Workouts: 12/23, 12/26, 12/2

12/23 At KC. Joe trained with Brandon from the Badgers. Started with circles, swings, over/unders, deadlifts (220#), lateral lane hops, elevated push ups and hurdle mobility. Did stride, pickup, accel before some practice starts and then 30m timed accels from blocks. Joe posted a best of 3.95 -- just a few hundredths off his best-ever mark of 3.89. Hurdling consisted of 6-step powers, 3x1H block (39 and 42), 3x2H block (42 and 39 -1), 3x4H (39 -2). Block work was side-by-side. Splits were around 1.2 mostly. Nathalie did the same workout (lower of course) minus the 30m accels, which she had done in a previous workout. Made good progress on block starts with 8-step as well as 3-step, which we got out to about -1.5. Ran most of the hurdles at 27 or 30. Splits were always under 1.3, some at 1.2 -- very good.

12/26 At KC. Joe and Nathalie did circles, swings, A skips, carioca, side shuffles. 2x5 deadlifts (270/180), L+R 1-leg hops, elevated push ups and hurdle walkovers. Did a few hurdle drills: hangovers, pullovers and pull off -- all working the trail leg. Some 6-step power hurdles plus 1. Block starts over 1, starting low and working up. 4x3H from blocks (-1' 27 / 39-42-42-39). 3x4H from 3-pt. (-6"). Stretch.

12/2 At KC. Joe, Nathalie and Mollie did circles, swings, over/unders, deadlifts (180/270), single-leg hops, elevated push ups, walkovers. Some 4- and 6-step power hurdles followed to work on hip displacement into hurdle. 3x3H 5-step (-3", R, R). Women did 5x2H (-3", R, R, R, R). 3x4H (-3" / -2). Joe did 4x2H (-3, R, R, R) and 2x4H (-3 / R). Bands and stretches.

Workouts: 12/17, 12/19

12/17 At KC. Guest coach Brian Main led the group. Ramp jumps as part of jump circuit predominated.

12/19 At KC. Kasey, Nathalie, Mollie, Annika, Jana and Joe trained together. Circles, swings, over/unders, deadlifts (150-170)(Joe: 185 straight bar), line hops, elevated pushups and walkovers (2 sets). Square up and run-off drills. 6-step power hurdles. Block starts (27-30-33) (Joe: 33-36-39), 2x each height. Worked some on blocks but also on good mechanics from drills -- squared up, on ball of foot, aligned over hurdle mark, trail leg pull through. Box exercises -- bridge, thrust, alt jumps, step ups (2x10). Quality is getting better and more consistent on hurdles. Three-step work after break.

UWM: Joe kicks off season with sub-9 effort

12/6  At UWM. Joe ran 8.95 in 60H, good for 7th in a tough field. Brad tried HJ, but opening height of 5-5 was more than he could clear at this point. He also ran a 60 (8.20) and threw 10.83 in SP.

Workouts: 12/9, 12/10, 12/11, 12/12, 12/13

12/9 At KC. Kasey, Nathalie, Annika, Jana, Zuzka and Mollie did circles, swings, over/unders, 3-5x deadlifts (150/170#) followed by 5 bunny hops and 10 elevated push ups. Stride, pick up and acceleration as prep for 3x30m timed accelerations. Best times: Kasey 4.67, Nathalie 4.67, Mollie 4.73, Jana 4.97, Annika 4.99, Zuzka 5.38. Kasey, Nathalie and Mollie all ran faster than their previous bests from prior years. 6-step power hurdles plus 2 1-step hurdles. Block starts working on 8-step (or 9) to H1, ranging from 22s up to 30s. Band work. Stretching.

12/10 At KC. Tonight's high jumpers were Alex, Kasey, Annika, Jana, Mollie, Mike, Jerome, Matt and Brad. Did usual warm up and then a few short approach jumps and run throughs. Didn't count jumps but most took about 6 to 10 jumps with full approach at challenging heights. For the first night jumping with a regular bar at some decent heights, the night went well for most. Alex, Kasey and Mollie made some nice bars, and Jana and Brad made some good improvements and finished with some good jumps. Jerome got off some nice jumps at some good heights, especially for our facility. Mike not as sharp as last week, having some footing issues, not getting a good block at plant. Annika still needs to get a more consistent approach so as not to get steps too long coming into the plant. Matt needs to stretch tall at takeoff and get to the top before starting layout -- just rushing that a bit. Kasey moved her mark back to 50.

12/11 At KC. Joe and Brad practiced hurdles tonight. Joe's warm up included 2x5x210 deadlifts followed by bunny hops and elevated push ups. Did a pick up and an acceleration followed by a few 6-step power hurdles into 1-step and then 3-step. Worked H1 from 33 to 42 off falling start and 3-pt. Block starts over 2 42s and then 3 42s. Ht splits around 1.25. Shifted down to 39s, running 1.2s, and working acceleration through H3. Finished with a few more 39 reps, working on keeping hips square and finishing a powerful trail leg. Brad's night consisted of multiple 6-step power hurdles at various heights and 8-step 3-pt starts at various heights up to 39, mostly focusing on lead leg mechanics and cut down timing.

12/12 At KC. Mollie did some 6-step power hurdles, including some with a 1-step and 3-step. Block starts over 1H with a couple reps each at 27, 30, 33. Finished with a couple reps over 4H 27 -3 and then joined sprint group.

12/13  At KC. Brad, Nate and Matt warmed up and then did some slow lows and an acceleration and block start before 3x 30m timed accels. Bests: Logan 4.08, Matt 4.10, Nate 4.48. 6x6-step power hurdles plus 1-step. 6x1H starts (Matt on blue marks, others on red). 4x4H (Matt on blue -2 36/33, others on red at 27). Stretching/rolling.

HJ approach marks

Kasey: 8 / 26 /50
Brad: 13 / 27 / 55
Annika: 8 / 26 /48
Jana: 8 / 26 / 49
Madeline: 8 / 27 /52
Alex: 8 / 25 / 47
Matt: 13 / 26 / 52
Jerome: 13 / 27 / 60
Mike: 13 / 26 / 53
Mollie: 8 / 27 / 52

Workouts: 12/2, 12/3, 12/5, 12/6

12/2  At KC. Set a record for most women at an MSOE hurdle practice -- 6! Kasey, Nathalie, Mollie, Annika, Zuzka and Jana. Circles and swings followed by deadlifts (130-150#), rebound jumps, pushups. 4x 4-step power hurdles into 2 1-steps with runoff. 4x 4-step block starts into 22" hurdle. 4x 6-step block starts into 22"H. Also did some oppo work with 3x3 27s at 22' off 4-step power. Finished with band work.

12/3  At KC. Another record tonight -- most high jumpers at one MSOE practice --10! Kasey, Brad, Annika, Jana, Madeline, Alex, Matt, Mollie, Jerome and Mike. Everyone did standard warm up activities and then about 6 run throughs, some with scissors jumps. Shifted to some 8" ramp jumps off 4-step, 6-step and full approach. Most jumped 15-20x, working on plant angle and layout. Everyone had good jumps from time to time, and Mike had solid, consistent jumps with nice rotation every time. Jerome started finding his rhythm and plant angle later on and, of course, was up there around 7-0 on the bungee. Kasey moved her approach back a foot and that helped her speed through the turn. Looking for more consistent layouts. Brad only took a few jumps to avoid re-injuring his leg. Annika and Jana did very well for their first night with full-speed jumps. Jana was getting nice vertical and rotation around the bar at the end when she started to keep her head back a bit longer. Matt was similar. Once he started keeping the head back, he was able to improve his rotation around the bar and had some nice jumps. Annika was good when she brought the speed through the turn. Alex with a class at 5 didn't get as many jumps, but her approaches were consistent and the jumps she got were good. Mollie coming in after 5 didn't get as many jumps, either, but she also improved her layout at times and showed good consistency in the approach. Madeline had great rotation around the bar but will need to improve approach speed, which will help her lean into the turn more and avoid jumping into the bar. All in all, it was a very good night. We got a lot of jumping and made a few corrections. Finished off with some special exercises, including one-leg box jumps, rim jumps, stair jumps, medball ups (doubles and singles). Stretched.

12/5  At KC. Joe did circles, swings, stride drills, over/unders and a strength series with deadlifts (190), box ankle pops and elevated push ups. Hurdle walkovers, sideovers, skipovers. 6x6-step power hurdle into 2 1-step hurdles (33). Block work 4-step, 6-step, 8-step -- all at 27. 3x4H (-1 27) with ht splits around 1.15. Major points of emphasis were: alignment, posture, lead leg fold, lead leg cut down and left arm (lead) pulling back with elbow in. Made good corrections on those items. Will try to maintain those improvements at higher heights next time. Finished with band work and stretching.

