Life in Koln

There hasn't been a whole lot going on in the past week or so. I've been training two days on and one day off since last Sunday. The days I train go by pretty quickly due to the fact that it's a five or six hour ordeal. If I time the trains right, it's only about a half hour to get from the apartment to the stadium but most days it takes about an hour to get to the facility. The place we train is in a neighboring town called Leverkusen. The training facility is very impressive. They have a full outdoor track, full indoor track, complete weightroom, and additional throwing fields. The indoor facility is roomy and full of training equipment, throwing areas, nets, jumping and vaulting areas, etc. All in all, I have about eight or nine shot rings to throw from and three or four discus rings as well. The weightroom is well designed, clean, and hardly in use. I really like training there. My last two training sessions have been pretty good and I'm excited to compete again. I've never really had access to these kinds of facilities in Europe before and I think staying over here and continuing to train will pay off. On Monday (my birthday), Kara and I head to Tallinn, Estonia for a meet on the 3rd. I hope to set a new European PB there (anything over 19.91m).
Last night, we met some friends at the only English theater in Koln and watched the new movie Inception. The German theater experience is a little different from the American equivalent. For starters, the place is packed and there is a lot of pushing, shoving, and cutting in line involved just to get a ticket. Once you get in, it's a mad-house as everyone jockeys for seats and saves them for friends. Pretty much the only pros were that the movie was awesome and they sell beer at the theater...

Kolner Dom Cathedral

On a recommendation by my friend Rich, Kara and I explored the enormous cathedral that sits less than 2 miles from our apartment. It's called the Kolner Dom and it was AWESOME! On our first trip, the stairs to the top were closed for the day so we wandered around the outside marveling at the ornate stonework covering every inch of the structure. The next day, we went back and walked the 533 steps to the top of the south tower. I have never seen a spiral staircase that long in my life. The staircase was cramped, stuffy, and pretty dark. Every 20 or 30 vertical feet, there were tiny, grimy windows and as we were climbing, we kept catching glimpses of the surrounding square shrinking farther and farther away. The stone steps stopped at a landing and from there, a set of steel stairs climbed through the open air attaching to another spiral staircase even narrower than the main set that opens up at a landing. A platform has been built on a landing that goes around the entire tower and the view was outstanding. We got some neat pictures and headed back down the stairs in search of lunch.

Budget Airlines

Europe is full of so-called budget airlines. They should be called either you-get-what-you-pay-for or screaming-baby airlines. I flew Ryanair from Milan to Tangier and I've never heard so much mini mayhem in my life. On the 2 hour flight, not 30 seconds went by without a scream piercing the air. The take-off was a little rough and every time we hit a bump, a little girl sitting across from me shrieked like she was being pulled apart by rabid tigers. It was so loud and so shrill, I was beyond being annoyed and I couldn't help but laugh. I got some dirty looks from other passengers. Which is fine because I can't go anywhere without people staring at me anyway. I don't get it. I can't wait to get back to the States where people mind their own business.

Tangier Revisited

My earlier post on Tangier was rushed so I'd like to rewind a bit and add a little. I really didn't have any expectations on what Tangier would be like except the little bits I've heard from friends who have been. Overall, I thought it was a nice place. The hotel was classy, had great air-conditioning, and American TV shows. The hotel was on the far north side of the city. In fact, the mediterranean sea was only a hundred hards or so from the front doors. I took a walk with a few other athletes on the beach and despite the hazy air, Spain was visable across the water. The food was a bit different than I'm used to. When visiting Africa, it's always a good idea to avoid drinking the water but it's easy to forget about ice in drinks or eating cold foods that have been washed in tap water and even cut fruit. The meal buffet was full of salads and vegetable dishes but I stuck with the hot stuff. On the last night there was a huge fish as part of the line-up. I'm used to seeing and even eating fish that still have their heads attached but I just couldn't bring myself to peel a taste off of this one. Peering from under some garnish was a ferocious set of teeth. It reminded me of something from the show River Monsters on The Discovery Channel.

Home*

At 5:40 pm, I finally arrived in Cologne from Madrid. My hotel last night didn't have air-conditioning (as usual) and I only managed to get a few hours of fitful sleep thanks to the stuffy air and a sore throat in its beginning stages. I'm so glad to finally get to Cologne. Mostly because Kara is here, though :) We're sharing a small apartment in the city so when we're not traveling and competing, we get to hang out, train, and sight-see. She's leaving for a meet in Monoco tomorrow morning so I get to spend a few days relaxing and getting to know the area. Over the last 16 days, I've been in 15 different cities, competed 10 times, traveled by boats, trains, cars, busses, and planes, and I've never felt so exhausted in my life.

Tangier

I threw 19.48 (63' 11") and got 5th. I'm really looking forward to getting some rest at this point and recharging for a second wave of meets in August. I've never competed that many times in such a short time frame and I'm just glad all of my results were over 19m. I won't feel comfortable going home to the States until I throw at least 20m in Europe this season.

