This blog entry comes to you from Maui, Hawaii. You guessed it, vacation! I got to Hawaii Wednesday night and my flight home isn't until October 30. It has been a well needed break and thus far and I am enjoying every second of it. I am hanging out with my roommate and training partner Brad Walker and another good buddy of mine was born and raised here and lives about 20min from our condo. We chose a spot about 30 seconds from the water and we have been spearfishing everyday looking for dinner, but have come up with nothing so far. I have access to kayaks, kite boards, wind surfing and any kind of water/board sport you can imagine...unfortunately I cant do too much at the moment because of the knee.
A few hours before my flight to Hawaii, I took another injection to the knee. This time it was synvisc, the same shot that I took for my shoulder back in May. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but with the help of my doctors and training staff at the Olympic Training Center, we chose the shot over the knee scope. The knee is pretty beat up and I was advised to get another knee scope to remove some floating debris and clean up some rough edges...But given my history with the prior surgeries, we decided to take the less invasive option in hopes that I get the same result as the surgery would provide. We made the same move with the shoulder in May and it worked great. If the shot doesn't work, then we will go for the scope in November and go from there. This is me, crossing my fingers!
The view from the backyard
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
"Welcome to the NFL"
Whats that? The NFL? That’s what the Americas Team doctor told me after having a look at my knee. “This is the same thing that I see when my former NFL guys come in with knee pain”. “You have a 10 year old ACL reconstructed knee, right about this time stuff just starts to fall off and break loose, its just the life of NFL player…or in your case, a professional javelin thrower”…sigh. Well, what to do? After talking with my team doctors here at the Olympic training center and getting outside opinions from Vail, Colorado and Dr Steadman, arguably the best knee doctor in the USA… we still have yet to come to a conclusion. After my initial exam on Thursday, I thought I would be in surgery right now getting the knee scoped out. That hasn’t actually come to be yet, thankfully, the doctors think there may be another way. That way has yet to be finalized, but I am hoping to have that decision made by the end of the day tomorrow.
In other news… I am on vacation! Sort of… I am still at the Olympic Training Center, waiting on the decision on the knee, but the season is over and I have some time to lick my wounds and get ready for next year. My performance at the Continental Cup was less than acceptable, but given the circumstances, I have accepted it and moved on and I actually think that it has motivated me in a way that I could not have expected. I wont go into detail, but lets just say that I am making a few changes next year and I have had great conversations with my coach and training team. The sub-world class performances of the last 2 years will not happen again, you can count on that. I reflect on how I felt after I left Beijing in 2008, and the feeling is the same and can be summed up by what I said then…”Never underestimate the power of ambition.”
The Chula Vista High Tech High Bruins have returned to school for the 2010-2011 season but have not started practice yet. I look to join the team in November to get ready for an amazing 2011 season and more school records. I am headed to Hawaii for the month of October for a much-needed vacation and down time. Hopefully the next blog entry will be from the beach in Maui….until next time,
M++
In other news… I am on vacation! Sort of… I am still at the Olympic Training Center, waiting on the decision on the knee, but the season is over and I have some time to lick my wounds and get ready for next year. My performance at the Continental Cup was less than acceptable, but given the circumstances, I have accepted it and moved on and I actually think that it has motivated me in a way that I could not have expected. I wont go into detail, but lets just say that I am making a few changes next year and I have had great conversations with my coach and training team. The sub-world class performances of the last 2 years will not happen again, you can count on that. I reflect on how I felt after I left Beijing in 2008, and the feeling is the same and can be summed up by what I said then…”Never underestimate the power of ambition.”
The Chula Vista High Tech High Bruins have returned to school for the 2010-2011 season but have not started practice yet. I look to join the team in November to get ready for an amazing 2011 season and more school records. I am headed to Hawaii for the month of October for a much-needed vacation and down time. Hopefully the next blog entry will be from the beach in Maui….until next time,
M++
Thursday, August 26, 2010
When you shouldnt, but you do it anyway ...
"Foolish" resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill-considered; lacking forethought or caution."
