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.

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

Husky Alumni Needs Your Support!!!!

Hello Family and Friends, A good friend of mine Will Conwell, recent graduate of University of Washington is in pursuit of his Olympic Dreams and needs some help. He and his wife Kate Conwell (Former Husky Polevaulter, NCAA Champion) moved to Auburn, AL so he can train with my coach and our training group. Will is working part time at Starbucks. Kate is working hard to rebuild her personal training business that she built in Seattle. But Will needs some help with his fundraising. I told him I would try to find 5 people to join his team of monthly supporters. He is asking for $25 a month and it’s tax deductible. Everything is online on his website, http://www.willconwell.com/ I have been blessed by your support in my pursuit of the Olympics and I want to help pass on a great support team. Thanks, Aretha Please Join Team Conwell today!!!!

Training Update

I have had some great workouts since my return from the early Australian meets.  I am really excited about my new personal records in the weight room.  My training partners Kristin Heaston and Cory Martin have been a big help in getting my numbers up in the bench, clean and snatch.  We have had some fun competitions that have helped all of us and right now I am beating Cory in the bench press.  Not in actual weight but in the differential, I am closing the gap.  All I can say is next time he’s buying the pizza.Kristin continues to challenge me in the hurdle hops and we are both reaching higher heights. My coach and I have been working hard on a few technical adjustments and I am starting to get the feeling.  Now I need a few meets to groove them in.  I am really excited about the upcoming Drake Relays in Des Moines, IA on April 25th.  It will give me a chance to start fine tuning my technique while competing against a great field of discus throwers.  Be sure to watch all three of is compete at Drake on ESPN2 April 26th, 2:00 - 3:30 pm 

2009 Update

 

I enjoyed my 2008 accomplishments, winning the Olympic Trials and making the finals in the Olympics in Beijing were the highlights.  But I have been hard at work to have a better season in 2009.  Training has been going really well and I am excited to get the 2009 season underway.  I had some great fall and winter training sessions.  I was able to address some weaknesses in the off season and I have working hard to get them stronger and gain some more flexibility.  Which is important in discus throwing.  I feel like I am in great shape, my fitness is improved and my strength levels are up. We recently lost one of our Olympic sponsorships, The Home Depot Job Program, which I was part of.  So I have also been busy fundraising trying to find my own sponsors so I can be a Full Time discus thrower, train hard to make the 2012 Olympic Team and get a Medal for the USA!  I have some great people I am working with and I hope to find some sponsors soon.  If you have some ideas or contacts please send them my way.  This a team effort.  I have my new 2009 schedule up with the meets I know about so far.  Follow along as I get ready to start a new season.   

Turkey Toss 2008 Champion

My latest competition was this week at the annual Rick and Bubba Turkey Toss.  It was held Thursday morning at the Academy of Sports in Auburn, AL.  I got a call from Kristin Heaston, two-time Olympian, late Wednesday night telling me about the event and it was early in the morning from 6am to 9am. Cold mornings and frozen turkeys a chilly thought.  But I decided to head out there anyway.  I got there about 5:45am and  met up with Cory Martin, 2008 NCAA Champion in the shot put and hammer and the place was packed.  They had a Waffle House trailer cooking up hot waffles, Char-Broil trailer deep frying turkeys, Krispy Kreme donughts and Starbucks coffee.

They started to contest about 6:15am and I am frozen.  The turkeys are frozen in the bags and the crowd is not sure the best way to grip it and throw it.  The key was getting it to roll because they measured it where it stopped.  I did a sideways hip toss and it went about 50 feet and I moved into the lead.  I thought that might hold up but I wasn’t sure.  So I headed home to warm up and decided I would go back closer to end and see if my mark had held up.   I didn’t want to miss out on my prize.

When I got back the new leader had thrown 83 feet. WOW!!! I wonder who threw that, then I ran into her in the crowd it was Chandra Brewer a USA Shot putter who was 4th at this years Olympic Trials, she trains at Alabama University and was the 2007 Turkey Toss Champion and in 2nd was Krystal Hancock  of Enterprise, AL.  I took a couple of more throws and couldn’t come close so I took a break walked around and check out all the booths and with about 15minutes to go I decided one more throw.  I really wanted that Academy of Sports gift card.  As soon as I got back in line they said we were the cut off and no more throws.

I picked up the turkey got the best rip I could and threw it discus style and it flew and got a great roll.  I waited anxiously for the judge to let me know if it was enough and then he gave the thumbs up 83 feet 7 inches I took the lead.  It was awesome I never knew I could toss a turkey that far.  I had a great time all the competitors were awesome and of course Rick and Bubba were great.  Thanks see you next year!!!

Check out the award winning Rick and Bubba website, http://www.rickandbubba.com/   They have a list of all the winners and more photos of the event.

Pictures Courtesy of Krystal Hancock

An Exciting Send Off

We had another fun send off on Friday here in Opelika, AL.  Kristin’s neighbors all got together and planned a great farewell.  They made some great salads and a beautiful cake with the Olympics rings on it.  We brought our implements for some up close and with a shot put and discus.  It’s great to know we have such great support here in Opelika as well as around the country.  The neighbors have been supportive all season wishing good luck on various trips and following our progress.  Here are some pictures of our exciting send off.

         

A Great Media Day

A special thank you to Toomer’s coffee for hosting an Olympic send off for Kristin Heaston and myself yesterday.  It was fun spending time with the family, friends and the community.  I had a great time and the support of others is awsome.  So keep the great vibes coming especially on our competition days.  I throw on Aug. 15th and 18th and Kristin throws on Aug. 16th.

Also one of my sponsors, Advocare, came out to practice yesterday to get some new footage and freshen up my advocare video.  I am excited to see the new one when they have it finished.  I know they have a few more athletes to shoot, Advocare had a number of endorsers make the 2008 Olympic Team.

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