I am down to my last two days in Beijing and believe me, I am counting down the hours until I reach Colorado soil and have my arms around my three kids and wonderful wife. This entire experience has been nothing short of phenomenal but it is definitely time to go home now.
As I reflect on my 5 weeks at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, I am very thankful for the opportunity that was presented to me. At a staff function last night, a colleague asked me what the most memorable time was for me during the Games and hands down it has been coaching Sarah to her Olympic debut as well as being embedded with the triathlon team to provide nutrition services. I will never forget this experience and will use it as a building block that will make me an even better coach and sport dietitian.
All in all, it has been a wonderful trip. The Chinese people have been very welcoming and kind and the city really did a great job on the world stage with its "coming out" party. I am thoroughly impressed by the amount of resources that were given to these Games and would give it a thumbs up on China's behalf.
I am told our internet may be discontinued before I leave so I thought I would end my last blog from China with a little humor:
Items I will not miss...
1. Having to drink bottled water all of the time (boy do I miss drinking refreshing tap water!).
2. Having to use bottled water to brush my teeth and rinse out my toothbrush (luckily, I didn't forget once!).
3. Having to consciously think of keeping my mouth closed in the shower (had to curb my passion of singing in the shower...NOT!).
4. The rancid smell inside my small room when I turn off the air (was it my sandals or something else? Who knows but I really didn't want to find out!).
5. Chinese television (mostly martial arts soap operas and news that I cannot understand).
6. Riding in taxi cabs. I felt like my life was in danger each time I got in a cab...much worse than any city or country I have been to.
And probably the top item I will not miss...HUMIDITY! Bring back my dry climate of the Colorado mountains!
I will be spending some serious time with my family when I return home so I will not blog again until around mid-September. Until next time...
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Does it get any better?
I thought my trip to my first Olympics was complete. Sport dietitian for the triathlon team and personal coach to an Olympian. I mean, what could make it any better? That answer was revealed to me last night.
Before I left for triathlon, the USOC had mentioned that it may be able to get staff members a ticket or two to an Olympic event. We had to choose our top three "wishes" and submit them. I chose women's soccer, tae kwon do (as I work with those athletes) and BMX cycling (I was a BMX aficianado back in my youth!). When I returned from my time from triathlon, I learned that I was to receive women's soccer tickets. Fantastic I thought since I grew up playing soccer and coached women's club soccer at Colorado State University during my graduate school years (we won the National Club Championships my first year by the way!). Well, it just so happened that the tickets were for Thursday, August 21...the finals. Not only was this special because it happens to be my Mom's birthday but it just so happens that the US women qualified to play in the gold medal round against Brazil.
Can you even believe it? I was going to watch the US women's soccer team defend their 2004 Olympic Gold medal! I arrived a bit early so I could catch the second half of the bronze medal game between Germany and Japan. They were tied at the half but Germany came out strong the second half with two goals to seal their place on the medal stand. Then came the gold medal game. Their were about 51,000 of my "closest friends" in attendance and while words cannot begin to describe the feeling I had sitting about 50 meters from the field in the bottom row seats, believe me when I say that it was spectacular.
I had grown up with soccer. It taught me many things and I had traveled parts of the world playing it. I am coaching my son's soccer team because of the positive influence it had on my life. I had followed World Cup soccer growing up. The US, Italy and Brazil were my favorites with Germany rounding out the top four. And there I was, sitting in a country 7000 miles away from home, watching the United States women go for the gold.
The match was nothing less than unbelievable. While Brazil dazzled the US with their fast footwork and ability to break to open field, the US women took advantage of the few shots on goal and made one count in about minute 5 of the first overtime. After regulation time ended in a 0-0 tie, two 15 minute halves were played to decide gold and silver. The parting minutes of the second overtime saw quite a few Brazil shots on goal but our keeper made some phenomenal saves and our team played stellar defense.
Hats off to our US women's soccer team! Go USA!