At this point in my career, I am surely smart enough...wise enough...experienced enough...to not go to a competition if I was, lets say, not necessarily less than a 100% (because that's hardly ever possible), but I wouldn't go to a competition injured. Or world I?
This entire season (that almost never existed for me) has been a continuous series of last second decisions. Some have paid off, others haven't. Last week was one of those that didn't.
I traveled to Slovakia last weekend on an injured knee. The knee got swollen and inflamed shortly after a training session last Wednesday. I spent the following 2 days eating a more than healthy amount of anti-inflammatory medications and abused my ice privileges at our hotel. I couldn't fully extend my knee and had some nasty cracking sounds in it. Instead of not competing or training and trying to get ready for the World/Cont Cup, I got on planes/trains and automobiles for a 7 hour travel day to Dubnica Nad Vahom Slovakia. I pounded about 9 espressos the day of the competition as well as 1/2 a bottle of aleeve pain medication (another "foolish" idea). All things considered, I was actually pretty happy with the result. My parents where actually able to watch the meet streaming live from Texas and where able to watch my 1st throw of the meet, which cruised out to around 79m. The problem is in my event there is a foul line, and with no block leg/knee sometimes you end up on your face...on top of the foul line.
I returned to my training base in Köln, Germany and promptly scheduled an orthopedic appointment (BIG thanks to Viola Cruz at the USOC Elite Athlete Insurance department, Viola you are the BEST!!) The doctor found some good news, small pieces of cartilage that had been knocked off. So small that he thinks that it will not require surgery, but large enough to mess things up in their. So, another round of cortisone injections
(see shoulder issues) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MifLldmqJLI
and its back to the road to recovery for the World Cup...Its a road I'm good at and have alot of practice.
That still doesn't answer the question of why I would do such a "foolish" thing... here's my best shot at that:
I came to Europe the beginning of August because I have the IAAF World/Cont Cup the beginning of September. My "plan" was to throw 2 times the entire month of August, and then at the Continental Cup. That was to give me the necessary 5 meet minimum to receive a world ranking.
Why is the world ranking so important? Because I compete for a federation (USATF) that is based solely on numbers and doesn't take into account athletes current medical, physical, mental...or any state for that matter. Its all put up or shut up and in this years case I wouldn't have been able to come to Europe at all if I didn't have the world ranking that I had last year. Since I finished #15 last year, I was given a small travel stipend to help offset expenses of traveling and living while in Europe. Thanks for that...I guess?
In order to receive the same kind of support next year, I am in a scramble to accumulate enough points to get my ranking back to where it was the last 2 years (preferably 2008)... In my current physical condition, that's not the best idea to ensure that I have a successful lead up to the trails and games of 2012. I would LOVE to do what the majority of the smarter athletes have done this year, which is sit out half or the entire season...hindsight...sigh.
In the meantime, I will continue to be thankful for the opportunities that I have been given, knowing that others would love the chance to come compete but cant. I need to change this ice bag now, until next time:
M++
From the dr's office in Köln...dont worry the screws in there are supposed to be there!
At this point in my career, I am surely smart enough...wise enough...experienced enough...to not go to a competition if I was, lets say, not necessarily less than a 100% (because that's hardly ever possible), but I wouldn't go to a competition injured. Or world I?
This entire season (that almost never existed for me) has been a continuous series of last second decisions. Some have paid off, others haven't. Last week was one of those that didn't.
I traveled to Slovakia last weekend on an injured knee. The knee got swollen and inflamed shortly after a training session last Wednesday. I spent the following 2 days eating a more than healthy amount of anti-inflammatory medications and abused my ice privileges at our hotel. I couldn't fully extend my knee and had some nasty cracking sounds in it. Instead of not competing or training and trying to get ready for the World/Cont Cup, I got on planes/trains and automobiles for a 7 hour travel day to Dubnica Nad Vahom Slovakia. I pounded about 9 espressos the day of the competition as well as 1/2 a bottle of aleeve pain medication (another "foolish" idea). All things considered, I was actually pretty happy with the result. My parents where actually able to watch the meet streaming live from Texas and where able to watch my 1st throw of the meet, which cruised out to around 79m. The problem is in my event there is a foul line, and with no block leg/knee sometimes you end up on your face...on top of the foul line.
