Am weight = high 270s
Seaside Highland Games - A Class
hwd - 40'5" (1st)
lwd - 76'9" (1st)
os - 51'11.75" PR (3rd)
wob - 15' (1st)
20#sheaf - 26' (2nd)
bs - 34'8.5 (6th)
Lham - 107'6" (3rd)
Hham - 95' (1st)
caber 19.5 x 75# - 12:00 (2nd)
Overall = 1st w/ 20pts
Beat out Scott Hutchison by just one point, that's what you call a close game. He was on my heels the whole time and had some awesome clutch throws, especially considering he threw open class with the pros the day before. What the hell was my excuse? lol. Here's the event breakdown:
First up, 56# wfd. I hate throwing wfd first. You know what I hate throwing more than throwing wfd first? Hwfd.. Very tough to get warmed up. We threw in a horse corral off of platforms, so our warmups were in the dirt/sand/wood chips. I was wearing throwing shoes so the traction was absolutely nil. My first toss was 35-36ish feet, just going through positions. 2nd was 38ish and last throw was 40. Took my extras and couldn't break 40 again. Just wasn't feeling anything on that platform. Didn't help that the turf wasn't secured to the wood and kept sliding around. Excuses.
Next up was the 28# wfd. Wasn't feeling this one bit. Very tough to hit positions, no pop on the finish. Meh.. I thought I had 78' on my 2nd toss but the sheet read 76' so that's that. I took a couple extras and went high 70s again, but nothing over 80. Just kept missing the finish. This is unacceptable. I need to be 40/80 with my eyes shut. Moving on.
Next up was the ostone. It was a pretty little stone that tucked very nice. With Josh McClure and Scott Hutch there, I had my work cut out for me. I had only 1 solid practice with the newest technique change so I was a bit ancy. Regardless, my first toss was a PR at 51'11.75". I saw 52' on the tape but lol whatevs. 2nd was high 48 and 3rd was 44 as the turf was bunching up and I just couldn't separate. Hutch smoked a nice 52'7 for the win and took some extras but wasn't able to better it. He's got some really big tosses in there when he dials it in consistantly.
Now..................we break for lunch, um... yeah, right? It was 11:40 and we had to be off the field by 12:00 so that they could bring the cannons out. Funny, because the cannons didn't come out until 12:20ish. They split the A group up into 2 groups, one group with 6 peeps and one group with 9 or 10. I was in the 9 or 10 group. So we didn't have time to do Braemar before lunch. We came back from lunch at 1:15, however, they were doing the Haggis toss so we really didn't get started until closer to 1:30-1:40ish.
First up after lunch: WOB. Bar started at 11ft. I came in at 12 to dial in accuracy. Accuracy has been an issue for me this year so I wanted to take a couple extra. Hit and knocked off the bar on the way down (out front) at 12 on my first attempt. That's ok because I knew where I needed to stand now. The biggest thing was that my tech felt good and I had a good long pull. So my foot positioning is the only thing I needed to change. Came in closer about 6" and boom, way over 12 and peaked right at the bar. No worries. Cleared 13, 14 and 15 on my first toss. Everyone else went out at 15. I was hoping to go for 16 for a season best as I was about 15'6" on my 15' toss with nothing on it. Since we were rushed we went right to sheaf.
20# sheaf was fun. I've been toying with a new follow through type style and I find it really effective, however, I need to practice it some more. Also was using a Cleavenger fork and I must say, that's a nice fork. Thinking about picking one up, I like. Anyways, bar started at 18' and was moving up 2' at a time. Ugh.. That's a lot of throws. I came in at 18 just because I need the practice as well as figuring out my accuracy with the new technique. I missed my first at 18' as I was out 4 paces and came down in front of the bar. Went out to 3 paces for the next one and was solid, though it still peaked in front of the bar. Next up, 2.5 paces out. As far as left/right, I went all the way to the left side of the standards then took a small step to the left so I was pretty much right in front of the left side of the standards. As far as tech is concerned, I was watching a bunch of vids. Specifically, Craig Smith's 25# sheaf WR and Frasure's enormous WR. I noticed how they separate their hips and drive the bag down their right side (Frasure's left because he holds the fork with his right). From there I freeze framed and could see how their right knee pushes in while the bag is still on the right side, then a HUGE left leg block is employed, almost exactly like the hammer. The upper torso is thrown backwards and sideways and the fork is allowed to follow through. No worries with a "late" block on your arm, just follow it through. By the time I was at 24' it was solid. I was close to 30' each shot at that point. 26' was cake and the bar was raised to 28'. Now my head got involved. First at 28' the bottom of the bag clipped the bar and bounced back forward. 2nd at 28' the bag came down on the bar and bounced back forward. 3rd at 28' and I clipped the bag on my right knee and it went nowhere. Oh well, no worries. I know what I've got to do now. I'm going to drill the shit out of sheaf and get that tech where it needs to be. I want to take a shot at the am WR in Tucson. Just got to keep it together.
