Last Post for some time

Hello all. I want to thank you for visiting my site and reading about my travels. The experience of writing a blog has been very interesting. While I certainly have the time to write I find that I want to take some time off. This will be my last post for a long time. In the year before the next Olympics I might start this again. Thanks again all.

Pictures and Chwar

These are photos from my time here. My sister got shirts that had the website on them for my competition. I thought that was pretty cool. The last couple of days I have been watching modern pentathlon and eating out. The Chwar (meat on stick) last night was so good. Chile drenched and perfectly tender. They are a lot like the spicy cheetos. If you stop eating them they get to hot.

Cooking School in Beijing

Today I am blogging from the Lenovo Ilounge at the Bank of America home town hopefuls. The bank of america house is very nice offering families and olympians a place to relax, get tickets, eat, and have something to drink.

I took a cooking class on wednesday at a cooking school in Beijing. Despite some intial trouble trying to find it we arrived ten minutes early. The school is small with only 12 or so classrooms. Some of the rooms were big enough for 18 people and a couple of others had full sized kitchen woks.

Our instructor was a famous sichuan chef. I didnt know him but the school indicated that he was very young and very famous. After 5 hours of cooking I was very impressed with his skill. Everything he made tasted fabulous.

The first dish he taught us was Kung Poa chicken. We learned how to de skin and fry peanuts. I think he taught us how to de skin peanuts so that we would do it for him. While no hard there is a special technique that takes a while to learn. When frying peanuts you have to scoop some up and let them drop on the other peanuts. When the falling peanuts hitting the other peanuts start to sound hard that is when they are done.

Saving all the oil he drained the peanuts and moved onto making fresh chile oil by fring chiles in oil and then draining off the chiles. The chicken was coated with corn starch and egg white then fried. To finish the dish the chef sauted some large scallion, garlic, vinegar, laoxing wine, sugar, msg, and salt with the chile oil. He threw in the chicken and peanuts and it was ready to serve. It was not super spicy but it was very delicious.

The second dish was sweet and spicy beef. The process was much the same. The main flavor for this dish was a chile bean paste. The one thing the chef added to the beef coating was baking soda. This was my favorite dish. The peppers and beef really stood out on their own. The sauce took a back seat but made the dish.

The final dish was peppers in oyster sauce. Very straightforward. Pull out stems on peppers, cut into thin strips, saute with oyster sauce and normal mise en place. These were very good. The only problem is that when I made them for the group we had a lot of peppers to cut. The room filled with capasin and we all were coughing. Even the head chef had trouble breathing. Too many peppers in a room with poor ventalation is a bad idea.

All who wanted to got to try there hand at the wok. I have used woks in the US but never like this. The wok was small but utilitarian. The hand so short and close the the flame that you needed a soaked rag to hold it. The flame underneath looked like the exhaust from a jet engine. When i tried flipping a dish like a pancake i found out exactly how hot the flame is. When flipping things in a wok do not put your hand in the flame. The comibination of fire and chile oil on my hands tingled for the rest of the day.

Overall it was a great day. The cooking class was fun and the food all very good. I would recommend if you are in beijing seeing if you can get into a cooking school.

Summer Palace and Dining Out

So after the big day what does an olympian do? Enjoy the city. Paige suggested that we go to the summer palace and what a great idea it was. The summer palace was great. A huge lake, the worlds largest covered walkway and a number of pagodas.

I orginally thought the summer palace was small but I could not have been more wrong. The palace covers more than 200 hundred acres and has all sorts of buildings. We didnt get the audio tour so I am not sure about the history of each building. The one thing that stands out though is the tranquility of the place. Despite 12000 plus people things were quiet and reserved. The food and drink was cheap and the building intricatlly painted. My favorite things besides the annoying cicadas (why must ye be so loud) was the high bridges. I am not sure why a bridge must be so steep but they are so pretty.

After the palace I at at the training center and watched half of the womens final. Vezzali from Italy is the most intense competitor I have ever seen. After a short cab ride and an infuriating 2 mile walk involving security (where I had to argue to keep the two cans of diet coke I brought) I made it back to my hotel.

My sister, paige, and ben (sisters boyfriend) and I headed out to dinner. Depsite a misunderstanding and some dangerous road crossing we found a place to eat. We had four beers wich were cold and tasy. 14 kebabs of lamb which tasted exsquisite (all of which were very small). The lamb and daikon radish soup could not have been more perfect. To top it off I had some bajou. After ordering and a small chuckle form the waiter that spoke no english a small crowd gathered to watch me drink the 56% liqour. Depsite the alcohol content and the fact that my tongue went numb the stuff is pretty good. The dinner was great and in the end the total bill was 12 dollars US. I couldnt believe it. Wanting ice cream we headed next door and bought what I thought was ice cream. Turns out I have no idea what the frozen treat we had was. It tasted like something but I cant figure out what.

Overall a great day. Pretty relaxing. I am looking forward to our tour tomorrow. We are eating with a family, visting some old houses, eating peking duck, seeing the night market (where they sell scorpion, silk worm, and bull testicles) and seeing an acrobat show. Should be fun.

Mens Epee Individual

Well the big day has come and gone. I found out who my draw was two days before the event, jeanett from france. I never thought I would curse my high ranking but Jeanett should not be ranked 28th.

Jeanett had to fence a bout before he got to me. The kirgistan guy fenced really well. The match was close all the way and for moments I thought Jeanett would lose. But every time Katurchin changed so did Jeanett. Katurchin just ran out of things to go to and Jeanett won by a slim but easy margin in the end.

After months of politicking, arguing, and bargaining I wasnt able to have my real strip coach with me. Cody Mattern has been the best coach to me. I really felt that together this year we did some great things and I had some huge results. I am thankful though that on the big day I at least had Ed Korfanty. Ed was my coach for 6 years. He really built the foundation of what I do on the strip and even after not giving an epee lesson for 8 years he did an amazing job. Although he was a little winded.

