Out Early Tomorrow AM SO, Here You Go

I was reading "10 Questions" in Time magazine with Mike Tyson. When asked what it takes to be a champion he said, "You must be diligent and committed. You must train what you hate like you love it. The first time I knocked someone out I was jumping up and down and excited. My trainer asked why I was behaving that way. I trained for this and this is the expected result. Anything else would mean failure". Food for thought. Bubba

The Woodlands High School All Comers Schedule
Pole Vault at 5 PM

Tuesday, May 24
Tuesday, May 31
Tuesday, June 7
Tuesday, June 14
Monday, June 20
Tuesday, June 27

Survived the First Rotation

I always amazes me that with how much I train that I still get sore if I miss even one of my three day rotations. Of course I miss the last one before a big meet and the first one after a big meet so max I'm missing 6-7 days, yet I still feel beat up when I start back. I felt especially trashed last night after my running, bars, sled, pole drills day but woke up today feeling better.

I did an abbreviated first gym workout as a ramp up and everything felt good there. SO, now I will miss Monday's home lift, but will do Tuesdays running on Wednesday. Missing one workout is not bad considering I will be out of town the better part of three days. I hate to say it but it probably will do me good to let my body recover from the past three days.

I find it very effective to ramp up and ramp down when going through long training periods. I was going to jump in a meet on April 2, but now I'm thinking I should leave that alone and wait another two to three weeks before attempting to vault. Sure it sucks not to vault but I want to be sure I am 100% healthy because I will start right back on my meet pole series.

The great American vaulter, Mike Tully, (silver medal in 1984 Olympics) once told me his idea of rehab was go home with some beer and watch TV. Repeat daily until he was well enough to jump. I don't drink and I think I would go crazy if I didn't do anything, but again I'm not the athlete that Mike was.

I learned early on that any ding or injury is an open door to hitting the training harder than ever so you come back better than you left. Believe me, if I got 4th at nationals how do I do at worlds? Better get my butt to work. Have a great day and thanks for the support? Bubba

Make That a 3 to a 4 + Love / Hate

I'm glad I had bad weather and was sick so that I had a full week from nationals before trying to run on my leg. Because I found out very quickly the hamstring is more of a 3 or a 4 instead of a .75 to a 1. There's a little stinging behind the left knee that kept me at about 20-30% speed on all running. So though I stopped last week without apparent injury, I would not have gotten down the runway on the next attempt based on how it feels today.

So here's the silver lining. First, I did not get a full blown injury but more of a ding. I have no limitation of range of motion. Next, the type of training I am transitioning to is better to start slowly with. I was telling a friend how much I absolutely hate moving into this type of running; not because it is so hard but because it is so long and boring as you will see in a few minutes. But now that I CAN'T go fast it made me really enjoy the day. So hate turned to love as I really had fun.

Basically you have to take a hard look at yourself and ask what it takes to get to the next level and why did my body fail me the last time. These are parallel paths - move forward, fix what was wrong. What was wrong was that I did a ton of speed and power stuff but very little of it with no resistance so my legs did not respond well to their new quickness. I also did not do my normal running/striding the day before the meet, even though I stretched. BIG mistake. Then I tried to start on too big of a pole which shocked my body into too much too soon. So there's not much to change to fix that. Just don't be STUPID!! Easier said then done but I will try with new eyes.

Going forward I have over three months before the National Senior Games in Houston and about four months before worlds in Sacramento. If I don't treat this like an off season and blast away at my training level I will not be competitive this summer. I have found out that I am jumping well at a high level. To get me over the hump to be on bigger poles with less effort means a new type of grind. Pretty excited about it after today.

So when you hear that today was my run/sled/drill day here's what actually takes place. NOTE - I'm not vaulting now so I need a ton of take offs and plant drills with an over sized pole. Thanks and have a great day! Bubba

