Rain, Rain!!

It's winter in Texas when the temps stay in the 50s and it rains for a few days straight, then clears and goes cold and windy, and then repeats until late March. I lifted in the gym today so this doesn't really affect me. Don and I usually wait until the temps get past 45 to go out on jump days. To me this just means better quality of training and smaller poles because it's not worth forcing anything in bad weather. And we WILL have bad weather for the next few months. Many view this as a reason not to train but I view it as a chance to get ahead. If it were that easy every one would do it. It's not fun but it comes with the territory just like the heat in the summer.

Training felt good today, partly because I know I'm now on a schedule. Typically we don't have a meet until early January but this year my third meet will be January 2, so it makes it easier to train harder earlier. The key to progressing at our age is consistent effort on a scheduled program over a long time period. Because I "trained through" for Australia in mid October, I entered this part of the year in the best shape ever. Because World Indoors are March 5, we will all be at a higher level sooner. Our National Masters Indoor meet is always at the end of March so we target that as our "launch" to be prepared for the outdoor season, but this year we will be ready before that because of Kamloops.

I guess my point is I feel like this year will be my best chance to step up a level physically because I have and will continue to have big meets along the path that normally represents rest or lower level training. I like that. It feels good. It doesn't mean I'll jump higher but it means I should have better tools to apply toward jumping higher. Talking to Kris after Sydney, I told him that last season I won nationals and won the World Masters Games, so this year is about jumping higher. I'll stick to that and if that happens then I'll probably get a few more medals. As I approach the middle of my age group the younger guys coming in will make that more difficult.

Have a great day!! Bubba

I'm Back!

First, some clarifications. I vaulted Tuesday/Friday not Wednesday/Friday like I originally thought, as my blog showed me. Therefore I did not lift yesterday so I could make an attempt to vault again today (Sunday) on only one day rest. I normally wouldn't attempt this (jumping 3 times in one week) but it's 72 degrees out this morning and it's supposed to be cold (40s-50s) and rainy the rest of the week. My general rule is I can jump three days and do no other training or I can jump two days and do all of the other training components.

I went out after breakfast this morning so I felt slovenly heavy and sloshy because I drink so much tea. Nonetheless I thought I would give it a shot and worse case I would stop if things didn't feel right. I was a little fatigued but warmed up pretty quickly. I decided to start on the 4m/13'/14.7/176, the pole I ended on last time. I went from 33' since this is my standard baseline set up. Again, the baseline is something to progress from, not a goal to get too. But this time of the year it serves both.

Since I was a little beat up I started at 11' and made it the first jump and then made 12' on the first jump, so I'm back at the baseline. YEAH!! I tried a couple of jumps on the 14.3/180 but it felt weak in my hands so I decided to move back to 44' and go to my smallest 14' pole/17.5. Made 12' twice very easily from there but that pole was also very small. Uninjured and pleased to be back at my baseline and back on my 14' poles all in the same day, I stopped - 8 vaults. Hooray for small victories!!

These are the two things I wanted to happen before I jumped at a meet so I feel good going into the meet at Kris indoor place next Saturday. That day is the 5th or exactly three months from World Indoors in Kamloops, BC, Canada - March 5th. I'll lift in the gym tomorrow, run Tuesday, lift in the garage Wednesday, and then stretch on Thursday and Friday. NOW I'm back on a schedule I can live with.

I rarely jump during the week of a meet so today was it but I'll have two more weeks after next Saturday before my next meet. Again, I'm in good shape so it shouldn't be such a big deal that I have all of these changes in my daily schedule. That said, I HATE not having a schedule. Typically I have a "training" schedule and a "meet" schedule. I will now be back on that system.

I have booked hotels and paid for flights for Reno and Kamloops but have yet to find a decent deal on flights for Boston. I usually get my flight before I enter the meet but yesterday I went ahead and entered National Masters Indoors in Boston. I'm always one of the first entries but for me, that makes it "real" and I adapt accordingly with my training. I can't explain it but even though I can embrace the grind, it's just easier to train at this level if there is some definitive event and date. Whatever works.

Hope you have a great day. Thanks for being here. Bubba

Reflection - I guess any time I can vault three times in a week it's good; especially if each of the three days was better than the one before.

