Kryptonite

I don't know how many of you have watched the movie Superman, new or old version, but most of you have to know the one thing that robs Superman of his super powers. His amazing strength, laser vision, and his speed can all be nuetralized by a substance called kryptonite.

If you asked me a week ago how I felt about the progress of my fencing I would have said I felt like Superman. But if you ask me about my fencing today, after the first day of the national women's foil camp, I would tell you I feel like Superman on kryptonite.

During my lesson yesterday I felt one little tweak in my knee and I immediately shut down all systems. I am very sensitive to things that go on with my knees especially having gone through three different knee surgeries, two on the left in 1998 and one on the right in 2005. At this point I can't tell between a harmless click in my knee from something more serious because I completely go numb emotionally and mentally when I feel any knee pain. I can't focus on anything else which makes things even worse. I believe the word FREAKOUT can be used in this situation.

The fact is, whenever I start to feel great about my physical health something goes wrong with these knees. There is a chance that this knee pain is just some scar tissue prying itself loose with all the activity or it could be something more serious. I'm thinking Floyd Landis with no hip joint serious.

I've made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor here in Rochester. He happens to work out of the same place as the doctor that did my knee surgeries in 1998. This other doctor and I don't really get along. Let's just say that he thought fencing wasn't a sport but I was too young to realize what a "second opinion" meant. On top of all that my coach was putting a lot of pressure on me to get things fixed as soon as possible (he's a little insane). Admittedly, the fault is ultimately my own.

The kicker about today is that I didn't get to fence with the campers. I feel like I helped to bring everyone together and yet I'm not part of it. I tried my best to remain upbeat and to offer some strip side advice, but my friends at the camp knew that I wasn't myself. I was Superman on kryptonite.

My coach said the following, "Things are going so well that I refuse to believe that there is anything seriously wrong with your knee." I have that same line going through my head. The fighter in me wants to push past this because I truly believe there are great accomplishments ahead and Beijing is still on the horizon-I can see it, damn it, I can SEE it. The flag, the anthem, my teammates, and me on that stage.

In the last thirty minutes of the movie Superman always breaks free and saves the town. Why? Because he believes that he can, the audience believes that he can, and this was what he was meant to do. Ultimately kryptonite is never strong enough to bring him down. The question for me is, how much do I want this and how hard am I willing to fight? The answer-it will take more than pain to stop me.

Camp-a-palooza TAKE TWO

The women's foil team is going to start a three day camp tomorrow. I have been busy trying to physically and mentally prepare for this camp so I've been somewhat unfocused on the blog. Sorry about that.

I'm a little worried about this camp for a few reasons. First, my knees have been hurting more consistently lately, so I am not sure if I am going to be able to go all out for the three days. Second, it almost feels too soon after the last camp to have another one and I think motivation levels will be a lot different. That being said, I do have confidence in our ability to get really competitive once we put all our fencing stuff on. I guess when someone tries to poke you with a steel pointy object you are apt to poke them back.

When I talk about being mentally prepared, I'm not talking about it in the sport sense of the word this time. I've been extremely stressed lately about trying to figure out how I am going to pay for everything while being unemployed. I estimated that it will probably cost me about $65,000 to fence for the next two years. Bills and collection agencies still come after you even when you aren't making money-surprise, surprise.

I had a meeting about a week ago with an influential figure in Rochester that is very familiar with raising money. She promised to help me connect to people that would be interested in donating money towards my endeavor. After our breafkast meeting I was extremely excited because if anyone was going to be able to help me raise money it would be her.

Then there's the reality of it all. There are many people out there that have made promises to me about money or sponsorship and only about ten percent of those who promise will come through. I wonder if this woman is going to be part of that ten percent or am I going to have to find a job? Finding a job would make it hard for me to train and travel.

My mother always tells me this one Buddhist saying at least once a week-"when you sleep you sleep, when you eat you eat, when you do something be in the moment and focus on nothing else." She's right but I don't tell her she's right because she's my mom and children never admit defeat. But, she's right. Every workout and practice is intense at this level that I have to be prepared by being rested, full of energy, and mentally focused. Working would only decrease the amount of energy I have for my training.

