Nothing new...

Hey all,

I don't have much to say, but I just wanted to let you know I was alive and well. Not much has gone on since my last post. I took a trip to the Croatian National Championships on Sunday but I did not throw. I could not get a ride on the day of the shot put, but it is not important. Now, I have three more days in Hungary before I leave for Greece. The meet is a hammer and shot only event, so we get a lot of attention. Plus, our hotel is more of a resort, situated about 100 feet from the Mediterranean. Fun stuff. After that I will hang out in Europe for about 3 or 4 days before I come back on August 10th. I will definitely visit Zagreb for at least 2 days. :)

I have been giving the fundraising thing a lot of thought. I am not firm on anything yet, but it will probably involve some sort of private sponsorship printed on a t-shirt. I will wear this shirt during warm-ups in the upcoming year and it will have the names/companies of those who donated money on it in different sizes (depending on donation). I think it is a good idea. I just hope it works. I will write more in a later blog post, but the main reason for this down season is the difficulty of balancing a full-time job with training. I know I can put a lot more into it and have a chance at doing something really special in 2008. So, chew on that for a while... I am sure I'll have a post up before the end of August.

Thanks for your support so far! I hope you enjoy the blog. Maybe I can work on a website in teh future!

Szombathely

I am back to my roots, in the little Hungarian town of Szombathely (pronounced Som-ba-tay). I got a good lift in and am sure that my lack of training is the main reason my throwing isnt going well. I will get some good training in here and try to regain some strength for my last two meets of the year.

I was originally going to go back to Zagreb for a couple of days, but my layover was in Vienna. Since I would have to take a $60 train to Vienna from Zagreb anyways, I decided to skip my flight to Zagreb. I am getting quite good at getting around in Europe by myself. So if anyone wants a guide on a vist, I am free!

I will most likely be throwing in the Croatian National Championships this weekend. It will not be for money and I will be "out of competition" in the results. Either way, it will be fun. I love being in Croatia. After 10 days in Bjelolasica, my Croatian was getting pretty good. I know how to say pretty much everything, and know I must learn how to understand when others talk to me. I think I will have 1 more year before I can engage in actual conversation.

Fun. Ok, that is it for now.

Finland Results

Hey all.

Well, the meet didn't go so well. I ended up throwing 18.89m (62'0") which was good for 3rd. All of my other throws were around 61' with no fouls. My body felt good going into the meet but my technique was sloppy and I could not get after the finish. 1st place was only 19.49m (63'11") and 2nd place was 18.90m, one centimeter in front of me. :( That is an expensive centimeter. Hehehe. Those who know me well, know that I will not get too bothered by a meet like this. I think I just feel burnt out from the season and have run out of gas. I am really ready for this season to be over so I can start focusing on the Olympic year.

It will be nice to have a training group next year in Ashland, Ohio. I am also hoping that I will not have to work too much. I felt that my second year of coaching really put a damper on my season. I enjoy coaching and I don't mind working, but it takes so much out of training. I am currently trying to think of some fundraising ideas for next season so if you have some, please drop me a line at stevemanz@hotmail.com.

Anywho, I will leave Lapinlahti tomorrow morning on a bus headed for Helsinki. I am pretty sure I won't have any more meets until August 4th in Greece, which will be my last meet. I am still deciding on where I will be for the next two weeks. It might be a good time to find a cheap vacation and go relax for a bit. When I get home, I will hit the ground running. I will visit my girlfriend (Hi Jackie!) in Louisiana for a bit and then start up training in early September.

But I'm in good spirits for my last meet. Anything can happen. I have had big throws feeling like this in the past. I just know that I am ready to come back home and get ready for next year.

Ok.... That's all! Take it easy. I will post again later this week - maybe Thursday or Friday.

