Where do I begin, do I start with the alien abduction story explaining to you all how
escaped there evil clutches then how I single handedly saved the Galaxy by taking out 10,000 alien invaders and….the mother ship you all did not know existed or do I talk about only my training? Hmmmm…..decisions decisions. Well guess I will talk about training but you are welcome for saying your lives and no, no I don’t need a parade or 100 foot statue erected in my honor but thank you!
My Training My training is going really well! I’m super excited about the upcoming season! My coach and I had numerous talks about my training schedule; we’ve decided to follow the same schedule as last year since we both felt that I was extremely prepared for the season. I’m feeling strong in the weight room and so so fast and explosive on the track! For my weight training I’m lifting the same amount of weight as last year, but now I am moving it at a faster rate! During my sprints my heel recovery is lower; my foot strike is more under my COM (center of mass) and my upper body angle is also improving as I run. I would talk a little more in detail about what I have been doing in training but I don’t want to give all my super-duper training tips away, well not in one huge e-mail anyways! But some of my training may have included a bungee cord possibly a parachute or two and more! However you are in luck, if you start following me on
Twitter @jessbeck3 you will gain a little more access to what I’m doing for my running and lifting…along with the fun randomness that is Jesse Beckom III you all have come to love or put up with! Lol
I will tell you this, in preparations for this year’s Push Championships that are going to be held in October; I will be training on the Lake Placid Push Track from July 14th-28th with my teammates World Championships so that we can continue working on our timing.
National Team Camp Our Annual training camp has come
and gone, but I have to say it was the best one to date!!! The Team atmosphere was excellent, it was a bit exhausting at times but the energy was really positive. There was a ton of team bonding in the form of team competitions, community outreach, and just generally getting to know a little more about each other. One of the team events was a relay race, where we (coaches, staff, and athletes) were split into two teams and we
had to move a stack of four twenty-five kilo plates along with two twenty kilo plates
and restack them five yards away. After that we had to sprint to a hurdle where we had to throw a twenty pound med ball over the top of the hurdle then squat under the hurdle throw the med ball over the top again, we did this five times before moving to the last station. The last station was a 60 kilos for ten yards at a high push position and for ten yards at a lower push position then a 30 yard sprint back to the finish to tag the next person! You would think it would be easy….It was not for most! After the prowler push high and low everyone’s legs were completely blown but no one really knew it…until they started to run and fell over!! It was hilarious, some people were crawling, stumbling, falling multiple times, lunging, skipping anything they could to try and get across the line tag the next person it was beyond comical!
We were also involved in a few different community events, but I will only mention a couple. The first was an Olympic day where 200 or more kids were on campus and we took them through a shortened version of our combine test. We tested their vertical jump, long jump, and how fast they were in fifteen meters; the kids loved it and we also had a blast! At the end we gave out gold medals and stickers to all the kids there. We all had a good time, it was pretty funny watching the kids trying to cheat to get a higher jump then they actually did. It was also funny to see the kids go from laughing to competitive mode once they start hearing each other’s numbers, then it was game on!! It reminded me of our team because it’s all fun and games until the timing eyes come out then it’s me or you and I want to win!! Soooo….guess it’s going to be me!!
Another event we did was held at a local boys and girls club that one of the bobsled women works at during the summer. Our mission if choose to accept it was to give these kids an ideal of what it’s like to compete in Bobsled and Skeleton. In order to do this we took them through a few of our testing invents which included a standing long jump, 15m sprint, and my favorite a race on these small rolling dolly’s; Me and JQ (one of my sled mates from World Championships) ran this station!!! We renamed it "Station Awwwesoommee!" Boom! How did we pull of such a fantastic feat demonstrating bobsled and skeleton in a gym you ask?? Well hold your horses Big JB3 will explain! The dolly’s we used were about a 13"x13" square; to demonstrate bobsled we had one kid sit on two of them with legs extended while another kid held on to their shoulders and pushed them forward. For skeleton we used the same principal but this time with the kids lying on their stomachs with their feet bent so the other kid can push them!!! The kids had a great time,
but I think me and JQ may have had more fun because we got to demonstrate this four different times for each group that rotated through. Despite a couple of near head to head collisions and head to wall collisions it was successful. So who wants me to babysit? Lol
During our Team Camp we also
focus on how we can improve physically as an athlete; this includes focusing on our diet, weight training, and our Push/Sprint technique. To help us with our sprint mechanics our federation brought in Dr.Mann who is a track and field guru that helps to coach America’s fastest Olympic Sprinters! This man knows his stuff! In short he explained to
us how they had recently discovered that what we thought we knew and had been
taught about sprint mechanics for the past ten years was Wrong!! Yeah my thoughts exactly! He explained the information they found, showing us the research including diagrams, and charts that illustrated their findings. Afterwards we hit the running track, where Dr. Mann began to teach us these sprint mechanics along with drills to help reinforce them. He recorded each one of us as we sprinted past high speed cameras, then as he watched the playback he critiqued each one of us showing us where and how to make improvements! For me this was my favorite part of the camp. There were a few other things that happened but nothing too exciting.
Waldon Canyon Fire victim’s day at ITZ As I’m sure you all heard about all the wild fires in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area; about 350 homes were lost and about 7 people were killed. Luckily the fire was far enough from the training center that we were not displaced. However in other parts the scene looked like a clip from Armageddon complete with blackish reddish smoke filled skies, congested highways and emergency vehicles. Thank God the first responders were on top of it all, even to the extent that some of the firemen slept on the streets in sleeping bags of the affected neighborhoods because they did not want to leave the area and waste time coming back in the morning. I don’t know about you but that is some serious dedication!! I also have to give credit to the USOC for being a Red Cross evacuee center in times of emergency. The Olympic Training Center allowed families that were evacuated to stay at the training center, they also set up clothing, food, and toy donation drives for these families.
After the fires were pretty much under control I was included in a group of athletes who were asked to come to a family fun day at ITZ (Similar to Chuck E Chesses), to help lift the spirits of the families that were displaced by the fires. Members of the Denver Broncos, Fire Men, Police Officers along with other civic workers that had been battling the fire were all present to help encourage these families in their time of need. We signed pictures for the kids and played several different games with them as well, overall I would say the evening was a success. I and the other athletes definitely enjoyed hanging out with these families and sharing our story with them, but it was truly a humbling experience. I cannot express how honored I felt when one of the fireman who had been fighting these fires every day shook my hand, wished me luck, and was proud to have me representing our country! All I could think is that this man’s career is to save lives and all I do is slide down an Icy Hill and try to be the fastest at it! So in my eyes Fireman, Policeman, Doctors, Nurses, Soldiers and the like
jobs are way important than what I have done and for those that do it right, they are the ones who truly represent our country to the fullest!!
London 2012!!! I may or may not have mentioned this
before but one of the biggest thrills for me as I train is having my friends from other sports train alongside of me. Then watching them as they go through their Olympic Trials and make it to the Games!! That being said be sure to check out the
2012 London Olympic Games and you can see 24/7 coverage on Universal
Sports www.universalsports.com or on the Universal Sports Channel!!!
GO AMERICA!!!! AMERICA!!!! MERICA!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!
YEAH!!!!
P.S
Pictures will be posted by the weekend on my web-page under "July Update
2012"
Sincerely
Jesse
www.jessebeckom3.com
Twitter: @Jessbeck3
