When can I start training?....

It's been over two months now since the decathlon and the heel bruise is almost all gone. I walked an hour today with very little sensation of the bruise afterwards, which is pretty good. I think I'll be able to start running again consistently here about the first of November, which is pretty good timing for next season. It would be good to be training already for the indoor season, but I want to be as healthy as possible before I start running for real. I'm still gunshy about all the injuries from last season, though, so I'm curbing my enthusiasm to the degree that if I start getting injury after injury again next spring, I probably won't follow through. For now, I'll hope for the best.

The main training objective for next season, besides not getting injured, is to lose weight. I had my body fat % checked three weeks ago, and it came in at 10.3% at 183lbs. I noticed that I was weighing about 186 at the time of the decathlon, and I realized that's too high. Because of the injuries since March, and the fact that I wasn't able to run consistently, I just wasn't as lean as I can be. I wasn't paying that much attention to how much I was eating, either. I should be closer to 175, which should make a big difference in my running and jumping. Being lighter helps 7 or 8 events in the decathlon, especially for older guys. When you're young, you have to have the muscle for the discus and shot and sprints, but as you get older, your energy and stamina and spring can't overcome any extra weight. According to one website I found, every pound equals 2 tenths in the 400, and about 1.5 seconds in the 1500, so thats a lot of points if I can lose another 8 pounds. The jumping events will be helped, too, of course.

Almost

Well, I was on record pace through the 7th event, with 5312 points on the way to maybe 7200. The marks I had to do in the last three events were well within reach, but no-heighting in the pole was the end of the road. Not having really been able to practice since April before I pulled my hamstring finally caught up with me. I went ahead and finished the decathlon and got second with 9 events, which also would have been 6th in the world meet. So, I'm disappointed not to get the AR, but exhilarated to finish a decathlon after so many years because I really never thought I would do one again. I'll load a video as soon as I get it put together.

breakdown:

100 12.56... very slow, but not too surprised. my start was slow, and I felt sluggish, nothing like back in April before I pulled my hammy. i can run faster next year.

LJ 6.01(19-9)... well, not too bad considering how slow my runup is. At least I was on the board all three jumps. should be able to get back towards 6.30 or farther next year with fewer injuries.

SP 11.25(36-11)... I wrapped my right knee for more support in the middle of the ring, which I'd never done before, and it really felt good. between that and a shoulder that wasn't bothering me at all, I felt pretty good. it feels like I could start making some more progress towards 39 maybe for next year.

HJ 1.77(5-9.5)... not as high as in Oshkosh, but ok for a decathlon. my heel bruise was really bothering me here, so I'm not surprised I didn't make 1.80. can do 1.85 next year without injuries.

400. 55.71... fairly happy with that considering the lack of consistent intervals since April. But, it really killed me for the second day because I had to run all-out to do it.

110mh 16.78... this was the one I was really excited about. I was the first time I ran a race and three stepped over all ten hurdles in 25 years, but it was pretty easy. This time would have gotten me 5th in the worlds, and I know I can run faster, maybe 16.00 or high 15's with no(fewer?) injuries. faster start, faster running, snappier over the hurdles...

disus 37.54(123-2)... good but not great. I see on the video that I had both my feet in the middle of the ring and too close together. I'm giving up a lot of power that way. If I can train myself to use the ring properly I'll get over 130' consistently.

Jav 36.76(120.5')... this murdered my shoulder. i just can't throw the jav any more. it's a terrible distance but it may be the best I can do. I'll do a winter's worth of rehab, and maybe it'll help, but i'm not sure.

1500m 5:25... I kinda just went through the motions here, because it was after 10pm at night after 19 hours of competition, and I was just really tired.

As an afterthought to my level of condition, I noticed I'm weighing pretty heavy, so for next year I'll lose about 10 pounds. That should make a substantial difference in my running and jumping, and shouldn't hurt the throws much at all, especially since they don't pay much in points anyway.

Next meet: indoor worlds in Kamloops BC 3/2/2010!!!!!! Pentathlon WR

First day results

Off to Seattle

Leaving for Seattle, the national masters deca meet. 12 competitors in my age group, which is really a lot. What's gotten into people? I'm going to try my darnedest, but it comes down to how effective the advil and ice are. Ran two 300's on Monday in39.8 and 40.2, so my running is still ok, although I don't think I can run as fast as I was earlier in the season. I'll post results here after the first and second days.

