08.12.08: Rest & Recovery

Today was my 4th day at the USA Track & Field Training Camp here in Dalian, China. Another rest day…when I say rest day, it just means that there wasn’t any sprinting, lifting or throwing. The majority of the day was spent in and out of treatment sessions that focused mainly on my low back and hamstrings, which have been giving me issues since I arrived. I also had a short meeting with our resident sports psychologist, just to go over a few mental preparation techniques and tactics. For most people, the idea of “rest” or “off” days means that one can become a tourist or go sightseeing, well for most athletes in the games it serves a different purpose. Imagine if you can a Formula 1 race car…before a major F1 Grand Prix the driver takes the car out for a test drive on the course…after returning to the team garage, the driver just doesn't park it and not touch it until its time to race...the car is virtually dissected, analyzed and tweaked to the finest detail. Not only to ensure proper future performance but to analyze past miscalculations and potential future problems. That is essentially what most of us here do. After we take the machine out, we bring it back in and make sure its ready for the next test run and eventually the competition… which for me happens to be the Olympic Games. Tomorrow is another heavy day, lots of weighted ball throws and a lifting session in which I hope to tie or set a few new personal bests.

Catch up with you tomorrow,
Mike

08.11.08 Back To Work

Today was the first hard training day since I arrived to Beijing. I had a hard throwing session this morning in the pouring down rain (which you may have seen on TV). I followed this morning’s training session with a sprints and jumping session this afternoon. The rest of the hours in between training were spent resting and recovering and then preparing for the next session. It was a pretty quiet day here at the USA Training Camp other than the practice sessions. We have had a streak of bad weather for 24 hours but it should be clearing by tomorrow. No major news from Beijing other than a few updates on the medal counts and the Chinese have put up an impressive showing so far. The American Track & Field Machine is set to roll in just a few more days…should be one heck of a show!

Catch up with you tomorrow,
Mike ++

08.09.08 The Day After...

Today I arrived at the USA Track & Field training camp in Dalian. It was a very long day, in which many of the athletes who attended the Opening Ceremonies were going on 3-4 hours of sleep. Most of us arrived back to the Olympic Village around 2 A.M. and departed for our training camp around 6 A.M. Our flight wasn't until around 11, but due to heightened security measures were had to depart early. Once we arrived in Dalian, we were shown the full force of the awesome Chinese security. Dalian is a city of almost 6 million people and they closed all the roads leading from the airport to our training camp, some 1/2 hour away. That is just an example of the how well they are taking care of us.

The locals have been awesome, and all of us here are extremely grateful and thankful of all the efforts and collaboration of the Chinese officials with the USA security forces. The mood quickly changed and became more serious once we arrived to the hotel where we were notified of the attacks on the American tourists at the Forbidden City as well as the declaration of war between Georgia and Russia. As far away as some of the problems seem to be, it still hits home and reminds all of us here that the real world is still going on without us and it is up to us to show the world an unbiased competition without prejudice. Tomorrow I finally have a day off. I plan to sleep, unpack, check some emails and catch up with my family, and sleep some more. Catch up with you tomorrow.

Mike++

So Much To Do, So Little Time...

Hello, first let me apologize if this first entry is cut short. There doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done over here that needs to be done. I'm actually catching a plane in 30 minutes for our training camp in Dailan. It's been a whirlwind of a few days and I'm running on about 8 hours of sleep since I arrived. The people of Beijing have been...flawless! They are so excited to be hosting the Olympic Games and their attitudes and personalities certainly reflect that. They have been more than gracious hosts and I have fallen in love with the culture. The village is brand new, as are most of the facilities and there's everything that you would ever need.

Last night I attended the XXIX Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies. I could sit here for hours and not be able to capture the experience in words, so I'll try to wrap it up as...simply amazing, the best day of my life! I had the opportunity not only to meet, but to hang out with George W. Bush and Bush Sr., LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Coack "K" and so many more unbelievable people with awesome stories. After about 9 hours total of standing, sitting and standing some more,  I can now say that my Olympic experience is officially underway. I promise to make the future blogs longer and hopefully with a bit more detail. I have a plane to catch, gotta run!

