Déjà vu

... I have the feeling that I have done this before. Yesterday I had my knee scoped...again. I was just thinking shortly after my last blog entry, "maybe I shouldn't be talking so much about how healthy I am...I might jinx myself", oops!

Last Monday I twisted my knee in the weight room while spotting my training partner, Kara (http://karapatterson.blogspot.com/) I heard a pop and some cracking, but managed to continue lifting for about 10min before me knee went into lock-down. After the initial evaluations in the training room, I headed off to get x-rays the following morning and compared the x-rays to the images I had in September...there was 1 glaring difference, a piece of bone almost the size of a dime floating above my knee cap. The doctor said that that fragment was previously stuck in my ACL graph from the reconstruction in 1999 and they couldn't remove it because it would compromise the stability of the graph. It was bound to come out sooner or later, it could have come out in 10 years from now, or in the Olympic year, or this summer...but it was going to come out eventually and I feel blessed to have it out now. The surgery was a piece of cake and I got 12 hours of sleep last night and am in virtually no pain. All good news as far as I am concerned.

My thanksgiving weekend was pretty cool as my parents came out from Texas and we visited Catalina island. I think I can say that it was an experience but not a place we will visit again. The entire shuts down at 4pm and there is no transportation, so if your not where you want to be by then...good luck.

The High Tech High Chula Vista Bruins are still scheduled to resume practice for the 2011 season in January. Time will tell what kind of shape the kids show up in and I'm anxious to get started on Spring workouts with them.

In other news, In the Arena had its 1st couples hook up as Brain Gregg and Caitlin Compton got engadged this weekend. To see more details, photos and a super cool ring, check out his website at: http://xcskilife.com/

until next time: M++

(just some good memories from the past few upgrades ;)










(the infamous shoulder shots)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MifLldmqJLI

The Knee shots

3 down ... 46 to go!

3 weeks down, 46 weeks left until the Daegu World Championships... I just finished my 1st 3 week block of the season, and this week is a much needed unload week. Good timing for an unload week because of the holidays and my parents are coming back to visit. We have a great weekend planned that includes trips up the Pacific Coast Highway and a trip to Catalina Island. The rest of this week includes meetings with the San Diego Free Divers Association and a few spearfishing sessions in the chilly San Diego water. I checked the surf forecast for this week and the water will be hovering around 58-60 degrees all week...yuk!

The last 3 week training block was very successful and I am enjoying my new schedule and program. The new schedule makes for a very long day, but plenty of time for me to double up on my therapy and rehab. My training partner, Kara Patterson, has been making great strides in her throwing technique even though we are only doing walking throws on the grass. She has a really great chance to be over 70m this year and make a push for a World and Olympic title the next few years. My coach, Ty Sevin, now only has 10 people he is coaching which is better than the last few years so we are enjoying some much needed one on one time. The unload week will be a nice rest but we are all back in the mix for a brand new 4 week training block after the holidays.

Here are a few pics of Mom and Dads last trip to San Diego...until next time! M++

Back in the Mix...

...this blog comes to you as the 1st week of fall training is completed. It was a hugely successful week as I made it through healthy! The knee seems to be holding up just fine and after 2 low intensity throwing sessions, the shoulder is in rockin' shape as well.
The week was filled with alot of "back to work" stuff such as testing and measurements and some extremely boring and useless meetings... I did do a new test that I have never done before, measured my resting metabolic rate, or RMR. My training partner, Kara Patterson (http://karapatterson.blogspot.com/) and I both had the test done with the new USOC nutritionist here at the center. Basically it measures how many calories you burn during the day at rest. In other words, if you where to wake up, and lay in bed all day, how many calories would you burn...doing nothing. I was stoked to find out that I burn almost 2,900 calories at rest. I'm guessing that's why I returned from Hawaii lighter than I have been since high school, a whopping 192lbs! That was on Monday and as of yesterday (Saturday) I was already back to 197 so I think it wont be hard to put it back on. My goal is to be at least 210lbs by the time the season starts and keep my current body fat percentage which is hovering around 6%.
I spoke with the High Tech High principle last week about resuming practices at the training center but it doesn't look like the kids will be released for Spring sports until January 2011. Therefore I have some time to get back in the mix of things and get into freak show shape before I start pounding away with the HTH Bruins.
I uploaded a free dive video from Maui that I shot...here it is, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwmx8ayh708

M++

1 More Week...

...then its back to work, and I am just about ready. Hawaii has been cool and I have enjoyed the break from training but my body hasn't quite recovered the way it should. I have been doing a large volume of water activity, surfing, diving, spearfishing, boogie boarding, body surfing...you name it, I have been doing it. Unfortunately, I haven't rested quite as much as I would have liked and I'm going to do my best to get back to the theme of this trip which was "do less".