Enjoy some photos from last night's match...And oh yes, does it get any better? Well, yes it does...I get to come home in 5 days. That is the only thing I am looking forward to!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Before I left for triathlon, the USOC had mentioned that it may be able to get staff members a ticket or two to an Olympic event. We had to choose our top three "wishes" and submit them. I chose women's soccer, tae kwon do (as I work with those athletes) and BMX cycling (I was a BMX aficianado back in my youth!). When I returned from my time from triathlon, I learned that I was to receive women's soccer tickets. Fantastic I thought since I grew up playing soccer and coached women's club soccer at Colorado State University during my graduate school years (we won the National Club Championships my first year by the way!). Well, it just so happened that the tickets were for Thursday, August 21...the finals. Not only was this special because it happens to be my Mom's birthday but it just so happens that the US women qualified to play in the gold medal round against Brazil.
Can you even believe it? I was going to watch the US women's soccer team defend their 2004 Olympic Gold medal! I arrived a bit early so I could catch the second half of the bronze medal game between Germany and Japan. They were tied at the half but Germany came out strong the second half with two goals to seal their place on the medal stand. Then came the gold medal game. Their were about 51,000 of my "closest friends" in attendance and while words cannot begin to describe the feeling I had sitting about 50 meters from the field in the bottom row seats, believe me when I say that it was spectacular.
I had grown up with soccer. It taught me many things and I had traveled parts of the world playing it. I am coaching my son's soccer team because of the positive influence it had on my life. I had followed World Cup soccer growing up. The US, Italy and Brazil were my favorites with Germany rounding out the top four. And there I was, sitting in a country 7000 miles away from home, watching the United States women go for the gold.
The match was nothing less than unbelievable. While Brazil dazzled the US with their fast footwork and ability to break to open field, the US women took advantage of the few shots on goal and made one count in about minute 5 of the first overtime. After regulation time ended in a 0-0 tie, two 15 minute halves were played to decide gold and silver. The parting minutes of the second overtime saw quite a few Brazil shots on goal but our keeper made some phenomenal saves and our team played stellar defense.
Hats off to our US women's soccer team! Go USA!
Enjoy some photos from last night's match...And oh yes, does it get any better? Well, yes it does...I get to come home in 5 days. That is the only thing I am looking forward to!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
The Mens Race
I was a bit tired from all of the excitement and stress from the previous day so I slept very well the night before the mens race. I received my wake-up call at 6:45am from Val, Hunter Kemper's wife, wanting to know if it was okay to visit to heat Hunter's pancakes up for his pre-race breakfast. "No problem" I said. I was running all food production and preparation in my itty bitty hotel room so I had to be available whenever.
The day of the mens race was beautiful. Nice blue skies, clean air and a lot of heat and humidity. It did get pretty hot but not too much to cause problems for the athletes. I was lucky in that my role that day was merely as a spectator and photographer. I hung out with Scott (USAT team leader) and Alex (USAT sport chiropractor) and clipped some good photos during the race.
The mens race was similar to the womens as their wasn't a break in the swim but during the bike, there were 3 (then 2) athletes who made a break and put almost 1 minute on the pack. Gutsy move but they were swallowed up by the fast runners on the second lap of the 10k course.
There were about 5 runners at the front who consistently ran together the entire race. It wasn't until the last 10-15 meters where the winner was decided. It was probably one of the most exciting finishes I have witnessed as it literally came down to a sprint finish for gold, silver and bronze. In the end, a dark-horse from Germany (Frodeno) won the gold and outkicked Simon Whitfield (2000 gold medalist). Simon took the silver and the kiwi Bevan Docherty (2004 silver medalist) took the bronze.
Our guys had a good day also. Hunter improved on his previous two Olympic finishes by coming in 7th, Jarrod finished in 18th and Matty in 32nd. Great job USA!
I'm off to finish up my time in China with one more week at Beijing Normal University helping the USOC pack everything up. Enjoy some photos I took of the mens race.
Hunter leading a small chase pack.