If I just fenced it would help me to even the playing field with all the Europeans that receive a pay check from their country to fence. The French are "postal workers", the Italians are "police officers", and the Russians are just paid directly without any false connections. Let's not get into the Chinese, I am sure they are building up some major incentives for their athletes to win a medal in the Beijing Olympics.

Many Americans drop out of fencing after college because they can't come up with the funds to fence. It's easier to get a job and move on with your life than try and bang your head against the wall everytime a bill comes in. Meanwhile on the world stage, senior fencers start to hit their stride when they are in their mid to late twenties. The top three women in the world are either 30 or about 30 years old. Americans are great fencers when they are about 17 and then they have a tendency to drop off the face of the Earth. The U.S. Fencing Association (USFA) has been unable to come up with ways to retain a lot of their best fencers as they age into senior level fencing. I'm a rare commodity-I hope they don't lose me.

Problem is still unsolved but it's still off to practice for me. Many things need to be done today-picking up the campers from the airport, making sure the fencing club is clean, and lots of rest before the three day camp.

Delay

Sorry for the delay on the posts. I have actually been working out quite a lot in addition to remodeling the fencing gym. For some reason I decided I don't spend enough time at the fencing club, so I am now at the club afterhours and weekends in order to clean and remodel it. Lots of dust bunnies and trophies from the 1980's.

I have a blog post coming soon. :)

My day off

After two days of knee pain I decided to take Wednesday off. Physically it was good to take the time off but mentally I felt strange not being in workout clothes all day long.

The day turned out to be pretty eventful.

On my way to getting a haircut I drove past the campaign office for the guy running for Congress in my district, Eric Massa.

When I walked in I immediately felt nostalgic-the campaign office was a dump and reminded me of all those days and nights I spent at the Westly campaign office. You gotta love political campaigns because they have a definite pulse that most corporate/run of the mill offices lack. Everyone is filled with their own self-importance(that was a low blow).

I signed up to volunteer for the campaign because he is a democrat running against a Republican incumbent. The problem is that this guy, Eric Massa, just changed his political affiliation after Karl Rove fired him a few years back for writing some negative things about the Bush administration. It's a long story-not very interesting to most but just goes to show that most dems on the East coast are Republicans in blue collar clothing.

Enough about my rant. The volunteer coordinator-a graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology and looking too smart to be there, told me that I should attend an event with the candidate to do some campaigning that evening. So, I grabbed my friend Ilana, went shopping with her during the afternoon, and then dragged her to the Brighton jazz concert to campaign for Eric Massa. I am trying to encourage her to complete her political science major at UPenn.

There was a HUGE Rochester turn out-about forty people showed up. Most of them were seniors who voted in a different district and most of the others were their grandchildren that weren't old enough to vote. The few that fit the criteria of old enough to vote and young enough to hear, didn't want us bothering them. At one point Mr. Massa was cursed at-he said that never usually happens. Either way, this was a big campaign miss. Sorry Eric, better luck tomorrow at your press conference.

It was fun to get out today and enjoy my other interests-haircuts, shopping, and political campaigns.

An interesting coincidence-I'm going to a political fundraiser on Friday for Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. She was the person that influenced me to get into politics-I want her seat when she retires in a few years. Too bad she isn't in my district anymore-dang gerrymandering!

All in all this was a great day! Thanks Ilana for hanging out with me at that Brighton Jazz festival. At least the band was good (the average age of the band members is 70) and we got free t-shirts that say "Vote for Eric Massa". How could a day off be any better than that?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday to my big sis, Felicia Zimmermann. She is currently in Los Angeles-hard at work for Booze Allen Hamilton but her family in Rochester, NY is thinking of her. Wish you were home to celebrate!

Here's a little story about the Olympian sisters from Rochester, NY.

Felicia and I fenced together for nearly eighteen years and this is the first Olympic trials I am going through without her. Of course she is always there for love and support but I am going to miss her coaching and help during competitions. There have been so many big matches in my career that I couldn't have won without her advice. Mostly I think it was the fact that there was always someone unconditionally in my corner that made the biggest difference.

In 2000 we were the ultimate Olympic story. We composed two-thirds of the USA women's foil team. I don't know how Ann, our teammate, ever put up with our sibling shenanigans.

