Last Day of the Year

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year. For my last day I got over to the track early and packed up the poles for tomorrow as it is supposed to rain soon. Gary will meet me at 5:30 AM and we will pick up Don at 6 and be on the runway for warm-up by 9.

This morning was 71 again but we're expecting more rain and some cooler weather. Nice long stretch again. Sweating during the stretch session on New Years Eve is a great way to spend the winter. I know many of you are buried in snow, but most of you also have indoor places to train. For the next few months we expect the usual mid 30' to mid 40's and rain or 20s and clear with high winds. Not very fun for vaulting.

I bring this up because I have not jumped in practice except for once since this little chain of meets that started on November 20. It's been too cold or wet outside to practice yet these are all indoor meets. The fact that they are all spaced two weeks apart is the other reason. Of course I would rather jump once in between but it won't kill my technique not to.

PLEASE be careful and enjoy your weekend. Four weeks from today we are in Reno!! Bubba

Weird Weather

Supposed to clear up but it never did. The overcast left it wet but the hills weren't flooded. Ran 4 X 50m sleds and felt decent considering I'm a day late. Built up slow and was at a decent speed on the last one. Long stretch felt good too. I think the high today was 70 with a low of 64 so I'm digging that for nearly January 1.

I know a lot of people have this as a pretty easy week but I work with a lot of doctors and financial people in my business and this week they actually have time to talk so I've been a little swamped. Sorry for my delays posting here but I should get back to reality.

Hope you have a safe and happy new years eve. More soon. Bubba

I'm Trying

I've waited the entire day out to try and get my 6 X 50m hill/sleds in but the rain won't stop. Hate to do it tomorrow but I have no choice or I will come into Saturday's meet flat. I guess I'll run 4-5 at a slower pace and do a real long stretch. I sat out there for a long time waiting for a break but right before I would get out of the car there would be a huge crack of thunder. Oh well. Have a great day!! Bubba

Preparation Continues

I saw the start list today for the masters division at Belton (near Austin) this Saturday. We have 10 guys and we start at 10 AM. The good news is that I don't have to get on the road to driving there until about 5:30 AM. Some of these meets closer to Dallas we have gone up on the night before because we would have to leave at 2 AM for a 9 AM start. SO, it's not as bad as it sounds.

Good lift and stretch this morning. Supposed to have rain for part of the next three days. Of course I only care about Wednesday when I need to run my hill/sleds. Hopefully it will be warm and dry in the afternoon when I get back from my local/regional travel day.

Not much else to report. I feel good so that's a good sign. I'm working through what I need to change technically and feel I will be able to do that too. More as we go. Thanks for being here! Bubba

Tough Lift Day - Crossed 17 Million Pounds Lifted

Since January 1, 2005 through today I have lifted 17,032,599 and done 11,413 high bar exercises with ankle weights. WOW - apparently the days you just show up will add up just like the days we miss.

Being five weeks out from Reno I'm cycling back around to strength endurance and MAN that sucks more than a little after you have gotten away from it. On my long day I lift 18 reps and on my short day I lift 12. So at this stage that can be 1 X 18 (like today) or 1 X 12 + 1 X 6. In the heavier days I'll go 8,6,4 and maybe before that I was at 3 X 6. In any case it sucked on one hand but felt good to be working that way on the other.

My legs feels pretty fresh and I was strong on my lifts. After 8 X 50m hill/sleds on Wednesday I skipped yesterday because I didn't want a relapse of my cold. I feel better today and will hit 6 X 50m hill/sled on Wednesday and be ready for Belton on Saturday. When I'm in the middle of hardcore training I still feel pretty beat up through Wednesday before the meet so I'm happy to feel decent today. NOW - STRETCH and don't skimp on it!!

It's 29 this morning and tomorrow is supposed to be a little colder. This year I've figured out the garage heating situation so it's tolerable. Good thing because that's where I am in the morning.