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
The day of the mens race was beautiful. Nice blue skies, clean air and a lot of heat and humidity. It did get pretty hot but not too much to cause problems for the athletes. I was lucky in that my role that day was merely as a spectator and photographer. I hung out with Scott (USAT team leader) and Alex (USAT sport chiropractor) and clipped some good photos during the race.
The mens race was similar to the womens as their wasn't a break in the swim but during the bike, there were 3 (then 2) athletes who made a break and put almost 1 minute on the pack. Gutsy move but they were swallowed up by the fast runners on the second lap of the 10k course.
There were about 5 runners at the front who consistently ran together the entire race. It wasn't until the last 10-15 meters where the winner was decided. It was probably one of the most exciting finishes I have witnessed as it literally came down to a sprint finish for gold, silver and bronze. In the end, a dark-horse from Germany (Frodeno) won the gold and outkicked Simon Whitfield (2000 gold medalist). Simon took the silver and the kiwi Bevan Docherty (2004 silver medalist) took the bronze.
Our guys had a good day also. Hunter improved on his previous two Olympic finishes by coming in 7th, Jarrod finished in 18th and Matty in 32nd. Great job USA!
I'm off to finish up my time in China with one more week at Beijing Normal University helping the USOC pack everything up. Enjoy some photos I took of the mens race.
Hunter leading a small chase pack.
Jarrod and Matty on the heels of Marceau.
Check out the different run form of these athletes. Hunter is in the front.
Matty with an ice vest on trying to pre-cool before the race.
The eventual gold and silver medalist leading the front pack.
The lone athlete making a break on the entire pack. You can see the pack coming into the transition area.
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
A very proud coach...
Well, the race has come and gone and with that comes an ebb and flow of emotions. I was very nervous this morning as was Sarah (probably for somewhat different reasons!) but I think both of us controlled our nerves very well. I did by walking 4 kilometers to the race and pacing quite a bit before the race and Sarah did by having a very, very solid race.
Sarah leading the bike pack.
I'm off to the mens race tomorrow...stay tuned for another blog soon!
She started off as we thought with her right up in the front of the swim but because the swim was only a one-loop course, it was tough for the pack to break. There was about 20-24 women in the first pack which is somewhat uncommon. I was able to see Sarah come out of the water in third spot and grab her bike. I then moved quickly to the spot on the major hill where I would spend the next 6 laps. Sarah looked very strong on the bike which really isn't a surprise since we put in some good quality time on the bike in preparation for the Olympics. We were going to throw in a run focus but she had some lingering calf problems from her silver medal performance at Worlds so we decided to allow the calf to heal with less running and ramp up the cycling a bit. Our plan was to go into the bike and implement a few attacks to try to separate the field a bit into smaller packs but with such a large front pack, Sarah said it was virtually impossible to do. She tried and I believe she was able to tire the legs of some of her competitors upon entering T2.
Sarah came out of T2 in 13th position and looked very, very strong. Great biomechanics and run cadence. I was able to get pretty close on the course to shout out some positive words and splits to her as she passed me throughout the 4 laps and she just looked so solid on her run. Interesting because as I mentioned, we had reduced her run training a bit and ramped up her bike training. I don't have her run splits yet but I believe she ran in the 36 minute range which is about 1 minute faster than last year on the same course so that is a huge improvement!
As the race progressed, I became even more and more proud of Sarah, her accomplishments and her will to compete and continue pushing forward. She never let up the entire race and proved why she is an Olympian. Come to think of it, remember that she just started in triathlon 4 years ago. How about that for a first go around, eh?
Sarah was able to run herself into 11th place for her Olympic debut and while our pre-race tactics weren't able to be fully initiated due to the swim not breaking up, it was still a very, very successful race for her but I have to admit, her expressions after the race indicated that while she was excited, she wasn't fully satisfied which tells me there is still quite a fire burning inside of her that we can and will bring out. I love that about her and am so honored to be on her team!
