Jack Buckner

Nudgee College 6.00pm

16 X 400m 100m jog recovery.

First half ran 72's & 73's,
Second half ran 70's,71's & 72's finished up with a 67.5!

A hard slog of a session!
It takes a lot of mental effort to maintain good steady times.
I kept a mantra going in my head "PUSH RELAXED".
When I try to put the power down I have a tendency to put the effort in through my arms and neck and consequently I tie up and slow down.
However, if I concentrate on putting the effort in through my legs and maintain a relaxed attitude to arms and neck I run faster and don't tie up!

Early on I thought my calf was going to give it up like last time I tried this session so really tried to pick up the effort to run closer to 70's thinking the session might get cut short any moment, but happy to report it held out.
Very pleased with the effort though early on the 73's had me thinking I was suffering from the 5K yesterday.

I ran the second half of the session without a vest as it was saturated by then - it's been a very warm day with temps up to 31 O C.
Only a couple of sprinters for company for the first half of the session then it was just Nudgee and me with the proverbial Crows and Plovers for company.

Jack Buckner, a Vicars son from somewhere in the Midlands called Worksop! When I went to Loughborough during my first year I took Human Geography as an option and sat in lectures with Jack. I recall he was astonished when I got better marks than he for an assignment, he a Public School boy - me from the local Catholic high school! Me a jock , he a Geography Student. It was the only time I beat Jack in anything! To look at him you would never believe that he had the athletic prowess to become a World Class Track star and win the European Champs! He seemed too small, too chubby, too nice a guy to have the mental grit, the mongrel to be a Superstar!! How wrong I was! He also met and married a beautiful blond lass that resided in my Halls of Residence. He was a big Bruce Springsteen fan. I Googled his name recently and saw he had taken some athletics administration role. He was always a diplomat , never had a dark side and rewarded for his huge natural talent. One of the legion of Superstars at Loughborough I was fortunate to have run with.