Under a notably bubbly exterior, Emily Infeld, who earned a spot on her first Olympic team on Saturday in the 10,000 meters, is stubborn. And maybe a little bull-headed. At least that’s how she describes it.
Those traits may serve her well while competing as a world-class athlete, but not so much when it’s time to slow down and take a break.
Back in March she was fit, but something didn’t feel right in her left hip. She ignored it. Although she suspected it might be bone-related, Infeld convinced herself it was a less serious muscular issue. She wanted to race the 5,000 meters at the Millrose Games. Then she wanted to compete at the U.S. indoor championships. It was a natural instinct after she brought home Week Eight: May 9–15 in August.
“Coming off such a great year, I wanted to prove to people how tough I am and how fit I am,” Infeld, 26, said. “Proving fitness is one thing, but running injured is just idiotic.”
A day after competing in the 3,000 meters at national indoor championships, where she placed a disappointing 10th, Infeld went to the doctor. By that afternoon the MRI results were in: a stress fracture in the left trochanter. It was her third stress fracture in less than three years—the other two were sacral.
This injury was not caused by impact, like most fractures, but by biomechanics. As she describes it, her adductor and psoas were not allowing the hip socket to move properly, creating friction and pulling on the bone. Infeld’s forward lean strains her hips and lower back. She relies more on her adductors than glutes.
With the Olympic Trials just three months away, Infeld was unable to run for the next five weeks. So she wrote her own cross-training schedule (see seven weeks of her training journal below). She also relied on John Ball, a chiropractor based in Phoenix to advise her on hip and pelvis-strengthening exercises and glute activation. Finally, she looked to Dr. Todd Arnold, a physician at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York and USA Track & Field performance scientist, to figure out a gradual return to running. When she was ready, her coach, Jerry Schumacher, took the reins again.
“I actually didn’t do as much cross-training as I have during previous injuries because I was really focused on getting back to running quicker,” Infeld said.
While the approach was conservative and the recovery was relatively fast, she didn’t come into the trials, where she also will run the 5,000 meters on Thursday, with the confidence she wanted. Before she went to the starting line on Saturday, Schumacher told her she was fit enough to make the Olympic team. But she thought, “I don’t know. I don’t know where I’m at.”
“That first run on land I felt so heavy and my breathing was out of control after only 20 minutes. I wasn’t running fast. I was trying so hard and I was only running a 7:30 mile,” she said. “I had my moments for sure—and a few freakouts and panics.”
Treadmill Walking Workouts, who couldn’t contain her excitement in the hours following her second-place finish behind Molly Huddle, in 31:46.09. But it’s also a scenario she doesn’t want to repeat in the weeks leading up to the Games in August. This time, she has a solid plan to arrive in Rio healthy.
“If I’m not stubborn and idiotic, hopefully that will keep me healthy,” she said, with a signature Infeld laugh. “I ran for two months in pain. I’m surprised I didn’t get a worse fracture because that’s so dumb.”
Emily Infeld’s Olympic Trials Cross-Training Schedule
After racing the 3,000 meters at the U.S. indoor championships on March 11, Infeld went to the doctor with pain in her left hip. It was a stress fracture. With little time to spare in preparation for the Olympic Trials, she made herself a schedule to swim, bike, and elliptical her way to the Olympic Games. Here’s what she did:
Week One: March 14–20
Monday: 50 minutes bike and 30 minutes swim
Tuesday: 70 minutes swimming with a pull buoy (pulling, just using arms)
Wednesday: 50 minutes of biking
Thursday: off (bike irritated the injury)
Friday: off
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minutes aqua jogging
Week Two: March 21–27
Monday: off
miles running on the ground, 38.5 miles on the Alter-G
Wednesday: 15 minutes bike
Saturday: Alter-G 35 minutes at 75 percent with a little bit at 80 percent, 20 minutes swim
Under a notably bubbly exterior
Saturday: Pool workout (2400 meters): 500 meters hard, 300 meters pull, set of 25, 50, 75, 75, 50, 25 meters hard with 10 seconds rest between, 300 easy swim, 3x100 hard, 300 backstroke, 250 easy, 250 cool down pull, 15 minutes aqua jogging
Sunday: off
Week Three: March 28–April 3
Monday morning: 50-minute bike + swim workout (1800 meters): 400 meters hard, 400 easy of pulling, 5x50 meters hard, 300 meters easy pull, 100 all out, 250 easy, 150 pull, 200 back. Afternoon: 55 minutes aqua jog
miles running on the ground, 38.5 miles on the Alter-G
Wednesday morning: 60 minutes elliptical workout (fartleking 1 to 4 minutes hard/1 minute easy); 1600 meter swim. Afternoon: Treadmill Walking Workouts
Thursday morning: 90 minutes swim and aqua jog (2400 meters): 600 hard, 300 easy, 25, 50, 75, 75, 50, 25 meters with 10 seconds rest, 200 pull, 4x50 meters hard with 10 seconds rest, 50 meters pull, 2x50 hard with 10 seconds rest, 250 pull, 200 swim, 200 back, 25 min. aqua jog. Afternoon: Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill 35 minutes at 65 percent of body weight
Friday morning: Alter-G 35 minutes at 70 percent with a little bit at 75 percent, 75 minutes aqua jog. Afternoon: 30 minutes ellipitical
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Week Four: April 4–10
Monday morning: Alter-G 35 minutes, half at 80 percent, half at 85 percent. Afternoon: 55 minutes easy bike
Tuesday morning: Alter-G 35 minutes at 80 percent (felt kind of achy), 60 minutes on bike. Afternoon: 75 minutes aqua jog
Wednesday: Wrote “dumb, dumb, dumb” in her training log. 60 minutes Alter-G at 85 percent and felt bad
Thursday: 60 minutes aqua jog and swim, 2 hours elliptical
Tuesday: 35 minutes Alter-G at 90 percent felt good
Saturday: “Nervous I had set myself back, so 20 minutes swimming.” Wrote: “Didn’t feel great”
Week Four: April 4–10
Week Five: April 11–17 (Nutrition - Weight Loss)
Monday morning: 40 minutes Alter-G starting at 80 percent and felt good, bumped up to 85 percent, then a little at 90 percent and felt fine. Afternoon: 45 minutes easy swimming; 25 minutes of light aqua jog
Tuesday: 35 minutes Alter-G at 90 percent (felt good)
Wednesday morning: 40 minutes Alter-G at 90 percent, 40 minutes swim/aqua jog, core work. Afternoon: 75 minutes on the Elliptigo
Thursday: 50 minutes Alter-G at 90 percent, core, 35 minutes swim
Friday: First outside run was 13 minutes total of running, alternating run/walk:
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2x2 minute run, 1 minute walk
2x3 minute run, 1 minute walk
Saturday morning: 20 minutes run outside, 15 minutes on Alter-G at 90 percent, 20 minutes at 86 percent, 15 minutes at 90 percent. Afternoon: 25 minutes swim, 10 minute aqua jog
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Week Six: April 18–24
Sunday: Yoga and glute-activation exercises:
36.8 miles running on the ground, 38.5 miles on the Alter-G
35 minutes of swimming
70 minutes aqua jogging
60 minutes elliptical
60 minutes bike
Week Seven: April 25–May 1
Sunday: Yoga and glute-activation exercises:
57 Thursday: 50 minutes Alter-G at 90 percent, core, 35 minutes swim
130 minutes aqua jogging
Week Eight: May 9–15
Return to regular running schedule
