Saturday, August 6, 2011

Park City Summer Training

Happy August Everybody!! Yay its August so Au-Gust it’s time for me to send out another e-mail!! lol You get it? Its a play on words! HA


First and foremost I now have Twitter so now anyone who wants can follow me on Twitter



In this issue of Where Did I Come From Where Did I Go? Where Did I Come From Only Jesse Knows. (P.S that song will be stuck in your head the rest of the day and that's why I did it! lol)

In preparations for next month's Push Championships I just returned from spending two weeks of training on the push track out at the Olympic Park in Park City, Utah where I performed over 100 starts and pushes from the brakes, left and right sides combined (Pictures can be found on the media section of my web page under Park City Summer Training). The push track is a tool that enables myself and other bobsledders to push a bobsled during the summer and is an essential part of my off-season training. Its 200 meters of train railing sloping down a decline that mimics the start of the Park City Boblsed Track, equipped with a bobsled that has been retrofitted with train wheels on to push.



The push track allows me to expand my training from lifting and running to more sports specific technique. I work on perfecting the angle at which I hit the sled, my shin angle as I run, keeping feet dorsal flexed, and making sure that my foot strikes underneath my body's center of Mass (COM). In the past I have had troubles with keeping good body position over the crest so I made sure I keyed in on that the most. While I was there in PC I did over a hundred hits and pushes, and by hits I mean working on those first three to four steps off the starting bock. It was a productive two weeks of pushing and I made great progress as I continue to improve one step at a time. As you can imagine all the pushing, lifting, and running combined was making me a little tired but luckily I was taking ZMA and Amino-9 supplied by my friends at NOW http://www.nowsportsproducts.com/ that helped to keep me pushing hard and fast.

I am extremely excited for this year’s testing and season! I am making excellent progress in my sprinting, weight and push training. I am feeling muscle fire that have never really fired before, and I am more relaxed when I run than ever before something my current coach Eric and my coaches before all have helped with it. It’s going to be a Great Season!!

And Yes......... I have some stories to tell! I mean come on I was in PC for two whole weeks, that’s 14 days of fun, 336 hours of something that could happen, 20,160 minutes of possible madness, 1,209,600seconds of what is coming next!! lol (yes something is definitely wrong with me I can accept that...now can we move on?Thank you very much lol)

The first week I was in PC was the weekend after Harry Potter had come out and I wanted to see it, I mean who didn't! After having dinner with my friends Shauna and Val and some of their friends on the patio at Maxwell’s restaurant that’s right below my hotel, I start my two block walk to the movie theater. A little bit into my walk I got a strong urge to go to the restroom but I’m like it can wait. I get to the theater at 9:00pm which was perfect timing since the movie started at 8:50, since I was figuring that I would hit the bathroom then head into the movies right at the end of the previews. The best thing is that the theater I need to go to is right next to the bathroom. My objective and plan of attack was set, and it was time to execute! I head into bathroom while checking my watch and head for stall number 1! While a random though of hmmm it’s a lot of stalls in this bathroom quickly ran through my mind but no worries I am on a schedule here, and all bathrooms are different anyway! I am in an out, business done, hands washed and on to my date at Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardary. As I am walking out of the bathroom I see these Obviously confused women walking in to the bathroom! So being the stand up guy that I am who is never wrong I quickly warn them that they are headed into the wrong bathroom!! And like a newly unfrozen Austin Powers who has lost his inner monologue; while noticing the female image next to the bathroom I say out loud and to the giggles of the ladies “Oh wait was I in the wrong bathroom!? Yup I think I was” Guess I was the confused man who just abused the ladies room and was apparently running from the scene of the crime. Lol!