I returned to my training base in Köln, Germany and promptly scheduled an orthopedic appointment (BIG thanks to Viola Cruz at the USOC Elite Athlete Insurance department, Viola you are the BEST!!) The doctor found some good news, small pieces of cartilage that had been knocked off. So small that he thinks that it will not require surgery, but large enough to mess things up in their. So, another round of cortisone injections
(see shoulder issues) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MifLldmqJLI
and its back to the road to recovery for the World Cup...Its a road I'm good at and have alot of practice.
That still doesn't answer the question of why I would do such a "foolish" thing... here's my best shot at that:
I came to Europe the beginning of August because I have the IAAF World/Cont Cup the beginning of September. My "plan" was to throw 2 times the entire month of August, and then at the Continental Cup. That was to give me the necessary 5 meet minimum to receive a world ranking.
Why is the world ranking so important? Because I compete for a federation (USATF) that is based solely on numbers and doesn't take into account athletes current medical, physical, mental...or any state for that matter. Its all put up or shut up and in this years case I wouldn't have been able to come to Europe at all if I didn't have the world ranking that I had last year. Since I finished #15 last year, I was given a small travel stipend to help offset expenses of traveling and living while in Europe. Thanks for that...I guess?
In order to receive the same kind of support next year, I am in a scramble to accumulate enough points to get my ranking back to where it was the last 2 years (preferably 2008)... In my current physical condition, that's not the best idea to ensure that I have a successful lead up to the trails and games of 2012. I would LOVE to do what the majority of the smarter athletes have done this year, which is sit out half or the entire season...hindsight...sigh.
In the meantime, I will continue to be thankful for the opportunities that I have been given, knowing that others would love the chance to come compete but cant. I need to change this ice bag now, until next time:
M++
From the dr's office in Köln...dont worry the screws in there are supposed to be there!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Deutschland ich komme!
Do you know what the hardest part about doing a blog is?.... finding a name. I spend most of the time trying to come up with something clever enough to be catchy, but yet explain what may be in the blog. I'm going to try something different on this one. Type the blog, then name it after I'm done...maybe that will work. Now that the useless information is out, lets move on.
The European Championships are concluding as we speak...I didn't actually spend much time monitoring what was going on, but the Euro Champs in the javelin is usually the Olympic or World Championship final plus or minus maybe 1-2 guys. So needless to say, the jav was an event that needed to be watched. I was shocked at how well the German throwers did not only in the javelin, but other events as well. It got my coach and I thinking and I decided to look up some stats over the last 2 years. Going back to Worlds last year in Berlin, this is what I found.
Berlin World Champs 2009:
Womens Javelin: Steffi Nerius wins gold with a seasons best.
Mens Discus: Robert Harting wins gold with a new lifetime best (PB).
Mens Shot: Ralf Bartels wins bronze with a new PB
Womens Shot: Nadine Kleinert wins silver with a new PB.
Womens Hammer: Betty Heidler wins silver with a new PB (only got silver because the gold was won with a new world record). Kathrin Klass barely misses the bronze with a seasons best.
Now lets look at the Germans in Barcelona for the European Championships:
Womens Javelin: Linda Stahl wind gold with a new PB. Christina Obergfol wins silver.
Mens javelin: Matthias De Zordo wins silver with a new PB.
Mens Discus: Robert Harting wins silver.
Mens Shot: Ralph Bartels wins silver.
Womens Hammer: Betty Heidler wins gold with a new seasons best.
And a side note: at the 2010 World Juniors in Canada, Till Wolschler wins the javelin with a massive 5m lifetime best.
