Senior Olympian Sprinter

I ran in my annual--you are a sprinter stupid- reminder race on Thanksgiving morning at the Cool Springs mall area.   My gym--Prairie Life Fitness was one of the sponsors this year and it started from their facility.  This change was a huge improvement. I could warm up inside on their track and leave my stuff in a locker and not have to worry.  I travel heavy and with the parking situation--I parked three blocks away--a locker made life much simpler.   Race morning was clear and frosty and about 3000 runners showed up for the annual fundraiser put on by Grace Works Ministries.  They make a lot on money on this event and they are glad to see you.  The Grace Works staff is very gracious and do say thanks many times during the event.  I am actually glad to help them out.   Organization was very good and this year they added a 10 K event, so a 5K and 10 K were ongoing on slightly different trails at the same time.  The finish lin...

I had a chance to give a 30 minute presentation to the residents of a local senior center today and to talk about my travels in the USATF Masters and Senior Games.  That was an interesting experience and like any other presentation that I have given to a larger group.  You had some dialed in to you and others that feel asleep--   I had some PowerPoint slides and a couple of videos of my experiences the last 9 years of competition.   The prep was interesting, as I assembled pictures and researched the names and ages of the runners, I would remember other people to include and it was an eclectic mix of people that had come through chemo, stroke, heart attacks, knee operations, major surgeries, obesity....  I also included Orville Rogers as the shining example of a late bloomer.  He is 100 now and still competes in USATF meets and started when he was 80 years old.  At 95 and 100 he has broken a lot of world records for his track accomplishm...

I am still kicking, just way busy on non racing stuff to keep everyone up on the latest.  I started remodeling a bathroom that we will eventually use as part of a bed n breakfast we are working on.  Remodeling is basically keeping the toilet, but in a new location, and replacing an old stone floor with tile, updating the lighting and ventilation and a new shower and sink.  Sounds simple, but nothing in this house is square or level and every thing has to be custom fitted and attached.  It is time hog and it would be incredibly expensive to hire done due the time required.  It will get done. I am about half way and if we are finished by Thanksgiving that will be cool.  This weekend,  I am racing in Fort Collins ,CO in USATF regional meet.  I wanted to get another meet in this season and this one is altitude.  If I struggle with 5000 foot elevation, then Albuquerque is off the table next summer.  THE senior Games will do their out...

  Last weekend I ran and jumped in the USATF Masters Outdoor National meet held at Eastern Washington University.   This is my second USATF Outdoor National event and I enjoyed the meet and had a lot of fun meeting people and doing some competing with the best in the world.   I was in the High Jump (4th), 100 and 200 (4th in each) 400 (5th) and 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays--both were Gold medals.  Just like every meet the goal is to make the finals, score some points and do not get hurt too badly.  I made all the finals, scored 15 points for the team and also finished up with just a minor complaint from my right foot and both Achilles.   With all those bases covered it had to be scored a success.  I am still seeking the elusive individual medal, but I had a shot in the 400 and I think I screwed up in the final straight.   But, it was fun, and Linda got to visit a part of the world she has never experienced.  This is ...

Linda and I traveled this  Independence Holiday to Upper Peninsula of Michigan to celebrate with her very large family.   Linda is from Rapid River, but the majority of the action was in Gladstone.  They have a massive parade and also they hold a fund raiser on the 4th with a 2.5 mile walk or a 5 mile run early in the day.   I had agreed earlier in the year to run the 5 miler because of  the death of a family member and we wanted to remember him because he has run this event before.  Jay Thoman was a JAG in the Army and was out for his morning run when he was struck by a car and killed a couple blocks from his house in Washington DC area.  He had no ID and was not identified until later that afternoon.  Just a frantic situation and really hard on all involved.  Part of the family that participated He left a wife and two or three relatively young children behind.   We had some shirts made with his likeness and tried our ...

State Record in HJ I wanted to add some thoughts I have on some of recent success in my racing as I have transitioned from Senior Games into the USATF competitions.  The mental side of performance is the where the difference really   exists between participants.   The mental strength in the last two seasons of racing is where I have began to excel.   Sounds a little boastful by all midwestern standards of decorum.   It is not that I am talking trash, just making the results… pretty simple.   Do you want to excel and do you have the mind set to perform?   Can your body delivery when you make the call? These are questions we handle in many situations during life and in particular competitions.    Physical prep is also important,  but I have seen really good athletes just fail because their minds were not right--it happens every week in college and pro football.    5 Golds in 5 Events   Early this season...

The Senior Olympics held their Tennessee State Finals last weekend at Battleground Academy.  The school had just done some work on their track and it was in great shape and fast. The old track was black and they have coated it with a blue material for a uniform surface and a great look.   The picture at the left is a 98 year old women who competed in  all the running races.  Her was 1500 was at 21 minutes in stifling heat, I thought she did a great job of finishing them all.   The weather was summertime in Tennessee, relatively sunny  with heavy humidity.  The humidity is  great for my breathing, but it was quite hot and shade was necessary to survive.  Any breeze was a welcome relief.    This season I was going to attempt to compete in 5 events, the usual sprinting races and the High Jump. I had not done any field events at the State meet.   I jumped 4'8" last Fall in the ...