Testing Out Fresh Powder Part 2

So I told you about my new little interest in Part 1, now I will explain how my experience in the powder turned out.

The Sun Valley Camp was intense in terms of the hours we put into the snow and for the first half of the week my hip flexors were screaming for me to stop.  I was doing Classic style Nordic skiing for the first half of the week and the constant flexing and extending was out of the ordinary for my little muscles.  They adapted quickly because they knew I wasn’t going to stop.  I began feeling more comfortable staying in the 20-in wide tracks and keeping myself forward.  That is, I was comfortable up until the point I had to go around a turn or up a hill.  Then things started getting dicey. 

On Thursday, we did a 6K time trial and I had a nice little female guide.  I managed to get through the fairly flat course without any accidents but there were many close calls.  A group of locals decided it was dog day and had their dogs running all over the ski tracks.  Me being new to the sport and not confident with quick decisions almost had two major collisions.  The first one included a small little Boston terrier bolting right in front of my ski tips nearly getting pierced with the sharp front edge. The second involved going over a bridge having no side railing where there was again a dog pound in my way. This time I was also going down a hill and had picked up a lot of steam. As I got the bridge and was heading right for the people and the dogs I took two steps out of the tracks and just missed the collision as well as managed to stay on the bridge and not go flying into the below stream. I was so relieved that I had dodged the elements. I finished the time trial in a very respectable 17:45.

My next test was also my first true Nordic ski race. It was the Boulder Mountain Tour Race, which was a 30K race, but we (the training camp athletes) would just do the last 15K of the race. Before the race I took my secret weapon AdvoCare products and with guide Steve Cook started cranking.

I had yet to go full power on skis so it was not all smooth sailing. The course was very windy and a few turns got the best of me. I took three falls in the race but when I was not falling I was hauling. I finished the 15K in 44:49, which was first of the Paralympic camp athletes. When taking into account the factor system for Paralympics I had beaten the next guy by only about 20seconds. My lungs were on fire. I am used to pushing myself but in cold weather it’s a whole new ball game. The pain was good pain though. The pain that makes you want to do more. As a matter of fact I think I will do more.

My experiences with Nordic skiing have led me to pursue the US Paralympic Ski team. The 2010 Winter Paralympics are right around the corner and just outside my backyard in Vancouver, CAN. Stay tuned because you may just see me on the start line!

Testing Out Fresh Powder Part 1

As I mentioned at the end of my 2008 Review, there may be a few new things in store for 2009. Its time to shake things up. Put a new twist to my athletic career. My ADD has been telling me that I need to go strap on some skis and see what I can do. This idea has become reality. Just this past week I flew out to Park City, Utah to attend the National Ability Center and look at the facilities. From there, 7 time Paralympic medallist in Nordic skiing Steve Cook loaded the SUV to head up to Sun Valley, Idaho.

Over 20 Paralympic hopefuls gathered in Sun Valley for a training camp put on by the Woodriver Ability Center. The camp was four days long and involved two a day ski workouts each day. By weeks end I put in 17hrs of training in the skis. Talk about getting whipped into shape. My eyes were opened to a whole new world. A world where I was now the novice just trying to keep up.

The camp was packed with talent. Some of those taking part included two-time gold medal wheelchair racer Josh George, former professional cyclist Ryan Barnett, Paralympic cyclist Sam Kavanagh and many Paralympic Nordic skiers from past games. The coaching staff at the camp was just as star studded. Basically this meant no slouching.

I found out real quick that the strongest don’t always prevail in Nordic skiing. It takes a little finesse. Believe it or not I was a gymnast back in my childhood days. The cobwebs need to be shaken out a bit but somewhere inside me there is probably a little ballerina. Well, that may be exaggerating a bit. One doesn’t need that much finesse but you get the idea. The sport is not designed for grunters.

That’s it for part one of Testing Out Fresh Powder. Part 2 describes my first real test, my first Nordic ski race.

Great Story: Kurtis the Stock Boy

This is a great story.  I know that those of you that are sports fans have probably heard it in some way shape or form.  I also know that yet others of you are tired of Kurt’s repetitive thanking of his Lord God and Savior.  Christian or non-Christian we need to have faith in something.  A problem with our world today is that it is very rare to find someone that has strong faith.  Even more rare is a person that has strong faith and lives a life that is in accordance with their faith.  Someone that backs up their words with their actions.   Our boy Kurtis in this story is one of these people.  You have to respect that! 

With no further adue here is the story of Kurtis the Stock Boy

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn’t possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn’t afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, “Well, let’s take the kids with us.”

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.

Kurtis asked Brenda, “I still don’t understand why the kids can’t
come with us?” Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities – just like her first husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary – - – he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.
Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a Super Bowl victory on Sunday, February 1st! Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.

