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.
Ngarambe reflects on her training period between May 31-June 13 in this post. To learn more about Ngarambeclick here.
Workouts for the Week: May 31-June 6
Monday:
AM: 2 miles warmup, 3x(5x300/100), 2 miles cooldown
This workout didn’t feel great. I started with a 56 which I think which made my achilles hurt pretty bad. So I had to scale it back for a few reps, but by the third set I was consistently running 53’s I think, and ended with 52s. The trick is to start my workouts painfully slow (pun intended lol) so that my achilles gets a chance to warmup. This is frustrating and boring to me because it isn’t tiring at all,so I don’t really feel like I’m doing anything. But I have three workouts this week so not really overthinking it too hard.
PM: 40 min bike (light workout 10x1/1)
Tuesday:
60 minutes bike (light workout (12x2/1)
Wednesday:
6 miles easy
Thursday:
AM: 2 miles warmup, 6x800 progression, 2 miles cooldown
I was told to start at 2:45, but felt good enough on the first one to run a bit quicker. This was the first time I actually was able to get tired in a running workout which was nice. The pace was “slow '' enough for me to run on my forefoot but hard enough to make me tired, so I’ll take that as a win. I also managed to cut the paces down pretty well, I pride myself in my pacing abilities sometimes haha. Splits: 2:36, 2:33, 2:30, 2:28, 2:26, 2:25
PM: 40 minute bike (light workout 10x1/1)
Friday:
60 minute bike (light workout 20x1/1)
Had a goodbye dinner with Allie and Abe = SAD!
Saturday:
6 miles easy
Sunday:
AM: 3x(600-400-300-200) with 2 minutes between everything
I was told to start out at a certain pace and then take off a few seconds per interval on each set. I did as I was told, and it helped my achilles warm up and for the last set I was able to run on my toes for the FIRST time since march!! This made me feel SO happy, and when I can run on my toes I feel so good and strong.
1:57, 76.6, 55.2, 35.8
1:52, 73.2, 53.2, 33.7
1:46, 68, 48.7, 30.8
PM: 40 minute bike (light workout 10x1min) + lift
Commentary and Reflection on the Week: May 31-June 6
I made some big improvements this week, specifically with Sunday’s workout!! I’ve also had the best (aka pain-free) easy run’s that I’ve had so far and that made me happy. It’s simply amazing to run without pain. I definitely cherished those runs!
Being able to run on my toes on Sunday also gave me hope about racing next weekend. It’s funny because the coaches are always so calm, while I yo-yo between feeling confident about my achilles and in the next second panicking, That always reminds me of how thankful I am of them and how I could never coach myself HAHA. The following weeks as I travel home to Sweden and start racing are probably going to be more mental than physical, and I already know Coach B is gonna have to step-in as my sport psychologist to keep me grounded haha! To be continued…;)
Commentary and Reflection from Coaches Amy and Andrew Begley for the Week: May 31-June 6
Yolanda had a couple of big breakthroughs this week. On Monday, she started the week with three sets of 5x300 with 100 jog. We eased into the pace, but she was ahead of schedule, even after the first set. She wasn’t able to get all the way up on her toes, but she was able to get down to mile race pace today, so that was a big win.
Thursday, Yolanda ran six 800 meter repeats. We worked the pace down, and she was able to exceed the paces once again. She looked even better than she did on Monday, so we are making the progress that we hoped to make.
Sunday, Yolanda ran one of our staple workouts, 600 meter breakdowns. She did three sets of intervals. The repeats get faster as you progress, and each set gets faster as you move through the workout. By the end, she was able to get up on her toes, and was able to close in 30.8 for a 200. This was huge, as we have not been able to get her up on her toes since March.
She will travel to Sweden early next week, and will run her first post-injury race at the end of the week.
Workouts for the Week: June 7-13
Monday: *TRAVEL DAY*
6 miles easy with Coach B. As I am flying out today, I asked Coach to go for a run, since I won’t be seeing him for a while. It was nice to talk to him for one last time!
Tuesday: *TRAVEL DAY*
OFF
This was a long day as I had a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam. My original connecting flight had been cancelled due to COVID, so I tried my best to stay awake (hello jetlag), find food (life of a vegan) and keep moving (don’t want to get too stiff.)
PS. Saw my parents for the first time in over a year <3 and stepped foot in Sweden for the first time since 2019.
Wednesday:
5 miles easy + Chiro
This run was...not great LOL. Was really nice to see my chiropractor in Sweden, Fredrik Vare. I love working with him.
Thursday:
2 mile warmup, 5x300m/100mjog + 4x200m/100jog + Lift + Sports Massage
This workout went meh. We guessed that my achilles would get a little worse from the trip and it sure did. I felt way better in the 200’s, so that was nice as I am racing soon.
Friday:
50 minute bike (with 20, 40 and 60 second surges) + Chiro
Saturday:
4 miles easy
Run felt a tiny bit better compared to the previous ones this week, but my achilles hurt too much to do my typical pre-race strides.
Sunday:
AM: 2 mile shake-out
PM: 1500m race + 50min bike workout (3x5min + 5x1min)
Ran 4:13.50 for sixth. I went out in 66, 2:15 which was my plan. Got outkicked. Coach had prepared me for what I might run, so that I wouldn’t get disappointed or feel defeated. It’s never easy to run far off your PR’s, but I am committed to trusting the process and my coaches, so I am choosing to feel confident that this was the first step towards running fast times. Putting all that aside, it was SO NICE to run in spikes again and wow I just love spiking up. It was also nice to start racing again, getting my feet wet in that territory and looking forward to the next one!! LETS SHAVE SOME SECONDS OFF MY TIME SHALL WE !!
Commentary and Reflection of the Week: June 7-13
Traveling definitely took a toll on my body. I went a few steps back in my progression as all my easy runs started hurting again, and I wasn’t really able to run on my toes. However, looking back at my race on Sunday I am actually feeling proud of myself. I hadn’t worn spikes in 8 weeks, and not really touched race pace at practice for more than literally one 200m rep haha. But I went out there and killed myself for a mediocre (to me) time - and the next step in this process is to trust that it was the step needed for faster times. In times like this, I know that I need to pause my brain for a second and fully embrace what the coaches tell me. I’ve learned from the past that I perform at my highest when I believe fully in what we are doing and what they tell me about my abilities, and not try to “figure things out” myself. I tend to underestimate myself and they never do!!
Yolanda left for Sweden on Monday. There will not be any opportunities to race in the U.S., as the Olympic Trials will take the center stage. Yolanda is just now ready to race, so going back to Sweden was the best option.
We talked about her Achilles getting worse after travel. With the pressurized cabin, and almost 24 hours in an airport or plane, things will tighten up. Yolanda has learned the ins and outs of travel, so she knew to have a couple of phsyio appointments scheduled for her first couple days in Stockholm.
Sure enough, her Achilles was a little tight again. We had to scale back the workout a bit, but we were counting on doing that, so it wasn’t a big deal. We knew that things should start to come together just in time for the race, and that is how it played out.
We figured that 4:12-14 would be a good opener for Yolanda. The race was going to be paced a bit faster, but we told her to stick to the planned paces. She did that, and the race went well! It wasn’t what she wanted, but that is why she is good.
In the grand scheme of things, she will get better every week. It takes a little time to bust the rust, and to convert the cross training fitness into running fitness. We are confident that she can get back to PR shape within 6-7 weeks. The only challenge is convincing the Swedish Olympic Committee that she can do it.
