Back to the Grind!
It’s been far too long since the last post and I apologize. When I got back from Winter Cup last weekend, I got swamped with so much work that I kind of had to put all the updating on hold. I haven’t been able to get on twitter all that much either! Speaking of which, if you aren’t following me on twitter, please do so here!
Anyway, last weekend was a pretty big weekend for me with Winter Cup. I have to say though that for the most part, things went pretty well. I was able to get through the two days of competition without any major mistakes. Since the plan was to go 12 for 12, I was fairly happy with how things went. Now it’s back in the gym and gearing up for the last few meets of my career. USA Championships, which is the qualifiers for the Olympic Trials (they are only taking 15 from USAs to compete at Trials), is happening in only 4 months. Time is definitely flying by, and with these competitions right around the corner, the intensity is building pretty rapidly. Although it can get a bit tough every once in a while, I’m trying my best to keep my head-down and put the blinders on. Luckily for me, I’ve got other things going on in my life, such as work to keep me balanced and sane!
I promise to get on here more consistently and post. Thanks for the continued support! The road to London continues!
Gearing Up!
Over the weekend I competed at the Stanford Open and used it as a tune up for this week’s Winter Cup Challenge. As always it was a super high-energy and fun meet to be at. There were some minor bobbles here and there but it was great to be out there and get into competition mode again. It was also nice to be able to compete at Burnham (Pavilion) again since I thought my last home meet as a senior on the Stanford team a few years ago was the last time.
Stanford Open! (photo courtesy of Diana Lattimore)
Still can’t believe that we were one of the originals families that started this meet (as a junior gymnast I trained on the boys team at Stanford). The meet has got to be going on for about 20 years by now and it’s become one of the biggest boys competition on the west coast.
Big thanks to all of my friends that came out to support me. It was fun being able to perform in front of all you guys! Well, I’m off to Winter Cup tomorrow (in Vegas). Wish me luck!
Group pic with some of my friends (photo courtesy of Josh Mesones)
First Camp of the New Year!
Just returned from the first national team camp of the new year and I’m excited to say that the US team is looking very good! This time around, the focus of the camp was more on routines as most of us are going to be competing at the Winter Cup Challenge in a couple of weeks. Although some of us were slightly banged up, we are all trying our very best to get/stay healthy as this is of course a very very important year! As they say, staying healthy enough to compete is half the battle.
I’ve gotta say that the highlight of the camp (at least for me) was being able to train with my long-time friend/old teammate and 2008 US National Champion, David Sender! Dave recently announced his plans of coming back and although he isn’t currently on the US National Team, he was invited to come and train with us. Training with him brought me back to old times when we used to train together at Stanford. Good times indeed!
Anyway, I’m back home and gearing up for Winter Cup. I’ll be competing this weekend at the Stanford Open as a preparation for Winter Cup. If anybody is around that night (Saturday at 7pm), please come on by! Ping me for more details. Thanks!
Gym @ OTC - This is where our national team camps and various national clinics take place.
The back gym.
Another shot of the back gym.
Packed and Ready to Go
Off to national team camp once again! I’ll be there until the weekend. This time the main focus will be on preparation for Winter Cup in a couple of weeks. Looked up the weather out in Colorado Springs and although temp will drop at night, surprisingly it’ll be around the same as the Bay Area during the day. Hopefully we’ll get the nice rooms like last time!
All Packed!
All Things Gymnastics!
With all the judging, private coaching and training for Winter Cup coming up in a few weeks, my life has recently been all about gymnastics. Whenever this happens, I sometimes get a bit flustered, but surprisingly I’m still feeling pretty fresh! I think having the few days off for New Years and allowing my mind and body to recharge really did me some good!
Over the weekend, I went out to judge another local junior meet. As always it was awesome to see how much the boys have improved since the previous season. Really shows how hard they’ve worked over the summer! Although I won’t be able to judge as much this season because it’ll be a busy year, I’m looking forward to seeing them at a few more meets.
Judging Horse!
As for my own training, things have been progressing well. I’ve been focusing on putting in the numbers and going through the grind in order to peak at the Winter Cup Challenge in a couple of weeks. I also leave for another National Team Camp in Colorado next week. Things are slowly coming along. Not perfect yet but check out my ring routine from a couple of weeks ago!
Thanks for checking in!
Great Year – Ready for 2012!
Wow, I can’t believe that this year is nearly over! I know that in some places, they’ve already welcomed the new year but we have a little more of 2011 left in California.
I wanted to say a how grateful I am for all of the support I’ve received in 2011. It was a year of many ups and downs but I’m lucky that I had so many great people around me. Next year is an important year with the Olympics but I’m planning on taking it day by day. Here’s to a very healthy and happy 2012 to everyone! Thanks for the continued support!
Season Begins
Can’t believe the judging season has already started back up again. I know I won’t be judging quite as much because this will be a busy and important year but I’ll try and get some meets in if my schedule allows me to do so. A couple of weeks ago, I went off to Petaluma to judge the season opener. Hard to believe I used to compete at this same meet! Man, time flies!
Season Opener!
One of the coolest surprises of the meet was that one of the kids had a “Sho” patch on his gym bag. Thanks for the support little man!!!
It's a "Sho" patch! Thanks for the support!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hope everyone is enjoying some time with family and friends!
Merry Xmas everyone!
I went back home and took a couple of days to recharge. Definitely needed this. Got lots of good food in me so I should be good to go. Super happy that NBA is back on too!
Great food the last couple of days. It's just what I needed :)
