Since my last time out down in Puerto Rico a couple weeks ago I’ve been training hard for what is shaping up to be my season finale at the Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium on August 27th. Don’t get me wrong, if other opportunities present themselves while I’m overseas I’ll definitely consider competing at those meets too. It’d also be nice to represent the Americas at the IAAF Continental Cup the first week of September but according to the IAAF site the deadline for team selection (using the top two marks on the performance list) was July 31st, so that doesn’t seem very likely.

In any case, we spent a good amount of time in the weight room last week including a couple of days where I got to go push my max up a bit in the hang clean and hang snatch. My coach and I are fully aware that I need approach/rhythm work perhaps more than anything at this point, but we always like getting some quality time in the weight room during the summer since such lifting opportunities are few and far between when I’m overseas or away at any meet for that matter. Besides, I got some good runway work and a speed session in between the days where I was pumping iron so it’s all good. After a couple of much needed rest days thanks to last week’s volume, it was back to work on the runway yesterday; still working on strength though as  I got to bring out an old friend: my weight vest.

I’ve been trying to sharpen my Windows Movie Maker skills just for the heck of it (and because it’s fun…when it’s not frustrating) and also so I could avoid posting a whole bunch of separate videos. Check out the masterpiece I came up with. The two weight room maxes are on separate days; two days apart to be exact and for those who were wondering.

I probably shouldn’t invest in a copy of Final Cut Pro yet though huh?

But, my strength continues to improve and at this point I’ve hit the lifting goals I set out for the season. At the same time, I actually think my speed has continued to improve through this point in the season as well. That said, the only thing left to do then is end the 2010 campaign with a bang and of course there’s no mystery as to what’s held me back on the runway thus far. Fortunately for me I’ve got at least one more opportunity and Brussels is as good a place as any to get it right; especially considering the fact that the 47,000 seat stadium is sold out!

In the mean and in between I’ll keep training hard although there will be a bit of a taper in the volume and intensity as the 27th approaches. I’ve also been really appreciative of the free time I’ve had in between training sessions since it means I get to let my brain rot a bit with computer games (StarCraft II), movies, television and now Madden since it came out yesterday. I’ve been knocking some things off of my leisure reading list too though so it’s not all bad. Still, I’m ready for football season to get here like everybody else.