Flo part 2 - 60 days - Prepping up

I. WILL. BE. READY. Friday 9th August, 2019 in Turku. Finnish nationals for Master athletes starting up. I cannot say how nervous I was. A lot. This was my first big competition throwing hammer in my adult age. Whew. I managed a super 36,77m (7.26kg implement). As always, some speculation is acceptable, right? I managed to come 3rd, out of 4 participants. One throw, which I fouled, I believed to be almost 39 meters. That would have given me silver medal. I was hyped, and knew that this will take me to places - in my head as fun and experiences, but also physically. 2025. We have come a long way. The last day of registrations for Florida games is today. I cannot believe the situation. There is still a chance for me to be able to compete for medals. That would be something. That is surreal. But, I'll do best in whatever situation. Now it is time for preparations. I. WILL. BE. READY. Will the throwing ring be ready? I believe so, even though the last "semi-official" update was from 15th December:

( Turku 2019 Hammer results: https://live.time4results.com/yu/2019/saulsm/pe/196-1-r.html )

--- xxx ---

I. Practices have been flowing well. Since the last Flo-post (at Christmas), I have focused to improve the fundamental base strength. This has happened both in the weight room and in the ring by throwing oh-so-quite heavy implements. I have surprised myself in how the core keeps on improving in such throws. I can also say that in the weight room no sweat has been left unutilized. The 1RM values are coming up. It is interesting that also for throwing shotputs ("kuulanheitot" in Finnish) as indicators of explosiveness I have been able to do some personal bests. This has happened while I have increased the number of throws and raised the amount of work in the weight room. I am happy.

WILL. 60 days to go when the Florida hammer competition is live. Currently I am on a week 2 in a 6 weeks' worth of strength build-up, even with some very taxing hypertrophy work. Cannot really complain, plan is of my own doing... and one cannot call these the easiest exercises existing. For me, I think I already improve strength with 1-2 weight training session per week. In comparison, this 6 weeks have 5 sessions for each 2 week period. This will do some serious good, for sure.

After the 6 weeks, I focus more on throwing. In the last 4 weeks my focus is on getting the nervous system to the right shape. This happens in many ways, but learning from last summer, I likely will do it with increased number of resting days per week. Yes, I decided to put more or less all in - wanting to give my best on 24th March with the hammer. It is not good to train hard and then realize you are burned out without the results you know you are capable of.

BE. ...and on that note the March schedule of Florida also contains fun and relaxing things. Yes, my schedule is more or less locked in. Hyped? Excited? Oh yeah. Remember to be present at all times. Enjoy the moments!

• Sat 22: Arrival, late in the evening
• Sun 23: Relaxing. Pool time! Weight room with some neural work, to ensure my body is alive after the travel.
• Mon 24: HAMMER TIME
• Tue 25: NASA @Orlando - dream coming true! Relaxing @Cocoa Beach.
• Wed 26: NASA day 2. Enjoying life with the family.
• Thu 27: Gainesville fun, enjoying hotel amenities. Shopping.
• Fri 28: Neural work with some weights, reminding why I am in Florida...
• Sat 29: WEIGHT THROW
• Sun 30: Departure back home 

 

I have not forgotten my fellow Finns, competing in as well. Let's see how I can fit them in the above calendar as well... Currently, there are 38 Finns participating. I would hope to see at least a couple of them in throwing ring action!

Ready. ...steady, go! The competition days are 23rd and 29th. No distractions. I. WILL. BE. READY.

--- xxx ---

Registration as of today 23rd January, 2025 See below for the registered throwers and their logged in results from 2022 to 2024. Results are in meters, of course, as we are not YET in USA. NOTE: Where you see a result on a light blue background and a some red in the font, that is a result with a M45 implement (e g 15.88kg for weight and 7.26kg for hammer). NOTE 2: "Register" means what they inputed by themselves during registration (one can input whatever value they like). NOTE 3: Where you see a name on a light purple background, I estimate that person to be in top 8. Important as they get also the last 3 throws. NOTE 4: "Rank" means the global 2024 result ranking from mastersrankings.com .

Interesting, still interesting. I still do have a chance of a medal in the hammer! No pressure, just good throws. The list of participants will be ready in about 1-2 weeks for sure. Let's not eat the cake before it is baked. I. WILL. BE. READY. Flo-ri-da storyline continues in the future... in part 3 - 30 days!

C U soon!

Train hard, but recover to be better.