Sunday, September 28, 2014

Ready to Go?!

Best sled day so far as I felt no limitations.  I could have run much faster but didn't want to risk that with a meet next Sunday.  So the lesson is, four weeks and one day after I decided to let it get well it did just that.  I've spent eight weeks learning this lesson yet again.  I feel stupid for that but hopefully this helps someone else out there.  DON'T turn a small ding into an injury.  Leave it alone.  Thanks for your support!  Bubba

Republica - "Ready to Go" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgffRW1fKDk
BONUS - Limpbizkit - "Rearranged" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QWOc0HnItM

Friday, September 26, 2014

Progress?!

Been quietly and cautiously going about my business.  Leg feeling better but I'm still staying well within myself.  Tomorrow will be four weeks since I got serious about letting it heal and then rehabbing it back up.  Nevada Senior Games a week from Sunday in Las Vegas.  Very small poles and short runs for fun.

One thing I have failed to do on purpose is stretching.  I'll do some leg swing active stretches tomorrow, but me and my PT decided that was just another irritation I could leave out since it was so sensitive to start healing.

Just to show how fickle this is, today when I started my 4 X 100m I noticed that my right leg was tight in the same place.  So I actually had to be more careful not to hurt my "good leg".  By the time I got to my 4 X 50m I felt pretty good and quick with no pains anywhere. 

Earlier this week when I went to do my bench press I felt a pretty significant pain in my left shoulder.  It continued to bother me all week so I didn't lift again.  I'm trying to figure out if it is rotator cuff or just a muscle strain.  I will mess around with it a little in the morning.  In any case it won't keep me from jumping.  Have a great day and I will have more tomorrow!  Bubba

Megadeth - "Symphony of Destruction" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdtZQQzVvqQ

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Breaking Through?!

I've trashed my legs with lifting and running over the last four days and they have responded back by letting me do considerably more each session.  I'm grateful.  Why couldn't I have been this patient at the beginning?  Definitely a case of pay me now or pay me later as far as healing lessons.  I rushed it and got slapped back down to zero twice.  Now I've let is go and in 22 days I'm almost 100%.  Very stupid to have to relearn a lesson I already knew.  Please help me remember this!  Have a great Sunday!  Bubba

Chickenfoot - "Soap on a Rope" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqA6HtVU70  Fun to play on guitar, more fun to watch this "supergroup" enjoy the moments.  If you didn't catch drummer and Will Farrell lookalike, Chad Smith (also the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer), doing a drum off with the real Will Farrell, check this out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uBOtQOO70Y

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Speed is Returning!!

Very nice run day as I was able to run considerably faster, AND feel like I had even more.  Of course I stayed well within myself but the corner has been turned.  We will see if tomorrow that I am healthy enough to be out of breath on sleds. Have a great Saturday!  Bubba

Bush - "The Chemicals Between Us" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrmTFCfe6w8

Friday, September 19, 2014

Not Much to Report!!

Hitting the lifting grind.  Will run grass tomorrow and sleds Sunday.  Should be an interesting two day program. Have a great day!  Bubba

Megadeth - Peace Sells - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdEupVsL07E

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Almost There?!

Today is the first day that I have run where I felt like I could have gone a lot faster.  Ran faster AND felt like I could run faster - FINALLY!!  Of course I didn't, but it's nice to know I may be back to normal soon.

Because my ding is triggered by the eccentric contraction, I dropped the ankle weights for now.  And then I decided not to use the sled.  Why? 

I've run sleds forever and the benefits are great.  But I feel like until I can run all of my workouts naturally at full speed, that I'm not gaining anything from going to sleds. 

The bottom line is that I have all but lost the ability to run fast flat running for any distance.  My posture is uncomfortable unless I'm leaning forward and accelerating.  I need to get this run posture and body balance back at high speeds before adding sleds again.  That's my present operating theory anyway.  Have a great day and thanks for your support!  Bubba

Billy Idol - "Flesh or Fantasy" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw1oM7LBbxE  This came on when I was running today and the first thing I thought was, "It would be a fantasy to think my flesh (body) would finally cooperate with my goals".  Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Slow Ride!!