The best part of the whole experience in 2000 was walking into the Olympic stadium for opening ceremonies hand in hand with my sister. I can't really explain the feeling of that moment. How do you capture in words and explain what thousands of people sound like cheering for you while you are down on the stadium field (besides asking a football player)? How can you describe what it's like to be there with someone you are the closest to in your life? How can you describe the joy and pride we felt that we had accomplished this goal together? I guess one word-indescribable. Aren't I always full of these cliches?

During Olympic tryouts in 2004 our relationship took a different turn. Rather than being teammates we were competitors on a whole new level. We had always been competitive, but this time it was different. I was training with our old coach in New York City and Felicia, a year before the games, decided to make a comeback and moved back to Rochester to train for one last attempt. The difference was-only ONE women's foil fencer from the USA was going to Athens in 2004.

At this point she had two Olympics under her belt already and I was going for my second team. My father complained the whole year about not putting us in two different fencing weapons so we didn't have to compete against each other.

We fenced a few times at world cups and national competitions that year. I lost to her at a crucial world cup in Shanghai, China. In the end I didn't make the team by two points and beating her would have made a difference because I needed another result in the Asian competition zone. A lot of our competitors asked why she didn't forfeit the bout. At the time I really wish she did (it was a horrible year) but with time and perspective I realize she did the right thing and fenced me at her best. It was a hard pill to swallow because it felt as though she was no longer in my corner but I didn't realize she had never really left my side.

My relationship with my former coach had been deteriorating to the point that I felt alone and isolated in New York City. The city swallowed everything up including my ability to see that my sister was trying to help me the entire year despite what it seemed like in China. To make a long story short-things didn't go so well in the Big Apple so she tried to convince me to move back home and train with her to boost my morale and confidence.

There is no doubt that Felicia is my closest friend and biggest supporter in life. :)I could never dream as big if she wasn't there with every step.

Jai, I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Camp Photos- Part III, the lost files

I think the one of me on the treadmill is scary. If I were my opponent I think I'd be afraid. :)

Motivation

It's not always easy training on my own. There is something to be said about participating in a team sport where your fellow teammates can provide a source of support and competitive motivation.

Today was one of those days where the motivation was definitely lacking-my mind and body decided to stay in bed. I warmed up on the stationary bike for about twenty minutes while watching a Tupac Shakur movie on my own personal tv, which was hooked up to the front of my bike. It's an amazing club with all sorts of amenities, but today I needed a change of pace.

After I got off the bike, stretched and did some exercises, I realized that I was yawning. It was such a nice day outside and here I am just sitting on a stationary bike. I knew I had to do a better workout than peddling in place and watching Tupac Shakur (although I found out he actually went to a performing arts school, is extremely religious, and his mother was a Black Panther-who knew?)

Twenty minutes later I'm outside on the East High School track across the street from the fencing club. I didn't expect anyone to be out at the track in the middle of the day, but low and behold there were about eight, ten to twelve year old kids suited up in full football gear doing some type of sit-up exercise while their pot-bellied coach was yelling at them.

I recently broke my iPod so I had to run around the track while listening to this coach yell things to these poor ten year olds-"WHAT NUMBER ARE YOU ON? I CAN'T HEAR YOU? WHAT? WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU?!!!" (May I suggest a hearing aid because I clearly heard that they were on number five.) So I made it around the track to complete a mile and decided to do some stairs after that. I spent a good forty-five minutes out there sweating in the sun, jumping and running up and down stairs, taking some turns on the track, and doing some plyometrics for good measure.

All the while I am listening to this coach yell at the kids-nothing too terrible but I thought, this reminds me of my old coach and how can these kids stand it anymore?

But then the revelation.

These kids were doing a stair run so I got a chance to see them up close. They were dressed in random football padding and clothes, some of the kids had no shoes on and the other's had shoes that were barely holding themselves together. I wish you could have seen these kids with their helmets on-I think they were running with their heads on their shoulders just to bear the weight of it all.

What stuck with me the most was the determination these kids had on their faces. Some of them didn't have helmets so I could see their faces clearly. The look in their eyes was sharp, focused, and a bit fierce. I remember that look.

