Important Componets to Track

The importance of sleep, hydration, and nutrition in Track and Field are crucial componets to perform at a high level. Without sleep, workouts would be impossible due to your body and mind being exhausted from little to no rest. Hydration is very important while trying to compete and workout at high levels. Your body can't recover and won't work properly without the proper intake of however much water you need depending on your body. Lastly, nutrition is often skipped over or not really taken into seriousness when food is what fuels your body to operate.  Of course unhealthy foods won't give your body any benefits or fuel to do a workout at your best potential.

Healthy meal. Asparagus, grilled chicken, salad

Healthy foods to benefit from:
Grilled meats
Fish
Grilled veggies
Whole wheat grains
Fruits
etc.

Unhealthy foods:
Candy
Soda
Sugary drinks in general(starbucks)
Processed foods
Carbs
                                                                     etc.

This video is all about track star Sanya Richards-Ross. It's a look into her daily life on and off the track. She talks about the simple aspects of being healthy so that she can compete to the best of her ability. 

Summer Training

When summer rolls around everyone starts getting summer crazed because no school and not having to worry about anything but tanning, chilling, and sleeping. For me summer is time for a break from track. You may think I'm meaning the whole summer off. Well that's not the scenario in my case. Summer is my off season where I can work to get stronger and maintain speed leading up to off season track in September.

power cleans

I'll train up to four times per week working on strength and speed primarily. Summer practices are the most fun because because yes not having to worry about turning in an assignment on time is nice unless you're taking summer courses(which in my case I will be).  Along with training comes proper sleep, eating, and hydrating of course which are all things that go with being a collegiate athlete. Without addressing these routines you won't compete or train well. Hydration is key during the summer especially when temperatures get up into the 90's-100's. Sleep is one of those things that is hard during the summer but still needs to be done properly.

Training isn't something I'm forced to do, it's something I enjoy and makes me feel accomplished during the summer months. Because once off season rolls around you'll feel confident that you did the training in the summer to prepare you for whats to come. I also have training partners which makes it more fun and a group effort since we are all doing the same things and dying together in the heat.

A summer workout for me looks like this:

20min jog

bounding
mobility drills
weight lifting
fast feet work
abs
(1-2hours of training)

Track&Field Love

Every since I can remember I've been surrounded by athletes. Both my parents trained athletes and they were both athletes at the collegiate level. As a little girl I always loved to run, whether it was being chased by a dog or purely running on the track while my parents trained. At that age I wasn't in sports yet, except for the ballet class my mom enrolled me in. Ballet didn't last long though, I mostly refused to participate at age four.

As time went on, the summer that I was going into the fifth grade is where track all began. I was entered into summer track on a team called Power Sports. At my first meet ever I competed in long jump and the 100m dash. I had never done those events in my life, but won both events which sparked my interest in track. As more time went on I was enjoying track more and more, and also competed in other events like the 200m dash and 100m hurdles. The hurdles became my ultimate favorite real quick.

Skipping ahead a few years I got a scholarship to run Track at The University of Oklahoma my senior year of high school. You may be wondering why I'm now running track for the UofA, and that's because I transferred due to Oklahoma not being the perfect fit for me. Running track for Arkansas has been a dream of mine for awhile, and now that I'm here fulfilling my dream it makes school and life more enjoyable. Although track may suck sometimes, it has taught me a lot in life and has taught me how to face adversity. It's an individual sport, but to us without our teammates we would never survive practice.

Colorado Vacation Lovin'

As a little girl I loved the outdoors and nature. This love for nature was mainly fueled by an annual trip to Colorado every Summer right before school started. Every aspect of preparing for this trip made me giddy and excited because it was something I looked forward to and loved very much. Our family would pack up and hit the road to make the fourteen hour trip. We traveled through Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado to get to our destination.

back side of the cabin

Our cabins are in a tiny little town called Ohio City right outside of Gunnison, CO. Ohio City is a quaint little town full of retired folk and families getting away for the

summer to relax. Our cabin is a cute little two bedroom cabin that has a stream flowing behind it. The stream is perfect for tubbing down, fishing, and finding cool rocks to collect. Directly in front of the cabin is a nice view of some smaller mountains and lots of wildlife.

Along with having a vacation spot in Colorado comes activities. We go four-wheeling, camping, hiking, shopping, sightseeing, fishing, and spend quality time with family. One of my favorite towns to visit while in Colorado is Crested Butte. Crested Butte is a gorgeous little town with lots of life and amazing views. In this town we eat at The Secret Stash which is a tradition, where we eat pizza and salad then climb to the top of the Butte(the mountain). We don't exactly climb we really ride the ski lift up then walk a short ways. Haha.

Summer vacation is what I look forward to every year because that's when I have time off from track. Colorado gives me a week off from training which is perfect and gets me ready for a long season ahead of training.

My sisters and I around a campfire.

All in all I recommend Colorado for a perfect vacation spot if you are seeking adventure and beauty.