Pole Vault, Shot, High Jump

I was able to go an have a go at the Exeter Open Meeting tonight. I'd originally planned to do the Hurdles but there weren't enough entrants so I did Shot instead as a confidence booster.

First up, the Pole Vault. I've only done one session before today and so was a bit nervous and had no real idea of what I'd be able to do. I went at the first height which was 1.60m. This is not even as high as me, but it's still a bit harder than it looks! My first vault I was nowhere near as I hadn't gripped the pole high enough. Once I got the right grip position it was much easier.

Run up - controlled and gradual with a bit of acceleration towards the end, plant the pole in the box and throw the hands up and drive with the left leg. Try to catch and hold the position and get the hips up as the pole swings and use the momentum to get up as much as possible. As you get your hips over, throw the bar back and get over the bar! Here's one of the better efforts:

It went:
1.60m - XO
1.80m - O
1.90m - O
2.00m - O
2.10m - XO
2.20m - O
2.30m - O
2.40m - XXX (was so close on the last one, aaarghh!)

Next up was Shot. I had a target of 12m and had a few standing throws and hit the 12m line so I knew I was in shape to do it. My first couple of throws were about 11:55m so not happy with that but I then managed to go 12.05, 11.75, 11.98, 12.15m to get a new PB. Interestingly, I had a few goes with the ladies 4kg Shot for fun to see what I could do, turned out to be around 16m. Amazes me how a woman as slight as Jess Ennis can get it to 14.76m! Wow.

Last event for me was High Jump. I didn't have chance to mark out a run-up, I just started at the lowest height and did each one until I couldn't manage any more to get practice.

1.30m - O
1.35m - O
1.40m - XO (calf clipped bar)
1.45m - O
1.50m - XXX (on last one someone ran across my path but it didn't really hamper me, I just had no spring!)

So, not a bad night overall considering PB's in PV and SP. Disappointed with High Jump but I guess it is 20 years since I've had a go. Just hope that by next weekend I can improve by 15cm to beat Steve Smith's target of 1.60m!!!

Was great to catch up with my friend Simon Bennett who threw well tonight - 61.95m in Jav and 13.22m in Shot. I also met a guy who I'll be competing against in the Decathlon. He looked very good - his opening PV height was 2.80m and he's run 11.6m over 100m a couple of years ago. This could be embarrassing!!!

Decathlon - World Champs and UK Masters

Watched the second day of the World Championships Decathlon today, partly because I love watching them battle it out, but also to draw more inspiration for the UK Masters Championships which I have entered. I'm dedicating it to the rays of Sunshine Charity ( DETAILS HERE )

At the end of Day 1, Ashton Eaton was leading from Trey Hardee. Ashton is a better runner whilst Trey is a better field athlete so it was going to be a good battle. Hardee won in the end due to strong Discus, Pole Vault and Javelin results. Ashton secured his Silver by just 2 points by running a PB in the 1500m which is over a minute quicker than I'll be able to do! The 1500m at the end of the 10 event competition is a true test of grit and seeing them get roudn each lap and give it their all to the line was very impressive.

I am a rubbish runner - fact! I was only able to do 5 minutes at 10km/h on the treadmill last week without cramping up for the first time. I'm powerful and good over 30m bursts but anything that lasts longer than 10 seconds is not my idea of fun, well, in athletics anyway!

Tonight's training was a quick one due to finishing work a little later and the gym closing earlier at the weekend. I decided to work on the running and do an interval session in the 45 minutes I had available:

5 mins treadmill: 0-4 mins @ 10km/h, 4 - 4:30 @ 12km/h, 4:30 - 5:00 @ 13km/h

1k indoor rower - 3:59.6, 20 strokes per minute

5 mins treadmill: 0-4 mins @ 10km/h, 4 - 4:30 @ 12km/h, 4:30 - 5:00 @ 13.2 km/h

1k indoor rower - 3:58.4 , 20 strokes per minute

5 mins treadmill @ 11km/h

1k indoor rower, cool down - 4:30 , 18 strokes per minute

5 mins treadmill walk: 1:30 @ 8km/h, 1:30 - 2:00 @ 6km/h , 2 - 4:00 @ 5km/h, 4 - 5:00 @ 4km/h

I was really pleased to get through this without cramping up and the indoor rowing between each treadmill rep was useful for the calves to recover whilst still working the cardio system a bit. Stepping up the pace was surprisingly comfortable. I hope it's not to late to get some benefit in terms of the 400m and 1500m events.

