A Day to Decompress

Now that I have travelled for 24 hours and have slept for about 5, I wanted to write one last post to reflect briefly.  

First off, I will start with thanks.  This trip wouldn't have been possible without my family, especially my parents and my sister.  Without their support and encouragement, I might not have gone to China, so they had a huge hand in this endeavor.

Next I want to thank Shani and Amanda.  I began coaching them two years ago and I never would have guessed that I would have been at the Olympics a short two years later.  They have both improved tremendously and I can only hope that they will stay with it another few years to continue to progress and develop.   I really believe that even greater things are on the horizon.

My friends and extended family.  Whether in Nashville, Winston Salem, Gainesville, Boston, New York, West Palm Beach, or anywhere else in the country or the world, I wouldn't be here without all of your love and support!

All of my former coaches and mentors.  This starts with Mr. Inman all the way back at Ensworth who sparked my love for track and field.  Brooks Corzine and Robert Pruitt developed this into a passion and for that I am grateful.  Mike and Annie Bennett guided me through my last two years at Wake Forest and have continued to be friends to this day.  Finally, Mike Holloway and Dan Pfaff, at the University of Florida.  Though I received a Masters at UF in Sport Management, I still say that I got my Masters and Ph D in track and field learning from two of the greatest track coaches in the world.  

All of the athletes who have allowed me to coach and mentor them.  Starting at Florida and then at BU, you have all meant so much to me and I have learned so much about the art of coaching from all of you.  I am forever indebted to all of you for your persistence and dedication.

Ok.  Now on to what I was lucky enough to see and experience:

3 World Records:  I was front row for the men's 100, on the backstretch for the women's steeplechase, and up top for the men's 4 x 100 and they were all amazing.  The energy in the building when Usain ran 9.69 was like nothing I have ever seen or felt before.

The fall and rise of the American track team:  We started off slowly, but ended with a bang, winning the last two events of the meet with both 4 x 4oo relays.  It was pretty weird being up with all of those coaches and athletes who have experienced so many highs who were now experiencing so many lows.  That being said, it was neat to share in successes with others and help console those who didn't see the performances that they were expecting.

Upsets, disappointments and surprises:  It was amazing to see the number of World Championships winners and medalists from the year before not even make the finals of their events.  This wasn't specific to the US athletes, but we did seem to be hit the hardest.  On the flip side, to see someone like Stephanie Brown Trafton win the gold in the women's discus was equally amazing.  She barely made the Olympic team in Eugene, finishing a distant third behind Aretha and Suzy, but she led the qualifying round and took the lead with her first throw that she never relinquished.  Shalane Flanagan in the women's 10,000 was equally as impressive.  The pace was pretty hard from the get go and she was quickly in the chase pack of 6 or 7 girls, but it looked like she was going to finish 5th at best.  She never panicked and let 2 Kenyan girls fall off the pace before she was able to overtake them both and move up to third.  The look on her face when she crossed the finish line and still wasn't sure if she had medaled was priceless.

Steve, her husband, was a constant partner in crime for me when he wasn't with Shalane, so it was great to share that with them.  There are too many more of these to go on about, but needless to say, it was awesome.

The Chinese people:  They couldn't have been any nicer or more willing to please.  They were so eager for everyone to love Beijing and China that they all went out of their way to make us happy.  It certainly wasn't all rosy but they did an amazing job.  

The Facilities:  I guess China is one of the only places that could pull off the stuff that they did, but the facilities and stadiums were unbelievable.  I really can't imagine another stadium being as consistently breathtaking as the Birds Nest.  I'll just say that London has a tall order to even come close to China.  

The Great Wall:  Enough said.  

The Silk Market:  Constant haggling.  It was almost more fun to watch others experience it than it was to go through the process myself.  

All of the other coaches:  It really was an honor to spend as much time as I was able to spend with coaches like Clyde Hart, legendary 400 meter coach of Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner, John Smith, coach of countless world class sprinters, John Cook, Shalane and Shannon Rowbury's distance coach, as well as dozens of others.

