Sunday, December 21, 2008

I'll Be Home for Christmas

Ho, ho, ho! I am ready for some SNOW! I have been anxiously awaiting my trip back home to Minnesota to see a winter wonderland. I don't feel like Christmas is less than a week away because I haven't seen any of the white stuff. It's just not Christmas to me if there isn't any snow. I can listen to all the Christmas music I want and look at all the houses with their lights up, but if there isn't a solid layer of white crystals on the ground, I'm just not in the mood! I'm not complaining about the warm places I've been training and visiting...I love them...wouldn't want to train anywhere else. I can recall Christmas's back in Minnesota that were snowless, and it just didn't feel the same without it. This year there is plenty of snow waiting for me back home. The past few days Minnesota has been hit hard by snow storms. I know kids back home are loving it! Aside from the snow, I'm looking forward to just relaxing and being home with my family. It's been three months since I have seen them.

My only challenge now while I'm back home will be finding a place to train. Training has continued to go well at the training center. My days are completely occupied by training sessions leaving little time for anything else though. I wish I had a little more time in the day. By the time I am done training on most days the Boys and Girls club I volunteer at is closed, this poses a big problem getting there on a regular basis.

Not much has happened to report since my last blog, so this will be another short entry. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you all enjoy time with your family and friends!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Test Week

This past week was a test week here for myself and fellow training partners at the training center. We tested a wide range of measurable components of our training. Strength was mostly measured during this testing cycle. The first day we measured the strength of our standing throws in the discus with a 3k shot throw. We did a normal stand throw as we would with a discus, but instead of holding a discus we held an iron ball and threw it. We then tested in the vertical jump and the Olympic snatch lift. Everyone tested well and made big improvements on their verticals from the initial marks we all had coming in at the beginning of the training year. I had a huge improvement in my snatch lift. It was a personal best for me. I was able to snatch 127.5 kilos which is about equivalent to 281 pounds. I definitely surprised myself which is always exciting.
We will begin a new training cycle this week which I believe will focus more on speed development. Strength will still be a main focus but speed training components will be installed such as sprinting. It is always refreshing to begin a new training cycle. The body gets thrown into a state of confusion and is asked to respond differently than it did in the previous training cycle. This helps push through plateaus that may occur. It is also a good way to help keep the mind fresh and stave of becoming bored with repetitive training regimes. I will update on the progress of my training during this next cycle.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Chula Vista Boys and Girls Club

I have finally started volunteering my time at the Boys and Girls Club out here in Chula Vista, CA. I started this past week, which was a recovery week for me, so I was able to put a few good hours in at my new location. It was nice to return to working with kids. I had a little time off from working at the Boys and Girls Clubs after my move from Minnesota to California this past October. It definitely took some time to adjust to my training schedule and find room in between training to volunteer at the B&GC.
I made a few trips to the B&GC location I am volunteering at before I started officially this week to meet with the on site-director. I also got a chance to meet some of the kids. The actual club is a very nice facility. The kids are very fortunate to have such a nice place to spend time after school. There are about six pool tables in the game room. There is a large gymnasium too. A large skate park is also a part of the club. This is a very impressive skate park, I only wish I new how to skateboard! The club is very well organized and run very well. The kids seem very happy when they are there.
After spending the week getting to know the kids and the other employees I am very excited to spend the year volunteering my time here. I already ran some kids through some mini-workouts. Some of the kids that attend the club are overweight and some have a problem with type II diabetes. The director of the club asked me to put some of the kids through a workout program. I am excited to be able to help the kids with this. It is especially helpful to me that there is a facility that can accommodate such a program.
On a side note, training is continuing to go extremely well! I am loving the training center and the training partners I have. I couldn't be happier with my present situation. I hope it continues to go as well as it is. We just completed a recovery week, so much of my time was spent resting. We had only one a day practices instead of two a days. This was a much needed rest week. This week will be spent training hard, just as the week before the recovery week, even though this is Thanksgiving week and many people are home. I will be staying out here in California during Thanksgiving break. Hopefully I'll be able to find a good turkey dinner. I will definitely miss my family.
I hope you all enjoy Thanksgiving and give thanks or are thankful for everything you have. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A Refreshing Change