While in PC and against my better judgement I decided to try a Yoga Class! Actually the subject cam up while at Maxwell's because the girlfriend of their neighbor teaches Yoga and invited us to go. Initially was pretty certain I was not going but at the night wore on I began to realize that did need a good stretch to work on my flexibility and plus it was for only an hour so I figured why not. Two days later Shauna, Val, Jim (one of their friends), all head over to do some Power Vinyas Yoga taught by their friend Lindsay. As we are laying down our yoga mats Val informs me and Jim that they made a mistake the class is not an hour long its an hour and a half long, sorry guys! Me and Jim both had the What you talking about Willis look on our faces, because we both had to be convinced to come for just an hour and the thought of 30 more minutes was nightmarish!! While this thought is sinking in Shauna then tells me that guys in yoga class usually take their shirts off because it gets pretty hot and sweaty. I'm reply yeah and the Yoga class is only and hour right, yeah I'm not taking my shirt off till I see other guys in here with no shirt on! lol But this time they were correct because every other guy came in with their shirts off so I decided to take mines off instead. We are about half way through the class, a ton of downward facing dogs and an alleged neutral position that had no neutrality to it I am in am sweating my tights off and my shoulders are on fire from being in all these static positions. Then we go into some pose where both we are bent over forward both arms extended one leg on the ground and the other one extended behind us, the teacher instructs those who are able to go into some hand stand using their forearms as a base!! Yeah my thoughts exactly!! So of course three or four people in the class are able to do it so they start showing off!! Every part of me wanted to leave my mat and kick them over...but I didn't! lol Were going through all kinds of poses back and forth than in what sounds like the voice from the angel of mercy I hear...."Now for our last two stretches" and with out thinking I shout out "ITS OVER WERE DONE!!!!" everyone in the class starts laughing as the instructors says Yes!!!! Thank you God is all I was thinking!! After the class I did feel pretty good but during the class I was thinking I would rather do football gassers than try to contort my body into all these weird positions! I am not a Tree nor a Upward/Downward facing dog or happy baby! I mean really who came up with these positions. Furthermore NO Shauna, Val and Tim I don't want to come back on Monday are you kidding me!! lol I did think it worked really well I just need a less intense class to start with.

Now onward to a environment I am more comfortable in, one of the best things about training at an Olympic Training Center is that 99.9% of the people around you know proper weight room conduct. You know like don’t stand and stare directly in the face of someone when they are lifting heavy weight and trying to focus, or making what you assume to be witty remarks as they are about to perform a lift. Well in park city we don’t have a Training Center so we have to work out at the Park Basin http://www.basinrecreation.org/ which is pretty good facility. However not everyone who trains there are aware of the rules I mentioned. Now I am aware that my team mates are bigger than average and we do move a lot of weight around that most people are not normally witnessed to. Added with the fact that I am lifting in Under Armour running tights and Top!! For the record I am not a fan of lifting in spandex but it does keep your body heat in, keeping your muscles warm and loose. Since spandex moves with the contours of your body it does not restrict any movement, but….it’s not for everyone! Really it’s Not!!

Anyway on to the story. Now, usually when I walk into a weight room I get random stares from people that are internally thinking (Yes I am Psychic thank you very much) “what sport does he do? he is pretty ripped, but why is he in spandex? Lol Then of course there are the looks from the guys in the gym as to say “hey weird spandex guy, this is my weight room and seriously how can you possibly lift looking like Peter Pans Head of Security?” And my mental and facial response to those guys who find muscles via a syringe is “A lot buddy so take notes” lol This particular day happened to be my squat day so I go through my normal warm-up and by my third set of warm up weight so of the sarcastic grins begin to fade. I guess my spandex is no longer that funny to the people watching. Smile now Syringe boy! Oh…what’s wrong not in a laughing mood anymore? Hmmmm…..I wonder why? Could it be that my first warm up weight was your max hmmm…is that it? Ohhh too bad, guess you better buy some bigger needles! Lol