That is all for now and might be my last post for this experience, but I want to end with one last thank you.  That is to all of you for reading this and all of the great comments and well wishes that I received.  Over time I realized that this was probably more for me than it was for all of you, but it was an awesome experience to share with you all.  I hope you all enjoyed it half as much as I did!!  

Now I am off to pack up everything I own and move down the East Coast.  I hope to talk with all of you soon.  Take care and best wishes!!!

Coming Home!

Leave in the morning.  Be back in Boston by 11 pm on the 24th.  Can't wait.   I'll probably post once more once I get back after I've had a chance to think about everything that I have seen and done.  I have lots of presents!! 

Gags, The Great Wall, and other odds and ends

I have been asked by my family and a few friends to continue updating the blog to let you all know what I have been up to these past few days.  I will also post a few more for posterity.

For those of you who aren't in the track world, and that is probably most of you, you probably have no idea who Gags, or Frank Gagliano, is, but I have gotten to spend some time with him and you all would love him.  Gags is known as the Godfather of American track and field.  He was a college coach for quite a while at Georgetown and then moved out to Palo Alto to coach distance runners at what was called the Nike Farm Team.  He has spent the past two years in Eugene, directing the Oregon Track Club and he has a few runners here at the meet.  I had the chance to go to the Great Wall with Gags, Jerry Schumacher, the former Head Cross Country Coach at Wisconsin, and John Hayes, the Head Cross Country Coach at Air Force, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  We left at 7:00 am from BNU and hailed a cab.  The closest section of the Great Wall is called Badaling and it is also the most visited section.  As our cab driver didn't speak any English, he proceeded to call his boss and put her on speaker phone to talk with us about payment.  Remember that the local currency is yuan, pronounced you-on, and that Gags is a large Italian New Yorker with the accent to boot.  These are both important parts of the story.  We let Gags take the lead and we came to the conclusion that the hour cab ride to the Wall, the cab driver waiting about an hour and a half, and the hour cab ride back would cost us 500 yuan, or about $65!!  As Gags was talking to the lady, he yelled into the spear, "Ok, so this is gonna cost us 500 younos (you-knows)?"  We were all dying in the back and she proceeded to go with it and called them younos as well.  Needless to say, we haven't let Gags forget that one.  

We got to the Wall and Gags headed to the Gondola as Jerry, John and I went to take the stairs.  Remember, these aren't ordinary stairs, this is the Great Wall.  It was like a death march up this thing.  Nothing is more embarrassing than a 6 year old girl in tap shoes and a dress running past you as you struggle up the Great Wall.  It wasn't my best showing but I made it up to the top with the rest of the guys and we got our picture up there.  Then, for some reason, all of the locals started taking our picture and started asking to have pictures with us!!  Too funny.

Here are some great videos that I have taken over the past three or four days to let you guys know what I have seen and done.

The first is a of a cab driver talking on the phone.  For some reason this totally cracked us up:

The next is a video of Jerry Schumacher shopping for gifts for his kids:

The next is of another Cab driver.  Even though this looks staged, I swear that he said this before I recorded it, I just prompted him to say it again so I could get it.  Hope you like:

Hope that one works.  

Thats all for now.  Hopefully more in a day or so.

A Note to All

This is especially to my athletes from BU, but also to those of you that might be reading this who I haven't been able to communicate with.  For those that don't know, I have accepted an Assistant Coaching position at the University of Virginia to coach the jumps and multis.  I will be starting there as soon as I return to the State so I won't have a lot of time in Boston.  While this is a great opportunity for me to be much closer to home and to work with and for some great people, it wasn't an easy decision.  I have developed so many great relationships with people within the BU community and in Boston in general, and have some of the most dedicated athletes that a coach could ever hope for, so it will be incredibly difficult to leave all of you.  I have received lots of great notes from some of you and I can't let you know how much they have meant to me as I am so happy that you have all realized how much I love this sport and how much I have enjoyed helping you all develop as athletes, students, and most importantly, individuals.  Because I have stepped down, my BU email has been shut off and I have been asked to let all further communication be handled through the BU coaching staff, which I totally understand and respect.  I wanted to let you all know about these developments so you don't think that I am trying to leave Boston without contacting any of you.  As always, if you guys need anything, I am always here to help in any way that I can.   