Then right as they were finishing their last steps I saw three older kids-about fourteen come towards the track. These kids were the stereotypical "kids from the wrong side of the neighborhood". This group didn't have shirts on, pants were slung dangerously low, and they were smoking a blunt.

Being there was almost like watching the Tupac Shakur movie or some after school special where they talk about how good kids can go wrong. Does anyone remember the D.A.R.E. program?

I know this is ultimately going to be the biggest cliche, but even though this coach was yelling at them, even though they may not have had shoes on, even though they were wearing football pads in the middle of the summer heat, there was motivation to bound up the steps and do those sit-ups. The hope is that these kids will use sport as a tool to change their lives and motivate them to pursue something greater than their surroundings.

I really enjoyed training outside today and doing the exercises my friend calls the "raw sports shit". I'm humbled by my dose of reality and I wish to have half the fight and determination that these kids have.

Meanwhile on the job front. I've given up on the mayor. I've given up on trying to pursue anything political while training. I am contemplating getting a job at a coffee shop during the afternoons or substitute teaching when school starts. The bottomline, I need a job otherwise I can't afford to pay for any of my bills and that, my friends, is my take on the "raw sports shit".

Camp Photos - Part II

Explanation of photos:

1. Hamming it up with Misha (fellow Rochester teammate and soon to be Harvard student) at the testing lab.

2. Pre-test

3. After-test. Notice that I am trying to concentrate on not passing out.

4. Girls just wanna have fun.

5. This is a photo of Misha on Thursday's aerobic test. It's so gatorade commercial-esque. I made it to all 12 minutes before tearing off the breathing tube. The craziest part is having your nostrils closed shut-it makes the breathing even harder. Apparently I did pretty well on the test but I won't know all the results for another week or so.

Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed camp!

Camp Photos - Part I

Explanation of photos:

1. Me

2.Photo of the entire camp. I'm the oldest of the bunch minus the two coaches, Nat on the left and Mike Pederson on the right.

3.This is another photo of Mike Pederson after the girls at the camp decided to dress him up while waiting to get tested on the first day. I had to add this one.

4.Third photos is of Nicole Ross-a member of the US Junior Team. She is on the bike getting ready for her anaerobic testing-30 grueling seconds at max speed.

5. Fourth photo is of fellow senior world team member, Hanna Thompson. She just graduated from Ohio State and she'll be training with me for Beijing. Funny story-she started fencing because her older sister was fencing and her older sister fenced because we were classmates and she took up fencing. Oh how small the world is.

Some photos

I have been delayed recently on my blog posts because of the camp and recovering from the camp. So, in an effort to spice things up I've decided to include some of my photos.

There are three photos in this posting: one is a photo of the outside of my house in Rush, N.Y. (which is a suburb of Rochester), the other is of me at the Stanford hospital right before my last knee surgery in October of 2005, and the last one is of my father, sister, and me in Santa Cruz after the surgery.

Camp-a-palooza continues

Just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't disappeared completely from the blogging world. I've been busy trying to keep up with people ten years younger at me at camp.

We had our first day of physiological testing today-we started with stepping onto a scale (I won for being the heaviest-at least I won something), we did a power test by running up stairs, and then we did something that is intimately called "the peddle and puke test".

The physiologists at Brockport tested power output by having us bound up three stairs at a time for nine stairs and tested the time it took us to get from the bottom step to the top step. I think I was somewhere in the middle with .84 seconds while there were some at the .71 second range. The test isn't as easy as it seems-the hardest part of it is trying to get rid of any fear that you may trip and fall going up three stairs at a time. Not only did the women's foil team not trip but everyone did an amazing job.

The second test was a thirty second bike test where you peddled as hard as you can with 9% of your weight as the resistance. This test figures out how much lactic acid is in the muscles-translation, it measures how much work effort you are able to produce at your greatest effort. It turns out that I am second in the whole group. Not bad for just training for a month and a half and being the old grandma of the team.

Tomorrow will be the endurance test-a twelve minute run on a treadmill. Oh yeah-I forgot we have to do a body mass composition test to tell us how much fat we have and where. Um, this is not my favorite test-especially since I broke down and had two brownies today after the lab tests. Oops-definitely not keeping up with my diet.

