Reaching new heights!

It’s now a week out from the Australian Masters decathlon.  Most of the events I’m familiar with, or have some confidence that I will complete.  However, there’s a couple that needed extra work.  One is the hurdles, which I did some work on a while ago, and continue with some simple drills most days.

Another event I hadn’t done any work on was the pole vault.  Two years ago, I did start to learn the basics, but due to an injury min a sprint a couple of days earlier, I had to pull out of the coaching sessions and never got back into it.

Today that all changed.  With the free weekend with no competitions, came the opportunity to learn the pole vault.  I picked up where I left off (basically halfway through “pole vault 101″ :) ) 2 years earlier and progressed through a set of drills to get the right actions happening - first on the grass, then into the practice pit.

After several successful jumps into the pit, it was time to get used to the actual vault, and the feel of planting the pole in the “box”.  By the third attempt, I was easily able to vault onto the metre high landing mat.

To finish off, we setup the practice bungee cord, initially around 1.3-1.4 metres, which I was easily able to clear.  At the end, I proved that I can easily clear 1.6 metres, with the potential to go a little higher.  But I also found that just beyond those heights is my next challenge, as I move my position further up the pole, where more speed is required during the run up.

Now, I’m really looking forward to competing in the pole vault next week.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2llH00g

Wrapping up 2017 - last regular track meet and a pentathlon.

Last week was a regular track meet, the last one for the year.  I had entered the 100m, 400m, long jump and javelin.

In the 100m, I seem to have finally got my starts working well.  I got out ahead of a much younger field, but they got ahead early in the race.  Finished with a rather slow time of 13.86 into a 2.6m/S headwind.

Next up was the long jump, where I managed 4.02m in calm conditions.  Somewhere around that time was also the 4x100m relay.  Ran the first leg, getting off to another great start and handing the baton over in good time. 

After the relay, headed off to the javelin, but was called to the 400m before the javelin started.  After a delay, the 400m got underway.  conditions were tough with a strong headwind from the 100m to the 300m mark.  Despite a time of 1:05.28, it was technically a better run, with less fading during the second half, despite the wind.

Headed back to the javelin, but due to the delays with the 400m, the javelin was finished by the time I got back. Just one of those things that happens when events clash.

Today was the annual Bendigo Region Multis.  Like last year, I entered the pentathlon.  First up was the long jump, where I jumped 4.18m on the first jump and scored 235 points.  The javelin was next.  My first throw was about a metre short of my PB.  Second throw was 17.75m, more than 1.2m better than my old PB.  Third throw, though not quite as good, was still better than my old PB.  The 17.75m throw scored me 131 points.

Following the javelin was the 200m sprint.  As expected, this was my best event, with a time of 27.36 seconds, one of my better runs for the season, and scoring 422 points.

Next was the last of the throws - discus.  Best throw here was 16.27m, worth 203 points.

The last event of the pentathlon was the 1500m.  Conditions were hot and windy, which made for a tough run.  My time was 6:07.14, 10 seconds slower than last year.  However, it was still worth 236 points, my second highest score of the day.  My total was 1227 points, comfortably beating last year’s score of 1161 points.

Competition resumes in 2 weeks time, where I will face one of my biggest sporting challenges ever.  I’ve entered the Australian Masters Multi Championships, which is a national meet.  I will be competing in the decathlon, something which I’ve never attempted before.  Stay tuned!

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2l21Dhh

Fire Brigade and a week’s rest.

Well, this week first.  Due to a forecast severe rain event this weekend, many local events were cancelled.  As for me, the first casualty was the fire brigade competition, scheduled for today, which was cancelled on Thursday night.  Because of this, I entered the track and field meet scheduled for yesterday.  However, this was cancelled late on Friday, as part of a statewide cancellation.  So, I ended up with a week’s rest from sport.  Ironically, while some parts of the state did indeed suffer record rainfall and significant flooding, the system left us virtually untouched, and rainfall figures of 26.4mm for the entire event, nothing remarkable.

