For someone who's "ramping back" I'm still working pretty hard.

[Alan H]

I had an absolute blast at Costa Mesa, though having three of the seven cabers I delivered get broken in ONE GAMES was frustrating beyond belief. Numbers were sort of the usual thing, with the only real high point being HWFD, in which I put my best throw out there since Portland, 2013. - 31' 8" or something like that.

[Alan H]

No practice yesterday, but a long one, tonight. It was just me, Lance and Wendy. We did a lot of open stone throws. Wendy is starting to put it together. I've hit on something which might get me another foot, which would be nice.

Then we did a lot of LWFD drills. Wendy is starting to "get it" and threw a mess of tosses out at 36-38 feet. Seeing as she started the night at about 22-24 feet, that's pretty remarkable. I drilled first turn....nailing it every time. I drilled second turn. I can easily toss it out to 42-43 feet. When I throw two turns I get 43-45 feet. Frustrating as hell.

[Stitchwiz]

Don't get too discouraged, Alan - sometimes it just takes time. Keep your method pure, build the muscle memory and eventually the rest will follow - then things will fly!

[Alan H]

Stitchwiz, Oh, I put in the time...LOTS of time! This is typical. Most people "mature" as throwers at around years 6-8. I started in 2008. It's 2015...seven years. I'm probably about *there*. I don't forsee a lot more lifetime PR's. There certainly can be good days on the field, but the days of 2-3 foot improvements is probably over. It's a little bit difficult to take because one of my training partners is currently notching four personal records PER GAME in all the Highland Games he's thrown at this year...four of them. Now, I had those days, too. I didn't get four per Game but there was an entire season where I had at least one per Game. That was heady stuff.

Now, that doesn't really bother me, I'm glad for him. Also, I haven't really started down the "decline" slope, either. I'm throwing almost exactly what I've been throwing for quite a while. Well...in everything but the light weight for distance anyway. And heck, I set a PR in weight over bar at Costa Mesa last year and then got it again at Ventura 2014 and on the first throw at Woodland this year. So that's GREAT!

No, this is a time of mental readjustment (which I'm good at). I can't work harder, my body simply can't do it. Therefore, I need to work *smarter*, which is what I'm thinking on, these days.

There are also other rewards to be had on the field. I can help new throwers. I can judge, in fact it's likely that I will be a judge at the Pleasanton Championships this year instead of competing. I can hardly complain. I've gotten to throw at Pleasanton four (five??) times. I've been up on the podium three times. I've won the caber championships and have my name engraved on a big silver cup. It's all good! Also, in a couple of years I'll be 60 and I might get to throw in THAT class and get up on the podium again, we'll see how it goes.

So anyway, I've polled some of my weight lifting buddies and I have A PLAN, which goes into practice, today.

[Alan H]

Note to self: throwing LWFD "to exhaustion" is damned hard.

Why do it? Same reason to wind hammers to exhaustion... learn what it feels like to get out of the way of the weight. When you can't fight it, when you can't muscle it, when you can't "dominate" it, you HAVE to throw it "right". You HAVE to throw it by working *With* the weight, not *against* it.

But manohman is that hard.

Current knee and ankle problems (last two days) were probably exacerbated by working the sartorius too hard. It cramped up, HARD on Sunday, and has been sore as hell for several days. However, 5 minutes on the foam roller this morning helped. MOAR UV THAT.

[Stitchwiz]

You may be "ramping back" but you have a plan, and that means that you are moving forward. Awesome!

You understand your sport and your body so well. You are in better condition than most men half your age and you will continue to have a wonderful time doing what you love. Supporting fellow athletes is so important. They need to know that they can be as good as you are when they are your age. They need mentors, so they look up to men like you. You probably have no idea how much they appreciate you. I'm sure they love having you around.

So, now it is time to have fun, just like you did the other day! We are never too old to play!

I am impressed! You are 'a fine figure of a man', as my Mom used to say, and I was totally blown away by the photo of you after you tossed that caber - you made it look like it was so easy - amazing!

Keep it up, Alan. We applaud your effort to continue doing it, especially when it is so hard; and we look forward to the new directions that you take.



Now...where can we find that foam roller that helped you? Would ten minutes would be better?... I think we all need it, I know I do!... Where does the line end...?

[Alan H]

Thanks, luv!

Now, foam rollers...."self myofascial release"... this is THE BOMB. It's 3/4 of the benefit of a specific area massage by a chiropracter or massage therapist at 1/20th of the price. EVen an expert foam roller isn't as good as a serious massage therapist trained in ART, but dollar for dollar, they're the BEST.

There are variations on the "foam roller" theme. I use a softball on really tough spots, but lacrosse balls are also popular.

Got lower back problems?

Get one of these.:



Or it you're really strong and need to seriously bust up some muscle, one of these (the rumbleroller):



and learn how to do this with it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4044197.html


I swear, the piriformis roll-out, JUST THAT can work wonders for sore lower backs. Do the whole thing...15 minutes every other day and if your back issues are due to muscle strength imbalances, there's a really good chance you'll see big improvement.

Search out YouTube for piriformis stretch exercises. If your lower back pain is due to muscle tightness or strength imbalances, they can REALLY help. Naturally, they won't help much if you got a herniated disk, or some other horrible thing!