All and all the camp is going really well. I love that the team members are bonding. It's also nice to have conversations with the younger fencers about how hard it is for them to train, have a social life, and go to school all at the same time. Hopefully I can help them with some of my stories and experiences. Sometimes it's enough to believe that you are not the only one going through something.

I should go since I have to get up in a few hours (4am to be exact) to get on television for an early morning news interview. I wish I had the channel we will be on in Rochester but alas, I don't have it. I will have pictures of the camp up in a few days-make sure to stay tuned!

Camp-a-palooza

Tomorrow morning at 9am the U.S. Women's Foil team starts camp at the Rochester Fencing Club. We fence from 9-12 and again from 2-5pm. The most interesting part of the camp will be on Wednesday and Thursday when we do some physiological testing at a lab at SUNY Brockport where Nat used to be a professor. I'm sure I'll be extremely soar at the end but I'll love every minute of it.Hopefully I'll have my camera out so I can take some photos of the team.

I can't leave this blog without giving a shout out to the defending world Champs, WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs! They beat the Mystics last night 99-95.



Good luck to them in their pursuit to win the title again this year!

Friendship, advice, and self discovery

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe unto him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
-- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.


Every once in a while I find myself struggling with my choice to keep fencing rather than pursue the path more traveled-graduate school and a career. Although my convictions to train for Beijing are strong and true, there are many times where I invite doubt to cloud my perspective.

Last week Thursday was one of those days. I came home from practice and received a call from one of my old fencing friends who has long since retired from the sport. He was a great American fencer who set records on the international scene at the same time as I was making incredible results. He would often tell me that we were alike in our pursuits and desires to win. But unlike me, he quit after his second Olympics to pursue a very lucrative career in finance.

He is older than me and I always looked up to him like a mentor or big brother. Even now I find myself seeking his approval therefore when we spoke I was hesitant to approach the subject of my decision to fence. I was waiting for him to say something like-you're wasting your time, this takes away from your career goals, you're better than that, etc. However, he didn't say anything about it and his silence was even more disheartening because I just knew that he didn't even want to talk about it.

Sometimes one person or friend can shake your foundation and cause you to rethink everything. This is even more true when there is even the slightest amount of self doubt about a decision that has been made. In some cases the questions could be good but in this particular case I found myself shaken and worried. I was worried that I wasn't confident enough in my decision in order to defend it to my long time friend. I was worried that I still needed someone's approval and validation. How could he know everything that had led me to this point? How could he know what it feels like to compete again? How could he know how my future would play out?

I became rather depressed as I began spinning negative thoughts into a larger and larger web. But then-I received another phone call and this time it was from one of my best friends from college, Mikey Lee. There is a picture posted of him on an earlier blog of when I was just leaving California.

It's funny how serendipitous this moment was because it was at the very moment I needed a friend to lift me up. I spilled the beans to Mikey and let him know that I was having some serious trepidation about moving home to pursue fencing. I told him how I felt like all it seemed like everyone around me was moving in a forward trajectory and I was the only one moving backwards. I even gave him the example of how he went from the gubernatorial race to running a California city council campaign-and I went from working on the gubernatorial race to living at home and working out all day. It was like I went from budding star to desperate rich housewife.

Then he said the following which I wrote down, "What you are having is a typical grass is greener problem. The question really is,are you going to enjoy what you're doing in the moment or compare it to what you could be doing?

Really think about what he said and if it doesn't strike you, then you weren't really reading the words. How many times do we second guess ourselves because we believe that somewhere out there is a better path? How often do we doubt that we can make he right decisions for our own lives? Why do we believe that others' approval of our choices provide a better validation than our own approval? More importantly, why couldn't I trust myself and believe that I could still be successful even if I was taking time out to make the Olympic team? Sounds ludicrous writing it out but I often doubt that I am a successful person.

Then I thought about what Lisa Slater said to me this week after shooting some photos of me for my portfolio. She told me to look back at the photos that she had taken of me starting at age 13 until now and to note the marked difference in the brightness and playfulness of my smile. At age 13 I was a goofy kid who would crack a smile just because I was thinking about fencing, school, friends, family, etc. And then if you look at a picture of me as the Olympian in 2000, you can see someone worried and stressed about results and success. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Granted life is different at 13 than it is at 25 but it doesn't have to be so serious. Somewhere along the line when I was trying out for the Olympic team, trying to get good grades at Stanford, trying to fit in, moving from place to place, I lost what it really meant to enjoy the process of living.

