Sunday, July 27, 2008

On your mark! Get set!!


All the hard work and long hours are about to pay off now. I’m packing for China!


The past few weeks have been such a grueling regimen of training that even more than excitement, I’m feeling exhaustion. It’s a good kind of tiredness, the kind you feel when you know you’ve earned the right to feel tired. I’ll put it this way -- I don’t lie awake at night because I’m excited to be going – there’s too much preparation to be done, so at the end of the day, I’m pretty well spent. I mean, think about it, could you ever be ready enough for the Olympics?


All the same, when I think about it now, it’s feeling more and more real to me. It’s a sweet dream; I hope mine’s about to come true.


Riding photo by Gerry Maceda from last week's riding camp.


Sunday, July 20, 2008

A week in the desert -- riding, riding and more riding!

This has been a busy and exciting week for the team.

Three of us (of four) have been in Palm Springs, California for a riding clinic with the Team USA Modern Pentathlon riding coach, Michael Cintas, at his wonderful facility here. It’s been a week of intense training and hard work, but there have been many, many fans here to watch our workouts and attend a dinner for us Friday night. That enthusiasm and support feels wonderful.

The top link below is to Palm Springs’ Desert Sun coverage of the clinic and includes dozens of great photos of the whole team, our coach, and some of the best horses and facilities around.

The bottom link below is to my page on the Team USA website that is now fixed and functional. Have a look.

Thank you for your interest. It’s more exciting and intense daily. I’ll have more to report soon!

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=J1&Date=20080717&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=807170803&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=24

http://pentathlon.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/1633

Monday, July 7, 2008

Junior World Championships -- Cairo

I'm in Cairo tonight. I advanced to the finals in the Junior World Championships today. I'm really tired, but I'm excited too.

It's been a while since my last competition, and I crave it. The uncertainty of competition is both exciting and nerve wracking. There are lots of good Juniors here.

The run was not hard, just enough to flush out my legs. It's great to compete again; I missed it so!