Pansy the Schnauzer vs. Bubba the Pansy
Coincidentally, our miniature schnauzer is also named Pansy. Each dog in that litter was named after a flower so there was a Daisy, Lilly, etc. Today, I am a pansy and so is she. Well she is every day.
I'm currently in a period of extreme conditioning and my body hates me so I'm not that happy either. It liked the short burst heavier stuff and really dislikes this deeper longer pain I am causing, so it is rebelling against me. It's just the way it has to be and this training period was actually planned last May.
I remember reading that Bo Jackson once told a group of seniors that his perception of level of exertion was no different from theirs in that they both reached a level that felt difficult and then a point where they had to stop. They had that in common so they could follow the same rules that he did. If one day 100 lbs. (45kg) feels light and another day 50 lbs. feels heavy, then you're a fool to attempt 60 lbs. on that day. On that day 50 lbs. IS 100 lbs. so don't be stupid. I always play this relative exertion game and it keeps me grounded. Which is a good thing because right now my body HATES me and I'm a little pissed at it for being so slow to respond!!
I'm doing a whole lot of drills with a big pole right now which include planting the pole and taking off into a regulation plant box that MAY slide a cross the grass a little if you hit it just right. If you don't you're flat on your back.
This reminds me of my time at UC Irvine when we got a German decathlete in. He had a PR of 13' 9" (4.20m) yet would grip over 16' (4.90m) and would take off no matter where he happened to be at the box. He could be 1.5' (45cm) out or under and still jump. We used to take bets where he would land or if he would break a pole. Needless to say I couldn't watch or be responsible for this chaos.
My approach was to remind him that as a decathlete he needed to warm up every day no matter what event he was going to do so I gave him a series of plant and take off drills that he did six days a week. I did not let him vault for four months. When I did I only allowed him to slide the pole from six steps for the next two months. All this time he was still doing the daily plant and take off drills. That year he vaulted 16' 9" (5.10m) for an improvement of 3' (1m). How?
My rationale was that he was such a bad vaulter that I couldn't let him vault. Instead we worked to perfect this series of drills that he did for 30 minutes a day for six days a week within his general warm up. When we started him back we kept him close enough so that he could not use speed and strength. The end result was that his drills became his vault, and his old vault no longer existed.
SO, that's what I'm doing. I'm using all of these drills to perfect my plant and take off so that when I jump again I'm better. I started doing this a little before Albuquerque and had several vaulters tell me how much better my plant and take off looked. I figured I could easily incorporate more of that if those are going to be the results.
I think it's a good plan since I'm not vaulting. Besides, it keeps me in touch with those mechanics without the risk of injury. Certainly using a 16/180 (4.90/82kg) pole gripping near the end and actually taking off into a heavy box will HAVE to improve my plant and take off mechanics, or I will have a new set of bruises and scrapes from landing on my back on the ground. That's what I'm hoping and counting on.
Enough for the night. Thank you so much for your support and have a great evening. Bubba
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