Letter from the Editor, September 2017
Hello readers, and welcome to the September 2017 edition of The Hurdle Magazine. With the onset of the off-season, this issue largely focuses on topics related to fall training and preparation for the long haul of another long season that will extend into May at the very least, and well into the summer for many.
Fitness expert and freelance writer Melinda Burris Willms is back with another outstanding article, this one entitled “Pre-Season: Time to Condition Body & Mind for Peak Performance.” This is a topic that has always interested me, as I have always felt that the off-season is the time to establish the practice habits and mental approach that will be so vital to success down the road.
Freelance writer Teige West is back this month after a brief hiatus to bring us a very informative article on supplement usage, entitled “Supplements: Increase Your Energy, Fight Fatigue & Enhance Performance.” In the article, West explains the smart and safe approach to supplement usage, emphasizing the importance of relying on one’s diet to consume the necessary nutrients that one needs to perform at one’s best.
In “From 33 to 39,” I discuss the challenges I have been faced with while coaching one of my athletes who is entering his first year of high school. Matt Garrett is fresh off a second-place finish at USATF Junior Olympics in the 100 meter hurdles, and now must make the transition to the 110 meter hurdles, with the hurdles raising from 33 to 39 inches. We have had three hurdling sessions thus far, and the article chronicles our progress while also indirectly giving advice on how to make the transition gradually, through drilling and block work.
“Tearing Down to Rebuild” is an article about using the off-season to thoroughly address technical flaws in order to reap maximum benefits in the peak of the outdoor season. As an example, I focus on the story of another of my athletes, Sofia Rooney, a multi-eventer who is also entering her first year of high school. In getting her ready for competitions last spring and summer, we only marginally addressed her technical issues. Now that the fall is here and there are no meets in the way, we are slowing down, starting from scratch, rebuilding her technique from the bottom up.
This month’s workout, “Fall Sprint Workout for Hurdlers,” is an off-season, base-building workout designed specifically for 100/110m hurdlers, designed to build speed-endurance while sprinting to the rhythm of a hurdle race.
For this month’s great race, we take a look back at the 2012 Olympic final in the women’s 100 meter hurdles. This is the race in which Lolo Jones was on her way to a sure gold medal as she was dominating the second half of the race before stumbling over hurdle nine and winding up in seventh place. It was also the beginning of Dawn Harper-Nelson’s establishing herself as one of the greatest athletes ever in this event, as she claimed the gold in 12.54. Sally McLellan, before she became Sally Pearson, finished second, and she too would go on to make her mark as one of the greatest hurdlers the event has ever seen.
Enjoy the articles, and let’s get back on the grind. As always, thank you for your support.
Steve McGill