The success that the German throwers are putting up at major championships is just amazing. Especially when we are dealing with technical events. My coach and I have come to the conclusion, that the current system that the Germans are using allows them to train and taper for major international championships without the stress of having to perform at high levels throughout the season leading up to these major championships. Most of the German athletes, from what I have been told are WELL taken care of by their federations and more importantly, their clubs. Without going into too much detail...It allows the athletes to remain in and around Germany to train and receive proper training (and therapy) from some of the best coaches and physios in the world. All the while, living very comfortable lives and thriving in a country that passionately loves their sport!
I sincerely hope that USATF takes a good long hard look at the German Development system and tries to implement the same ideas, especially in regards to their funding.
Continuing on the German theme...I'm headed back to Germany next week to re-unite with my training partners who are based out of Cologne (and have been so for almost a month now). My coach and I are headed over for a little over 1 month and I think I have meets in Belgium and Slovakia line up before hitting the IAAF Continental Cup in Split, Croatia. Oh yeah, I forgot...I made that team by the way ;) If you would have told me a few months ago that come August 1, I would have the 2nd farthest throw in the North America, South America, Latin America and the Caribbean...I would have told you that you are absolutely insane! That seems to be how they are picking the team this year, which is backwards from all previous years.
The IAAF Continental Cup formally known as the IAAF World Cup in Athletics will be a four continent competition between Africa, the Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe. The Americas team will be composed of athletes from NACAC ( North American, Central America and Caribbean track & field federations) and South America. The Continental Cup title will be awarded to the continent with the highest collective point total of both men and women teams.
The Americas Team is selected by the top 2 marks in the world for our region, which is Guillermo Martinez from Cuba and myself. I am very grateful to be able to make my 4th consecutive US National Team, but it is a little bitter sweet. I was only able to get the 2nd best mark by beating my good friend Sean Furey, who just happens to be this years National Champion. In the previous editions of the IAAF Continental Cup (or World Cup as it used to be named) the National Champion was sent to the World Cup to represent the Americas Team, and I think that's the way it should still be.
The current system allows for too many "phantom" marks in shady meets that aren't always under the best supervision. Its just not the best way to send a team and the safest way, the way that is earned...is to send the National Champion. Sean won National this year with his 2nd best throw ever and followed that performance up with another 2 best throw in his life when he threw 79.91m against me last weekend. I was lucky enough to get back over the 80m mark for the 16th time in my career and went 80.05m to take the Cup Team spot....reluctantly that is.
In other news, the last javelin kid I have been working with threw today at the Junior Olympics but I haven't received any word on how he did yet. I am getting scuba certified next week (to continue with my water theme from last months blog ;)...and then will be headed over to Europe Monday morning at 06:30am.... wait...thats early ;(
Bis zum nächsten Mal ... Deutschland hier komme ich, ich habe dich vermisst!
M++
(heres the 80.05m throw from last week)
The European Championships are concluding as we speak...I didn't actually spend much time monitoring what was going on, but the Euro Champs in the javelin is usually the Olympic or World Championship final plus or minus maybe 1-2 guys. So needless to say, the jav was an event that needed to be watched. I was shocked at how well the German throwers did not only in the javelin, but other events as well. It got my coach and I thinking and I decided to look up some stats over the last 2 years. Going back to Worlds last year in Berlin, this is what I found.
Berlin World Champs 2009:
Womens Javelin: Steffi Nerius wins gold with a seasons best.
Mens Discus: Robert Harting wins gold with a new lifetime best (PB).
Mens Shot: Ralf Bartels wins bronze with a new PB
Womens Shot: Nadine Kleinert wins silver with a new PB.
Womens Hammer: Betty Heidler wins silver with a new PB (only got silver because the gold was won with a new world record). Kathrin Klass barely misses the bronze with a seasons best.
Now lets look at the Germans in Barcelona for the European Championships:
Womens Javelin: Linda Stahl wind gold with a new PB. Christina Obergfol wins silver.
Mens javelin: Matthias De Zordo wins silver with a new PB.
Mens Discus: Robert Harting wins silver.
Mens Shot: Ralph Bartels wins silver.
Womens Hammer: Betty Heidler wins gold with a new seasons best.
And a side note: at the 2010 World Juniors in Canada, Till Wolschler wins the javelin with a massive 5m lifetime best.
