July 14, 2008
Good Evening Everyone,
As I have said before I send out these e-mails to update you all on how things are going with my travels, training, and life. My e-mails includes the highs and lows of what is going on in my world, the majority of the time things are going pretty good but sometimes there is a little bit of bad mixed in as well.
I arrived in Colorado last week on July 3rd in order to train at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs. On the Fourth of July I went sailing for the first time with my team mate Katie, her mom, and some of her friends. Katie's mother use to race sail boats for a club out in Colorado and she shared her knowledge with us. I learned about tacking, jibing, how to adjust the reef on the boat and etc.
The atmosphere here at the OTC is great!!! It is a campus style set up dedicated strictly to Olympic Sports! I am entrenched in the Olympic spirit everywhere I turn, you can not escape the positive vibe that exists here and I am loving every minute of it! Each sport has its own area or building dedicated for that specific discipline to train in.
Their are two weight rooms here, one weight room is designed specifically for the heavy Olympic weight lifters and another that all of the other athletes use. Both weight rooms have mounted video cameras and screens called "The Olympic Eye On Performance" that are used to record to us while we are training. The Olympic Eye cameras are set for a 30-45 second delay which allows a coach to critique our performance as it occurs, thereby making it easier for us to make needed adjustments.
Also, throughout the different buildings you have quotes from past and present Olympians which truly help to inspire, and keeps you focused on the goal and reason we are here! There is so much I can talk about but that would make for a really long e-mail, that is why I have posted pictures under the "Media" section under "Colorado Pictures" on my web page http://www.jessebeckom3.com/ so please have a look.
On the other side, this past Friday I received some truly tragic news. I found out that one of my younger cousin's who was a good man, a friend, and a person that I love (Robert White age 26) was shot and killed while he was sitting in a car, in a residential neighborhood back home in Chicago. Bobby had come back home to Chicago and was hanging out with a friend who he should have cut off a long time ago. He was unaware that this friend had gotten into an argument with a guy earlier that week, that same guy saw my cousin Bobby and his friend sitting in a car, and came after my cousin's friend and in the process shot and killed my cousin. The police know who the shooter is and hopefully they find him soon. It hurts more than I can express in words and I wish I could have done anything to stop it from happening but there is nothing I can do. I ask that all you pray for Robert's Grand Parents,Parents, his brother, his son, and the rest of my family.
There are many wars going on in our world and some of the biggest ones are here in our own country. Growing up in Chicago I have seen numerous friends shot and or killed and it still continues in many cities across America. The senseless violence in our streets needs to come to an end! We as individuals need to do more to counteract the violence and hate that exists in our society. We need to set better examples that show that this lack of respect for life and other crimes are not acceptable! There are more of us in this country who are doing good and helping others for us to be held hostage by those who feed of fear and intimidation. We can change our world through small and large examples and it is essential that we do!
God Bless you all!
Jesse
Monday, July 14, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Summer Push Training Park City, Utah June 2008
June 23, 2008
Hellllloooooooooooooooo Everyone!
I just got back from 10 days of push training at the push track out in Park City, Utah, where I stayed with one of my team mates and his girlfriend.
The push track allows me to practice my pushing and loading techniques in the summer. The push track is about 200 meters of laid railroad or grooved track, where we are able to place a modified two-man or four-man bobsled that have been fitted with wheels to run along these tracks.It was great to get out there and train with some of the guys! We went to the push track twice a day for about two hours of practice, for the week we had at least 100 trips down the push track, uhmm yeah... my legs are a little bit tired.
I worked on my pushing technique/angles from all sides (left side, back, and right side) of the sled. Practicing from the sides of the sled helps me prepare for when I am racing four man. I work on my initial hit and my side load which can be tricky at time. Because, when loading from the side its a full out sprint and then a crossover step to get into the sled. For example, when loading from the left side, after the initial push off the block while running full speed my left legs crosses over my right foot onto the bunk of the sled while simultaneously reaching my right hand across and grabbing a hold of the right side of the sled as I proceed to hope in the sled. When loading from the right side of the sled its the right foot that crosses over and the left had that reaches over. Now if you are unlucky.....which has happened to many a athlete you could miss the bunk fall on your face and do the walk of shame up the ice (I have never had to do that one), or you could slip and fall upside down ( ok I admit this happened once or twice but it was at practice and in the Ice House. lol) into the sled or backwards neither one will result in a fast down time! Or one of the greatest ones I have seen is when your foot hits the bunk of the sled you fall, and one of your team mates grabs a hold of you drags you into the sled. But since everyone else has already gotten in you become their seat cushion cause that's the only way you fit in! lol Once again this has never happened to me, but I saw it and it was funny as all get out! especially cause they made it down safe.
Loading from the back of the sled is a lot easier but you could still take a wrong step and find yourself being dragged down the ice. AND NO THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE.....come on people give me a break here I am a trained professional!!! I load in MY SLEEP LOL. I like a NINJA with it! It's like when someone screams "LOAD" and I'm like yall gonna get in already cause I loaded 10 minutes ago and I was wondering if I was racing by myself! One time I beat the driver in and had to scoot back, at the bottom he looked at me like I was wrong....I know right, I told him he needs to hurry up and get in cause we got a race to win and we do not have time to wait for him to get in all the time! LOL
Take care and God Bless!
