Training: Week #54ish

After a 4 mile run around my brother's home village of Hook in leafy Hampshire the evening before, I was feeling chirpy though slightly anxious as I set off in the car with said brother to start my training for The Judo Challenge.

Saturday 26th February

I'd managed to meet Coach Skillcorn the week before and he'd assured me that I wouldn't simply be used like a rag doll into the dojo (the name of the room where you practice Judo is the same the world over).

My little/older/wiser/marathon running/brother had come along to take some photos and possibly drive the car back if I was a broken man at the end.

The hour long session started with exercise drills that would later prove to incorporate actual Judo techniques - I hadn't realised at the time I was sliding along on the mats that I was already starting on my path to Judo mediocrity.

Sweating from the warm up drills I then began to learn basic Ne Waza (kneeling techniques) and Osae Komi Waza (holding down techniques) before moving on to escaping methods, Kensestu Waza (arm locks) and Shime Waza (strangles and chokes)...there Waza lot to remember! (apologies Coach).

Coach Skillcorn shows me how to taste my own Adam's Apple

I'd started training for Sport 13 and found another one I instantly liked!

Sunday 27th

Coach Skillcorn had kindly emailed me some training tips which I could do away from the dojo and in the hotel gym as I was away all week, so that eve I was back on a rowing machine for the first time in a while.

Set to Level 7, I did 10 1 minute splits: 1 minute hard rowing, followed by 1 minute going slow x10.

I maxed out at 340 watts on the first minute and struggled to hit 250 watts regularly on the 10th set - this was before I found the Average Watts setting.

The idea of recording the watts was to gauge stamina - the aim being to maintain similar levels throughout the rowing session, clearly I had work to do.

Afterwards I got on the cross trainer for a bit, then hit the showers.

Monday 28th

In the evening I joined my workmates for 5-a-side footie, had a cracking hour (literally - shins clashed with my closest colleague, bruised bones) and managed to score a goal - I'm no player as my mates will testify so I was over the moon.

Tuesday 1st March

On the treadmill early bells and managed to get a new PB for 3 miles before work, 26:26 - not rapid I know but as a fat lad I was chuffed!

Personal Best's don't always look pretty!

In the evening after work I headed back to the gym and repeated my rowing training for Judo, this time I used the average watts setting and managed 257watts on my first set, 191 watts on my 10th at Level 7.

Wednesday 2nd

My tweet after the morning session in the gym said it all:

'Could only manage 2 miles in 18,24 today...shins, calves, knees, toes - all aching with different pains. Gutted'

In the evening I drove to Wrexham to meet Coach Morris to begin The Shooting Challenge...

The hospitality of Coach Morris & his wife Karen was so welcoming and a real treat after nights alone in my hotel, I felt very humbled in the presence of two such prominent folk in the world of Shooting.

During my first lesson I was shown the precious, hand crafted guns used for this technical event, had my handle shaped to suit my hand (amazingly they are made of wood!), discovered I would be able to use the very gun Coach Morris himself hopes to use in the Commonwealth Games 2014 - how generous and cool is that!! - and all the while I wore the shooting frames to enable me a chance to get used to only using my shooting eye.

My 1st Shooting lesson with Coach Morris

2 and a half hours later I left with the confidence that we could do this, I had homework and a method of mimicking the shooting frames - game on!

Thursday 3rd

A morning visit to the hotel pool to test out whether 20 years away from front crawl (freestyle) had taken their toll didn't go so well - the pool was more suited to leisurely souls and too busy to really get any lessons learned, so I opted for 20 mins in the sauna instead.

Feeling disgruntled with my last 2 gym visits I was determined to improve on my rowing, so I upped the difficulty to Level 10 and the attitude paid off: I managed an average of 235 watts in Set 1 and finished Set 10 with an average of 221 watts.

Friday 4th

I looked down at the clock as I hit the 3 mile mark on the treadmill, I'd felt like poop for the last ten minutes but a smile broke out when I saw I'm equalled my PB of 26:26.

Happy Days

Crouch, Touch, Pause...Engage!

I spent a day at Warrington Wolves stadium this week - I know, Rugby is not a sport in the Olympics, but read on and you'll understand why...

While I was at this Rugby League ground because the company I work for were using their meeting rooms to host an all-dayer to preach to the foot soldiers like myself I couldn't help but think of the wisdom issued by referee's prior to scrums in their rival sport, Rugby Union...

I'm not going to use this as a forum to debate the merits of League vs Union or vice versa, all I'm saying is that the strategy voiced in Union's four words: Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage, cannot be overlooked for its simplicity and greatness.

