete had exceeded your growth mentally–that you weren’t ready for the pressure that came with being a celebrity athlete. In what ways, would you say, have you grown from then to now?

Keni Harrison: The experiences that I’ve had have allowed me to grow; I had no choice but to grow. Whether that’s negative or positive, I don’t know. But I try to push aside the negative. And when something works, I just keep doing it. I’m continuing to mature, to take the good with the bad. Knowing that the things I struggle with are mental for the most part, I focus on that aspect of things. I now I see a sports psychologist. I know I’ve had my struggles, but it’s about finding a solution. In that sense, seeing a psych has made an impact on my life. read more

August 3, 2019

Very rarely do I see hurdling videos on Instagram that really grab my attention, but it happened when I saw this post of Aries Merritt doing a quick-feet drill. I’ve watched it over and over again, and I really love it, to the point where I’m sure I will be incorporating into my cadre of drills starting in the fall.

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Quick feet!! 👣 Aries Merritt 🇺🇸 hurdling over mini hurdles. 🚧 🔥👍 💯 @amhurdlestar . . . . . #athletics #trackandfieldlife #trackandfield #nike #teamusa #runnation #usatf #sprinting #sport #olympics #nikerunning #sprinter #olympian #followme #diamondleague #instagood #hurdlelife #hurdle #hurdles #theathleticsclub #nikeathlete #110m #throwbackthursday #trackandfieldnation #worldrecordholder #instamood #runnerslife #runnersofinstagram #runnerscommunity

A post shared by You Are Your Only Limit 💯 (@theathleticsclub) on Jul 31, 2019 at 5:19pm PDT

Here are the things I like about it:

1. The three-step rhythm. As I’ve stated before, I almost exclusively use drills that are done to a three-step rhythm, because I love how such drills incorporate race rhythm and teach the body to ingrain that cadence from the very beginning of the season.
2. It requires a high level of concentration, which again, mimics the type of focus required in a race. The hands and feet have to adapt to the spacing.
3. It shows that between the hurdles and over the hurdles is one continuous motion, with no pauses. I don’t like drills in which pauses are part of the design of the drill. At no point in the hurdling action do you want to pause. At no point in the hurdling action do you want to have the front leg clearing the barrier while the back leg remains on the ground. I see a lot of drills like that, and just about everybody seems to use them, but I prefer drills like this one here. Keep it moving!
4. Because the hurdles are very low, the drill doesn’t put a lot of pounding on the legs. 

My impression is that this drill is designed for elite-level hurdlers who are compelled to “shuffle” between the hurdles because they don’t have the space to sprint. So it teaches the body to react! react! react! So, even though I don’t coach anybody who runs sub-13, I can see how I can use this drill to my own benefit for my hurdlers, just by making the necessary adjustments.  read more