This is my first post; hopefully not my last. My wife and I are multi-event athletes who trained throughout this past year to get ready to represent the U.S. at the USA-Great Britain multi-event challenge (and national championships). The meet was held in June in Joplin, Mo.
Our training this past year contained several elements. I wanted to add a few thoughts about some cross-over training that we found successful. And, I wanted to add a word of caution about a disastrous training decision that I made that knocked me out of the national meet.
One thing that helped my wife and I tremendously over the winter months (we live in Hillsboro, Kansas) was committing ourselves to do the P90-X workouts (Tony Horton) -- One hour a day, six days a week, for 90 days.
They are the most grueling workouts we've ever done, post-college (my wife and I ran track at the University of Kansas). But the workout format is scalable and adaptable, and that made it perfect for us (we train together).
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitnes ... ARSEA_P90X
P90-X involves lots of bodyweight lifting, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, lunges, etc., and forced us to work areas we wouldn't normally work, head to toe. The workouts were fast paced and so there was lots of built-in cardio.
As a result, our fitness was outstanding when the weather got good enough for us to start training outside. (No, we're not getting paid for this endorsement, but we would happily wear P90-X shirts if they sent them to us.) With my agility, flexibility, strength and endurance vastly improved, I was eager to start the spring workouts with an eye on nationals.
The most difficult thing about training for the decathlon is figuring out what event to work on, how much to run, how much to jump, how much to throw, how much to rest, etc.
I had to be very careful in this area because I was so excited about being in a new age group (50-54) with lighter implements, which are tailor made for a decathlete! I can snap my wrist with a 6K shot! And the 1.5 discus really flies! (The 16-pound shot, and the 2-K discus were a load even in my college decathlon days.)
As the meet drew near, my fitness level sharpened and I was feeling great about all the events. But in the excitement, I lost my common sense.
The lower hurdles had allowed me to make great gains. Claire, who hurdled in college, had re-constructed my form and I was really getting over them nicely, so two weeks before nationals, I decided to go all-out over a flight of five hurdles -- Not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times!
On the last "one more time" I was pushing off to attack the first hurdle when my already-tweaky hamstring "exploded" in a pull-cramp.
I was down -- and out of the nationals. There was just no way was I going to be able to compete with a hamstring pull on the same leg I throw and jump from, and there wasn't enough time to heal.
The great thing about being injured at nationals was being able to photograph all of the great competitors (including my wife, who represented the U.S. very well in the heptathlon against Great Britain, in the 50-54 age group. As the only U.S. competitor at nationals, it's hard to say She won the nationals! but she did perform well and achieved all-American standards in three events.)
The other great thing about being at the national meet was asking the best multi-event athletes from the U.S. and Great Britain the same question this forum is asking: How do you train?
What I learned is that every one of the athletes there had had to overcome some sort of tweak, pull, glitch at some time during their training, or had learned to compensate for some sort of nagging, lingering whatever.
Tweaky injuries have got to be the worst! How do you know if you're really injured or just hurt? How do you know when to rest, or when it's OK to train? One thing we agreed on, as big meets get closer, one has to weigh all the risks in pushing on through, not just for the competition at hand, but for the competitions you'd like to be part of, years from now.
When sharing my tale of woe with my peers, they nodded their sympathies. To a man, their message was: "The mantra of successful training in masters track and field isn't, 'Let me do one MORE; it's Let me be content to do one LESS."
No easy task when one is obsessed with the decathlon. But as we get older, being able to know "when to say when" is the gift that keeps on giving us more days to enjoy God's gift of good health, good friends, and good fun.
I've made a good comeback from my hamstring injury. I took the time off needed, rehabbed smartly, and was pain-free at an all-comers masters meet in Halstead, Kansas on Saturday. I threw the 6k shot 40 feet, 1 inch, and the discus 132 feet, both are masters PRs for me, and would have won the events at the national decathlon.
I'm excited about the Senior Olympics next month, and what the next year will bring in the multi-event meets.
About masters track and field, I've still got more questions than Carter's Got Pills: how to train for the jumps and sprints without injury; how to make a 600 javelin fly (it's like throwing a toothpick!); and the like.
I've also enjoyed reading the posts that include a mystical or spiritual element to what we're fortunate to be doing at our age. For me, the training itself is a journey of heart, soul, mind, and strength.
The competition is a celebration, like icing on the cake, especially when things "click" like they did this weekend.
I hope I didn't wear out my welcome by posting a novel for my first post.
I look forward to learning from all of you.
God's Best,
Grant Overstake
Hillsboro, Kansas