Crouch: Prepare yourself.

We've all heard the old adage 'Failure to Prepare, is Preparation for Failure' - surely not a truer statement has ever been made?!

When was the last time you charged into a situation without thinking about it first and come out with a 100% successful conclusion?

Touch: Confirm your position.

Know where you stand and how you fit in to the area where you want to gain success.

When you research a subject you should also look to research yourself; What factors are required of your chosen field? Which attributes do you have that suit these factors?

Pause: Check your information, then check it again.

Think through your plan of attack, is the information you've referenced to form your strategy complete? Is it correct? (never rely on just 1 source for information).

Engage: Go for it!

With the other steps adhered to you're now best equipped for success - but if you do fail use the lessons you've learned to plan your attempt...true success is born of the lessons learned from failure!

Righto, enough preaching from me - back to the fun and sport and meetings of interesting peoples...

The Everyman Olympics 1st Birthday!

Some Birthday candle eh?!

I began my mission to tackle every sport in the Games, rather conveniently on my 33rd Birthday, this week I turned 34 on The Everyman Olympics 1st Birthday!

Personally I believe that when most of us arrive at our 30's we take an introspective look at ourselves, reminisce on what we've done so far and reassess what we want to achieve - then work out how to get it.

I guess I took a little longer than most to work out my goals; What would I like to do with my life? (Probably the only question we ALL share).

When I started out with the idea for The Everyman Olympics I didn't do any regular sport, had the dietary habits of a fast food restaurant employee on the late shift who happened to like a drink straight after work, and the hand-eye coordination of an elephant...I looked like this:

I weighed 14 stone 4 pounds (200lbs / 90.9kg) and had the physique of a bag of spuds.

The facial hair may have calmed down since then (though if you follow me you'll know that at one stage I had a ginger hedge for a head), I now look like this:

I weighed 13 stone 7 pounds (189lbs / 85.9kg) when I stood on the scales the morning of my 34th and while I'm still chasing the original goal of losing a stone, my physique is starting to look more toned (less spud-like) and there are firm bumps where loose lumps once roamed.

I've met some very excellent people along my journey from swimming pool attendants to former World Record holders, but I've still got miles to go!

So far I've tackled Rowing, Badminton, Running, Weightlifting, Road Cycling, Tennis, Canoeing, Decathlon, Swimming, Table Tennis, and am midway through Water Polo and Fencing...oh and now I'm starting Judo tomorrow!

Judo will be my 13th sport of 38, making me officially a 3rd of the way there...and it only took 1 year.

Please check out this page and if you can help with a sport I've yet to achieve or want to get involved then please get in touch:

Twitter...Facebook....Email

Or if you simply want to wish me a Happy Birthday! then add a comment below...Cheers!

Sprint advice from Team GBs finest

In my quest to perfect my training techniques as I look to do each sport for The Everyman Olympics justice I was able to meet up with Team GB's 400m ace Martyn Rooney today.

After waking up early at the missus in the Midlands I logged onto Twitter and couldn't believe my luck when Martyn replied to tweet of mine - he'd be training at Loughborough University's HiPAC - High Performance Athletics Centre.

Rooney is a Double Olympic Finalist & World Medalist, so I figured he could teach me a thing or too about the most dreaded of track events - the 400 metres sprint.

Martyn Rooney: Double Quick

I know what you're thinking - I've already completed The Decathlon Challenge (I just need to post the report...it is coming....honest!) BUT I've recently managed to get the opportunity to do another one - against real Olympians!!!

This next Decathlon will happen in Summer...hopefully...I'll keep you posted.

When I arrived at HiPAC Martyn was coming towards the end of a training session on the outdoor track, so I introduced myself as he walked back from one of his 150m sprints and then popped back inside the impressive building to wait for him to finish.

While I waited I had a chance to watch some of GBs finest talent train hurdles, sprinting and javelin - I know the latter sounds weird indoors but in the centre they have a purpose built area for this and use javelins without a point on them.

We spoke for around half an hour about everything from running technique to competing at the Olympic Games to legends Martyn knew and had trained with to the difference in training facilities here and in the US to preparations for London 2012.

I was buzzing when I left, I knew how to approach the toughest of the Decathlon races and I think there was even a mutual admiration as Martyn had asked about my quest and seemed to really like the idea of someone willing to attempt every sport.

It was a real privilege to meet a great athlete and a top bloke, I wish him all the best with prep for the World Championships in South Korea this August and come the Olympic Games I aim to be in the stadium cheering him on.