As I walked onto the floor I heard three things Kevin MO to my left. Andrea Lagan to my right and a huge american delegation with my family cheering at the top of their lungs. I am very lucky to have such great support.

In my bout with Jeanett things started off bad. I was hesitant and I wasnt retreating fully. So Jeanett hit me in the leg three times as I retreated to what I thought was a safe distance. Looking at the score 3-0 I thought to myself "Seth you should probably try an action." So I tried some actions and I tied it at the end of the first period. In the second period I managed to get the lead but then ended down 1 at the break. Jeanett was moving well but I was able to jam him up. It is so hard to move with him. You just never know when he might go.

In the final period i got down 13-10. I rushed forward getting a quick touch. I rushed forward again we both miss but I hit the remise. the judge awards the point. Jeanett asks for the review and my touch is overturned. time running out. I try to draw him out and take the blade but lady luck was on vacation.

I fenced a good bout. There are things I could have done better. but I was happy with what I did. Men's epee right now is very deep. There are a lot of talented fencers in the world. I just happened to draw the one that was fencing great that day.

Pearl Market, Temple of Heavan, Zoo, and Practice

Well it has been a busy couple of days. I have been practicing hard in the mornings and then trying to go out in the afternoon.

So far this week I have gone to the Pearl market, Temple of Heavan and the Zoo. The pearl market was similar to the silk market. Crazy sales ladies. However the setup was a little nicer and the selection of products was different. The bottom floor has electronics the other floors soft goods and on the 4th and fifth floor the pearls. Our team manager Bob has done business with on the of stores for a number of years and they treated us great. RuPeiPei is the name of the store. They had every kind of pearl you could want. If you wanted a necklace with certain pearls they would just make it for you right their. Cody bought some simple and elegant pearl necklace and earings. I think a set was 13 dollars. No haggling.

The temple of heaven was fun to see. You really feel like you have taken a break from the city. I stood where heaven could her me. There are these rings and then one stone. Seemed like a big deal. The building were very ornate. I guess this was essentially a agricultural beaucratic center. However the main temple was awesome. Towering and intricitly detailed. China really put some work into this thing. I think it is one the of the largest wooden structures in the world. I seem to remember that it has been rebuilt several times.

i have mixed feelings about zoo's. they are sad in that the animals dont roam as they are supposed to. On the other hand it has to be better to bring the animals to the city rather than the city to the animals. Despite what ever moral qualms I had I went to the zoo in Beijing. The zoo is a 2 dollar cab ride and a 3 dollar entry fee. The zoo clearly is a little run down but their collection is astounding. Birds, cats, lemurs, pandas, tigers, elephant, rhino, hippo, and the original chicken species. overall very impressive. the enclosures were sad and the animals not very active but it was still good to see. If you are in beijing it is a definite must see and you cant beet the price. I would leave 5 hours to see it all. I am trying to get back there today to see the aquarium.

Training has been good. My plan has been 3 days on 1 day off. It felt awesome to take a day off. i felt very fresh. Today though I am tired but I feel as ready as I can be. Rob Stull fencing and pentathlon olympian from the 80's came to help me out. Tomorrow will be my last day of practice before the big event. Then time to march in opening ceremonies and get ready to fence.

Silk Market

Today I got a taste of China outside the manicured lawns of the Village. Some of the saber girls wanted to go shopping at the silk market (while they do sell silk there it is really a crazy mall). The silk market sells many things. Mostly clothes, shoes, silk, a few electronics, toys, and pearls.

The ride to the market was interesting. The building here all seem to differintiate themselves with architecture. There is almost always something interesting. It is nice to see so many different buildings. The streets were busy but there still wasnt the throngs of people I expected to see.

Entering the market you hear the buzz. Each of the 7 floors are packed with 8x8 stalls. Just trying to walk down the first aisle the sales people call to you. On the more aggresive bag section they would actually grab your arm to make you look at what they had. Nothing has a price on it. A friend wanted to buy a north face jacket. The initial price offered was 1500 RMB (currency of china). 220 dollars for jacket is outrageous. Before he even said anything though she dropped to 600 RMB. After 10 minutes he finally got her down to 100 RMB. Most things you needed to get 1/10th of the asking price otherwise you were getting ripped off. However for silk there wasnt much bargaining. I think due to its commodity nature the price varies very little.

This store was pretty commericial and popular. There werent any pirated dvds or video games. The nintendo ds were the same price as in the US and the vendors were unwilling to bargain. Cody and I eventually felt overwelmed and went for a walk. We walked down a random street that turned out to be the embassy section of the city. At one point we found a park and had a beer. It was nice to find a little oasis.

In one part of the park we saw people fishing in a what would genorously be called a pond. Emerald and cloudy green the fished. Simple poles with a bobber that looked exactly like it was taken from the Zelda game for the Wii. We saw one person with a guppie. While fishing is fun it would be nice to catch something weighing more than my cell phone.

Overall a great day. I didnt get back and in bed till ten. As soon as my head hit the people I was out and 8 hours of restful sleep went by. More practice today and hopefully we will get to see the zoo.

Beijing Normal University

i have trained over at BNU for the last two days. The USOC has done a really great job finding us a place to practice. There are 8 strips, two volleyball courts, space for Judo and taekwondo, basketball, and two tracks. I have been really impressed so far.

While I have been enjoying the asian food at the village. I have also really liked the western food at BNU. The dining room is opulent. Dark woods, soft lighting, and exceedingly warm and helpful staff. The food is very good. Yesterday we had steak, pasta cooked to order, cupcakes, grilled veggies, full salad bar, and chicken tetrazinni.

This games so far have been the nicest I have ever been to. Beijing is not at all what I thought it might be. I feel I will get a better feel for the city today. We are going out to one of the big markets. I am not sure what I want to get but it will be fun to look around.

