I have been hooked since my 1st trip here back in 2002.  What’s great is you get the water straight from the coconut here.  They have coconut stands on the street like we have Lemonade stands in the US.  They pull one out the of fridge hit it with a hatchet and put in a straw.  All you have to do is drink and enjoy.  For me this used to be a treat I could only get in Brazil and now it’s every where.  As it turns out coconut water is really good for you.

Some interesting facts about coconut water I didn’t know.  For more than 4,ooo years, coconut water has been revered as a natural source of nutrition, wellness, beauty and hydration.  In times of famine and war, coconut water has been used as an intravenous fluid and saved many lives.  It’s the only natural substance that can be safely injected into the human blood stream.  Now modern science has validated it’s effectiveness, especially as a natural sports drink.  Learn more about the benefits from Zico my favorite brands when at home.

I use coconut water as a base for my smoothies everyday.  Here are a couple of fun recipes from Zico.

The Brazilian athletics tour is a series of six meets with a different combination of events.  These are really well run meetings and great opportunity to face some really good lineups.  I got a preview of some of the athletes who were coming on my connecting flight into Belem.  It was a mix of familiar and new faces.  As we were collecting our luggage and checking in with the meeting organizers a local group was playing music and dancing. A nice welcome to Brazil for us.

Belem, Brazil was the first stop on the tour for me.  This was an early morning meet starting at 830am and over by 12pm.  And I threw at 9am which for me was like throwing at 7am in my time zone.  When I saw the start list the night before I knew it was going to be a great competition.  Several World and Olympic finalist, a very decorated Barrios from Cuba, and others with world leading marks in the field.  I was able to pull out the win with 61.41 meters.

The 2nd stop was in Fortaleza, Brazil and this was a city I hadn’t been to before.  Our hotel was right on the water with a great view and a fabulous pool area.  We were also really close to a local market and able to get fresh coconut waters, yummy.  I was able to get a couple of great training sessions in before the 2nd meet.  The best training day was when a group of us throwers went into the local weight room.  It was really more of a fitness club, everyone in their cut offs working on shoulders and biceps and listening to American hip hop.   We started to get the funny looks when we gathered up some bars and a bunch of plates and took over a fitness room doing power cleans and snatches.

This 2nd meet was a night meet, which in that heat was a great idea.  Our start time was 8pm and again we had the same field of throwers from the 1st meet.  I knew it was going to be another battle in the ring.  I didn’t find my groove in this meet until late in the rounds.  I threw a tad further with 61.44 meters but this time I finished in 3rd.

To finish my part of the series with a Gold and Bronze was great.  Now I have a few training days in front of me and my 1st Diamond League Meeting on May 19th in Shangahi, China.  I’ll keep you posted.

Belem Results

Fortaleza Results 

I was back on the west coast last week for a couple of meets in San Diego.  It’s been a few years since I’ve been out there and as always the UCSD campus looks different every time.  Some new buildings have have gone up and course the famous discus ring looked great.  A brand new hammer cage and an awesome Blue Triton painted in the grass pointing towards long throws.  The Triton meet has a long history big throws and everyone loves to throw there.  Several international athletes were in town this year looking for Olympic qualifying marks.  We had a loaded field and a great women’s discus competition.  I threw a seasons best 63.44 meters for 2nd place.

Looks like I’m heading to Brazil for 2 meets next, stay tuned….

Thanks Will Conwell for the photo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIwczNHysv0

My 2012 season is officially underway.  I don’t normally start my season until April. It’s currently summer in Australia and they have a series of meets in February and March because they’re gearing up for there Olympic Trials which are in 2 weeks.  I was privileged to be invited to participate in 2 of the meets, Perth and Sydney Australia.  After 39 hours of travel I arrived in Perth to a beachside hotel reminding me of Maui, HI it was very beautiful.  Athletics Australia were great host and made sure we got to see some sights while on the road.  We were invited to a cricket match and got to sit in a VIP box and have lunch.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot about the rules of cricket, similar to American baseball.

The Perth meet was 1st on my trip.  We had a great crowd and a strong field of women discus throwers.  The 2008 Olympic champion, Stephanie Brown-Trafton of the USA, the 2009 World Champion Dani Samuels of Australia and other top Australian athletes were in attendance.  We had a close competition.

