Decathlon Training – Session 1

It seems like we’ve been talking about our charity decathlon for ages, but in fact its probably only been about 4 days since we decided to do it.

We’ve now agreed on the charity that we’re going to raise money for, and have started to contact coaches and athletics clubs regarding the training that we need to do.

We’ve both spent ages looking at the standards that we’ll need to achieve to average 300 points per event which will get us to our target. I’ve now created a nice little box which you should see on the right alongside this post which shows our targets.

Last night we started training.

Ed picked me up and we drove up to Northwood Stadium in Hanley for our first session. The aim of this session was to get some practice on our own and see just how far away we actually are from what we need to achieve. Niether of us have done any of these events for around 20 years, so we weren’t expecting a lot.

We got there and the track was deserted apart from one pushy parent timing his 8 year old daughter round the track. This we weren’t happy at all with, as she looked fast !

Our choice of track wear was all important. We’re not talking spikes or other footwear here, think lycra or baggy shorts! I went Lycra, and Ed baggy. Guess who soon had sand in his pants eh?!!!

We checked in at reception and Ed showed just how much he’s been obsessing about the Decathlon by reeling off the equipment we needed to borrow, including weights of shot putt, javelin and discus to the nearest gram!! Show off !

Event 1 – 100m

My choice, as I wanted to do the 100m while I was still fresh. So we warmed up with a couple of laps jogging, then I lined up on the start line. God, did that feel like a long 100m. The all important time was 16.7 seconds. It was slower than I’d have liked, but it was a starting point and there’s a long way to go.

Next Ed lined up, and blasted down the track, feeling the same hurt as I did. Ed’s time was a little quicker, 16.54 seconds.

So, we’ve lost about 2.5 seconds in 20 years. I’m sure we’ll gain this back with training.

But then, Ed notices that we’ve started our 100m at the wrong marker. We both actually ran 110m, starting from the hurdles line. Doh! So now we’re hopeful that we’re going to go under 15 seconds when we try the 100m again.

Later on in the evening we did have another go and we did go under 15 seconds. I clocked 14.88 and Ed 14.94

That looks much more like it. These times are only around .8 of a second away from our 300 points target, so fingers crossed.

Event 2 – Long Jump

Next stop was the long jump pits. This used to be my favourite and best event at school.

Ed’s internet scouring had once again done us proud, as he knew the recommended number of strides for the run up. Measuring it properly was another matter.

Through trial and error we both managed to time the take off pretty well on the board. Half a dozen jumps each saw Ed consistently score around 4m with me at around 4.50m. Again this was a pretty reasonable start. Its only another 6cm further for me to hit the magic 300 point mark, so I’m hopeful even at this early stage that this will be one of my better events.

Event 3 – Shot Putt

Do you know how heavy a shot putt is? 16lb!!! Think the heavy ball at the bowling alley but shrunk to 1/3 its size. That’s heavy!

I wasn’t at all confident about my throwing and my upper body strength is something that will have to improve over the next few months. Ed’s BMF sessions are a good help, and his form looked very good. I started off throwing 5.50m and just managed to sneak one a little further to end up at 5.55m by the end of the session.

Ed started off at around 6m and progressed to 6.60m. The target distance to obtain 300 points is 6.87m so here Ed is not far away.

After the initial shock of how heavy the shot is, we’re pleased with our initial attempt. Neither of us is built like a shot putter and when we are we’ll be much better (and then far too big to run fast )!!

Event 4 – Javelin

Its time to play with the pointy stick.

Ed knew his PB from school, so had a target to aim at. I just remembered being rubbish at Javelin!

Initially, yes, I was rubbish. I started off at 18.10m with Ed pinging the Javelin out to 26.20m.

Internet Ed then put his coaching videos into practice, changed my grip, my run up and over a lot of throws I increased my distance to 24.50m. Ed continued to steadily increase his distance too, and his best throw of the night was 28.54m. Again, this isn’t too far away from the 300 point target of 30m.

One thing that we both noticed is how awkward it is to run up and fling the javelin while trying to maintain good form. With proper coaching (not that Ed’s a bad coach) I hope it’ll start to feel a bit more natural.

One more event to go for the night…..

Event 5 – Discus

There’s just something odd about the discus. Holding something like a heavy dinner plate, spinning round and releasing it through a gap in nets just doesn’t come naturally. It’s not a skill you’re born with. I’m not good at spinning round at the best of times. The tea cup ride at Alton Towers makes me feel sick, as do roundabouts on childrens playgrounds.

Coach Ed came to the rescue though, and eventually I started to get the hang of it. I started out throwing 14.85m and finished with my best throw being 16.90m

Ed again looked very natural, but has a habit of throwing his first attempt high into the nets. I was very glad those nets were there, especially as we ended up with a group of 30 people training for the Special Olympics stood behind the nets watching us.

Ed initial threw 19.30m and beat his old school PB by the end of the session in throwing 22.05m.

The magic 300 point distance for the Discus is 21.46m, so that’s points in the bag for Ed

Summary

We were now knackered, and starting to ache in muscles that don’t normally have much more to do than lift a pint.

We went to have a look at the hurdles on our way out of the stadium as we may be joining in the training with that group on Thursday. Jumping over barriers of that size should be interesting, and this along with pole vault look like having the potential for scrapes and bruises.

We’re now underway though and very pleased with our nights work.

Quote of the night came up in conversation on the way home

Ed – “We’ve already done 5 of the events”

Mark – “and 2 of the other 5 are just runs!”

Oh, how I’m going to live to regret that

Our next planned session is Thursday, and we aim to have the justgiving site up and running for your donations soon. In the mean time, please let us have your comments, advice, training tips, suggestions or just take the p*ss