12/6  At KC. Matt, Brad and Nate warmed up and then did walkovers, sideovers and skipovers (reg and oppo). Worked 6-step power with runoff. Worked blocks to 4-step (22), 6-step (27) and then 8-step (30-33). Band work. Stretching/rolling. Nate was much improved -- better takeoff point and hurdle mechanics as a result. Matt worked a bit on amplitude of arms off the line and turnover into H1. Brad worked on changing head position at "set" (looking back to feet) to avoid popping up on step 1. His reps were limited because of his previously injured leg tightening up. Good practice -- maxed out speed, hit the step and takeoff targets, and had good aggressiveness. Ready to move up a notch next time and add another hurdle.

Week 3 workouts

11/18  Annika and Jana joined Kasey and Nathalie tonight. Good group. Good practice. Started with circles and swings. Moved to a couple over/unders and moved right into 2 sets of 5 deadlifts followed by 5 hops and 10 elevated pushups. Hurdling consisted of walkovers, sideovers, skipovers; 4-step power; 4-step power + 1-step; 4-step power + 3-step (22); 8-step into 5-step (32). Most of the work was at 30. Some were oppo. Annika has some work to do on trail leg (getting loose and too far under); Jana had no major problems, just need to be a bit quicker off the hurdle and keeping a good line; Kasey had good arms with the right lead. The arms get away a bit on the left. Nathalie also had no major issues, running aggressively throughout the workout. Did some block introduction for Jana and Annika. Stretched.

11/19  Kasey, Alex, Mollie, Madeline and Matt worked run-throughs, some 4-step jumps and more than a half dozen full jumps at a moderate height with bungee. Looking pretty good on our approaches -- most important part of any jump.

11/20  Joe, Logan, Nate and Mollie hurdled. 6x4-step power + 1-step; 6x6-step power + 3-step (-4); 6x6-step to 5-step (4H  +6). Mollie worked at  27. Joe and Logan at 33. Nate split time between 27 and 33. Everyone got some oppo reps. Stretched and/or rolled.

11/21  Zuzka did circles, swings and marching walk, jog, skip and run. Walkovers, sideovers, skipovers. 4-step power and 4-step +1 1-step and +1 3-step. One set of oppo. Tried a few 6-step powers into 3-step and then some block work, including a few 6-step starts over a 22. Nearly all the other hurdle work was at 27. Did better tonight with knee drive into, over and between. Trail leg is still too loose too often. Attack is getting better. Stretched. Joe didn't hurdle tonight, having done that last night. He went out to the field for some tempo runs.

Week 2 workouts

11/11  KC. Kasey and Nathalie did some circles and swings, over/unders and 2x4-5 DLs at 170# with 2x4-5 depth jumps and 2x10 elevated push ups. 6x4H 4-step power hurdles into 1-step hurdles. 7x5H at 27 -4. Some reps were oppo. Kasey shifted to right leg as preferred lead. Nathalie left. Finished with 2x8 dumbbell work: speed jerks, lunge walks, bench press and hip thrust. Stretched.

11/12  KC. Alex warmed up but had some pain in her lower leg and left to do the no-impact sprint workout and then get treatment. Kasey and Brad were next. Did some circle jumps and short approach work before full-approach run throughs. Both were getting good plants and rotations on the 4-step work. Kasey did a particularly good job of getting vertical and controlling that last step which sometimes gets too long. Approaches were mostly on the mark. Madeline joined in during run throughs before leaving for vault work. Jana and Annika arrived about 5:15, did most of the warm up work and then did some circle jumps, short approach jumps up on stacked mats, finishing with full approach work. So far, so good for them. Marks: Kasey 8/25/49, Brad 13/27/55, Annika and Jana 8/26/49, Madeline 8/27/52.

11/14  KC/VF. Annika, Jana and Zuzka did some warm up and deadlifts (~100#) and then went outside for another round of hurdle training. Started off with 4-step powers but at  27 this time. We also added a second hurdle with a 1-step. We worked oppo on both drills. Tried some 3-step at about 22' from the 4-step power, which went well and included more oppo work. Everyone made some good corrections, but as to be expected, there are inconsistencies. Zuzka overstrides somewhat, needs to maintain consistent knee drive and become more aggressive. Jana tends to get off her alignment but has good attack. Annika sometimes brings trail knee to low and swings out the lower part of lead leg, but sometimes she's good. Jana had some shin problems again despite the soft surface, so she shut down for a while. Went back inside for dumbbell series with push press, jump squat, step up, split squat and walking plate twist.

11/15  VF. Joe, Logan, Brad and Mollie warmed up with circles, swings and skips to strides. Worked preferred and oppo 4-step powers 4x and then 4x into 1 steps. Next, 6x6H (30"/36'). Brad strained his trail leg hamstring a few reps in. Everyone else finished out with 10 different partner bodyweight exercises and 4 different stretches.

Avoiding food temptations

Fast and easy are two things that can get you into trouble with junk foods. When you are trying to lose weight, maintain a healthy weight or just eat healthier, think about what you are choosing to eat when you get hungry during the day. Instead of reaching for bags of processed and sugary foods, choose healthy items:

Cut-up vegetables: Slice them, bag them, eat them. Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, broccoli florets, sugar snap peas, pepper strips, etc.
Sauteed vegetables: Saute them in olive oil with chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, or a dash of turmeric. Refrigerate and use for side dishes or hot snacks (warmed in a microwave).

Soups: Make one or more of your favorite soups and store them in serving-size cups in the refrigerator. Have a cup as a pre-dinner appetizer, to take the edge off, or as a snack.
Steel-cut oats: If you’re worried about time, cook up one week’s worth of oats according to the package directions and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Emergency foods: Everyone needs good-for-you choices. Have some of this around:  almonds, peanuts or walnuts; bags of pre-chopped fruits and veggies; apples; dried fruit; and edamame.

If you have this stuff handy, you'll be less likely to grab the chips, crackers and other processed foods that aren't very healthy. All part of good preparation. Good for your body and your brain.

Week 1 workouts

11/04  VF. Kasey and Nathalie did a couple sets of over-unders and 170# deadlifts. On soccer field, did leg swings, a couple strides and some slow lows. 6x3H 1-steps, 6x3H 3-steps, 6x3H 5-steps. 2x8 dumbbell step ups, push presses, jump squats, split squats, plate walks.

11/05  KC. Kasey and Alex jogged a couple laps, did a couple pickups and then our flexibility series (arches, codogs, bridges, abs, scorps), 2-arm skips, 3-pt line runs, pit bridges, backovers from high box. Measured full run and mid point off 10x RT. Jana, Zuzka and Annika joined us around 5 and got in on some short approach 6-step jumps to a sit on the pit and then a few more reps with a layout. Marks for Kasey: 8/25/49 Alex: 8/25-3/47

11/06  KC. Group meeting

11/07 KC. 11-7 lucky numbers? Maybe. Jana, Zuzka and Annika started learning how to hurdle today and made rapid progress. Did in-place drills, walking drills, wall drills, hit-hit drills, oppo work, slow lows and 4-step power hurdles at 22." Stretched quad, ham, calf and hip flexor. Long way to go but off to a great start. Jana aggravated some shin pain. Will proceed with caution. If anyone has shin pain, stop what you're doing. Get treatment and do alternative workouts with low or no impact until pain subsides.

11/08  VF. On soccer field with Joe, Logan, Nate and Brad. Warmed up with some circles, swings, skips and strides. Walkovers, sideovers, skipovers. Slowlow loops. 6x4 1-step, 6x4 3-step, 6x5 5-step -- all at 27", half with oppo. Dumbbell work: 2x8 step ups, split squats, jump squats, plate walks and push presses.

Relaxed running

Summer and fall training months are a good time to work on staying relaxed while running fast. Whether running your short accels, max velocity sprints in the 40-60m area or longer sprints, learning how to "let" the speed out rather than "force" the speed out is worth practicing. Make no mistake, you want to apply as much force as possible -- especially in starts -- but you need to do it smoothly.

Try to take the "muscle" out of your running. Sometimes, the more you try to power the sprint, the less power you have to use as the race progresses. In some ways, this is counter intuitive -- like leaning away from a high jump bar you are trying to clear. 

You work and work to increase the strength you can apply in sprints, jumps and hurdles, but if you try to use too much of it, you jeopardize your performance. Maintaining good posture and technique while avoiding too much tension -- all while moving very fast -- is key. The fastest typically don't look like they're trying very hard. 