++Mike

Beijing Bound Jitters... Part 1

...And so it begins.... I'm not quite sure the Pre-Olympic Jitters decided to hit me a 4am Monday morning, maybe its because I leave in exactly 27 hours for "Olympic Team Processing" in San Jose before taking off for Beijing the following morning. Maybe its because I foresee the tons of things that I have to do today before I leave Tuesday morning....funny, I was just telling myself how strange it felt to not have so many things I actually need to do. But as I sit here in bed, typing, my mind wonders to all the small things that need to be tied up before I take off and that task is now seeming to grow larger. Then again, the jitters, nerves, anxiety...whatever you want to call them could also be starting due to the 3rd live radio interview (and 3 TV interviews, 2 newspapers and 2 magazines) in 2 weeks that I'm doing in...5 hours 29minutes, make that 28 minutes. Whatever the reason, the nerves are here, and they are here in full force.
My roommate, 2004 Olympian in the high jump. Tora Harris, has started a you tube account called "flame and rings". The premise of this you tube account is for documenting a few athletes progress as the games get closer. He has an entire room full of HD cameras and hard drives and is truly blessed at making videos and presenting them in a unique, athletic, but unbiased perspective. He started videoing his girlfriend of several years, Shuying Gao, Asian Record Holder in the Pole Vault, who also is part of our training "family" here at the Olympic Training Center. Shuying, or "Sandy" as we call her here, has been living and training here in San Diego for a few years now and has been an awesome in teaching me new Chinese words and customs as I prepare for the games...so has Tora, seeing that he is fluent in Mandarin as well. Anyways, Tora has documented alot of his and Sandy's training (which he has dubbed "Red Vault") and has them posted on his youtube account, his videos can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/lianjuin

Tora happened to be at my last throwing session before I leave for Beijing in...now 26.5 hours, and made a quick video of the brief but very intense session, it can be found om his "flame and rings" account here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CxO5aARRTs&fmt=18

Keep an eye out for his series of videos, "flame and rings" as he will be in Beijing filming Sandy (and me I hope) throughout the Olympic Games...


Well, I suppose I am going to try to go back to sleep... however I can tell you that I will be logging onto the Starbucks website as soon as I sign off from this blog entry to see what time they open, (thats my attempt at humor at 4:35am ;) I have a feeling that these eyes wont get much rest over the next few hours, all though I will make an attempt. Wait a second, what time does Sports Center start on the west coast ;) Beijing Bound Jitters Parts 2, 3, 4, and so one to come soon!

Good talk,
M++

Beijing Bound...at Long Last!

Today....I am an United States Olympian...
That feels really great to say! For the better part of 6 years I have been making emotional and physical deposits into the worst possible bank account you could think to open, the kind of account that yields hardly any interest and moderate to no return on your investment whatsoever...Well finally, after 6 years of putting in and not getting any out...I am making one huge massive withdrawal! However, I cannot make that withdrawal until 19:30 UTC +8, August 23, 2008.

In what was an emotional roller-coaster of a week, it all culminated in a bitter sweet 2nd place at our Olympic Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon. “Track Town USA”, aka Eugene, was amazing in every way...except the weather for the final on Sunday July 6. We threw in a mild headwind in our qualifying rounds, that was very typical Eugene...but then had to throw in winds in Sundays Final that resembled hurricane Catrina. Wind gusts were measured at 25 mph at the local weather station, and were consistently between 10-15 mph straight in our faces. It was a difficult day for me because the wind conditions required very precise flights of the javelins. Any one that knows my throw knows that is an area that I must address before I head off to Beijing. In a strange twist, the wind conditions actually favored throwers with less power and lower personal bests. I finished 2nd place with 75.76m, which was good enough for me to secure my spot on the Olympic Team but my performance was also my worst of the season thus far. In the 3rd round, my ribs that were bothering me since Berlin were re-injured. As a result of this, my managers and coach have decided to pull me out of the remaining Super Grand Prix's before Beijing in order to reduce the chance of injuring them any further.

So...what a huge relief and honor it is to be able to represent the United States on the worlds biggest stage, the games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing. However, I return to San Diego with a small chip on my shoulder for not representing the United States as the reigning National Champion...bitter sweet it is!
A huge shout-out to Amory Rowe and In The Arena for making a similar emotional (and financial) investment in March of 2007. Without the support and encouragement of Amory and ITA. In a sport, and event, that seems to be a financial black hole, Amory and ITA has given my family and I a chance to "live the dream" and for that no amount of thanks will ever be enough!
M++

Back to Sunny So-Cal

Lets see, where to start this one off…It always seems as if I have a chance to update my blog, or at least gather my thoughts on the long flights home. As of right now its 7:55PM San Diego Time and I am exactly over the Mississippi River on my way home from Moscow. I left Moscow about 26 hours ago, and according to the flight computer, still have about 3 hours and 3 minutes to go. The flight home was pretty flawless from Moscow to Zürich, then to JFK in New York, but then the flight that was scheduled for 3PM was delayed until 8PM…not that it matters because after 20 hours it all starts to run together anyway…am I rambling?..Back to the updates.

