Track season starts anew

I'm starting the 2011 masters track season with the hope that I can compete in several meets and put up marks that show continual improvement in the discus and the shot put. My first competition is Sunday at Stanford for the Bay Area Senior Games. I hoped the meet doesn't get rained out.

There is a possibility that the storms that have been drenching California will break on Sunday. Because you throw in a small concrete circle, the officials will not allow the event if the ring is wet. They almost called off the shot put last year at Stanford because a light rain made the throwing circle dangerous.

I have been training especially hard for this meet, but the weather has slowed me down the past few days. I have not been able to throw since Tuesday, and I had hoped to throw every day through Friday. But I have been at the gym trying to get stronger. I need that in the shot put.

My biggest challenge is working on my throwing technique. That takes practice in the ring. I'm not exact a Tiny Dancer in that small ring as I spin to throw the discus and glide to throw the shot.

My goals for Sunday are 90 feet in the discus and 26 feet, six inches in the shot put. The discus goal would be a PR and the shot put goal is just under my best. For some reason, I've gone backwards from last year in the shot put so the 26-6 goal is a good one for the first meet. If I hit my goals, I'll likely finish in the middle of the pack. I'm not a threat for a medal.

I'll try to throw tomorrow, even if I have to do it off my patio in my backyard. I need to get one more good practice in.