We see this in our fly sprints. Many times, our fastest reps are not in the first couple when we may be trying our hardest. Sometimes, they are later reps when we're more tired -- but more relaxed because we're no longer trying as hard (too tired). We've seen it in meets, too. Sometimes it shows up when an athlete races well when ill, or running an event they don't typically run. In both cases, they may be more relaxed because they may not be as trying as hard as they do when feeling well or running their primary event. Figure out how to tap into that relaxation in practice and then apply it in races.

Practice running with rhythm and relaxation -- letting the speed come out. Don't push for what isn't there. Just go as fast as you can without forcing it. Think about running your reps at 90-95% -- just taking that little bit off so you can relax a bit. The longer the rep -- or race -- the more important this becomes. You'll also enjoy your practices more and get better results in your races.

Summer training

Most of you have been away from formal training for 4-6 weeks. Staying active but in an unstructured way is best during that time.

Now is time to begin a summer training block. Each cycle consists of a weekly workout, to be repeated three times, making each summer cycle last three weeks. The training week has 6 days of training.

After each 3-week training block, you take a week off. These weeks are not total rest weeks, but consist of informal training (playing tennis, basketball, frisbee, etc).

One key component to my summer training is having you "own" the training. Contact me via Facebook or email when you are ready for each 3-week block of training.

Workouts will be basic and simple. Nothing involving advanced technical components. Each cycle will have the following components: a day of acceleration, plyos and/or lifts; a day of general strength, medball and/or bodyweight exercises; a day of speed, plyos and/or lifts; a day of tempo running; a day of cross training (minutes of another sport, such as tennis); a day of shin-conditioning exercises (essentially a day off but with some attention to shin splint prevention).

Because these workouts are of a general nature, they apply to jumpers as well as hurdlers. If you are playing volleyball, basketball, soccer or other summer sports, let me know, so I can factor that into your training plan.

You would have 3 training blocks in the summer. We likely would continue a similar arrangement when you return to school to get a block in September and another in October before team practice begins in November.

Naperville: Brian improves 400H PR

5/18  At Naperville. Good weather, rain shower, shifting winds hampered things. Joe and Brian M ran 15.61 and 16.23 into a -1.6 headwind as winds shifted prior to their race. Had the race run in the other direction as 100 did later, they would have been around their PR times. In 400H, Joe got out well but had some minor issues in the turn and ran 57.25. Brian J ran a PR 59.45 (#5 all time) and Logan 62.02. In HJ, rain delayed the start about an hour. Nate and Brian M both made 6-2.75, tying for 9th. Jerome cleared 6-4.75, tying for 5th. Everyone had at least one good jump at the next height.

Complete results

Workouts: 5/13, 5/14

5/13  At Marquette. Temps only in mid-40s and breezy. Logan, Brian J, Joe and Brian M worked hurdles. Everyone worked some 4-step power hurdles into 2 1-step hurdles. 400Hers did half with oppo. 110Hers did 3x speedbuilders (18-20 at 36, 22-24 at 39, 26-28 at 42). 3x 4H (Joe 2x) at 39-42-39 -1. Brian worked on a higher entry attack and trail leg pull through height. Joe on squaring up and getting lead down earlier. While Joe and Brian worked highs, Logan and Brian J worked 6x3 3-steps (8yd), starting at 30 and going to 33 and 36 -- 1x at each height on each leg. Next 6x up/back progressives (33). Joe then joined Brian J and Logan for 133s at race pace (run first third, second third and third third with 60 sec recovery between). Stretch.

5/14  At Marquette. Cool but nice day for Brian, Nate and Jerome at high jump. Pre-meet warm up, including RTs and practice jumps at 5-10. Took 3 jumps at 1.85 (6-0.75) with bar, 3 at 1.90 with bungee and then 4 at 1.95 with bungee. Worked on plant angle and pushing speed in turn to enhance lean away. Brian J did tempo work on turf, did some easy running and then some hurdle drills to prep for 400H on Friday.

North Central: Brians break out barrier bests on blustery day

5/10  At Naperville. Brian Main and Brian Janus moved way up on the all-time MSOE hurdle lists despite the mid-40 temps. Main became #3 all time with his 15.83 in the 110H, and Janus became #5 all time in the 400H with a 60.23 (splits, starting with H1-2: 4.8, 4.9, 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, 5.6, 5.6, 5.6, 5.6, 5.6) in his first-ever race in the event. Nate and Jerome continued their consistent level of high-quality jumps, each clearing 6-4.75, Jerome finishing tied for 5th. Brian jumped 6-0.75.

Workouts: 5/7, 5/8

5/7  At Marquette.  Joe did a tempo workout on his own. Nate, Brian and Jerome jumped in some perfect weather. Jogged a lap, did flexibility exercises, some pit bridges, backovers, 3 4-step jumps (scissors + 2 layouts) at 5-5. 6x run throughs. 2x 5-8, 2x 5-11, 2x 6-2 and 3-4x 6-5 -- all with bungee bar.

5/8  At Marquette. Joe, Brad, Logan and Brian worked hurdles. Started with 4x 1+1+1 power hurdles. 3x3H 5-step (Joe and Brian at 39s and 42s, Brad and Logan at 36). 4x2H starts (42s and 39s). 2x6H (last 3 -1, 1st set 42, 2nd set 39) (Brad and Logan ran sets of 4H) (Joe just one rep). 400H workout was H1-5 (Joe ran about 25.5 and Logan 26.5), H6-7-8 and H9-10-F. Rested about a minute after first set, less than a minute for last set. Stretched. Weather was great again. Very little wind, comfortable temp and dew point.

2013 Performance list

110H
Joe Buichl 15.51 (#2 all time)
Brian Main 15.83 (#3 all time)
Jonathon Anthony 16.70 (#8 all time)
Andrew Bianan 18.87
100H
Nathalie Oehlers 18.35 (#6 all time)
Kasey Mylin 19.41 (#8 all time)
Briel Larson 20.86 (#10 all time)
400H
Joe Buichl 56.30 (#1 all time)
Brian Janus 59.45 (#5 all time)
Andrew Bianan 60.85 (#10 all time)
Logan Bertling 61.17
Mike Cosentino 61.87
Nate Gray 74.40
Kasey Mylin 77.02 (#3 all time)
Nathalie Oehlers 78.03 (#5 all time)
60H 
Joe Buichl 8.77 (#2 all time)
Jonathon Anthony 9.10 (#4 all time)
Andrew Bianan 9.15 (#6 all time) 
Kasey Mylin 11.12 (#3 all time)
Briel Larson 12.25 (#5 all time)
55H 
Joe Buichl 8.13 (#2 all time)
Andrew Bianan 8.52 (#6 all time)
Jonathon Anthony 8.55 (#7 all time) 
Mike Cosentino 8.86
Kasey Mylin 10.36 (#7 all time)
Briel Larson 11.26 (#8 all time)
HJ
Jerome Rhodes 6-6.75 (=#1 all time)
Brian Main 6-6.75 (=#1 all time)
Nate Verdun 6-4.75 (=#3 all time)
Mike Cosentino 6-4 
Carson Henneberry 6-0.75 (#6 all time)
Alex Jandrin 4-6.75 (#6 all time)
Kasey Mylin 4-4.75 (#10 all time)
Leah Hendricks 4-1.5

NAC performance list

High jump / hurdle scoring
96    Joe Buichl
54    Jerome Rhodes
39.5 Mike Cosentino
22    Brian Main
21.5 Nate Verdun
12.5 Carson Henneberry
12    Jonathon Anthony
  8    Kasey Mylin
  6    Andrew Bianan
  4    Logan Bertling
  2.2 Alex Jandrin

NAC: Joe takes down 400H record

5/3  At Wisconsin Lutheran.  Cold, wind and rain -- what else is new? Sporadic light rain, persistent winds and temperatures in the low 40s made it tough on everyone. Unless your name is Joe. He ran his preliminary 400H in 56.30, knocking a few tenths off his previous record and placing himself into the finals with the fastest qualifying time. Mike also made the final, despite his sore hamstring and conservative approach to the race (70.19). Nate had a strong finish and posted 76.25. Logan had a heel first landing and skidded down and out of his lane off hurdle 2. Brad competed in is first decathlon. Day 1 consisted of: 100 (13.50), LJ (16-11.25), SP (32-4.75), HJ (4-11), 400 (60.14). He's in 6th going into Day 2.

