Blogs : Floyd Turner

New Beginnings

I planned to throw in three more meets after my last one on June 15th, but after two weeks of trainin, I decided t shut it down due to my groin killin' me.  I 've just been letting my body heal and looking for a job, which I did find.  I will be the throws coach at Iowa Central Community College and I start next Monday.  I am pretty exited. I've got a solid group of throwers coming in and I think that they will all do well and a couple of them may contend for National Titles, but we will see what happens.  With my extra free time, I also decided to chart my yearly average with the 2K disc over the past six years.  I based my average on my 10 best throws of each year:

2003            2004          2005          2006           2007        2008

162'3"     164' 11"      176'1"       177'4"        176'3"     179'10"

even though I had a horrible start to the season, I ended up throwing better than I ever have.  I thought my new dedication to training would yield a bigger gain, but I am going to take my fall training to an even higher level this fall.  Hopefully my average for 2009 is in the high 180s to low 190s.  Well  I'll be letting you know how the job is going pretty soon here.

-Floyd T.

Comin up short..............

Well at my meet in Edwardsville, IL yesterday, I failed to qualify for the Oly trials in the discus. I felt great, but the thing just wouldn't go for me. I ended up throwing 55.02m(180'6"), good for 2nd place. My series was: 50.32, Foul,53.47,50.53,50.53,55.02. On a brighter note, this is the most competitive Open/Masters meet I have been to. there was a  4 former college All-Americans, 4 former Illinois State Champions, and 3 guys with a PR over 190' with the 2K. Also Dan Block of Lake Park H.S. in Illinois was there throwing the 1.75k.  He is the first high schooler in Illinois history to throw over 200 feet and one of only two kids to ever do it!  I also got to see 1960 Olympic Bronze Medalist Dick Cochran Compete in the masters section. Even though I am dissapointed I didn't make the trials, it was still a great competition to be a part of and socialize with so many good throwers.  I have improved a lot this season and I am throwing better than I ever have right now, so with 3 meets left, I hope to PR, and end 2008 on a good note.

-Floyd T.

Last Chance

It was a rough start to my season and It finally seems to be coming together for me. After beating up the 50 meter line for all of March and April, the month of May started to show the fruits of my labor. It still was not what I expected, but I did manage to throw over 58 meters so there was progress. So with a few weeks off, here is my last chance to qualify for the Oly Trials. June 15th in Edwardsville, Illinois.  I am nervous as ever, but also confident that I will throw a new P.R. I have been at my best ever all year and my improvements in the weight room  this year are finally starting to translate into the ring.  Hopefully on Sunday, I'm not standing too close to the discus when it lands. Wish me luck!

-Floyd T.

Augustana Twilight meet.........................

I had a pretty good day today, infact, it is the best day I've had in 2008 and the Only meet I've been in in 2008 where the temp. was over 60 degrees, 73 degrees and partly cloudy to be exact. My series was: 54.04, 58.12, FOUL,53.79,FOUL,53.70. so in ended winning with 58.12m (190'8"), .0.76m away from the Oly Trials "B" Standard and over 14 feet farther than this season's previous best. There was little wind, so that's also encouraging. After popping the 58m so early I expected to go 60m+, but the way this year has been going I will take it.  My confidence has been down, but I now have regained my confidence that I will go 61m+ and go to the trials.  I had only thrown in the 160's this year until last week. I just couldn't get my block together at the end.  Me and my coach decided to add a day of  shot, just 5-10 throws to see if it would help me better feel the finish in the disc. Well the result has been from 166'6 to 176'6" to 190'8" so it has really helped me to develop a stronger block.  I don't know when I will compete again yet but I certainly have my confidence back.  Until next time........................................

-Floyd T.

Slowly but surely..................

Outdoor is coming.  I've been chomping at the bit to get outside but it still feels like it's a long way off.  I haven't been up to much other than lifting and throwing the disc into a net indoors.  Well while those who compete indoors have been having much fun, I made a video of me training in the fall/winter with some 2007 meet clips included.  to watch it just copy and paste the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00H0WNmvQds

Hope you enjoy.  Please leave a comment.

                                                                             Floyd T.