Last week, our fire brigade team journeyed over 200km west to Horsham for an extra competition (given what happened this week, that was just as well!).  The meet was small, with only 3 teams, but it was good for our relatively new team to get some experience.

The program was in a traditional order, bringing back memories of competitions 30 years ago.  First up were the marshalls.  With up to 3 entries, and being one of the 50% of the team with experience in these events, I got to run them all, starting with the 1 man marshall.  Had a bad hydrant, but the rest of the run was good.  The bad hydrant put me out of contention for any placings.

In the 2 man marshall, I ended up running twice, as part of 2 different entries.  Ran a reasonable 19.62 second first run, enough for 4th place, then immediately went back to the start for the second run (in a different combination).  This one was 20.29 seconds, with a struggle to finish, because of the very limited rest.  It was good enough for 5th place.

The final dry hose event was the 4 man Y.  I ran a good left branch, but a hiccup elsewhere put us well out of contention.  Our second team did score a place.

From here it was over to the main track.  I didn’t run the hydrant race and in the ladder race, I had a slow 8.86 second run.  Not quite sure what happened, but something to work on.

As our regular latter person was unavailable for this week, I ran ladder in the hose and ladder 5s, an event I had a lot of success in C section last year.  We ran 24.42, around the time our C section team ran last year, and enough to get second place.  Although slower up the ladder, my high track speed certainly helped.  Next were the hose and ladder 8s.  This is the normal hose and ladder event for an A section team like ours, and it is highly unusual to run both.  However, this made for an interesting comparison.  The hose and ladder 8 is identical to the 5, except there are 3 extra team members who run down and raise the ladder in the 8s, while in the 5s, the ladder is fixed.  This means I can’t climb until the ladder is in position.  I took a slower approach, cruising in formation behind the 3 ladder throwers, and was able to time my approach to be ready to climb as the ladder was in position.  Our time was 26.01, scoring us second place.  My reliance on track speed, rather than climbing speed puts me at a disadvantage in this event.

Next up the pumper and ladder event.  Our regular ladder person was unavailable, so I had to run all ladder events this time around.  Had a good run myself, but a problem elsewhere cost us a lot of time.  

I sat out the pumper 4s, but the team ran a good run, winning this event.  My next event was the hose and reel 6s.  This time, I ran in a new position for me - first branch.  That has me on the back of the cart for the trip down the track, then catching my end of the first length, putting the branch on and hitting the disc for the first time.  Had a good run and we got second place.  Following the 6s were the hose and reel 8s, basically the same event with 2 extra people to assist.  I overshot my position this time, but recovered and made it to the branch line in time for a hit.

Had a run in the champion 4s on the branch.  We were the only team to field 2 entries, but while I had a good run, problems elsewhere cost a lot of time.

Final event was the Y8.  This went together well, despite a hiccup or two, and we easily won with a time of 36.87 seconds.  Again, I was back on the ladder for this one.

We finished second overall, not far behind the winning team, which was a good result for a team with so many new guys.  Looking forward to see what we can do at the business end of the season.  With today’s competition being cancelled, there’s no more until the middle of January, when the busy part of the season gets underway.

Next week, it’s back to the track for track and field.  Time to test out some technique improvements there.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2AR2T15

Javelin - Attempt 3 (15.97m)

400m sprint. Time was 1:05.41

My leg of the 4x100m relay.

100m sprint at today’s meet. 13.57 seconds.

AV Shield Round 5

Back at the local shield meet this weel.  I had entered the 100m, long jump, javelin and 400m.  In addition, there was a 4x100m relay on offer.

First up was the 100m.  Conditions were good, but had a slow start.  This time, a video was available, which I will be reviewing for more ideas to work on my starts.

I had some ankle issues while warming up for the  100m, and with important commitments next weekend, I decided to withdraw from the long jump, so my next event was the 4x100m relay.  Here, I ran somewhat better than in the 100m, receiving the baton with a good change, then passing it on with a very quick change, due to a large difference in speed between myself and the next runner.