On Tuesday, I have a  competition at Exeter - doing Pole Vault, Hurdles and High Jump. I'll rest tomorrow so I'm fresh for the technical events. Targets: PV 2.00m , Hurdles 20.0s , High Jump 1.60m. We'll see!

Really getting excited now, and also really looking forward to following Jess Ennis and Louise Hazel in the Heptathlon in the next two days, come on girls!!!

Upper Body Training

As it was raining cats and dogs today, the intended sprint and plyometric session had to be replaced by an upper body workout instead. This is all to try and help me prepare for a Decathlon in just 2 weeks for the Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity. DETAILS

For those who have donated, I've posted a couple of videos so you can see the type of work that's going in to prepare for this. Thank you so much for the support so far!

Warm up - Indoor Rower

1000m - 3:48 - 22 spm

5 x 30s on, 60s off - 1:33.0 pace at r20

Wide Grip Chins: 5 reps, 4 reps, 3 reps, 2 reps, 1 rep

10 x 1 x Handstand Press Ups (this was tough - I weigh 100kg!)

5 more wide grip chins

5 x 90kg bench press

2 x 100kg bench press

1 x 110kg bench press
1 x 120kg bench press (equal PB)

125kg - fail

2 x 10 x 40kg Dumbell Pullovers

2 x 10 x 10kg Dumbell lateral deltoid raises

10 x 18kg Dumbell Concentration Curls

2 x 10 x 14kg Dumbell Hammer Curls

I'm feeling almost ready for it now. There's a competition next Tuesday where I can practice Pole Vault, Hurdles and High Jump. That'll be a good test of the more technical events! The throws I'm feeling confident about, the long jump not so bad and the running events - well, I'll just do what I can although I'm no Usain Bolt.

Getting Nervous

DETAILS OF THE DECATHLON (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL POST HERE)

It's not long now - 10th and 11th September.

I'm getting more nervous as the Decathlon approaches and still haven't practiced some of the more technical events. My legs are constantly sore from the training I've been doing and I'm not as flexible as I'd like to be, but you can only do what you can do. I'm training hard and am in the best shape I've been for years and yet I've no idea how I'll fair over the 2 days of competition and 10 events.

Next Tuesday evening, there's a chance to compete in 3 events at the Exeter Harriers Open Meeting. I intend to do Pole Vault, Hurdles and High Jump so I will know roughly what standard I'll be able to aim for and also to practice technique.

Today's training was aimed at legs for power and strength, some overhead squats and power snatches for overall core strength and some more treadmill running to get the calves and ankles prepared more.

Indoor Rowing Warm Up

1k r15 1:59.4
1k r10 1:56.5 3:53.0 22.1 spi (this is 1 stroke every 6 seconds with almost max power)

8 x 90kg front squat
4 x 110kg front squat
8 x 110kg back squat
1 x 160kg back squat
4 x 60kg overhead squat

10 x 60kg hang snatch
1 x 70kg hang snatch

2 x 2.5min treadmill @ 12km/h 2'r
 

5 mins bike cd

Thank you so much for all the supportive comments, sharing the links and making donations - £145 raised at the time of writing, it all helps. The Rays of Sunshine is a very worthy cause and the children who will benefit from your help will be over the moon.

 

Recent Training in Prep for Decathlon

It's not long now until the UK Masters Decathlon which I am entering and dedicating to the Rays of Sunshine Childrens Charity. Just 2 and a half weeks until the 2 day, 10 event competition. The thing on the right shows the current total and will take you to the page >>

I've been feeling better this last week after a slight hamstring problem the week before which seems to have cleared up well.