Decided to go out for an easy run with no sled for a change.  I reasoned that since I jump, lift legs and do sleds on Thursday/Sunday that I need some type of easy shake out running day in between.  I did 4X100 and 4X50 at about 5-7% and felt good.  Not sure if I could have gone faster but I didn't try.  I'm in for a slow ride but for some reason the results feel more assured this way so I will take it. I just have to be ready by August 15 in France.  Thanks for being here.  I need and appreciate the support!  Bubba

Foghat - "Slow Ride" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcCNcgoyG_0

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sorry For the MIA!!

When I'm grinding and not vaulting it's a little harder to remember to post a blog because I don't feel like I have anything new to add.  Then when I'm swamped with work like I have been, I mean to but forget.  In any case, sorry for the MIA.

After 15 days of not running a single step, I returned to 10 sleds today.  The good news is that I went very slowly because of how simple it is to ding this thing again, but I felt no pain during or after.  The bad news is that I'm now back where I started three weeks ago when I should have let it rest.  It was a little sore and I pushed it.  Today I did not.

There's a meet in San Diego next week and the old me would go and try to jump at a low level.  The new me knows it's too soon to revert to my past stupidity.  If I can run again Thursday and Sunday without pain, at ANY speed, I will truly be on the road to recovery.  Three weeks from today is the Nevada Senior Games where I feel I will THEN be ready to jump at a low level; not next week.

Good hard lifts and bars as all of my lifts are up to, and very stable and comfortable at my baseline higher strength levels.  I've done a good job of keeping my weight between 166-168 so I'm pleased with that.  I was afraid that lack of running or jumping may hit me hard there but I have kept it in check.

The progress should be able to now resume.  I will be careful and follow my rules.  I got this little ding by breaking them.  Have a great Sunday and thanks for hanging in there with me!  Bubba

Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name Of" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWXazVhlyxQ

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Like football, pole vaulting is a contact sport.  The more you hit the better you get at hitting.  It's all about abrupt and sustain energy transfer.  Since I won't run for another week, I've been hitting the weights and bars HARD so I can put that BOOM into the pole.  Have a great Sunday!!  Bubba

Hank Williams Jr. - "Are You Ready for Some Football?" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8LLKO0-PAE

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Semimembranosus!!

I went to my PT today and he gave name the name of this "inner leg" ding I keep describing.  Two weeks of treatment followed by two weeks of ramp up sleds and I'm good to go.  Not a bad strain but an unforgiving healer.  We laughed that a healing full on hamstring strain can set you back three days, but the semimembranosus will take you back to square one.  So I will follow directions and listen.  Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!  Bubba

Awesome song by the Foo Fighters - "Times Like These" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhzmNRtIp8k

Monday, September 1, 2014

Need the Past to Advance My Future!!

In the rearview mirror I see both good and bad things that remind me of lessons needed to move forward.  I don't allow this thinking to drag me down but rather to remind me of the work it took for my successes, and the long road it took to climb out from failures.  Overall it keeps me from throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

My leg is not nearly as bad as I thought but I will stick to the same conservative plan I should have at the beginning.  Looking back, I turned this two week ordeal into a six week struggle and was on my way to doing it again.  Thank you history.

This is Labor Day and a time to celebrate the close of the summer, the momentum to end the year, and the hopes and goals of a new year.  I have never told the story I'm about to tell.  Ten years ago today I took my last drink of alcohol.  Strange day to pick considering I only had two glasses of wine that day. 

At that point in my life I had recovered from a divorce three years earlier, near loss of the bottom half of my left leg due to an infection following my second Achilles surgery, a financial collapse and other really fun things. 

I felt I had leaned on alcohol (red wine) a little too much to get me through the mess, so the decision was easy.  On that Labor Day, my life could not be better, and with that being the case, if I didn't stop drinking then, when would I ever? 

For the great majority that knew me during this time I'm sure you had no clue of my suffering, but I knew it, and those closest to me knew it.  Let's just say I quit at the top of my game!  Have a safe and fun Labor Day!!  Bubba

ACDC - "Have a Drink on Me" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM1xL2JPWJo