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

Day 1 USA

June 25th (Day 1 Decathlon USA)

 

Day one went well but not great.  I am feeling really good but I just can’t get the marks.  With Clay dropping out that made me move up to 3^rd in the rankings. This was good but maybe bad because I felt some pressure go away.  I compete well under pressure and with me being in a drivers seat I may have been lax.  I wasn’t though I competed and had a PR in the 100meters 11.01 a .02 PR my first of the year.  I then went 6.95meters in the long jump which was good and then 14.69meters in the shot put.  High jump was a disappointment with a 1.96metrs.  The 400 was good compared to the field but I was disappointed with a 49.49 sec.  Thanks for all the support. 

 

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

Days before USA Championships

June 24^th

I woke up around 8:30am and was ready to go but hung out doing things on my computer until Nick woke up.  We then grabbed my brother and went to get credentials.  After we headed to breakfast at 5^th Street Market with Nick, John, Andy, Tom and myself.  After breakfast we chilled at Nick house until my parents came and picked me up so we could check into the hotel.  I then grab lunch with my parents and headed to the track.  Warming up at the track I remember what level I was at when I am running past gold medalist and world record holders.  Amazing I love this feeling of competition.  After the track shake out I headed back for dinner at Olive Garden. Nothing to exciting but I am feeling good and ready to kick some ass tomorrow.  Berlin here I come.

June 23^rd

Training up to this point has been really good and I feel healthy.  I really haven’t felt this good since NCAA in 2007. I had a long travel day from Tucson to Portland then a drive to Eugene.  I left my house at 10:10am and arrived at Nick’s in Eugene at 9:00pm.  It was a long trip but I am here and ready to compete.  Night Everyone.

 

Toronto Meet

June 11^th

Because we had all day to kill before the meet we asked Jenna a heptathlete at University of Toronto to take us around town and the campus.  She took us to something street where there were lots of crazy second hand shops. Then we went China town.  Around 1pm we headed back to the hotel where we grab lunch and got ready to head to the track. I left around 3pm with Paul to go warm-up because we had the Pole Vault at 5pm. 

This meet was very different then I had seen because we were doing 3 events starting with the Pole Vault which we only got 6 attempts (Miss or make), then it was the 110HH, and 25mins later the 400meters.  We had 5 competitors Clay, Hardee, Terek, Canadian, and me. Pole Vault went well I made 4.90 (16’ ¾) and 5.00 (16’ 4 ¾) first attempt and then took 4 attempts at 5.20 which I did not make.  Then it was a 2 hour break before the hurdles and at this point Hardee had dropped out and we had 4 guys. It was raining and there was a slight head wind at this time.  I ran a 14.13 which is my second best ever by .01sec and only .13 behind Clay.  It was a very good race for me. By the time I got my stuff and sat down I had to put my shoes on and run the 400meters.  That sucked because I wasn’t ready.  I ran a 49.65 and won the 400meters but feel short of beating Clay overall by 40pts. Overall it was a fun meet and it went really well. Toroonto is a very cool city and I hope to visit there again.

 

June 10^th

I woke up late after falling asleep around 1am.  I grab lunch and then meet Jim Dilling to explore the city of Toronto and go in the Toronto Tower (similar to the Space Needle in Seattle).  We traveled on the bullet which is the subway to city center and went by the Toronto Blue Jay Stadium and to the Toronto Tower where we paid to go to the highest observatory spot in the world. It was really cool to go up to the top and see the whole city from one vantage point. Around 5pm we returned to the hotel so that we could get ready and head to the track.  At the track we both did our pre-meet warm-ups.  At the time Usain Bolt was doing his as well and there was a big group of people and media people there to watch him.  Usain was getting paid $250,000 to run the 100meters.  Jim and I finished our warm-ups and returned to the hotel and headed to dinner.  After dinner we were headed back when we saw Jesse Williams and Paul Terek so instead of heading back with Jim I went with them to a second dinner so I could catch up with them.  By the time I got to bed it was 1am but I didn’t compete until 5pm so I was ok.