A Punch in the Gut

I wish I could say that last night went well, but I would be lying if I did.  I was in the coaching box between coaches from the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.  It was more than a little smelly.

I gave myself plenty of time to get to the stadium, as I have heard horror stories about getting to Olympic stadiums.  I got lucky in catching a media shuttle with Mario Sategna, Texas' field events coach, and Will, one of the 24 hour fitness guys.  Once we got to the Olympic Green, we had to walk for about 20 minutes to the security check.  The line took over an hour.  It was like Disneyland gone totally wrong.  Personal space is a foreign idea in China.

Once we got into the Olympic Green, we still had a 20 minute walk to the stadium.  I let the guys go in so that I could head to the warm up track.  Because I'm not high enough on the totem pole, I didn't have access to the warm up track, so I had to talk to Shani through a fence.  Shani was feeling good so I headed into the stadium to wait for things to start.  The meet started at 7:00, and the TJ didn't go off until 9:40, so I had time to kill.  I had tickets for the nosebleed seats, but there were plenty of seats all over the place.  There were over 80000 in the stadium, but there were still places to finds empty seats.  I made my way down to the 6th or 7th row right at the start of the 100 so that was nice.  I watched the men run, talked with some folks from Australia who were there to watch there son in the 1500.  After that I headed over to the TJ coaches box in the first row of the stands.

It was amazing how close we were, but it was almost too close.  It's difficult to see the entire run and jump when you are that close, but I am certainly not complaining.  It's better than getting emailed videos.  Shani looked good on her warm up approaches and her short run jumps were good as well.  We made a few adjustments and we had even planned to take one full jump before the meet started, something we usually don't do.  That didn't go so well, but it wasn't terrible.  She was the 17th of 18 jumpers, which is a large number of jumpers.  There was another flight of 18, so this is the 36 best Triple Jumpers in the World.  On her first jump, she was a little behind the board and the jump was not what we were hoping for, so we made a few changes and went with that.  The second jump was a little better, but she was still out from where I would have liked her, so I told her to scoot up about 8 inches from where she was starting.  On her final jump, she did everything that we wanted to do and had her best jump of the meet, but she was over by about an inch, so that was the end of the meet.  As soon as she was done, I had a camera in my face, getting my reaction.  To say I was bummed would be a major understatement.  It wasn't the outcome that either of us were hoping for or expecting.  Right now I am at a loss, so I won't dwell on it.

On the other hand, it was a night of highs and lows for the US team.  All of the 100 runners are through to the semis.  The men's shot putters didn't have a great night with a silver, 6th, and 12th.  Erica, our other triple jumper did not advance.  The highlight was Shalane Flanangan.  She broke her own American record to finish 3rd in the 10,000.  She is married to a good friend and former roommate of Johnny Rich, so I was incredibly excited for them.  That is the first medal for an American in a distance race, man or woman, not including the Marathon, since 1992!!  

That is all for now.  I will try to update for the rest of my stay on what I am able to see and do.    I wish I had better news to report, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.  The countdown to my trip home has begun.

PRELIMS!!!

OK.  Today is the day of the prelims.  You can find lots of information here:  http://www.iaaf.org/OLY08/results/eventCode=3659/index.html

It all comes down to this.  Here is some more information:

Shani leaves the village at 6:45

1st Call is at 8:38

2nd Call is at 8:42

3rd Call is at 8:47

The Call Room closes at 8:50

They will be taken onto the field at 9:10

The Competition starts at 9:40

The automatic qualifier is 14.45m which equals the American record.  Shani jumped 14.38 at the Olympic Trials so she is fully capable of this!  They take the top 12 jumpers to the finals on the 17th.  Anyone who jumps over the Auto Qualifier is guaranteed a spot in the final.  Only once in the past 8 years have there been more than 12 girls advance to the finals so we know we will be in the mix.  Everyone cheer us on as loudly as you can.  Yell at the TV or the Computer or whatever other device you are using.  I want to hear it over here!!