Trying out for the Olympic games shouldn't define me or shut me out of my own future, but it should become part of a more complex fabric and meaning of what it is to be Iris Zimmermann.

An uncomfortable truth

Not to overstate the obvious for east coasters but

IT'S HOT OUT HERE!!!!

Fencing in a non air conditioned facility during a heat wave - - not as exhilarating as one would think.

The last few days we have moved practice to the mornings to keep from melting onto the floor into a puddle under our masks. I am still unsure how we managed to move into a building that doesn't have air conditioning, only a few windows and a garage door. The garage door is a remnant from when the space was used as a storage facility.

Nat, my coach, tried to reassure me that "that which does not kill us makes us stronger". However, being a PhD and an eloquent speaker decided to disguise her message in a story.

Nat told me about a physiological study that was done on German soldiers stationed in Africa. The soldiers were being moved from one point in Africa to the German base camp for training in another part of Africa. One of the groups had the misfortune of riding on a train with a non-functioning air conditioning system. Of course they complained the entire ride (much like I was during practice) but it turns out that when these soldiers began training in the sweltering heat they were less susceptible to heat related injuries and stress. The moral of the story-it's hot in Africa and I should just wipe the sweat off my face and continue fencing.


And.....


This week's episode of the Young, Athletic, and Broke is titled, "When do patience and perseverance intersect?".

I have decide to take any disappointment I feel by the lack of response from the mayor about a job and the slow pace of donations and turn it into some positive fuel for perseverance.


Storyline for the Mayor of Rochester:

Once again I am going to to go the athletic club on Friday morning at an amazingly crazy hour - 6:30am (don't let any athlete let you believe they actually get up that early unless they swim or row). I think this encounter will be rather awkward but I think politicians are used to those awkward "what did I say/promise" moments. Well, at least I hope our current president has some of those moments or at least those moments where he recognizes the fact that years of taking drugs could possibly limit brain function.


Storyline on what it's like to live as an athlete:

I have decided to take matters into my own hands and create a portfolio for myself in order to solicit local Rochester companies and businesses for sponsorship. It doesn't seem like it should be that hard to raise $35,000. I have a photo shoot today for photos to include on both my portfolio and some posters my friend will sell at his frame shop.

The fact is that if I didn't live with parents at the moment I wouldn't be able to afford to train. I see a trainer twice a week which costs $55 each session. Being an athlete is not so cheap. I also need new foils which cost over $100. Fencing is not a cheap sport.


Storyline on what it's like for a fencer making a comeback:

I have spent the last month getting used to the new games and rules of foil (my weapon). In the past I was able to dominate my opponents through strength and power-I would overrun my opponents by pushing and attacking them. Sounds kind of brutal when you write it in a blog. Anyways, the rules of the game have changed and patience is now key but you have to find a way to cross patience with short bursts of action. The attacks have to be calculated and disguised much more cleverly than before.


So what do these three stories reveal about the answer to today's question - Where do patience and perseverance intersect?


Answer:Patience actually becomes perseverance when action is required.

What do Floyd Landis, Justin Gatlin, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have in common?

Good biceps perhaps? I wish.

It's not just Mr. Universe/the Terminator/California governors that use steroids anymore.

Much to my dismay Floyd Landis' sample tested positive for high levels of testosterone. If his second sample does not exonerate him that he stands to be the first biker to be stripped of his Tour de France title. Of course, Landis claims that he has never taken performance enhancing drugs and that the raised levels of testosterone are due to a thyroid condition. I'm no medical expert so I couldn't even tell you if any of this is even feasible but it sounds kind of fishy. For his and mostly my sake, I hope he is right and this is just a fluke.

About a week after the news of Floyd's steroid scandal broke, Justin Gatlin, Olympic and world 100m champion tested positive for testosterone. Now Gatlin faces a lifetime suspension given this is his second infraction. During the 2000 Olympic Games I heard a lot of rumors in the village about the use of steroids throughout track and field events-I wouldn't be surprised if Gatlin is suspended. I wonder what is going to happen to all the world record times he set?