 

June 9^th

After staying in Santa Rosa from the 1^st to the 3^rd I returned to Tucson to train but am off again for a meet in Toronto.  I left from Phoenix because it was a direct flight on US Airways and they were able to carry my poles.  I arrived at 10:30pm in Toronto and got to my hotel around 11:45pm.  This was fine because my body was so confused on when to sleep and be awake after spending so much time in Europe that getting there late was fine.  This Toronto meet will be interesting because I am only doing 3 events the pole vault, 110 HH, and 400 meters.  We are doing that because they wanted to include decathletes but it was only a 3 hour meet with Usain Bolt running the 100meters as a finale.  I compete June 11^th.

European Experience

MAY European Experience

My experience in Europe for the month of May was amazing and I was happy I could share it with my brother Tom.  As you know the trip started in Italy at The Multistars Decathlon where I scored 7994 and took First Place. We then found ourselves in Lienz, Austria where I trained for three weeks for Gotzis Hypomeeting where the best Decathletes in the world show up at each year.  The world record was set at this meet and I was really excited to compete against all the guys that this competition brought.  I got 10^th at Gotzis and was happy with my 8069 but knew that wouldn’t cut it at USA Championships.  Overall it was amazing trip from Italy to London to Austria.  Riding in a Maserati and going Paragliding.  Great thanks goes to Josef Schmidl for all his help with training and setting me up to stay in Europe for a month.  I will try to do this same trip every year because it was such a success. 

Gotzis

May 31^st (Day 2 of Gotzis)

 

I always like the start of day 2 because I like the events that I get to do. So knowing that I didn’t do as well as I wanted so I knew that I needed to start off well and move up so I could make some money and hopefully pass 8200.  Well it started off ok with a 14.27 sec 110 HH. I nailed the second hurdle and that slowed me from the beginning            but ran a great race after that.  Next was the discus and warm-ups were really good and I was ready to go.  My first throw was 45.76 (150’) which was 30cm from my PR.  It was a big first throw.  I didn’t improve but ended up 4^th in the event which was big. Then came the pole vault and if I wanted to get a big score today I would have to jump well. Well the weather didn’t want it to be easy and the winds started to swirl and at one point it began to rain.  I should have jumped better but I jumped 4.90m (16’ ¾) which moved me to 11^th and right where I needed to be to move up. 

 

Well the weather hated us in the first group of the javelin.  It turn to a straight head wind at about 4 meters/hour. One guy even held the javelin straight out in front of him and threw it up and it flew right back to him. Head wind is the worst in Javelin because as the javelin starts to come off the arc the head wind just pushes the tip to the ground.  That exactly what happened and I managed 56.84m which was 690 points.  Not good.  I was back a ways and needed to run a fast 1500meters.  I ran 4:31.13 (.09 of my PR) I made up 100points on the guy who was 8^th and 30 on the guy who got 9^th.  I missed 8^th by 19 points so I tried and only missed it by a little.  Overall it was an amazing experience and I was very happy with what I did but will be back to do better next year.

 

 

May 30^th (Day 1 of Gotzis)

 

I woke up excited and ready to go for Day 1 of  the decathlon in Gotzis.  This is considered the place to be if you are a decathlete because this place has had the best scores ever.  The world record was set here and many other big scores. The atmosphere is amazing with so many people surrounding the track with cow bells and clapping a each corner.  Day one started out good I ran 11.06 which is my second best start ever.  Long jump was good at 6.92 (22’ 10 ½”) but way behind the rest of the guys.  Then I had a bogey as they call in golf only throwing 14.20 (47’ ) in the shot put.  I was in 19^th place after shot but high jump and 400 meters were left.  High Jump has been very good lately and it was really good I cleared first attempts until 2.00m (6’6 ¾) I made it second attempt by a bunch.  The crowd was really into it now and it got me a little to excited and I ended up not making another bar because I was running to hard.  I felt I was going to PR in the high jump today but was happy.  This moved me to 16^th place.  I ran the 400m in 49.17 which moved me closer but I was still in 16^th place.  I scored 4039 first day which is average for me but I am in a good spot to move up with a good second day.  This meet is awesome and if you ever get a chance I would come and see this meet.  Wish me luck on day 2.