After sheaf we went to braemar while the group that already did breamar started on heavy hammer. I was feeling very sluggish by now as all I've had all day was a couple protein shakes. I really don't like to eat at the games, but I need to figure something out as it just kills my afternoon performance. I was lucky to get out to 34'. I had one that felt great, but just didn't go anywhere. I need to be 38-40' every time, this is pathetic. Ended up taking 6th in this event. I'm embarrassed.
Next up was hammer. They put a metal bar down for us to use our blades but at this point it was 4:30pm and I didn't feel like changing so I just used my tennis shoes. I started warming up with heavy hammer and it felt awful. Just couldn't get long or fast. Feet were all over the place and overall no power. Then I was told we were doing light hammer.. what? whatever.. moving on. I grabbed the 16# hammer and chucked it out a WHOPPING 84 FEET.. Hellz yeah, PR central, lol. Next shot was 96ish. By now I'm sitting in 6th or so and I had no energy to get after it so I ran back and grabbed my blades. I know, pulled the bitch card right? Put the blades on and went 107 on my last toss for 3rd place. Hutch inched me out by 2" and Adam Brezina took the win with 110ft. He was so excited, you'd have thought that was the first time he's ever gotten to take extras, hahaha.
22# hammer next and the other half of the A group had moved onto caber. Meanwhile, we sat around for about 20 minutes waiting for some judging issue to resolve itself. By now, half of my group had dropped out because they were exhausted and done. My first toss with the 22 hammer was 89ft which put me in first over the other group and ours. My 2nd toss was 95ft and I called it there. Passed my 3rd and took the win with 95ft. Dropped the blades and put the tennies back on for caber.
Caber up, 19.5ft at 75lbs. Gonna be honest, I was intimidated. Sticks over 19ft are tough for me. My timing is off and my pulls have just been very weak lately. I've been working a handful of times with caber and tuning things up. Took my first pick, nice and easy. Sunk my hips, straightened my torso and drove like crazy. Got it moving pretty fast, stuck my feet and pulled hard and it turned like clockwork, though, I have no idea what it was, haha. 2nd turn was 11:30 and third was 12:00. Very happy. Hutch pulled a 12:15 and a 12:00 for the win so I took 2nd.
Overall was 1st and I'm pleased with that. We finished up at about 5:30-5:45ish. I think by the end of the day there was only 4 guys left in my group as everyone was just done so that last couple events went much faster and smoother, lol. My prize was a kilt, easily the coolest prize to date. I'm going to wear it in Tucson.
Thanks to Brandon Goodman, the AD, for having us out there and just being a cool dude. Despite all the issues we had, it was still a fun day with a fun crowd. The sheaf crowd itself was worth it. Very fun. SAAA could've handled things better but they did what they could with what they had and really tried to fix things at the end of the day. I can respect that. After all was said and done we got out of there at about 6:30pm. Stopped to get some food on the way back so we got on the road at about 7:30. Now the crappiest part about the whole weekend. The 8.5 hour drive home. I pulled in my garage at 4:00am and was supposed to be at work at 8:30am. That didn't happen. Ended up going in at about 10:30 but was exhausted all day.
Big thanks to Adam Brezina and Ed Brown for riding out to the games and hanging out and sharing cost with me. Same goes to Jake Nicol for riding back with Adam and I. I've made friends in my short tenure as a thrower that I'll never forget. Grats to Jake for taking 2nd at LW Worlds. Grats to Adam for taking 3rd in the A group. You're becoming a strong thrower, keep up the hard work. Grats to Scott for pushing me a bit harder than I am used to and had a lot of fun with him. Big big thanks go to Tod Stewart of Stewart & Torgerson Injury Law (1800ourlawyer.com) for contining to sponsor the team. Without his support, I wouldn't be going to half of the games I do. I really appreciate you making that possible for me and the team. So, anyone who is reading this, go wreck your car and give him a call.. haha... just kidding........................................... or am I?
Rest up monday and tuesday, back to the grind on Wednesday. Tucson coming up quick on 11/4. More work needs to be done. Improvements need to be made, excuses need to stop. Eyes on the prize.
ps, no video. I forgot my tripod at home and didn't wan't to be "that guy" who asks everyone to video my every throw.
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