Keep us in your thoughts!!! 

Nike Hospitality, The Pearl Market, and US Women's Basketball

Today started with a bang and ended with one as well.  I headed over to the Nike hospitality area with Jason Vigilante, Leo Manzano's coach, and John Hayes, flag bearer Lopez Lomong's coach.  Jason helped John and I get a visitor's pass into the place as security was pretty tight and right off of the bat I felt out of place.  You don't think of the crazy corporate things that go on behind the scenes, but the Olympics is as corporate as it gets.  To top it all off, I saw some pretty impressive people.  To give you an idea, Hichem El Gourrouj, the world record holder in the 1500, and Sergey Bubka, the world record holder in the pole vault, were the light weights.  Not really, but when the Prince Albert of Freaking Monaco is there, things change.  The place was pretty swank as there were lots of athletes rolling through there to get their complimentary bags of gear and shoes.  Pretty cool.

From there, Jason and I wandered on to the Pearl Market and it was much different than the Silk Market.  Though they are pretty much the same thing, they are at different places and the crowds are considerably less so your bargaining tool is better.  I was able to get tons of gifts for friends and family there so I was really happy with my haul!

We came back to BNU and grabbed some food and hung out for a bit.  Shani had grabbed me some tickets for the US Women's team so I headed off there with Andreas, Muna Lee's personal coach.  We got there at 8:15 when Australia was playing Korea.  If you haven't seen Australia's women's uniforms, then you'll get a pretty good idea from this link:

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/basketball/n214530923.shtml

It was quite a site.  Because Shani got us the tickets, they are for the "athletes section" so they were 3rd row right behind one of the goals.  The place was pretty empty but its always neat to see other sports.  We had a few other coaches and administrators from other countries around us so it was good to talk with them.  After the game ended, the teams left the court and then they prepared things for the second game, the US vs Mali.  Can't say that I am too familiar with Mali, and I'm sorry to say that the Malians didn't seem too familiar with basketball.  The final score was 97 - 41.  The game was secondary to what took place during though.  As the players were warming up, we heard a noise from the fans that clearly wasn't for the players.  We looked around and saw Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard headed right to the same section as us.  They were about five or six seats away from us.  I got a great picture of Boozer's and Howard's watches which were totally covered in diamonds.  I'll be sure to put them up later.  

That is all for now.  Shani's family gets in tomorrow and she has a short walk through / warm up at the stadium tomorrow as well so I might not even see her tomorrow.  I might be heading to US women's field hockey tomorrow morning to see some old friends from Wake and BU.  Hope all is well and my thoughts are with the Jones family right now.  I really wish I could be there with you all right now in this difficult time.  

Hurry Up and Wait and other Observations

Well, I have been in Beijing for four days now and things have trudged along.  I am sad to say that I have spent quite a bit of time in the dining hall meeting other coaches and watching plenty of events there.  They have closed circuit tvs there to all of the venues of the Olympics and even have multiple cameras for the multiple events of gymnastics.  I can't wait to see how they cover track!  Because we are getting closer to the day of competition, the 15th, practices have been lighter and lighter.  Today we did some approach work at the practice track here and they went really well.  Yesterday we took about 7  or 8 jumps from a shorter approach to work on a few things and they went pretty well.  Today, Shani and I discussed her strengths as a jumper and they are certainly her strength and speed, so when she goes back to a full approach, things change a bit.  Other than the practices, things have been pretty slow.  

I actually went to my first Olympic event today and it was Team Handball.  For those of you that might have known me in high school, I actually dreamed of playing team handball, so its quite fitting that this was my first event.  We watched two matches: Denmark vs Korea and then Iceland vs Germany.  In the first match, Korea won with a last second goal.  The Danish fans were animated and lively.  In the second, Iceland pulled away in the end and won by about 4 or 5.  Their goalie put on quite a display!

