If you were and avid Decathlete Times reader you know that my life had some big changes last year. Jenna and I welcomed the arrival of our little baby girl Emerson Grace Randolph on September 18th 2012. Since then it has been a whirlwind of a ride and we could not be happier. Emmy has brought so much joy to our family and everyday we are in awe of what she can do.
With our beautiful new addition my goal and my families goal is to help me achieve a spot on the Olympic Team this June. And we are well on our way!
I competed this indoor season for the first time in two years and qualified to compete at the USA Indoor Championships in early March where I placed 6th. The indoor heptathlon is not really my strong point but I had a lot of success in indoor and used it help boost my training for the outdoor season. Since indoor I have competed twice, once at Cal Poly in an open meet and the other earlier this week at Westmont University down in Santa Barbara for my first decathlon. I had some good events and some bad events but came out with the best score I have done since 2008 and really have a lot of room for continued improvement. I scored 7840 with only one PR that came in the javelin. It was great to also win the competition and KSBY did a local news report on Sharon and I at that meet. Check it here.
So the season continues to press on I look forward to my next decathlon at Claremont in May where I feel I can have a personal best and hit an Olympic 'A' Standard. Everything has been falling into place as it should and its exciting to see what my body can do.
A lot of you know that I have struggled with hamstring, knee, and digestive problems the past few seasons, and I am happy to report that my body is working in perfect harmony again. I cannot reiterate how important it is for a decathlete to be healthy. Seasons can be lost over the most minor injuries if not taken care of properly. That's why I continue to use an extensive program of physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage in order to maintain my health. I have found that with all the working out I do I absolutely HAVE to have therapeutic recovery. I am constantly working with different schedules of physical therapy exercises, chiropractic adjustments, and massage in order to find how my body responds and recovers best. It has been years and years of tinkering and as my workouts during the weeks change so does my therapy regimens. Without maintaining this balance I seem to fall into injury.
With age comes wisdom I guess, and I am so happy to have found a system that is keeping me healthy and competing at my best. Thank you for tuning into Decathlete Times again and I look forward to keeping you updated on the Olympic Journey! Enjoy these pictures!
Me in the new SKECHERS uniform:
My loves:
And Bradford being lazy:
About time! It's not like raising a baby and training for the Olympics are all that demanding ;) (Okay, I would only know for one of those things....)
ReplyDeleteGood job! Thanks for the update!
Thanks for keeping us posted! We wish you (and your family) all the best, Toph! Good luck in your future endeavors & God be with you!
ReplyDelete