Dinner with the Olympians

Our training group (l-r): Me, Vanessa Wilhelm, Galina Bondarchuk, Deanna Zelinka, Coach Anatoli Bondarhcuk, Megann VanderVliet, Michael Letterlough, Jennifer Joyce, Kibwe Johnson, Crystal Smith, and Justin Rodhe.

Last night I attend the Dinner with the Olympians event hosted by the Kamloops Track and Field Club.  It was a great chance for the community to hear our local Olympians speak about their experiences in Beijing.  We heard from Gary Reed (800 meters), Dylan Armstrong (shot put), Catherine Pendrel (cross-country mountain biking), and Sultana Frizell (hammer throw).  The first three all placed fourth and barely missed bringing home a medal.  Ms. Pendrel’s talk was especially interesting. It is always fun to gain some insight on how elite athletes train in other sports.  She also told one heartwarming story about how her husband sometimes would follow her in his car on her winter training rides so that she could exchange water bottles whenever the water in her water bottle froze over. The dinner was a great success for the club and raised more money for us to purchase equipment, improve our facilities, and pay our great coaching staff.

Dr. Bondarchuk also changed my training program this week.  After throwing personal bests with several heavy implements, I began a new program with a light hammer this week.  The lighter 12-pound hammer, combined with a lighter weight-lifting routine, is designed to give my body a little rest.  I’ll continue with this program for three weeks and then be back on a more long-term training program after that.  My technique and rhythm felt a little off in the first few days of throwing the light hammer since my body needed time to adjust.  However, I am my technique already seems to be improving and the distances will slowly improve too.