Also today, Steve Edwards and I went and saw Tianamin Square and the Forbidden city.  It was impressive to say the least.  Steve is Shalane Flanagan's husband, so it was fun and interesting to talk to him about his experiences as the husband of an Olympic medal contender.  Its funny that as a coach, I share a lot of his experiences and emotions going into a major competition. Anxiety, nervousness, excitement, etc.

Ok.  On to my observations of China so far.  Today I noticed that little children in China have slits cut into the back of their pants and they don't wear diapers so they can just go to the bathroom wherever they want.  As Steve and I were walking around today, he randomly blurted out, "Holy crap, thats a butthole."  Its true.  A little kids butt was hanging out of his pants!

The Olympic 15: Not a Myth but a reality.  So I already said that I have been spending a lot of time in the dining hall.  Personally, when I am bored or nervous, I tend to eat, and unfortunately, I have been doing a lot of eating.  The food is really good and it is buffet style, so do the math.

There are a million volunteers here.  Maybe not really one million, but it feels like it.

Now on to some questions from my parents (bear with me): No, Shani's family isn't here yet, but they will be on the 14th.  Her husband will be coming over as will her two little sisters and one of her best friends from home.  The air quality has been surprisingly good since we have been in Beijing.  Its a little warm and humid, but that is to be expected.  I would say that we have had more good days than bad.  I think that covers the questions.  If anyone has any more, let me know.  

Time to go to bed around here, but I hope all is well back home in Nashville, Boston, and wherever everyone else is right now.  Its hard to imagine that I have been here for almost 2 weeks with another 12 to go!  Fingers crossed and keep checking in!   

The Unsung Woman Behind it All

I realized that in all of my blogs that I have not written about the one person who has helped me here more than anyone else.  Her name is Rita Somerlot and she is the women's jumps coach for the US Olympic Team.  So you know, here is the complete staff:

Men's Staff

Head Coach: Bubba Thornton (Texas men's head coach)

Head Manager: James Li (Arizona Head Cross Country Coach)

Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles): Harvey Glance (Alabama men's head coach)

Assistant Coach (Middle Distance): Ron Mann (Louisville head coach)

Assistant Coach (Endurance): Joe Vigil (former head coach at Adams State)

Assistant Coach (Jumps/Combined Events): Irving "Boo" Schexnayder (former jumps / multis coach at LSU)

Assistant Coach (Throws): Criss Somerlot (high school coach in Ohio)

Women's Staff

Head Coach: Jeanette Bolden (UCLA head women's coach)

Head Manager: Rich Torrellas (???)

Assistant Coach (Sprints/Hurdles): Chandra Cheeseborough (former Olympic great and Tigerbelle)

Assistant Coach (Middle Distance): J.J. Clark (Tennessee head women's coach)

Assistant Coach (Throws): Connie Price-Smith (Southern Illinois head coach and former Olympian)

Assistant Coach (Jumps/Combined Events): Rita Somerlot** (High school coach in Ohio)

Assistant Coach (Endurance): Kim Keenan-Kirkpatrick (Associate Athletic Director at Seton Hall)

Relay Staff

Brooks Johnson (Former head coach at Stanford)
Orin Richburg (New Mexico State head coach)

I included where all of these people work now to give you an idea of their credentials.  A lot of the selection process is highly political, but most of these coaches have coached someone to an Olympics at some point, but not all.  Some of them don't have an athlete here at the games.  They essentially act as each athletes' personal coaches eyes and ears if they can't be there for some reason.  I think Rita had a large hand in getting me into Beijing Normal University, though I'm not sure.  Some of the athletes personal coaches did not get access here, so I am so thankful that I am able to stay here.  Rita also guided me through the maze of paperwork that was necessary to come here and has helped Shani tremendously as well.  She will get me into the coaches box during Shani's competition as well.  She has taken her role very seriously and has been at the track for almost every practice session of every female jumper here so that she can make things go as smoothly as possible for them and their personal coach.  So now you all know who is really getting things done here!

