Peace Be The Journey

Nothing big to report on the home front this week. It's been pretty uneventful after last weekends big news. I'm still training, and I'm looking forward to whatever the next few months bring. July and the beginning of August are going to be crazy busy, so I'm sorry if the posts are short and sweet. I'll try to get a video of my combine up here soon. In the meantime, I finished my video from the combine last summer for you to enjoy. (I know that this statement probably doesn't instill a great sense of confidence, but I will try to get it up soon.) Hopefully you'll have a better idea of what I do at these tryouts after seeing this video. Have a great week, and enjoy your summer! One Epic Weekend in Utah Part 1: Combine

Today was the big day. I did much better than last summer, but I'm not quite there yet. My running still needs some work, but I'm happy with my results. I had personal bests in every category. I met some new friends, and the coaches remembered me. Overall, I'd consider it a very successful day. I scored 100 more points than last summer, which puts me right under 500 points. I was 0.01 seconds from scoring on the 45m running category, and I scored in every other category. So, when I run 0.01 seconds faster, I'll already be at 550 points. That puts me just 50 points short of making the team. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Katy and Aunt Kay were there to cheer me on and take lots of pictures. I'll post them soon, so you can feel like you were there too. Caitlyn, one of the Zoom trainers whom I talked into coming, did really well. John, the trainer in charge of sports development at Zoom, came out for the morning too. Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Since I wrote

Tomorrow's the big day. I just wanted to write a quick post to thank everyone for all your encouragement! It really means a lot that so many people are thinking of and praying for me. The combine starts at 9am tomorrow morning and should wrap up in the early afternoon. I'm really excited! I'll be sure to post tomorrow afternoon so you all know how I did. My phone tree is already pretty long, so it may be faster to read it here. Thanks for all your support!

6 days till the combine! And to answer the same questions everyone keeps asking: Are you excited? YES! Are you nervous? YES! Are you ready? YES! ( Most excited kid EVER! I couldn't embed this video, but please click on the link and watch this. Makes me laugh every time. My excitement doesn't manifest itself quite like it did in this little boy, but inside I look like this.) I'm feeling confident. And I have to say I'm enjoying the feeling. I've had a great week of training, setting several personal bests. I squatted 200 lbs on Tuesday. 200 lbs! Crazy! I power cleaned 171 lb. In the words of Ms. Christa Bowman, "That's like power cleaning myself!" I ran 17 mph for 6 seconds without any help. Let me just confirm that the treadmill was hummin! And I now have a 23.5" vertical. I'm feeling good and looking forward to Saturday. All this preparation is paying off. If I need some more inspiration after those great videos last week, I'll

I wish I was related to this kid! Anytime I need a little motivation, I'll pull up this video. Greatness! I also had another source of motivation this weekend. I was at the track doing a workout Saturday morning, and I saw someone sitting in the discus ring. I didn't pay much attention and went on with my workout. All the sudden I look up, and boy was I in for a shock. Standing in the ring was a woman, who had to have been at least 70 something, practicing hammer-throw. Seriously. She must compete at master's track meets, and she was pretty good for an old bird. I was highly impressed. Then she did her stretches, walked a few laps, grabbed her gear and headed home. Love it! She isn't quite as old as Ruth Frith, but she was getting up there. These clips of Ruth are amazing. She is now over 100 and still dominating the world circuit. Here's an interview with Ruth 2 years later at 100 years old. She's my hero! And I just couldn't pass this video up.