Tuesday, July 6, 2010

July Update

I hope you all had a great 4th of July!!!!

Things are continuing to go good out here in the Springs (for now on Colorado Springs will be abbreviated Springs and Lake Placid as Placid cause I like short cuts!) I am happy to say that my running is improving, my heart rate is getting lower and the Kid is feeling pretty good. I am also going to drop a little weight this summer so I can be more ripped than Hulk Hogans pile of old T-Shirts! lol seriously though I will be faster when I drop a few pounds.....but being more ripped is a burden I am willing to to carry.

On another and less narcissistic note I do have a some interesting story from the last month or so. Since its the year after the Olympics the schedule tends to change a bit, some things happen later in the year and others happen earlier in the year. That being said we have already had our National Team Camp this year out here in Colorado Springs. The camp was a bit more laid back then last year, not being even close to the physical challenges of the camp last year. It was more of a celebration of the success that we had at the Olympics and how we plan to build on that as we head toward Sochi, Russia in 2014.

During the camp we did get a chance to pay tribute to some of America's true Heroes. We spent an afternoon with the Wounded Warriors http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org out on For Carson Army Base here in Colorado Springs. These are military personnel who have been injured while serving, suffering from amputations, brain damage, nerve damage and etc. The Wounded Warrior program helps these soldiers to return to some form of normalcy through physical activities and rehabilitating some soldiers back to active duty status. Its truly a humbling experience being surrounded by men and women who have sacrificed themselves and lifestyles fighting for our freedom, especially when they tell you that you inspire them and make them proud! I mean seriously how do you respond to something like that. Not sure if its the right answer but I thanked them for their service and sacrifice.

Overall it was a really fun of getting to know the soldiers, their stories, their families, and the sports that they were currently competing in. Some of my teammates sang karaoke at the band stand with some of the kids there, which I must say was very amusing. However I did provide some amusement for everyone in return. Hold on don't rush me I am getting to how I achieved such a thing bare with me, I just have to preference this story with a few things.

So evidently and unbeknown to me in certain situations other than before I am about to compete the sane part of my mind shuts down and Insane Jesse wakes up and is happy to take over!!! lol This became obvious to me when soon as we stepped of the bus at the Wounded Warrior picnic the woman showing us around told us about all the events that were going on. She pointed out the food, the karaoke, the dollar bash a car with sledge hammer area, and also that the Colorado Springs Police K-9 unit was there giving attack demonstrations!!! Yup!! this is the point where the sane part of my mind took a seat in my mental recliner, picked up the remote control and watched THE INSANE JESSE SHOW!!! This all happened in nanoseconds, since upon hearing this I immediately said HEY ARE THEY LETTING PEOPLE PUT ON THE ATTACK SUIT!!! (I was hyper like a 8yr old kid who just herd the ice cream truck coming!) our handler said she did not think so since the officers were only demonstrating. All I heard was.....she had no clue! Yeah....I'm that guy. I decided to go over and ask the officers myself and you know what THEY LET THE KID DO IT!!! THAT'S RIGHT EVIDENTLY GETTING ATTACKED BY A DOG IS MY IDEAL OF A GOOD TIME!!! LOL! (Dean Stop Laughing and Paul you hired me no laughing either!! )

After getting the ok to put on the attack suit and go head to head with the K-9 units I tell my teammates of my triumphant negotiations. Everyone kind of shook their head and said only Jesse! We all headed over to the K-9 demonstration area and I began to put on the protective gear. The officer in charge game me some tips on what to do when the dog was charging me, and that he wanted me to go with the blow so I do not jam the dog up and hurt it. That's right Jesse ain't scared of Dogs, Dogs are scared of Jesse!! He tells me that after the dog latches on to move my arm in a figure eight motion so the dog can test its grip. I am standing there in the middle of the field staring at the officer about 60ft away who is holding back an attack dog that is barking feverishly wanting a piece of me! At this point my adrenalin is starting to point and I am thinking YOU WANT SOME OF ME!!! YOU WANT SOME OF THIS DOG!? THEN COME GET YOU SOME!!! OH YEAH BRING IT!!!

All I can say is that it was a good time, I could actually feel some of the dogs teeth sinking through the protective suit. It was definitely worth it.

Well that's all I have for now, thank you for tuning into another episode of Jesse A True Story.


God Bless and enjoy the videos below

Jesse
www.jessebeckom3.com