I am really appreciative of my coach and training partner Cody Mattern. He has done an excellent job at helping me get ready. He also has a shower that he let me borrow which made my day even better. Cold shower on a hot day is a real treat.

I would post pictures but I am still trying to figure out what the IOC rules are.

I have made it to the Village

I have made it to Beijing. Over the last couple of days I have been inprocessing and traveling my way over here.

My fist stop was San Jose were I recieved some briefings and all my apparel. Ralph Lauren and Nike donated some really nice things. I got to see what the Olympic ring will look like. I am really excited for the leather Jacket Nike is offering. We stayed at San Jose State. I have been to San Jose a couple of times but this campus seemed really nice. Maybe I just welcomed my own room and very little noise.

The last couple of months have been crazy it was good to have a little down time. I flew over with some coaches and Womens Saber and Foil. Everyone seems really excited. I was lucky to be able to use one of my upgrades so I could fly business over. Business makes a 12 hour flight seem so much quicker. The one thing I found strange is that they served Korean beef on a flight to China.

I am in the village now. My room is amazing. There is really nice laminate flooring. The shower is the size of my bedroom at the Olympic training center. The beds have been made extra long for me so my feet dont hang over the edge. The whole village is very nice. The building are all interesting and modern. The food last night was tasty. I had some fish in curry and chicken fried with nuts. There is ice cream (A personal favorite of mine) and a very long an varried salad bar.

So far everything has gone really well. I am about to head out to our practice venue Beijing Normal University.

Getting Ready

Well the last two weeks have gone by really quickly. I have been prepping for Beijing. This part of the season always seems to fly by. Cody and I have been doing are new directed practices. Kelly Hurley has been training with us as well. While I have been training hard I have managed to have some fun.

Today after practice. I headed out with Paige and Cody to go for a hike in the mountains. Despite some lightning and some pretty consistent rain we scrambled to the top of an unnamed crag. The weather cleared for our summit. The view from the top was really incredible. The lighting and the lush forest contrasted with the tree line made for outstanding views. There is a Mennonite camp on the road we came up. I think they picked well.

Normally we would cook out but do to the rain we enjoyed a nice mexican meal instead. I will post some pictures after my internet is fixed. I leave for Beijing on Monday. I will try and update when I am in China.

Team Event at Zonals

I am back in the US Despite being extremely groggy earlier from my very early flight from Mexico. The team event went okay. We beat all the teams we were supposed to and lost to Canada. In the end we took home a bronze medal.

Team events are so different than individual events. It is impossible to tell whether a fencer will be good fencing team even knowing their individual skill. In addition it takes awhile for the team members and coach to get comfortable with each other to trust each other.

We were fortunate this time. Soren Thompson (2004 Olympian) and Benji Ungar (2007 World Team Member) couldnt make it so Eric Hansen came. Eric is an accomplished fencer who has now switched over to coaching more. We were excited to have him back on the team after a couple of years. We had all fenced with him on team before the 2004 games.

I think the 3 most important lessons from the team event are: learning to fence team takes time, often the less experienced fencer can give you the most trouble, and even if the odds are 90 percent in your favor you still lose one in ten.

In the final bout for bronze we let the top Junior Jonathan Yergler fence. He has done well domestically and is just starting his international career. Fencing Argentina he seemed to struggle. The first instinct is to pull him out. However the team agreed that it was better to let him work out the kinks. Cody and I were both cofident that we cold keep the match close enough that I would have ample room to win in the end. Yergler felt that he learned a number of things and was thankful that we left him in. I think with time he could be a very good fencer.

One of the things that fencing in the NCAA tournaments was that less experienced fencers dont react the way one should. This can really mess people up. I have been caught in it a number of times myself. Fencing the Domincan Republic I needed to exercise these lessons. The domincans are very physical but lack the international experience. If you dont pay attention you can quickly lose. I find that it is best to do simple strong actions to the body with less experienced fencers. If they change and simple doesnt work anymore then move on to something more complicated.

In our bout against Canada we fell behind early but slowly tied it towards the end. Being tied in the second to last bout I felt we identified a mismatch. Cody was fencing little Igor from Canada. I think 9 out of ten times Cody would have scored many single lights. However for some reason was a little off and fell behind. Eventually finding his groove he made some touches back but ran out of time. Being behind 3 touches I did my best but was unable to make up ground against Tigram. While I still believe this to be the right decision some people will always second guess. As Patton said "A good plan today, is better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

Bend, Wedding, 4th of July, Nike+, Beacon Rock

Nike + Band
Central Oregon near Bend. Not very picturesque though

Paige and Me looking our best at the Wedding

Rockets are the best on the 4th.


Beacon Rock from the base.


Mt Hood

Ruins of Mexico and Chips and Salsa

On our day off the epee team decided to go for a little tour. Starting out going to town Cody and I made the spur of the moment decision to go to some close ruins. It all started out so well. The drive was nice. We got to see the countryside with all of its half built houses and plethora of animals. Mexico's countryside is very beautiful. Sweeping valleys and verdant green. The road is dotted with agave and almost every space crowed with maiz. The only thing breaking up the landscape was the cinder block houses, rising mountains, and pexmex petrol stations.

After our 4 hour two lane road adventure we arrived at the great ruin(no small feet considering the way is not really marked at all). Much to our surprise the great ruin of tlaxiclocua(sp?) near toluca is merely a small stone structure. Like a really big closet for the Aztec king. We would have toured the site but the gaurd insisted that it was after five and that he couldnt let us in because it would be a bad example for the locals.

Dissapointed and dejected we head home with me at the wheel instead. Despite a little rain and a overturned semi (so many trucks on this super small road) we made it back in 3 hours. Thirty and read for dinner we headed to the trusty porton reastaurant. They serve mexican food in a family atmosphere. Weary from the road we order beers. Since I speak spanish I order for us. After ordering the beer I thought she asked me if I wanted lime, salt, and chips. I said sure chips and salsa would be great. When the beer came I knew I had made a grave mistake. What we got was essentially a bloody mary mix minus the tomato juice with a salted rim mixed with our beer. It was horrible. So bad in fact that powering through it as quick as possible was the only way to get it down. I did feel very full afterwards though. The rest of the meal was good and we all headed to bed.

