A New PR

This past weekend I changed my plans of opening up my season at the Mt. Sac Relays and decided to take a drive to Mesa, AZ and compete. It was a last minute decision, and I am thankful to the throws coach at Mesa Community College, Colin Post, for allowing my late entry in the meet. I decided Thursday morning that I was going to drive 6 hours to Mesa, AZ after talking to my room mate and training partner Adam Kuehl. Adam went home for Easter weekend and decided that he would compete at the meet as well. He informed me that the weather was going to be prime for a discus meet, so naturally I could not resist the temptation of competing with good conditions. My girlfriend Mia and I drove out late Thursday, actually she drove the whole way, but we got into Mesa around midnight.

The next day I was very anxious to compete. I have been training for nearly 6 months straight, but have not had any competitions. It felt good to get those pre competition jitters back. Once I got to the track and felt at ease and ready to compete. The winds were blowing strong as a headwind which can be good but not optimal such as a right cross wind blowing across the discus sector.

The competition started and I was the last thrower in the flight. I got in the ring and wound up and went to throw, but I tried to hard and top the discus causing it to fall far short of where I wanted it to fly. My second throw was better around 59.30m which would have been my best season opening throw ever. I then got in for my 3rd throw and connected with it and sent it flying 62.77m which is a new personal best for me. The meter distance converts to 205' 11 1/2". This is also the Olympic B standard which I need to attain 4 more times during the season to ensure my place here at the Olympic Training Center.

It was a very exciting weekend for me and well worth the trip to AZ. I also got the chance to see some of my old team mates from the University of Minnesota. I definitely made me miss home.

Just Another Day

I don't have much exciting to write about in my blog this week. But, that is not to say I'm not excited about things. Training has going going very well these past few weeks. I feel I'm starting to make progress towards throwing farther in the discus. I hate to talk about doing well though because I guess I'm a little superstitious about jinxing myself when I talk about myself. So, I'll keep the self talk to a minimum. Throwing the discus has been going particularly well lately. I'm very excited for the season to start up soon and put myself to the test. I'm hoping all the hours and sweat will pay off this year. My first meet will be at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, CA. I have never thrown there, but I've been hearing mixed reviews from people who have competed there. Apparently the discus ring is three feet below the surface of the surrounding grass. Many people will avoid throwing there at all costs. It sounds like it is more of a mental annoyance than anything. I'll find out on April 18th though, and so will you!

This past weekend a majority of the athletes at the training center gathered for a BBQ at Mission Beach in San Diego. There was a small group of foreign athletes who are training here as well that joined us. I can only count on one hand how many times I've been to the beach since I moved out here back in October. I guess I've just been too busy or too tired to go and play at the beach. So, it was a real treat to be able to go this weekend and grill some hot links and chicken on the grill! It may be one of the few times I get to go again for awhile.

Busy

I have been getting lazy with posting blogs recently, a problem that will no longer be an issue from this post on. I shouldn't say lazy, just doing a poor job of managing my time...too much to do here in California! Anyways, a lot has been going on in my little world. A few weeks back I drove up to Newport Beach, CA with my room mate and training partner Adam Kuehl to work at a throwing clinic put on by Tony Ciarelli. What an amazing guy this man is. He has been putting on the camp since 1991. This was my second year helping out at the camp and let me tell you it is a joy to be at. Tony has the ability to gather many of the top throwers in the country from now and the past, and get them to come help out with the camp and get together afterwards and socialize. It is an amazing experience for me as a relatively young thrower to hang out and talk with some of my idols in the throwing world.

Also, my girlfriend moved out here within the past two weeks to Chula Vista to train during her bobsled off season. It has been wonderful having her here to hang out with. It has recharged me to be able to see her daily instead of talking on the phone everyday. I feel it has brought a little more balance to my life as well. We both are definitely trying to be resourceful in finding fun and cheap things to do here in spendy California.

I also got the chance to meet Sarah Groff, a fellow ITA teammate. It is nice to be able to put a face and personality with a name. She is one of the few ITA members that I could say I know...I wish I had the chance to meet everyone. I first met her in the training room here at the OTC and I was caught a little off guard since I had not been expecting the encounter, but she is a very positive and outgoing person. She was eager to take a look at the Boys and Girls Club here in Chula Vista. Luis Canett, the director of the B&G club was excited to meet her and to have the help of more volunteers at his club since there has been an influx of a number of new kids joining recently.

the day after

I hope everyone had an excellent Valentines Day/Singles Awareness Day yesterday. I was unable to spend the day with my girlfriend because she is back in Lake Placid, NY preparing for the FIBT Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships. She will not actually be competing this year due to an injury she suffered back in December, but she will be doing what she can to help represent the U.S as the Lake Placid Olympic training center plays host for the championships. She will be a forerunner during the championships to help make sure timing devices are working properly and precisely.

I was lucky enough to spend the past two weeks with her when she got the opportunity to come to San Diego and train at the Olympic training center here with me! She and another fellow bobsledder spent two weeks of "dry land" training here in California. It was a nice chance for them to get away from the cold and snow back in Lake Placid. It was nice for us to reconnect after being apart for a few months as well. I was excited for her to see some of the training I have been doing since I moved out to California to train. It was great to see her but unfortunately she had to leave two days before Valentines Day...so I was left dateless...I guess she was too! She'll be back in a few weeks though, and this time for a longer stay...so don't feel too bad for me.

My discus training has continued to progress well. I'm still learning and figuring out new things about my technique. It can be very frustrating at times to work on something new, which is what I'm currently trying to do, but it usually pays off in the end...or so I tell myself! My knees have been giving me a bit of trouble lately though. More specifically the tendons around the knee area have been bothersome to the point that they are affecting my training. So, I am in the process of figuring out the problem and finding a way to alleviate the pain and resume my normal training protocol. It is a frustrating and difficult problem that I would like to resolve quickly. I am open to any advice someone may have reading this, and would greatly appreciate it!

January Thaw

Life continues to be amazing here in San Diego in the middle of January. The weather has been more beautiful here than most people in much of the U.S. get to experience in the middle of winter. Not to brag, but it's awesome. Back home in Minnesota, they have been dealing with below zero temps and I'm out here going to the beach and surfing on my days off from training. I'm definitely living it up. Training is progressing well. I've had two solid weeks of training and going into the third week of heavy training before a much needed recovery week. My body is definitely feeling the pain of training right now. My coach gave me and my training group the day off on Saturday to rest and recover just to prepare for the final week of the cycle.
So, on the rest/recovery day we went to Coronado Beach and enjoyed some 4' + waves and attempted to do some body surfing. The water was shockingly cold, comparable to an ice tub. I would say it was 60 degrees in the water. We all lasted about a half hour in the water without wet suits. The waves were some of the biggest I have experienced so far. Being from Minnesota I am a little inexperienced in the wave department. So I did my best to catch some of the waves, didn't do the best but I had a good time trying. I'm thinking about buying a wetsuit for the next time I go to the beach just to last a little longer in the water. The beach was fun and a highlight of the weekend.
This week I stopped into the B & G Club hopping the kids hadn't forgotten who I was since I hadn't been in about a month. I was surprised they still remembered me. They let me know they weren't happy with me though when we played a little game of dodge ball/gang up on Karl. The episode lasted about 20 minutes and my Wednesday recovery day turned into a mini cardio workout. It was a good time, except for when I caught dodge balls with my face. The kids were ruthless and held nothing back, I was surprised at the power some of them threw the balls with. I think a few of the kids felt bad for me and decided to turn on their peers and help me. I am planning my revenge for this week.

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!

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.