With this blog entry I would like to talk a little about the recent presidential election. Personally I am incredibly excited and optimistic about the future of our country. For our country to elect Barack Obama says a lot about the people who are living here and the direction that we want to go in. I'm not trying to reiterate information I have heard. Rather I want to express my excitement and thoughts.
This past year I have become more interested and payed more attention to politics than ever before. Maybe because I am getting older, maybe because I saw an opportunity for our country to take a different approach to being a world leader. The whole process has been historic from the start. We have all witnessed history being made, and the events will be talked about many years from now discussing the impact of what has happened.
I have been a Barack Obama supporter from the beginning. A few years back my dad told me about Obama and said he would make a great leader. I guess he called it!
Right now, Barack Obama, is the best thing that could have happened to our country. It is totally refreshing to have a new president with new ideas. I have enjoyed looking at the world news this past week and seeing how other countries have responded to our newly elected president. Foreign countries are excited about the change. At the present moment there aren't many negative words or thoughts I imagine being directed towards us. People all over the globe are intrigued and curious in a good way about the direction the United States is going to take. I feel the world is optimistic for the future just as we are here. People have gone so far as calling Barack Obama the world's leader. It is my belief that he has the potential to have a huge effect on the world. He has a way of bringing people together. His speeches are amazing without doubt. His acceptance speech on Tuesday night gave me chills and made me incredibly proud to be American. His ability to speak is a tremendous gift. I am not one to be highly influenced by speeches, but I love listening to Obama's speeches. A leader should be able to communicate effectively, there is great power in words.
Barack Obama is going to be a great president and great for the United States of America I believe. I see him mending some broken relations with other countries and gaining the respect of the world back. It will be interesting to see how things improve over time. No matter who the president was going to be they were going to have to deal with a lot and rebuild some of what was lost. We are a great nation, always have, always will be. It is time for us to be even greater now. We are progressing in a positive, forward direction as a whole. Hopefully we can bring our country even closer together, set aside differences and be one nation under God. We are off to a fresh beginning!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Park City

I had the chance this weekend to go to Park City, UT and watch the US Bobsled team train before their national team trials. My girlfriend, who is a pilot was my reason for the visit. I've been learning about bobsled for the past year but had never had the chance to witness it in real life. It was awesome to watch! Despite the cold weather I enjoyed my experience. There is a lot involved with bobsledding from preparing the sleds, warming up in the cold (which is crazy to me), visualizing the runs down the track, and then throwing the sleds back on a truck to return to the top of the hill and do it over. It's exciting to watch from the top of the hill where the athletes get their push from the top of the hill. There is timing involved with the push and the athletes make it look easier than it is. I know because I tried jumping into a sled by myself while it was stationary. I was so clumsy loading into the sled and had a heck of a time trying to squeeze in. The driver and pusher are able to load into the sled in about five and a half seconds, amazing when you're running on ice and pushing a 450 lb. sled. I watched the bobsleds go down the track from various locations on the track which runs nearly a mile long down hill. It's exciting from where ever you are on the track because you hear the sled coming before you see it. It's a loud rumble and is intense to see when it comes whizzing by you at 80 mph. Fortunately the track here in Park City is a smooth one and fairly easy to drive, or so the drivers tell me. I was hoping to get a chance to take my first ride down in a sled but did not get the chance...maybe next time!
It was fun to have a weekend off and get out of the training center for a few days. I head back to San Diego tomorrow to resume training. I'm excited to get back and train, we begin throwing as well, which I've been waiting the last 3 weeks to do! Time to get serious!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Chula Vista

Well I am here in Chula Vista, CA all settled into the dorms at the Olympic Training Center! I made the long journey from Minnesota in three days. I made the drive by myself, which was a little boring....actually, a lot boring! Way too much time spent thinking and driving, but, I made it!
I am very happy to be here though. The other athletes are great. There is definitely a good energy here. It feels different than the last time I was here. It is a good different. We've already started into our general prep training, which is basically getting into shape to start training full time. I can not wait until we start throwing. From just the few days of training my body is already sore....especially my abs! I'll definitely become a better athlete and be in better shape. Everything is set up here to make athletes succeed, it's amazing! I definitely miss Minnesota, but I don't feel I would be able get the same kind of training atmosphere there as there is here.
I am missing working at the Boys and Girls club back in Minneapolis, MN. To continue with my community service project I stopped up at the Boys and Girls Club here in Chula Vista. I went up to introduce myself to the director and everything seems cool there. It will be good for me to have something to do outside of training. I Believe I would go a little crazy if all I did was train. It is important to have balance in life. I believe that In the Arena helps create that balance. I am very grateful for what In the Arena has done for me this past year. I would not have been able to survive and try to continue training without the help. In return I feel I have been able to be a positive role model for a number of kids that I have interacted with at the Boys and Girls Clubs that I have worked at. It has been a good learning experience for me as well. I feel I have become a much more effective servant for In the Arena through the experiences I have had.
I am looking forward to this next year. I feel I have been given a second chance to continue training, and I can't believe how awesome the opportunity is!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Good News