5/4  At Wisconsin Lutheran. Warmer weather and sunny skies made for some good performances. Brad moved all the way into 2nd in the decathlon: 110H (18.95), DT (110-3), PV (10-4), JT (130-11), 1500 (5:11+). Joe won a full set of medals -- gold, silver and bronze for 4x4, 4x1 and 110H (PR 15.51 #2 all time). He also added a 4th in 400H (56.74). Brian got 3rd in HJ (6-4) and 7th in 110H (16.30 #3 all time). Nate and Jerome also cleared 6-4, tying for 4th. Mike made 6-0, tying for 7th, and Carson cleared 5-6. In the women's meet, Alex was T6th in HJ (4-5.5), and Kasey jumped 4-3.5. In the hurdles, Nathalie was 5th (18.85). Kasey took 4th in 400H (PR 77.02 #3 all time) and Nathalie 7th (78.03 #5 all time). Athlete of meet for our group: Joe for being our leading point-getter in this meet and breaking the 400H record.

Complete results


Joe and Brian in the 110H final.

Workouts: 4/30, 5/1

4/30 At Kern Center. Took about 25 min to rehearse pre-meet warm up. Took one jump about -5, two at -4 and three at -3. Some took an additional jump or two after that. Was good to see some higher bars. Carson stayed out with some patella pain. Mike did some benching to allow his hamstring to recover. Brad, Jerome, Nate, Brian, Kasey and Alex jumped. Some good jumps while working on a few minor technical issues. At Marquette. Nathalie, Joe, Logan and Nate did 400H training. After warm up, some strides and a hurdle progression 6x1H. 1x5H targeting race pace. 2x6-7-8 with walk back across track recovery. 2x8-9-10. Walking lap cool down and stretching.

5/1  At Kern Center. Brad, Joe, Brian and Nathalie worked highs. 4x1+1 power hurdles, 4x5 5-step, 4x3 block starts (2 at -1 -3", 2 at regular height and spacing). Liked where we ended up, just ripping through and  getting just a bit reckless and more aggressive. Brad got some splits under 1.4, Brian under 1.3 and Joe under 1.2. Nathalie improved her lead leg entries and ran some good lines on her reps. Good, quick, efficient workout with some nice adjustments.

St. Norbert: Record-breaking day in HJ

Brian clears 6-6.75

4/27  At De Pere. Records, PRs and top 10 all-time performances highlighted this day when warm weather finally greeted the team. Jerome and Brian soared to a school record 6-6.75, finishing 1st and 3rd, respectively. Nate also had a great day, equaling his PR 6-4.75, finishing 4th. Carson and Mike tied for 6th at 5-10.75. Joe had another good day, taking 2nd in 110H (15.83/PR15.60 - #2 all time), 3rd in 400H (57.52) and a leg of 4x1. Jon took 5th in 110H (17.13/16.72) and Brian 6th (19.31/16.75 - #7 all time). Brad ran 19.49. In 400H, Logan finished 5th (61.55) and Nate ran 78.66. Women high jumpers also had a good day as both Alex and Kasey had PRs of 4-6.75 (#6 all time) and 4-4.75 (#10 all time), respectively. Nathalie just missed finals, hurdling PR 18.35 (#5 all time). Kasey ran 400H in PR 79.70 (#4 all time). Athlete of meet: Brian. Lots of deserving performances but the record plus a strong hurdle performance put him on top.

Workouts: 4/23, 4/24

4/23  At Kern Center. Alex, Kasey, Carson, Mike, Brian, Nate and Jerome warmed up, did pit bridges, backovers, short approach jumps and run throughs. Next, 2x -6 -4 -2.

4/24  At Kern Center. Brad, Brian, Joe and Jon worked highs -- 4-step power hurdle into 1-step; 3x4H 5-step (42); 3x4H 3-step (39 -1). Brian did a few extra reps over 1H and 2H. At Marquette. Joe, Kasey, Nathalie, Nate, Logan warmed up and then did 6x progressive up/back and 2x6+4 with 1 min recovery after the 6 and then 15 min after the 4. Finished with 6x2 3-step oppo.

St. Norbert: Hat trick for Joe, men take both hurdles, HJ

4/21  At De Pere. Sunny but cold and breezy for the St. Norbert meet. Started off in the low 30s and maybe made it to low 40s. Despite the cold, Joe won both the 110H (16.10/16.18) and 400H (6.5 4.35 4.5 4.5 4.75 5.0 5.05 5.1 5.45 5.5 5.9 57.04) as well as running anchor on winning 4x4 (51.7 split). In 400H, Joe held 15s all the way through H8, went oppo 16 on H9 and then another 16 on H10. Logan had an excellent first 5 hurdles in 400H but got stuck going oppo on second 5 (6.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.7 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.2 6.2 61.96), finishing 9th. Andrew strained a hamstring in 100 and sat out the remainder of meet. Brad ran 110H for first time, 3-stepping all the way and running 18.89. Lead leg mechanics need continued work, but it was good to get through that one. In HJ, all the men placed, taking 5 places, scoring 25 points. Jerome 1st (6-2.75), Nate 3rd (6-2.75), Brian 4th (6-0.75 =#5 all time), Mike 5th (5-10.75), Carson 8th (5-8.75). Everyone had at least one good attempt at the subsequent height. Brian had a good debut despite problems on the approach (some 12s, some 10s). On the women's side, Nathalie ran 100H in 18.74. She also ran 400H (1:22.54) and 4x1. Alex had a good day in HJ, clearing 4-5 and getting one very close attempt at a PR 4-7. Kasey and Nate G were absent. Mike stayed out of 400H because of a strain incurred in 4x1. Picking Joe as athlete of meet for his three wins.

Men's results
Women's results

Workouts: 4/15, 4/16, 4/17, 4/18

4/15  At Kern Center. Everyone worked with sprint group or did strength work.

4/16  At Kern Center. Brian joined HJ group and trained with Jerome, Nate, Carson, Kasey, Alex and later, Mike. Flexibility work, pit bridges, backovers, 4-step jumps (some off ramp), run throughs, full jumps for Alex and Kasey at 4-0, 4-3, 4-4. Carson jumped at 5-6, 5-8. Brian and Mike at 5-6, 5-8, 5-10. Nate and Jerome at 5-10, 6-0, 6-2. Total jumps for most were in the 8-10 range.  At Marquette. Kasey, Nathalie, Nate, Mike, Andrew, Joe and Logan did a quick warm up 6x up/back hurdle progression and then   3-hurdle segments, starting at 2 into 3-4-5, 3 into 4-5-6 and so on to 7 into 8-9-10. Essentially, 6 reps covering 105 meters and 18 total hurdles. Calf stretches and out.

4/17  At Kern Center. High hurdle night had Nathalie, Brad, Joe, Jon and later Brian on hand. Did 3x3H 5-step (2x -3" and 1x race height). Took a practice start and then a 1H start at race height. Nathalie then did 4x4H a regular space and height. Men did 3 or 4x4H. Men finished up with a few 6-hurdle buildups, starting at 18' foot spacing and progressing in 2' increments to 26'. Everyone was working on making a few improvements: Nathalie consistency on steps to H1 and running a straighter line through the hurdles; Brad trying to get the lead leg to bend, cycle and get back down quicker, and flattening out the trail leg; Joe working to square up and get the lead aligned better and trail leg pulled through high to front, which was better when hips and shoulders were squared up; Jon worked on keeping the trail leg in tighter; Brian worked on everything as he scraped off some rust and made some nice adjustments -- good start mechanics and entry position to H1, working on 39s. Jon ran some quick split times -- all sub-1.2s all night. Joe was in mid to upper 1.2s most of night but got down to some mid-teens late in session after he squared up better.  Brad was in the mid to upper 1.3s most of the time, but had some faster and some slower, normal inconsistency for a first-year hurdler.

4/18  At Kern Center. Nathalie, Joe, Nate and Logan did a light 400H workout. Brief warm up and then 6x5H 1-step (1/2 oppo). Andrew trained earlier. Kasey was missing. Did a couple 1H starts, 3x3 relative spacing reps and then 4x3 random. Nate took a fall. Logan skipped a rep because of shins and to prep for 4x1 work. High jumpers did strength work.