The success that the German throwers are putting up at major championships is just amazing. Especially when we are dealing with technical events. My coach and I have come to the conclusion, that the current system that the Germans are using allows them to train and taper for major international championships without the stress of having to perform at high levels throughout the season leading up to these major championships. Most of the German athletes, from what I have been told are WELL taken care of by their federations and more importantly, their clubs. Without going into too much detail...It allows the athletes to remain in and around Germany to train and receive proper training (and therapy) from some of the best coaches and physios in the world. All the while, living very comfortable lives and thriving in a country that passionately loves their sport!
I sincerely hope that USATF takes a good long hard look at the German Development system and tries to implement the same ideas, especially in regards to their funding.
Continuing on the German theme...I'm headed back to Germany next week to re-unite with my training partners who are based out of Cologne (and have been so for almost a month now). My coach and I are headed over for a little over 1 month and I think I have meets in Belgium and Slovakia line up before hitting the IAAF Continental Cup in Split, Croatia. Oh yeah, I forgot...I made that team by the way ;) If you would have told me a few months ago that come August 1, I would have the 2nd farthest throw in the North America, South America, Latin America and the Caribbean...I would have told you that you are absolutely insane! That seems to be how they are picking the team this year, which is backwards from all previous years.
The IAAF Continental Cup formally known as the IAAF World Cup in Athletics will be a four continent competition between Africa, the Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe. The Americas team will be composed of athletes from NACAC ( North American, Central America and Caribbean track & field federations) and South America. The Continental Cup title will be awarded to the continent with the highest collective point total of both men and women teams.
The Americas Team is selected by the top 2 marks in the world for our region, which is Guillermo Martinez from Cuba and myself. I am very grateful to be able to make my 4th consecutive US National Team, but it is a little bitter sweet. I was only able to get the 2nd best mark by beating my good friend Sean Furey, who just happens to be this years National Champion. In the previous editions of the IAAF Continental Cup (or World Cup as it used to be named) the National Champion was sent to the World Cup to represent the Americas Team, and I think that's the way it should still be.
The current system allows for too many "phantom" marks in shady meets that aren't always under the best supervision. Its just not the best way to send a team and the safest way, the way that is earned...is to send the National Champion. Sean won National this year with his 2nd best throw ever and followed that performance up with another 2 best throw in his life when he threw 79.91m against me last weekend. I was lucky enough to get back over the 80m mark for the 16th time in my career and went 80.05m to take the Cup Team spot....reluctantly that is.
In other news, the last javelin kid I have been working with threw today at the Junior Olympics but I haven't received any word on how he did yet. I am getting scuba certified next week (to continue with my water theme from last months blog ;)...and then will be headed over to Europe Monday morning at 06:30am.... wait...thats early ;(
Bis zum nächsten Mal ... Deutschland hier komme ich, ich habe dich vermisst!
M++
(heres the 80.05m throw from last week)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Balance
Balance - "Balance is an ability to maintain the center of gravity of a body within the base of support with minimal postural sway...balance is used to mean a point between two opposite forces that is desirable over purely one state or the other, such as a balance between the metaphysical Law and Chaos — law by itself being overly controlling, chaos being overly unmanageable, balance being the point that minimizes the negatives of both."
Why balance? because the last month of my training and everyday activities, I thought I had "balance" in my life...sport, social, spiritual...but I was wrong. About a week before USA Champs, I decided I wasn't going to go (see previous shoulder issues in older blogs)... So I sat down with my coach and the distance coach from the training center Joaquim Cruz (1984 Gold 800m). It was a conversation that lasted over an hour, but Ill summarize the key point. Basically, it was like ok..Your not going to nationals, so now what? What do you want to do? Get a job? Go on vacation? I had no answer...no clue as of what to do with myself if there was no sport, no season, no competition, nothing to drive for, nothing to focus on...it was a pretty helpless, and embarrassing feeling... So I have spent the last few weeks searching for the elusive "balance" that I have been missing. With the help of my parents (who came out for a week long visit) and the beach, I think I have found an idea of where I need to be.