I have some great news to report in my bi-monthly update of my blog. I just found out recently that I was accepted into the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista California once again! I was very relieved to get this news, as I have been anticipating the opportunity for the past few months. I feel very fortunate to be able to return there once again and train. I can tell you now that it will make life much easier for me not having to worry about paying monthly rent on an apartment and spending a large amount of money on groceries monthly as well. I will be sad to leave Minnesota once again, but my excitement over the opportunity to be trained by excellent coaches and train with top athletes in the country outweighs the sadness.

With my move coming up it also means that my In The Arena service will come to an end here in Minneapolis. Today will be my last day at the Boys and Girls Club of Southside Village. It will be hard to say goodbye to the kids and teenagers there. I've only been there for a few months but I have enjoyed going there on a daily basis. I been putting in long hours at the club hanging out with the kids and getting to know them better. I will miss reading with the kids, shooting pool, playing board games or even just running around outside. I intend to stay in touch with the club. The people who work full time at the club have been great to work with and excellent mentors in the profession of working with youth. It isn't always easy to be a volunteer, but it is a rewarding experience.

This next week I will spend packing up my apartment and getting things situated for my long road trip to Southern California. I will get some good quality time in with my girlfriend before she leaves for Lake Placid, New York to start her bobsled season. It will be difficult to be on opposite sides of the country no doubt. A few weeks ago I had the chance to travel up to Calgary, Ontario and check out a bobsled training camp. It was a pretty sweet trip and cool experience to see how bobsledders train. I came away with a greater appreciation for what they do and a better idea of what my girl friend does. I will hopefully get a chance this season to watch her compete at the World Cup Championships in Lake Placid.

I plan to continue my community service in Chula Vista, California once I am situated at the training center and have my training routine set. I have really enjoyed working at the Boys and Girls Club so I would like to continue my volunteer service at another club location in Chula Vista.

Friday, August 29, 2008

What to do now

There is a void that needs to be filled since the completion of the Olympics. For the entire two weeks of the games I found myself being glued to the TV set nightly just to check out some of the action. The first week was spent watching Michael Phelps go for a record breaking eight gold medals. Pretty amazing feat. I don't know what the actual number of races were that he competed in with preliminary heats and finals but it was a lot. To have enough energy to compete at a high level daily for a week straight is incredible! I was awed by this feat and demonstration endurance and recovery abilities. I'm not much of a swimming fan, but I was during the games.

I have to say my favorite moments during the Beijing Olympics were the swimming 4x100m relay when the USA beat out the cocky French team and when Phelps won by a hundredth of a second in the 100m butterfly. Both these races were so close and intense. The fact that the United States was represented so well and was clutch in bringing home gold made a lot of people proud. This proud feeling was most evident during the 4x100m relay. After the French made an arrogant comment about coming to the Olympics to smash the USA and then being beaten and forced to eat their words, I couldn't have been happier. I was actually yelling, jumping around and high fiving my girlfriend when the French were edged out. A priceless moment.

Phelps's individual 100m butterfly was amazing in the fact that it was so close. Everyone from Michael's mother to his coach thought he took second, but miraculously he came through and won. This is an example of hard work and a little luck coming together to make a great, memorable moment. It was almost like a movie the way the race turned out. Simply incredible!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Opening Ceremonies!!!

The Games have begun! I can't believe four years have passed already, it is time to start watching the worlds greatest athletes go head to head again. It's a bummer for me to have to watch it from home, but it's a kick in the pants to get it rolling for 2012! Anyways, I'm excited, regardless of not being one of those world's greatest, to watch the games and cheer on some friends such as Mike Hazel. Gotta give it up for this guy, he is an inspiration. He works harder than anyone I know and he is driven to be the best at what he does. I wish him the best of luck as he shows off his talents to the world! Another friend I know competing in the triple jump is Shani Johnson. She graduated from the University of Minnesota a few years before I did. She is another amazing athlete. She is going to represent Minnesota and the USA well, I have no doubt. I will be turning my TV on in less than an hour to watch the opening ceremonies and see what kind of a show Beijing has in store to start things off. I'm hoping that the throwing events get some love and have at least a few throws shown on TV.



