Doha in the Rear View...

Marhabad...I struggled for a long time on what to name this blog entry and flip flopped back and forth between "the no name blog entry" because there was so much that I had on my mind, to "how much does piece of mind cost" to finally "Doha in the rear view".

Looking back at my trip to Doha, it was a huge success in many ways. As I mentioned in the last blog entry, I was there training with my fiends from Norway and we had a great time. My body was holding up well until exactly 1 week before the Super Grand Prix. I was warming up for my last "slam-session" or throws session before the meet, when my knee decided that it wasnt going to cooperate, as a result I made a few technical adjustments to get away from the pain and it back-fired...I had at the time what I thought was a total relapse of the shoulder injury that I had in Norway (see below)

http://in-the-arena-mike.blogspot.com/2009/03/making-lemonade.html

and the injury to my knee that I had in the beginning of April...again below if your bored

http://in-the-arena-mike.blogspot.com/2009/04/close-call.html

Now for the dramatic entrance...so there I was...1 week out from my 1st meet of the year, the meet that set up the rest of my season last year and maybe my career to date...the eyes of the athletics world are all there watching, waiting to see what shape everyone is in. On top of that, I have been training with the Olympic Champion for 3 weeks and am expected to be in lifetime best shape...so I thought.

In actuality, it couldn't have been farther from the truth. Part of the problem that many athletes have is that they get addicted to training and in alot of cases, addicted to success (which is sometimes what pushes athletes to greatness) but in my case, that addiction has been the source of alot of unnecessary stress and worry. After that last training session, I thought for sure that my career was almost over. I was in pain and I had absolutely no confidence what so ever. I imagined not being able to compete at the meet or even worse, competing and doing terribly.

I began to look at my situation and really look hard at what I was made of. I realized that I was on the other side of the world experiencing places and cultures that most people would never get to do, and I was doing all of this because I throw a stick. Who I am as a person wasn't going to change because that skill was no longer what it used to be and the result of the upcoming competition had no impact on my life and all the things that really matter. On top of all of the things that where racing through my mind, I realized that I have been competing all over the world for about 5 years now and I haven't really had a chance to "stop and smell the roses" and enjoy my "job". It made me realize how lucky I am and I immediately changed my outlook on things.

As a result of this "revelation" I had an amazing week of preparation in Doha before the meet. On Monday I went with a few athletes from New Zealand into the desert and rode camels and 4 wheelers through some of the most amazing sand dunes I have ever seen and did it all in a raging sandstorm...(and almost got lost in the desert, that story is for another time :) and had a blast by the way. The rest of the week was filled with laying on the beach working on my tan and sipping wine. Dont get me wrong, I still trained everyday, but with a different attitude...and it worked!

I threw 78.11m to take 6th place, which is my best result for an opening meet of my career. Guys 1-5 all had World Championship or Olympic Medals so I was ok with 6th place. There was a considerable amount of back and shoulder pain during the comp, but it was also alot of fun!

So now what? I have some time to get adjusted back at the training center and get some work done on my shoulder, back, knee and head ;) I have a meet in Tucson Arizona on May 23 and may have chance to hit a new PB thanks to the windy conditions in Arizona. After that I am off to Europe to Hengelo, Gothenburg, Berlin and Ostrava.

Now back at the training center, I have a bit more free time on my hands since Im not putting in the volume that I used to, so its a perfect time for me to brainstorm on some new community service projects and get back to the kids. Some time away from the center is just what I need to that my "training addiction" doesnt creep back in.

Till next time, have some fun and stop and smell the roses!
M++

Ill upload pictures later!