About Hometown Hopefuls Hometown Hopefuls follows Atlanta Track Club Elite Team members Abe Alvarado, Brandon Lasater, Keturah Orji, Yolanda Ngarambe, Jarryd Wallace and Allie Wilson as they continue their journey toward Olympic glory. Be there every step of the way from training camp to the Olympic Trials and to Tokyo with every workout, every split, athlete reflections and coaches' comments too. Six athletes. Six months. Six shots.
Yolanda Ngarambe documents her first two weeks of training camp in this post. To learn more about Yolanda click here.
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Workouts for the Week: February 1-7
Monday: 12 miles moderate pace. Monday's long run was a bit crazy! We started the 10mi loop with the wind at our backs and some nice sunshine; 7:00 pace felt easy. About 5 miles in, the sun went behind the clouds and the wind started blowing against us and the only thing in sight was rolling hills. The run went from a walk in the park to one of the hardest runs I’ve ever finished, haha. I had to stop early at 10 miles, because the hip niggle that is bothering me flared up, probably from the 7 hour car ride the previous day.
Tuesday: 6 miles easy pace
Wednesday: a.m. - 14x300/100 (goal pace 55-56) p.m. - 50 min Aqua-jog. Workout went well and it was nice to run on turf! 300s always look easy on paper but are always harder in reality. I hit my paces and my hip felt pretty good, so I was happy with it. The coaches added 5x100m to the workout, and it was fun to really open up my stride!
SPLITS:
1. 58?? My watch didn’t start
2. 56.7
3. 56.8
4. 56.5
5. 56.5
6. 57.5
7. 56.9
8. 55.9
9. 56.7
10. 55.4
11. 54.7
12. 55.5
13. 56.3
14. 56.3
Thursday: 60 minutes - bike
Friday:6 miles easy
Saturday: A.M. - 2 miles - 1 mile - 1 mile, 3 minute jog recovery in between reps (goal pace 11:00-11:10, 5:20-25, 5-10-15). P.M. - 50m aqua jog. Went really well! Drove an hour out for a really nice gravel path. Felt pretty smooth and good for the 2 mile rep, and then the pace picked up a little and the last one was definitely a bit spicy! The coaches also added a surprise 400m at the end that we ran pretty much all out, which was really tough after completing the original workout - but it went well. I am really happy with how my hip felt, and my stride is becoming better and better!!
SPLITS:
2mi: 11:06
1mi: 5:21
1mi: 5:09
400 AO: 61.9
Sunday: OFF
Commentary and Reflection on the Week: February 1-7
The week started off rocky when I couldn’t complete my long run. I definitely struggle mentally with being smart and cutting runs short, even though it’s for the best. But I talked it out with Coach B (Andrew) and he made me feel a bit better about it. In general I feel really happy with my week, since my hip felt better and especially the feeling I had in my body on the Saturday workout. A week like this reminds me that some days will be off, and that there will be ups and downs, but you gotta be smart and keep moving forward. Another highlight of the week was getting in the groove of being at training camp. One of my favorite things is just hanging out with everyone in the living room, joking around as we casually go about our recovery. One person is using Normatec, another one is using a Hypervolt, all just hanging out.
Commentary and Reflection From Coaches Amy and Andrew Begley on the Week: February 1-7
We have taken a step back with Yolanda over the last two months. She had some postural issues that were holding her back. She went to Phoenix with us in December, so she could see chiropractor John Ball. He gave us some good insight, and gave Yolanda some things to work on. We have been holding Yolanda back, until she has made the gains we need to see in the weight room. We know she can make the Olympics, as she ran 4:03 in 2019. She wants to be in the top 10 in the world, and that will take some big gains. Sometimes, you have to take a step back before you can take a step forward. That’s where we are right now.
Yolanda struggled with her long run on Monday. We had to cut it short, as she was struggling to keep per posture where it needs to be. She was upset, but we talked it through after practice. She has big goals, and it is frustrating to her when she can’t do the things she knows she needs to do. We had to look back, so she could see the progress she is making. She had a great strength training session, so that helped. She looked strong in her Wednesday workout, but she did have to do activation exercises between a lot of the intervals to keep her posture together. She looked good on the strides.