Aside from the Olympic excitement, I have been putting in some serious time at the Boys and Girls Club here in Minneapolis. Today, the kids had a special opportunity to listen to Magic Johnson give a talk. He gave a clear and positive message to the kids. He told them that they are in charge of they're futures and success. He talked about the importance of dreaming big and believing in yourself. It was a good message for anyone...I especially enjoyed it. It's good to be reminded of simple yet effective things.



After the Magic Johnson program, myself and five other employees at the Boys and Girls Club took 50 kids to the Nickelodeon Theme Park in the Mall of America. That was quite a task. My group was made up of 7 girls ranging in ages 8-11. It was difficult to keep them together the whole time, but I guess I was successful when none of my kids turned up missing at the end of the day. It was a fun day with the kids. I however was not able to go on many of the rides due to my size. I still enjoyed watching the kids have fun.



Well I have to prepare some food and get ready for NBC to start their broadcast of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Post-Olympic Trials

Well, my track and field season is officially over. A lot went on for me this season. Frustration was prominent in the beginning of the season for me. Meets were not going well, and I had a fear that I was not going to even qualify for the Olympic Trials. But I remedied that when I traveled out to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. After going two years without an improvement in my discus throw I was able to straighten some things out and line things up for my best throw ever of 61.36m (201' 3"). This was enough to ensure my qualification for the Trials and eased my frustrations. After returning home from the OTC a week and a half outside of my competition date at the Trials I was training and suffered a slight strain of my right pec muscle, something that has been happening much to frequently the past two years. I rested it for three days unable to throw and lift for fear I would further damage it and be totally useless. This brought frustration back to me. I knew I needed to lift and continue refining my technique up to the big meet, but I had no choice but to lay off and let it heal so I could compete.
When I arrived in Eugene I felt great! I was excited to be there and overall my body felt probably the best it had all year. I definitely had making the Olympic Trials finals in my mindset. I truly believed I would be within the top 8 after my fifth place finish last year at the US Championships. It is truly difficult to not be inspired and motivated to do your best when competing at such an event. One of the first steps to success is believing in yourself, and I sure did and still do, but the results of the qualifying round did not represent that well.
The night of my competition was exciting. I definitely had a good amount of adrenaline flowing through me when I stepped out on to the field with first flight of throwers in front of a full Hayward Field stadium. I went through my warm up throws and felt great. My pec was pain free, a big thanks to my adrenaline! I felt fluid and calm amidst the tense atmosphere. I honestly felt I was going to have another lifetime best throw with all this energy. The competition finally began and I was the second thrower. I got in the ring and gave that 2k discus everything I had...but I put a bad flight on it and it fell far short of my seasons best throw. This didn't effect my mind set because I knew I had 2 more throws to get it right. My second throw came and I landed it around 190'. I knew this wasn't going to be enough to get me to the finals. I made sure on my last throw that I was going to put everything I had within me to get a better throw. When I hit my final throw I thought I had connected and sent that discus near 200' as I watched it fly high and with a perfect spin! I continued to watch it but my heart sank when I saw the discus start falling from the sky and hitting at a similar distance as my previous throw. My final throw did not better my second throw, and at that, my appearance at the Olympic Trials was over. Back to the stadium seats to watch other people have their day.
I'll tell you it really hurt to walk inside the stadium on the day of the discus finals and watch my friends and fellow competitors warming up before going inside the stadium to perform for 21,000 excited track and field fans. I wanted to be out there so bad! It was a feeling that I don't want to forget. I definitely don't want to experience that feeling again, but sometimes I feel it is good to endure pain like that so that it drives you and makes you hungry. "The sweet ain't so sweet without the bitter!"
Now that my season is over I am already gearing up for next year. I am putting my focus into doing some big things next year. In doing so I am putting on weight as I type this so that I can throw the shot put again competitively starting this winter. I really missed throwing it this year, but I thought it would be in my best interest to focus on the discus with a lot of guys throwing the shot put well. It will just be another challenge to take on!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Back at the OTC

