Christmas Week!

I have decided that this week is Christmas Week. I always get really sad the night of Christmas Day, because Christmas is over! No longer, I say.

The week after Christmas and before New Year's will now be Christmas Week in my life.

By the way, my Christmas Day was amazing; Russ got me super sweet and thoughtful presents, and the collection of gift cards I have from his Mom and my parents is really exciting! Christmas week this year takes place in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Russ and I plan to get lots of outdoor activity in; the weather has actually been gorgeous so far. It's clear and sunny, with temperatures maybe between mid-20s to high 40s. That's pretty awesome, considering I've been really cold here before. It was pretty chilly at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo last night, though!

Training while we're here will be a little bit of an adventure. When I'm on vacation, I seriously love making my workouts fit in with the time I spend with family! It's like this timing puzzle that's super satisfying to solve, because I feel good physically and mentally at the end of the day; I get my workouts in and I get to bond with loved ones. This morning, I threw an 800-gram ball around in the park near Russ's Mom's house for my throwing practice, and I'll lift at a random gym in the area while Russ is at a dentist appointment. Tomorrow, I'll run in that same park, and do gymnastics on the jungle gym! Last week, we were in Orange Beach, Alabama visiting Russ's grandparents and Dad, and the local recreation center offered everything I needed for training; all I had to do was be a little creative.

Excuses don't cut it; if you want to get better, find a way to make it happen!

This morning's practice marked the beginning of the first week of Block 3 for me (my 9th week of training). I'm really excited about some of the technical things we've been working on this fall! My last throwing session before this Christmas trip started made me a little frustrated with figuring out the new positions, but I've been visualizing them pretty consistently, and really focused on them this morning in the park. I'm getting low in my legs in order to get my left down quickly, staying really closed until my left foot is down, and really trying to keep the javelin angle down at release by keeping the tip as close to my face as I can for as long as I can! I'm really looking forward to early spring training.

The Diamond League schedule for 2011 came out recently! Here is an idea of the meets I'd like to compete in this year:

last weekend of April: Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa
May 26: Rome, Italy*
June 4: Prefontaine Classic* in Eugene, Oregon
June 11: New York*, New York
last weekend of June: USA Championships in Eugene, Oregon
July 8: Paris, France*
July 22: Monaco*
August 5-6: London, England*
August 27-Sept. 4: World Championships in Daegu, Korea
September 9: Zurich, Switzerland*

*Diamond League meets

Merry Christmas Week!!

Business as Usual

The last six or so weeks have been great! The first block (three weeks) of training went well, and this marks the end of the second week of my second block. I'm really, really excited about all the shoulder strengthening stuff that's involved in my every day training this year.

I always have shoulder pain when I start back training:

Every year my mind tricks me into thinking it's worse than it has ever been before! Once we get into regular throwing sessions and toss in some extra rehab for good measure though, it calms right down. Right now, we're throwing heavy javelins, getting back into crossover shape, and working really hard on learning some real gymnastics skills.

I've been having some technical difficulties with the internet lately, so I didn't get to post a blog about Rally for Girls' Sports Day. I just wanted to leave a list of things that I've won from playing sports.

1. friends
2. self-confidence
3. mental and physical strength
4. a job (that I love)
5. perspective on the world
6. opportunities to give back
7. lots and lots of gratitude for others

A note on #7: Victories (whatever their scale) are so much more fun when you realize that they aren't just your own. It's extremely humbling to think about the things that so many other people had a hand in to get you where you are, and I try to think about it every day and say thanks!