The Pacific Coast

Its staggering when you look at it really.  3,173 miles in total according to google maps, and thats pretty close to the actual distance we covered (though I don't know exaclty what the real distance was...)
Day 1: A to B: East Stroudsburg PA to Toledo, OH.  About 488 miles, 9 hours including stops.
Day 2: B to C: Toledo, OH to Sioux Falls, SD. About 817 miles, somewhere between 14-15 hours including stops.
Day 3: C-D-E: Sioux Falls, SD to Mt. Rushmore to Greybull, WY. About 703 miles, another 14-15 hour day including our 2 hour stop at Mt Rushmore and others.
Day 4: E-F-G: Sioux Falls, SD to Yellowstone to Livingston, MT.  About 279 miles, about 12 hours, but we spent a lot of time in Yellowstone.
Day 5: Livingston, MT to Portland, OR.  About 775 miles, another 12-13 hour day with stops.
Day 6: Portland, OR to Eugene, OR.  About 111 miles, 2.5 hours with traffic.

So today, we woke up in Portland.  Before picking up the rental car, we stopped by Mac Wilkins'  Throwing Center near Condordia University in Portland.  Steve Prefontaine is the big star attraction for Eugene, Oregon and Oregon University - but like my good friend Paul, I say, "Screw Pre, Go MAC!"  Anyway, it turns out that Mac was actually at the throws center coaching a few of his athletes.  He was very welcoming to me and coach.  He could have told us to leave because he was coaching, or we needed university clearance or whatever, but instead he came up to us, introduced himself, and said "So this is my throws center!"  He even showed us around a little bit while his throwers were taking a break.  The amenities of his center include:
*4 Discus practice circles
*3 Shot put circles
*2 IAAF certified Hammer/discus circles
*2 more concrete slabs for drilling
*An all weather jav runway
*A massive overhang building that houses 3 hammer/disc circles, a shot put circle, and a javelin runway so you can throw while its raining.
Some pictures:



He also told us he plans to put in a full sized track and weight room on the grounds eventually.  It really will be pretty incredible when it's completely finished. 

When I asked Mac if I could take some throws, he said "Yes, please do.  This place is designed to be a resource for throwers, and I want it to be used."  At this point, I actually hadn't had breakfast, so I let Mac know that we were going to go eat, get the rental car, and come back.  I brought my own hammer with me, so he said it wouldn't be a problem.  So I hopped in the circle and got a quick throwing session in.

As you can see, 5 straight days in a car with a diet consisting mostly of fast/restaurant food is a good way to get slow and out of shape.  Who cares though?!  I've now thrown on the west coast, AND at the Concordia Throws Center nonetheless!

After the quick session, I jumped in Coach's car while he got in the rental, and we drove down to our final destination, a motel right outside of Eugene.  As I said up top it took a while because of traffic getting out of Portland.  Ah, to be back in a populated area where there actually is traffic...the highways are just like back in New Jersey, except out here you're close to the Pacific ocean, not the Atlantic.
We went out to dinner with my buddy Barry Krammes and Coach Curcio from Lafayette College, who is his main coach these days.  Barry will be throwing the javelin on friday and will by trying to get a spot on the 2011 USA National Team, either for the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea and/or for the 2011 PanAm Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.  He has been training his butt off since graduating ESU, and has been making great strides these past few years.  If you want to read about his training, or get coaching from him (this guy is a fantastic coach and taught me everything I know about the javelin) then visit his web site (which is what his name is linked too.)  He is a real class act and I'll be cheering for him friday.
 

So here we are in a motel, just outside of Eugene, Oregon to see the 2011 USA National Track and Field Championships!!!!!  Tomorrow the champs begin with the Men's Hammer Throw!  Kibwe Johnson will be throwing, which everyone is excited to see since he has the farthest throw by an American in over 11 years.  I'll also be cheering for Matt DiBuono, a throwing buddy of mine who I have trained/competed with before.  He has been throwing really well lately and will hopefully finish in the top 8.  Full reports come tomorrow.

Things I didn't know/had never done before:

While Barry is a better javelin thrower and a higher level athlete than I can ever hope to be, I whoop his ass when it comes to impressions of Harry Caray.