Its ironic that what I was searching for mentally, also has helped me tremendously physically. I have spent alot of time at the beach, in the water, on surfboards, boogie boards, and my new toy, my skateboard (that has a bottle opener built in on the bottom of it! oh yeah, its that sweet!) working on, balance. Its not something that I tried to do purposely, but it was a bi-product of me just trying to stay as loose as possible and not stress out about the rest of the season, or lack there of, if there is a season at all?
My typical routine after lifting sessions or throwing sessions is to jump in the ice bath...55 degrees for 15 minutes. It usually does the trick, helps flush out inflammation, removes lactic acid, and all the waste products that accumulate in the body during training. But I thought it was time to...switch it up. So for the last 2 weeks, after each of my more high volume or high intensity sessions...I hit the ocean, just to see if the ocean water, which is rocking around 62 degrees right now, would yield the same benefits as the ice bath, or maybe even something better...I have read that ocean water could be used as a replacement for blood plasma and that the ocean have every single trace element in the periodic table of elements in it. So far, Im REALY liking what I'm seeing.
So whats next for me? Good question...I have a guess on whats going to happen over the next week or so, but I'm not going to tip my hat on here until I see it happen. But the next blog entry will hold the details for the rest of my summer. The High Tech High season is long been over and Coach Earl's Team Elite summer season has also come to a conclusion and everyone seems to be looking for some time off away from the physical and mental stresses of the sport...sounds like a good idea, if only you can have both!
Heres a few picks of my last few weeks...Until next time
M++
Why balance? because the last month of my training and everyday activities, I thought I had "balance" in my life...sport, social, spiritual...but I was wrong. About a week before USA Champs, I decided I wasn't going to go (see previous shoulder issues in older blogs)... So I sat down with my coach and the distance coach from the training center Joaquim Cruz (1984 Gold 800m). It was a conversation that lasted over an hour, but Ill summarize the key point. Basically, it was like ok..Your not going to nationals, so now what? What do you want to do? Get a job? Go on vacation? I had no answer...no clue as of what to do with myself if there was no sport, no season, no competition, nothing to drive for, nothing to focus on...it was a pretty helpless, and embarrassing feeling... So I have spent the last few weeks searching for the elusive "balance" that I have been missing. With the help of my parents (who came out for a week long visit) and the beach, I think I have found an idea of where I need to be.
Its ironic that what I was searching for mentally, also has helped me tremendously physically. I have spent alot of time at the beach, in the water, on surfboards, boogie boards, and my new toy, my skateboard (that has a bottle opener built in on the bottom of it! oh yeah, its that sweet!) working on, balance. Its not something that I tried to do purposely, but it was a bi-product of me just trying to stay as loose as possible and not stress out about the rest of the season, or lack there of, if there is a season at all?
My typical routine after lifting sessions or throwing sessions is to jump in the ice bath...55 degrees for 15 minutes. It usually does the trick, helps flush out inflammation, removes lactic acid, and all the waste products that accumulate in the body during training. But I thought it was time to...switch it up. So for the last 2 weeks, after each of my more high volume or high intensity sessions...I hit the ocean, just to see if the ocean water, which is rocking around 62 degrees right now, would yield the same benefits as the ice bath, or maybe even something better...I have read that ocean water could be used as a replacement for blood plasma and that the ocean have every single trace element in the periodic table of elements in it. So far, Im REALY liking what I'm seeing.
So whats next for me? Good question...I have a guess on whats going to happen over the next week or so, but I'm not going to tip my hat on here until I see it happen. But the next blog entry will hold the details for the rest of my summer. The High Tech High season is long been over and Coach Earl's Team Elite summer season has also come to a conclusion and everyone seems to be looking for some time off away from the physical and mental stresses of the sport...sounds like a good idea, if only you can have both!
Heres a few picks of my last few weeks...Until next time
M++
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Buckle Up, Venting Time!
Buckle up for this one!