But all jokes aside, as I am about to do my last set of squat of 562 for a quick 2 reps, I am in full zone out mode, walking into the squat, headphones in with music up, rack let’s do the Leeeeroooy a Jeeenkins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU) , my boy Jim behind me ready to spot me; when this older gentlemen of about 65-70yrs of age approaches me to ask a question/statement that he figured to be amusing. As I see this guy walking up I stick my hand out in his direction as to say halt I am in the middle of something, but he keeps walking up just a smiling laughing to himself. I do my best to ignore him, not because I am being arrogant or anything but due to the fact that it’s a ton of weight on the bar and I need to be focus so I don’t drop it and or hurt myself. I wish I would have had my music up higher because as I get up under the bar the old man is finally gets his question/statement out! And can you guess what it was that was so important he just had to interrupt my focus to say….no it was not that little Timmy is stuck in the well can you pull him out! It was “hey can I work in with you but maybe we should add more weight!?” Like most weight rooms there is a wall of mirrors in front of the squat rack, so as I am still trying to block out the old man I see about 7 guys surrounding the squat rack with camera phones preparing to take pictures and video of me squatting. Once again it’s flattering and I get it, I just would have preferred if they would have taken the flash off their cameras and stood a little further back from me. I get done with my set, turn to gym saying “man that was so hard to focus in on” he replied “hell I had a hard time focusing on spotting you, I felt like we were in a circus” lol. I then asked Jim what else the old guy said, so apparently the old guy was offended that I did not want to talk to him at that time and remarked by saying “that guy is pretty serious I take it?” Jim’s response was “Ya Think!” lol The one cool thing about it was that one of the guys taking the video actually e-mailed me a copy of the video, so at least I have a that now.




On a more exciting note an a prime example of everything happens for a reason, I met/had dinner/hung out with the Host, producers, makeup artists, and camera crew of HGTV’s Designstar TV Show! This is how it happened. Originally I was staying with one of the ex-bobsledders who stays in Park City but the following week he was headed out of town so I decided to go stay at the New Park Hotel. My first day there I was on my way to go workout (yes I was in full spandex again lol) and I saw this confident woman walking through the hallways dressed with a bit more style and swag then most people I have seen in Park City. We happened to be getting on the same elevator so we did the usual polite hello and went on about our business. This situation happened about five more times within two days seeing each other on the elevator or in the hotel lobby, until one day she asked me “Okay! What do you do?!” So I told her who I was and what I was in town for some Bobsled Training over at the Olympic Park. She thought it was pretty cool and began asking a ton of the usual who, what, when, questions. I answered them an asking the same of her. She replied I’m Tanika Ray the Host of Designstar on HGTV, then asked if I watched HGTV much or seen the show. I admitted that I don’t watch HGTV much unless I am flicking through the channels and something catches my eye then I stop and watch for a bit. Long story short she ends up inviting me out to dinner to meet her producers and everyone, I agreed and she said she would let me know when. Later that evening a woman from the front desk was knocking on my door with a formal invitation to dinner. I have to admit I was feeling pretty honored by the invite.

I headed down to dinner about 8pm met everyone, talking bobsled, interior and exterior home design. It was a really good time meeting all these new people, sharing insight to each other’s world. It also turned out that Tim one of the camera men is a huge Olympic and Bobsled fan so he had tons of in-depth questions for me about the sport. Towards the end of dinner Tankia thought that it would be a great ideal if they could get a camera crew out to the park and record some of my push track training. I was thinking Brilliant and heck yeah! The next day Tim (Associate Producer) and Candence (makeup artist) came out to record me and my teammates training. I was happy Tim and Candence enjoyed it, plus I introduced them to some of the Olympians in Bobsled and Skeleton. They were both impressed at the power, speed, and technique they learned about while they watched us train. My teammates and I enjoyed the enthusiasm about our sport and it was good to talk to true fans who were not more interested in making Jamaican Bobsled Team references.Since I’ve gotten back to Colorado Springs I have started watching HGTV’s Designstar its a pretty good show and I recommend watching it so check it out.

Overall it was a great trip, training was awesome, I met some good people and God is continuing to bless me with great opportunities and keeping me healthy.

Thanks for Tuning in to another installment of As The Bobsled Turns!! This has been another 3Beckom production ;) winking

God Bless, and remember to follow me on Twitter @Jessbeck3