Whether it’s at school, at the park, on the roads or even on the track, the boys of Lakewood Distance can be seen putting in the work as part of Lakewood’s track and field team. They train relentlessly and have consistently sent athletes into district, regional and state competitions, earning medals for Lakewood High School.

But for these athletes, recovery is just as important as the running itself. Prior to this year, there wasn’t a consistent way to ensure the entire team committed to a consistent recovery method.

Luckily, Assistant Coach Linda Hernandez stepped up, offering her experience as a yoga instructor to help manage recovery after practices.​

“I had reached out to Coach Moore around the cross-country season, and I offered to teach a yoga class to the distance team,” said Coach Hernandez. “And Coach Moore and I talked about agreeing to, like, have yoga after running, and we did, and it seemed to just catch on. The boys really absorbed it, so we just kept doing it.”

During this particular season, the bad weather kept the Lakewood indoor track and field indoors for large segments of the season. The Rangers however were still able to make major progress this season and stayed competitive throughout their meets at SPIRE academy.

Many team members attribute their competitiveness to the new yoga program. They said controlling their breathing and relaxing their muscles after running every day was vital to staying healthy.

​“It definitely also helps with, like, the mind muscle connection part of running,” said senior Zach Carnavole. “I feel like I have a better grasp of how to use my body in an effective way, and it’s helped my running.”

Yoga and stretching, in general, helps runners better connect with their bodies. By stretching key muscle groups, runners can improve flexibility, help prevent injury and use their recovery time more efficiently. Yoga also helps remove lactic acid that builds up in the muscles during rigorous exercise.

“Not every team has an opportunity to have their own personal yoga teacher, and we do it, literally every day,” said Coach Hernandez. “We do some balancing poses and alignment poses, which are so crucial for running correctly, and I think that really aids in their performance.”

Recovering from injuries can be hard, especially when it comes to running. When a runner gets injured, it’s very easy to lose all of the conditioning they had worked so hard for all season. Yet yoga can help those who are injured work towards a smoother and more complete recovery.

“After I broke my hip, yoga is one of the few things I can do.” Said Sophomore runner Milo Morgan-Ard. “Yoga includes a lot of the stretches and core motions that were prescribed by my physical therapist, and it just helps keep me well stretched and keeps my muscles well worked.”

Injury prevention is a necessity when it comes to running. Because these hardworking athletes are constantly running for hours on end on hard concrete or track, injuries are very common. Coach Hernandez’s yoga program aims to aid in injury prevention by providing stretches that can relax muscles and reduce lactic acid.

“We’ve worked on Plyometrics, we’ve worked on core, and we’ve also just had the ability to stretch and practice mindfulness every single day,” said Carnavole. “And it has definitely really helped with injury prevention and just being able to be a successful runner generally.”

Besides aiding their performance and helping with recovery, this yoga program helps with mental health as well. Stress is a common hindrance to any athlete’s ability to perform well. Coach Hernandez has incorporated different techniques to help athletes improve their mental health and raise their overall confidence within themselves.

“Vision practicing. Envision what they want to perform at and where they want to place themselves,” said coach Hernandez. “And so I think this all helps with, like, the performance relaxation. And I help them learn different techniques of how they can self-regulate their mental health.”

This Lakewood Track and Field Team has become extremely relevant at Lakewood High School in the past few years, and thanks to Coach Hernandez’s contributions using Yoga, recovery is now an everyday part of the sport. She has only been with the team for one season and has already become a well-respected and revered coach who is helping Lakewood runners become the best version of themselves.