The last update was as I was leaving a pretty bad trip in Brazil that I fortunately threw decent in and scored some needed World Athletics Tour Points. The next stop was Berlin for the 1st Golden League of the year. I arrived to Berlin a few days ahead of schedule, which was needed because I spent the better part of 3 days at the Russian consulate in Berlin trying to get the Visa for the Moscow Meets, more on that later. Berlin was a welcome treat after being in Brazil, being able to eat food without fear of intestinal parasites and brushing your teeth with tap water were very welcome comforts. The organization of the Golden League staff was nothing short of amazing, the ISTAF (International Stadium Festival) directors had a fully staffed 24 hour office at the meet hotel and were there for every need an athlete could have…they even hired a driver to take me to wash some clothes (much needed after 2 weeks in South America). The meet went off without a hitch and I threw 81.14m for 5th place in a field that was made up of essentially the Olympic Final. As a result of my placing I was invited to the 2nd Golden League meeting of the year in Oslo, Norway, the Bislett Games.

Ah Oslo, what else can I say about Oslo in the summer other than heaven on earth, there were times that I felt like intentionally “misplacing” my passport in hopes to be able to stay there for the remainder of my career, did I say career, I meant life ;) The Bislett Games staff was just as adept at making sure all the details needed for a world-class competition were catered to and the competition was also a tremendous success. The conditions were not ideal for long throws at the Bislett Stadium as many of the competitors were 3-5m under their normal seasonal marks. It wasn’t until the last round that 3 guys made massive moves and personal bests that I was pushed to 7th place with 80.37m. I was happy with my performance and was content with heading back home and getting 4 solid preparation weeks for the Olympic Trails, but then…. there was Russia.
I spent the better part of 3 days at the Russian Consulate in Berlin, attempting to acquire the Visa needed for Americans to enter Russia. I should have known I was in for a rough ride when I entered the consulate (after waiting 2 hours outside) and was quickly notified that the only languages that were spoken there were….take a guess, Russian and German. I finally acquired the help of a local guy there who spoke English who attempted to help me get to the Visa application window (picture 40 people huddled around a 3 foot by 3 foot window…all pissed off as hell for waiting outside and inside for numerous hours). I could go on forever about the nightmare there, but Ill skip to the summary. I had the wrong papers, no surprise, wrong size photo ect…so I returned the following day to repeat the 4 hour process all over again, only to be told to return the 3rd day to repeat the process all over again, yes 12 hours total waiting in the consulate for the stupid Visa…oh yeah and then there was the actual trip to Russia.
Here goes, I arrived in Moscow on June 8th for the competition on June 10th the Moscow Open. I was met by a man at the airport who spoke English and said that I would be taken to the meet hotel where I would meet the competition organizers ect…that was the last bit of English I heard for 24 hours. I was dropped off at Olympic Stadium (1980) and I waited there for almost an hour before I figured out the hotel (if you want to call it that) was in the stadium itself, actually around the top of it….one would think, wow a hotel at Olympic Stadium, should be nice right? Picture a hostel that sits directly above a 24 hour construction zone, fully equipped with dump trucks, jack hammers, sledge hammers, and back hoes.
There were some major renovations that were taking place to the stadium after the Manchester United vs Chelsea football match there a few weeks ago. Oh yeah, no hot water (due to construction), no internet…yeah spoiled I know, no AC and 3 channels for the TV…all in all those things can actually be dealt with, but when you don’t have access to some of the most basic necessities to get ready for a competition, its difficult to expect good results. I did see some amazing sights at the Moscow Open, I saw women that looked like men and men that looked like machines, which I was told was “quite normal” in that area on Olympic years if you know what I mean. Anyways, I was fortunate enough to throw 79.26m to take 2nd behind 2003 World Champion, Sergey Makarov of Russia. From the Moscow Open I traveled to another suburb of Moscow called Zhukovsky for the Zhukovsky Memorial. This competition was run 100 times better than the Moscow Open but the weather unfortunately didn’t cooperate with us. I was poorly prepared for the wet conditions and my performance reflected that preparation with a 4th place finish just under 75m.










So now I’m on the way home after 8 competitions in 6 weeks and 5 countries for some much needed rest and preparation for the Olympic Trails that are in just 3 weeks time. My remaining schedule leading up to Beijing will be dependent on my finish at the Trails. If I throw over 83m and place top 2, the I will be confirmed for the following meets before Beijing:
July 11 – Rome Golden League – Rome, Italy
July 18 – Paris Golden League – Paris, France
Jluy 22 – DN Galan Super Grand Prix – Stockholm, Sweden
If I do not throw over 83m, then I will likely be forced to the following meetings:
July 13 – Athens Super Grand Prix - Athens, Greece
July 16 – Lucerne Grand Prix – Lucerne, Switzerland
July 20 – Heusden Grand Prix – Heusden, Belgium

…time will tell…check back with you after the Trial, Ill take good luck wishes if your dishing them out ;)
“The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats.” Teddy Roosevelt