This blog comes to you as I’m sitting on my couch watching the IAAF Diamond League, The Pre Classic. I’m doing everything I can to keep from throwing up in my mouth and throwing random items at the tv. Watching this meet makes me realize why Track and Field will never be popular in the USA. Just to prove my analysis, I put it to the test at random times of this competition, which just so happened to have some of the greatest athletes in the world competing there.
The meet has been on for exactly 30min as I type this...here is what I have tried: Switch channels every 5 minutes for approximately 30min, just to see what was on if I happened to be “channel surfing”…here is what I saw: A shot of the stadium…people standing around…more people walking around, introductions of the men’s 85k or something…guys jogging…guys in a press box, a few shots of starting blocks in funny angles…
So I wonder to myself, if I’m your average person channel surfing on a Saturday afternoon, would I stop and watch the Pre Classic, the answer is an overwhelming no.
This brings me to the coverage of last weeks National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. My training partner Kara Patterson destroyed the American record in the javelin throw, and got a whopping 18 seconds of coverage! 18 seconds of coverage by Universal Sports, who is supposed to be the greatest advocate of our sport…18 seconds…really? For an American Record, and one of the best throws in the history of the event….that added to the 50 or so spectators just makes me wonder if we are fighting a loosing battle. But if you want to watch 9 minutes of a 5k race or something, you’re in luck because you can see the entire thing, start to finish! Des Moines, Iowa is the host for the annual Drake Relays, which is a local high school and college meet, and the meet is sold out well in advance every year, packing thousands into the stands…so how it came to be that our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS was contested with a less than half filled stands is kind of mind boggling…but then I reflect on the TV coverage, and it starts to make sense.
Speaking of TV coverage, we may not see an increase in interest in track and field until we get a fresh outlook from television commentators who aren’t jaded and biased from the own performances from the 80’s. How many years will we have to continue to listen to the rambling of guys like Dwight Stones? I remember watching the rebroadcast of last years Stockholm Super Grand Prix. Andreas Thorkildsen won with arguably one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen going 86m into a nasty headwind and intermittent rain. I placed 4th and Dwight made the comment that I just couldn’t hang with the Europeans and lacked the arm speed to contend…I’m guessing he didn’t notice that I knocked off the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Silver Medalists as well as the 2003 World Champion in that meet. It was a great source of motivation for me for the rest of the season and still continues to be today….you can imagine my pleasure when I got a friend request from him on facebook! It was also great to hear Dwight say about my roommate, Brad Walker, "Brad is built like a hammer thrower not a pole vaulter" …he then went on and broke the American Record…no big deal right?
Anyways, enough of the negative Nancy stuff… I did manage to throw almost 79m last weekend in Des Moines to take 2nd…again! That makes 4 silvers in a row, always the groomsman, but never the groom! Wait wait wait, not saying I want to be a groom anytime soon, but it would be nice to get a National Championship out of the way! It was a pleasant result, given the fact that I wasn’t even going to compete and the only reason I went is because USATF was threatening to make me reimburse them for my ticket if I didn’t go. I didn’t even take any javelins and was reluctant to even pack my spikes, luckily I did.
I'm sorry I cant even write about the meet right now because the television broadcast of the Pre just finished and guess what…NO JAVELIN COVERAGE! Kara won again with another throw waaaaaay over the previous American Record and kicked the Reigning Olympic Champs butt…I guess that’s not good enough to interrupt a 9 min jog around the track….seriously….I'm going to be sick
M++
This blog comes to you as I’m sitting on my couch watching the IAAF Diamond League, The Pre Classic. I’m doing everything I can to keep from throwing up in my mouth and throwing random items at the tv. Watching this meet makes me realize why Track and Field will never be popular in the USA. Just to prove my analysis, I put it to the test at random times of this competition, which just so happened to have some of the greatest athletes in the world competing there.
The meet has been on for exactly 30min as I type this...here is what I have tried: Switch channels every 5 minutes for approximately 30min, just to see what was on if I happened to be “channel surfing”…here is what I saw: A shot of the stadium…people standing around…more people walking around, introductions of the men’s 85k or something…guys jogging…guys in a press box, a few shots of starting blocks in funny angles…
So I wonder to myself, if I’m your average person channel surfing on a Saturday afternoon, would I stop and watch the Pre Classic, the answer is an overwhelming no.