Meet December 5

I'm sure you have noticed that plans change often around here. This is my "put it out there and see what makes sense" outlet. Many changes come based on how my body feels after the last workout, our how I am progressing in any particular area. That said, because I jumped well yesterday, considering I only had one day off between jump sessions, I'm going to go and jump in the meet at Kris' place next Saturday. I'm only one pole away from my 14' poles so I'll take this week to resume the other training components and then get to Kris and start on my smaller 14's.

A few years ago I got sick of making 11' 6" (3.51m) so I quit jumping at it and began starting at 12' (3.66m). If I can't start at that level I shouldn't be at a meet. Besides, that's where I normally start my practices from only 33'. I feel I'm ready to do that.

At Sydney I started warm up on my 17.2 from 44' and then went to the 17.0 from 55' and it was real comfortable in horrible winds. If I only got through those poles and maybe my 16.5, I should be able to at least make 12' 6" (3.81m). If not then I will have something specific to work on before my next meet on 12/19.

I'm excited to have a definitive starting point because jumping in meets requires a pretty fixed training schedule so I can predict how I will feel. Preparing for meets also makes me focus on my eating. I normally jump at about 171 but lately I've been 173-4. That may not sound like much but it makes a difference ion your timing. In any case, I'm looking forward to it.

Today is our end of the month All Comers meet at 10. I'll go out and watch that and then I will go to the gym and lift. The key for me is stretching. When I am on my regular stretching routine and frequency, my legs feel good on the runway. I stretch when I lift so that's a big piece to get back in. Also, I feel fast but not powerful when I run on the runway and do not lift. Glad to get back to reality. More later. Bubba

Better!

At this point I will take baby steps and be happy. My legs felt much better and the right hamstring was very close to a nonfactor. I was able to use the cut 4m-13'/167/16.3 from 22' 6" today and easily made 11'. It felt too small but I didn't think I could get on on the full length 4m/15.9/171 so I moved back to 33', skipped the 15.9 and made 11' 6" on my first jump on the 15.5. It too felt small so things are starting to get back toward normal. It should feel small as I have jumped on my 2nd 14' pole from that run before - that's seven poles up from where I was on that jump.

I stayed at 33' and moved to the 15.0/176 for two jumps at 12' and it was too small also. I took two on the 14.7/176 and was close. The 14.7 is the pole I usually make 12' on from 33' for my baseline. I'm guessing I'm back to that on Monday. I resisted the urge to move my run back to 44' and go to the next pole just to make 12'. My baseline is 12' from 33' and I've done that countless times so it makes no sense to get impatient.

A couple of illustrations as to how my thinking played out in real life today. The first premise is that I can jump 6" higher for every stride added. Today I made 11' from 22' 6" and then easily made 11' 6" from 33'. The other premise is that for every stride in on a particular pole you can jump 6" higher. I made 10' 6" from 32' at my last practice and 11' today on the same pole from one stride in. These two premises are why I work off of my baselines. I have made 12' 6" from 33', 13' from 44' and 13' 5 1/4" from 55' but not with the frequency that they could be called a baseline. They are predictable and dependable. That's the next goal - increase the baselines.

Running afterwards was better even though I still only ran 10-20%. The hamstring didn't have much of a catch left on the extension so that will continue to get better. I will continue vaulting every third day until next Saturday when I vault and add all of my lifting back in. Right now I am doing my running and bars on jumps days - just no lifting at all. As my ortho used to say, "if your training is injuring you and your event is not then you need to change your training". So I've dropped out the lifting until I reach my baseline comfortably.

I feel close to being back in a groove as I had pretty good control of most of my eight jumps today. I used a big pole from 22' so now I'm done with that run. That means I will start at 33' and be allowed to move to 44' if needed with the understanding that the next time I take the pole from 44' and use it at 33'. Hope that makes sense. Have a great day! Bubba

PS - as of today I only have three more 13' poles to get through so hopefully I'll be back on 14's in a week or two.

