2nd Indoor Meet
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Slowly but.....
Well the 2nd meet at the Colorado School of Mines was a bit better. I managed 5'6". That qualifies me as an all-american again. I had enough for 5'10". I was told by observers that my clearance was substantial. However I'm still having problems with my steps. I was taking off 4' from the bar on my jumps, hitting my peak before the bar. Hopefully I can correct this at the MidAmerican Regional meet at the Air Force Academy. I tweaked my friggin ankle again on the inside. This really puts a crimp on my training. The American Legion Post is donating tonight's "burger night" proceeds to me to help with the cost of going to Boston. This really cool. My business account credit card has enough reward points to pay for the flight and "burger night" should pay for the hotel. My goal is to medal at 49 years of age.

1st Indoor meet 2006
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Lots of kinks
Well my 1st meet/practice was actually on the 20th of January. I went to the Colorado School of Mines for one of their indoor meets. I arrived about 11:30 but again I was not able to jump for 5 hrs. Lots of people there. I was jumping against most of the RMAC college kids. I started at 5'4" and that's as high as I got. I had to rush my jumps due to being the only one jumping at these lower heights. My steps were off. My takeoff was 4' from the bar. And on top of that I tweaked my inside of my ankle. Overall I was a mess. The only encouraging thing was I was told my clearance over the bar was pretty substantial. So I will be concentrating on my running again. I have a meet at the same place on the 11th of February. I shooting for at least a 5'8". I sure wish I had somewhere to practice indoors.

2005 Season
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Reflections
Here ends my 2nd full season competing in Masters. Here are my accomplishments. First indoors, Tied my indoor best with 5' 10", Regional champ HJ and runner up TJ. 2 National indoor bronze medals, HJ and TJ. Outdoors, I didn't go to Regional (probably won't either unless somewhere other than Edwards ville,Ill. Too much money for small turnout) New PR in HJ of 5' 11". 2 National outdoor bronze HJ and TJ. I did this with a lot less training from last year. On the positive side, I'm proud to have done this. I am disappointed in not getting over the 6' barrier. Next season (2006) I will be 49. This will be my last year in the 45-49 age group. Although I might have to compete indoors in 2007 in that age group. My birthday is March 13th. Usually right when indoor Nationals are. I'll have to work hard to be a medalist. That is my goal. I now am confident I can still compete in my age group even at 49. I also feel my best jumping is still to come. My butt injury really hampered me at times (this should be totally gone by next season), Very little jumping practices, and no weight training, all lead me to believe I'll still be National caliber. I have already started to formulate a new training regime. I will probably take a month or so off. I will also post now and then, my workouts and my thinking on it. One more thing. I competed at the Rocky Mountain Masters Games on 9/4. Won the gold but it was hollow. I was the only entrant in my age group. I was aiming to get the meet record (anything over 5' 9") I felt great but messed up with my timing at 5'8". Not only that we had to jump indoors !! The university had no one to move the pits outside. Very small indoor facility. I had to share the runway with pole vaulters. Very distracting. I was so pissed I didn't stay for the TJ. Not the way I wanted to end the season. Oh well, I swear I'll get that record there next year! People of course were great and Ft. Collins is such a neat town. Thanks to those who posted to my blog and those who just read it. If this inspires any one to "give it a try" that would be satisfying. Please let me know. Thanks, Craig

Outdoor Nationals
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: 1st Outdoor medals
Hello all. I'm quite tired right now. 10 days in Hawaii will do that. Proud to say I reaped 2 bronze medals!! 1.75 secured the HJ medal (could've had 1.80)10.84 in the TJ. Good enough considering I haven't done it this outdoor season. I'll post more later. Thanks for the support and comments.The picture is my 1.75 jump. You can view lots more at www.hawaiichamps.com