It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
He has also been the NLF’s Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player.

The Story Gets Better

Today at church our minister mentioned that when Kurt, his wife and 7 children go out to eat he has one of his children pick out a family eating at the restaurant. Kurt then tells the wait staff he is picking up the tab for that family’s dinner anonymously.  He remembers the days he was working nights in the grocery store and feeding his family on food stamps. Makes it hard not to root for the Cardinals IN THE SUPER BOWL, doesn’t it?

 

 

Roadblocks are Meant to be Smashed!

Hello Readers,

Sorry about the delay since my last post.  I know you are eager for more tid bits of my life.  This past week has been a roller coaster ride.  The kind of roller coaster that twists, turns, flips and makes your head spin.  I have received another lesson in reality.  Reality means obstacles and roadblocks in the path.  Some roadblocks are big some small, and some are not realistic and obnoxious.  In this case, the roadblock was of the unrealistic and obnoxious form.

 

As you all know I received my Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Washington.  I signed up fro my boards in August but was not allowed to take them until December 19^th due to whatever procedures they go through in granting special accommodations.  Because I am special, I need to take my test a little different than the rest. 

Come December 19^th the board of physical therapy decided they didn’t think I needed some of these accommodations.   I was in utter shock and was furious about the situation but still took the exam.  The way in which I had to take the exam was not reasonable.  I struggled with focus and time management.  My performance on the test was definitely affected and that was evident by my results.  On January 16^th, one day before my birthday, I received the letter in the mail.  I was 7pts (1/2%) from a passing score. 

As you can imagine, I was heartbroken.  The idea of not passing the test alone gives a stomachache.  But, not passing the test because you were stripped of a fair opportunity is a stab in the heart.  This is especially tough when you have accepted a job offer and were mentally preparing to start your professional career.  Now I am left with the job of reporting my experience and going forward with retaking the exam. 

 

This experience is a roadblock.  Roadblocks don’t scare me.  I look at them as things that I can crush and continue on my way.  Believe me, I have crushed road signs before on my bike and while running.  Just like an SUV smashing into a road closed sign.  The sign gets smashed into tons of pieces and the SUV continues on its path.  I am the SUV and I am going to smash this test.  I am going to smash this roadblock and then I am going to clear the path so others like me don’t have to deal with the same roadblock.   

Sauce Boy

Food is good.  Food with sauce on top is even better.  That’s what I think.  Not everyone has the same taste buds though.  Since I have been lodging with the Collins family over the past few months they have gradually picked up on my food choices and food habits.  This all came out at dinnertime on Tuesday night.  The table was all set.  As I walked into the kitchen, Ruth Ann questioned, “What do we have for Sauce Boy?”  I began laughing hysterically.  I have now become known as Sauce Boy in the Collins household and I am proud of this designation. 

 

What sauces do I like you ask?  Well, most chicken and pork dishes blend mighty fine with Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbeque Sauce.  Rice and stir fry dishes scream for Kikkoman teriyaki marinade.  Salads are good with honey mustard or ranch but get even a little tangier when you mix BBQ and ranch together.  Even more amazing is a salad with Dorothy Lynch.  Dorothy Lynch is a Middle American secret that is hard to come by but amazing when available.  Ketchup has its niche with burgers and fries as well as baked potatoes in my book.  Lastly, bread is good but put some apple butter or honey on it and you will not know what hit you.  

 

            It is amazing how good food can be but it can be so much better with sauce.  If only the world realize the greatness of sauces.  Well, let me take that back.  In reality, the world has probably learned to use sauces a little too much.  But Sauce Boy says, if it feels good, do it!!!

Another Bus Encounter

The more I ride the bus the more I encounter the interesting and uniquely talented people we have in this world. Today I sat across from a guy that calls himself Billy Bugeyes. As I sat talking to him he began telling me about the talent that he has of popping his eyeballs out. Even more surprising was when he explained how he has actually set goals for himself in using this talent. He stated how he had achieved his goals of making the front page of The Stranger and articles in the Seattle PI as well as local TV shows. His next goal is to make it big time and get on the late show with David Lettermen. He explained how he has performed his act for quite a few years on the streets but now he wants to get paid the big bucks.

Then without notice he did his Billy Bugeye act in front of me. Little did he know that I couldn’t really see what he did but after coming back to my place and using my super zoom computer to see it I now can say that I have met Billy Bugeyes in person and seen him perform live. Experiences like this are just one more reason that you should ride the bus more. It cultures you as a person.

