When in Rome...Learn

I competed in the Compeed Golden Gala (my event's first Diamond League meet) in Rome, Italy on May 26. Sorry for the delay in writing a blog about this one, but I'm nearing the end of a flurry of recent meets and haven't had much time between training, volunteering, travel and competition!

Things I Learned in Rome:

1. Eliminate distractions whenever possible.

At Drake, I wore a back brace to support my cranky SI joints. No matter how prepared you are for your attempts during a competition, having to put on an extra piece of equipment each time is just obnoxious! I've been seeing Brett the rehab master here at the training center regularly for adjustments and exercises, and ditching that back brace is always a celebration. I didn't even bring it to Rome, so getting ready for my throws was simplified. Javelin, shoes, Kara...check, check, check. I also learned how the zipper on my new uniform jacket works. I know that sounds stupid, but I struggled with it at Drake and it really drove me crazy. To put on and take off my outer layer with ease was a relief.

2. A little adventure never hurt anybody.

Becky and I went to see the Vatican on Tuesday night (the day we both arrived in Rome and two days before competition). We didn't stay long, but glimpsed the ancient tourist attraction from the outside, ate some delicious gelato, and wandered around for a while enjoying a game of "Tourist? Or Local?". I do better at competitions when I don't take myself super seriously, so it's always nice for me to get out and see the sights a bit! After the meet, dinner was served at a party around the pool, and I love to socialize, so it was great to meet some new people and catch up with others.


3. Sleep is my BEST FRIEND.

My flight landed on Tuesday at about 10:30am. I kept my eyes open until 8:30 that night, and didn't open them until 10:30am on Wednesday. I took a nap from 1:00pm-3:30pm that afternoon, then went to the track to do my pre-meet workout. I fell asleep at about 11:30 that night, and slept until 8:30am Thursday (competition day). After a quick breakfast, I fell asleep again from 9am-3:30pm, waking up in time to grab a mid-afternoon snack and get ready to leave for competition on a 6pm shuttle. I. Felt. Awesome. That's approximately 32 hours of sleep in a 53-hour period. You gotta do what you gotta do!

4. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

I was delayed out of San Diego on Monday about an hour. Unfortunately, my layover in Chicago was only a little more than an hour. I spent my first flight sort of nervous, but also knew things would work out if I didn't make it. After all, I've learned from past mistakes and now always have everything I need with me. I found out during the first flight that the man across the aisle from me was also going to Rome. He was a lot more nervous about making it than I was, and also a lot more clueless as to where our connecting gate was. Walking as fast as possible without completely leaving him in my dust, I showed him to our next plane, which was delayed about 20 minutes, meaning I had time to grab a quick sandwich at the totally convenient deli nearby! After I ordered, strange man from my previous plane surprised me by buying my veggie wrap, even though all he got was a banana. Then I hid from him in the totally convenient women's restroom until my flight boarded. I had an empty seat next to me on the flight despite the fact that the rest of the plane was completely full! When we got to Rome, my javelins were there waiting for me even though the connection in ORD had been tight. Made a short connection, free lunch, open seat AND javelins arrived safely? Fabulous!

5. Good plans work.

During warm-ups for competition at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, literally every one of my competitors kept one or two of their javelins with them to throw in the warm-up area. I had checked in all of mine. I don't expect to be able to throw in the warm-up area at regular-season meets, because it hardly ever happens that way! But when everyone else was doing it, I felt a little foolish. Then I said to myself, "Kara, you never do that. Stick to the plan," did what I usually do and then relaxed until we were called to go inside the stadium. What do you know, my warm-ups on the runway felt fine and I competed pretty well in prelims, throwing 62.76m on my third attempt when I felt like I needed a better mark to ensure that I was top 8 and would go to finals. The other plan that worked well was to train through Drake completely. I definitely could have and should have thrown better there, but having such a strong training base this season is going to serve me very well in the long run. :)

6. Chill, baby! And take care of number one.

When we were led out to the runway for warm-ups, the men's pole vault had just started. Even though there are two different places that both the pole vault and javelin can be contested in every stadium, we were both on the same side. That meant that the pole vault and javelin runways intersected at a T, and a man stood with an orange flag throughout both competitions, prohibiting a javelin thrower or a pole vaulter from doing their thing at all times. This was especially problematic during our warm-ups, as there's not an ample amount of time for them in a stiuation that doesn't involve potential violent collisions. I saw the problem as soon as we arrived, so I grabbed two javelins and took them into the field, away from the chaos. A few meet people told me not to, but if I'm not getting a chance to go down the runway, I'm gonna do what I have to to be warm to throw. Sorry I'm not sorry. :) It was silly that both men's vault and women's jav took twice as long as they needed to, but it ended up being kinda fun to be so close to another field event. The mantra that we should worry about things we can control gets put into practice in all kinds of situations!