Up next she has Elite Nationals, the Lifetime Dallas race and a World cup in Mexico. She'll then enjoy a little down time and then we get to start again on some great plans I have for her off-season.
As a recap, our women took 4th (Laura), 11th (Sarah) and 19th (Julie). Great job USA!
Enjoy some photos I took at the race today...
Sarah leading the bike pack.
Sarah diving into the water for warm-up.
The women lined up on the pontoon getting ready to start.
Our three USA girls after the race.
Sarah running into the transition area.
Vanessa (silver medalist) with Laura right behind her.
Emma Snowsill (gold medalist).
View of the crowd while the athletes are coming into the transition area.
Sarah running to the pontoon (swim start) after being introduced.
I'm off to the mens race tomorrow...stay tuned for another blog soon!
Coach Bob
Photos from race venue
Enjoy some photos I took of athletes today as I was walking around the race venue.
Debbie Tanner from NZ diving in the water.
Laura Bennett (left) and Vanessa Fernandes (right).
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Sarah after cycling.
Sarah getting ready for her swim.
Sarah (left) coming out of the swim exit.
Helen Tucker (in the middle), gold medalist at World Championships.
Kristen Sweetland and Lauren Groves from Canada.
Debbie Tanner from NZ diving in the water.
Javier Gomez from Spain on his bike.
Matty Reed coming back from his ride.
Laura Bennett (left) and Vanessa Fernandes (right).
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
First day in Changping
Changping is about 35 minutes North of Beijing and is where I am staying with the triathletes. I hit the ground running yesterday when I arrived. Once we boarded the bus for our hotel, I was thinking about how I would prepare the seven athletes dinner that night. Luckily, I am able to pick up food from our American dining facility where I was staying before and transport it to our hotel. I keep it cool in a big cooler and heat/cook the foods in a microwave that USA Triathlon purchased for me. It is pretty tight in my bedroom trying to prepare meals but I'm making it work. I love challenges so this is right up my alley.
Here are some photos I took from the triathlon venue. Absolutely stunning when it is a blue sky day!
Today, after making my morning drive to get the food, I came back, made the athletes lunches to go and then powerwalked 4k to the race venue to be with Sarah. She was allowed on the course from 10-12 and we wanted to chat about where she should choose her start position on the swim pontoon.
My credential that I received from the USOC luckily gets me full access to the venue and I am hoping that is the case on race day also. I was able to walk around everywhere on the course so enjoy some photos I took today.
This is a photo driving up to Changping from Beijing. Note the mountains and the blue skies. Wow! What a difference from when I left Beijing 1 week ago! The mountains here remind me of Aspen with the green coloring. Who'd of thought?
Here are some photos of statues along my walk up to the triathlon venue.
Here are some photos I took from the triathlon venue. Absolutely stunning when it is a blue sky day! Coach Bob
I Upgraded!
Last post before I go to sleep to salvage however many hours I can before my 4:30am wake-up (aka-watch alarm!).
As you remember from my photo depicting my main mode of transportation in China (a very beat up cruiser bike with a basket on the front), I am a two wheel junkie. I thought I would show you my upgrade while in Cheju. I used it mainly to ride with Sarah and Nate while they were cycling so I could provide instructions on the workout, chat with Sarah to see how her body was responding and keep them both safe on the roads here. I was able to get this 125cc bad boy up to 80k/hr!!!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
As you remember from my photo depicting my main mode of transportation in China (a very beat up cruiser bike with a basket on the front), I am a two wheel junkie. I thought I would show you my upgrade while in Cheju. I used it mainly to ride with Sarah and Nate while they were cycling so I could provide instructions on the workout, chat with Sarah to see how her body was responding and keep them both safe on the roads here. I was able to get this 125cc bad boy up to 80k/hr!!!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Leaving Cheju
Tonight marks my last night on Cheju Island and while I am a bit sad to leave, I am extremely eager for Sarah's race. I have officially shifted into "coach mode" and am looking forward to the next three days helping Sarah prepare for her Olympic debut.
