Sunday, November 13, 2005
Enough with the Pole Vault...
A mixed week that really only warrants one summary post. Continued with physio on my left hamstring, with some improvement towards the end of the week, culminating in runs of 11, 12 and 20 minutes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the leg feeling much stronger on each run. Even managed to try a little speed for 100m or so today, with tentatively encouraging results. Three trips to the gym, and lots of ab work and stretching meant it was a disciplined week.
Highlight was pole vault training today. Felt A LOT more comfortable with things, and got much more encouraging feedback from Jim. After some warm-ups, we did a session of trying to touch a 4 metre bar with our feet, which I came within a few inches of doing. Then some 3 metre jumps (using a rubber band, rather than a rigid bar) - got over a few, but none would have been legal as I made plenty of contact with the 'bar' on the way over. Finally, some serious jumps. A real mental victory when the bar was set at 2.40m and I though "Gee, that's not very high". Bang - straight over first time, with apparantly about 40cm to spare! My 4 attempts at 2.60 were close but I clipped the bar going over on my two good jumps (consistency still needs some work). Annoyed at myself, because I felt that it was within my capabilities. Jim thinks I could jump 2.80 right now, and 3 metres is just a matter of weeks away - he even went so far as calling me a 'natural', although I think his tongue was in his cheek somewhat.
With my leg returning to full strength, my run-ups are much stronger, and I am feeling much more confident about things, so another successful session. Jim also coaches throws, so I am off to train with the veteran's squad on Tuesday, which will give that area (which I have been putting off) some impetus. However, as injury does its world tour of my body, I strained my groin slightly on my last jump, which is going to leave me a bit stiff for a few days (no pun intended).
I am scheduled to run in the 4x1500m at the State Relays on Saturday, which is worrying me a bit, as I am not sure whether my legs will be up to it. However, if everything goes according to plan, I should be able to hold my own (sub 4:40), so there is nothing to be gained letting myself off the hook prematurely - I just hope I am not running the last leg and it comes down to a sprint finish!
On the non-running side, I had a great night out with some fellow CoolRunners for the Owl's bon-voyage dinner. Some big calls made by The Owl and The Pussycat for events they are targetting next year - I'm sure they'll be sharing all the details in their blogs - but very motivating stuff. It is always inspiring to see someone make a commitment to something that is big and uncertain, and you just hope you can try and return some of that inspiration from time to time!
Highlight was pole vault training today. Felt A LOT more comfortable with things, and got much more encouraging feedback from Jim. After some warm-ups, we did a session of trying to touch a 4 metre bar with our feet, which I came within a few inches of doing. Then some 3 metre jumps (using a rubber band, rather than a rigid bar) - got over a few, but none would have been legal as I made plenty of contact with the 'bar' on the way over. Finally, some serious jumps. A real mental victory when the bar was set at 2.40m and I though "Gee, that's not very high". Bang - straight over first time, with apparantly about 40cm to spare! My 4 attempts at 2.60 were close but I clipped the bar going over on my two good jumps (consistency still needs some work). Annoyed at myself, because I felt that it was within my capabilities. Jim thinks I could jump 2.80 right now, and 3 metres is just a matter of weeks away - he even went so far as calling me a 'natural', although I think his tongue was in his cheek somewhat.
With my leg returning to full strength, my run-ups are much stronger, and I am feeling much more confident about things, so another successful session. Jim also coaches throws, so I am off to train with the veteran's squad on Tuesday, which will give that area (which I have been putting off) some impetus. However, as injury does its world tour of my body, I strained my groin slightly on my last jump, which is going to leave me a bit stiff for a few days (no pun intended).
I am scheduled to run in the 4x1500m at the State Relays on Saturday, which is worrying me a bit, as I am not sure whether my legs will be up to it. However, if everything goes according to plan, I should be able to hold my own (sub 4:40), so there is nothing to be gained letting myself off the hook prematurely - I just hope I am not running the last leg and it comes down to a sprint finish!
On the non-running side, I had a great night out with some fellow CoolRunners for the Owl's bon-voyage dinner. Some big calls made by The Owl and The Pussycat for events they are targetting next year - I'm sure they'll be sharing all the details in their blogs - but very motivating stuff. It is always inspiring to see someone make a commitment to something that is big and uncertain, and you just hope you can try and return some of that inspiration from time to time!
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Indeed. Great to catch up on Saturday. Best of luck with the training over the coming months and I hope I return to find you still in one piece. If not, I do believe there's a fairly good massage therapist coming out of retirement in February next year.
Your pole vaulting escapades sound exciting! Can't imagine what it must feel like to be propelled over the bar like that. I'm sure you'll be doing 3ms in no time.
See you soon I hope!
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See you soon I hope!
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