This news is nothing new. Athletes have been taking performance enhancing drugs for a long time now. The stakes are high. A high level Olympic athlete is surrounded by pressures that are often out of their control and more importantly, there is very little seperating the athlete from taking last or taking first. Considering all this, I can understand how some athletes take dangerous risks to win.

I did some thinking and some reading about the lengths athletes go to in order to be the best. I had a little incident of my own during the 2000 Olympic Games. I found out the woman I lost to in the individual event tested positive for the human growth hormone. It turns out when they tested her blood in Italy it was positive but because they only did urine samples at the Olympics she was clean according to the Olympic standards.

I came across two articles last week that dealt with the issue of performance enhancement methods. One of the articles iis from the NY Times and the other article is from the Wall Street Journal-both outlining methods used by athletes to enhance their performance outside the use of drugs.

The first article is from the New York Times about WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) trying to ban the use of altitude tents as a training method.



The picture is of an athlete training in a chamber that simulates high altitude by decreasing the amount of oxygen in the room. The tent is similar to this chamber but substitute the stairmaster and bike for a matress and pillows.

Sleeping at high altititudes can increase red blood cell counts which can significantly increase activity levels given that more oxygen can be carried to the muscles. Again, I am not a medical expert so you should read the article to make sure that all my "scientific facts" are accurate.

The fact that WADA wants to ban these tents is a little controversial. Some people already live and train at high altitudes-the United States Olympic Training Center is in Colorado Springs. So the question is-why can't someone else at sea level buy an expensive tent to simulate what other athletes have access to? Aren't we just trying to even the playing field? Should we ban working out in high altitudes altogether? Good luck with that.

Click here to read the NY Times article.

The second article from the Wall Street Journal this past weekend is about how athletes use neurofeedback games and tests to change their responses to stress. No, this scientific method isn't being banned. In fact this method was used most recently by the Italian World Cup soccer team.



I just thought it was interesting that you can actually change the way your brain works and responds with expensive technology. Staying in the zone is just as important if not more important than being physically capable.

In the end, I understand that Floyd Landis has done something incredible despite the steroids. Performance enhancing drugs can only take you so far but you still need to be an athlete with all the right components-spirit, drive, talent, mental and physical ability, a good team, etc. I hope that Landis' second sample exonorates him but we will have to wait and see. As for Schwarzenegger-steroids may not help him win the election but he will be back for his gubernatorial sequel.

Penn State camp - Meet the badgers

Meet the badgers. And here I thought Jersey girls followed all the rules.

Well, these Jersey girls were definitely not interested following any of the camp rules.

It was simple-don't go into downtown Penn State without a counselor. Alas, much to these girls' dismay they were caught unaccompanied while trying to get some ice cream in downtown State college.

As a punishment I decided that I would get them up for a run at 7am. I obviously came up with this idea without thinking since I too would have to be up by 7am. What was I thinking?

These Jersey girls stuck together even when times got tough. They decided to show up to the early morning run wearing all black with face paint under their eyes. I guess black eyeliner can also substitute for war paint.

The most interesting thing about the morning-despite my efforts to tire them out with laps and sprints, these girls laughed and smiled the entire time. I think we even bonded over the whole situation because they made me an honorary badger. I can't believe they still had enough energy to make it through the entire day of camp.

Although the long hours of the camp were sometimes difficult to manage, and the girls sometimes broke the rules, teaching young adults how to fence was definitely worth it.

LANDIS WINS!

Today was the first day of coaching at the Penn State camp but more importantly today was the day that Floyd Landis beat all odds to win the Tour de France!!!

Week two

So this is the end of week number two. Lessons with Nat (my coach) are going really well. I feel like I am making a lot of progress in learning new fencing tricks. It's interesting, I have been fencing for twenty years but I can learn something new everyday.

I also had a Russian language lesson today. Ira, or as it turns out her name is actually Galina, was full of laughs. She and I had a short lesson with her rattling off in Russian and pausing every once in a while to see if I was still listening. I would say "da" (yes) or "panyatna" (I understand) and she would keep going. Let's just say I'm not so sure about her teaching methods.

