Lake Placid October Update

October 17, 2008

Good Morning Everyone!!!!

You all should be smiling because today is FRIDAY!!!!

These couple of weeks have been kind of crazy with the way things have been going. We are finally done with our physical performance testing, and I have attached a spread sheet of those results. The testing included a 60meter sprint with timing eyes placed at the 20m, 30m, 45m and 60m mark, a vertical jump, shot put test, and a sled pull test. The sled pull was omitted because the numbers were to erratic since earlier that day it had rained and some people had the advantage of pulling the sled on a wet track which cut down the friction/drag, while others pulled the sled on a dry track which increased the friction. This difference in friction led to a huge discrepancy in numbers making the timed data from the test irrelevant.

We also did some weight testing which involved the Squat and the Clean. To max out the squat you only had to do 220kilos (495lbs) for a set of 3, this is kind of light for me and I decided to just do it as part of my workout so I did 3 sets of 3. Yeah you have to put down a exclamation mark sometimes when you can!! lol I was like 220 THAT'S IT COACH?! are you serious!! Yeah I am going to go ahead and knock that out for you right quick!! LOL Just playing I did not say that but I was thinking it. But hey you have to think that sometime!

Now when it came to the Clean I am still working on some technique issues and I tested out at 160kilos(360lbs). The weight felt pretty light when I pulled it so I tried to go up in weight but I tend to let the weight get to far away from my body and my elbows bend a little to earlier at times so I was unable to pull the weight properly and I was unable to get the 165kilo I tried. Yeah NOT HAPPY ABOUT THAT!!! But hey I will keep working at cause eventually I want to get 180 kilos. But the weight I got was still one of the highest weights lifted.

Now this is where things get a little bit complicated and why I am a little bit frustrated this week. After the two man race where my driver Todd Hays(2002 Olympic Silver Medalist) and Teammate Alex sprague ended up wining by more then a second 4-man sleds were allocated out to the different drivers by our coaches. These Bodyn sleds that we use range from 210kilos to 220kilos. Now the rule is that the combined four man crew can not be more than 630 kilos. After a day of training we weighed but we got the math wrong and we thought we were only a few pounds overweight, we weighed again the next day and realized that we were 20lbs over weight. At this point it is two days before the race and the possibility of us being able to loose the body weight and keep the strength we needed to push fast and hard would happen. Some guys on the team were already light and needed to gain a few pounds, but me and another guy have been sitting in the sauna and eating less to try and make weight. We tried using a different sled but the sled was to tight for our particular crew to fit in. So unfortunately for me since I was 225lbs, and my team can not afford to just take a zero for the race I will be switched out for this race ONLY with a guy who is 205lbs. My team will loose time at the start because I am not pushing I have tested above the guy that is replacing me but hopefully my driver will drive out of his mind and the crew will push well. Yeah it would have been nice if we were able to trade sleds with a lighter crew but for some reason (which I still do not understand why not) this was not done. TIB (This Is Bobsled) I guess!

Once we get to Park City, Utah next week we will have the opportunity to get into a lighter sled, plus I have already dropped down to 218 pounds and will be 215 by the time I race out there making weight no longer a factor. I also talked to my coach about the situation and he told me that when I race in Park City the fact that I did not race in Lake Placid will not be an issue, since my performance and ability is not in doubt! It was a little comforting to hear that but at the same time I would rather be racing this week!! But this is the situation and I have to make the best of if for this one day.

My training is still going GREAT with both my strength and speed increasing and I look at it this way 215lb is the weight I was when I played football and I will just rock that weight again and get the job done!!!

Have a Great Weekend and God Bless!

Jesse

www.jessebeckom3.com
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