The rest of the day got busy, with the javelin next, managing 2 throws of 15m or better, before heading off to the 400m.  The 400m was tough with a strong headwind in the back straight.  Managed a time of 1:05.21, in a tough run.

Returned to the javelin in time for me final throw, which was my best at 15.97m.  This was my third best throw ever, and the whole javelin event was my most consistent throwing to date.

Next week, the fire brigade season starts with our new team.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2Aabiw2

2017 State Relays

I’ve been a bit slack this past week.  Had a non AV shield meet last week, and put in some reasonable performances in difficult, windy conditions.  Results were:

200m - 27.71 (-3.9 wind)

100m - 13.66 (-1.4 wind) 

Triple jump - 7.69m

Discus - 14.91m

Now on to yesterday, when the Victorian Track Relay Championships were held in Melbourne.  My day was made somewhat easier, by the fact that there would be no heats in either the 4x400 or 4x100m, which meant I could take it easy and arrive around lunchtime in plenty of time for my runs.

First up was the 4x400m.  400 metres is always a challenging distance to run for me, and there was no comparison with the metro guys, many of who can run 400m in less time than _anyone_ in my area around the same age.  I ran the first leg and got around OK, before passing the baton on in 4th position.  We ended up finishing 5th (out of 5!), in a time of 4:33.14.

My second and final event was the 4x100m.  At this distance, I’m a lot more competitive.  I ran the second leg, along the back straight.  Started with a good baton change in 4th place, and managed to have us in third when I handed the baton to our third runner with another good change.  We finished 4th in a time of 51.89.

Overall, I enjoyed the day.  Back to normal AV Shield competition next week.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2yUI6Ja

An Afternoon at the Track, and an Award.Today was back at the track for week 4 of Athletics Victoria...

An Afternoon at the Track, and an Award.

Today was back at the track for week 4 of Athletics Victoria Shield competition. My first event was the 200 metres. Unlike 2 weeks ago, I was well rested before competition. Conditions were interesting, and good for me, with a headwind on the bend, and a slight tail wind on the straight. Started well and ran a good bend, though my lack of speed endurance work in the last few weeks showed in the final part. Finished with a time of 27.39.

Next up was triple jump. Got better with each jump, finishing with a jump of 7.90 metres.

The 100m sprint followed, after a break. Got a reasonable start and felt good, but the time seemed a bit slow at 13.48.

Straight after the 100m was discus. First throw was a wobbly 10 metre effort, and the next was a fairly ordinary throw around 13m. Last throw was the best at 15.76 metres, less than a metre off my PB.

Final event was the 4x200m relay. Had a perfect change and realised early on that this was going to be a serious contest, so I kept up the pressure. Handed to our next runner with another good change. Our team won the event.

Had to leave fairly quickly, as I had the fire brigade annual presentation dinner. At the dinner, I was awarded runner of the year for our “C” team for the previous summer.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gLvOYr

Tacking Into the Wind.This week’s track meet was conducted in cool and windy conditions. The...

Tacking Into the Wind.

This week’s track meet was conducted in cool and windy conditions. The conditions did cause a few issues with my tight hamstring, making it difficult to keep warm.

First up was the 100 metres. Got off to a slow start, but was able to take full advantage of my power into the stiff headwind to make up ground and finish with the bulk of the field.

In the long jump, I struggled to get my run up right, due to the gusty tailwind and the cool conditions. Best jump was 3.67m.

After the long jump was the 4x100m relay. I ran the final leg, into the wind. Unfortunately, a mishap during the change led to a dropped baton, which cost a lot of time. My run into the wind went well.

I decided against running the 400m, to reduce stress on my legs in the cool conditions, and finished the day throwing the javelin. My final throw was a PB, which was a good way to finish the day.

Have a few issues to work on, to get my times back to where they were late last season.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2zuowiO

A Challenging DayToday was the second week of track and field. However, today was also the fire...

