RECLAIMING AMERICAN TRIPLE JUMP RECORD: APRIL 19-MAY 2

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.

Orji reflects on her training period between April 19 - May 2 in this post. To learn more about Orji click here.

Watch Keturah Orji Reclaim the American record in the triple jump

Commentary & Reflection on the Week: April 19-April 25

To be completely honest, I was not happy at all with my Tuesday practice. I went into my practice with a goal of how far I wanted to jump from 8 steps and I did not do it. My coach was pleased, but saw my frustration and told me not to worry and to trust that my technique would flow from a full approach with more speed. Even after he said that, I still didn't feel ready. I was using my past knowledge and trying to judge how well I would do at the meet based on indicators from my previous coach. So going into the meet, I was nervous and really had no idea how far I would jump. Now that I am looking back, I should have trusted what my coach was telling me because he was right. The positions I was hitting in my approaches and short approach jumps all translated perfectly when I was going full speed. I couldn't see that then and this training system is new to me so I didn't have evidence from the past to believe that everything would work itself out. Now I know better and don't have to rely so much on my distances in practices, but to focus on my positions at takeoff and in my phases. It's all a learning experience, but I'm so happy to call myself an American Record holder again and to have the world lead. This puts me in a great place not only for the Olympic Trials but also for the Olympics in Tokyo.

Workouts for the week: April 26-May 2

Monday: OFF (competed yesterday)

Tuesday:

• 100m of Visualization

• 5 x Approaches (long jump)

• 6 x Steering Drill

• Weights

• Kbox Squat

• Kbox Split Squat

• Jumps

• Abs

Wednesday:

• Multi-Jump Drills

• Double leg hops forward/backward/sideways

• Single Leg Knee Drive Bounces

• Single Leg Hops

• Alternate Bounds

• Right, right, left triple jump

• Left, left, right triple jump

• Left, left, right, right hop/bounds

• 6 step first phase run off drills

• 3 x flying 60m

• Weights

• Squat Jumps

• Box Drop Rebound

• Step Ups

• Single Leg Box Jump Knee Drives

• Hamstring Holds

• Abs

Thursday:

• Active Recovery: roll out, stretch, band walks, balance drills, theraband drills, toe yoga, stability drills, medicine ball throws, etc.

Friday:

• 3 sets of bounding

• 30m alternate bounding with a weight vest

• 30m bounding without a weight vest

• 30m overspeed alternate bounding

• Video Review

Saturday & Sunday: OFF

Commentary and Reflection on the Week: April 26-May 2

Since I competed on Sunday, this week definitely felt like more of a recovery week. It wasn't extremely easy, but it was more of a maintenance week and I'm grateful for that. Next week I'll be jumping at Mt. Sac and I'm looking for consistency, especially above the 14.70m mark.

More on Keturah's American Record in the Triple Jump:

To read Keturah's Team USA article click here

To read Keturah's Track & Field News article click here