My roomate, Brad Walker, and I relocated to the west side of Maui last week and it was a great move. The water on the west side (Lahina) is much more suited for underwater activities and we have speared enough fish to feed us both every night. Lahina is a tourist town, much like most of Maui... but Lahina is virtually all tourists and resorts so the atmosphere and mood over here is much more relaxed and enjoyable. I have just about had my fill with the local "attitudes" and was delighted to hang out with a more pleasant crowd.

The last week was a whirlwind of activities, with alot of help from the Pacific Whale foundation. The week started off with a snorkel tour of Molikini crater and "turtle town" followed by a dolphin cruise out to the island of Lanai. It was a great tour because I saw all 3 species of dolphins out here, bottle nose, spinner and spotted dolphins. The spotted dolphin pod was over 100 in size and they put on an impressive aerial display, jumping out of the water over 10 feet high. Next was a submarine tour of the bottom of reef outside Lahina at 130ft deep and a para-sailing boat ride that was cut short due to a rainstorm. Since then I have been spearfishing everyday for several hours and have collected enough fish to live on for several days, and have gotten a few surf sessions in on the north-west swell that came in the middle of the week.

My coach, Ty Sevin gets to Maui for his vacation tomorrow morning so it will be fun to hang with him and show him around and probably get some quality golfing in. I have exactly 7 days left on Maui and am looking forward to getting back to San Diego and starting my training for the 2011 season. The High Tech High track team should be in mid-fall training and I cant wait to line up a full schedule of training and workouts at the Olympic Training Center. The only remaining question is the condition of my knee...only time will tell if it holds up when I start training...here is me, holding my breath and crossing my fingers.

M++

Howsit Bah !?

...still getting used to the local lingo around here...this is my 2nd blog entry from Maui, not much has changed. Its more like groundhog day around here. Wake up to the same weather, same birds, same waves...spend the day underwater, on top of water and underwater again looking for food. The only thing that has really changed is my tan and my facebook friends list ;) I have met some really cool people over here and am still trying to get a grip on how people go about their lives. Its an interesting perspective and one that I appreciate but I also know that its not for me. Its fun for now, but eventually I think that people will grow out of the Hawaii phase and move on with their lives. Its a story that I have heard over here, and its all to common.

Most of the people that I have met over here seemed to have what most people would consider "normal" lives back in the mainland, and for this reason or that, they decided to leave everything behind and join the island life. The reactions are all the same, "I will eventually go back, but for now I am here and loving it".

I have been staying on the north side of Maui for 2 weeks now and everyday I find myself driving to the south part of the island looking for better water and bigger fish...I guess its what the locals call "the search" although they are looking for waves, Im looking for lack there-of. Brad and I are about to relocate to the west side of the island, near Lahina. I visited Lahina this week and fell in love with it. Asides from being on the other side of the island and the weather being different (sunsets and no rain) the attitudes of the locals are completely different.

Its a sore subject around here and I wont go into too much detail, but certain parts of the island aren't too friendly to outsiders and sometimes can be EXTREMELY racist, or reverse racism if you can call it that. I have seen a few shirts and stickers around here that say "don't come to Maui, we are full" and one that said "kill howlie!" (howlie is slang for white guy not from here) Its confusing for me to see people act such a way when its the exact people who they hate who put clothes on their back and food on the table with the tourism they bring in.

Anyways, Lahina is virtually all tourists and its hard to find that attitude there because....everyone is on vacation! Whos in a bad mood on vacation!

Brad and I have upgraded our spear fishing equipment to state of the art spear guns and have snagged a few nice sized fish already, unfortunatly we ate them before I remebered to take pictures of them... I do have a few pics of the last few fish however. 3 more weeks left on the island and its time to get back to work and for once, I feel like Im ready to get home...

until next time, M++
Fire Dancers at sunset:

Coconuts from the front yard

Trigger Fish

More Trigger Fish

Goatfish and Parot Fish

Spraying for Invasive Species with the Maui Hunting Club

aloha!

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

"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++