Mustafa Abdur-Rahim (or “Moose” as he is known to friends and teammates) is one of America’s top Track and Field athletes competing in the decathlon. introPLAY is proud to sponsor him as he makes his bid to join the U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing. We conducted an exclusive interview with Moose and here’s what he had to say about the sport, his training and what he brings to the decathlon.
introPLAY: How did you decide to become a decathlete?
Moose: Growing up, I played just about any sport that I was interested in, including soccer, basketball, football and others. My father really encouraged my twin brother and me to go outside and be active, instead of being indoors and playing video games all the time.
Later, I participated in various track events because each was interesting in its own way and I could contribute in more than one way to my team. I realized that I had talent, yet my interest became broader than athletes competing in a single event. After learning that I was interested in a multiple event sports, the decision to become a decathlete was kind of the next progression.
introPLAY: What qualities do you think it takes to be successful?
Moose: I think most decathletes have a perfectionist quality to them. We have a high level of persistence and drive to be the best. As a competitor, negative impulses such as self-doubt, fear of fatigue, failure, disappointment and questions always come up in many different ways, but courage and determination have to overcome in order to be the best you can be.
introPLAY: The decathlon takes place over two days, with the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters taking place on day one and the 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters taking place on day two. Which of the ten events is your best and which do you enjoy the most?
Moose: I always laugh when someone asks me which event I enjoy the most. Obviously the event I am doing the best in is the one I enjoy the most! Executing each event well excites me tremendously and each event has something that I love about it. For example, when I get a good shot put throw it feels like Superman. Looking at the shot put fly is so gratifying.
I am most consistent and strongest in the hurdles. On average, I score over 900 points in the hurdles and once even scored over 1,000 points. The 100, 400 and long jump are also some of my stronger events.
introPLAY: Which event do you think you can improve the most in?
Moose: I see the most improvement potential in the pole vault. Given my speed and jumping ability, I expect to improve quickly in the pole vault if I break some bad habits and gain more experience and confidence. My goal is to vault 2 feet higher than my personal best, which would give me about a 200 point improvement in my overall score.
introPLAY: That’s a good segue into talking about scoring. The decathlon is different from other track and field events because a point total is assigned to your performance in each event. So what is your best score?
Moose: Previously, my best score is from a 2004 Division 1 NCAA meet. The score was 7,937 points, which is very good considering the Olympic “A” standard is 8,000 points. In my most recent meet though, I scored 8,106 and eclipsed my personal best by 169 points. Now, I am guaranteed to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the decathlon. If I place in the top three at the U.S. Olympic trials decathlon then I am also guaranteed to be a member of the Olympic team in Beijing. Pretty cool.
introPLAY: That’s fantastic! It sounds like you are peaking at the right moment—right before the Olympic trials this June. How do you feel about your prospects for making the U.S. Olympic team this year?
Moose: I think my chances are much better than they were 4 years ago when I placed sixth at the trials. If things go well and I perform as well as I believe I can, then I believe that my goal can be realized.
introPLAY: We certainly hope you make it to Beijing, Moose. Tell us about how you prepare in the days leading up to a competition.
Moose: The day before a meet, I get the funniest guys I know together and just hang out with them. We laugh and have a great time. Afterwards at home, I picture having a gloomy, terrible day. Then I go for a walk to clear my head and imagine a track full of light, looking beautiful. Then I visualize performing each event very well and having endless amounts of fun doing it.
In the morning, I eat breakfast about 4 hours prior to race time. I relax with some more funny people and try to laugh a lot up until about one hour before the meet. Then I get my game face on. That’s when I get really nasty—it’s really hard to talk to me at this point. I focus intently on the goals for that day and how I want to approach each event. Then I just try to go get it and have fun competing.
introPLAY: Once the event starts, you are competing all day long for two consecutive days. How do you maintain focus and keep your performance at its peak?
Moose: It’s hard to really explain what happens on a competition day. There are so many emotions. After I start competing on each day, the goal is to maintain my focus on each event taking them one at a time and having as much fun as possible.
introPLAY: What is your most memorable decathlon moment?
Moose: The decathlon is like a story unfolding with ten chapters. Finishing a decathlon is like completing another novel. For me every decathlon has at least one memorable moment. My most recent memorable moment was my discus throw in my last decathlon on April 18th and 19th. Having waited a long time for a breakthrough, I finally beat my personal best in the discus, which was a really exciting moment. That performance helped me set my 8,106 point personal best.
introPLAY: Let’s talk about your training habits. How long do you typically train every day?
Moose: The average training day goes about 4 to 5 hours. That includes preparation time, warm-ups, full practice, lifting weights and recovery time.
introPLAY: The decathlon requires numerous skills like throwing, speed, stamina, quickness. How do you customize your training to focus on so many things?
Moose: I combine the event targets for each day. For example, Monday might be a technical sprinting day—targeting the 100 meters and 110 hurdles. I’ll come out of blocks and go over hurdles, and then use blocks to practice my acceleration phase of the 100 meters and finally speed zones, which is a top end speed maintenance drill.
Tuesday is usually a running strength building day—targeting the 400 meters and 1,500 meters. On these days, I will run one of a number of different workouts. The distances are typically over 200 meters with short rest intervals to push the aerobic system past comfort. This pushes the body to operate at a rigorous level for an extended period of time. After such a work out, I will throw the shot put, discus, or javelin and then complete the day with lifting in the weight room.
Wednesday I do jumps—long jump, pole vault, and high jump—and weight lifting. Thursday we practice our throwing for a second session and finish off the day lifting. Friday is usually the last day before competition and we take that day to fine tune and prepare for any upcoming competition. With competitions usually on Saturdays, we rest on Sundays and start over again on Mondays.
introPLAY: Thanks for giving us that great detail. Hopefully it will be helpful to some of the Players on introPLAY. What is your favorite workout?
Moose: My favorite workouts are always the technical days – throwing and jumping. I can concentrate on getting things right as opposed to giving a maximum effort – which is how it is during my running workouts.
introPLAY: Moose, one final question. If you had kids, would you recommend the decathlon for them?
Moose: I would definitely encourage my kids to do the multiple events, like decathlon or heptathlon because of what I have been able to learn about myself through this event. I’ve learned to persevere, persist and have self pride in what I’m doing. I would take the same approach as my father and let my kids do several different things then eventually let them decide what they enjoy the most. Ultimately, I would keep my kids active and encourage them to be well-rounded individuals.
introPLAY: Moose, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it. And best of luck this June at the Olympic Trials. We’re looking forward to seeing you compete in Beijing!
Moose: Thanks very much. I appreciate it.
If you have any questions for Moose, please ask them in the comments. We’ll make sure to have a follow up conversation with Moose and include your questions. And in the meantime, feel free to check out his introPLAY profile to keep up with his training.
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