Travel Trouble

I departed Karlstad for Stockholm with tons of time to spare. I planned on getting to the airport early, updating my blog, having a meal, etc. I neglected to double check my itinerary, however, and discovered my mistake while searching for my flight on the monitors. Apparently, there are two airports in Stockholm and I was at the wrong one. I inquired at the nearest information desk and was told that the airport I was supposed to be at was two hours by train from Stockholm. Glancing at my watch, I realized I could make it if I hurried. It was then I was told that Stockholm was 40 minutes from the airport I was at and my hopes dwindled. I knew I had to get to Milan that night because my flight into Tangier left at 6:30 the following morning and there are very few flights in and out of Tangier. I had to purchase a walk-up one-way to Milan and got super lucky with the price (only $160). However, the flight was in to one of the two Milan airports and my next flight left from the other airport, 55 miles away. I arrived in Milan just in time to miss the last train and was forced to take a $210 cab ride to my hotel. After 3 hours of sleep, I was up and off to the airport to catch my next flight. I arrived early but stood in a relatively short line for an hour and made the cut-off time to check baggage by less than a minute. I managed to get to Tangier and immediately fell asleep in the dark, air-conditioned room.

Karlstad, Sweden

After a refreshing 12 hours of much needed sleep followed by a delicious lunch, I arrived at the stadium feeling tired and sore but looking forward to the competition. Last year, I came to this meet and it poured rain all day and we had to throw in a ring that was full to the brim with icy water. This morning and even into the afternoon, a steady drizzle was falling, reminding me of the year before. A few hours before our start time, the rain let up and by the time we finished warming up, the clouds broke and sunshine filled the stadium and dried out the ring. I threw 19.07 on my second throw and was encouraged because it was farther than I threw in the street meet the day before. My best throw was my 5th round throw at 19.59m (64' 3"). I've never thrown in four meets in four days before so I'm happy just to get through everything and avoid injuries. I'm leaving tomorrow for one more meet before I get to take a little time off and recover and get some good training in before a second wave of meets in August. I'm traveling to Tangier, Morocco for a competition on the 18th of July. I've only been to Africa once before so I'm looking forward to going again. Hopefully all the travel goes smooth because it's definitely somewhere I don't want to get stuck!

Karlstad Street Meet

I arrived on time into Stockholm and got in a car for the 3.5 hour journey to the little town of Karlstad. By the time I got there, I had time to relax for a bit and grab a snack and then head to the warm up track. Street meets are always fun because it's centered around one or two events and the crowd tends to get into it more than at a regular meet. In Karlstad, they bring a few truckloads of dirt into the city square and set up a sector, surrounded by barriers and bleachers. A concrete throwing circle is also brought in, completing the field. I spent extra time warming up because after all this travel, my body is starting to break down and I don't want to get injured. Our ride from the warm up track to the competition site was a little, goofy street train! It was quite a sight to see a dozen or so big guys cramme dinto little train cars. People would just stop and stare as we drove by. It was hilarious. There were several of my friends throwing here as well. Kim Christensen, a Danish shot putter, Leif and Niklas Arrhenius, Swedish throwers, and Dan Taylor, another American shot putter. It's always more fun to throw with guys you know. In the Czech Republic, I was throwing against a bunch of Eastern Block guys and, with a few exceptions, they aren't that friendly. I only threw 19.06m (62' 6") and got 4th place. Dan won at 19.83m (65'). I'm super disappointed but I was so tired, it was hard to take all six throws. I'm going to get a good dinner, some good sleep, and try it again tomorrow!

Usti Nad Labem, Czech Republic

My original flight was supposed to be a direct from Lyon, France to Prague but Air France (referred to here as 'Air Chance') cancelled my flight at the last minute so I had to catch an earlier flight that connected in Paris and arrived in Prague even later. I didn't have any trouble making it to Prague and from there it was an hour and a half by car to the accomodations. I tried to get in a quick nap but only lay in bed sweating in the hot, muggy room. I ended up throwing 19.71 (64' 8") in the shot, which is my 2nd best throw in Europe ever. I got 2nd, though, losing to a guy who threw a little over 20m. Discus didn't go that well, I threw 57.95 (190' 1") and got 6th. The winning throw was only 60.90m (199' 9") but I ran out of energy after the shot competition. I'm leaving at 5:30 am for the airport to catch my next flight to Sweden, where I'm throwing in a street meet that afternoon.

Albertville, France

Albertville is probably my favorite place to throw in Europe so far. The little town is nestled in the French Alps and was the site of the 1992 Winter Olympics. The food is good, the hotel is close to the track, and the people are friendly. This was the third year in a row that I've competed there and the people that work the meet recognized me and welcomed me back. I won both the shot and the disc with throws of 19.45m (63' 9") and 58.78m (192' 10")! My winning throw in the discus actually hit the cage and as soon as I heard the cage ringing after I threw, I almost fouled the throw because a caged disc never goes far. I think it was going to be out of sector but the cage somehow redirected the disc without messing up it's flight. I felt ok but all this travel and jet lag was starting to catch up with me. I couldn't sleep the night before due to how hot it was in my room. I spent my morning sweating profusely and moving to another room that wasn't in direct sunlight. I'm leaving the hotel at 4:45 am to catch my next flight to Prague, where I'm competing in both events again in the afternoon.

