I survived turning 60, but will 61 be a bigger challenge?

You been following my adventure as I turned 60, and I thank you for your encouragement along the way. Turning 60 was easy, but suddenly I'm 61 and pushing 62. Life moves quickly at this age.

There are times when I long for the days of being 35 -- what I always thought of as an invincible age. Young, strong and dumb enough to think you know everything. But for the most part, I like my current age. The main exceptions are those daily trips to the medicine cabinet for blood pressure, cholesterol, and other age-related medications. I understand why pharmaceutical companies make so much money. Baby boomers have traded the illegal drugs of their youth for very expensive legal drugs.

The job at the newspaper is still a wonderful challenge -- much more now that we have fewer resources. But I have been blessed being in a business that has allowed me to meet presidents and foreign leaders, and seeing firsthand what has been called the "first draft of history." I've covered tragedy and scandal. And I have been able to fight for the underdog, even as government at times has used all its resources to unfairly overwhelm the innocent. We won a few of those, and they represent proud moments in a 40-year newspaper career.

I also know that when I get a letter from a state prison and the inmate says he's been framed, he probably hasn't been. I have received dozens -- maybe hundreds -- of those kind of letters over the years. But there are a few who are innocent, like the parents wrongly accused in the Bakersfield child molest debacle of the mid-1980s. The newspaper made a difference when it exposed the phony charges and drew a line against the hysteria.

People ask me when I'm going to retire. I don't have an answer for them. I love my job and I think I can still have an impact. If I hit the Lotto, I might change my mind. But until then. . .

First meet jitters

I'm not sure why I couldn't hit my goals at Sunday's Bay Area Senior Games, but I had a lackluster performance at the Stanford University track. This was the first meet of the season, and I think I was not mentally prepared as I got into the throwing ring. This will be a learning experience for future meets.

The meet, which doubled as the California Seniors State Championships, was held at Stanford's Cobb Track & Angell Field. This is a world-class facility that has hosted numerous NCAA Championships, the U.S. Open and U.S. Nationals. So I can't blame the facilities for my performance.

My goal for the meet in the discus was 90 feet and I hit 76 feet. I was hitting 90 in practice and was looking forward to the competition. But I just couldn't seem to get a good release and 76 feet was my best of four throws.

In the shot put, my goal was 26-6 and I could only toss it 25-4 -- more than a foot off my goal and 18 inches short of my best throw in competition.

I understand the discus marks. You have to do so many things right in the discus so the throws can have varying degrees of success. Technique is crucial. But in the shot put, the margin for error is much smaller. Strength is the key, although your technique is important. But I'm so far off last year that I must be getting weaker as I get a year older. I need more time in the gym with heavier weights.

At age 61, I'm competing in the 60-64 category, so I'm at the younger end of the age group. The one thing I will say is I never picked up a discus or shot put until last year. Most of the competitors have been throwing since high school and there techniques are much better than mine.

I'm a beginner and on Sunday I sure threw like one.

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.

The birthdays keep coming

This blog started because I was about to turn 60 and it was my way of coping with this milestone event. On Monday, I hit 61 so I guess I survived turning 60, and I'm now well into this decade that I feared . . . So should I change the name of my blog?

It's been an interesting year. Work has been extremely busy because of the election and I'm also continuing my venture into throwing the shot and discus. It's my way of staying in shape. I competed in three tracks meets this year -- Stanford in April, Manteca in May and Long Beach in September. I missed most of the summer meets because of my work schedule.

Surprisingly, I won a second-place medal in the shot put at the masters track meet at Long Beach State in the 60-64 category. I didn't ask how many people competed in the shot. I was fourth in the discus, just out of the medal category. I threw better in both events in the two previous meets.

My technique definitely needs improving. I learned this from the photos that a photographer took at the Long Beach meet. I can see that I'm not throwing either implement the way I'm suppose to throw, and that limits my distance. I'll post some of the photos when I get them scanned into the system.

I also need to get stronger, which means more time in the gym with weights. So it's back to training.

It's so hot

Over the weekend, I split up my training routine for the shot put and discus. I usually do both events at the same training session. But it was so hot this weekend that I decided to throw the shot put on Saturday and the discus on Sunday.

It took a little extra time, but I got through both workouts without fainting from heat exhaustion. My performance was OK, but I noticed that I had "tired legs" when I was throwing the discus.

The heat reminds me of a column that ran in The Fresno Bee on Sunday from David Mas Masumoto, a San Joaquin Valley farmer/philosopher. Mas repeated one-liners, using the theme "It's so hot" to tiem them all together.