For Saturday, she had a great workout! She hit all of her splits, and then closed with a 61 final 400. She looked like her 2019 self in this workout. We are making progress! We just have to remind her that the path forward isn’t a straight line, but has lots of ups and downs.
To learn more about the coaches click here.
Workouts for the Week: February 8-14
Monday: 12 mile long run, easy pace. Lift. Went well! Ran with Brandon and Megan (the OG crew at camp) and we had some nice conversations, it was a good time! I was also happy that my hip felt good! 7:10 average.
Tuesday: 6 miles easy
Wednesday:
- A.M.: 15x200m with 60 second jog on turf - start at 35 and work down. Plyos.
- P.M.: 50 minutes aqua jogging.
This workout was a grinder. It wasn’t supposed to be an all out workout, so we only got down to 31 seconds. I enjoy these types of workouts though; where it’s all about staying composed in the beginning and then slowly cutting the pace down. I think those workouts are good for me mentally and physically! We were back at the turf again which I love. My watch died right after the workout so I don’t have any splits but most of them were 32s.
Thursday: 60 minutes - Bike
Friday: 5 miles easy and strides.
Saturday:
- A.M.: 2:30 time trial, 6 minutes rest, 3x3:00 at 5:15-20 pace with 2 minutes jog rest, 4x200 at 31 with 75 second rest and work down.
- P.M.: 50 minutes aqua jogging
Made it ~913 meters. Changed to flats. Executed the 3 minutes at pace, and ran the 200s in 31.1, 32.2, 29 and 29. Originally I was planning on doing a 1200m time trial with Allie pacing me. We left the house around 7:00 a.m., did the 50 minute drive to the track, but once we got there it started raining and thunderstorming. The TT was cancelled, but since we were taking shelter at the track, the coaches decided that it was back on in a new fashion once the weather cleared. At 10.30, we ran as hard as we could for 2:30 and I made it around 913m.
It was definitely good practice to quickly have to mentally reset, going from thinking we were heading back home to hearing that a time trial was back on in 45 minutes. I didn’t feel great going into it, but knew there were no excuses to perform badly. I always have a hard time appreciating my fitness when it’s not in race shape, so I’m trying to not pay too much attention to my results from today. Felt great to spike up again though, and the workout afterwards was not a walk in the park. Had problems with my hip today, but felt good in the 200’s. Happy with the day’s work!
Sunday: OFF
Commentary and Reflection on the Week: February 8-14
I had a good week. This was the first time that I was excited to run a time trial, even though I actually never got to do the one we originally planned. A big win of the week for me was adapting to change and staying calm on Saturday morning. I like to stick to plans, therefore it’s always good for me to challenge myself in that area! A non-running event this week was an outdoor trip to Universal Walk on Monday. On Thursday, I biked to a coffee shop that is around 2 miles away from the house, and had some alone time with a great iced oat latte. It’s the little things for me, especially during heavy training weeks, that re-energize me. We also played a card game on Saturday that might have been as competitive as the time trial haha, lots of emotions and bad mouthing, but I came out as the winner - YES!!! (HAHA)
Commentary and Reflection From Coaches Amy and Andrew Begley on the Week: February 8-14
Yolanda made some good strides this week. She felt great on her Wednesday workout. The hip did well, and she barely had to do any activation exercises between reps. She was able to run quick 200s, even though she was on turf. She is requiring few reminders on form each and every week, so we are making progress.
In the weight room, we took a step forward. She has been working on a bunch of little things independently, and now we are starting to pair them together. Eventually, she needs to be able to engage all of these areas, while running, so we have some work ahead. She is making good progress, even though she wants it to happen faster than it will.
Saturday, she had a good time trial. She made it right around 910 meters in 2:30. She covered about the same distance in her 3 minute tempos. She had two sub-30 200’s (out of 4) at the end. She was mad that her 800 split was slower than she thought (she thought she was at 2:08, but she was actually 2:11-12). This isn’t where we want to end up, but it is a good spot to be right now.
As long as she is focused so much on form, she can’t focus on digging on these workouts. It’s a necessary step backward, but as most athletes, she is a little impatient on getting there. We are happy with her progress, but we see the entire season when we look at this week, and she is focused on what she is doing today (as she should be). She is in the perfect position to hit all of the goals she has set for herself, so we feel good about her current progress.
To learn more about the coaches click here.
