European Road Trip DMG Style

I was going to post a few pictures on facebook but this trip today had to many exciting pieces.  My manangement team had 6 athletes competing in Luzern Swiztlerand on Sunday all of us traveled from there to the Netherlands to the base camp.   1 went my plane, 2 went by train and 3 of us went by car.  I was priviledged to an 8 hour car ride through Europe.  The best part is we had 4 adults all with large suitcases and carry on bags in a tiny European Car.  See the pictures, Now dont think I had it good riding shot gun.  My knees were in the dashboard and in Europe there is a fire extingisher on the floor of the passenger side.  The best part is we were chauffered by DMG’s finest, Piotrek.  He did his best to try and get us here in 6 hours but the trip was over 660km.  Although Germany has a population over 80 milion, all we saw was country side the whole trip.  It was really pretty, a lot of green trees and beautiful sunshine.  At least we didn’t get lost like the time Coach Clayton was driving from Hungary to Croatia and we ended up on the wrong side of the mountain.

Anybody Know What Sport This Is?

Here in Madrid, Spain still training until my meet in Lausanne on July 8th.  We’ve had a great couple of days, I’m here with 3 other athletes from my agents group and one of his assistants to look out for us.  We have nice accommodations and were about a 25min walk from the training facility.  Our hotel serves great coffee so you know I am okay.  See the picture I took this morning…. The track has everything we need and of course the best part is there is a discus cage.  I got a pool workout in today to help with my recovery.  tomorrow is a throwing and lifting day.  I am looking forward to it, the weather has been great since the meet.  On our way back to the track today we passed some sporting facilities that I didn’t recognize.  Look at the photos andybody recognize this sport????

On the Road in Madrid

  I just arrived in Madrid, Spain yesterday and I compete tonight at 7:15pm.  I was pretty sleepy all day yesterday and had to fight to make myself stay awake to get adjusted to the time change quicker.  I felt like a walking zombie, my eyes were half open, but I had a great night’s sleep last night and I am starting to feel normal.  Our hotel is really nice, the rooms are spacious, which is rare overseas because the beds are always right next to each other.  But our room is big enough to spread them out.  The food is awesome fresh and full of flavor.  Lots of options too.  My favorite is the fresh squeezed orange juice!!! Well we have a good field of throwers here at this meet and I am looking forward to a rebound after USA’s.  My trip to Des Moines was not successful and I am looking for some redemption.  Here is a link to the meet IWC Spain.

Time for USA Track and Field Championships

  It feels like the season is just getting started and we are all ready heading to our nationals this weekend.  The event is being contested in Des Moines, IA this year at Drake Stadium, June 23rd-27th 2010.  Here is more information on USA’s.   The meet is going to be televised so if you can’t make it in person please tune in to the tv coverage.  We don’t have an official USA team to qualify for this year because World Championships are in 2011 and the London Olympics are in 2012, but the meet will still be exciting.  The best in America competing for the coveted title of USA National Champion.  We are so deep in all of our events that title does not come easy. The women’s discus is on sunday at 12:20pm.  I think the US may be the deepest in this event, as usual it will be a dog fight considering we have 6 women over 60 meters this year. And one of our veterans Suzy Powell-Roos isn’t competing this year or we would have 7 over 60 meters. Two of my training partners are in action this weekend as well,  Will Conwell on Friday in the Men’s discus, Cory Martin on Friday in the Men’s Hammer and again on Sunday in the Men’s Shot put.  Let’s get after it Team Gold Star!!!!

World Lead Men’s Shot Put 22.10 Meters

  Our training group had a great trip to Tucson, AZ this weekend.  We had the Tucson Elite Throwers meet on thursday followed by a day of High Performance on friday and then a 2nd meet on saturday.  All of the throws were contested men and women’s Hammer, Javelin, Discus and Shot Put.  Most of our top throwers were in attendance for the weekend series.  Will Conwell, Cory Martin and myself were there from our training group, the only 1 missing was Kristin Heaston. Being there together was great because we could practice together and watch each other and cheer for one another.  Will had his 2nd best throw of the season in the discus with a throw of 61.28 meters.  I had my 2nd best throw of season with 61.98 meters in the discus. Cory struggled in the hammer but a few hours later he lit the shot put up.  He is a rare double in our sport of track and field.  Not to many have tried the hammer, shot put double but he is making it work.  Cory threw a personal best on his 2nd throw of 21.76 meters and I lost my mind cheering and screaming.  Then he comes back and throws a World Leading mark of 22.10 meters and what voice I had left was lost on that throw.  What most people don’t realize is that distance wins Gold Medals in Olympics and World Championship meets.  It was a great competition, Ryan Whiting was 2nd with 21.63 meters, Russ Winger 21.25 meters for 3rd and Noah Bryant was 4th 20.69 meters.  Great throws from our young Shot Putters!!!

