Martin roy training log

[Martin Roy]

Vista, Vista, Vista. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. For me it was a case of opposites detract.

In the morning I threw great; in the afternoon I sucked. I'm going to blame it on the heat punishing me because I can't think of a better explanation.

We did hammers to start the day and my first heavy hammer toss was The Single Worst Throw I've had had in years. But the next one improved by over 10 feet and my third was only 4" off of a PR; nothing to complain about. Light hammer sequence was excellent: a solid first throw, a 5' improvement on the second throw, and a PR on the third. 68-1 and I'm closing in on the (for me) elusive 70' threshold. I keep chipping away at it and finally I'm getting close.

Wob was next and went well. I figure my strongest throws are the third attempt through about the 7th or 8th. So my preference is to start at 9 for a warm up, go to 10 for a second warm up, then 11 to position myself for good shots at full strength for 12. I got that sequence with three strong tosses at 9, 10, and 11. 12 would be a PR for me and at Woodland and now Vista I've hit the bar hard three times at both games. I'm very close to getting it in competition; I can taste it.

Caber was a huge disappointment. It was a relatively light stick and I was looking for 3 12s. However, for left foot slipped as I planted to pull on the first attempt, the second I blew my timing, and the third attempt my right foot caught in the dirt as I was moving to plant it and I dumped it to avoid injury. Eff, Eff, Effing, Eff. This was a stick I should have owned.

That was the morning. After lunch the worm turned.

Stones absolutely stunk. My worst performance in a long time in both Braemar and Open. And that's about all I have to say about that.

Wfd also terrible. However, upon reflection I did have one hwfd toss that would have been a PR before Woodland and it's an indicator of my higher expectations that I consider it an unacceptable throw now. Footwork and rhythm on the light and the heavy were simply off. Couple that with no pop and it's a recipe for lousy throws. Looking down the road to Monterey in early August, I'm going back to drilling speed and footwork with the 14lb until I can do it right in my sleep. I want new PRs in both at Monterey. Not happy.

Sheaf finished the day and it's an event I never practice. And I should change that. I cleared 17' and missed three attempts at 19'. I probably would have cleared 18 but that wasn't where the bar was. Oh well...

All in all, though, it was a great weekend. Alan H and I roadtripped down the coast, saw some nice country, made it through LA unscathed, and saw some good folks. We got to throw some heavy stuff and wear kilts, too.

What could be better than that?