After Perth we took a 5 hour plane ride to Sydney, Australia.  We stayed in the Olympic park that was built for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.  The facilities were all top notch and we were within walking distance to all them which was really convenient and great for training.  I had a great time seeing the sites of Sydney, Bondi Beach, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.  The best part of the trip for me was going to a luncheon the day before the meet.  We had lunch at a spot under the Harbor bridge, with a fabulous view of the Harbor.  I was able to sit with 2 famous women athletes that competed  in the 1940-60’s, Marlene Matthews Australian sprinter and Betty Moore English hurdler and long time resident of Australia.  The stories they told me about the struggles of their time as pioneering athletes were very inspiring.

We had another close competition in the Sydney meet as well.  I have linked results for both meets below.  I was excited to have 2 meets over 60 meters in the month of February.    Now I am home and preparing for the upcoming Olympic Trials in June and the olympic Games in August.  My next meets will begin in April.

Perth Results

Sydney Results

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3XE0yxn2KQ

Having been in the track and field business for many years and being a seasoned thrower I’ve learned that sports is about recovery.  If you want to preform at your best you have to be able to recover.  A key factor for my longevity in discus throwing has been focusing on recovery.  In looking up the definition of recovery I found, 1. The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering.  2. A return to a normal condition.  3. Something gained or restored in recovering.

Like a fine wine, I like getting better with age!  And that has been possible by trying to find ways to recover better every year.  In college I started with Sleep, making sure I was getting a good night’s rest.  Then I learned about Icing and putting ice on a sore muscle after a workout.  I spent one whole summer doing yoga to maitain Flexibility. After competing in 3 Olympic games and working on number four, I’ve stepped up my recovery game.

Some things I do daily to help my body train at this level.  Staying Hydrated, I drink a gallon of water a day and I like to treat myself to an occasional coconut water.  Nutrition,  I continue to make dietary changes every year, but since focsuing on whole foods, organic foods and eating seasonal I feel way better than when I ate fastfood all the time.  A focused Warmup and Cool down, making sure I am ready to go before training and stretching really well after.  I used to get in the car and go straight home, talk about stiff, not anymore.  I’ve added in more Sports Massage over the years, I try to get treatment once or twice a week now.  My newest addition this year has been the NormaTec MVP system I first learned about it at World Championships and then I got to use it again at the Pan Am Games.  My legs and arms felt so much better that when I got home, I got a set.

The definition says to return to a normal condition, I want a Better Condition!!  #makeitcount  London 2012

As you can tell by the photo I am super excited about my silver medal from the Pan Am Games.  I want to say a special thanks to the USA staff and medical team, you guys did an outstanding job. And a special shout out to the Lady throwers who brought home 4 medals for TEAM USA.  We started off with a Bronze in the Hammer by Amber Campbell, Bronze in the Shot Put by Michelle Carter, Gold in the Javelin by Alicia Deshaiser, and I brought it home with the Silver in the discus. Great JOB ladies!!   The village was set up really well, easy to get to all the buildings without a lot of walking.  The food wasn’t to bad either.  I think the most interesting and innovative thing was that the furniture was made out of cardboard.

We had a great international zone full of culture activities, salon, souvenir shop and a food court with a Starbucks.

This was a great way to finish the 2011 season.  Now it’s time to get ready the 2012 Olympic season.  I’ll keep you posted

For Official Results

Thank you Holley DeShaw for the photos!

The Pan American Games features 42 nations that will participate in 36 events beginning on October 14th and running until October 30th.

According to the ESPN Media Zone, full coverage of the event will be available via ESPN Deportes.

ESPN Deportes will provide unmatched, daily coverage of the 16th edition of the Pan American Games live from Guadalajara, Mexico Friday, October 14 – Sunday, October 30. Coverage of the Games will be featured on ESPN Deportes, ESPN3, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNdeportes.com and ESPN Deportes La Revista. In addition, ESPN2 will provide additional coverage in English.

As noted there, you will also be able to stream the event live on ESPN3.

Here is the full ESPN Deportes TV schedule: