Italy and Europe Begin

May 11-13, 2010 (Goppingen)

We decided to stay with my friend Katrin for a few days because Brent and I decide to take a trip to Madrid, Spain for the weekend. We did a little running, laundry, and just relaxed.

May 10, 2010 (Tubingen)

I rode with Julian Ade from Desenzano del Garda, Italy to Tubingen, Germany where I was stayed with my friend Jenny for the night. Tubingen is a small University town which is really cool because university town have lots to do. Tomorrow we will pick Brent up at 2pm and then go to dinner with Katrin and Jenny and go home to stay with Katrin for a few days before we move to Stuttgart to start training.

May 9, 2010 (2^nd Day Multistars)

Woke up at 4:30am and couldn’t fall asleep until 7:00am which gave me 1 hour asleep before I had to be up for breakfast and to compete. Caffeine will be my friend today. I felt great warming up for hurdles and it should because I ran 14.22 only .1 off my Personal best but this was into a 1.5 headwind. I moved closer to first winning the event and then after a huge personal best in the discus 48.80 (over 5 feet better) I moved into first place. I then went on to win the pole vault at 5.15 and then threw 56.40 in the pouring rain and fouled a throw that was a personal best. I then ran a 4:36 to hold of the bronze medalist of the Olympics to win with a 8141 score my third best all time and only 10 points off a second day best score. With the bad winds and rain I am very happy with the score and know that I will be ready to score very high in Gotzis in 3 weeks. Off to Stuttgart, Germany for 2 weeks of training.

Afterwards is always a good time for all the athletes because we have a celebration dinner where we can all hang out and blow off some steam. We had some good Italian wine and danced the night away before we have to take off the next day. I have made lots of new friends and reconnected with others at this decathlon. I now have a travel and training partner, my buddy Brent Newdick of New Zealand will be going with me to train in Stuttgart Germany

May 8, 2010 (1^st Day Multistars)

I woke up at 5am this morning for 2 hours before I could fall asleep again and slept for about another hour before I had to be up so I could get breakfast and make it to the track before we started at 11am. The rain has cleared for today and I hope it stays away for the weekend. I won my heat of the 100m with 11.25 but was not happy because it was a head wind and my legs from the jet lag did not have the strength to finish the race strong. Long Jump I ha to work hard to put up a 6.92 which is good for me. The winds are very bad for both events and then the rain came back as we were warming up for shot put. I had good warm-ups and it cleared as competition started and I threw 15.67m that was a half meter Personal best it was a huge throw that moved me closer to first place. High jump was below average and so was the 400m but I felt that I had empty legs from jet lag. I was fine though being in second at 4006 points sandwich between two of the worlds best from Cuba. Off to bed to put a great second day together.

May 7, 2010 (Italy)

I arrived in Desenzano Del Garda two days ago and have not done much but train and sleep. I have had a great season so far this year and training has been amazing. I feel great and so ready to take on the best in the world. Tomorrow I begin my decathlon in Desenzano and will be competing against the 2^nd and 5^th best guys in the World from Cuba. I have been constantly ranked lower then what I end up doing. I love being the underdog and working my ass off to prove I am better. Wish me luck on this decathlon.

Catching Up With ALL I Have Done

Catching Up With My Life ( Vancouver, 3peat USA Indoor Champ)

It been a while since I wrote on the blog and life has taken over and made me very busy these days. Fall training went really well. I spent the month of December at the Olympic Training center in Chula Vista, CA. I worked with Brad Walker, Tim Mack, and Ty. Their insight on javelin and pole vault were very helpful and after I went back to Tucson I continued to work on everything and saw a great improvement.

I had personal best in the pole vault going 5.35m (17’6 ½) and 60m hurdles indoor I ran 7.997 sec. I won USA Championships for the 3 times in a row. But what made it really special is I beat Tom Pappas for the first time in my career.

I was able to go with my friend, Aaron, to watch the Vancouver Olympics. I got to see Bodi Miller win the Gold Medal for the first time in the Super Combined Downhill. The atmosphere was amazing and it was like New Years Eve every day and night. We didn’t get tickets but were able to enjoy the USA win over Canada in Hockey while we were in Vancouver. It was an amazing and fun trip to the winter Olympics.

Outdoor has been really good so far in my first meet I threw javelin I threw 60.78m (199’ 4) only 2 feet off of my personal best. I did a decathlon at our home multi meet the Jim Click, I wasn’t suppose to do the whole thing but after just going through it as a practice I scored 7832. I had a very solid meet and was very excited of what I was able to do that early and excited to see what I can do when I really compete. I leave for Italy on the 4^th of May and will compete there the 9^th and 10^th of May. I will be training in Stuttgart after that and then doing Gotzis Meet in Austria on May 29^th and 30^th which will be my biggest meet this year against the top guys in the world. Wish me luck and I will keep you updated on my European adventures.

2009 Season

What a season. Would say amazing and really didn’t feel great to me but looking at it on paper it was a really amazing season. I won USA Indoor for 2^nd straight time, Won Italy meet, 10^th at Gotzis against the best guys in world and scored 8069, 3^rd at USA to make my second World Championship team, and got 24^th a World Champs having a bad meet. You always wish and hope for more but looking back I had a really good year and learned so much. I can’t wait to start training next year and really start to kick ass and score big again. Thanks for all the support.

September 26 to October 2

What a trip. It was nice to enjoy Europe and not have to compete or train. I got to enjoy Oktoberfest, France, and Spain. What an amazing trip and now it back home and back to work.

September 25^th

I went golfing with Tobias and Helen at very nice golf course. That night I went to Munich (Munchen) and meet Allison. I went out with Allison to Bar and then hip hop club. We are going to Oktoberfest on Sunday so Saturday we explored the city and saw all of the sites

September 24^th

Went to Koln (colongne) because my friend had to work there and sounded like a fun adventure. I went and saw artwork and some amazing Gothic Cathlic Churches. I really cool city. We return to Goppengan to friends and had a movie night with everyone because after last nights party we were all tired.

September 23^rd

Headed to Stuttgart to meet up with my good friends from Germany that I met in Italy last year. We went out in Stuttgart with a big group of people. Had a really fun night and meet a lot of really cool people. Going to Koln tomorrow.

September 22^nd

So it my first time using a euro pass and made a mistake because in France you have to reserve a seat for which train you want. Well I didn’t and instead of waiting I jumped on train because I needed to get to Germany. It worked out because there were lots of open seats and they just charged me more for a ticket. I meet up with my friend in Mainz, Germany. Goal is to get to Munich and go to Oktoberfest.

September 21^st

Well after long night got up at 5am to go on a boat with friend because one wave goes down this river each day and you can ride or surf it for up to 20mins. Well out of 40 times this guy has only tipped over twice and once was today. I lost my camera and got soaked but had an amazing time doing it. We then returned to the hotal and went to the beach where we got to surf. I then took a nap and was taking out to dinner by 3 girls who showed me the night life in Bordeaux. Tomorrow I leave to Germany.

September 20^th (Day 2 Decathlon)

Well figured I would sleep nope 2:30am to 6am awake started at 10am almost slept through alarm. Can’t get my body to warm-up well the year has caught up to me. It is raining again but it light of all of this I will finish the meet and see what happens. I did finish and got 10^th scoring just over 7500. Not good meet but I had fun and know no matter what I am not quitting unless my body really tells me it can’t. I gave away all my shoes to the young kids and they were all so excited.

September 19^th (Day 1 Decathlon)

Ahhhh was awake from 2:30am to 5am. It pouring rain and is a little chilly. I feel awake but body is tired and during High Jump my calves got really tight. Body not doing well. Don’t know if it is sleep or long season but not out of it. I will finish the meet no matter what just don’t know what the outcome will be. Pretty average first day.

September 18^th

I slept 12 and half hours last night I hope I can sleep tonight. We had dinner and ceremonies in Bordeaux to promote the meet for all the city. This met is very big in Bordeaux and people are very supportive. Start tomorrow

September 17^th

Not feeling bad. Went to Bordeaux after morning training. Bordeaux is a great city with many restaurants and fun things to do. I plan on seeing more when I am done.

September 16^th (Flight to Bordeaux France)

Long travel again to Europe and couldn’t sleep on the flight. Don’t like coming in this late to a meet but it should be fine. My body is tired from the season but looking forward to another adventure.

August 26^th

Travel to and from Europe is so long. But I do love visiting Europe and competing over there.

August 25^th

We made it to the train to Dresden today. Dresden is a city that was 95% destroyed and rebuilt to look like it used too. Dresden was interested to go to because we had to go through East Germany which is the Russian side of the Berlin wall. You can see the Communist look in everything because it all very plain and boring. The city of Dresden was very cool and very beautiful. After so many adventures and seeing so much History I do not want to leave Germany but tomorrow I have to leave bright and early.

August 24^th

We were very slow this morning and missed the train to Dresden so we decided explored more of Berlin. I got to see Check Point Charlie, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, parliament, and Holocaust Memorial. The Berlin wall was amazing with the artwork and all the history behind it. I have experienced so much history in the last few days.

August 23^rd (Potsdamm)

We woke kinda early to see Tom off but then back to sleep because we were going to play tourist today. Today we woke up and had breakfast at the apartment and then headed out to check out Potsdamm. My mom, dad, Katryna, Chris and I arrived around noon to Potsdam and proceeded to figure out the best way to see all the sites. We decided to take the bus tour around so that we could see all the palaces and sites worth seeing. At first the tour was really bad but then we arrived at the palace, where the services quarters were bigger then most estates or palaces alone. We then jumped back on the bus that drove us around this enormous park that was all connected to this palace and others around it. It was huge and had really cool areas to see.

Chris left for the airport after our day of adventures and I headed to the track to watch Nick Symmonds run the 800 meters. He placed 6^th. After I met up with Nick and went to dinner with him and his family, agents, coaches and friends. My parents and Katryna met up later in the night and we all went to a club til 4am in the morning. It was a long night.

August 22^nd (Concentration Camp)

Today was a very emotional and crazy day for me. I visited a concentration camp, it was Sachsenhausen just outside the main Berlin area. My parents, Tom, Katryna, and myself made the trip to this historical place that cost so many their lives because of the Nazis. This concentration was an amazing way to see what happen in Germany at that time. We were at the concentration camp for a long time hearing about all the different things from how many people shared rooms to where they were executed. This experience will always be with me and I believe that everyone should see this once in their life to understand what those wars really were.

After the concentration we grabbed lunch at a Turkish restaurant. Well Turkish restaurant and stands are like Mexican food in the states. They are everywhere and they have good food too. We had Kebab. It a pita like bread that looks like a taco and inside is lettuce, tomato, herb sauce, and meat that sliced off a huge thing of meat that rotating on a spikit. After lunch we jumped back on the train where my mom, dad and katryna went to the Apartment and Tom and I went to meet Joseph at the Stadium so I could watch the men’s pole vault as well as other events. We meet up with Chris there and after we all returned to the apartment for beers and sleep. Tomorrow Tom leaves and we are going to look around Pottersdamm before Chris takes off to Poland.

August 21^st (Rest day)

I was so exhausted and beat up from the two days of physical and mental work that I got sick from dehydration and exhaustion and was until about 3pm. The rest of the household including Tom, Katryna, my mom and dad all slept until 2pm because they were just as tired from the long days before. Chris Chappell showed up and we all had dinner and watched the track meet on TV. It was a low key day that everyone needed. After dinner we had some beers and Chris brought some champagne that he made a great toast to me and my family. After this Katryna, Tom, Chris, and myself went out to have beers and we stayed out til 5am just chatting and having a good time at a small bar.

August 20^th (Decathlon Day 2)

AHHHH!!! Is all I have to say. Worst meet in three years but I finished and was 24^th in the world.

August 19^th ( Decathlon Day 1)

Well we started with 38 guys which is the biggest field at a major championship ever. This caused for a long day of competition. We started at 10am and didn’t finish until

August 18^th (1 day left)

Today is a very low key day because I start tomorrow. I am feeling really good and ready to go. I am really excited to finally start it feels like I have been waiting forever to start this decathlon. The stadium is amazing best track stadium I have seen. Such an amazing site to see this facility in Berlin. Well off to bed have two long days ahead of me.

Last before Competition

August 17^th (2 days left)

Woke up early to meet Sheldon for practice because we wanted to train at the same time as I would be competing. After doing shot put and block starts I returned to the hotel with Sheldon and we met Jack and Sharon to go to lunch at the ASICS hospitality for lunch. Lunch was so good. All the food was flown in from Italy for the Italy team that was sharing the hotel with ASICS.

I returned to the stadium to watch the Women Vault and my friend Chelsea jump. What a night because Chels got silver after Isinbayeva no heighted in the vault. Amazing awesome cool wow. It was so cool to watch a friend do so well. Night everyone will write when I get done.

August 16^th (3 days left)

Today I met with Sheldon at the apartment and got him in and settled before I headed back to the hotel to chill out and then went to the track to watch the men’s 100 meter. I arrived at the track and watched the women’s hep javelin and then the quarters of the 100 meters. After watching many events the main event came up and the electricity in the Stadium was ridiculous before the men’s 100 meter final. As I sat there waiting for it to start the stadium got quiet and then the race started and BOOM it got so loud and crazy as Usain Bolt ran 9.58 a new World Record. If you don’t understand how fast that is it like moving at 30+ mph as a human. What a thing to watch in that stadium. Well off to bed. I start in three days.

August 15^th (first day of World Competition)

It nice that competition is starting up because it gives me something to do during the day. I went over this morning and watched the women’s hep hurdles and high jump. I also saw the first round of 100meters for men and other events. After watching I did a workout at the warm up track doing High Jump and Javelin approaches. The workout went very well and I am feeling awesome with the competition coming up.

For dinner I met up with some friends from the states the were in Berlin and we went to central Berlin for some Thai food. This Thai restaurant I learned how to make a flower out of a napkin it was so cool. After having a awesome dinner I return to the hotel to sleep before I had to meet Sheldon in the morning.

August 14^th

Pretty simple day but an awesome day at the track. I did the hurdles, Long Jump, and discus today and all of them went really well for me. Tomorrow the meet starts and I will head over there to watch the morning session of the heptathlon.

Berlin Cont...

Aug 13^th

Today was an interesting day. I apparently was very tired and didn’t wake up until 10am and went to bed at 11pm. I finally got moving at around 11am and went and got lunch at noon. I was planning on doing some touring but we had a USA mandatory meeting at 3pm which I thought

would take maybe an hour but it took 2.5 hours. This ruined all my plans for the day. I was also going to watch a friend compete at 4:30pm but missed that as well. After a lazy day I am getting a good night sleep to have a good day of training tomorrow where I will do hurdles, long jump, and discus.

Aug 12^th

Woke up early and got a deep tissue massage which was good for me but definitely not relaxing. She really got all the bad stuff out and moving in my muscles. Because I got the massage I had to change up my training and not do the all out sprints I was planning on. The body is feeling good and I am ready to go. After practice and everything I decided to go over to the Olympic stadium and check it out.

WOW!!! That what I thought when I saw it. I arrived at the warm-up track first and it was all types of sports facilities surrounding it. It was very amazing. After checking out the warm-up track we took the long walk through the tunnel. This tunnel was 400 meters long and took a

while to walk but once you left it you were in this enormous stadium that really makes you lose your breath. Amazing that this stadium was used during the 1936 Olympics and I am going to be competing in less then a week. I walked around the track and then returned to the hotel. I hope to tour around tomorrow because I have the day off of training.

Berlin

Aug 11^th

The day was very easy I woke up at 9:30 to get breakfast and meet Trey downstairs to get the poles over to the track so we could return the car by noon. Well our poles were fine we just tied them on the car again but the girls with poles put them in the v

an and cracked the windshield. After getting them to the track I did a short shake out. The practice track was awesome and so nice. After some time at the trac

k I returned to the hotel and passed out for 2 hours. Grabbed some dinner and went back to sleep after watching a movie. I am so lucky to be here and I hope that I can show the World how good I can be.

Aug 10^th

Trey and I took are time getting going this morning because we couldn’t get the car until noon. Trey and I decided to rent a car to drive to Berlin because with poles and everything we felt it was easier to drive and split the cost. Well after breakfast and packing w

e grabbed a taxi to get the car. We then returned to the hotel and grabbed my brother and our luggage after dropping my brother at the train station we went to go get the poles. Oh it is fun tying two pole bags to the top of a car and getting ready to go as fast as we can on the autobahn.

So the drive to Berlin was a fun and interesting drive. The fun part was pushing a 4cylinder engine to it limits. When on an open autobahn we avg about 170km(104mph) and the max was on a slit downgrade of 197km(110+mph). It would be so cool to get a better car and really see what you can do because we were going 180km and an Audi A4 car went by us like we were standing still. People in Germany know how to drive because if they stay out of the left lane and really keep traffic going.

The interesting part of the drive came when we hit a huge rainstorm about an hour into the drive. The storm had hail and was dumping buckets. The best thing was that we tied the poles through the doors so the weather stripping was pulled back and water started to pour in the car on my right shoulder and Trey left shoulder. We were SOAKED in a car so we pulled under an overpass and waited it out. Other then that the drive was awesome and we arrived at the hotel at 6pm grabbed dinner and headed to bed. My roommate is Nick Symmonds the 800m runner but he won’t get here until the 16^th of Aug so I have a room to myself.

Aug 9^th

I woke up feeling better then the first day of competition. Competition started at noon and I was doing a quick hurdle warm-up but not running, discus and pole vault. I did 3 x 2 hurdles out of blocks. The hurdle starts felt really good and fast. I then did discus the ring was a little slick and I threw 44.69 (147’) which was ok for me. I then went and did pole vault where I jumped 5.05m (16’ 5 ¾). I was over 5.15m twice but both times caught it coming down on the backside. Overall it was a very productive day and as my legs start to become fresh it will get better.

After competition was a big celebration for all the athletes and workers. We had the party at a local bar that had been so generous all week to give us meals and drinks for free. It was no different for this night all food and drinks were free to everyone there. If you can believe it my little brother showed up just in time for the party. Everyone had a great time and I got to meet so many new people. I went home early because I have to get sleep before we drive to Berlin tomorrow. Berlin the last stop before World’s!!!!

Road to Berlin

August 8^th

Today is the first day of the decathlon for the Thorpe Cup. I ran the 100meter dash and ran an 11.05 which was good for me. Long jump was bad but a plus was that my run was really good and even though I jumped bad I really feel that I am ready to make a big jump. High Jump was not better. My legs were just not there today so I am not really upset but disappointed in what I did. I am ready to do awesome at World’s just need to get the body fresh and over jet lag. Doing the discus and pole vault tomorrow. Off to bed.

August 7^th

Today was a low key day because the competition is tomorrow for the Thorpe Cup. I am doing the 100m, Long Jump and High Jump. My legs are still very tight so hopefully they will be good to go tomorrow before I compete. Otherwise everything going really well and training is really good. I can’t wait to have my legs fresh and put up a big score at World’s.

August 6^th

We had wake up early today to train because we were headed to visit an US Army base in Frankfort. Wiesbaden was the base. We went to the track at 7:30am trained which was still rough for me. Every day gets better. After training we returned to the hotel and 10:30am we headed on a bus to Wiesbaden to have lunch with the soldiers and take a tour around the base and the youth center. It was a very cool thing to do and I enjoyed sitting with the soldiers and hearing there stories and just getting to know them. The bus rides were horrible because there was no real AC and it was like sitting in a sauna for and hour each way. We finally returned at 5pm and we were all pretty beat at this point but were back on the bus at 6pm to head to the Licher Brewery for dinner and a tour.

The Licher Brewery was a lot of fun. We had a good dinner with the German team then got a tour around the whole Brewery. We saw how they made, stored, and bottled everything. It was a very good time but when I got home around 10pm I went straight to bed because I was beat. I don’t think sitting on a bus and all this stuff is very good or my legs but I have two weeks to feel good and kick ass at World’s.

August 5^th

After a long flight I made it to Frankfort, Germany it was 9:30am when we arrived which was like 12:30am Arizona time. I was all messed up and it was a long day because I was so tired and had to force myself to stay awake the whole day so I could get on to the time over here. Well we got picked up at the airport and drove an hour to Marburg where we checked into the hotel grabbed lunch and headed to the track. It was a very good facility and they rally have gone the extra mile to take care of us. After practice we returned to the hotel and Trey and I went to an early dinner because I was fading fast. We returned to the hotel about 8pm and by 8:30 I was out cold and didn’t wake up til 6:30am.

July 31^st to Aug 4^th

Training is going awesome right now. I had such good practices. Can’t wait to get to Germany and compete. Other then that….

This last week has been crazy for me. I remodeled a bathroom changing up the sink and tiles for the vanity. I then flew home for a wedding o Thursday and back on Sunday to leave to Germany on Tuesday the 4^th. The bathroom came out really good and I am glad I got it done because my roommates are moving in when I am gone.

The wedding was Daniel Weber and Kristy Sather and it was an amazing wedding and I had a great time. When I returned Sunday night I realized I had so much more to do then I thought. I woke up and went to practice and then ran around doing errands, did stuff around the house, and finally packed at 10pm. I got to bed at 12am and woke up at 3am. What a week but that all done now to World’s. Berlin baby.

USA and July Training

July 13^th – July 30^th

The first day back to training on the track was a rude awaking to how hot Tucson really was. The first day back I was out there at 9:30am and it was already 98* and by the time I was done at 12:30pm it was 106*. I was dying but I had a good practice. This was the way practice went for the last three weeks really hot and exhausting but really good. There were a few days that it was a little cooler but most were in the 100’s. Training has been really good the past three weeks and I have figured a lot of stuff out and really feel that World’s will be the perfect stage to put up a huge score.

Well training not all I have been doing. I have been finishing up my house and getting it ready for my roommates. My dad even came down for a week to help. My dad would wake up at 6am and get all the stuff done outside before it got hot. I would go to practice and return to help him with the projects we had. As a team we got a lot done and the house looks great. Well it July 30^th and I am headed to Santa Rosa to go to Daniel Weber and Kristy Sather wedding. I am very excited for these two and hope them the best because they are such a great couple.

Well I leave Tuesday the 4^th at 6:45am out of Phx. I go to Frankfort Germany first where I will go to Marburg to compete in 5 events at the Thorpe Cup before I head to Berlin on the 10^th for World’s. I compete Aug 19^th and 20^th in Berlin and it can be seen on VS sports channel.

June 27^th – July 12^th

Well after my competition I decided to hang out and watch USA and all my friends compete so I stayed until the 30^th up there then I headed to Tucson for a day and then off to Catalina for a short family vacation. I left Catalina in the middle for a little to train at UC Irvine but then returned for our annual Golf Tournament which my brother Tom and I won with a friends wife and their son. It was a lot of fun and a relaxing time. I wish I could have stayed longer but I needed to get back to the 105 heat and training. Catalina is such a wonderful and relaxing place to go for me. I have been there every summer since I was born.

June 26^th (Day 2 Decathlon USA)

Day 2 I woke up feeling really good except that in the middle of the night my shoulder blade was giving me problems but saw the chiro and it was gone. The winds for the hurdles were really good with a straight tail wind so I was excited. I was in the first heat lane 2. The gun went off and I was flying but about the 7^th hurdle I was moving so well that I got to close and hit the last three hurdles and ran a 14.16 getting second in my heat by .01. The day started well with hurdles and then discus went well throwing 45.75 (150’ 1”). Then came the pole vault we had to wait an hour because of the Juniors and by this time my left hamstring was giving me trouble which was weird because it is usually my right that gives me trouble. Warm-ups were good and I looked like I should jump well. Well I waited til get got to 4.70(15’ 5”) and made it my second attempt but my hamstring was really tight and I was being very timid which you cant do in vault. I failed to make 4.90(16’ ¾”) because I was being a baby and wouldn’t run right. This ultimately cost me second place losing 90pts in one event. Javelin was ok but I was fighting the head wind by going harder which is the wrong way to do it. I threw 57.82(189’ 8”) which sealed my place at third but with me that not good enough so I went and ran 1500m to get second. The race started and I hung with Ashton and a few guys for the first lap but no one wanted to take it out so I took the lead the second lap into the head wind I pushed it all the way til the end but having the lead took a toll on me and in the last 200 meters Ashton passed to take second. I really was trying but his 1500m skills are better and he took it. Well I did what I needed to and competed to make the World Team. Score wasn’t very good at 7984 but it was enough to make the team which was the goal. Now the real work starts for Germany.

http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAOutdoorTFChampionships/results/F39.asp