Martyn meets a massive beard wearing a fat lad

The Decathlon Challenge: Training

Aged 33 I have 2 distinct memories of the sport of choice I had in mind for this challenge, undertaken back in September, and they both involved the same man...

Watching arguably Great Britain's Greatest Ever Olympian at global athletics events on the tellybox as a nipper ...Daley Thompson.

What an Athlete!

And playing Daley Thompson on the game named after him on my old computer: Daley Thompson's Decathlon - the 1500m final took place in real time! You had to keep the animinated DT running for nearly 4 whole minutes - kids got blisters just getting the great man through this one event!

During The Canoeing Challenge I met a really sound chap called Henry - I'd later knock him off of his canoe but that's another story - he's a chilled fella who it turns out, happens to also be really good at the javelin.

Once I'd found this out I quizzed the man and he hooked me up with Clive, the man responsible for running Saffron Lane Sports Centre in Leicester.

Clive was probably a touch bemused by the request I made but nevertheless agreed that a few mates and I could come down to the club one Saturday in September and attempt to compete in our very own Decathlon.

There was just one issue he did highlight though: while the club owned the equipment for the Pole Vault, they didn't actually own any poles - not a problem I thought, I'd just get in touch with someone and borrow one...that'd be easy, right?!

Having booked a date I set about recruiting competitors; I asked friends, friends of friends, and spread the word on social networking sites.

I also made an effort to get in touch with actual athletes who might be able to provide tips for training and technique, in this respect I didn't get on too badly...

I broke the events down by category, thinking this would help with training:

3 Throwing Events = Shot Put, Javelin & Discus

3 Jumping Events = Long Jump, High Jump and Pole Vault

4 Running Events = 100m, 110m Hurdles, 400m and 1500m

I figured that if I could build a good pace for the 1500m, then shorten the distance and increase the pace that I'd soon nail the flat sprints...

I'd emailed local legend Dean Macey, Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist for the Decathlon in 2006, here's his advice on this matter:

'First thing with training for the Decathlon is to remember that most of the events need power and speed, so don't waste to much time on training for the 1500m as its only one event in ten'.

Local Legend Dean Macey, with his Commonwealth Gold Medal

Ah...

I ditched my plans to run 1500m sets along the sea road at this point and relocated to Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre (which has an actual athletics) track from then on, where they had the equipment required for all 10 events.

'Power and Speed', Deano's words rang around in my head...thinking I had more power than speed already, I opted to train on my sprinting ability - as a 16 sec/100m guy at school I knew I'd need to put the work in...

I'm pretty sure that 100 metres never looked so long before. On my first attempt I started to fade after the first 40 metres - this was gonna be harder than I thought.

The view as I trudged back from the Finish Line

Twitter came in handy once again - this time I asked former European & Commonwealth 400m Champion Iwan Thomas MBE for some sprint training tips which sounded ace but to be honest I simply wasn't fit enough to follow them to the letter.

Iwan Thomas MBE: Double Quick

With a few weeks till the day of the Decathlon I looked to increase my focus on the other events, first up I borrowed a set of hurdles from the very helpful team at the sports centre.

I'm mythed how the pros manage this! I'm not kidding - even at 6ft tall, with hurdles set to competition height they're up beyond my hips...its like doing 10 High Jumps at speed, head on!

Keeping the sprint and hurdles training going (albeit with the hurdles set a few notches lower), I looked to add in some of the field events...

I used to throw Shot Put for my school as nipper so I had some idea on what to do with one, while the discus would take some effort to learn and I sought advice from the very best on the Javelin...

No, not from Henry as you may have thought but from former World Record holder (not to mention Olympic Silver & Bronze medalist, European & Commonwealth Champion!!!), Steve Backley OBE.

Steve launches another rocket.

Armed with tips I again went back to the great folk of Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre and asked to borrow the three items that would help me train for the field events..and was denied!!

Seems for 'Health & Safety' reasons I needed to have certain athletics qualifications to use the blooming equipment - I was gutted, but I gather their insurance wouldn't cover them I speared myself / dropped the shot on my foot / smashed my teeth out with the discus...so I couldn't complain, they were simply doing their jobs.

I would have to learn a hell of a lot from my first attempts on the Big Day...

...to be continued...

Water Polo: Great Britain vs Israel, European Championship Qualifier

Yestereve I was privileged to be the guest of British Swimming at an International Women's Water Polo European Championships qualifying match between Great Britain & Israel.