UPDATE - I just realized that I vaulted on Wednesday. I went out today thinking it was Tuesday that I had jumped. I guess I will try again on Sunday since we have rain on Monday and Tuesday. That will put me back to regular full training on Wednesday. This makes me feel better to have a decent day on only one day of rest. COOL!! Bubba

More Thanks

I'm hanging out waiting for it to get warm enough to jump so I thought I would add a few thoughts. Today is my mom's birthday. Of course she passed away on April 19, of this year but she is still with me. Her birthday fell on Thanksgiving many times. I think what I'm going to do is each year on her birthday I'll write her a little letter and tell her what I'm thinking. Upon her death I wrote a "Tribute" to her so I think I will add on to it with these letters.

Her mother died when she was young and she told us at a very early age that her greatest regret in life was not ever telling her mother she loved her. We never had that problem of course. Though I do miss her I'm pleased for her to be gone and be out of the suffering she experienced over the past three years. Like all of our mom's, she was a great lady. Be sure and tell yours (and your dad) that you love them while they are still here. If they aren't then you know exactly what I mean.

Phillip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friend from Sydney, Phillip Carrero, emailed today to say that he recently vaulted 4m (13' 1 1/2") in practice as he awaits the start of their summer meets. You may remember that he got 3rd at the World Masters Games with a strained hamstring. I could tell by watching his vaults that he has very good technique. This is a HUGE breakthrough for him and well above his National Record. I'm so excited for him, and it couldn't happen to a better guy!!

Meets AGAIN
I'm not going to any meets at Kris' place. I'd love to but the first is next Saturday and even if I hit my baseline today or Monday I'm not prepared to be on 14' poles yet. His next one is 12/26, which I was all excited about until I noticed that if I went it would be the first of three consecutive weekends for meets. I try to never do more than two consecutive weekends to avoid injury. I have meets on 1/2 and1/9 so his is out. The meet I have on 12/19 I plan to withdraw from because it is too late in the day or evening for a 4.5 hour drive. IF they don't have a lot of jumpers I may go anyway. We'll see.

That Time of the Year
I got more emails from vaulters yesterday (20+) than at any time since I returned from Sydney? Why? We're all restless and bored with no meets. Thanksgiving? Too much home time and no vaulting I guess.

That said, I'm off to vault. More later. Bubba

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's been a wonderful year and like you, I'm grateful for many blessings. Thank you all so much for following this insane old man pole vaulter's diary. It means a lot to me that you are there and that you can relate. Most of my training is alone so this is the only place I really have to share with like minded people. So thank you and have a great Thanksgiving!!

Today the right hamstring feels good again so I'm sure it's just a little glitch that will work its way out. I was telling my training partner, Don Curry, that I don't feel it when I jump but only when I'm doing my running. He said that sounds perfect - now I don't have to run. HaHa!! Fortunately or unfortunately, my running workouts produce my best chance to improve. We're jumping together tomorrow morning.

Don and I grew up jumping in each other's back yards when we were kids so we've been best friends for over 40 years. I talked him into starting to jump again in 2006 so I would have a training partner. He promptly got 2nd at Indoor Nationals in Boston and has since won many medals at the national level including the 2007 National Senior Games in Louisville where he was first and I was 2nd. Fortunately he won't grow into my age group again until 2011.

Over the past 20 months Don has been battling doctors to cure his osteitis pubis; an inflammation of the abdominal attachments to the pubic bone. I've had this and gotten it shot with cortisone and it's been fine for years. Don will get shot next week or the next and he too should be back on the road to success. A shot in the pubic symphasis is the most painful thing I have ever endured, but like my doc says, the more it hurts the better we got the right spot.

All the best and thanks again! Bubba

More Jumping = Rehab

My right hamstring was a little sore this morning yet I can vault. Mystery to me. Therefore I will drop all other training for the next week or so and just vault every third day. The objective is to get back to my baseline of 12' from 33'. If I can do that then I can jump 12' 6" from 44' and 13' from 55'. If I can't hit my baseline it's not worth going to a meet because I'm not ready.

Here ares some photos I got from a photographer in Sydney from the World Masters Games. Thanks to Geoff Jones of Sydney! The first jump is my opening height of 3.60m (11' 9 3/4") and the last two are from the 3.90m (12' 9 1/2") clearance. How do I know? The color of the tape on the end of pole. Click to enlarge. Have a great day! Bubba