On track

The 2009 track season is in full swing. Last week I was in L.A. for an open meet where I competed in the 100m, the 110m high hurdles, and the pole vault. Similar to a 400m race last month, my 100m race was the fastest heat of athletes I had ever gone up against. With guys at 10.3 and 10.4, my 10.8 felt sluggish. Below is footage of me getting wasted, and running 1/10th second slower than my goal of 11.0 for the early season. No big deal, really, just punching the clock. Lane 1 in red (get out your magnifying glass)...

After that race I went on to have a small p.r. in the hurdles, but am still not content with where I'm at in that event. If I were a slower sprinter, it would make more sense, but... I guess improvement is improvement, so I can't complain.

After hurdles I pole vaulted and had my first experience of breaking a pole in mid "flight". Other than a bruised skull, a throbbing big toe, and some missing thumb skin, I escaped without any major injuries. I went on to clear 15'3" which is an acceptable clearance for now, though I'd like to make 16' this year's norm. (I have video of the break on a non-digital camera. I'll try and figure a way to post it.)

I have my first full decathlon of the season later this week. I'll give the report this weekend.

In other news, I just got back from the Arcadia Invite which is one of, if not the largest high school track meet in the nation. My high school athlete, Trevor Moore, went 10 for 10 in decathlon p.r.s and scored 5,598 points, a 1,000 point improvement from this time last year. This is a pretty big deal, as it solidifies his acceptance to a div. 1 track program (school choice still to be determined). Way to go dude.

Also at that meet was a kid who is arguably the greatest high school athlete in our nation's history. He demolished the highschool national decathlon record by over 500 points and posted a performance of olympic caliber. I got decent footage of all of his events and put together a video mix. It's had over 2,000 views in the first 24 hours, which says a lot about the significance of the feat. You can check out a low res. version of the video here.

Stay tuned for another Sandy-and-Company update!