The day while dissapointing in many ways did offer some good points. Lunch at the hotel was great. The epee team got to bond a little. I know feel that I have seen the real countryside of mexico.

Zonal Championships Queretaro Mexico and Wedding

Sunday before I left for Mexico Paige and I went to a gorgeous wedding down in Sunriver OR. The ceremony was outside underneath a small arbor made by the brides brother from branches. The weather was perfectly warm and we enjoyed a perfect view of the cascade range. The reception in the Great Hall was fantastic.

The Great Hall is log built and just beautiful. Adorned with white christmas tree lights and the tables set I knew thing were going to be good. After open bar we were served a blueberry and green salad. I got a pork chop that had been cooked to perfection. Perfectly tender and lightly glazed with a raisan or apricot glaze. I was really fantastic. The bride looked as happy as could be.
The band was good playing a lot of old school stuff. The highlight though is watching an older lady break it down to SuperFreak while the lead singer doned dreads to make it all work.

After a long drive back and a couple hours of sleep I headed out to Mexico. Despite my bag not arriving the flight was fine. I did get my bags though a hour before I went to bed two nights ago.

The competition venue is very nice at the technical university here in Queretaro. A very modern gym with great bathrooms that include toilet seats and toilet paper (i have been many places and toilet seats and paper are real luxuries, just try Qatar were all you get is a toilet and a hose, i mean really what am I supposed to do with a hose).

There are 4 strips and then a finals podium. I went 5-1 losing only to Fransisco Limardo by one touch. In the DE's Cody and I had a bye to 16. Eric Hansen and John Yergler had to fence each other to make the 8. Cody beat Tigram (who he had lost to 5-0 in the pool) to make the 8 by one touch. I beat Saurez from Colombia. It was a close bout in begining and then Gago pointed out that Saurez couldnt defend my advance lunge.

To make the 4 Cody beat one of the Argentinians. I had to beat Meijas from Venezuela. I fenced a low scoring bout with Meijias. In the final period tied at 6 we both wanted to fence one touch. Passivity was called and we got to fence for one minute who ever led (or meijas won the flip so if the score was tied he won) won. Meijas got the first one. Busting out the drill that Cody and I have been practicing I got to quick touches off short to the hand and then exploding to the arm and body. Meijas came after my but I was able to pull distance and hit him. Meijas ran again and we came together. At this point there was only one second left and I knew i had won.

Eric lost to Tikhomirov in the 8. After being close in the beggining Eric wasnt able to change as Tikhomirov did. I fenced Cody in the four and won.

For the final I had to fence Rueben Limardo. I have never beaten him but today I wanted it badly. Both of us know each other well and the score stayed low. He lead then I lead and then it was tied. Cody coached me in each period always the same plan. Get in his face and force him to do something. So in overtime thats what I did. I didnt have priority so I got in his face with tons of preperation intending to see how crazy his parries would get. While I knew that I had to attack I was ready for somethiing else. With 28 seconds left Limardo cracked and fleched. I was ready for disengage counter attach. I couldnt have worked any better. Winning Zonals I have now earned more fie points in a single competition then any other americna epee fencing in history.

The team event will be this saturday.

Nike+ band and Beacon Rock

While in Portland Paige helped me run. While running is not my favorite thing to do I do think it helps tremendously. With the day winding down Paige and I decided to go for a little work out. So we headed out to beacon rock.

Beacon Rock is a volcano core on the edge of the Columbia river. The hike is short but provides awesome views of the Columbia river gorge. While I wasnt able to run up the pinnacle we did make it up and down in 25 minutes according to my new nike band. The view was awesome and the weather couldnt have been better.

At the top we saw a open field/island that looked like it would be great for running. When we got to the bottom we went in search of this field. Turns out there is a town called South Bonneville and it has a disc golf course (i play a little) and a great park called Strawberry Island. Paige hates running hills (for the record I dont really like them either). For the last couple of runs that is all we have done and strawberry island was no different. One big long hill to cross the Island and then a nice flat path back. The island sits right below bonnevile dam and has a great view up and down the river.

I have now used the nike plus band for a couple of runs and I think it is great. I cant even feel the sensor in my shoe. The arm band itself is super light. The best part though is that when you are all done you just plug the band into your computer and login to nike plus and you can see your distance and pace. If you want you can setup goals and see what other people are running. Overall a really great product.

4th of July

I havent been home for the fourth of July in a very long time. I missed my family, friends and girlfriend. So this fourth we did things right. First a block party in my Dads neighborhood with 35 lbs of carne Sadat and then fireworks. Lots of fireworks. We all got together at my Moms house to light the fireworks and had a great time. 3 hours of fireworks. Everybody lighting off tons of stuff. Overall it was a great day. Just hanging out with friends and family.

Lenovo and Vista

My first Vista experience was not good. My roomate bought a new computer and hated Vista so much that he went back to his 30lb Alienware with XP. Things have to be really bad to carry a 30lb laptop around the world right?

Needless to say I was a little worried when my new Lenovo came with with Vista. Timidly trying it out things seemed to work OK. However the true test was to install a bunch of programs, some games, and take the whole rig on a international trip.

I took the new laptop to Argentina and things worked out great. The OS has worked out pretty good. Despite all the bad things I have heard about vista I am really liking it. It took a little while to figure out how to run some programs but now I can run anything no problem. One of the features that is great is when you shut down vista saves the state of things. This way when you boot back up it does it super fast and all the programs you had running are ready to go.