No sweat Ha! Ha!
Mood:  not sure
Topic: July 21st open meet
Well anyway I flew over 5'8" and should have had 5'10". I suppose our heat wave got to me. We've set record heat for 4 days in a row. Topping out on Wednesday at 105. This is hot for Colorado. Hell anywhere. It was close to 100 when I jumped. That combined with my plumbing chores (2 jobs that day using my 200+lbs drain cleaning machine)I'll be quite content with my clearance. I haven't mentioned the TJ for a reason, Haven't done it this outdoors. I'm concentrating on the running still. My injury seems to be better. Therefore I will go all out in Hawaii. I HJ Sat. Then TJ Sunday. No excuses then, it'll be all out. I plan on 2 medals this year. Last year was 2 4th places with missing a bronze in the TJ by 1 centimeter. Anyway 5 days till we leave.

New news
Mood:  bright
Topic: Personal stuff
I've been doing some sprint workouts and trying to keep the legs fresh. I have another open meet in Boulder on Thursday. I'd really like to get that elusive 6'. That would put me ranked #2 in the nation, right now I'm #3. I'm more confident than ever. On a different note. I received my certificate of release on a federal tax lien that has been on my butt for over 10 years. This is great. We can now refinance the house and get some extra$$. We'll use it to pay off the car and our 4 big credit card debts. Also maybe put up the deck we've been wanting. I'll post on Thursday. Hopefully w/video of something good.

Outdoor update
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: July 7th open meet
5_11_7705Wow ! I'm really getting excited now. I went to the open meet at Boulder yesterday. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive. I haven't done much at all in the last week as far as a workout. I started at 5'3" and progressed 2" at a time. I ended up clearing 5' 11"!! This is a new PR for me at this age (48). I tried a couple of jumps at 6' 1". I turned my ankle slightly on my first attempt. Tried one more and decided not to push the issue. I want to be healthy for Nationals. The new run-up is working out well. The video clip is very short. I recommend playing it at slo-mo. You'll see I have more room for improvement still. Notice also I'm looking at the ground when I start my jump. Please post your comments.

Outdoors 2005
Mood:  cool
Topic: Training
Well not a hell of a lot really. I've resigned myself to just running and basketball for training. Some bounding. I feel that I need to keep the legs remembering how to work like they used to 25 years ago. On a good note though I have changed my approach. I was at 15' out and 45' back. I now am at 13' out and 52' back. I jumped last Thursday and man what a difference ! I now have time to make adjustments in preparation for the jump. This also allows me to carry more speed to the bar. In my second jumping of the outdoor I went 5'8" easily. I should have had 5'10" I was over it substantially. It'll take a few times to get the different timing over the bar. I feel confident 6' will come. Oh by the way we have a new adition his name is Drake 14 mos. old chocolate Lab. Big goofy !

Indoor Nationals
Mood:  bright
Topic: Results
I'm back from Boise. I collected 2 beautiful bronze medals. 1.70m (5'7") secured the high jump and 10.33m (33'10.75") got me my birthday triple jump bronze. I knew I would be fighting for the bronze in the high jump as Bruce and Keith were both there. I got it on my last clearance. I guess my nagging cold was harder on me than I thought. I should have made 5'9" but it wouldn't have mattered in the standings. Keith Nelson went 1.80m (5'10.75" and Bruce McBarnette went 1.90m (6'2.5"). I didn't expect to medal in the triple but I did. There were 4 other entries, but 2 dropped out due to injuries. So it was survival of the fittest. I jumped they didn't. All of them had better marks than me. The heights and distance were not that good. I felt okay but had no spring.

Other stuff
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: Updates
Dad is out of surgery and recuperating. They ended up taking 3/4 of his stomach out. The doctors say they are sure they removed all the cancer. I hope so. Any way the video clip is of my stepson, Daniel. He's a sophomore. This is a 3 pointer he made in a recent game.I've also found out I'll need to delete stuff on this blog, mostly older videos and pictures on past entries. They take up to much space for this free blog site.3 pointer