August 19th - Javelin Practice and Indoor Row

I took my daughter to a nearby field with my javelin and took the opportunity to let her have a go whilst training myself. It was fun and we both did well. Georgia is 12 years old, and after some practice was able to throw the Men's Javelin (800g and about 2.7m long) about 12m or so. I wonder how well she'd do with the U13 girls implement which is 400g and like a toothpick in comparison to the full size one she used!

I slowly built up the standing throws as I was warming up and then did 6 x 100% standing throws. Each throw was slightly further than the last and in the 6th and final 'imaginary competition round' I gave it even more and got it to about 48m (18 javelin lengths). This is encouraging as my target for the javelin is 55m, so not a huge amount further to throw with a run-up. I don't think I ever got 50m from standing even when I was at my peak (63.14m full throw at 18 yrs old).

Then to the gym for a 20 minute row to help with cardio fitness.

August 21st - Weights

indoor row, warm up

1k r18 3:35.2 1:47.6 - slight cough from this
1k r25 4:00.1 2:00.0

1 x 90kg bench
1 x 110kg bench
1 x 120kg bench - recent PB
90kg power clean and jerk
100kg power clean and jerk PB
5 x 80kg power clean
10 x 1 x 70kg power snatch
10 x 70kg straight leg deadlift
10 x 100kg straight leg deadlift
8 x 120kg straight leg deadlift - hard work!
1 x 190kg deadlift raw - comfy
5 x 60kg overhead squats

Felt good to work the hamstrings and manage without any issue. 

August 23rd - Triceps and Row/Run

My aim tonight was to do a 5 minute run after a warm up and some tricep work to help for the throws. Saw one of the gym members set a new PB of 19:38 for 5k and decided to do a r20 warm up and set him a new target.

5k r20 - 19:27.2 - 1:56.7

5 min treadmill run - 10km/h - was pleased with this as I got to the end without any major problems although calves got hot and felt pumped up. Will do a few more and increase the pace slightly each time until it's time to rest before the Decathlon.

2 x 10 x 60kg close grip bench
2 x 10 x C-Curve Chest Press @ #13 and then #15
2 x 10 x tricep pushdown rope pulley @ #7 then #8

1k cd 2:20 pace

1/4 Marathon

After leg session yesterday, chose a recovery piece, 1/4 Marathon on the indoor rower would do nicely.

10549m - 43:17.6 - 2:03.1 - r24

2k - 2:03.6 - ehr 149
4k - 2:03.8 - ehr 155
6k - 2:03.3 - ehr 161
8k - 2:03.3 - ehr 167
10k - 2:02.7 - ehr 172
549m - ?? (can't make out from blurry photo!) ehr 175

I found it fairly hard going, as you can see from the HR rising all the way. Wanted to stop with 20 mins to go but carried on, thinking of the kids who'll benefit from the charity funds being raised for this decathlon next month.

Current total £95 - thank you so much to those who have contributed.

http://www.justgiving.com/Graham-Lay-Decathlon

Legs

With the hamstring problems this last week, I took this one gingerly. It actually felt alright, just a kind of bruised feeling instead of sharp pain.


Indoor Rower:
20min - 4851m - 2:03.6 - r24

3 x 10 x 60kg front squats
10 x 60kg jump squats
2 x 10 x 40kg jump squats
2 x 10 x 40kg single leg squats, on each leg
2 x 10 x single leg press machine, each leg
2 x 10 x adductor machine
2 x 10 x abductor machine
2 x 10 x ham curl, single leg, each leg

5 mins uphill treadmill walk, full extension on trail leg

If you want glutes of steel - try the single leg squat! I did it in a shot put kind of stance, leaning just slightly over front leg and straight down to bottom with trail leg way back and bending purely for stability, not weight bearing. If it's not an orthodox exercise I'm calling it the shot squat! :)

4 weeks today I'll be travelling to Oxford for the UK Masters Decathlon Championships. If you haven't yet seen why I'm doing it, have a look here: 


http://www.justgiving.com/Graham-Lay-Decathlon


or here to see which Olympians have got involved so far and my targets:

http://grahamlay.blogspot.com/2011/08/turning-up-pressure.html

Pole Vault - First Attempt

I have never Pole Vaulted before - and with 4 weeks to go to the Decathlon I'm doing (UK Masters Champs) to help raise funds and awareness for the Rays of Sunshine Childrens' Charity, I thought I'd better have a go!