The Lenovo laptop is great. I waited two months to write a second review to give me time to try out all of its features. I really like the built in mike and camera. The work really well with skype. The sound system is awesome. While it is fun to brag that my laptop has a subwoofer. It is even cooler that is sounds so great. Really top notch sound and plenty loud enough. I also really appreciate the dedicated sound button. The battery is good. It has 50 percent more life than my previous laptop. The screen is very clear and crisp. I also appreciate that instead of a fragile locking mechanism it just uses a mechanical advatange to stop from opening. The memory card slot accomadates my olympus memory(which is different than any other memory) which makes downloading pictures very easy.

Overall I have been really happy with the whole setup. Lenovo makes a really nice laptop. My only critisism is that I cant figure out how the inductive buttons work (i think they may only work with windows media player).

Argentina

I have always liked Argentina. It is a mix of european charm, great wine, and fantastic beef. I speak the language (although I cant always understand the heavier Argentine accent. I have had mixed results at tournaments their but I have always had a good time.

This time around I didnt do so well. I think a combination of burnout and lack of sleep did me in. I won my first bout easily enough to make the 16. In the sixteen I just got out hustled. I have a real problem with people who are heavy on the blade. Heinzer fenced well and I just couldnt get my excitment level. While my day went poorly Cody had a great day. He defeated the two people he lost to in the last two tournaments and ended up taking third. I have always know that Cody is a great fencer. It was great to see it really come out.

I had some good dinners this time in Argentina. Argentina has great wine, beef, and italian food. Almost half of the population is of Italian descent. The first night we ate near the hotel and the food was good. The thing I remember was the polenta. I like a dry polenta and this was just perfect. Paired with grilled vinegar mushrooms is was great.

The second night Cody, Dwight, his friends and I went to some restaurant. I cant remember the name. The picture above is the steak I had. The steak was mediocre but the appetizers mozzerela, empenadas, and ravioli were fantastic.

The third night after great debate we all headed to a restaurant called Dada. I was skeptical but pleasantly suprised. We had guacamole to start that was fantastic. Then the beef. This lomo(filet) was perfect. Just the right temp and so delicate. Really one of the best pieces of meat I have had in a long time.

The hotel were we stated the Dazzler Suites Juncal was awesome. At a mere 95 dollars a night we got to stay in a palace. The room was 40 feet long 15 feet wide and plush. Granite counter tops, hardwood floors, and a spacious balconey all in a great part of town. Breakfast was delivered to ones room for no extra charge. If you are ever in Argentina this is a great hotel.

Only two other things of note. The first is the long distance buses in Argentina make bus travel awesome. These double decker buses really made one feel comfortable. From our seats on the second level all the way in the front we could see everything. The seats were old school comfort. Plush, springy and super soft. The seats reclined far enough back that sleep was three sheep jumping over a fence away.

One our way to the airport I saw something I will probably never see again. Three miles of cattle side by side. The cattle trucks were all parked on the side of the road. As we sped by in our rickety taxi I just couldnt believe the sheer number of cows. From what I understand from the driver they were all waiting for the slaughter house. Piece together a couple of things the workers and the government are having problems and this has shut down the flow of food. Seeing truck after truck of grass fed beef just waiting was so strange. I only hope things get worked out before this great beef is wasted.

Resting and Wathcing

This week has been a week full of sports. While practice has been light I have been watching a lot of other sports.

On TV the NBA finals has been on. Watching the greatest playoff comeback of all time was awesome. Seeing a group of players firing on all cylinders to make playoff history was great. The Boston Celtics are a great team. Watching Pierce shut down Kobe Bryant is very impressive.

I was inspired by the US Open this year. I have read a couple of books about golf (John Dailys book and one called Q School). Golf is a sport that I havent watched much of but the stories that I have read are always interesting. This year watching Tiger battle his body and Rocco was incredible. I do feel sorry for Rocco. He had the game of his life. He put histories greatest golfer to the limit and loses by one shot in the playoff. I only hope that history remembers the aging imperfect golfer that went the distance.

For live sports I got to see USA vs Brasil here in Colorado Springs. USA took the game 3-2. Each sport really has its own culture. Even men and women in the same sport are so different. Watching womens volleyball was very interesting. The one thing I did notice was how much the team trys to boost each others confidence. After every point there is reassurance. The game was very exciting and the crowd incredibly loud.

The final sport I saw was the Outlaws play at invesco field in denver. The Outlaws are a professional lacrosse team. We did some tailgating and watched from the 30 yard line. I haven't seen much lacrosse but the game was fun to watch. I think it would be even more fun to play. We learned afterwards that all the lacrosse players have another job. This team is really just their passion and they get paid very little for it. Most of the players live in other parts of the country and just fly in for the games. The whole experience was great. The Outlaws did a very nice job of giving the OTC athletes a great saturday.

It has been a restful week. Tomorrow I am off to Argentina for my final World Cup of the season. I always enjoy going to Argentina. It is the cheapest place we go and the steak is very tasty. La Cabrera here I come.

Puerto Rico World Cup

I finished 17th losing to Limardo. I felt very out of it. I managed to keep it tied through regulation. After fencing him at a camp in Hungary I had a much better plan on how to fence him. Limardo won priority. I pushed and found the right moment but fell short. If I had continued instead of recovering back I would have got at least a double. A disapointing day but fencing can go in streaks. I am looking forward to getting back and training.

Mountains of Colorado

Sometimes it is good to get away from training. So a week a ago. Paige Cody and I went out into the back roads of Colorado to Turkey Rocks. Turns out a Camry can be an offroad car but is not ideal. We were never stuck but close.

These pictures are taken from the top of turkey rocks. This is a big climbing area but you can walk/scramble up to the top. Afterwards we had a old school barbecue wood, simple grill, and meat (with cheese, hotpeppers, bread, cherries, and blood orange soda). Overall a very nice day. I always feel like this is the real Colorado.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
Hope you have lots of fun today.