Wisconsin Lutheran: Joe PRs 110s; high jumpers go 2-3-4

4/13  At Wisconsin Lutheran. Strong performances by the high jumpers and hurdlers given the conditions -- 39 degrees, some wind and some sleet. Joe ran a PR 15. 71 (#2 all time) for third in 110H. He followed that up with a win in the 400H, clocking 57.01. Nate had another great performance in poor weather, clearing 6-2.75 for second in HJ. Jerome took 3rd (6-0.75), and Mike tied for 4th with 5-10.75. Also hitting the scoring column were Andrew with 6th in 400H (61.69) and Mike with 7th (61.87). Just outside the scoring was Logan in 9th (61.96). Nate was close to his PR, running 75.05. None of the women made the top 8 in their events, but Alex and Kasey both cleared 4-3.25 in HJ, Nathalie and Briel ran 19.06 and 21.03, respectively, in 100H, and Kasey and Nathalie ran PRs 1:19.85 (#4 all time) and 1:21.58 (#6 all time), respectively in 400H. Athlete of meet: Joe.

Complete results

Workouts: 4/8, 4/9, 4/10, 4/11

4/8  At Marquette. Warm up of circles, swings, skips and strides with an up/back hurdle progression of 5, 10, 15, 20 yards. 3x3H + cruise to H7 with attack on H8. Everyone was on pace through H3 and attacked well at 8. Took at least 10 minute recovery between reps. Finished with a stride-jog cool down and then some wall stretches. On hand: Nathalie, Kasey, Nate, Mike, Logan and Joe.

4/9  At Kern Center. Kasey, Nate and Alex jumped. After warm up, a few short approach jumps, then 5x run through, 2x opening height and then 6-8 jumps at 6-0 for Nate and 4-4 for Alex and Kasey. Nate showed good consistency and made every jump. Alex had more clearances than misses, Kasey made some good improvements late in the session -- jumping before turning.

4/10  At Kern Center. Joe, Brad and Nathalie worked highs. Warm up and a couple sets of heavy deadlifts with tuck jumps and elevated pushups. Some 6-step power hurdles and then 3x3H 5-step extended. Worked 1 to 4 at regular height and then 4 back to 1 at -3. Nathalie worked regular spacing. Men were -1. Foam rolled.

4/11  At Kern Center. Joe, Logan, Nate, Nathalie and Kasey did a light 400H workout inside. Warm up and then 4x5H 1-step with 1/2 oppo; 4x3H relative spacing; 3x3H random spacing. Foam rolling.

Carroll meet: Jonathon runs PR; everyone hits scoring column

At Carroll: Temps in mid-50s with moderate breezes made for tolerable conditions when it wasn't raining. Jonathon ran PR 16.70 (#6 all time) in prelims before clocking 17.99 in finals for 6th in 110H, having clipped a hurdle midway, which sent him into some 4- and 5-step segments. John also ran legs in 4x1 and 4x4 (55). Jerome had another good performance in HJ, clearing 6-3.5, good for 2nd. Carson took 4th at 5-7.75, shutting it down at that point with a tight hamstring. In 400H, Logan ran 61.17  (6.6 4.6 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.35 5.75 6 6 5.9 5.9) for 4th place, and Nate set a PR 74.40 in 9th. In women's events, Alex cleared 4-6 for 8th in HJ, while Kasey cleared 4-2. In 100H, Kasey took a fall but came back later to run PR 1:20.42 (#5 all time) for 8th in 400H (8.9 6.5 6.2 6.5 6.8 7.3 7.6 7.6 7.3 7.6 8.1). Athlete of the meet: Jerome.

Complete results

Workouts: 4/4

4/4  At Hart Park. Nathalie and Nate warmed up and then did 4x3x1H 4-step power hurdles (1/2 oppo). 3x 1H pickup ~ 30m. 3x3H (33) at regular spacing off 3-pt start. 3x3+3 (30) with easy run between and 12-min recovery between reps. Split times: Nate: 5.5 to 6.6 + 7.0 to 7.4; Nathalie 6.0 to 6.8 + 6.9 to 7.1. Stretching and Gilles.

Workouts: 3/25, 3/26, 3/27, 3/28

3/25  At Kern Center. Briel, Kasey and Brad worked sprint hurdles. 6x5-step power hurdles (1/2 with oppo). Couple of warm up starts then 3x1H and 3x4H. Briel ran hand time splits in mid-1.6s to 1.7s. Kasey ran in mid-1.4s to upper 1.5s at race height and spacing. Briel shut down to rest her shins. Kasey continued with 3x4 up/back (30 -1/-2). Brad then resumed with 2H reps -- some at 39, most at 36, working on hitting takeoff point and getting lead leg down earlier. Had good success later in session and posted some reps in mid-1.2s (-1).

3/26  At Kern Center. Alex, Kasey, Carson, Mike, Nate and Jerome did flexibility work, pit bridges, backovers and run throughs. 10 full approach jumps, starting low and going up 2 inches on makes and down 1 inch on misses. Alex cleared 5 bars with a best of 4-4. Kasey cleared 3 bars with a best of 4-3, stopping after 6 jumps because of sore shins. Carson cleared 5 bars, best of 5-8 a couple times. Mike cleared 1 bar, with a best of 5-6 on 6 jumps (arrived late, had sore toe). Jerome cleared 5 bars, best of 5-11. Nate cleared 5 bars, best of 6-2.

3/27  At Kern Center. Joe, Jon, Brad and Nathalie worked sprint hurdles. After warm up, 2x5 deadlift, 5x tuck jump and 10x 3-count top 3-count bottom push ups. A few power hurdles, then 6x1H (reg height) and 3x4H (men 39 -1, Nathalie 30 reg). Joe and Nathalie also snuck in some PR fly sprints (Joe 9.52 mps and Nathalie 7.52)

3/28  At Cudahy. First day outside. Only 40 degrees but sunny with light breeze. Kasey, Nathalie, Joe, Logan and Nate. Brief warm up, some short-approach hurdles and then 2x5 (30), working on race pace. Everyone was reasonably close or on target. Finished with 5x3 turn hurdles off 35m run-in. Everyone hung around race pace or better. Good workout. Good to get outside for a change.

Workouts: 3/18, 3/19, 3/20, 3/21. 3/22

3/18  At Kern Center. Briel, Kasey, Nathalie and Brad trained together. 6x5 4- and 5-step power hurdles, half on oppo. 3x2 block starts at regular height and space. 3x4 at 30 and regular space. Brad did some additional technical work while the women did 2 sets of explosive lifts in weight room (push press, pedals, squat jumps, speed jerks and step ups).

3/19  At Kern Center. Nate, Jerome, Carson, Alex and Kasey trained. Flexibility series then double arm skips, pit bridges, backovers off box. 6x 4-step, 6-step and 8-step approaches off box with bungee bar. Nate, Jerome and Carson all cleared 7-0 off the 8-step with about an 8" ramp. Finished with plyometrics: tuck jumps, split jumps, squat jumps, single leg hops, rebound jumps, rim jumps off curve.

3/20  At Kern Center. Joe, Jon and Brad trained high hurdles. Warm up was followed with deadlifts, Russian box jumps and push up jacks. 3x4-step power (33), 3x5-step power (36), 3x5-step power (39). 3x2 and 3x4 block starts. Auto time bests for H1: Joe 2.13, Jon PR 2.17 and Brad 2.17 (39). On split times, Joe had a PR 1.29, Jon =PR 1.30. Finished with 2 sets of  6 explosive lifts: push press, pedal, squat jump, speed jerk, step up.

3/21  At Kern Center. Alex, Nate, Jerome and Carson trained together, starting with flexibility series, double-arm skips, curve running, pit bridges, backovers. 6 run throughs. 3 jumps around 4-2 for Alex, 5-8 for Carson, 5-11 for Nate and Jerome. Went up on second round of 3. Alex at 4-4, Carson 5-10 and Nate and Jerome at 6-2. Took a couple more with Alex at 4-7, Carson at 5-11 and Nate and Jerome at 6-3. Carson and Alex had some aches and pains, so they ended their workout. Jerome and Nate did over/unders, hurdle hops, single-leg box jumps, freeze drops, depth jumps.

3/22  At Kern Center. Mike, Joe, Logan, Nate and Nathalie did 400H training. Started off with 4x5H 1-step. 2x1H block starts. 6x3H relative spacing (Mike and Joe on 15, Logan 17, Nathalie and Nate 19).  4x3H (regular height, random spacing).