Here are a few examples:

It's so hot that ...

-- You burn your hand opening the car door.

-- You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

-- The AAA Rescue Team had to "unstick" you from your vinyl car seat.

-- You discover that in July, it takes only two fingers to drive your car

-- You find out too late that you can get a sunburn through your car window.

-- The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance. This becomes a serious sport.

-- Your car overheats before you drive it.

-- You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

The loneliness of a discus thrower

I've found that I like the solitude of throwing the discus and shot put on our recent pleasant Fresno evenings. For about an hour, I'm locked in on my goal of doing better -- a few inches at a time.

I relax as I throw each implement and then go fetch them. It's part of the learning process. I throw and then figure out what I need to do to get better as I walk back to the throwing circle. I think a lot during this process, although not quite enough judging by my incremental improvement. The shot put is about strength and explosiveness at launch and the discus is about strength and a bit of ballet as you try to get most out of the toss.

The proper technique is crucial in both events. I've been watching the best in these events on YouTube videos. My technique leaves much to be desired.

While I like the solitude of practice, on some days I wish I had someone to spot my marks and then help measure them. I usually eyeball my distance and then pace off the number of yards to where I think it landed. It's not very precise. The shot put is easy to mark because it makes a big dent in the pit. But the discus is a little tougher because the throw is longer and it lands on grass.

It's time to throw the discus and the shot. Anyone out there want to catch them for me?

Trekking up 99 for a seniors track meet

I got up early Saturday morning for the two-hour drive to Manteca for my second seniors track meet. As I bounced along on the pockmarked pavement that poses as a 21st century freeway, I focused on my goal of getting better at every meet.

I pulled into Manteca's Sierra High School, and the organizers were just beginning to set up. My first event, the discus, was at 9:30 a.m. and I wanted to make sure I got there in time to warm up at my own pace. I could have slept in another hour before heading up the 99. At age 60, I've wasted a lot of my life getting to places way too early.

I finally found the official in charge of the field events, and he said he would have to measure my implements. Excuse me? "Your discus and shot put," he said. "They have to be weighed and measured to meet specs." What a relief. For a moment, I thought I was back in 7th-grade P.E. and dreading showering with the older kids. It's been awhile since my implements were measured.

My 5K shot put (about 11 pounds) and my 1K discus (about 2.2 pounds) were certified as usable in my age group -- 60 to 64. Now for a little stretching, and then the wait for the first call for the discus. I brought my favorite newspaper and read until the public address announcer said it was first call for the discus. That gave me about 15 minutes to throw before the competition began.

It was a good meet for me. I threw a PR (personal record in track parlance), with 87 feet on my first try. There were four rounds, and the best I could do on the next three tosses was 84 feet. My first meet last month at Stanford had a dismal best of 72 feet, so this was a big improvement. My goal was 90 feet. I was a bit short of that mark, but I'm pleased with 87 feet.

The shot put competition was at 11:30 a.m. and my goal was 27 feet. I missed it by this much. I had a best toss of 26 feet, 10 inches. I was two inches short of my target. Not bad, though. But for the shot, I need more weight training, and more explosiveness across the 7-foot ring. I worry about fouling and that limits me.

I didn't place in either of Saturday's event, but I had a strong personal performance. Right now I'm just competing against myself. Most of the competitors are very friendly, but the top throwers are somewhat aloof. They've been doing this for years so I wrote that off to them hanging with people they've known for awhile. I'm the newbie, and I need to prove I'm cool, just like in junior high.

A couple of the mid-range throwers gave me some tips, and one suggested trying the Lake Tahoe meet in two weeks. "The air is thinner up there," he said with a wink. "Yeah, right," I responded. "I'll be Al Oerter at Lake Tahoe. . . the air is so thin." That even brought a chuckle from one of the top competitors.

I said so long to everyone and walked to my car. Because there was a Bass Pro Shop in Manteca, I had to check it out before heading back to Fresno. I swung by this mother of all sporting goods stores and was impressed. A two-story indoor waterfall, a trout pond inside stocked with the biggest trout I ever seen, and row after row of merchandise. The place was packed and people were buying.

I spent about an hour looking at the stuff. I bought a couple of things, including a Spider-Man fishing pole for my new great-nephew. Finally, it was time for this one to go home. Fresno was beckoning. I had a few sore muscles, but it was a good day, all things considered.

