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TODAY’S TRAINING INSPIRATION:
BRUNY SURIN

To the right, an often overlooked Canadian sprinter in the Donovan Bailey era, but one who was equally talented and equally successful on the international level: Bruny Surin.

Also known for a tireless training ethic, Bruny Surin was on the same 4×100 relay team as Bailey that won gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. This team was inducted in to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.

Surin also won numerous medals at the World Championships and World Indoor Championships, including four golds from 1993 through 1997, in events from the 60m to the 4×100m relay. He added two silvers in the solo 100m at the World Championships.

From the same mold as other legendary athletes such as Carl Lewis, Bruny Surin was also an elite competitor in the long jump, placing 7th at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. His personal best in the 100m sprint equalled Donovan Bailey’s world record (at the time) of 9.84 seconds.

ON TO TRAINING…

Okay, today we’re mixing up the training a little bit. Stepping away from the constant distances and doing a bit of shorter distance practice, something I have been neglecting for a very long time…and something I will need to have in my pocket for the last leg of the Pump and Run. I have usually been able to dig deep and kick hard at the end of a run. If I still have that in me, I want to enhance it. If I’ve lost that ability through neglect, I want to get it back.

TODAY’S PERFORMANCE

110M: 13.97s
110M: 14.56s
110M: 14.68s
110M: 15.06s
400M: 80s
400M: 81s

Bench Presses (100% Body Weight): 18

Weights:
- Flat Bench Press (x6)
- Cable Flyes (x5)
- Seated Leg Press (x5)
- Seated Calf Press (x5)
- Hamstring Curl (x5)
- Seated Leg Extension (x5)

iPod songs during training (custom):
1. Eminem – FACK
2. Eminem – Business
3. Eminem – Guilty Conscience
4. Eminem – Spend Some Time
5. Madonna – Gambler (Extended Dance Remix)
6. Lady Gaga – Just Dance
7. Lady Gaga – Poker Face
8. Eminem – Crazy in Love (Instrumental)
9. Eminem – Till I Collapse
10. R. Kelly / Ludacris / Kid Rock – Rock Star

TRAINING NOTE

Not particularly fast stuff, not by my past standards and most certainly not by the standards of Mr. Bruny Surin! But I didn’t want to charge out of the gates and sprint myself to a torn hammy either. I think the times on the next sprinting day will be a little more in line with where they should be. I kept remembering that Bruny Surin’s final race ended with him getting injured and carted off the track on a wheelchair…

So, we’re just giving the legs a little wake-up call today. Be warned. You have some sprinting in your future.

I also learned afterward that the stretch of track that I believed was 100m was actually 110m, which goes a small way to redeeming those unimpressive times (i.e. subtract a second and a bit).

INSPIRATIONAL CLIP

For today’s inspirational clip, we’re going to a source I’d never really heard of before I began training for this event…because regular guys going out there and giving 100% are also a source of inspiration, especially to the people in their lives who look to them to bridge the gap between the couch potato and the international sports hero.

In this case, Keith Wilson’s impressive performance at the 2008 Arnold Classic 5K Pump and Run was documented in stills and video, and made its way to YouTube, courtesy of his friends (and fans). You can see the well-earned expression of pride and accomplishment when he put up his 30th repetition on the bench press.

Being in the age category of 50+ each rep would have been 80% of body weight (it decreases from 100% after age 39) but a man of any age putting up 80% of his body weight in a continuous set of 30 reps is no small accomplishment. Likewise, he finished up his 5K run in 22:26, earning him 5th place in his age category and 63rd overall for the entire event. This put Mr. Wilson well into the elite participants in the event. It also means I have some catching up to do. Great work Keith.

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