Today was an interesting last day. I woke up, had a quick bite to eat then headed to the pool with Sarah and Nate for a short (3600 meters), quality swim workout. Sarah is swimming very well but even more importantly, she is finally used to the heat and humidity and I can tell by the way her body is responding. We came back, grabbed another quick bite then headed in the air conditioned strength room for a just over 1 hour bike spin. Then it was off for a 30 minute aerobic run with some strides. I was on her spare bike riding beside her and just as we began the run, the rain clouds quickly hovered over us and in about 10 minutes, a monsoon was hitting us hard. It was warm rain but it was coming down hard. We called it quits when we started to see lightning and by the time we got back inside, both of us were absolutely drenched from head to toe. All in all, the rain did not bother us and she had accomplished her training goals for the day.
After lunch, I gathered some gifts for our cooks at the training center as they have done a phenomenal job preparing the meals I have requested and then I hopped on the stationary bike for a quick 45 minute spin followed by a 20 minute strength workout.
Dinner and packing consumed my night and I am now ready to Skype my family before I head out to the airport tomorrow morning at the lovely hour of 5am!
Next post coming from Changping, China (just North of Beijing) where the triathlon venue is. We are staying about 4K away from the start.
Here is a photo I took from my balcony tonight after the rain had stopped and the skies cleared. The haze that you see is not pollution...it is humidity on my camera lens!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Today was an interesting last day. I woke up, had a quick bite to eat then headed to the pool with Sarah and Nate for a short (3600 meters), quality swim workout. Sarah is swimming very well but even more importantly, she is finally used to the heat and humidity and I can tell by the way her body is responding. We came back, grabbed another quick bite then headed in the air conditioned strength room for a just over 1 hour bike spin. Then it was off for a 30 minute aerobic run with some strides. I was on her spare bike riding beside her and just as we began the run, the rain clouds quickly hovered over us and in about 10 minutes, a monsoon was hitting us hard. It was warm rain but it was coming down hard. We called it quits when we started to see lightning and by the time we got back inside, both of us were absolutely drenched from head to toe. All in all, the rain did not bother us and she had accomplished her training goals for the day.
After lunch, I gathered some gifts for our cooks at the training center as they have done a phenomenal job preparing the meals I have requested and then I hopped on the stationary bike for a quick 45 minute spin followed by a 20 minute strength workout.
Dinner and packing consumed my night and I am now ready to Skype my family before I head out to the airport tomorrow morning at the lovely hour of 5am!
Next post coming from Changping, China (just North of Beijing) where the triathlon venue is. We are staying about 4K away from the start.
Here is a photo I took from my balcony tonight after the rain had stopped and the skies cleared. The haze that you see is not pollution...it is humidity on my camera lens!
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Field Trip!
Some other USA Triathlon staff members and I were able to squeeze away for a couple of hours yesterday to look at some of the sights in and around Cheju Island. It's a very pretty island with good culture.
Enjoy some of my photos of the Buddhist Temple we visited along with a lava rock formation in the ocean that we saw.
Coach Bob
Day 5 in Cheju
A few days have gone by since my last blog update and I do apologize but boy, have I been a busy guy! I thought I would devote this blog to that particular topic.
I often get asked by many people what a typical day is in the life of a sport dietitian/coach/strength coach/exercise physiologist so I thought I would spend a few minutes to share what my day included today.
Wake up at 6am and prep the menu for the next three days.
Grab a quick breakfast before getting in a little “me time” in which I rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes and did strength for 15 minutes.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Get Sarah’s ice vest ready for pre-cooling her before her combo session.
Grab a quick snack and discuss the menu planning with the cook at the center. Show her photos I have put into a Powerpoint presentation to overcome the language barrier.
Meet Sarah outside in the heat and humidity (the heat index was well over 106 today!) for her just over 1 hour bike ride with short VO2 max efforts and moderate LT efforts.
Quickly move to the strength room for a three minute intense treadmill run.
