Last meet of the Year

The last meet of the season was held yesterday in Austin, and it was a good one. Perfect weather - lots of volunteers to keep things running smoothly - and the flights were just the right size to give you a little break between throws, but not to the point that you lost your rhythm. Basically, when you were ready to throw again it was your turn. All in all, you just couldn’t ask for a better day.

I threw pretty well. I had my second best discus throw to-date (40.39m or 132’ 6”), and after participating in a clinic, my hammer throwing seemed to be headed back in the right direction. I didn’t throw the distances I had hoped for, but I was throwing with a lot of confidence and it’s always good to end the season on an up-swing.

After starting the discus competition with 2 stupid fouls I had no sense of panic like I might have in the past, because I knew I would ultimately pop a good one. Each of my 4 throws was a little better than the previous one and it certainly felt as if additional throws would have resulted in longer throws. Too bad we don’t get 8 attempts like the “big boys” do. I guess I need to re-think how I do my warm-ups because it appears that I’m still getting warmed up during my first few attempts, leaving only one or two maximum effort throws. Improving my warm-up strategy might help me throw as far in competitions as I do when practicing. What a concept!

After getting some good tips in the hammer clinic, my confidence with the old “ball and chain” was greatly improved as well. During recent competitions I haven’t had the foggiest idea of what would happen in the ring, and I was pretty much clueless about what to do to make improvements. (And this showed in my performances.) Now, I’m encouraged that maybe those days are over, so I look for some big throws next year.

I threw the 25-pound weight yesterday also. I had wanted to throw the weight farther than I did, but my distance was right in line with the old rule that one’s Hammer Throw distance measured in meters (35.01) should be about the same as their Weight Throw distance measured in feet (36’ 1”). I could have thrown the weight further had I just thrown technique out the window and muscled it around, but I wanted to concentrate on good form as an investment toward future results.

As it turns out I wound up with first place in Discus and Hammer, and second place in the Weight. But for me how well I throw has always meant more than how I place.

I suppose my next step should be to take a little time to reflect on the season, identify what needs to be worked on the most, and then develop a training plan to help get the job done.

Two Minute Warning

It’s hard to believe, but there are just a few days left now until my last meet of the season. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I drove to Austin and threw in a cold rain, but a quick check of my notes tells me that was way back in March. The summer heat is now waning, and we’re expecting a high temperature of 82 degrees in Austin, so it must be true that the season is winding down.

It should be really nice this weekend, except for the predicted North wind of 13 mph. A North wind would be a tailwind, and would all but kill my hopes of throwing 140’ in the discus. Still, there’s hope, and there is even a better shot of hitting 135’ for a new PR. Any improvement would be nice actually, as there is room to move up as many as 9 places in the rankings without even breaking 140’. (I’m currently at 22nd place in discus, with a 134’ 11” throw.)

Normally at this point before a meet I would be tapering off on my training, but I basically don’t have much training to taper off from any more. I haven’t lifted weights since I hurt my shoulder almost 2 months ago, and recent business travel and torrential rains have made it very difficult to get in much throwing time. So this week I will be trying to throw as much as I can just to try to rediscover some sense of rhythm.

I was out throwing the other day and things felt pretty good, but a tailwind then kept knocking the discus down around 125-130’. That makes me a little nervous about what might happen in Austin this weekend, but we’ll see.

I’ve been taking a few Hammer throws too, and they have felt a little better than my most recent efforts in competition. It would be nice to get in a couple of decent Hammer throws during competition to end the season, because after my big throws back in May, my Hammer distances have been crap. Hammer technique should translate over to the weight throw also, and I’m very confident I can improve my 40’ 2” SB if I can just keep it in the sector. I’m currently ranked 15th in Hammer (which I doubt I can improve upon) and 19th in the Weight Throw. If I don’t foul I should be able to get into the top 15 in the Weight.

Once again Shot Put and Javelin are out of the picture for me, but I signed up for the Super Weight Throw just to have that option at the meet. I don’t know which is worse though – the thought of leaving a 12’ 3” mark in the rankings, or the thought of picking up that 65 pound ball and swinging it around!

I also signed up for a Hammer clinic. Unfortunately, it is being held just prior to the meet so while it is likely to help me in the long run, it could very easily wear me out prior to competition. That would suck.

Having said all that, it’s going to be a good day just seeing all the other throwers again, regardless of how well (or poorly) I perform. I may take my video camera and catch some action shots to post on YouTube. It would be really cool to capture Stefan Blomquist throwing the Shot out near 19 meters.

The Joy of Throwing

The following was posted on "The Ring" on October 4, 2006, by someone calling himself K-Fitz. I've never read a better description of why I love throwing.

Sometimes when you are training you have days where you feel great, technique is on, the wind is blowing just right, and the discus just fly’s far. To say that those days have less significance just because it was not in a competition is just wrong. To some throwers watching the implement fly far and knowing that they produce this result is the beauty and lure of the event. I can personally say that I had practices where I was throwing well beyond my pr and I could not pull myself away from the practice. This also got me in trouble with my training cycle, but the beauty of the day will always remain in my memories when I am too old to move. I remember Jay Sylvester recalling a story of him driving somewhere in Utah and the wind blow so hard that it felt like it was going to blow the car off the road. Of course we all know the rest of the story; he pulled off to the side of the road, made a circle, and threw over 240’. This was told to me at a discus camp in a room full of the US’s best throwers at the time and we all smiled and some scoffed, including myself, at the size of the fish tale that we were just told. But the one thing that has always remained with me about that story is the way Jay told it. He told the story with the passion in his voice and fire in his eyes as if he was still in the moment. As if he just release the throw, watched it sail out, and seen the dirt kick up when it hit. Now we may or may not be able to confirm if this was true, but that’s really not the point. The point is, is that this is a memory that no one can take from him. When he told the story you understood that this is what he saw as the beauty and the lure of the event. This is why he loved the discus so much. I can say that I understand for I have experienced practices like this that will always mean more to me than a lot of my competitions. And when I tell these stories they might sound like fish tales, but in my mind they will always be another great day in my life.

To All My Faithful Readers

Both of you.

I posted a video of Bruce Navarre winning the men's 45-49 year discus throw at the USATF Masters Nationals in Charlotte [HERE]. I must say, 46.10m was a pretty good throw for an "old guy" with a 2kg discus. Not a SB for him though. I think he went 47.47m earlier in the year at the Cat Springs "Grunt".

Bruce, along with Carol Finsrud (W45), are probably the best discus throwers I compete with on a regular basis. The best shot putters are Stefan Norquist (M40, 18.88m) and Dan Roloff (M50, 13.37m). And then there's Roger Conboy who's pretty good at everything, which makes him one of the best M55 Weight Pentathletes around. Dave Rothenbury (M40) is also pretty good at everything.

All these guys are "regulars" a the Lion's Club meets in Austin, so if you want to get in a last meet of the year (October 28th) and compete with some quality throwers, check out this link [HERE] for an entry form. There is a throws clinic being held also. (At last look the forms weren't posted yet, but they have been emailed to everybody, so send a note to Seth at info@waterlootrackandfield.org and he will send you one.)

See you there!