Ya Gotta Love It

What can you say about a season in which you PR’d in 4 of your 5 events? Well…there’s always room for improvement, and there were some disappointments along the way, but I think the answer to that question has to be, “I’ll take it!”

My Discus Throw season was probably the most satisfying, because after 4 years of throwing I can’t really expect the big gains that are typical for beginners. Still, I managed a season average distance that was within inches (6.5 inches, to be exact) of last year’s PR. And I exceeded that PR in 6 of my 11 competitions. One of my goals for the season was improved consistency, and it definitely looks like I made it. Add to that a new PR by 6’ 5”, and you’ve got one happy “plate chucker”.

Hammer Throw was also encouraging. Here I am a beginner, and was able to improve my PR by over 22 feet. That sounds like a lot, but it’s probably not that uncommon for “newbies”. My inexperience really showed in this event too, because in addition to that nice PR I also had some extremely bad performances.

Weight Throw? I should have done a lot better, but what do you expect from an event that you never practice? That will definitely change in the off-season, as I intend to practice the Weight quite a bit in order to improve my Hammer throwing.

There isn't much to say about Shot Put and Javelin except that it was nice to improve my PRs in both of them, but my careers with the “heavy ball” and the “spear” are over. Adios – it was nice knowin ya – but the old rotator cuff can’t deal with you any longer.

So, pending any late season heroics by others, I might finish the year ranked in the bottom half of the top 25 in Discus, Hammer, and Weight. I’m currently ranked 22nd in Discus, so I could easily be bumped from that list, but I think it’s pretty safe that I’ll be on the other 2 when they are finalized. Next year, I hope the season summary will have me ranked in the top half of the top 25 in all three.

Next up – Goal setting for 2007.