Letter from the Editor, December 2020

Hello Subscribers, and welcome to the Dwcember 2020 edition of The Hurdle Magazine. In this month’s issue, I wrote four articles, and  freelance writer Melinda Burris wrote two.

In my first article, “Cycle Arms, Injuries, and Covid Blues,” I discuss the progress of my athlete, Brandon Johnson, and the difficulties we’ve faced as he suffered an injury recently, and the latest surge of the coronavirus has set us back in our training. The article includes video footage from a recent training session that went very well.

My next two articles, “Dedication and Learning to Lose,” and “Getting Back Up” kind of go hand in hand, as both focus on the psychological side of being a hurdler. In the first one, I focus on my hurdling days as a senior in high school and then making the transition into college, where, it seemed, everybody in the world was fast. In the second article, I include several passages from an essay that a student of mine wrote who is a horseback rider. In her essay, she asked the question, “Is it worth it?” when referring to all the challenges and setbacks that are a part of the life of a horseback rider, and I make the connection of how her insights also relate to the challenges and setbacks that a hurdler faces on the daily.

This month’s workout, “Ladder Workout for 400m Hurdlers,” is a good workout for long hurdlers that begins to introduce speed into the mix after building a conditioning base in the fall.

In Melinda Burris’ first article, “Why Athletes Should Include Winter Vegetables in Their Diet,” Burris goes in depth in discussing the topic that the title suggests. In her second article, “Weight Training Correctly & Avoiding Overuse Injuries,” Burris discusses causes the importance of lifting weights in such a way that maximizes reps as opposed to maximizing heavy weights, especially in a sport like track and field; in the second part of the article, she discusses the importance of training properly and avoiding technical flaws in order to stay injury-free.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support. Enjoy the articles, and good luck with your training and the upcoming season.