The Road to Athens -- Training Log: July 5-11
7/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
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| TRAINING LOG: July 5-11 With his Olympic 'A' qualifying standard in pocket, Willis was able to return to Ann Arbor for several weeks of training before heading to Athens at the end of the month. After weeks of tapering off for optimal racing performance, Willis dramatically increased his mileage and ran 60+ miles for the first time in nearly two months. Late in the week, Brannen boarded a plane for the fifth time in just a one-month span; this time travelling to Victoria, British Columbia for the Canadian National Championships, where he would need to hit the 'A' qualifying standard and finish among the top-four placers in the 800m to make the final Olympic team cut. | ||||
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"I flew from Europe on Monday, and I was a little jet-lagged from that. I went to nationals on Thursday, and I was pretty tired by the time I got to Victoria. I felt pretty sluggish in the first round, but I thought I'd be able to get the kinks out and feel good the next day. I just didn't have it in my legs after the first 400m of the second day. I think the flying from Europe to Victoria had something to do with it, but overall, I'm happy that I at least tried to hit the standard. I didn't make it, but at least I went for it." |
"I had a bit of a scare at the beginning of the week. It turned out that I had strained a muscle in my lower back during the race in Rome when I was pushed off the track into the long jump pit, and sitting on a plane for 10 hours made it really stiff. I took a couple days off, and when I started running again it cramped up on me. I was able to get treatment on it twice a day now that I'm back at school, and it hasn't bothered me since. Later in the week, I was pretty tired from the workouts, but it's nice to be back training in Ann Arbor after several weeks of pure racing. I'm also encouraged about how well the workouts are going, and I think I'm going to be able to get a couple of good, hard weeks in before I need to head to Athens." | |||