))Heavy Sigh(( Caution- Long post

So, it's been awhile since my last post and I should be Finland right now, but yet another injury at just the wrong time is keeping me home. Two days after coming back from the Nationals, I pulled a muscle in my lower abs hurdling, and it really hurt. I think it was a knock-on injury from the really tight groins. It's surprising how critical those muscles are to running, sprinting, jumping, and especially pole vaulting. I went to the doctor, then saw a chiropractor who threw everything at it, including cold laser, ultrasound, graston therapy, electro stimulation, and magnetic resonance. By last Wednesday it was getting better, but I just was too afraid that I wouldn't be able to complete the deca in Finland, and then also ruin my chance at doing the one in Seattle on August 15. It was a harsh calculation, because I was keying on the World meet, but at this point completing a decathlon with a decent score became more important to me. I had ok workouts yesterday and today, so I think my ab will recover almost fully by August 15, although my bruised heel is very painful, so the next three weeks will be no walk in the park. I can't wait til the season is over and I can recharge, mostly because of the heel. It needs 2 to 3 months of either full rest, or non-impact exercise like the bike or rowing to fully recover probably. I count 10 significant injuries now this training season since last August, so I need to reassess my training methods and intensity for next season. I think relatively minor changes could make a large difference towards the likelihood of injury. I was asking a lot of my body to go from zero to decathlon in one year, especially training the way I was, attempting to train somewhat like a younger person would. I did quite a bit of weight lifting with my legs, so even though my strength went up, the flexibility of those same muscles decreased, so the propensity to injure actually probably went up instead of down. Logically, this next year I could lift much less to maintain the same strength, and do more stretching, yoga, etc. to regain the same limberness I used to have. This, plus perhaps increased warmup time and less volume of full speed sprint workouts will dramatically lower the injury liability. For example, the workout where I pulled my hamstring, which is really where the chain of injuries began( or maybe the swollen knee before that)I was running 50yard sprints, and I was doing 16 of them, 2 sets of 8, pretty much all out. Instead of doing that, I should do maybe 10, 2 sets of 5, and keep the effort to 90% instead of 98%. The hurdles is the only event where it takes almost maximum effort to practice, so there the only solution is the most warmup possible without draining strength, then limited volume at max effort. And this is only with 3 step practice later in the season. Without a serious injury that takes me out for month after month, I would be able to work into the harder workouts gradually, and keep what I've built up without having to start all over again after the injury.

Anyway, on the plus side, I had a pretty good national meet in Wisconsin on July 10, winning the long jump, getting second in the high jump and 4th in the discus. I had to do the high jump and long jump at the same time, so it was less that ideal, but I was still excited to jump 5-11 and almost make 6-0 3/4. I was less excited with my long jump, but with the lack of prep, I couldn't complain too much to jump 19-11. I was only able to take 4 jumps because of the conflict, and I ran through on my last one, so I really only got three, although that doesn't matter as much as the fact that I was totally rushed, and even barely remember it it happened so fast. I didn't really connect in the discus and threw about 122', so I was a little disappointed there, because I could have gotten second if I had thrown in the higher 120s, which is where I should have been. Also with regards to this meet, my groin muscles were still aching badly and very tight, and I was fighting off some kind of virus. I was actually still coughing a little on the day of the long and high jump. If I could ever be injury free and not sick, I might be able to do something...

So, now I'm counting down to Seattle in 18 days, so at this point I have to get back in the running groove, and just do whatever technique practice I can to stay in touch with the events. I'll try to vault again next week, and hopefully be able to sprint enough to do long jump run throughs. I may not be able to hurdle much, so that may be a bit rough in Seattle, but I can still get the American record. I've found out that the AR is officially actually just 7082, and not the 7500 done by Rex Harvey in 1991 because of the change in the javelin specs, they only count jav and deca records from after about 1994. This record is very soft, and I know I can do it, if not in Seattle, then next year in May or June. My workout and meet PRs still add up to around 7700, so I have some pretty good leeway. In July of next year Kip Janvrin turns 45, and he could probably beat me and the record, so I think I have a one year window to break the record. There are a couple decas I can do here in Oregon in next May and June, so those would be the next goals after this season, and also the indoor Pentathlon at the World championships in British Columbia next March. The indoor penta world record is also reachable for me, because it has three of my best events, the hurdles, high jump and long jump, and then the shot and 1000m run. The world and american records are the same, so after some rest until October it will be back to the track!

Off to Nationals in Oshkosh

My training since I got back from Europe has been extremely frustrating because I've been hurting the whole time. I guess it's because I've been doing things that I hadn't been doing much of due to injury and vacation, but even still, it's like I was starting from scratch. My groins are both hurting, and it's not going away. I'll take two days off now before the meet on Friday, but it's possible I won't be able to do all the events. I have to get over this soreness so I can train. Despite the complaining, I have done some good hurdling and vaulting, at least I feel more confident there. In last sunday's workout I hurdled 10.3 to the seventh hurdle, which means maybe I can run in the low 16's. Yesterday I felt very smooth hurdling until I had to stop due to the pain. I haven't been throwing at all, although that doesn't worry me too much at this point. I think now I have to focus on getting as pain-free as possible, and just maintain what I conditioning I have. This means little doses of training and as much rest and healthy food as possible.

There's a good chance of rain in Finland, so I'm preparing for that as well. I have two "absorber" chamois which can keep the implements dry, and I'll have plenty of sticky stuff, etc. for the vault, and all the clothes I can carry. Hopefully they'll have tents set up around the track for the athletes.

I really wanted to jump over 21-2 this season in the lj to get on the all-time world list, and I don't have many chances (3?) to do it. I'm not too optimistic for this weekend, but let's see what happens. I have the leg strength and speed probably, but I haven't been able to practice much, so consistency will be the problem.