Statue of Liberty

After a trial run we made it the Statue of Liberty. Cody and I have been to New York a bunch of times over the last 10 years. I feel like this was the last really big thing we needed to see. There are still a 1000 restaurants to eat at and museums to see. But this was the big monument.

While a tedious process of going through two security lines (one before the boat and another at the base of Liberty) we finally made it inside. The museum was pretty good. It wasnt very long but had some cool things. They had the begging models and a full scale replica of the foot. Turns out while the French did give the statue the funding was not that simple. There was a great deal of fundraising. It took 10 years from the beginning of the fundraising to the day Liberty stood finished.

We did make it over to Ellis Island. While interesting we were starving and had only a brief tour. The one thing that stands out is the variance in opinion of who, how many, what they do once they come, and when people can immigrate. We did see the hall that people were checked out in. Very spartan with lots of tile. The pictures at ellis seemed particulary good. The US really does have people from all over.

Many people came from the West Indies to the US. Whether I realized this when I ordered Roti for lunch (like a Caribbean burrito) I am not sure. The cart offered all sorts of Caribbean specialties. Cody and I both had the Goat Roti. Very good and lots of bones.

After buying some accessories at J and R for Codys camera we headed back for a nap. If one does go to the Statue of Liberty plan at least 4 hours. Practice followed by dinner at the Brooklyn Diner. If in New York the Brooklyn Diner is great. It is upscale diner food. Everything I have had there is great. The cheesecake is fantastic and the burgers are very good. The waitstaff is very friendly and they will pour you coffee for a long time.


Link to our photos of New york
http://picasaweb.google.com/CodyMattern/NewYorkCityAndStatueOfLibertyJune34

Montreal Grand Prix 2nd place

The individual in Montreal went great. I woke up and felt just terrible in the morning. I was tired and we didnt find breakfast. My first bout was Adam Watson and I was a little worried. My last bout with him went down to one touch.

I just waited for Adam. I knew that if I attacked from the beginning things would not go well. So I let him come and things worked out.

In the 32 I fenced Kvorhost. Kvorhost lead early but I managed to tie it and go into overtime. I was able to pin him to the back of the strip and get the final touch

In the 16 I fenced Robeiri. I really made myself keep great distance and things seemed to work out. At the end I had a 3 touch lead and he had to come. After Cody and my drills I was ready and kept the lead.

In the 8 I had jerome Jeannett. I used the same strategy. I had a bigger lead this time and in the end he just gave up.

After a 3 break and a lot of sushi I had Jung from korea. Jung lead by 3 or 4. Then Cody told me something during the break and was able to go up. With a couple of touches lead he had to come and I was ready.

The final bout against tagliorol was close through the first 2 periods. Then I had to go. He is a good fencer and I just wasnt able to get the timing down. Overall a great day. I really feel that Cody and I made a good team.

For pictures and video please visit http://www.fencingchannel.tv/cms/08can-montreal-epee.html

New training techniques

Cody and I have been thinking about new ways to train. After Paris Cody had a bunch of ideas. While we have many thoughts about what a new improved training regime would look like, here are two of our ideas.

The first is that practice needs to be more then fencing 5 and 15 touch bouts. While we have all done different situational bouting techniques at camps and things we havent really seen it during normal practices. For the last two weeks we have been planning out each practice using different techniques.

For example one practice might include 3 five touch bouts, two singles equal one touch and the first to three touches wins, one person attacks like there is little time left and the first to ten, and a couple of fifteens. There is a huge variety that one could do. However you should tailor the drills to the situations you end up in bouts.

The other thing we have been doing is medicine ball workouts. They are fairly short and are fun. We did these 3-4 times a week. A workout is one arm passes, chest passes, torso throws, and squat throw the ball up. Of course to warm up we run around and throw a football. The football seems so light after throwing a 3-5 kilo medicine ball.

Overall the attack/defend drill has been the most helpful. It is very tiring but fencers end up in this situation a lot. I found it extremely helpful at the world cup. Feeling confident about when someone is coming at you and knowing what works for you and doesnt is very helpful. I have so many thoughts and this and cody has infinite more. If you have any questions shoot me an email kelseycs16@hotmail.com

PS Nike is selling all this new SPARQ training equipment ladders, medicine balls, hurdels, cones, and the such. Nike.com

Green Hornet has been sold

I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650 3 years ago. I was very excited. I even took a class on how to ride motorcycles. The whole experience was pretty great. Riding this bike in the mountains is a pretty good time. The problem I ran into was I just didnt have time to ride.

I dumped the bike once on a dirt road. To this day I am still not sure what happened. All I know is that one moment everything is fine and the next I am flying through the air. I had barely a scratch on me. The bike however had a bent radiator, scratched case, and a bent clutch. I couldn't shift so I had to ride back in third gear the whole way. Let me tell you a little hard to start.

Much to Paiges excitement I sold the bike yesterday. I put an ad on craigslist.org and 5 days later I sold it for what I was asking. I took a hit on the sale but now it is sold. Sometimes you just have to do something. I feel pretty lucky that I got to ride and I walked away unhurt.

Wednesday- A busy day

While my Job is fencing it involves more than travel and fencing. Wednesday exemplified that.

In the morning Cody and I did a demonstration for the City of Colorado Springs. The training center is going to start a whole host of new construction in the near future. They are going to add a bunch of buildings and a lot of new dorms. I am pretty excited to see what happens. This demonstration was part of tour for the City. It gave the 80 people who came a glimpse of the sports we practice, the people who live and work here, and how it all works.

Right after words we got to meet with some of the architects that are helping design the new training center. They wanted to get an idea of what was important to us and our Olympic journey. The meeting lasted only an hour but it turned out great. One of the great things that came out of the meeting was the athletes wanted more environmentally friendly buildings. GE is a big sponsor for the USOC. GE makes a large number of renewable energy and high efficiency building products. We are hoping that the training center in Colorado Springs could be a showcase for that new technology.