Yesterday I called a lady called Sonya Ellis, who is a multi event coach, and asked if she would be able to let me in on a coaching session. She told me there was one this afternoon at Exeter Arena so I went and joined in. I was late arriving due to trqaffic and the group (of about 20 kids) had already started doing drills so I got stuck in. Some of them (and their parents from the stands) were very amused at my lack of co-ordination - it was like a mini dance class to begin with!

We got issued our Pole and started learning how to run with it, then how to 'plant it' into the sand pit and when we had got used to a small run up and planting it and taking our body weight, we moved to the Pole Vault area. I found it fairly difficult to get the run up right so that I was in the right position before sticking the pole into the box and driving upwards, but I did find that I was able to 'take my weight' fairly well as I left the ground. What I didn't quite get to achieving was going upside down and flinging my feet over the bar first!

Here's when we stuck the foam bar to try it out: 

There was a young man there called Steve who was also trying it out for the first time. He went to the Comnmonwealth Games last year in Gymnastics for England, so he was strong and fit. He did really well, going over 3m on his first session. I managed 2m a few times but didn't get the height for the 3m attempt!

Great fun, not as scary as i thought, and confidence boosting in terms of believing I can now get a score in theis event which is one of the ones I was really worried about. My hamstring starting to give way on me before the one in the video so I was taking the run up easy. On another session, I look forward to running in at 80% sprint speed and seeing what happens!!!

You can laugh now - as long as you share this page or the video to help raise awareness. Thanks a lot for reading!

Sprint Training

Time for some speed work:

5 min jog
Stretching out

5 x
( 10s x ham flicks, 10s fast feet, 10s high knees ) on 30s rests

7 x 30m sprint starts, walk back recovery, focus on drive up to speed, then high knees and long smooth stride

Left hamstring siezing up on 7th so stopped and went for gentle 30min cycle in gym.

Felt tough after about 4 of those 30m sprint starts but good to get used to the drive off the line and up to speed.  

1/4 Marathon

I've rested a couple of days due to severe muscle soreness from the plyometric session I did on Thursday. I guess I shocked the body pretty well with that one!


Today, I decided to do a long, low intensity session to help with fitness and to get the circulation going all round to help the body recover properly before the next onslaught!


10,549m on the indoor rowing machine (just over 6 and a half miles)


43 mins 49 seconds - that's 2:04.6 pace for those in the know.


Very sweaty work, feel good now after showering and eating. Onwards to the next week of training - only 5 weeks to go until the Decathlon:


http://www.justgiving.com/Graham-Lay-Decathlon

Plyometric Hell!

Lower body is on fire now!

For the Decathlon in September, I've challenged some Olympic athletes to set me targets in each event. If I hit the target, they donate £20 to the Rays of Sunshine Charity, if I miss, I donate £10 to the charity, per event, on top of the £50 I'm already pledging. 

So far, Katherine Merry has set me a target of 62s for the 400m and Daley Thompson has set me a target of 4500 points for the total score.  Original Post

Waiting on Steve Backley, Greg Rutherford, Kelly Sotherton, Seb Coe, Heather Fell and a few more to set me their targets. I don't know who to ask for Shot Put as I don't have Geoff Capes contact details!  

Anyway, today was plyometric training to help build explosive power and agility. 

warm up - 5 minute jog around the field (belly was wobbling a bit - need to lose some pounds)

Slight uphill tarmac road:

10 x (6 x bounding) - going for height and distance on each bound
10 x (3 x broad jumps) - going for distance
5 x (10 x truck jumps) - aiming for height and minimal contact with ground
5 x (6 x zigzag broad jumps) - bit like slalom movement

Gym:

2 x 10 x 60kg jump squats
10 x 50kg jump squats
3 x 5 x 90kg front squats

Then to the steps outside - 12 steps at 20cm height each:

Right leg hop each step (12 Jumps) - x3
Left Leg hop each step (12 jumps) - x3
Double foot each step (12 jumps) - x 3
Double foot two steps (6 jumps) - x 3
Double foot three steps (4 jumps) - x 3

Felt like Rocky at the end. Actually no I didn't - I felt like a complete wreck!!!  