I learned a whole lot at this meet. I think mostly it was a refresher course though; a re-introduction to big time competition and how to handle certain stressors. I didn't respond well when Barbora passed me in the sixth round and ended up fourth overall, so that leaves me hungry. Rome got me excited about Pre, but that didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Stay tuned...

Modified Approach

I had trouble with my approach at Drake. I added two carry steps this year (running forward with the javelin over your head; each left foot strike counts as a step), making my approach four carry steps and three crossovers. Last year, I used two carry steps and three crossovers, meaning that my approach this year got a lot longer, less aggressive, and more likely to have mistakes in it.

The point of adding more carry steps is to get more speed by the end of the approach. Unfortunately, if you don't use that speed correctly, there is absolutely no reason to include the extra steps! Acceleration is one of the most important factors in good javelining, so if you're not accelerating throughout your approach, something is wrong. Take a look at this video of my best attempt at Drake.



Pretty constant speed, not much acceleration, just blah all the way through, slow left leg at the end.

Yesterday, I had a good throwing session. We're throwing 700-gram javelins right now, and I've been pleased with how my last few practices have gone. At the end of throwing sessions, we practice approaches. After one mock approach using four carry steps yesterday, Ty simply said, "You just look tired." I felt tired.

By the end of that long approach (distance runners, no laughing) I was just feeling lost and scatter-brained,

so we decided to shorten it by one carry step. Huge difference. I'm very excited about using this slightly shorter approach! I feel more comfortable at the end of it and much more ready to throw far out of it than the extended version. I can accelerate throughout instead of feeling like I have to hold something back for the end. I'm pretty pumped to put it to the test in Rome next Thursday. :)

Drake Relays

I went to Drake Relays! I threw the javelin. I hung out with my family! I came home.

Those were my emotions this weekend. I was excited to go to the meet, but for some reason not that pumped about actually throwing my implement. I wanted to throw far, but the process of actually using my body to do it was somehow boring once I arrived at the competition venue.

I couldn't (or wouldn't) get my energy up and hold my technique together simultaneously.

By the end of my six throws, I was moving decently fast on the runway, but nothing held solid at the end of my approach to give the javelin any energy. I ended up throwing 57.74m (189'5") on my final attempt. I had two other 57m throws, and one farther sector foul (when the javelin lands outside its designated target area, which is large).

I know what I need to fix. In the meet, I tried to focus on all of the technical things we have been working on in practice. The problem was that I tried to focus on all of the technical things we have been working on in practice! When I get to a competition, I need to have laser focus on a few very important technical cues, and execute them to the best of my ability. I simply am out of practice at that kind of mindset, and I'm excited to get back to it in practice in the next few weeks.

I also think that it is extremely important to always be thinking about where you want to end up. At Drake, I was just throwing to throw at Drake. I didn't have a fire in my belly about hitting this season's distance goal or competing simply to throw the farthest I possibly could or preparing myself to throw at USAs/Worlds to the best of my ability. Striving to constantly be better is something that I always want to do, but an idea I forgot about last Friday.

Moving on. :) It has been confirmed that I will compete in the first women's javelin Diamond League event in Rome, Italy on May 26! I'm really looking forward to it, because last year I missed out on the first two Diamond League meets for my event. It will be really nice to begin the race on the actual starting line this year!

Staycation

It's rest week again! I didn't have practice yesterday, and I don't have to do anything today, tomorrow, or Sunday (although I'll do a little something Saturday).

I decided to get away. I'm at a secret location, relaxing by myself in San Diego. :)

This last block was awesome. You already know that I threw a practice PR three Mondays ago. What you don't know is that I threw another one (actually two) this Monday!! The week and a half in between those good days was pretty bad. I love when I can have a few frustrating practices, forget about them in order to move forward, and then come back more focused than before!

Ty, Mike, Andreas, Daniel, Tero and his coach were watching my practice on Monday. It has been extremely fun to have so many fabulous javelin throwers (the Germans are here, too!) and international gurus of the sport around, because there is quite a different energy at the track than when it's just Mike and I.