Hope you have a great Sunday. I sincerely want to thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to have you here and as my sounding board. All the best to you!! Bubba

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you have all had a great day with your families!! Be happy, warm and safe!!

WOW!! Got a lot of feedback yesterday about my health situation. Thanks so much!! YES, it's VERY hard to train this hard knowing it only goes so far and it will only get worse. I'm fine with it. You get what you come with and do the best with what you have.

In a rare strike of maturity I decided not to work out today. I was supposed to do 10 X 50m hill/sleds and an upper lift in my garage. I was really torn but came to the conclusion I didn't need to get sick again. I was just telling Nancy how run down I have been this whole week from jumping sick last weekend, and then sure enough, I started coughing again and feeling my throat. It was 40 and drizzling so I decided to bail. HATE that but I think it's in my best short term interest with a meet next Saturday.

Have a great Christmas evening and thanks for being here! Bubba

Mini Rant!! My Health Problem

At the awards introduction at my last meet, a masters vaulter asked me something about drug testing. Then he asked me if they drug tested in Sydney. Then he asked if I was drug tested in Sydney. It didn't really bother me at the time because it wasn't like an attack but more of a question about competing in big meets. As the questions went along I understood he was basically accusing me of cheating. You will read below how preposterous that is. I was a little baffled by this but I explained the best I could;

• As reported on my blog, the World Masters Games in Sydney required your consent to drug test as a condition of entry. All big meets do and everyone knows it. I've been in a ton of big meets and have been drug tested four times. Not a big deal.
• When you picked up your package in Sydney you signed again saying that you agreed to be drug tested.
• When you checked in at the venue you signed yet another form saying you agreed to be tested.
• As you left the field you passed through drug testing where they pulled random athletes who had earned medals. I was not selected but certainly would be happy to be tested.

After I explained this I said that I more consider myself to be "desire tested". When he asked what that meant I told him that starting on January 1, 2005, I had been training 5-7 days, including 4-6 lifting days, each and every week with no off season because I wanted to be a better pole vaulter. This morning I just crossed over 17 million pounds lifted in that time frame, almost six years. I told him that even that was no guarantee I would get better but it certainly would make me look like I work out. So maybe the drug testing question is really a compliment? I doubt it. The funny thing is when I saw him I thought how good he looked; like he had really been working out. Never crossed my mind HE might be on drugs, plus I really don't care, I just take care of me.

Here's the irony and only a very few people (Nancy, Kris, Don & Dean) know this before I'm telling you. I have a low testosterone problem. The acceptable range for a total testosterone reading is 500-800 and the average for a 55 year old is 550. In 2008 I was tested at 175 and today I am at 135. So if I DON'T train they way I do, I can't even stay where I am. If I had a 550 I'd probably look like a bodybuilder and jump 15' (4.60m) but I don't and can't. That's life.

I'm currently seeking a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to supplement my testosterone to put me on a level playing field with everyone else because right now I am severely handicapped. I doubt it will be approved. A 41 year old on the PGA tour just had a suspension overturned and he was given a TUE for a similar issue. If it is approved we hope to get me to 350, still far below average, but better than where I am now. My physician team says that it is unlikely I could get above 350 and as time goes by it will continue to decrease no matter what we do. My point is that even if I was approved I can't test positive because I can't even get close to normal levels with or without help.

So think about that when you hear that I'm grinding away training. Don't think for a second that in the back of my mind I'm not being told that no matter what I do will eventually do me no good as I will be stopped by the lack of ability to grow or maintain muscle mass. I can't possibly express to you how demoralizing and hard that is to get past as I attempt to put forth my best effort each day.

I thought long and hard about bringing this up but I thought this is a good time to get it out there. The deck is truly stacked against me and getting worse, but I continue to do the best I can. Hey, it's severe male menopause; not death. I have no idea how my mind allows me to train like I do because from time to time it flat out kills my spirit. Have a great day and thanks for being here! Bubba