I can never usually motivate myself to do this type of work alone, but Daley's cheeky "from your picture, you'll be lucky to finish" comment spurred me on and also thinking of the children who will benefit from the donations being made for them. Thanks to those who have already donated and supported by sharing the link etc on Facebook and Twitter, it all helps. 

Turning up the pressure

I'm attempting a Decathlon in September to help raise awareness and funding for the

Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity. 
 
It's the UK Masters Championships in Oxford on the weekend of Sat/Sun 10th/11th Sep. i can now enter as I'm 35 years old and if that wasn't enough to satisfy the eligibility criteria, I feel like an old man sometimes!

I've been training hard but it's still going to be a massive challenge to try and get through it without injury and putting in 100% in every event. I also don't know how to Pole Vault and have only done Hurdles once (about 20 years ago!), plus I've only had a brief go at Jav, 100m, Shot and Long Jump this year so it's a bit scary.

In order to put more pressure on myself to put in 100%, I have set myself targets for each event and the whole thing. I am also asking for targets from top athletes. I will be donating £50 regardless of what happens, but if I miss the Olympic Hero Targets I will donate an extra £10 per 'miss'. On the flipside, if I hit it, the Olympian donates £20! 

I have listed my estimates for what I think I may actually be capable of to give you and the Olympians a guide as to what targets to set:

100m - 12.8s (did 13.01s earlier this year)

Long Jump - 5.50m (5.95m 15 yrs ago)

Shot Put - 12.50m (12.15m this year)

High Jump - 1.60m (???!)

400m - 60s - (57s or so 20 yrs ago)

Hurdles - 19s (???!)

Discus - 33m (not sure - think I did 34m when younger)

Pole Vault - 2.40m (????!!!!) SEE BELOW!

Javelin - 55m (54.90m last year)

1500m - 5min 30secs (???! can't remember ever running that far since cross country at school!)

Total - 4824 pts - (age adjusted = 5081)

These targets are not easy by any means - they are what I think I might be able to achieve with a few more weeks training and a full effort. 

When I get targets, I will list them here to share and put the Olympians on the spot! 

Event      Target      Olympian

100m - 12.80s, Jodie Williams - World Junior 100m Champion @JodieAlicia27

LJ - 5.00m, Greg Rutherford, Euro Silver 2006, PB 8.30m @Gregjrutherford

SP - 13.00m,  @KellySotherton Olympic + World Bronze, C/Wealth Gold  Heptathlon

HJ - 1.60m, Steve Smith, Olympic Bronze 1996, BR 2.37m @stevesmith_hj

400m - 62.0s, Katherine Merry, Olympic Bronze 2000 @KatharineMerry

110H - 18.00s, Andy Turner, World Bronze, Euro & Commonwealth Champ

@andyturner110h

(Andy changed his target after realising I am not that fast!)

DT - 32.00m, Louise Hazel - GB Heptathlete, Commonwealth Gold 2010

@louisehazel

(I said I'd aim for double that as 16m is a bit soft!)

PV - 2.80m, Holly Bleasdale - British and World Age 19 Record Holder

@hollybleasdale

JT - 57.00m, Goldie Sayers - British Record Holder @goldiesayers

1500m - 5 mins 10 secs, Heather Fell, Olympic Silver 2008 @heatherfellnews

Total - 4500 pts, Daley "Cheeky Bugger" Thompson, 
Olympic Gold 1980, 1984 @Daley_thompson

That's a vote of confidence for you! Haha

I also got a tip from the Olympic and 2 times World Champion, Trey Hardee:

Here is the donation page for anyone wishing to learn more about the Charity and hopefully support with your message (and your own target for me if you want!) -

 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THROUGH DONATIONS OR SHARING THE PAGE

Update:

I had a go at Pole Vault the other day, my first ever! Here's one of the attempts I made - you can see how much of a challenge this is going to be!!!

UPDATE:

I did an Open Comp on 30th Aug and managed 2.30m in Pole Vault, 12.15m in Shot and 1.45m in High Jump.