Win-Win and Wind

I always say that the secret to winning track meets is to go to meets where there’s nobody better than you are. That’s what happened today. There were only 3 competitors in my age group in Discus, so everyone was guaranteed a medal. And I was the only Hammer thrower, so I was guaranteed the gold.

I honestly think that I threw discus better today than I did last week, and that I would have PR’d again had the conditions been like they were last week (which weren’t all that great in the base case). Today the landing area sloped noticeably uphill, which probably cost me a foot or two, and then there was the wind. Last week we had a slight tailwind/breeze. This week we had a full-blown left-quartering tailwind that was making the flags stick straight out on the flagpoles. I figure at least a 3 foot distance loss from the wind. Still I managed 40.89m (134’ 2”). I hated that I didn’t throw farther but I think I handled the conditions ok.

In Hammer I was able to improve slightly over last week’s effort for a still pitiful, 32.81m (107’ 8”).

There was a new discus thrower in my age group at this meet, and it looks as if he is going to be a “regular”. He looks really strong (he sells fitness equipment), but his technique needs work. He use to throw discus back in college so he has the potential to be some good competition.