1. 1/2 mile stride straights / jog curves
2. high bar pullovers to max
3. 1/2 mile stride straights / walk curves
4. high bar pullovers to max
5. 1 X 50 hill for speed
6. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
7. 50m X carioca sled shuffle facing left with big pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
8. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
9. 1 X 50 hill for speed
10. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
11. 50m X carioca sled shuffle facing right with big pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
12. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
13. 1 X 50 hill for speed
14. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
15. high bar pullovers to max
16. 1 X 50m hill / sled+10 lbs (5 kg)
17. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
18. P-bar Bubkas with 5 lb. ankle weights
19. 50m high knees with pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
20. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
21. 1 X 50m hill / sled+10 lbs (5 kg)
22. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
23. 50m goose step with pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
24. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
25. 1 X 50m hill / sled+10 lbs (5 kg)
26. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
27. P-bar Bubkas with 5 lb. ankle weights
28. 50m step out with pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
29. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
30. 1 X 50m hill / sled+0 lbs (5 kg) with heavy pole
31. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
32. 50m power skip with pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
33. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
34. 1 X 50m hill / sled+0 lbs (5 kg) with heavy pole
35. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
36. 50m power skip with pole and 5 lb. ankle weights
37. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
38. 1 X 50m hill / sled+0 lbs (5 kg) with heavy pole
39. walk back with 3 X slide box plants and 3 X pole drops
40. P-bar Bubkas with 5 lb. ankle weights

Well, It's a Start!

I slept better last night between coughs and managed to lift the same way; between coughs. I feel better but sound worse. Or maybe I don't feel that much better after all. Doesn't help that The Woodlands has thousands of HUGE pines (hence Woodlands) and they are all emitting pine dust all over everything. Great for the breathing if you already have a cold.

I kept weights low and movements deliberate. I guess the best news is that I forgot I had a little hamstring issue to watch. I'm quite sure it's still there at some level but I never felt it today. That's an improvement because when I was setting up Nancy's lifting Monday I DID feel it when I bent over and picked up heavy weights.

This week Nancy started lifting with me. She walks daily but has never been much of a weights person. When we first met she tried it and made improvements very quick but I think we had her do too much too soon. This time we're going slow and easy and she's really enjoying it. I think it will be good for me at the gym because it will make me slow down a little between sets. I think sometimes I rush my rest so I'm not taking up the machine or so I can get to the next one. I hope she stays with it for both of us.

I'll have a running/drill day tomorrow and then gym lift Sunday then I'm on the road Monday through Wednesday. Thanks again for all of your support! Bubba

Got a Cold So I'll Wait

I feel better than yesterday but I'll play it safe and wait until tmomorrow. Until then, here is an animated bear trying to pole vault. Bubba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iorANw1zsTM&feature=player_embedded

Late Add - Poles got back safely.

National Senior Games Pole Vaulter Reunion

I know that many of you are planning to come to Houston for the National Senior Games. Some have inquired about finding poles to use. I will check and see if our local high school will allow their poles to be used and feel pretty sure it won't be an issue. My coach Kris Allison may also have some poles to rent. I'll check with him too.

If you're under 65 you vault on Monday, June 20, and if you're 65 or over you vault on Thursday, June 24. With that in mind, we will host an All Comers Masters PV Meet at The Woodlands High School on Friday afternoon, June 17, followed by a BBQ at my house 2 miles away. This way you can try out poles you may need for the NSG.

In addition, the very next day is the Quintana Beach Vault - http://www.quintanabeachvault.com/. We will make the 90 minute drive to watch the masters section of that meet on Saturday morning at 9. If you vault on Thursday you may want to enter and compete at the Quintana Beach Vault - HUGE tailwind and very fast runway.

I live 25 miles north of Houston in The Woodlands off of I-45. The meet in Humble is about a 25 minute drive to the southeast but long before you reach Houston. There are plenty of hotels of all classes along I-45 near our house and the high school, or along State 59 in Humble. If you're coming in for any of these events we can caravan over to the NSG on Monday morning.

Scroll down here for a shot of our facilities - http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/TWHS.htm As you can see we have two pits and about 140' of runway. Plenty of shade on the main end. Here is our city website - http://www.thewoodlands.com/

Please let me know if you think you are coming. Thanks and see you soon. Bubba

A Day About Nothing

Normally I don't train the first rotation after a big meet which means my first day of training would be Thursday. However, because I will be out of town next Monday and Tuesday I thought I might at least get through today's running. My new club sponsor is Adidas so I got some new shoes and thought I would take it easy on those and feel my way through my hamstring. I also got some new ankle weights for big pole drills and bar work so I packed the car and was excited to head out to a long but easy session. Cue the rain - POURING, and getting worse all day. There's my sign to wait until Thursday. Things happen for a reason so I'll listen and wait. Thanks for being here. Bubba