Now, do you really think the discus will fly farther in the Lake Tahoe air?

Practicing on a Sunday afternoon

The weather was perfect this afternoon so I headed over to Fresno State to practice the discus and the shot put. There were only a few people on the track and the discus cage and shot put pit were open. Sometimes when I go to Fresno State, the track team is practicing and the facilities are not available, and I have to drive to a high school looking for a place to throw.

I was in luck this time. I started with the discus, my weakest of the two throwing events that I'm doing. I think that's because I just started throwing the discus and I'm still developing my technique. I'm not much of a dancer, and there's sort of a dance move to the discus spin just before launching it. But the discus is a fun event.

I'm also trying to get used to my equipment. My practice discus is made of rubber and my competitive discus is a hard plastic with a metal rim. (I just got the competitive discus by UPS on Friday). Both are 1 kilogram (which is what's used in my age group), so you'd think they'd be the same. But I get a much better grip with the rubber discus, and better distance. The competitive discus slips out of my hand and the flight is very wobbly.

One thing I've learned in my short discus career is that you must throw the discus so that it has a smooth flight for maximum distance. My tosses too often aren't very aerodynamic. I call them "Joe Kapp passes," if you are familiar with the old Cal and NFL quarterback who didn't throw many spirals.

In my first meet at Stanford last month, I only threw the discus 72 feet. That's bad. Very bad. It was raining off and on, but the conditions didn't hurt my performance. I just needed more practice time. I'm consistently in the 90-foot range now, but I need to be in the 100s. So I'm in the vicinity of mediocre right now.

But I hope to reach the 100-foot mark by the Manteca Senior Games on March 15. That won't get me among the top competitors, but at least it won't embarrass me, either.

After practicing the discus Sunday afternoon, I headed over to the shot put pit. I felt good, and hit the 27-foot mark on a few tosses. But I need to throw the shot at least 30 feet to be competitive. I'm several months from achieving that mark. I need more weight training, especially lower body to become more explosive at the launch.

Friends and family are a bit surprised I'm doing this. But I enjoy the competition, and it helps me relax. It's often difficult for me to unwind from the intense world of newspaper opinion writing, with its deadline pressures and dealing with the people who don't like my opinions. It's getting very nasty out there. Agreeing to disagree and respecting differing opinions are concepts that not many folks embrace these days.

The throwing events also are helping me get into better physical shape -- always important when you're 60 years old. I might even decide to throw the hammer, although I think I could get hurt in that event.

Venturing into a competitive event

It was not exactly the best weather for my first shot put competition, and there was the possibility that the event would be canceled because of heavy rain in the Bay Area. But the shot put officials squeezed in the competition this morning at Stanford University's track stadium. It was one of many events in the two-day Bay Area Senior Games at Stanford.

The shot put circle is made of concrete and was very slippery as the rain came down. Most of the competitors were a bit tentative as they participated, not sure whether they would fall if the put all their effort into a toss.

After a short warm-up period, we got four throws in competition. My first two attempts were from a standing position. I wasn't ready to glide across the ring in the rain. I just wanted to get a mark without fouling or falling on my rear end.

My first two marks were in the 25-foot range. I had set a personal goal of 27 feet, and was not sure how the elements would affect me. I kept a towel over the shot put to keep it dry between tosses. With about 14 competitors, it took awhile for your turn to come around again, and I was not completely warmed up early in the event.

On my third and fourth attempts, I decided to get some momentum behind the tosses. My third attempt was the best. It was recorded at 29 feet, 2 inches. I think it was much shorter because I have never thrown that far in practice. The rain pounded down on my fourth attempt, and I threw with my warmups still on and with a hooded sweatshirt over it all. It was not a good toss. I was fourth in the 60-64 age group, which sounds good until you find out there were only five competitors in that category.

On Saturday, I competed in the discus. I had not thrown it before and decided to give it a try a couple of weeks ago. Since I was going to drive to Palo Alto, I might as well try a second event.

My goal was 75 feet and I threw it 72 feet. I'll take it because I know I can improve with a little help on my technique. The discus competition was delayed about an hour because the soccer matches at the Senior Games were going on at the same time. Whoever laid out the field did not realize that the discus throwers would land their tosses well beyond the goalie. We were supposed to get six attempts, but they cut it back to four so we could get the competition completed more quickly. I could have used those two extra attempts.

The weekend was a good first competition for me. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. But I had fun, and I can't wait until I can compete again. There's a competition in Manteca next month and I will see if I can get into it.