I'm writing this post in from the comfort of my dorm room at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. It's great to be back out here! I've only been gone about eight months since I moved back to Minneapolis. I've definitely enjoyed seeing familiar faces and catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile. It's also been great getting back to some consistent weather and throwing in warm, dry weather. I've gotten the chance to work with Bud Rasmussen, the coach I was working with last year, it's nice to get a professional eye. I came back out to the training center to compete in two meets this weekend and one next weekend. I'm going to take advantage of my current situation as much as possible while I'm here. One thing I've been taking advantage of is the endless supply of amazing food. I find myself eating until I'm uncomfortably full, but this is good since I'm trying to put on some extra weight. I'm hoping that I can get back out here next year to train. It's impossible to not be motivated out here with a group of great athletes training daily. I'll hopefully have more to post after my competitions this weekend. I am expecting good things, practice has been going well. Currently I am 24th on the list for the Olympic Trials, so I need to better my personal best throw to ensure my spot at the Trials.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Trying to compete

This post is a little last minute. Things have been a little hectic, or maybe I just feel like that because of my lack of organization. Just got back last week from a 2 week trip where I competed in two meets in California and three meets in Maui, Hawaii. I'm disappointed to not be able to report any awesome results that I was expecting. My body felt good but I was not able improve upon my personal best marks in the discus. I hate making excuses but the first meet in California was cold, mid 50's. I was outside for about four hours before I competed and I just wasn't able to get warmed up before I threw. You would think a kid from Minnesota wouldn't be bothered by the cold weather! The next meet was much warmer but I threw far worse. I was having difficulties with sector fouls and a small foot foul. I wasn't feeling too bad after these meets because I knew was going to be able to use the incredible wind in Maui. I couldn't have been more mistaken. The first day in Maui was great, wind conditions were perfect for huge throws. The following day was different. The winds that we were expecting were trade winds blowing in at a perfect angle ac cross the discus field. The wind that was blowing on competition day was called and known as the "kona" winds. These winds blew from the opposite direction of the trade winds. It was very unexpected and frustrating for everyone. The poor wind conditions took about three meters off of every one's throws. We had one more chance for better winds two days after this first meet. The wind for the next competition was not as bad as the first day, but it was still not conducive to BIG throws, which is why everyone broke the bank to fly to Hawaii to compete. This is a lesson that you can not chase the wind. Sometimes you just get lucky. I did enjoy myself in Hawaii though and had a chance to go snorkeling for the first time in my life.

Since I've gotten back from my trip I have been trying to figure out what meets I will compete in with a short amount of time left to achieve an A standard mark or to be seeded even higher at the Trials. There are a few meets being held out in California at the Training Center in Chula Vista. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and catching up with some friends I haven't seen since last year. I'm looking forward to being able to redeem myself a little as well.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Still Waiting

I'm writing this post today as I sit inside my apartment waiting for a break in the rain on this cold (42 degrees), wet, end of April day. This weather is getting ridiculous. The forecast is calling for rain mixed with snow this weekend! We had mid 70 weather earlier this week, but it appears those days are gone, at least for the next week.

All that aside things are alright. I got a solid week of throwing in outside, at a little bit of a disadvantage to most of my competitors in the south and west who get to throw outside throughout the year. I feel ready to compete though. This has been the latest I've ever gone without competing, and it is difficult to stay patient. I actually had a competition/practice on Wednesday at Hamline University here in Minneapolis. I originally was not going to compete but as I went out to practice that day I thought it would have been silly to pass up the opportunity to throw in good weather. I had planned on throwing at the Drake Relays this weekend but I entered myself to late and apparently the meet was based on first come first serve. So, I used the meet on Wednesday to make up for a missed opportunity. I have one more meet next week in Iowa before heading west to compete and chase some marks.

Friday, April 4, 2008

April Fool's

Hey Everyone!

Today is a beautiful day in Minnesota. The sun is shinning, birds are chirping and the is a predicted high near 60 degrees! I really hope that the warm weather will stay around.

This Tuesday, April Fool's day, I woke up and stepped outside into a winter wonderland. It was a cruel joke. There was four inches of snow on the ground, and all I could do was shake my head and brush the snow off of my car. The snow didn't last long though. I'm hoping that the last little spots of snow will melt off today.