Shakin' the rust off

I've been back at school for about 2 weeks now so I am back acclimated.  I am doing my internship at the Mt. Pleasant Rec Center and taking one class, so I have lots of free time to train.  Last week was kind of tough in the weight room since I didn't get to lift like I wanted to over the break but I didn't lose that much at all.  This week has gone a lot smoother.  On monday I did 3x10 on Bench and squat 275 and 365 respectively and I did 5x5 245 on hang clean.  That is a lot of reps for this point of the season, but I really am not concerned with the indoor season at all since my primary focus is the discus. However, I will throw the shot on Feb 2nd and the 16th just to help the time go by quicker. On Tuesday, I did 16 fulls for the disc into a net and yesterday I tossed the shot around.  nothing outstanding thought. I did have a couple of 58'+ fulls, which is good for me but, man, I'm just ready for outdoor and the disc. Yesterday I did 3x10-225  Incline and 5x5-205 Snatches along with 3x10 of miliary press so I am a bit spent this week but I know it will pay off in the long run. 2 more weeks until I compete

                                                         "A goal without a plan is just a wish"

                                                                          -Floyd T.

I guess I must be going half crazy........

So here in the Chicagoland area it has been bitter cold all week, mostly in the single digits with the wind chill making it feel like it is below zero.  Saturday comes and it is in the low 40'.  That feels like the middle of the summer after 5 consecutive days of below freezing temps.  Anyway to the interesting part.  I put a shovel and push broom in the trunk of my car and drive to a local high school to clear out their discus ring.  the entire field was covered in snow but I managed to get the ring in Okay shape.  It was wet and slick, but good enough to throw.  I mangaged to get in about 6 stands, 6 wheels and 10 fulls. Not much throwing, but after about 3 stands, I realized that 40 degrees is still pretty cold weather to throw in. That and the fact that every other throw came out with no rotation off the hand because I couldn't keep the discs very dry, I felt good about my foot work though. I'm not overrotating as badly as in the past and I hit the center on a couple of my fulls.  No distance really, I had two that came off the hand really well, but with nothing but white snow on the ground in my vision, I couldn't tell roughly about how far but for those fellow throwers, you know when it leaves your hand if it is the "big throw" or a good one.  I would say they were a couple of good ones as there is know way my timing is on-point like that at this point.  It was fun to not be throwing into a tarp or net though.  I'll be back on here next week with more detail into my training as I will be back at school and can get much more done.

                                                                            -Train Hard, Throw Far, Throw Clean

                                                                                      Floyd T.

Time to go back to Mount P

I don't think I have ever been happier to leave my hometown of Maywood, Illinois and go back to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, but my training routine has been so off.  At home, I've been working, saving up a little cash,  and helping out my parents here and there. I have a hard time getting into gyms when it is convenient for me at home so I haven't gotten to lift like I wan't to.  since I mostly get to the gym late, I usually can get two lifts in,making sure a get an olympic lift in every daybut I usually do 3 or 4 lifts during a typical session.  Throwing been interesting,  I managed to find a tarp in the garage and I hung it from the ceiling, marked off an 8 feet circle and tossed the rubber disc around. I don't get to see how far, but timing won't be such a big issue when I get outdoors.  I will also throw the shot a couple of times during indoor. I am getting bored watching everyone else.  Don't expect much though, My PR is 16.60m(54' 5.5"). I might hit 56'-57' but I have no aspirations in this event, I just am a guy who loves to compete, and will go crazy waiting until March.  

                                                                                        -Just a Kid Dreamin'

                                                                                             Floyd T.

The First Entry

First I would just like to thank trackshark for giving me the chance to ramble on and on and on in this blog.  Anyway, a little info. I am a thrower. Discus is my event, but I throw a little shot here and there.  I'm not great at shot, but I need something to do indoors and pass time by untill outdoor gets here. Besides, I get tired of tossing a rubber disc into a net indoors. I competed at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. I won 4 NAIA national championships in the discus. I am proud of that, but frustrated at my distance. I threw 184' 2" as a sophomore in 05' and I havent passed that mark since, but I am very optomistic about 2008.  You see, playin' football for 4 years didn't help me and in the past I really didn't care too much for lifting even though I maintained a fairly reasonable amount of strength (385 bench, 550 squat) and I am more into my plyos and olympic lifts(never did a snatch before August, rarely did cleans) I also have expanded my training length, from 04 to 06, I threw in March, April and May.  This year I stared throwing in March at the start of my senior seaosn and threw untill mid-november, took 3 weeks off, now I throw into a net indoors 2 days a week. I can't wait for spring to roll around.  Anyway, that's enough ramblin' in this entry

                                                                           -Until Next Time,

                                                                             Floyd T.