Jesse
Hellllloooooooooooooooo Everyone!
I just got back from 10 days of push training at the push track out in Park City, Utah, where I stayed with one of my team mates and his girlfriend.
The push track allows me to practice my pushing and loading techniques in the summer. The push track is about 200 meters of laid railroad or grooved track, where we are able to place a modified two-man or four-man bobsled that have been fitted with wheels to run along these tracks.It was great to get out there and train with some of the guys! We went to the push track twice a day for about two hours of practice, for the week we had at least 100 trips down the push track, uhmm yeah... my legs are a little bit tired.
I worked on my pushing technique/angles from all sides (left side, back, and right side) of the sled. Practicing from the sides of the sled helps me prepare for when I am racing four man. I work on my initial hit and my side load which can be tricky at time. Because, when loading from the side its a full out sprint and then a crossover step to get into the sled. For example, when loading from the left side, after the initial push off the block while running full speed my left legs crosses over my right foot onto the bunk of the sled while simultaneously reaching my right hand across and grabbing a hold of the right side of the sled as I proceed to hope in the sled. When loading from the right side of the sled its the right foot that crosses over and the left had that reaches over. Now if you are unlucky.....which has happened to many a athlete you could miss the bunk fall on your face and do the walk of shame up the ice (I have never had to do that one), or you could slip and fall upside down ( ok I admit this happened once or twice but it was at practice and in the Ice House. lol) into the sled or backwards neither one will result in a fast down time! Or one of the greatest ones I have seen is when your foot hits the bunk of the sled you fall, and one of your team mates grabs a hold of you drags you into the sled. But since everyone else has already gotten in you become their seat cushion cause that's the only way you fit in! lol Once again this has never happened to me, but I saw it and it was funny as all get out! especially cause they made it down safe.
Loading from the back of the sled is a lot easier but you could still take a wrong step and find yourself being dragged down the ice. AND NO THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE.....come on people give me a break here I am a trained professional!!! I load in MY SLEEP LOL. I like a NINJA with it! It's like when someone screams "LOAD" and I'm like yall gonna get in already cause I loaded 10 minutes ago and I was wondering if I was racing by myself! One time I beat the driver in and had to scoot back, at the bottom he looked at me like I was wrong....I know right, I told him he needs to hurry up and get in cause we got a race to win and we do not have time to wait for him to get in all the time! LOL
Take care and God Bless!
Jesse
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Summer update
Guten Morgan/Good Morning Everyone!
I trust that everyone had a nice relaxing Memorial Day weekend, I did and my summer training is going Great. God is continually putting good positive people in my life for which I am truly thankful.
This summer my sprint coach took on a new partner named Kevin, which was very fortunate for me. Not only is Kevin a great trainer and motivator but he also has an uncle named Johnathan that is a professional welder. This was excellent news for me because I needed to have a push cart built that I could use for my training. I talked to Kevin about what i needed and gave him some pictures and schematics of the sled, he then gave them to his uncle Johnathan. I spoke with his uncle Johnathan to clear up a few details on the cart and BAM!!! I GOT MY PUSH CART BUILT!!!! Yeah just a little excited over here!!. Having this push cart is going to fill a gap that I have had in my summer training.
While in placid we train and test with this type of push cart all the time,I no longer have to wait an entire year before I can practice my pushing technique now, NOW I HAVE MY OWN! I have included some pictures of the push cart for you to see. In the picture you will also see a piece of wood with some nails and spikes stuck through it. This piece of wood is used to mimic the starting block that we push off of on every race track around the world, and the nails prevent the board from slipping when I am pushing off of it.
Have a great week and thank you for all of your support!
Jesse
I trust that everyone had a nice relaxing Memorial Day weekend, I did and my summer training is going Great. God is continually putting good positive people in my life for which I am truly thankful.
This summer my sprint coach took on a new partner named Kevin, which was very fortunate for me. Not only is Kevin a great trainer and motivator but he also has an uncle named Johnathan that is a professional welder. This was excellent news for me because I needed to have a push cart built that I could use for my training. I talked to Kevin about what i needed and gave him some pictures and schematics of the sled, he then gave them to his uncle Johnathan. I spoke with his uncle Johnathan to clear up a few details on the cart and BAM!!! I GOT MY PUSH CART BUILT!!!! Yeah just a little excited over here!!. Having this push cart is going to fill a gap that I have had in my summer training.
While in placid we train and test with this type of push cart all the time,I no longer have to wait an entire year before I can practice my pushing technique now, NOW I HAVE MY OWN! I have included some pictures of the push cart for you to see. In the picture you will also see a piece of wood with some nails and spikes stuck through it. This piece of wood is used to mimic the starting block that we push off of on every race track around the world, and the nails prevent the board from slipping when I am pushing off of it.
Have a great week and thank you for all of your support!
Jesse
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)