A Challenging Day

Today was the second week of track and field. However, today was also the fire brigade’s annual preseason training day. This started early in the morning, and consisted of several km of running and walking, along with various physically challenging activities, over a period of 4 ½ hours. I won’t go into details, but to say that I did hold up pretty well, due to my fitness. Despite being the oldest in the team this year, I showed that age is not a limitation.

After the training challenges were over, we had a BBQ lunch, then I had to make a quick trip across town to the athletics track. Yes, despite the tough start to the day, I decided to go through with competing. I arrived just in time to sign into my events, then did a shortened warmup, due to lack of time and energy.

First up was the 200m. It was immediately obvious that the morning’s activities had taken their toll. I finished with a slow 28.33 seconds, but not bad under the conditions!

Next was the triple jump. On the first attempt, one of my feet collapsed, and I wasn’t sure if I would continue. However, my second jump was fine, and I was confident to continue. Finished with a distance of 7.66m.

Then on to the 100m. With my fatigued state, I wasn’t expecting miracles. But I got off to a reasonable start, and managed 13.86 in a field that was slow overall.

My final event was the discus. Had 2 good throws in the 14m range, the best being 14.91m.

I decided not to make myself available for the 4x400m relay, because my speed endurance was severely limited, without having to consider the rigours of the 400m distance.

Anyway, looking forward to being able to go all out next week.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2ynqUuf

Start Of A New SeasonToday was the start of the 2017-2018 track and field season. There was a...

Start Of A New Season

Today was the start of the 2017-2018 track and field season. There was a preseason meet last Sunday, but due to last minute car issues, I didn’t make it.

Today, I entered the 100 and 400m sprints, as well as the long jump and javelin. I also ran the 4x100m relay.

Up first was the 100 metres. Ran a bit slow at 13.41 seconds. A tight left hamstring didn’t help, and for some reason, I felt “disconnected” from my body, lacking the ability I had built up to monitor and tweak my performance. Hopefully, that’s something that will come with training and competition.

Next was long jump. Again, I had that same lack of connectedness, but I still managed 4.05 metres, which was reasonably good, given my overall performance, and better than this time last year.

This year, the 4x100m relay has been moved to the middle of the program, to encourage participation. I ran the third leg for our open men’s team. Had a rough change at the start of my leg, which slowed me a little, but I rapidly got to top speed, once settled. My second change was near perfect and performed at top speed. This was my best run of the day, and we finished a close second.

After the relay was the 400 metres. Wind conditions were tough in the back straight, and I finished with a time of 1:05.55.

Final event was the javelin. My first throw was the best of the 3 at 14.41 metres. Not bad, given my lack of practice.

Overall, it wasn’t one of my best days. Need to get that hamstring sorted, and have to reconnect to my body, so I can improve my performance. My 100m and long jump felt like they were on auto pilot, rather than me being in the zone.

Anyway, back again next week. Its good to be back on the track.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gk0qQZ

Ready for the new track season.

Ready for the new track season.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2wDDgea

Talking sport at APAC

I’m in Sydney for the 2017 Asia Pacific Autism Conference.  This is a majorinternational conference, held every 2 years at different venues.  My main reason for attending was to give two presentations.  One of them was on the benefits of sport for autistic people, based on my experience.

Although I only had 5 minutes to speak, I managed to get everything across that I wanted to say, and make the point that there are a lot of benefits - physical, mental health, and general well being to be gained from regular participation in sport.  However, sporting bodies do need to be more inclusive of autistic people to make this happen.  I hope to see and help this dream become reality.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2gK9zkX

2017 Cross Country Roundup

Just back from my club’s cross country season breakup.  As part of the festivities, there were two events at the athletics track - an 800m, and a 3k run, both handicap events.  More on that later.

As for my cross country season, the best word to describe it would be “consistent”.  I improved my 1k PB by 2 seconds to 3:30, several weeks ago.  However, I also ran 3:34 on at least 4 occasions, and a most of my other 1k runs were faster than 3:45.  Although I’m not the fastest in the club - we have some capable of 3:10 over 1k, my consistent performance over the season put me well ahead in points.  Although my fastest time was only 2 seconds faster than last year, I was a lot more consistent, with more runs close to my best time.

