LADIES MAN
(TYSON GAY IS THE FASTEST SPRINTER IN AMERICA. IN 2007, HE WAS THE FASTEST ON EARTH.)
In Beijing, Tyson Gay could be the man of the hour. But he never would have had the chance without three women.
by Luke Cyphers
In Beijing, Tyson Gay could be the man of the hour. But he never would have had the chance without three women.
by Luke Cyphers
He'd be getting off the bus when a girl he'd always looked up to would challenge him to a race and beat him, yet again. Or he'd be on his couch, whiling away a sticky Kentucky summer in front of the TV and a woman he always looked up to would push him out the door to run the hills behind their house. Or he'd be staring at his lane on the track, whiling away the minutes between training sprints on a hot Arkansas afternoon—no coach to tell him what to do, no telling what would become of his career—and a young woman he'd always looked up to would give a nod, and they'd line up and work on his start again. And when one of his million-dollar legs betrayed him, when four years of work seemed to evaporate in a painful instant, the women he always looked up to were there to stop the tears, to let him know things would work out. To reassure him that there's always a reason.
Tyson Gay is the fastest sprinter in America. In 2007, he was the fastest on earth, winning the 100- and 200-meter events at the world championships in Osaka. In an event normally dominated by bluster and machismo, the soft-spoken Gay forgoes trash talking and listens to gospel music before races. He radiates calm, but his demeanor masks volcanic energy, which erupts in his furious forays down the track.
At the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, that energy both lifted and defeated him. He ran the 100 in a U.S.-record 9.77 seconds, easing up before the finish. The next day, he ran the fastest 100 in history, a wind-aided 9.68 to win the final, setting up a showdown in Beijing against the Jamaican duo of Usain Bolt (who stunned Gay in May by beating him with a world-record 9.72) and Asafa Powell (whose record Bolt shattered). Then, six days after his 100 triumph, Gay returned to the track for a quarterfinal heat of the 200. But 40 meters into that race his left hamstring seized, and Gay dropped to the Oregon track like a bag of flour, his hopes of competing in both sprints dashed. Nonetheless, Gay will take his place in the blocks for the 100 in Beijing, vying again for the title of fastest man on the planet, on the planet's biggest stage. When he does, it will not be an act of defiance, but of perseverance. It is a trait he acquired from the women he's always looked up to.
Tyson Gay is the fastest sprinter in America. In 2007, he was the fastest on earth, winning the 100- and 200-meter events at the world championships in Osaka. In an event normally dominated by bluster and machismo, the soft-spoken Gay forgoes trash talking and listens to gospel music before races. He radiates calm, but his demeanor masks volcanic energy, which erupts in his furious forays down the track.
At the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, that energy both lifted and defeated him. He ran the 100 in a U.S.-record 9.77 seconds, easing up before the finish. The next day, he ran the fastest 100 in history, a wind-aided 9.68 to win the final, setting up a showdown in Beijing against the Jamaican duo of Usain Bolt (who stunned Gay in May by beating him with a world-record 9.72) and Asafa Powell (whose record Bolt shattered). Then, six days after his 100 triumph, Gay returned to the track for a quarterfinal heat of the 200. But 40 meters into that race his left hamstring seized, and Gay dropped to the Oregon track like a bag of flour, his hopes of competing in both sprints dashed. Nonetheless, Gay will take his place in the blocks for the 100 in Beijing, vying again for the title of fastest man on the planet, on the planet's biggest stage. When he does, it will not be an act of defiance, but of perseverance. It is a trait he acquired from the women he's always looked up to.
(for the rest of the story click: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3509899&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1)
Training Log
Wednesday 7/30/08
5x3 Split Jerk185#
5x5 Back Squat
1x5x 265#
3x5x 275#
Thursday 7/31/08
Rest Day (I'll probably do a bunch of pushups)
so on my "rest day" I did the following, this was not planned just kept adding to it as I went. This is a borderline problem that this was considered my "rest day." But hey, that's what this group/blog/"Athletes Anonymous" is all about. We all have a problem with challenging ourselves to be stronger, healthier, more well rounded individuals and aspire to be better all the time. If you're not trying, you're not living.
120 pushups on 5" handles for extra range of motion
30,30,20,20,20
alternating sets pushups, ring dips (50 each)
20(rd),20(pu),10(rd),10(pu),10(rd),10(pu),10(rd),10(pu)
alternating sets strict pullups, rind dips (50 each)
10(sp),10(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd),5(sp),5(rd)
50 pushups
10,10,10,10,10
totals: 220 pushups on 5" handles, 100 ring dips, 50 strict pullups
total time to do all this craziness (unofficially) 54 mins
don't know or care if that would be a good or bad time, I did it just to get some real good reps in. I took a good guess on how long I spent doing it, so you don't think I blew right through this, it was all about good reps.
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