Better Late than Never

So I have been pretty bad about keeping new content on my blog lately. In Berlin, the only place we had internet was at "Easy Internet" upstairs from a Dunkin Donuts. Although it was near the hotel, it was still a pain to get there, find a working computer, and suffer through a slow internet connection. Furthermore, we could not connect our computers online so there was no way to upload video or pictures. Enough of my whining though, now for the updates from the competition!

Making the final at Worlds is always a big accomplishment. As I have mentioned before, there are always a few great athletes who are knocked out in the semi-final and you always breath a big sigh of relief when the semis are over.

The final itself was probably the toughest competition in the history of pentathlon. My score of around 5250 on a long course swim and a difficult run would normally have put me well into the top 15. This year, it was good for 29th. I was hoping for a top 20, but I cant complain too much about my place. At the end of the day, you only control how you compete and I was pretty happy with my overall score.

The women's final went very well for Sheila. She finished 9th overall, the first time a US women has finished in the top 10 at Worlds in 8 years. Mickey had a rough time in fencing and finished 29th.

At Worlds, we also compete in the relay event. This is not an event in the Olympics yet, but it is possible that it will be added by 2012 as a second pentathlon event at the London Games. The relay consists of 3 athletes. Shooting is 3x10 shots, fencing is 3x3 touches, swimming is 3x100 meters, riding is 3x9 jumps (on 3 different horses), and running is 3x1500 meters. Our team was me, Dennis, and Sam Sacksen. We knew ahead of time that we did not have a realistic chance at a medal, but it is always fun to compete in the relay anyway. We held our own in shooting (apparently I saved up my best shoot for the relay!), but got pretty well schwacked in fencing. Swimming we were also middle of the pack. In riding, we drew a really bad set of horses and that cost us a top 8 finish. (My horse was completely blind in the left eye). We rode the horses we drew pretty well, but sometimes you just have to realize that it't not your day. In running I think we also held our own, but finished a disappointing 12th overall.

After the competition at Worlds, there is always a party. This year, DKB, a German bank and major sponsor of the competition, hosted the party at the riding venue. It was amazing with demonstrations in martial arts, a live band, and an awesome private fireworks display. It was great that Cami was able to be there for that and we were able to enjoy it together.

After a late night, we had a 7am bus to the airport. Cami came along with me, but her flight was a couple hours later. I was flying with Dennis, Mickey, and Emily; but Cami was on a different airline and had a different itinerary. We all had breakfast together in the Berlin airport, then went our separate ways.

22 hours later, we were back in Colorado Springs. When you fly, it does not bother you very much if the airline is delayed on a connecting flight because it only effects your layover. When your last flight is delayed, it really stinks because you get home that much later (and after 20 hours of travel, every extra minute grits on your nerves). United always seems to have problems getting out of Chicago on time, and yesterday was no exception. After an hour delay prior to boarding, we sat on the runway for another hour waiting to take off. Fortunately, I slept from the time we boarded until we landed in Colorado Springs; but the delay cost us getting dinner at the OTC that night.

I had just enough time to pick up my truck from the OTC and get back to the airport when Cami landed. Cami made it on time, but her luggage decided to stay on vacation for a little longer. We think her bags will arrive today at some point.

I might be flying to Beijing in a couple weeks. Right now, I am the first reserve for the World Cup Final. I promise better pictures from Beijing if we have internet!

For now, it's unpack and get back to training. If I am in World Cup Final, I will have to train pretty hard for the next two weeks that I am home to get back in shape.