This brings me to the coverage of last weeks National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. My training partner Kara Patterson destroyed the American record in the javelin throw, and got a whopping 18 seconds of coverage! 18 seconds of coverage by Universal Sports, who is supposed to be the greatest advocate of our sport…18 seconds…really? For an American Record, and one of the best throws in the history of the event….that added to the 50 or so spectators just makes me wonder if we are fighting a loosing battle. But if you want to watch 9 minutes of a 5k race or something, you’re in luck because you can see the entire thing, start to finish! Des Moines, Iowa is the host for the annual Drake Relays, which is a local high school and college meet, and the meet is sold out well in advance every year, packing thousands into the stands…so how it came to be that our NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS was contested with a less than half filled stands is kind of mind boggling…but then I reflect on the TV coverage, and it starts to make sense.
Speaking of TV coverage, we may not see an increase in interest in track and field until we get a fresh outlook from television commentators who aren’t jaded and biased from the own performances from the 80’s. How many years will we have to continue to listen to the rambling of guys like Dwight Stones? I remember watching the rebroadcast of last years Stockholm Super Grand Prix. Andreas Thorkildsen won with arguably one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen going 86m into a nasty headwind and intermittent rain. I placed 4th and Dwight made the comment that I just couldn’t hang with the Europeans and lacked the arm speed to contend…I’m guessing he didn’t notice that I knocked off the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Silver Medalists as well as the 2003 World Champion in that meet. It was a great source of motivation for me for the rest of the season and still continues to be today….you can imagine my pleasure when I got a friend request from him on facebook! It was also great to hear Dwight say about my roommate, Brad Walker, "Brad is built like a hammer thrower not a pole vaulter" …he then went on and broke the American Record…no big deal right?
Anyways, enough of the negative Nancy stuff… I did manage to throw almost 79m last weekend in Des Moines to take 2nd…again! That makes 4 silvers in a row, always the groomsman, but never the groom! Wait wait wait, not saying I want to be a groom anytime soon, but it would be nice to get a National Championship out of the way! It was a pleasant result, given the fact that I wasn’t even going to compete and the only reason I went is because USATF was threatening to make me reimburse them for my ticket if I didn’t go. I didn’t even take any javelins and was reluctant to even pack my spikes, luckily I did.
I'm sorry I cant even write about the meet right now because the television broadcast of the Pre just finished and guess what…NO JAVELIN COVERAGE! Kara won again with another throw waaaaaay over the previous American Record and kicked the Reigning Olympic Champs butt…I guess that’s not good enough to interrupt a 9 min jog around the track….seriously….I'm going to be sick
M++
Monday, June 21, 2010
Nationals Week
This blog comes to you the week of National Championships. I depart for Des Moines Iowa this Friday for the competition on Sunday afternoon. Most of the training center will be taking off Tuesday and Wednesday so it will be an empty nest around here for a few days...plenty of time to talk yourself in and out of competition form. I am sticking with my gameplan that I developed last year...which is...have no game plan, just lace 'em up and hit it as best I can and let the chips fall where they may. My parents are coming out to San Diego for their first visit since 2007 shortly after nationals, so any plans to try to hit the Euro circuit will have to wait a few weeks post nationals. As I mentioned in my last blog, the High Tech High Bruins season has ended and Coach Earl's Team Elite Club program is in full swing and are departing for Youth Regional Champs this week in Vegas. I have 1 jav guy who looks to be a lock for Nationals and a few others that may squeak in but will take some dramatic improvements to make the cut.
Sorry if this blog seems short in nature, I’m having to send it via a 1993 PC at the training center as my wonderfully amazing macbook is still in the shop, thus holding my recent videos and pictures hostage...Until next time.
M++
Sorry if this blog seems short in nature, I’m having to send it via a 1993 PC at the training center as my wonderfully amazing macbook is still in the shop, thus holding my recent videos and pictures hostage...Until next time.
M++
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