A Memory Put to Rest

This past October my Grandma Sweeley past away at the grand age of 92.  She battled health problems for the past 5yrs but she was a tough cookie and didn’t go down without a fight.  You don’t bear 15 kids without being pretty darn tough.  I was unable to make it back to Nebraska to pay my respects and attend the funeral.   As a result there was always a gap in my heart that hadn’t been filled.  Over Christmas I was able to put memories to rest and visit her grave and the old farmhouse that she lived on outside of the tiny town of Litchfield, Nebraska.  She was a great Grandma and although I was unable to spend a lot of time with her as a young child due to distance I do remember many games of Scrabble and the feistiness that she had.  I also have heard many stories from family members about how cool of a Grandma she was.  Things like eating pie for breakfast with her grandchildren just because she could or walking to the park at night with grandchildren in her PJ’s because they wanted to go.  The picture below is my grandma and aunt Karen after a successful trip to the casino.   I wish I was present at all of these moments.  That is totally something I am going to do for my grandchildren.

 

The poem below was written about my Grandma and I thought it is a great summary of the person that she was. Although you probably don’t know my Grandma Sweeley, maybe this poem will bring memories of your grandma and the great times you had with her.

10 Reasons to Look Forward to 2009

Happy New Years everyone! I hope you all are as excited for 2009 as I am.  Considering the economy, corrupt government officials and the latest snow blast that hit the nation I am sure many of you can’t wait for ’08 to end.  There are still plenty of reasons to be hopeful for the future.  As Jimmy V put it best, “never give up, never never give up.”  To instill hope in all of you, I have come up with 10 reasons to look forward to 2009. 

 

10.    If we start losing the war on terrorism we can always call on Combat Gopher to bail us out.

9.      In Seattle, the bad lemon has been passed to Oklahoma City.  The former Sonics, now Oklahoma City Thunder are 4-30.  

8.      Detroit Lions fans can celebrate because the 2009 season is guaranteed to be better than 2008.

7.      We will all be helping the environment because we will all be driving hybrids.  Ford Explorers may not be available.

6.      The US economy can only go up.  Barack will look like a genius no matter what he does in office. 

5.      Gas prices are under $1 per gallon in Aiken County South Carolina.

4.   Brittany Spears is back!

3.      Know that there are people looking out for you.  People making signs like these to keep our country safe.

     

      

2.      With companies cutting budgets left and right, new college grads like myself have an open market.

1.   There is a new giving tree.  It is named The US Federal Government.  They don’t discriminate on past criminal record, unethical practice or credit history. No matter your situation, they will bail you out.

A Seattle Winter Wonderland

My Snow buddy and me happy in the snow

The winter season hit Seattle hard this past week and the city was in utter chaos.  The city is not prepared for much of anything beyond rain.  They definitely have that weather phenomenon figured out.  Snow on the other hand is like giving a full apple to a baby.  Without the proper experience and teeth the baby has no idea what to do with the round object.  It knows that the apple would be wonderful if only it knew what to do with it.  It may try to gnaw on it for a bit but doesn’t get very far so it just gives up.  The same with snow in Seattle.  The city has a panic attack with a snow over two inches and they lack the necessary trucks, plows, shovels and sleds to deal with it. When they do try to continue going on with life, things happen such as buses sliding down hills and cars doing donuts in the middle of the freeway.  The response then becomes closing down anything and everything in the city.  I figured I would share some examples of my observations and experiences of the Seattle chaos than end by telling you what I did to enjoy the Winter Wonderland.

 

 

    

Last Thursday the festivities got kicked off with two charter buses carrying kids from the eastern part of the state deciding that sledding with sleds or toboggans wasn’t thrilling enough.  They decided that instead they would go bus sledding.  The buses lined up at one of the steepest hills in Seattle on top of Capital Hill and then turned downhill.  The first bus’s wheels locked up and away they slid.  After seeing what happened to the first bus, the second bus decided almost five minutes later that they would give the hill a try for themselves.  The bus turned the corner and instantly began swerving down the hill out of control.  The bus slammed into the guardrail at the bottom sending a quarter of the bus dangling over the ledge.  Any shift in weight would lead the bus to a 40ft drop onto the busy I-5 Freeway below. 

 

 On Friday and Saturday the snow continued to fall and the streets were not being plowed.  People used ski poles to keep their balance while trudging down the streets.  Major roads and highways looked as though they had never seen a plow as well.  Since the environment is too precious than risking lives Seattle doesn’t believe in the use of salt for major snows such as these either.  It was like the childhood water game Crocodile Mile. You know, the one with the theme song “you slip, you slide you hit the croc and take a dive.”  Not really what you want happening while driving on the road.