Memphis: 2 school records highlight great weekend

3/16  At Rhodes College. Everyone enjoyed the 76-degree temperatures, though the winds were brisk at times. Mike, Nate and Jerome all entered the HJ competition at 5-8 and didn't have a miss among them until 6-2 when Mike had one. All went on to clear 6-4 and the opportunity to set a school record at 6-6. Jerome made it on his first attempt. Mike and Nate both had some very close attempts. Jerome had a couple close attempts at 6-8. Jerome finished 2nd, Mike 8th and Nate 9th. Record breaking continued later in the afternoon as Joe shave nearly a second off the 400H, running virtually alone out in lane 7. His 56.56 was good for 7th place (splits: 6.7 4.2 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.9 5.0 5.0 5.4 5.6 6.0). Joe also had an excellent 110H race in a crosswind, running 15.82 (#2 all time). Andrew posted 18.87 in the 110H and 60.85 in the 400H (#8 all time). Logan was close behind with 61.50, then Mike 62.37 (7.1 4.5 5.4 5.2 5.0 5.3 5.6 5.7 6.0 6.3 6.4), and Nate ran 79.82. In women's competition, Alex got a PR 4-6.25 in HJ (#6 all time). In 110H, Nathalie ran 18.57 (#6 all time), Kasey 19.41 (#8 all time) and Briel 20.86 (#10 all time). In 400H, Kasey ran 1:23.86 (#5 all time) with splits of 8.4 5.9 5.9 6.4 6.7 7.3 8.3 8.5 8.3 10.0. Food at Corky's in Memphis was great, and everyone did well there. Athlete of meet: Jerome -- who put 8 inches on his previous PR and broke the conference record.

Top three high jumpers in MSOE history: Mike 6-4.75, Nate 6-4.75, Jerome 6-6.

400H crew: Logan, Andrew, Mike, Joe, Nate and Kasey.

Joe: Entry angles

This shot shows a nice vertical shin angle as the takeoff foot hits the ground.Hips are back a bit, leaving a bit of separation at the knees, but the shin angle is the key.

 Good displacement here. Hips well ahead of takeoff foot with a strong entry angle -- about 58%.

Here's Joe with an entry angle around 66%
Good when you can get the force vectors more toward the hurdle -- something closer to the 58% seen above.

Here is Joe's angle as the takeoff foot touches down. It's about 69% compared with 90% with the elite hurdler in the top image. Reducing this blocking will help improve entry speed and enhance the hip displacement that allows a more aggressive entry angle.

Workouts: 3/11, 3/12, 3/13

3/11  At Kern Center. Brad, Nate, Kasey and Nathalie warmed up and then did 4x3H extended 5-step (2x oppo). 5x2H (33/39bl) -- Kasey worked on alignment and getting the lead leg down; Nathalie worked on maintaining her forward lean off the hurdle and getting a consistent attack into and off of H1. Kasey and Nathalie started off running splits in mid-1.4s and ran a couple as fast as mid-1.3s. Nate  struggled to get a consistent 8-4 rhythm and to cycle rather than lift the lead leg as well as to get the trail leg out to the side. Similarly, Brad was flipping the lead foot out and around, and he was pulling the trail leg under rather than out and around. Brad did start making progress on getting the lead leg down and keeping knee drive going rather than reaching between hurdles. The group ended with 3x4 up/back (30 -- regular out and -1 going back). Lifted: 6x push presses, 6x pedal, 6x squat jumps, 6x step up, 6x speed jerks, 6x single squat jumps.

3/12  At Kern Center. Kasey, Alex, Nate, Jerome, Carson warmed up with flexibility series, pit bridges, backovers, 4-step jumps, 5 run throughs and then 10 jumps with women starting at 4-2 and men at 5-4 and then going up 2 on makes and down 1 on misses. Kasey had makes at 4-1 4-2 and 4-4. Alex had makes at 4-1 4-2 4-2 4-3. Carson had makes at 5-4 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-10. Mike at 5-3 5-4 5-5 5-7 5-7. Nate at 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-10 5-11 6-1 6-2. Jerome at 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-2 6-4. Jerome had 4 PRs, including the highest jump ever in the Kern Center.

3/13  At Kern Center. Joe warmed up and then lifted 3x260 and 4x260 with box jumps and elevated push ups. 3x4 5-step (39/42). 12x2H. Shot some video as we worked on many technical issues -- entry position, angle and extension into hurdle, lower arm carry with arms closer to body, lead leg extension and cut down, trail leg pull through and keeping hips and shoulders square. Made progress on several fronts. Some reps were very good -- and most were better than shown during indoor season.

Workouts: 3/4, 3/5, 3/6, 3/7

3/4  At Kern Center. Kasey, Briel, Nathalie and Brad did a new warm up series and then 6x 4-step power hurdles (1/2 with oppo for women), 5x1H block starts (30/36), 3x4H up/back on 1 min recovery (30 -2). Foam rolling. Briel stopped after 2x up/back because of sore shins.

3/5  At Kern Center. Kasey, Alex, Leah, Carson and Nate did a flexibility series, some double arm skips, circle runs, pit bridges, box backovers, 4-step scissors, 4-step box jumps, 6-step jumps. Worked mostly on plant with a shorter last step. Finished with 5x jump circuit -- single leg box jumps, medball slam/up, line run rim jump, bounding and clap (or 5) pushups.

3/6  At Kern Center. Jon, Joe and Andrew did a flexibility series, skips and strides, deadlifts (310/220jb) with box jumps and elevated push ups. 5x1 36 4-step power hurdles. 5-6x 1H block starts, most at 39, but a couple reps at 42. Joe continued his improvement, getting a PR 2.09 start. Andrew also got a PR at 2.10 and Jon had a 2.19, just .01 off his best. 3x4 up/back (39 -2 in trainers) with 1-min recovery. Joe ended with 4x5 squat jumps.

3/7  At Kern Center. Brad, Jerome, Nate, Carson, Kasey, Alex and Leah did flexibility series, double-arm skips, 3-point line runs, backovers, run throughs, run throughs with scissors. Women jumps were 3x 4-2 3x 4-4 2x 4-6. Brad took 8 jumps around 5-4 to 5-6. Carson and Jerome jumped 3x 5-6, 3x 5-8, 2x 5-11. Nate 3x 5-8, 3x 5-11, 2x 6-2. Checkmarks: Jerome 28-6 56-6; Alex 23 46, Kasey 25-6 49; Brad 25 54; Nate 32 60-6.

Workouts: 2/26, 2/28

2/26  At Kern Center. Joe did a quick warm up and then some power hurdles, half hurdle lead leg and trail leg drills, close space 3-step (red marks) and a few starts to H1. Entire session focused on lead leg mechanics. Drill work was good. Full speed block starts not as much until last rep where the lead leg started pushing down more instead of folding.

2/28  At Kern Center. Joe warmed up, did some power hurdles and then focused primarily on block starts over H1 (36 39 42). Entry position on takeoff was good. Key thing was to try to improve the angle into the hurdle by getting more hip displacement from the takeoff foot. That started getting better, and when it was good the lead leg and trail leg mechanics improved. Did a few reps over two hurdles (in trainers 36 -2), still working on same issues but at slightly slower speed. Foam rolling.

NAC: Joe takes 2nd in 55H; 4 in men's 60H final

2/23  At Parkside. Joe ran 8.38/8.16 to take 2nd in 55H, just .02 behind the winner. Jon, Andrew and Mike also made the final. Jon (8.62/PR8.55 - #7 all time) finished 7th and Andrew (8.73/8.56) took the 8th spot. Mike ran (8.86/8.91) in 9th. In the women's 55H, Briel ran a PR 11.16 and Kasey was just a few hundredths off her best with 10.40. In men's HJ, Mike took 4th (6-1.5) and Carson was one height away from placing with his 5-7.75 jump. Brad no heighted, coming over from LJ, and Nate no heighted, after hyperextending his knee. In women's HJ, Alex continued her improvement with a PR 4-3.5 (#10 all time), while Leah and Kasey both made 4-1.5. In other events, Joe and Andrew ran legs of 52.8 and 53.2, respectively, to help the 4x4 win with a makeshift lineup, having lost Jordan and Matt to injury. Teamed with Chris and Garret, they jumped off to a lead, before Garret gave up the lead but then regained it halfway through the final lap, holding on for the victory. Nate ran PRs of 27.7 and 62.63; Logan ran a PR 24.66 and PR 55.89. Alex had a PR 8.85, and Kasey ran a 77.3 4x4 leg.

Complete results

HJ approach marks

Note: These are rounded to nearest half-foot.

Alex 8  24  47
Kasey 8  26-6  50
Leah 8  28  48-6
Jerome 13  [no mid]  60
Nate 12-6  35  63-6
Brad 13  26-6  55
Carson 13  29-6  60
Mike 14  27-6  54

Workouts: 2/18, 2/19, 2/20

Cutting everything back this week to prep for conference meet on Saturday.