Warning check your water bottle

The last few weeks I have been educating myself on plastics.  I was the typical person that would buy a bottle of water and reuse that same bottle several times.  I have discovered that those bottles are designed for single use only and over time the plastic breaks down and leaks into your drink.  You could be poisoning yourself and not even know it.  I know that this is not news for most, but it was a shock for me.  Read this article on, Are all Plastics Bad?  and here is a another article, Plastic Bottles: are they safe and what do they mean?  It will be eye opening.  You’ll be excited to know that I have rid my kitchen of all the bad plastics.

Congrats to the Goodson’s

  I want to wish my little cousin who is now a grown man all the best.  Harun Goodson got married this weekend and we drove to Atlanta, GA today for the reception.  It was fun seeing a lot of my relatives as well as meet his wife and her family.  Everyone had very touching words to say to the couple and there were a few tears shed but we all had a great time.  I again want to wish the newly weds happiness.  Theo had a blast playing with some of his cousins and made some new friends.  He liked the cake the best.  And as the event was winding down Theo got on the mic and sang twinkle twinkle little star.  I wish had the video camera ready.  I got a few good pictures of todays events. Click here to visit the wedding website

What’s your favorite Smoothie?

Much like coffee I also like smoothie’s. The real fruit kind, like the ones from Jamba Juice. I added a new breakfast smoothie to my meal plan this offseason. Looking for more energy, good protein and no added sugar, I decided I better make my own at home. That way I know exactly what I’m getting and it’s cheaper. I start my smoothie off with a few ounces of Acai berry juice, a banana, a cup off frozen blueberries, a serving of greek yogurt and a few frozen strawberries. It taste so refreshing, I love it.

I have to warn you when making smoothies at home you need a good blender to get all the fruit chunks. I would love one of the fancy blenders they have at starbucks or jamba juice. Those high powered blenders look like they can blend anything.

One of my favorite smoothies from Jamba Juice is the Banna Berry and a shot of wheat grass on the side. What’s your favorite smoothie? Check out some more Smoothie recipes

2010 USA Indoor Championships

 This was my 1st trip to a USA indoor championships and it was awesome.  The meet is being held in Albuquerque, NM this weekend, and will be on ESPN 2 today 2/28 7 to 9pm EST.  Being a discus thrower which is an outdoor event sometimes thrown indoors for fun, it’s not part of our indoor championship program.  So I hadn’t made it to an indoor champs until yesterday.  As one of the athletes on our USATF Board of Directors I was in town for a board meeting.  The meeting was productive and after I was able to watch some track and field which is really exciting.  I missed my training partner Cory Martin throwing the weight but I got to see him after and congratulate him on his personal record….Yeah Cory!!!!!  It was exciting to see our medical group from St Vincent’s, great group!!  I was able to get a couple of videos of the lady weight throwers, check them out.For results and more info on the meet visit, http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAIndoorTFChampionships/

What’s your favorite Coffee Drink?

A few of my fans have been asking me what I have been up to this off season and to share that on my website.  So I’ve been thinking about it and for this week let’s discuss coffee. As a Seattle native I have been around coffee my whole life.  There is a Starbucks on every corner a Seattle’s Best on every other corner and a Tully’s coffee with a 5 mile radius of Starbucks or Seattle Best, not to mention the Famous Coffee stand in front of the downtown Nordstrom’s on 5th and Pine.  And through out the Northwest you’ll find local coffee places as well as an abundance of drive thru only coffee stops.   But despite that influence I did not become a regular coffee drinker until I started travelling the world. I would get to an international competition and be so jet lagged by all the time change that coffee really grew on me plus it was served at every meal.  Now I own a coffee maker and an espresso machine and have become sort of a coffee connoisseur.  One of the best countries I have had coffee in thus far is Brazil.  They serve every hot pot of coffee with a hot pot of cream, so delicious.Now one of the changes I made this offseason in pursuing a healthier lifestyle is taking the sugar out of my coffee.  When I have a cup of brewed coffee I only add a splash of half n half or if I have a latte, it’s just 2% milk and coffee.  Occasionally I will reward myself with a treat and have my favorite coffee drink a Caramel Macchiato. What’s your favorite drink? Please leave a comment and share your favorite coffee spot as well as your favorite drink!! Coffee Defnition Coffee and Health Coffee 101

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