Donnas, Italy

New PB in the discus today! 62.88m (206' 3")! I felt tired and sluggish warming up but I was relaxed enough to get into one. The wind conditions here today were near ideal so that didn't hurt :) I left Seattle yesterday at 6:30 am and got in to the hotel here about 3 hours before the discus started. I managed to squeeze in a short nap and a light lunch before having an extra long warm-up to work all the stiffness and soreness from the flight out. I finally hit the Olympic "B" Standard with that throw and there is definitely a lot more there. The trip is off to a great start and I intend on keeping the momentum going as long as possible. I heard from my manager, Jeff, today and I got in to a meet in Tangier, Morrocco on July 18 so I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, that means I won't be able to stop in Cologne and drop off some stuff and do laundry between now and when I get back from Africa. I'm headed to Albertville, France tomorrow for the next meet on the 12th. I did get a chance to do a little sightseeing today and the highlight was definitely a bridge that is still standing that was built by the Romans approximately 2100 years ago! It's called Pont Saint Martin. The area we're staying in is very mountainous and the steep hillsides are packed with small vineyards. Part of my prize for getting second today was a bottle of local wine. Maybe I'll get a chance to enjoy it tomorrow :) ---Meet Website --- Results ---

Victoria, BC: Part 2

I only threw 19.55 but still managed to finish second behind Dylan again. There wasn't a lot of energy in the comp and there were lots of interruptions but I definitely should have at least thrown 20m. From Victoria, it took three long days of travel to get to Milan, Italy, the site of my first European meet on the circuit. It took us over 8 hours to get back to seattle from Victoria due to a miscalculation in the need for reservations on the Port Angeles Ferry (shorter time and overall trip length back to Seattle). We ended up having to drive back and take the Vancouver ferry, wait in line for 2 hours at the US border, and crawl through Seattle rush hour traffic in order to get Melinda to SeaTac for her flight out and get the rental car back with literally seconds to spare (narrowly avoiding getting slapped with an additional day charge). A 6:30 am flight will keep me from getting the sleep I'll need to get through the long travel day coming up but I'll manage.

Victoria, BC: Part 1

In order to get to the Canadian meets, I offered to share the cost of a rental car with some vaulter friends of mine. I didn't make the reservations so I didn't really know what to expect for a ride but Melinda ended up renting an early 90s era (est.) Pontiac Montana 6 passenger mini-van. It was a rolling junk heap (check engine light on, fuel guage that didn't work, very weak headlights, an even weaker roof-rack, stained and stinky interior, etc.) but to it's credit, it got us all the way through the trip with almost no major issues and it was awful cheap.

Good job, Melinda! The trip to Vancouver was quick but a little nerve-wracking as every bump and pothole made the pole bags strapped to the roof bounce as if they were about to tear away, taking the roof with them. The trip to Victoria, however, was easier due to one less set of poles and the fact that half of our trip was spent parked on a ferry. The ferry trip from Vancouver to Victoria was amazing! We saw seals and killer whales on our trip across the Strait of Georgia! The meet was held on the University of Victoria's campus. I thought we had a lot of rabbits living at the training center in Chula Vista! There were thousands and thousands of bunnies of all sizes and colors! It was utterly ridiculous. I'll post more pictures soon.

Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver, BC

Threw 20.15m (66' 1") yesterday and got 2nd to Dylan Armstrong of Canada who threw 21.31m (69' 11") at the Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic. The weather was great and the track is in a beautiful place. I really like competing in Canada so far. We're taking a ferry over to Victoria this afternoon and I'm really looking forward to it because everyone keeps telling me how amazing and beautiful it is. I'll definitely keep my camera handy :)

Photo Courtesy of Paul Merca

On the road again

It's almost midnight the night before I leave for a summer abroad and once again, I've put off preparing and packing so long that it'll be impossible to accomplish everything I set out to do. Knowing what I'll need while I'm gone is the easy part. The hard part is adhering to the airlines strict weight and carry-on size restrictions. I have to pack super light due to the fact that one shot put and one discus take up almost half of my 20 kilogram allowance. My room looks like a tornado ripped through it; clothes everywhere, cluttered floor. Luckily, my flight doesn't leave until 12:30 so I'll have some time to clean up before I take off. Congrats again to Kara for kickin' butt at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon today. It was her first Diamond League meet and she won! She threw 65.90m and set a new meet record as well.

Rattlesnake Wranglin'

Even since I moved out to the training center in Chula Vista, people have talked about how many snakes there are. I'm fascinated by snakes so I was looking forward to seeing some but in the ten months I've lived here, I've only seen one small king snake. In an attempt to find one of the big rattle snakes that are rumored to live in the area, I went hiking the other day with Jaime and Eric, my buddies that work in the weightroom. We didn't find any buzz-tails but we did catch a few small horned toads and saw some neat scenery (by Southern California standards).