My consistency was a slight disadvantage on handicap points, where I scored 5th place for the season.

Back to today - with a season of good 1k performances under my belt, as well as plenty of training for the shorter middle distances, I am now in the best 800m form I’ve ever been in.  I set myself a goal of 2:30 for the race, some 9 seconds better than my previous PB, at a pace of under 3:10/km.  My race went mostly to plan, and I finished strongly in a time of 2:33.  Not quite the target, but still a significant 6 seconds off my old PB.

Now, we have a few weeks break, before track season resumes in October.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2wxbSln

A Leap Into the Unknown...

Last night, I trained at the track as usual.  However, the last few Thursdays have been a bit different.  After the normal track work, I’ve been working on my long jump technique with a couple of the younger guys, who have been focusing on the long jump.

My technique until recently could be described as “running into the pit”, but one of these guys was able to give me some pointers.  That’s where the real challenge started.  The rapid movements required to execute a proper take off overloaded both my ability to execute them, and even more interesting, my ability to sense what they guys were helping me with.  Once I realised this, working through the issues became a bit of a collaboration between is, to find the most effective way to assist my learning.  With some persistence, my technique is improving steadily.  I’m only just beginning to be able to sense and execute the movements required, but the signs are promising.

Anyway, I’m firmly in unknown territory here.  Executing rapid one-off movements accurately has always been a challenge for me.  Now, I am exploring my capabilities, and seeing how I can use my strengths to learn, despite the obvious challenges.  In time, I hope to work on my throws as well, which will have similar challenges.  Who knows what else I’ll discover along the way. :)

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2rxT0AY

Getting high on speed!

No, this post is not about drugs.  I am talking about the reasons I do what I do.  For me, sport represents a number of things.  Physical exercise is an important part of my mental health maintenance, and sport gives me more reasons to be active.

I also enjoy the challenge of improving on my past performances, as well as friendly competitions against others. 

As for my choice of sport, that’s a combination of ability and interest.  The fire brigade competitions are something that caught my imagination as a kid.  Ever since first seeing the urban fire brigades state championships in the 1970s (at the age of 6!), I knew I wanted to take part.  At that time, I had no idea how I’d fit in, given my general lack of sporting ability at the time.  However, I did join as a junior and have run when I’ve had a chance, now a total of almost 20 years.

As for track sprints, this is another sport I’ve long had an interest in, but in this case, living in a small town in my teens, there were no opportunities for anyone over the age of 15 to compete within an hour’s drive.  In this instance, I was drawn to the thrill of travelling at high speed.

As I got older, I learned of the so-called “runner’s high”, normally experienced in distance events, and which I, myself, have experienced after my hlf marathon in 2006, marathon in 2008 and a number of rogaines over the years.  But for me, the sensations encountered in a sprint, from the power and acceleration of a start to top speed, where inertia and wind resistance dominate, followed by the long deceleration under inertia from top speed.

The fire brigade competitions also involve similar sensations, as well as putting together some precision movements, which are satisfying to pull off.

Another aspect of my sporting performance is there’s little documentation for training someone on the spectrum with significant coordination issues to high performance levels.  While I work with mainstream clubs and coaches, I try and get better explanations for some skills and the occasional modification to some instruction techniques to better suit my needs.  While in some ways I’m flying a little blind, it is also exciting exploring this unknown territory, to see how far I can push the boundaries.  Already, I am now faster than I recall recording in my mid-late teens, with the prospect of even better performance in the years to come.

Maybe one day, my experience will help others at least enjoy a sport, if not achieve their own successes.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2qWjqrO

Winter underway

With the end of the track season at the start of April, attention turned to cross country.  The week before cross country season started was the O’Keefe Ekiden Relay.  This year, I again competed as part of a team from our athletics club, this time running a 3km leg, which I finished in 13:52.  Our team won again, improving on last year’s time by 15 seconds, We now hold both the record and second fastest times for this event.

