New guys and gals! kudos, and some totally basic training stuff

[Alan H]

That's what I did. I mean...how'd I get started?

Well the Nor Cal Rabble was meeting at a local Brewery (this is already got potential) the last Friday of the month to hang out, drink beer and dance to the bands that played. One Friday in February, six years ago Tim C walks up to me after we'd both had a few and says... "Hey, you want to throw at the Woodland Games for s&g's?" Of course, I said "sure".

So Tims brother, Bill brought some gear over the next weekend and we met at the high school with some of Tims friend who play shinty and threw the stuff around. I found a rock. I got some weights for free off of craigslist, and put together something more or less like a weight out of old plates and plumbing parts from the hardware store. I got a cracked 12 foot long 6 x 6 from the lumber store I'd just spent a mint at, buying lumber for our back deck. After sanding down the corners and belt-sanding the bottom smooth, we had a caber, more or less.

We threw once a week at the park...most weeks. Not all weeks. But most weeks. We went to Woodland and threw in the C class with a mess of kids most of which were half my age. I was 49 years old. Of the 16 guys who did all the events that year, Tim C was 7th and I was 9th. I figured, that was pretty good for an old guy. I did three more Games that year and had fun...two more in the C class and one in the Masters. I never touched a barbell, went to the gym or did anything but throw and watch video.

The next year I sailed my boat to Hawaii and my focus was elsewhere so I only did 4 Games total, maybe 3 and practiced once a week and didn't lift weights at all. I was throwing at the middle-to-bottom of the 50's Masters class, but I had fun. I also started formulating "throwing goals". This was 2008.

My next season, I didn't have the boat, so I focused more on throwing. I started getting better, to the point where I was kind of mid-pack in our 50's group. The winter between my 3rd and 4th season, I went to the gym semi-regularly for most of the winter and I definitely started the season stronger than before. I started throwing a little better...got some PR's, started placing in the top 3 in some of the individual events, and started getting into it. I won my first Masters class. I threw in Washington for the first time, and Jay Lyttle and Steve Elliott took me to school!... but it was fun! I got an invitation to throw at Pleasanton this year, but had a DISASTROUS year....something going on with my knees, and got absolutely *whupped* by Mike Baab, Frank Henry, Al Stagner and Kel Mulrey.

The off season between year 4-5 I was absolutely religious about weight training all winter. Not that I did it RIGHT, but I was *extremely* conscientious. I started season #5 the strongest I have ever been since High School. I set some more PR's, threw even a bit better and started placing top 3 fairly often in our local Games. I also went to a couple of out-of-the area Games like Enumclaw, WA and Costa Mesa in So Cal. This was the year that I fulfilled one of my goals...to get on the podium at Pleasanton at least once. I finished 3rd in the overall and 3rd in the weight over bar. Pleasanton conflicted with the Masters World Champs in 2011 so a lot of the guys who'd likely win, were in Calgary, so I figured that was the year, if there ever was gonna be one.

The winter between 2012 and 2013 I lifted very hard, if not quite as religiously as the winter between 2011 and 2012. I lifted "smarter" that's for sure, I'd learned a lot from reading at NASGA. This year I threw at more Games than ever, in fact maybe one or two more than I really ought to. I finally equalled my freak LWFD Pr that I set at Monterey in 2010 by throwing the LWFD over 50 feet. I set an open stone PR that's pretty darned respectable in this class...and stones are my weakest event. And heck, I actually got up on the Pleasanton podium again, and this time I won a big flippin' trophy. How cool is that?

This coming winter I plan to lift hard and smart again. I hope/plan to go to Scotland for a couple of weeks next summer, so I will be throwing in the B class...not the Masters at Woodland and Costa Mesa and probably Santa Cruz, too. Gotta get my mitts on that 56 pounder. Then off to Scotland and 4 Games over there...back in time for Pleasanton, then Fresno/Dixon and Ventura and that's that.

I think that after the 2013 season I will back off to about 6-7 Games a season and not work quite so hard...probably coach more. This year I did 11 and that's a lot. I'm guessing: Ardenwood, but act as AD, no throw. 1.) Woodland 2.) Bakersfield? 3.) Costa Mesa 4.) Santa Cruz ... judge at Monterey ... party at the Duke Kahanamoku H'island Games.... 5.) Pleasanton 6.) Dixon or Fresno 7.) Ventura.


I'm writing a lot about "me" but I hope that this gives folks some perspective when they think about their own involvement.