Andreas and Mike had all of the javelin throwers and Russ over for a barbeque last Friday. It was simply amazing to look around at all the talent eating cheeseburgers in one room! Each event in track and field is so specific that I always try to take advantage of relaxed social situations like that one. You can only get to know someone so well when you're competing against each other! The happiest guy at the party was Sean, as he set a new personal record at Mt. SAC Relays last weekend! He threw 81.62m, and there's nothing quite like that PR high that lasts a few days after competition. Good job, Sean!

HAPPY birthday

Three or four people have told me that it’s all downhill after the age of 25.

Whatever, I say.

I love birthdays. I tell Russ that mine is coming up at least a month beforehand. A lot of people might say, “Well, Kara, you’re only 25. Wait ten years and then tell me you love birthdays.” But I challenge you to enjoy each and every year of your life. You’re alive, right? Go have a good time with that. You can't go backwards, so don't waste time wishing you could.

I was brought up in a house where your accomplishments were praised, and your birthday was filled with happiness and celebration. I simply don’t understand how a birthday could be treated like every other day! It doesn't have to be a huge deal, but it should be noticed and appreciated. To me, April 10th each year feels a little bit like hitting the pause button. I get to spend a day still feeling like I’m the age I’ve been for a year, while also wondering what the next age will bring (and, chances are, it won’t be that different). I ponder what I’ve done so far, and what I’d like to tackle next. I do what I want, and I get to hear from people that I love!

This year’s birthday was so much about friends. People went out of their way to spend time with me, and it meant a lot! The calls, messages and texts that I got from people from all walks of life really made me appreciate how much I’ve been exposed to and how lucky I am to have met such awesome individuals from so many different areas (and eras, for that matter).

Don’t complain about your age. Enjoy a day that's all about you; there's only one guaranteed opportunity to do that each year!

Practice PR!

We all know that practice distances don't count. They aren't officially measured. Only you, your training partners and your coach can vouch for them (and those people might be a little biased). A lot of times, practice throws are fouls.

But when you have good practice throws, you're just happy.

When macthrowvideo.com featured me on their website last year, someone asked me if I had thrown farther than the American Record (thanks again, Cyrus!) in practice. I absolutely have not! I'm not a "practice thrower." Mostly, we focus on technique during the two sessions per week that we're on the runway, so I try not to be concerned about how far my javelins fly. But there are times that we bring the intensity up and measure throws to kind of check in with how preparation for competition is coming.

I set a training goal last year to throw 60 meters in practice. I never achieved that, but I raised it this year because of the success that I saw in competition during 2010. So, although I'm really happy about meeting last year's goal today and setting a new practice personal record :), I'm more excited about striving toward this year's aspirations.

Outdoor season has begun,

but not yet for me! My first meet of the season will be Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. I throw on Friday, April 29th at 2:00pm!

Off the Runway

I haven't been on the runway that much lately. The throwing sessions that I have had have been super beneficial, though, yay! I've mostly been on the computer (see the new CVOTC Track and Field blog) and getting treatment/waiting for my left SI joint to calm down.

I've also been volunteering my time!

Although I get paid a little bit for it, I don't think of being a tour guide at the training center as a job. It's actually really fun for me; people, surprisingly, always ask different questions. It's neat to be able to share something with them that they've never encountered before, or might not have ever had explained fully to them. A little while ago, a group of athletes from The Larry English L.E.A.D. Foundation came for a tour. We walked them around the training center and showed a video. It never ceases to amaze me how everyone gets mesmerized by footage of inspiring Olympic moments. Watch the video in that link and tell me you weren't just a little misty-eyed.


I started working with Athletes for Hope after the USATF Annual Meeting in the fall of 2009. They help athletes get connected with volunteer opportunities in their communities. It took me a while to figure out which organization I wanted to become a part of and to really get the ball rolling, but last summer I finally attended my orientation as a San Diego Humane Society Volunteer! I got trained in my specific program, Dog Activities, in February, and last Wednesday I had my first hands-on training day, walking these pets under the supervision of an already-trained Volunteer. I'm loving it.

Ian, Stacy, Sandy, Russ and I drove up to LA last Thursday for the USATF Olympians Night at Staples Center before the LA Kings vs. St. Louis Blues hockey game. We met a few athletes and answered some questions about Track and Field and life in general. A small group of people came, and it was really nice to have the time to actually have a conversation with them! Then we got to stay for the game. If you've never been to a professional hockey game, go. It's super fun.


I have my second training day at the Humane Society tomorrow. :) Can't wait to see the puppies!!