Follow Kate Hall of Lake Region, she's one of the top sprinters in the state. Hall just a sophomore was golden a year ago as she won the 55m, 200m, and Long jump state titles indoors. Outdoors Hall added the 100m, 200m and Long Jump title to her impressive resume. She was 6-6 in 2012, can she duplicate it again in 2013, follow along in her quest this winter.
Hey everyone! My name is Kate Hall and I'm a sophomore in high school. Before I tell about what I've been doing to prepare for indoor track lately, I want to tell you a little about myself. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes) when I was 10. It definitely has changed my life, but for the good. It's hard to manage sometimes, especially during meets, although I've learned more than I ever imagined from it. It's part of who I am now and I like telling people all about living with diabetes. I also have celiac disease, which usually goes along with diabetes about 20% of the time. I ended up being part of that 20%. Having celiac disease means I can't eat gluten without there being damage done inside my stomach. Gluten is found in wheat and a few other substances. Wheat is in mostly everything. Pasta, bread, cookies, pizza, crackers, all that good stuff. Fruits, vegetables, and meats are free of gluten, thankfully. They've come out with some amazing gluten free things lately and I'm very thankful for that.
I've been doing track since I was 10, but it wasn't until the beginning of last year that I really "fell in love" with this sport. I realized that this sport had different qualities that aren’t included in any other sport. My favorite is that your competitors are often your friends. When you think of basketball, soccer, football, or any of those team sports, you don't think of being all friendly with your competitors. You would probably think of intensity and aggression. However, track is totally different. It's nice to be able to talk to your competitors before an event or during a field event. You really get to know their interests, their favorite events, and their goals. Getting to know other people really makes going to meets that much more enjoyable and exciting. The past year I met many other competitors and people from different teams that I've stayed in contact with and even hung out with a few times outside the meets. My second favorite thing about track is that not only is it a team sport; it is also an individual sport. You can set goals for yourself, your relay team if you're on one, or even your team as a whole. There are all sorts of variety and different events to choose from and set personal and team records in.
My second favorite sport is soccer, which I’ve played since 1st grade. I had a big decision to make going into the fall of this year. I could either play soccer and risk injury, or not play at all, and be injury free going into the indoor season. I was sad to see it go, but I ended up not playing soccer for the first time in many years. I think I made the right decision because it enabled me to concentrate on just track. I took 3 months off right after New England's in June. I didn't even allow myself to just jog for the fun of it (which probably wouldn't have gone well anyways since I barely have the endurance for a 200). After a month of not doing any physical activity I was just itching to get started.
Once September came, I was excited to start strength training with my trainer Chris from the MOG in South Portland. My priority was to get stronger before focusing on running and jumping. Chris identified some movement patterns that needed to be corrected. Even though it didn't seem like much at first, those things would help me be more stable and secure when I run, which could be mean tenths of a second faster. Everyone who knows track knows that a tenth of a second in a sprint is huge. After about 3 or 4 weeks of doing this, my trainer started having me do general strength circuits, along with corrective exercises. It's amazed me this past year how strength plays the largest role in getting faster and if you train the right way, you'll just keep getting faster, stronger, and more explosive. The good thing about my trainer is that he knows what my body can handle, how to get strong, and how to maintain that strength throughout the season. Just the strength training itself is so enjoyable and motivating. Since I started in September I've gained a lot of strength and I feel myself getting stronger every week. It's just so exciting to think I'll be running in meets in less than a month. I hope everyone is looking forward to the upcoming meets, having fun, and staying healthy!
More Information