Hop on Sarah’s spare bike and ride with her for the 20 minute run at race pace and supra-race pace, all outside in the very humid conditions (I was sweating profusely on the bike and I was only riding beside her while she was running!).
Get Sarah her recovery drink (Ultragen) while she is spinning down on the bike trainer.
Accompany Sarah to her ice bath and time her so she stayed in for just the right amount of time.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Eat lunch with the team.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Hop in the team van to go to the pool to assist Sarah with her swim workout.
Back to the training center in Cheju and collect more urine samples.
Eat dinner with the team. Debrief with Sarah about the day’s training, how she is feeling and the next day of training.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Get Achilles worked out by our unbelievable sports chiropractor (Dr. Alex Keith).
Team staff meeting.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Check email briefly.
Blog for a bit.
Skype the family.
Check more email.
Go to bed around 11:00pm.
I collect urine samples from our athletes throughout the day to accurately measure their hydration status with a refractometer (measures urine specific gravity) and provide customized fluid replacement strategies. Just to give you an idea of what “presents” I receive from our athletes on a daily basis, I thought I would include this photo.
Wow, I must say that this is a busy schedule but I am so in my element that I absolutely love every minute of it. To be surrounded by our Olympic triathletes and a high-class staff and to be able to provide nutrition expertise to our Olympians and coach a 2008 Olympian is true bliss for me. I would be batting 1000 if I had my wife and kids here! Boy do I miss them a TON!
The big race is in 5 days and counting. I am beginning to think about it quite a bit and am really getting excited for Sarah!
Enjoy some additional photos…
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
I often get asked by many people what a typical day is in the life of a sport dietitian/coach/strength coach/exercise physiologist so I thought I would spend a few minutes to share what my day included today.
Wake up at 6am and prep the menu for the next three days.
Grab a quick breakfast before getting in a little “me time” in which I rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes and did strength for 15 minutes.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Get Sarah’s ice vest ready for pre-cooling her before her combo session.
Grab a quick snack and discuss the menu planning with the cook at the center. Show her photos I have put into a Powerpoint presentation to overcome the language barrier.
Meet Sarah outside in the heat and humidity (the heat index was well over 106 today!) for her just over 1 hour bike ride with short VO2 max efforts and moderate LT efforts.
Quickly move to the strength room for a three minute intense treadmill run.
Hop on Sarah’s spare bike and ride with her for the 20 minute run at race pace and supra-race pace, all outside in the very humid conditions (I was sweating profusely on the bike and I was only riding beside her while she was running!).
Get Sarah her recovery drink (Ultragen) while she is spinning down on the bike trainer.
Accompany Sarah to her ice bath and time her so she stayed in for just the right amount of time.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Eat lunch with the team.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Hop in the team van to go to the pool to assist Sarah with her swim workout.
Back to the training center in Cheju and collect more urine samples.
Eat dinner with the team. Debrief with Sarah about the day’s training, how she is feeling and the next day of training.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Get Achilles worked out by our unbelievable sports chiropractor (Dr. Alex Keith).
Team staff meeting.
Collect and analyze urine samples.
Check email briefly.
Blog for a bit.
Skype the family.
Check more email.
Go to bed around 11:00pm.
I collect urine samples from our athletes throughout the day to accurately measure their hydration status with a refractometer (measures urine specific gravity) and provide customized fluid replacement strategies. Just to give you an idea of what “presents” I receive from our athletes on a daily basis, I thought I would include this photo.
Wow, I must say that this is a busy schedule but I am so in my element that I absolutely love every minute of it. To be surrounded by our Olympic triathletes and a high-class staff and to be able to provide nutrition expertise to our Olympians and coach a 2008 Olympian is true bliss for me. I would be batting 1000 if I had my wife and kids here! Boy do I miss them a TON!
The big race is in 5 days and counting. I am beginning to think about it quite a bit and am really getting excited for Sarah!
Enjoy some additional photos…
Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)