Being mid-Water Polo Challenge I couldn't resist the offer and when the venue changed from Liverpool to Loughborough a 10 hour round trip was halved to make it even more appealing.

Lauren Sanderson of GB Water Polo kindly offered me the ticket and was the perfect host; meeting me at the busy entrance and even sitting with me during the game - while she multi-tasked and wrote notes for her own report on the match on her laptop, poolside.

I heard that Israel hadn't played Women's International Water Polo since 2004 and when one of the GB girls announced she was confident of a 10 point-clear-win I wondered whether the Israeli team had secretly been mastering this aqua sport from behind closed doors for years - would Team GB be eating those words?

Team's GB & Israel line up for the National Anthems

The tie 'kicked off'' with a storm of activity as both teams raced towards the ball in the centre of the pool which looked to have been held there by a bucket on a wire rope.

Nerves then appeared to take the better of them but in hindsight it just seemed like the home team were trying to suss their opponents out.

Once Team GB opened the scoring the floodgates opened and poor Israel looked to be shocked by the ferocity of the home nations play.

Water Polo is not like Netball in a pool. Water Polo is more like American Football meets Cage Fighting, meets Sprint Swimming - its fast, furious and not for the feint hearted.

In goes Goal No.4!

By the end of the first quarter GB were 6-0 up, and the visitors had yet to score.

Beckie Kershaw opened the scoring in the 2nd quarter, just as she had done in the first!

In flew goals 8, 9 and 10 - Israel looked like a group of friends on holiday that hadn't bargained for the feisty British locals in the pool.

By half time the hosts lead 13-0, but they were in no mood to settle for anything less than utter domination - almost as soon as the whistle had signalled the 3rd quarter GBs aggressive start saw a hand in the face of an Israeli and another goal.

4 more goals in the 3rd quarter yet the flow was slowing down, had Israel finally got to grips with organising their defense?

No! GB flew in 8 goals in the final quarter, including a bouncer for the 25th but unbelievably a lapse in concentration saw Israel regain a minimum of pride with a breakaway goal in the final second of the match!

This European Championship Qualifier ended: Great Britain 26 - Israel 1.

Robyn Nicholls was immense in goal for our girls - organising the defense and spearheading a large amount of the attacks.

At the end, in true British understatement Fiona McCann said, 'It was a relief'.

Bless you and your humble ways Fiona - it was a Demolition!

Members of Team GB get to meet a fat lad with a beard.

Find out more about the GB Water Polo Team here.


The Water Polo Challenge continues...

Fresh Legs

First things first...

Happy New Year!

I hope you're all well and the fatlad with the white beard and dodgy red outfit didn't just eat your mince pie and neck the brandy you left him but actually left you some of the gifts you'd asked for too.

I've been quiet of late, apologies for that - I promise I'll be updating you regularly on here, on Twitter ( @EveryOlympian ) and on Facebook (Search The Everyman Olympics) from here on!

Just so you know I've not given up, here's how my December panned out:

Early in the month I tried to get The Fencing Challenge up and running; Karim of Catch Sport was kind enough to supply me with some contacts - he's a former International Fencer himself and runs a great company that aids athletes in gaining financial support, so he's very well connected.

Unfortunately I didn't hear back from the Fencing contacts, and with time ticking by I put the feelers out for The Football Challenge.

A wonderful lady who called Una, who it turns out trains people in the South West to do Synchronised Swimming, suggested I contact the local Football Association (FA) representatives who could provide me with contacts for local teams.

Though as I sent out a cartload of emails to cover the areas I'd be traveling to during the coming weeks, bad weather arrived in the UK and snow began to be forecast - even Premiership football matches began to get cancelled and those stadiums have heated pitches...it wasn't looking good!

Disaster struck care of yours truly when at my works Christmas Party I got coaxed into drinking games - before I knew it I was running around a broom 3 times before trying to catch a colleague to tag for their turn when I drunkenly ran knee-first into a solid wooden chair.

The resulting lump on my kneecap put me out on the sidelines for the remainder of 2010.

I snapped out of the Christmas eating binge around the 28th December and tentatively entered a gym in Northamptonshire to begin testing my knee on the treadmill...

Thankfully I survived the treadmill test, and the cross trainer, and the exercise bike - I was back in the game!


Yes, yes, I know I owe you write-ups for The Decathlon Challenge, The Table Tennis Challenge & The Swimming Challenge  - I'm currently going back over my notes and will have them out shortly...I've just become distracted with The Water Polo Challenge!!!