Jaden Theis broke out in a big way last cross country season. The Lansing Catholic junior -- the younger sister of University of Michigan sophomore Olivia Theis -- scored her first Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 Lower Peninsula state championship, her first Foot Locker Nationals qualification and her first All-American finish, finishing sixth in San Diego. She broke 18 minutes for 5K six times last fall, and ran a personal best of 17:07.30. While injury from the outdoor track and field season, where she finished fourth in the 3,200m (10:44.90) and sixth in the 1,600m (5:02.67) at states, slowed her runway into the fall, Theis and her Lansing Catholic coach, Tim Simpson, are taking things slow as the high school junior builds back into full form. Theis wrote about her road to recovery below, along with some key insights. Check it out.
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Week 4 (August 26th - September 1st)
Monday, August 26th: 6.7 miles + 3x10 lift
As fun as today was, I believe it was very stupid on my part to run three miles more than I am used to running. After doing a 3x 10 lift (bench press and deep squat), along with some arm and core work in the personal fitness class I am taking, I did PT. I then went to practice at a park near my school (0.7 to run there), where we did a workout in the pouring rain. The workout consisted of a 3/3/3 and 2x 4/4/4. The basic concept of this workout is that the first three minutes (in the case of a 3/3/3) is at a regular pace, the next three minutes are at a tempo/race pace, and the last three minutes are all out. The same thing applies for the 4/4/4s except, obviously, the sections are four minutes instead of three. I felt really good during these and stayed up near the guys team. We ran back to school after the workout (another 0.7 miles) and there I foam rolled and attempted to dry off (it did NOT work). My left knee started to bug me later in the day.
Tuesday, August 27th: 40 minutes stationary biking + 20 minutes core
Yeah, the 6.7 miles yesterday was NOT THE MOVE. I woke up this morning with a swollen and painful left knee. I took it easy today (opting out of a stair-pushup challenge in personal fitness) and just did a 40-minute bike at an easy pace. I was planning on swimming afterwards but I decided that I probably should not overdo it, so I did 20 minutes of core when I got home.
Wednesday, August 28th: 80 minute swim + 3x10 lift
My knee is still hurting and swollen (less than yesterday though!) so I, again, took it relatively easy. I probably shouldn't have lifted today but I did (hex bar deadlifts and cleans). I then went swimming at a local pool for 80 minutes, adding in some ladder pickups to make time go by faster. After I swam, I met up with my friends at Whole Foods for my birthday (yes, Whole Foods is the PERFECT place for a birthday celebration, especially when other people buy you food:)) and after that I went to a steakhouse with my family for steak ... and more ice cream!!!.
Thursday, August 29th: 60 minute stationary bike workout + 30 minutes core
After doing PT, me and my team did a 30-minute core and arm workout with our art teacher/person who is in charge of the weight room. After that, Coach had me do 3x5/5/5 on the stationary bike (same concept as Monday's workout). I foam rolled and stretched following that. My knee is still swollen and painful so I will have to take a few more days off, unfortunately.
Friday, August 30th: 70 minute swim
I got up bright and early to go swimming across town at 6 a.m. because I did not have school (YAY!). I thoroughly enjoy driving when no one else is on the streets and most traffic lights are blinking yellow. I also enjoy swimming, so this is a win-win situation here. Anyways, I swam for 70 minutes (about 2.25 miles), adding the usual pickups and such. Afterwards, I went to watch my sister's team run at their season opener and then helped her move into her apartment. It is probably pretty depressing that I get more tired from walking up stairs with boxes than I do from 70 minutes of swimming... My knee is still swollen and kinda painful so I'm hoping that taking this weekend off will get me back to normal.
Saturday, August 31st: 25 minutes core
I did core in the morning before we left to go up north to my family's cottage for the weekend. Not gonna lie, taking time off is rather frustrating for me, especially when it is PERFECT outside for a run. Patience is something I have to work on, I suppose.
Sunday, September 1st: 20 minutes of core + 40 minutes kayaking
Well, I found something that I can do to not aggravate my knee: kayaking. I am not very good at it but I guess it is something to get my heart rate up and not use my knees. It is also very peaceful and relaxing, like running, in a sense. Later, I did 20 minutes of core and stretched. I also went on two walks (1.5 miles each); one with my sister and one with my family, aunt, uncle, and their kids. It's a cottage tradition.
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