After stopping for a quick lunch we were off to rally. 600 1-8th graders had come out to wish us luck in Beijing. One class sung us a Chinese pep song. The school for the deaf and blind presented us with a poster they had made. The coolest part was after all the ceremony the staff let all the kids come down on the floor and talk to the athletes. The kids were all very excited. Most of them didnt bring pens and paper for autographs so I had a lot of requests to sign arms. Overall it was just a great experience. It is nice to know that you have a whole country behind you.

Sometimes all I have to worry about is fencing but other times their seems to be a whole host of other things that I do. Wednesday was one of those days with all the other things.

New Lenovo Lapton

I recieved my new Lenovo notebook this week in the mail. So far everything has worked great. I was a little worried about using Vista but so far it has not driven me over the edge. All the programs I normally use work. It also has a slot for my Olympus memory card. Olympus has a proprietary memory card and I was pleasantly suprised that Lenovo added the appropriate slot. One really cool feature about the new notebook is the facial recognition software. Instead of typing in a password the computer looks at my face and logs me in. I am looking forward to taking the new notebook on the road and putting it through its paces.

Back in the US

I am back in the US. After a what seemed like a long flight I was happy to be in my own bed. I now have a couple of weeks before I compete again. I am looking forward to the down time. Although the paper work and meeting make it less fun. I was fortunate though to get some free tickets the the Josh Turner and Carrie Underwood concert last night.

The tickets were pretty high up but we had a direct view of the stage. Josh Turner was the opening act. I have been to a total of two concerts in big arenas. This being the second. The first was a Linkin Park concert a couple of years ago. I am not the biggest fan of country but it is always interesting to see what other performers do.

Josh Turner seemed to be pretty good at what he does. His songs were not memorable to me. They sounded fairly generic. Maybe because I have the untrained country ear. The things I do remember though was one song about firecracker and something about a train and souls. The fiddler for his band seemed to be on his game. I dont see a lot of fiddle solos normally.

As the countdown timer wound down towards Carries's entrance the crowd started to go crazy. I have to imagine that is a great boost to ones ego. Her intro involved some music and a video shown on a big screen in the middle and two smaller screen on the side. As the music and video began to crescendo Carrie emerged from the floor in a very tight shirt and pants accented with four inch heeled boots that came to her knees. To top off the ensemble she had a very shiny belt. The first song was good but it seemed like her voice had not warmed up. The next hour and a half was not so memorable. She seemed professional but lacked the showmanship of other signers I have seen.

To cap the show though she did a very nice job. The second to last song was Paridise City by Guns and Roses. Because Axel Rose's voice is so high the cover worked nicely. The lead guitar in her band seemed to really relish being let out of the box. While the guitar work was nice in a such a large venue it is a little hard to hear and see how good he was. Either way it was a really fun song and a bold choice. For the final sound Carrie belted out Before He Cheats. While I have some philosophical problems with the song (what about the guys side of the story, maybe they were on a break, maybe that had broken up 6 months ago, maybe he was just having a beer, and really wrecking a mans truck is just spiteful) it is fun to listen to and I sang along. The words create a very vivid picture in ones mind and the tune is very catchy. Carrie really seemed to hit her stride with this song. Her movement and the way she could just belt this out was great to listen to.

While I wouldnt have gone if I had to pay but it was a fun concert to attend. Even if it was just to see something different. It is nice to watch someone else perform for a change. I am glad to be back in Colorado.

Credit for the photo goes to http://www.carrieunderwoodofficial.com/officialphotos/19

Challenge monal

Today was the final day of the Challenge Monal. Cody and I both made the second day. Cody went 4-2 in his pool and then won a close bout with Goetz from France. Today Cody fenced Grumier from France. Grumier is a tough bout. Watching the bout it just seemed like a bad match up. Next time Cody is going to try a different tactic. Cody is a great fencer I am sure he will win next time.

My first draw was Di Maggio from Switzerland. I was pretty excited when the Swiss coach told me that he didnt even know who he was. Di Maggio had beat Cougal from the Czech republic(normally a very strong fencer) the day before so I was a little cautious. The first period ended with me up 1. The second period I began to feel a little more comfortable and extended the lead to 3. The final score ended up being 15-8. This was a great draw for the first bout in the 64.

My second bout was against Gustin from France. I hadnt seen him before but the French are very deep in mens epee. The bout was close all along. In the final period I managed to get up 14-12. Then I made two mistakes; going back and going back. Gustin managed to tie and we went into overtime. I got priority(if the one minute runs out then I when (I have never seen this happen in mens epee)) and we were off. Gustin pushed and atacked. He missed then I went back at him and missed. Gustin retreated not quite far enough and made a lazy sweeping parry. Out of instinct I drilled him in the hand and earned the final touch.

My next bout was against Fabrice Jeannet. I have been fencing this guy since I was 17. I have never beaten him 1 on 1 and we are in France. Cody and I talked before the match and I felt like I had a good plan.

Unfortunately I did not execute the plan so great and I quickly got down 4 touches. There were a couple of doubles and then the score was 10-5. I manage to close within two touches only to go back down 12-8. Then I remembered something Cody told me in another match in March "Mix it up, move, make yourself unpredictable." So I did. 1 touche, 2 touches, 3 touches, 4 touches... I have tied it 12-12. The crowd erupted. 30 seconds left in the final period. What does Jeanett do? He attacks. I had really hoped we could fence one touch. I fended him off for a little bit and then we got a double. 25 seconds left Jeanett attacks again. This time I try to fend him off but I am going back instead of forward. He gets the touch. 6 seconds left down one touch. I have to go for it. I go forward and do my best. However today it wasnt good enough. Jeanett gets the touch and the bout is over.

I took some good tactical things away from today. I ended up in the top 16. I got a week to hang out in Paris. I am sad I lost when it was so close. Overall though it has been a great trip to Europe. I am excited to go home tomorrow. For photos check http://www.escrime-monal.com/ tomorrow. On a side note.