My cross country season has been very consistent, with the majority of runs falling within a narrow range of 3:34 - 3:38 for the 1km event, pretty much on my handicap time of 3:35.  The exceptions were:

First week - 3:47, where my race tactics weren’t optimal.

Distance handicap - 3:52/km.  Slower, because I ran an extra 180m for my handicap.

Last week at the Bendigo Uni invitational - 3:43.  In this event, my time was affected by a large starting field, including many kids who got in the way for the first 200m.

So far, 3:30 seems to be a real challenge to break.

Also last week, there was an out of season track meet.  In cold conditions, I got the following times:

100m - 13.24

200m - 27.21

800m - 2:44

In addition, I competed in discus and javelin, throwing around my usual range.  My starts in the sprints were a little sluggish, most likely a combination of lack of practice, along with the cold weather.

On a training note, last week, I did some starting practice and made some major improvements to my starts, improving even beyond my performances back in March-April.  Next season will be interesting.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2sCSazW

2017 Police and Emergency Services Games - Finishing with a bang!

Today (April 2) is Autism Acceptance day, a time to embrace the Autism in your life, whether in yourself, or someone close to you.  For me, as well as the launch of a new messaging platform for Autistic adults, that has been waiting in the wings for a few months, it is also the day after my successful summer track season came to a close.

Yesterday the track and field events of the 2017 Police and Emergency Services Games were held.  I entered the 100, 200 and 400 metre sprints, as well as the long jump.  With good form over the past few weeks, I was cautiously optimistic about how I would perform, but also had concerns as to whether the long (~ 6 ½ months) season would finally catch up with me.  As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about.

First up was the 100 metres.  Conditions were cool, so I allowed plenty of time for a full warmup, with a few extra run-throughs.  On the start, I lined up beside last year’s fastest runner, a good spot for a challenge.  Got off to an excellent start and immediately left him behind, however.  Had my smoothest acceleration and transition for the whole season, and finished first in my heat, leaving at least two much younger sprinters behind.  The time recorded was 12.44 seconds.  Being hand timed, that equated to around 12.7 seconds, which was still significantly faster than my 12.99 PB.

Next was the long jump.  Here, I wasn’t able to get my run up quite right and finished with silver with a jump of 3.99 metres.

Last event before lunch was the 200m.  Like the 100, I had a great start, acceleration and transition, and was also able to hold speed in the home straight a bit better than last week.  Time recorded was 26.18 (hand timing), which equated to 26.4 seconds, another PB, beating my previous mark of 26.71, and scoring another gold in my age group.

After lunch was the 400m.  By now, conditions has changed from ideal (little wind) to a stiff headwind in the back straight, which made the race tough.  Finished in a time of 1:05, slightly faster than last year in similar conditions and slightly slower than most of my 400m runs for the season.  However, it was good enough to get the gold.

The day finished with a 4x100m relay with teams put together on the day.  As I was easily the fastest in our team, I ran the 4th leg to finish the race.  As it turns out, the first 3 runners had already put us clearly in second place, so all I could do was increase our hold on that position.

So, the day finished with 3 gold (100, 200, 400m), 2 silver (long jump and relay) medals, and 2 PBs.  Additionally I got to not only run against those clearly faster than me, but also those around my speed, where I could rise to the challenge.

I also reflected on a variation of my visualisation techniques that I call “virtual training” that allows me to visualise and practice movements like starting, acceleration and transition, without moving a muscle or having to deal with consciously handling my motor issues.  This technique seems to help the unconscious mind and muscle memory look after these things, leaving me free to focus on strategy in the race.  This definitely has helped my starts in recent weeks, and possibly my transition out of acceleration in the 100 and 200m events.

Now, it’s time to take a break from sprints and work on my base fitness, especially strength and stamina (for the 400m!).  Cross country starts in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to getting in to the gym and working on other forms of training to start the preparation for next summer.

- Tony via Tumblr http://ift.tt/2nsiw3H