Key West junior Nicole Matysik was 6th at last year's 2A cross country finals with a personal best of 18:20.84 in Tallahassee. Now as we enter the third weekend of the regular season, Matysik has yet to make her season debut, and because of Hurricane Irma she will have to wait even longer. We caught up with her just days before the storm was scheduled to make landfall in keys to talk about mixing in training with hurricane prep.
These last three weeks my coach had me do a mileage build up. The first week was 45 miles , the second 50 miles, and the third and final week of the compensation cycle was 55 miles! So what that means is that this week the focus was on recovery. As everyone already knows, Irma is supposed to hit Florida this weekend. I've still gotten all of my training in, though! So far the weather has been actually nice. School and practice have both been cancelled until further notice so I've been on my own.
Irma definitely isn't a very good thing, but it's important to think positively. For example, since I have to train on my own this week, I run on all my favorite trails that I don't always get to cover during organized practice My absolute favorite is the golf course.
This morning my brother and I did a couple of loops there as well as drills and extended strides on the hills. I love the soft surface and rolling hills! In the afternoon I did weights in my backyard.
You have to be consistent in your training but flexible in you methods. Sometimes things like this come up and you just have to work around it. Just stay positive and look for the good in every situation.
-Hoping everyone stays safe during the storm!