On a sad note, I just got word that Bill Etheridge passed away yesterday in Nashville.  Big Bill was a great pole vault and gymnastics coach in Nashville that assisted with hundreds of athletes in central Tennessee.  I saw about 6 months ago when I was in Nashville last and it was great to see him and he will be missed terribly.  My thoughts are with him and his family.

Crazy Travels, BNU, The Silk Market, and The Opening Ceremonies

So I left Dalian yesterday to head to Beijing and I had quite the experience.  I was the only one heading to the hotel for my 10:30 flight and I got my own personal police escort!!

Once we finally arrived at the airport, after a few close calls and several red lights run, one of the guys that brought me to the airport took me to the VIP counter of China Southern and helped check me in.  I was then met by a woman who led me to the VIP security line and then on to the VIP lounge where I got free internet access and free coffee.  As my plane was about to take off, I was walked down to the gate and I proceeded to take my seat.  I thought that this was the end of the crazy treatment, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The Chinese really want us to feel special and they must not have a clue about who I am, so about 10 minutes after the plane took off, a stewardess walked back and said to me in broken english: "It would be my pleasure to take you up to first class."  Who am I to argue.  It was only an hour flight but I wasn't complaining.  I was the first person off of the plane and as soon as I walked off there was a woman there with my name on a piece of paper to take me to get my bags, which were also the first off of the plane!  I could get used to this.  She proceeded to walk me around the airport until we got to the shuttles which were only going to the Olympic Village.  I had to explain to them that I wasn't going to the Village but to Beijing Normal University, which is where the USOC (US Olympic Committee) has set up shop.  A lot of practices are taking place there and they have a weight room and an amazing dining facility as well.  So my suite mate is Mark Wetmore, the head coach at Colorado who has two athletes here, Jenny Barringer, the American record holder in the steeplechase,  and Billy Nelson, who is also here in the steeplechase.

I'm not here but for 5 minutes when Carrie Lane, my friend from UVA, walks in with Adam Nelson, her athlete and an Olympic Medalist in the shot from 2004.  We go upstairs to grab some lunch and then proceed to head to the Silk Market.  I didn't have my camera with me, but I will bring it when I go back.  It's basically 7 stories of vendors selling knock off watches, glasses, shoes, luggage, etc and some nice local trinkets as well.  Carrie and I did our best to haggle our way to some good deals and I think we did alright.  We headed back to BNU in a cab, which are really cheap by the way, and decided to grab some dinner.  

We weren't sure what we were going to do for the opening ceremonies, as we heard of a bunch of different things, all which seemed pretty involved.  We decided to stay in the dining facility and watch it on the big screens there with about 50 - 75 of our newest friends from all over the US!  As I'm sure most of you watched it, you know how amazing it was.  Let's just say that the Chinese are here to put on a show and to welcome themselves to the world.  I was quite impressed.

That is all for now.  A light practice with Shani in a bit to see how she is feeling after the ceremonies.  Then who knows.  I'll keep you guys posted.  Thanks for checking in!

Former Lost Boy Lopez Lomong Chosen as US Flag Bearer

DALIAN, China -- Eight years ago, Lopez Lomong didn't even have a country. Now he'll be carrying the flag for his adopted nation, leading the U.S. Olympic team at opening ceremonies Friday night.

Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, won a vote of team captains Wednesday to earn the honor of leading America's contingent into the 90,000-seat Bird's Nest Stadium.

The 1,500-meter track runner will be the flagbearer only 13 months after becoming a U.S. citizen.

'I came all the way here,
so I have to run'

ESPN The Magazine's Tom Farrey profiled Lopez Lomong's remarkable story of survival during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic trials. Story

"It's more than a dream," Lomong said in an interview with The Associated Press moments after he got the news. "I keep saying, I'm not sure if this is true or not true. I'm making the team and now I'm the first guy coming to the stadium and the whole world will be watching me carry the flag. There are no words to describe it."