I'm renting a car tomorrow and going to Penn State University for a week. The coach there asked me help out with their summer camp. I'm excited to have a chance to coach young fencers but I'm also really excited to have a car to myself. I've been sharing the car with my Mom since I got back-it's kind of interesting having my Mom drop me off and pick me up from fencing practice. I'm fifteen again.

By the way, Floyd Landis has been doing some amazing things at the Tour de France. Apparently after having worn the yellow jersey for several days on the tour he ran out of gas and ended up eight minutes behind the leader. For most people this type of finish so late in the game would put him out of contention to win but, since this is Landis we are talking about, he didn't give up. He got on his bike the next day and left his opponents in the dust, making up seven and a half minutes and ended up in third place. Landis still has the time trial left to make up the rest of the time. Go Floyd Landis! This story is amazing-hope you get a chance to watch.

Have a great weekend!

An Inspiration

Bikers are never at a lack for melodrama. From Lance to this guy, Floyd Landis, it seems like these athletes can endure just about anything.

An article in this week's New York Times Magazine told the story of Floyd Landis, the successful biker, a man touted as the next Lance Armstrong, and oh yeah, an athlete with a hip that causes him to walk with a limp and reconsider his pain tolerance.

A few years ago Landis was in a car accident that fractured his hip which could have ruined his biking career. He has fought past it only to find the joint slowly degenerating into something resembling a cauliflower shaped mass.

The following photos are x-rays of his hip.



The first one is after after his car crash, the second is with pins holding the joint together, and the third is of his hip now where you can hardly see any of the bone.

Despite his constant pain and lack of hip bone Landis has been very successful at his sport. In fact just a few days ago on July 13th he donned the infamous yellow jersey after winning one of the stages of the tour.

Landis has promised his doctors and his wife that he is going to get his hip replaced after the Tour. The problem is no one knows how well the surgery and recovery will go-the bottom line is that he won't be the same man. But for now, he's Floyd Landis, champion biker and medal contender in the Tour de France.

If you want to read the New York Times Magazine article click here. You can also read about he's endured enough pain to try and grind a groove in his cartilidge so the degenerated hip joint has some mobility. Sounds like fun!

You can also keep track of how he's doing in the Tour de France by clicking here.

So, why did I choose to highlight Landis on this blog?

I read this article after a weekend of trying to deal with knee and hip problems. Actually, it's more like eight years of trying to deal with knee and hip problems.

In 1998 I had two surgeries on my left knee to get rid of torn cartilidge on the outside portion of the meniscus. In 2004 I had another surgery on my right knee-same surgery, same problem. Since then I have had pain in both knees and problems with my right hip and back because of compensation issues.

Some athletes recover very quickly from these surgeries because they seem minor. The surgery itself is considered ambulatory so I never even spent the night in the hospital. The problem is-fencing is a high impact sport that puts the knees and back in strange and unnatural positions. Not to mention that fencing creates assymetrical imbalances in the musculature-i.e. the lead leg is bigger than the trailing leg, one arm is bigger, one side of the back is stronger, one side of the abs is stronger, etc.

During each practice it takes about 30-45 minutes for the pain in my knees and hips to go away. Even though everything hurts I continue the warm up so that at the end of that 45 minutes the pain is tolerable and the adrenaline kicks in. I have often joked that I take advil just to warm-up for the warm-up. In the back of my mind I am waiting for and dreading the next tear, the next surgery, the next sharp pain.

BUT, my story and Landis' story aren't unique. Athletes push through pain each day, each practice, and each competition. I think that people worship athletes for just these reasons-even physical pain is no match for the feeling of that win, that chance to get that medal or that jersey, or the chance to hear your national anthem over the loud speakers. Sometimes I think we are all borderline crazy, but at the core of every athlete is an understanding that the will to win is stronger than the pain.



"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."

--Muhammed Ali

Donations

Some great news on the 501(c)(3) donation front. I finally found a tax deductable organization that will accept donations on my behalf.

This organization is Rochester based and focused. I have been receiving grants from this organization since I began competing internationally in 1996.

If you or someone you know is interested in funding my Olympic dream you can send donations to the following address:

Greater Rochester Amateur Athletic Federation (GRAAF)
c/o Bob Silver
P.O. Box 637
Fairport, NY 14450


If you have questions, please feel free to write me and I will provide you with Bob Silver's number.