Happy Mothers Day Mom!

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Trip to...

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Trip to...

Here are the photos of Versailles. The Gardens are very amazing. Cody took 96% of the photos I took the rest.

Chateau de Versailles

Another late start but what a day. I have never been to Versailles until today. The RER provides very quick transport out there. After standing in line for 40 minutes we purchased out tickets and were on our way.

There are way too many things to talk about with regards to Versailles. My overarching impression though is "Wow, these people were really into themselves!" The sheer size and amount of effort that went into the decoration are very impressive. From the largest painting for its time to the velvet wall paper. The hall of mirrors is really astounding. I have been a number of castles but this one room stands out. The 200 meters of mirrored wall facing the grandest garden. All this accented by a plethora of crystal chandeliers.

After visiting the over the top Kings and Queens chambers we were guided to the Hall of battles. 500 meters of never ending paintings of battles. The concept is pretty cool. The paintings depict in chronological order the most important battles in Frances history. The paintings are all very impressive. Delacroix whom I had not heard of before did some nice work. There is one painting that really stood out. It was a painting of a battle in its midway point. The figures were all slightly blurred but acceneted with striking colors. The effect is to feel like the painting is a snapshot at the crux of the battle.

The grandest part of the castle though was the gardens. There are like nothing I have ever seen. The grounds were endless stretches of manicured shrubs and trees. The paths while ever so mathematical seemed to weave around like mazes. To top off the impressive plants there is a 3km long lake.

Cody and I decided since we were here we might as walk around it. The walk was great but very long. The paths are all shaded by manicured trees which makes the walk more pleasant. It seems that this is the place that the French truly come to picnic. The grass was seasoned with families and friends sleeping, eating, and generally just enjoying the company of each other.

It is hard to describe the sheer size of the whole the experience. If one is ever in Paris, Versailles is a definite see. Take a whole day and you would do well to pack a nice picnic and plan for a luxurious nap in the afternoon sun.
The most impressive par

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Sewers,...

Here are the pictures of the sewers, Arch, and Montmartre. Cody took some photos. I took others. Enjoy!

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Sewers,...

6 Hour march through Paris

Despite a very late start to the day I saw a great deal. For 6 years Cody and I have been trying to see the sewers of Paris. Every time we go they seem to be closed for one reason or another. We tried to go yesterday but missed them by 5 minutes (they close at 1600). Today though we managed to make it. After lounging around until 1430 we finally mustered the effort to go out. After a short but very pleasant walk down the Seine we found the entrance near the Invalides. I got pretty excited when I saw a sign saying military received a discount. When I showed my military ID though all I got was a sort of blank stare from the man behind the glass. Turns out only French military get the discount.

25 quick steps down and we were in the sewers. The sewers of Paris are immense. They stretch for 2000 Kilometers. I was slightly apprehensive about entering an active sewer due to the probable smell. However the smell wasnt that bad. The beginning of the self guide tour(the only option available that I saw) is in a closed section of sewer. As you walk past signs about the construction and history you quickly find that you have ventured into a working Sewer.

The water just doesnt look good. At one time the Seine was flow point of all the sewers. Really disgusting when you realize at that time the drinking water source was also the sewers. Luckily the Parisians recognized this problem and made some changes.

The sewer works very well but needs to be maintained. The museum is filled with the machinery used to clean the sewers. The french that work the sewers are well paid and receive a nice pension. After seeing what they have to deal with it all makes sense.

The oddest thing about the sewer was the methane bubbles. When I stared down into the "water" I saw little bubbles. I wasnt sure what this was. Cody read some more signs and quickly discovered the bubbles are methane. Some of the bubbles can reach a meter in diameter.

Overall the tour was very awesome. I wished I could have explored more and found were the Ninja Turtles have their lair but it just wasnt possible. If you are ever in Paris I definitely recommend this stop.

Realizing that we had a great deal of light left we visited three more sights, the Arch de Triumph, Montemartre, and the Opera. The Arch is cool. Despite the very high price of 9 euro to go to the top we went. The view from up there is really spectacular. As well it should be after and endless set of stairs and 9 euro. Despite hunger and a nagging thirst we hoofed it over to Montemartre.

Montemartre was very nice. The climb up is tiring but the area is so quiet. The church at the top is very impressive. It looks different than any other church I have seen. The view from the front is also very impressive. After a liter of liquid we headed back to the apartment with a quick stop outside the Opera. 6 hours just flew by. While the Metro in Paris is great, seeing it by foot is a must.

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Cataco...

These are the pictures of the Catacombs. Cody Mattern took all the photos except the ones of himself. I took those and a smattering of other ones. I hope you enjoy.

Picasa Web Albums - Cody - Paris Cataco...

Catacombs of Paris

Hello and welcome to my blog. Today I happen to be in Paris. While I have been here many times I have never been to the Catacombs. Cody and I decided to go finally. As we walked there, in my mind it seemed like any other tour. However as I descended the 83 steps and proceeded down the 500 meter long tunnel. I felt a rising lump in my throat. The whole experience reminded me of how I feel before the first bout of the day. The sign before you enter the actual catacomb reads "Stop, beware this is the land of the dead"(self translated from French (I don't actually speak French but I try)). This did not help a great deal. As entered the catacomb I was still nervous. The dark light and endless walls of human bones. As I journeyed further in though the nervousness disappeared. The catacomb is intriguing and disturbing. 2 million people have been laid to rest there. The tunnels dark and ominous seem to stretch and turn forever. One of the most strange sights is a place where the skulls are arranged in the wall in the shape of a heart. As you exit it becomes less and less creepy. When you climb the 83 steps and walk into the sunlight it all seems like a strange dream. The door as you exit has no sign and you are many blocks from the entrance. Overall it was a fascinating trip. If you are ever in Paris it is a definite must see.