2/18  At Kern Center. High jumpers trained on their own. Warm up (3-lap jog, circles and swings, 10 long skips, 10 high skips, 10 back skips, 10 low walks, 10 cariocas - L+R, 10 scorpions); sprinter medball throws; stretch/roll. No sprint work. Hurdlers did either the HJ workout or the sprinter workout (lifting, rowing). Nathalie -- not competing at NAC -- warmed up and did deadlifts (2x5x170) with 2x5 hops and 10x elevated push ups. 4x4H 1/2-space 3-step (2x w/L, 2x w/R) at 30. 3x1H starts (33). 3x3H (30). Most splits were in 1.30 - 1.40 range. Started to even out the splits between left and right side on 4-step. Foam rolled.

2/19  At Kern Center. Nate and Jerome had their first night of jumping, joining Alex, Kasey, Leah, Carson and Mike. Did individual warm up, including run throughs for 25 minutes. Jumped about an hour with everyone getting 3 jumps near opening height and then going right up to -2 of season best (or goal height) and then dropping an inch for subsequent jumps until a clearance. The women jumped at 4-0 for opening height. Carson at 5-8, Mike and Alex at 5-10. Jerome, not competing Saturday, started around 5-6 and took most of his jumps around 5-8. Mike and Alex took a jump at 6-2 and then worked down to 6-0. Carson worked up to 5-10.5 and then down to 5-8.

2/20  At Kern Center. Kasey, Nathalie, Mike, Jon and Joe worked highs. After warm up, 4x4-step powers (27/33), 3x3H 5-step (33/42), 3x3H 3-step (30/39 -1). Starts, split times all looked good. Mike stuck around and did a few extra reps to improve start and getting lead leg down.

Mike worked on starts a bit. This wasn't one of the better ones, but it illustrates a few points: Hips too high. That makes a far too open angle in the front leg and reduce the push you can get out of that leg. Would like to get that about 90 degrees (green line). If that happens, the hips are over the toes, which is where they should be. Shin angles are good and nearly parallel. Shoulders over hands -- also good. I'd suggest getting the toes of the front foot on the track to get more of the foot on the block.

Stevens Point: Tough to get a point

2/17  At Stevens Point. Tough competition. Carson nearly scored when narrowly missing 6-1.25. He had a good meet, though, using his new approach with more speed and finishing tied for 9th with 5-11.25. Need to continue to get a quicker takeoff to get over the takeoff foot. Neither Brad, Leah nor Alex could make opening heights. Alex came closest. In hurdles, Joe ran 8.95 (13th) and Jon 9.83, 9-stepping H1. Briel had a 5-step to H2, but still ran a PR 12.25. In other events, Logan ran 60 in PR 7.59 and a 24.8 leg in 4x2. Jon ran a 25.3 and Brad 26.5 in that relay. Joe ran another strong 200 in 23.54, despite drawing lane 1. Alex and Leah ran 200s, in 34.10 and 31.54, respectively. Athlete of meet: Carson.

Complete results

Joe's takeoff position is good. There is a bit of separation between the knees, suggesting the lower leg on the takeoff foot is casting out a bit, but he's up on the ball of foot pretty well.

Because the takeoff position was not optimum, the push into the hurdle at toe off was compromised a bit. Not much displacement from hip to toe, meaning the angle into the hurdle is not as strong as it should be. Said another way, he's a bit too vertical.









 
Lead leg and arms are good here. A bit of a bend in the lead. Because the entry position on takeoff wasn't optimal, the trail leg knee is directly below the hip here. Had there been better displacement at takeoff, the knee would be further back to create more stretch into the hurdle.


Right here we see the results of that entry position. Trail leg is catching up to the lead leg (knee ahead of hip now) and instead of pushing the the lead knee down to help get the lead leg back down, the knee is being held in that up position -- preventing the lead foot from descending.

Because the lead leg was hung up, it now drifts far forward beyond the hip on landing, and the trail leg is nearly down right after the lead leg. The arms are straight as they try to "buy" time as they wait for the lead leg to touch down. Although Joe was nearly even with the runner to his right over the hurdle in the second photo, that runner has now nearly finished the first full step off the hurdle. also note how far Joe's foot is ahead of where the landing foot would have been for the hurdler on his right -- about 2 feet. 

The fix for all of this starts with a more dynamic entry position. 

Workouts: 2/11, 2/12, 2/13, 2/14, 2/15

2/11  At Kern Center. Briel did no-impact training with sprint group. Kasey and Brad hurdled. Did multiple 4-step power hurdles at 27 and 30, working on stepping into hurdle on ball of foot and leading with head to get full extension. We continued that with block starts over H1 with Kasey at 27 and Brad at 30 to allow more forward drive. Added a second hurdle pulled in a couple of feet or so. Brad at 33, Kasey at 30. Both continued good entries into H1, pushing hard off the back leg to get more extension and better stretch reflex in the trail leg. Takeoff points were good and it all paid off with easy clearances on H2, so we worked H2 out a bit further. Kasey worked on getting some bend in the lead leg to get that foot back to the ground quickly. Good session. Need to build on that next time.

2/12  At Kern Center. Alex, Kasey, Leah, Mike, Carson and Brad worked high jump drills. Warmed up together with circles, swings, skips, low walks, cariocas, scorpions and hip bridges. Did 3-point curve runs, bridges and backovers. Next, 4-step scissors and layouts, working on plant angle, posture, lean, arm drive and vertical drive. Moved back to 6-steps for later reps. High volume of jumping and some nice improvements by all. In some cases, more consistency would help. Later, Nathalie trained hurdles. She did some acceleration work, including 2x30m accels, with a best of 4.86. She also did a couple fly sprints, with a best of 7.26 mps. Next, 4-step power hurdles up to 33. Ended with multiple reps through H1 off a 3-point start. Hurdle mechanics were very good. Need some consistency in H1 rhythm, but she nailed it a couple of times. Given her two-year layoff, she did well.

2/13  At Kern Center. Mike and Joe worked on "posting up" into the hurdle -- getting a full extension off the takeoff foot (from the correct takeoff spot) to get greater hip displacement to improve lead and trail mechanics. After a short plyometric/pushup circuit, they moved into 4-step power hurdles up to 36. Then multiple reps over H1 at 36 to 42. Next, some 2H reps at 39, working on the same theme. Finished with 3x4H (39 -1). Not always consistent but the best reps were very good. Going to continue to give this attention.

2/14  At Kern Center. Alex, Kasey, Leah and Carson warmed up as a group, which included the same exercises as Tuesday. Moved into some 3-point line runs and tight turns around free throw circle. Hip bridges in pit and backovers. 3 4-step layouts, 3 run throughs and 3 more with scissors takeoffs. 2 jumps near opening heights, 2 jumps at an intermediate height and 6-9 jumps at a challenging height. Carson moved his steps back to generate a bit more speed, working off a two-step run to the 10-step approach mark now at 60 (mid 29-6). Kasey moved back to 49 (26-6). Leah was 48-6 (28-6). Alex unchanged. Carson's move increased his speed and lean into curve. Might be a bit inconsistent for a time, but this could pay off in the long run. Kasey backed up and had some good jumps as she maintained inward lean better and improved her takeoff position. Still had some long strides on step 9 or 10 at times, but most of the jumps had good cadence. Leah, still learning the event, had mixed results. Problems typically were tied to slowing down and leaning backward on takeoff, having her going sideways over the bar, but her good jumps had better rotations. Alex, similar to Kasey, had her best practice of the year. Better rotation around the bar, more vertical takeoffs and consistent takeoff position all contributed to better jumps. Brad joined later and ended with a good jump around 5-6 -- starting to get more vertical and eliminating the lean backward at takeoff. Rotation around the bar needs to be tightened, but progress continues. Carson's highest jumps were set around 5-10 and the women worked around 4-6. Had a good practice with a few more jumps than planned.

2/15  At Kern Center. Nathalie warmed up, did a plyometric/pushup circuit nad 6x power hurdles (27-30-33). Block starts over H1, working 8-step pattern but after several attempts, we shifted to 9 steps, which worked much better. Added a second hurdle and worked a 4-step rhythm. Finished with box exercises, rolling and stretching.

Platteville: Mike gets 5th in HJ

2/9  At Platteville. Mike continued to jump well, taking 5th place with his 6-1.25 jump and some very close misses at 6-3.25. Also in HJ, Carson managed to clear 5-9.25, despite feeling extremely ill. Brad's debut resulted in a 5-3 leap. In women's HJ, starting height of 4-4.25 proved too much for Kasey and Alex, but both had some good attempts and showed better technique. In the hurdles, Joe improved his 60H PR to 8.77 in prelims but only could manage 9.08 in finals for 8th. Jon ran 9.32, Andrew 9.87 and Brad tried but wasn't quite ready for the 42s. In women's hurdles, Kasey ran a PR 11.12 (#3 all time) and Briel a PR 12.49 in their second time racing the distance. In other events, 4x4 splits: Joe (24.5/27.9 52.4), Mike (26.5/30.3 56.8), Logan (26.7/29.6 56.3), Jon (26.9/28.7 55.6), Brad (28.8/30.5 59.3). Logan ran 7.66 in 60. Joe 23.30, Andrew 24.14, Brad 26.79, Nate 28.17 in 200. Nate also ran 400 (1:03.69). Athlete of the meet: Mike.