 

The Starbucks even closed its doors at 4pm on Saturday leaving me with a little less trust in the corporate giant praising itself on an always dependable and reliable cup of coffee.  Come Saturday night even the local police forces decided they were bailing.  Cop cars were parked all along streets abandoned and piling up with snow.  My guess is that criminals probably loved it but on the other hand maybe they weren’t smart enough to realize that the law didn’t win in this case, the weather did. 

 

Even those that thought they could get away from the weather were caught in their steps.  The airport was unprepared and ran out of deicer.  As a result, the airport became a virtual homeless shelter as all flights were canceled due to ice and snow.  Some people were stuck there for three days. I guess on the positive side it will give them all story to tell and will make them more resilient for future circumstances.   As I found out later when it was my turn at the airport, my positive insight may be a little far fetched from reality. 

 

While Seattleites were preparing to hibernate, I on the other hand was preparing to go outside.  I decided that Seattle needed to meet our good ole friend Frosty.  The Frosty that I know is active and loves sports.  Recently, he decided to take up the sport of tennis.  Although, he is a little slow to the ball and sometimes seems paralyzed to react, Frosty made sure to get the best apparel and equipment from K Swiss.  Frosty loves K Swiss! 

 

 

Following the production of Frosty, I slipped and slid around on the ice and snow on a 4-mile run.  To my surprise there were quite a few people out Nordic skiing along the Burk Gilmon trail.  Some were even skiing in the streets.  I will say I have to give props to some who made due with what they had and were using things like kitchen Woks, baking sheets and other household items to sled down hills.   I stopped and chatted to a few of them along the way.  Since it’s the off-season right now I have the luxury of goofing around on some of my workouts.  I also picked up snow as I was running and made snowballs so I could throw at signs.  I don’t really see the signs until about five feet away so it wasn’t too much of an accuracy contest but it was difficult enough for me. 

 

Following the run I hung out with Ruth Ann (Ben’s mom) and Tiesha (Ben’s dog) for a while. This consisted of having a tasty cup of Joe and some rolled oats.  Then I laid down to watch some Sportscenter and passed out.  Out the window, Frosty had not moved from his tennis stance and still had a huge smile across his face.  That is where this story ends.  Happy holidays to all of you and I hope you all rin+-g in the New Year with fireworks (you can take this any way you wish) and drive to make 2009 the best year ever. 

The Final Countdown

This past week marked the final week before my Physical Therapy National Licensure exam scheduled for Friday Dec 19^th.  It was the final countdown.  In light of this I needed to be somewhat close to the testing center and I needed optimal conditions to study.  So I moved my 21-inch monitor and CCTV enlargement system to the house of Ben Collins.  His house is only minutes from the Pometric Testing Center and provides a great place to set up shop and set up shop is what I did.  I would be studying for more than 10hrs per day and so I would need a system that could get rid of the glare during the day but not be too dark at night.  With Ben’s mothers help we devised the ultimate device.  As seen in the picture above we attached a giant umbrella to a roller chair by way of a theraband (I would recommend red or black).  We found that this still allowed too much light to pass through so we threw a dark thick blanket over the umbrella and this did the job.  It was perfect!  Even better it was easily mobile so when I needed a little sun to activate my Vitamin D I just pushed it aside for 15-20min.  Also, because Ben lives directly on Lake Washington if I needed a scenic view to look out of I cold do that as well.  Then, come night I just removed my umbrella device to allow light to come in. 

 

Also seen in the picture I had to transport a lot of books.   It seems the longer I studied, the more books were on the floor until finally it looked like a bomb scene with papers and books everywhere.  I couldn’t even roll in my chair because the wheels would get stuck in papers.

 

            Study breaks you ask?  Study breaks are crucial and for me they usually involve releasing built up tension.  Some of my study breaks involved snowball fights with Ben in which I managed to peg him in the head a few times but he got me with some fastballs that I of course didn’t see.  I also shoveled snow as a chore for the Collins because they are awesome.  One other energy relief was pull-ups.  Those pull-up bars that go in the doorway are amazing.   

 

            Nutrition for the final countdown was also crucial.  I made sure to have plenty of coffee.  I prefer mochas but since they are ridiculously expensive I get a poor mans mocha, which is drip coffee with a few shots of chocolate syrup, and then add milk.  It’s pretty tasty!  I had my traditional oatmeal with raisins, bananas and brown sugar and/or peanut butter each morning for breakfast.  Lunch was a hearty sandwich.  Dinner was always a surprise because Ben’s dad cooks and I never know what I’ll get but during the final countdown week some of the meals included Salmon patties, fresh cod and rosemary chicken with baked potato or rice.  I definitely got my Omega 3 Fatty Acids on test week that have been shown to help with brain function.  I would need my brain functioning correctly and clearly come Friday when it was Game Time!