In other news I have been dealing with a painful left knee that has limited my training. For the past couple of months I have had difficulty squatting and doing plyometics. These are important components to my training program. It has been hard mentally to train as hard as I need to. The pain has been very severe. I went to the Mayo Clinic in my hometown of Rochester, MN to see knee specialist there. I had x-ray's and an MRI to find out what was causing the pain in my knee. The doctors reported to me that I am suffering from tendinopathy in my rectus femoris tendon. This tendon attaches to the patella. I was given a few options for helping alleviate my pain. The first option was an extensive surgery that could possibly end my career as a track and field athlete. Another option is a relatively new surgery procedure that is a possibility for me to have post-season which would involve injecting my blood plasma into the damaged tendon in hopes of producing new and healthy growth. The final option is a training program developed in Scandinavia which involves eccentric single-leg exercises. I have been doing these exercises religiously that were designed to help athletes suffering from patellar tendinitis. I have noticed a little bit of an improvement with the knee pain. My hopes are high that these simple exercise will help me get back to normal with my training program.

Finally, I have set up my travel plans for a series of meets beginning May 7th. I will traveling to California to compete in two meets then I will travel to Maui to compete in another meet series. I'm excited to compete and improve my personal best marks in the discus. More to come on that later...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Close Call

I'm a little late with this post. Just arrived back in Minnesota from a longer than expected training trip to Florida. I had planned on only being in Florida for a week but it turned into two unexpectedly. My first week of training was great in Florida, it was my first time visiting. It was a nice change of climate for me coming from bitterly cold Minnesota. I soaked in as much sunshine as I could and threw the discus outdoors to my heart's content.

On the last day in the sunshine state I was involved in a roll over crash in which the vehicle I was a passenger in rolled 5 times. The car was traveling on the interstate going at least 75 mph when a trailer a few cars ahead blew a tire causing the person behind them to swerve into our lane causing the vehicle I was in to avoid hitting them and as a result losing control and flipping. I'm grateful to report there were no serious injuries, and I was left amazingly unscathed, not a scratch or sore neck. Fortunately I did not miss any training time and was able to stay awhile longer and train before I went back to Minnesota. It was unfortunate about the accident though which could have been much worse.

Now I'm back in Minneapolis and looking forward to getting back to the Boys and Girls Club and being patient to get outside and throw while the snow melts!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Ready For Spring

Hello! Winter is getting long and cold here in Minneapolis! The past two weekends have had air temperatures of negative digits well into the teens and negative wind chills nearing -40! It is crazy! It definitely makes training a little more difficult when you don't want to go outside or your car won't even start. But we do what we can here in Minnesota when the weather get ridiculous.

All that aside, I am ready to take a trip to Florida and see some sunshine and maybe get a tan. I definitely need to get away from the cold and throw discus a little outside. It gets a little monotonous throwing into a net daily and being inside all the time, but spring is around the corner. March usually brings a nice thaw here.

My volunteer position at the Boys and Girls Club is still a good time. I am looking forward to being outside with the kids and doing some track and field stuff with them that I am unable to do in a gym full of kids. I can tell the kids are getting anxious to be able to play outside as well. I am still hoping to get the boys group started at the club. Myself and a fellow employee of the club are trying to get it started. It will take some organization of all the boys at the club and some planning, but it will be a good time for the kids and myself.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Good Progress

Hello again! It's been a few weeks since I last wrote. Things are continuing to progress in a good direction for me with my training in preparation for the beginning of the outdoor track and field season. I have decided to focus my energies into throwing the discus this season. Originally I was going to try and throw shot put, but with deep thought I came to the conclusion that my best chance for making an Olympic team would come from throwing the discus. I am excited and feel good about my decision. This past Friday I had a chance to test my progress with a small indoor discus competition. I had a couple good throws that impressed me considering where my training is at right now. I'm ready to get going with the track and field season and more than ready to be outside and traveling to compete at meets.

Things are continuing to go well at the Boys and Girls Club here in Minneapolis. I had a few weeks off while I was back home for Christmas break. Since I've been back one employee and myself have discussed the idea of putting together a group for just the boys at the club. We have talked about the possibility of talking about fitness and nutrition. I will also take advantage of this opportunity to teach the kids more about track and field and hopefully take them to some meets. We hope to put this group together in about two weeks. It should be fun!