No Stoppin’ Now! | The Weblog of USA’s 2008 Paralympic Silver Medalist

The last week of training was very tough. I was introduced to my first bike workout. Bike workout? Yeah, it sounds pretty simple, but under my Coach, Dan Pfaff, it’s no fun at all. This is how it worked. I had to pedal as fast as I could for ten seconds. You have to set your bike up so that you have a good amount of resistance. You have a minute rest in between each ten second pedaling. So get this, I had five sets of five 10 second repetitions, one minute in between each repetition and 3 minutes in between each set. After the second or third set, the legs feel really heavy. Once you get to the last set, your legs feel like they’re going to explode. Nevertheless, I got through the week doing bike workouts and they became slightly easy — just a tad, not much. It rained a lot last week, so that’s part of the reason why I had to do those workouts most of the week. But hey, when it’s all said and done, give me a Live Strong band, a bike, and call me Lance Armstrong cause I’m gonna pedal like a beast!

I’ll keep writing as usual. This post is short because there wasn’t too much going on last week. Like I said, the weather had a lot to do with last week’s workouts.

As I thought, week 2 was a lot more intense than the first. The track workouts picked up in length, but the weight room workouts are now a “beast.” I have to go in there six days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are dedicated for heavy weight lifting and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are for “body building.” Body building is made up of twelve exercises that you do in a sequence. After you do those twelve exercises, you have a couple minutes of rest and then you go at it again. By the end of the second set, you’re almost dead. The third and final set is tough, but that set is where champions are made. I’ll be a champion real soon LOL.

Oddly enough, it was cold and raining last week. I thought it was always sunny in San Diego, but there are days when it’s not warm outside. Actually, it’s been raining for the past few days. I had to turn on my heat last night. You definitely don’t turn that on much out here.

Surprisingly, it’s almost time to start competing. A couple more weeks and the outdoor season will start. I need a little more time for training and then I’ll be ready to get the ball rolling. It should be an exciting year competition wise.

As always, I’ll keep you posted. I need to try and find something to eat before I have to go to the weight room. Until the next time…

If you don’t know, starting up training after a long period of time off does not feel good. My first week of training was great but my body let me know how long of a break I took off. The crazy thing is, I got in San Diego on last Tuesday, and didn’t even start training until Thursday. So, I have this itching suspicion that this week, week two, will be even more fun.

I’m happy about how things are going so far though. I have a new training schedule, new goals to accomplish, and a high level of motivation for this upcoming season. My training days are longer than what they were last year, but I’ll get used to that with a little bit of time. Today, marks the beginning of my first full week of practice, so as I said before, it should be an interesting experience LOL. Hopefully, I’ll be able to hold up the whole week. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

And by the way, how about those North Carolina Tar Heels! Yeah baby! That’s how you beat up that Wolf Pack! Excuse me, but I had to throw that out there.

Wow, I’m finally back in sunny San Diego, California at the Olympic Training Center. It feels so good to be back. This is my home away from home. It’s hard to imagine leaving cold weather in Raleigh, NC and arriving in 70 to 80 degree weather. Amazing!

This is where it all begins in 2009. It’s time to begin the long journey for London 2012. It seems so far away, but the way time flies it’ll be here before I know it. Shockingly, this will be my first time seriously training and preparing for the next games. I mean, 2004, I was just getting in to all of this and didn’t know what to expect so I was doing my thing. From 2004 to 2008, I was attending ECU and had to focus on school, my social life, and training. Training took the back burner most of the time. Now, I’m 24, and serious about trying to be the best in all of my events. My guide runner, Wes, is here and ready to get the ball rolling. We have new coaches and a new program here at the training center so things are on the “up and up”. I’m excited.

Off the track, things are looking pretty good. The public speaking is going pretty well actually and I’m hoping to get more speeches in the near future. I love to stay busy.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to start training though. I’ve been at home eating up every signature southern dish/food possible. That includes Bojangles’ fried chicken, biscuits, and fries, mac and cheese, Hungry Howie’s pepperoni pizza, and the list goes on and on. The first couple weeks of training may be the worse ever LOL.

My room here is a total mess though. I need to get some organization in there. It’s hard to juggle all of it with such little space. I’ll get it done sometime in the next few days.

Even though I miss the food and home, I’ll be back in a few weeks to receive an award that I was nominated for. The banquet is called the Evening of Champions, and it will be at the Embassy Suites in Cary, NC. It’s on March 5, 2009. And yes, you may attend if you would like. You can find all of the information about the event at www.thesportscouncil.org.

On that note, I’m going to get out of here and see what I can find to eat.

Well, it’s a new year and it marks the beginning of training for the next games in 2012. Some of my friends have already started training, but not me. I’ve been enjoying my family and friends here in North Carolina. I’m eager to start though and get back in to the mix.

As you know, this day has been one that no one will ever forget. It has definitely been a historical day in American history and we all had the opportunity to witness President Barack Obama and his family get ready to take their home in the White House. Wow, can you believe it?

But can you believe this? We had snow in North Carolina for the first time in a few years. I think the last time we had snow, I was still attending East Carolina University. My roommates and I had plenty of fun. I can remember one time when my roommate Josh ran outside screaming and yelling about how it was snowing outside. My other roommate, Annmarie, ran out behind him excited to see what it looked like out there. Little did she know, Josh had run back inside and locked the door preventing her from getting back inside. It wasn’t snowing outside, but it was freezing cold, and she had her pajamas on. Talk about laughing. I was in our living room dying on the floor.

On this day, though, my mom was inside watching the Inaugural speech and events. Where was I? Outside enjoying the snow. One of my friends had texted me asking why I wasn’t watching the festivities on television. I told her I would meet President Obama in 2012 after we return from the Paralympic Games and take our White House visit. It was too nice in our neighborhood. There was snow everywhere. Cars drove by slowly and people walked around laughing and playing. You could hear the screams of children in their backyards playing and having fun.

But most importantly, I think the Olympic Committee will be very proud to know that I have a new friend and potential athlete for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. His name is Meltin. I’m not sure what event he wants to try out, but look, he already has much confidence in making the team. He even has the USA hat and jacket. He’s “rockin’” it if I have to say so myself. I’ll have to call up my people and see who he needs to contact so we can get him on the slopes somewhere. I bet he’ll be a great Nordic skier or something, or maybe a speedster on the snowboard. Who knows? Just make sure you keep an eye out for Meltin in the 2010 Winter Games.