He was born in Sudan, separated from his parents at the point of a gun at age 6, and with the help of friends, he escaped confinement and made it to a refugee camp in Kenya. In 2001, he was brought to America as part of a program to relocate lost children from war-torn Sudan.

Earlier this week, Lomong, 23, said he was mounting a campaign to be nominated by the track and field team for the flagbearer's position. He said the honor would be memorable, but he also was thrilled to be part of the democratic process that might get him there.

"In America, everyone has a chance to do all these things," Lomong said. "You follow the rules, people will choose, and if I'm blessed to get that opportunity, I'll get it."

In 2004, Dawn Staley did the flagbearer's honors. In 2000, they went to kayaker Cliff Meidl, who survived a 30,000-volt jolt of electricity in a construction accident and became an Olympian.

Lomong's story is every bit as inspiring.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Andy Wong

Lopez Lomong came to America in 2001 as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Seven years later, he'll carry the Stars and Stripes into the Olympics opening ceremony.

He knew nothing of the Olympics in 2000, when his friends at the refugee camp in Kenya talked him into running five miles and paying five shillings to watch Michael Johnson on a black-and-white TV set with a fuzzy screen.

At that point, Lomong knew he wanted to be an Olympic runner. He earned his spot at the Olympic trials on July 6, exactly one year after he gained his U.S. citizenship.

All three Americans in the 1,500 are naturalized citizens -- Lomong, Bernard Lagat (Kenya) and Leo Manzano (Mexico).

"I feel great," Lomong said Wednesday night. "I feel happy, honored. I'm feeling so blessed to get an opportunity to present the United States of America, to present the United States flag in front of my team."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Hotel in Dalian and Virtual Golf with Reese

I realized that I haven't taken any pictures of the hotel here so here you guys go.  This is a picture of my room.  I think these are the hardest beds known to man!

Enough light switches?  You can turn on anything from beside the bed

This is the dining facility.  Like I said before, we have an American chef on staff that is keeping us well fed.

The infamous pong pong table
The screening room:

And finally, here is a great video of Reese Hoffa playing virtual golf.

I've also gotten a few questions, mostly from family, and I plan to answer those in a bit.  Off to lunch.  Take care and thanks for checking in!  I really appreciate the comments.

Fun at the Throws Track!

Sorry that it has taken me a little while to post, but the combination of medication, humidity, and a lingering time zone change have taken their toll and I proceeded to sleep for about 18 hours yesterday and I feel like a new man today.

So the other afternoon I went to the throws field to watch some discus practice and it was a treat.  The throwers have been practicing at a separate facility so they have been apart from the rest of the team.  They have been using the provincial track facility that has an 8 lane 200 meter indoor facility with a 120 meter straightaway as well as a full outdoor track and a throws field with about 12 rings.  The indoor facility is quite impressive.  This is also where the Chinese provincial team trains so there were quite a few of their athletes training in the building as well.  Here are a few pics of it:

This is the outdoor facility.  Note the "humidity".  It hangs in the air.

The throwing cages.  A little rustic but they get the job done.
An indoor throwing mecca.  I think I counted 15 rings in here and they have a huge net set up to throw into.  I thought we had a good deal set up at BU, but this is impressive.

I went out to watch the discus throwers as Reese Hoffa stayed inside and threw in front of 150 people in the facility.  Apparently he got some claps from the crowd after some of his throws.  Outside in the discus area was Suzy Powell, Aretha Thurmond, Casey Malone, and Stephanie Trafton.  They took about 12 - 25 throws, depending on how they were feeling and most of them looked pretty good.  Practice was light and jovial, which is always nice.  Things have been relatively low key at the practices so far, but I am sure that they will ramp up as we get closer to the games.  

  

A Thought on Table Tennis

I've been writing about ping pong a bit and it struck me, I'm in the home of ping pong.  When we play, we are on the second floor in an open area.  The third floor lobby overlooks where the table is, so the security guards have been watching us play.  At times there will be 5 or 6 guys leaning over the railings watching us play.  I can only imagine what they are thinking.  I feel like that would be like going to Rucker Park and having Earl the Pearl and Tiny Archibald standing on the sidelines watching.  Something just doesn't feel right.  Just a thought.

