Eugene Training Camp

Howdy! Just finishing up a week long training camp here in Eugene, Oregon...home of our Olympic Trials. About 9 of us from the Olympic Training Center came up for some mental preparation on the same track that we will fight for our Olympic births on. Most people would say we are crazy for leaving the sun in southern California for 40 degree rain in Oregon, and they are partly right. But its also nice to get a shot at track that the trials are on, and its ALWAYS nice to get away from the training center.
We arrived into Eugene late Monday evening and have been putting in 2 workouts a day everyday, and for most of us its the heaviest week or training as far as volume and intensity go. This is the last week of a 8 week long phase that I wrote about in my last blog entry and my body is finally showing the signs of the accumulated 8 weeks of pounding. I was playing with some numbers on the flight up here and here are some stats for you. In this last 8 weeks I have done the following:

Squated 44,160 kilos (97,152 lbs)
Power Cleaned 19,840 kilos (43,648 lbs)
Threw 2,400 medballs
800 javelin throws
1,600 weighted ball throws
*not even going to try to add up the number of miles SPRINTED

Anyways, I thought it was a good idea to add everything up and look at it in the big picture. One can almost say that the hay is almost in the barn...its now time to start tightening the screws and get ready for some big competitions and hopefully big throws. Speaking of which, today I am supposed to throw here at a collegiate meet at the University of Oregon. This comes to my coach and I as a surprise because when we departed for Oregon at the beginning of the week we had a schedule that said I was to compete Saturday evening. As a result I threw yesterday morning and lifted last night very hard. So it will be interesting to see if I can still manage to throw over 80m with every part of my body aching from the last 8 weeks beatings. My coach has let me know that unless I feel 100% sure that I am capable of throwing that I do not have to.
In other competition news, I have been confirmed for my 1st IAAF Super Grand Prix which will be in Doha, Qatar on May 9. I will finally get to rub elbows with the big guys, Andreas Thorkildsen (2004 Olympic Champ) will also start his outdoor campaign there as well.
I have also launched a website that you can get all kinds of goodies on like my music, javelin training info and of course links to In The Arena, check it out at:

www.web.mac.com/mikehazle

The Daily Grind

Since the last update (which I just noticed was saved as a draft and not published...sorry about that) I mentioned that the Olympic Training Center was jam packed with foreign athletes from all over the world. It is now the middle of April and almost everyone here is in the midst of our own personal "hell month". This is typically the last month of the year to get high volume high intensity training before the summer season starts to kick in (which is typically mid May). If this post sounds as beat up as my body feels, then I send my apologies in advance ;)
So far so good on my end, my body is holding up "fairly well" and my technical training has yet to dip below the unacceptable mark. I'm anticipating holding this phase for another 2 weeks before a rest week and then straight in to my power conversion phase which will include the following meets before the USA Olympic Trials:
May 18 - Rio De Janerio Grand Prix II
May 21 - Fortaleza Grand Prix II
May 25 - Belem Grand Prix I
June 3 - Tallinn Grand Prix II
June 10 - Moscow Open
June 15 - Memorial Zmaneski Russian Cup
In community project news. I have tentatively struck up a new project that has slipped through the cracks, I was anticipating working with troubled youth from the South Bay Family Crisis Center, however I was notified that I had to basically get a congressional appointment (not really) to get back in with these kids...seriously there must have been 5 tests including HIV and hepatitis tests as well as reference letters and applications and endless forms that needed to be filled out, all just to hang out with some kids that need a bit of direction. Needless to say this wasnt the time of year that I had that much free time available just to get through the screening process. Therefore I am still hanging out with my kids that visit the training center (who are absolute studs!!). I had the most awesome group of kindergarten kids yesterday. The look on their faces in priceless and every now and then you get the feeling that these projects actually do work and it makes it all worth wile...to be continued! Check out these rock stars below!!
Mike++

Whats 7 divided by 4?

...7 divided by 4...I pose this question because I am in the midst of trying to squeeze 7 days of workouts into 4 days. I am leaving Friday morning for Des Moines Iowa. Why in the world would anyone leave San Diego for Des Moines (sorry to Des Moines natives in advance)...well my coach and close friend is getting married this weekend...finally!

Things are getting pretty busy here in San Diego. The Olympic Training Center has turned into quite the international attraction lately. Currently we have teams training here from the following countries; Argentina, Japan, Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, Germany, China, and Great Britain. In the following weeks we will also have individuals from Finland, Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Egypt. I get a bit frustrated with the fuss of fighting for the last few pieces of protein at dinner and waiting in line for the ice bath, but then I remember how fortunate I am to call this place home. So as short as this blog entry may be, I would like to remind you (if you live in the USA) of how fortunate you are to call this place home...and I would like to sign off with the following..."love it or leave it!"
Catch y'all later!
Mike (oh yeah go McCain!)