Complete results


Joe's start in the prelim. Out well and up on the ball of foot nicely. Lead leg and especially trail leg are hanging, and trail leg still not pulling through very high. Hard to see here but there's a bit of a reach into hurdle takeoff, which sets up the lead and trail problems. Can't wait to see how fast Joe goes when he improve these minor issues.

Kasey's hurdle takeoff foot is reaching out and blocking her takeoff. Need to get that foot more under the hip. That will help keep the foot strike on the front to the foot and not the heel, allowing a much faster hurdle entry.

Similar situation for Briel but even further out in front even though she's far too close to the hurdle and doesn't need to reach. Green line shows where that leg should be for an optimum takeoff position.

At toe off, Kasey has a high angle, mostly because of that reach into the takeoff. For fast hurdling, you need displacement between the takeoff foot and the hip. Green line suggests an angle that would offer better displacement.

Because Briel took off so close, she's in a position here that she should be in well before the hurdle. In other words, her flight path is about half in front of the hurdle and half after the hurdle rather than 2/3 and 1/3. Even in this position, though, that lead leg could be bent and cut down to get off the hurdle.

If Joe can push his hips forward into the hurdle, he can get better hip displacement, too. His shin and torso are at a good enough angle, but by pushing the hips back, he gives up displacement and has a weaker force vector toward the hurdle. You can see the difference in the image of the Iowa Central hurdler below. He has a better angle and better extension, giving the greater hip displacement.

Good extension here.











Alex had better jumps than this one, but you can see her push toward the bar on her plant and start leaning backward at takeoff.


Kasey was getting a little more vertical in this meet but still is bending into the bar a bit. Bigger issue here is how high the lead knee remains, which prevents her from getting her hips up over the bar.


Technically, Carson makes a good jump here but just didn't have enough speed and stalled out on top of the bar.


Very good jump for Mike here at 6-3.25, just brushing it with the calves. Just needs to continue the rotation  around the bar just a bit longer to clear the legs.


Brad leans back and in somewhat on take off but other than that makes a fairly good jump here.

Workouts: 2/4, 2/5, 2/6, 2/7

2/4  At Kern Center. Brad and Briel trained together. Warm up and 2x20 alternating leg box jumps and 10x plate presses. 6x 4-step power hurdles. 3x6H speedbuilders 5-5-6-6-7-8y spacing (30). Briel worked 1-2-3-4-3 before stopping because of shin issues. Brad worked blocks to H1 at 42, which went well, so he added H2 (39 -1) and later H3 (39 -1), making good progress.

2/5  At Kern Center. Carson, Alex, Leah, Mike and Brad worked HJ. Mike and Carson worked on pushing speed -- Carson took most jumps in 5-7 to 5-9 range; Mike in 5-7 to 5-11 range. Brad had some clearances at 5-1. Alex and Leah worked at 3-10. Alex cleared 3-10 multiple times. Leah's marks: 8/27/49.

2/6  At Kern Center. Joe, Mike and Brad trained on HH. Joe and Brad lifted 2x4x240 with 16x alternating leg box jumps and 5x one-leg plate presses. Did a few 4-step power hurdles before moving into starts, beginning with 2-step starts to get the first step under hip and to eliminate any bending. 2x1H (39), 1x2H, 1x3H, 1x4H (42 -1), 2x1H (39 side by side). Foam rolling. Joe worked on start, trail leg pull through and lead leg knee drive. Mike worked on rhythm to H1 and lead leg cut down. Brad did a good job of getting approach to H1 consistent. Lots of work to do on hurdle clearance and cut down. Mike had some very good reps but also some not so good, but he's had a long layoff from hurdling and his best reps were excellent. Joe also had some good reps and is making good adjustments when focused on them. Mike and Joe ran hand-time splits in low to mid-1.2s. Brad had some upper 1.2s but also was up in the 1.5s and 1.6s as he got out to H3 and H4. Still, he toughed it out to H4 on 3-step despite getting major air on the hurdles.

2/7  At Kern Center. Carson, Leah, Kasey and Alex worked high jump. Lots of short approach jumps, working mostly on plant angle and aggressive takeoff. Some off ramp. Later, took full approach jumps with bungee bar set at challenging heights. Jump volume was high.

Parkside: Men win; many strong performances

2/2  At Parkside. Good win for the men, edging Parkside by 5 points for team title in a meet featuring 7 NAC teams. Joe improved on his #2 all-time mark in the 55H with his PR 8.33/8.13, which was good for 4th. Mike and Carson both jumped 6-0.75 for 3rd and 4th, respectively. Jon posted an 8.75 55H, missing the final by a tenth. In the women's 55H, Kasey made the final and placed 7th, running 10.36/10.53 (#6 all time). She also jumped 4-3.25 (#10 all time). While Alex no-heighted, she had some better jumps today, opening at 4-2. We also had some good performances outside our group's events: Logan ran 7.17 in 55 and 38.99 in 300 (7th); Andrew ran 55 in 6.87 and 200 in 24.01; Mike ran 40.35 in 300 (8th); Carson 300 (42.24); Kasey 300 (52.43 - 8th); Alex 300 (58.83); Nate 300 (45.65) 600 (1:57.36); Jon 600 (1:34.37); Joe 600 (1:28.42 - 7th). Athlete of the meet: Carson for improving more than 4 inches in HJ from previous week.

Complete results



Alex continues to improve. Plant angle is good, and she's getting more vertical and better rotation. Still tilting head back, not as much as before, but it's still causing problems on take off that carryover into clearance. Hard to drive upward while leaning backward.

Kasey is locked in on the bar here and bending toward bar before takeoff foot leaves ground. Need to complete that upward drive and rotation before starting to arch. Plant angle also is lost -- need to keep that toe pointing to back corner. Arm and knee drive are good. Just need to keep the upper body upright on takeoff.

This is Kasey's entry step into H1. Back on heel and hips well behind the takeoff foot. Probably overstriding to get closer to hurdle. Need to stay up on ball of foot (and off the heel) and get the hips over that foot. At this point, the knees should be fairly close together. Tough to push into the hurdle with much speed from this position.













This view of Kasey shows where she is focused on how the head is leading her into that bend shown in the still photo above.


Kasey in prelims. Could be up more on ball of foot on each step but positions on top and off hurdle are good.


Carson does lots of things well. Stays on his curve and keeps a good plant angle, but he's lacking lean in that curve, likely because he's not pushing the speed enough at the end. Losing that lean into the curve is causing him to jump toward the bar rather than jumping more vertical. Nice arch as always.


Higher height this time. Bangs it first with arm and again is not staying away long enough at takeoff. Good rotation around bar.


Similar to Carson, Mike is diving toward bar at takeoff. Both need to be a bit more patient in driving upward to ride that drive all the way to the top. Their speed carry them across the bar. Mike could help himself with the upward drive by getting more aggressive with the arm drive upward, rather than toward the bar.


Joe's start looks good here. Not as powerful as the competitors in this final, but his position is about right. Entry also is good. Problems start as he crosses the hurdle. Lead leg hangs up -- a long time. Landing at least 2 feet more beyond the hurdle than the others (and more than he should). Lead leg knee gets high enough to clear the hurdle but then stops and hangs there rather than driving upward and to the front. Because of those actions, the arms go straight and also stop because they need to counter what the legs are doing. If he can fix this, there will be faster races ahead. Some stills below highlight some of the things mentioned here.

This frame captures the highest point the trail leg knee reaches on this hurdle. Left arm is way out to the side rather than bent and back. Also visible is how far he is traveling beyond the hurdle. Take a look at the red shoe a few lanes away.

This is the moment of touchdown off H1. This illustrates just how far Joe is traveling beyond the hurdle. He is touching down just a few feet behind the red-shoe hurdler -- who is on his next step. Because that lead leg takes so long to get down, you can see the hips well behind on landing, which is causing more braking than there should be. Again, note the arms. Not a good sprint position. Impressive that Joe is hurdling as fast as he is in spite of these major issues. Going to be great to see what happens when these issues no longer exist.