Shopping in Dalian!!

So first things first, we had another training session yesterday where Shani actually took some jumps from a short approach.  She has been feeling pretty good, despite all of the travel and time zone changes so she's actually a day ahead of where I thought she would be so that has been really nice.  The session started off a little rusty but ended really well.  We didn't take too many jumps yesterday because it was her first jumping session in a while due to processing and travel but we have a few more scheduled before the 15th.  

After we got back to the resort we had time to grab some lunch and then we were off to a shopping excursion in town.  They try to set stuff up like this sporadically throughout the week so that people don't get too stir crazy here.  There was about 30 of us that went into town.  We have had police escorts everywhere we have gone, so it was a bit of a scene when we rolled into downtown Dalian at a huge shopping complex and 30 huge and fit people who look nothing like the rest of China walked off of a bus!

 

So they usher us into this huge department store and we all look at each other like, did they really just bring us down here to shop at Dillard's?  The entire group started making our way to thee exit to go walk the streets when the security guards stop us and tell us that we have to stay in the building.  We've been trapped by our guards and are stuck in my version of hell.  As you walk past every vendor there are three or four people that yell hello to you and bow.  As you get on and off of the escalator, there is someone there congratulating you for getting on and off. Don't believe me?  Check it out (pardon the finger, I was trying to be sneaky).  PS, I'm not sure if these are working, but I hope so:

 

So after wandering for about an hour I start to realize that I haven't seen many of the others lately.  I start to make my way to the exit and realize that they have finally let us out.  Apparently some phone calls had to be made to the Department of State and the guards finally acquiesced.  I did a little exploring and saw some rather interesting things.  Octopus on a stick and some other tasty treats:

I passed on these.  I also made my way down a narrow alley and saw people on the street selling hundreds of dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, and a few other animals.  I don't want to know what they were selling them for, but the dogs were adorable.  

Finally we made our way back to the complex and grabbed some dinner.  Batman and Sanya wanted a rematch in ping pong with me and Sharifa so we proceeded to destroy them.  Apparently they had even been practicing during the day.  Clyde Hart watched nervously as he didn't want Sanya to pull anything.  After that I played Wallace Spearman's dad, Wallace Sr., and we had a heated match.  Fortunately I came out the victor.  

We have another practice session this morning and then probably a chill rest of the day.  They are saying that we are going to get a huge storm on the 8th, the day of the Opening Ceremonies, so I hope that isn't the case.  That is all for now.  Take care!!

Training Camp Fun

So we went to the training facility here in Dalian and it is quite nice.   I will also include some pics of the hotel where we are staying.  Finally, here at the hotel, USATF has set up an athletes' lounge area, including plenty of games, ping pong, bowling, and movie nights.  I just got into a heated match with my teammate Sharifa, who is on the staff, as we battled Wallace and Shani, and then Batman and Sanya.  Needless to say, they didn't like losing.  I guess that's what makes them great athletes, just not great ping pong players.

These guys are stationed every 100 meters around the complex:

A view over the golf course to the ocean.  There's about 1000 fishing boats on the water.  There is a 9 hole course here that I'm considering checking out.  Now I can say that I have hit a golf ball into the ocean on multiple continents!

This is the entrance gate to the practice track:

This is a shot of the practice track.  It's set near these mountains that are quite pretty.  The training facilities are a little rustic, or spartan, depending on how you want to phrase it.  They have everything that we need and that is all that matters!

Shani getting a little work done by Justin.  I think she was crying at this point.

After getting worked on and feeling much better:

This is a picture of Kenta's tattoo.  I thought it was pretty awesome as it incorporated both of the Olympic teams that he has made:

Thats all for now.  Still trying to get adjusted to the time differences.  The sun comes up super early here, so it's even tougher sleeping in.  Got up at 5:15 this morning.  

Totally Unrelated

This just made me laugh really hard so I had to put it up:

http://www.break.com/dos-equis/amazing-blob-jump-launch.html