Lapinlahti

I am here in Finland, in the city of Lapin Lahti. After a long travel day yesterday, including a 5 hour train ride from Helsinki, I got a long sleep in before today. The meet is tomorrow, Sunday, at 120pm. Finland, like every other country I go to, is amazing. The diversity of culture, environment, food, language, and people in Europe is just exciting to me. Finland reminds me of my childhood in the countryside of Northern/Western Michigan. The tall skinny pines, white birch trees, numerous lakes, and cottage-like houses make me feel like I am back in Michigan.

There is one difference however. It didnt get dark last night before I went to bed at midnight and I am pretty sure that it doesnt get dark at all here this time of year. This is easily the farthest north I have ever been and probably as far as I'll ever go. It is located above the 63rd parallel which is equivalent to being in Central Alaska. It is only 300 miles from the Artic Circle. Pretty cool.

We are staying in some sort of dormitories with a dining hall and a building that houses the classrooms, the internet room :), the pool, and the sauna (Fins love the sauna!). Ok, I've been on the computer for a bit too long now. It is hard getting on the computer whenever I want, but here it seems extremely easy. I dont know what to do myself.

So, meet is tomorrow. I will throw far. And I'll post about it soon afterwards (Sunday sometime).

To Finland!

Hello all again. Well it seems my stay at the training center in Croatia is coming to an end. I have to say that I am kind of happy. I had hoped for more meets by now but it has not worked out that way. The good news is that this stay has allowed for really good training. I feel as if my last few meets of the year will go very well. Other than that, things have been ok here. I am a little homesick and am ready for the season to be done. Only two more weeks.

Tomorrow, I am taking the train to Zagreb before leaving for Finland the following morning. I will fly into Helsinki and have a 5 hour drive to Lapinlahti. I am very excited to see Finland because I have heard so much from Ty, who has gone there many times to throw javelin. The fans there really love throwers from what I hear.

I also have a meet confirmed in Nikiti, Greece on August 4th. After Finland, I will head to Hungary until my next meet. Hopefully, there will be something before Greece.

Until next time...

Still Bjelolasica

Hey,

Well I have no meets this weekend. I am still at the Croatian Training Center in Bjelolasica. Training is going very well. That is pretty much all I do. The food here is good and the scenery is amazing but it can get very redundant. I will probably leave here on Thursday to head out for two meets in Finland. I think they are on the 22nd and 25th. I am excited to go because Ive never been to Finland and have heard a lot about it from my former coach. I also have been confirmed for a meet in Nikiti, Greece on August 4th. I went to this meet last year and it was great.

Other than that, nothing much is new. Im just trying to prepare for those meets so I can throw as far as possible!

Tomorrow, we are going to the coast which is about 45 minutes west of here. It will be a good break from the redundancy of daily life here (eat, train, sleep).

Talk to you soon.

For some reason, I cant put a title on this one. It was going to be called Bjelolasica which is where I am staying right now. I am at the Croatian Olympic Training Center for the next 4 to 7 days depending on whether or not I have a meet this weekend. It is truly a beautiful place. Big mountains. Mist. Amazing.

The wedding was great. I cannot believe my little sister is married! I am so happy for her and am glad that she is living a great life. I got to see pretty much everyone in my life last weekend which was great. It isnt often that you get everyone together.

The travel, however, was not so great. I put in 35 hrs on Friday and 35 hrs on Sunday to travel back. My body is tired, but that is why I am here. To rest and recoooooooooooperate. I lifted today and did some sprints and I will throw tomorrow with another lifiting session added in. This is my time to train while I am out here and Im going to make the best of it. Hopefully, I will have a meet this weekend.

Thats all I have for now. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer!

Zagreb

Not much time to post now but I will post a lot more later!

Zagreb was great! I threw 19.38m (63ft 7in) which was good for 6th. This was one of the biggest meets I have ever been in and I threw well. Especially well because there was such bad weather. It was pouring the whole time!

I have had a great time here. Awesome hotel. Good party after the meet. I got to use my Croatian a lot. You can find complete results at http://www.has.hr/hanzek/index.htm or www.zagrebhanzek.com.

I am now traveling by train to Vienna for my flights tomorrow. Be home soon!