Finding an Apartment and First Week

So, once I was settled into our first motel room, I immediately scoured all of the local resources to find a small apartment that would enable me to house little muttley Anton. I also called my friend Dylan's mother and discussed meeting with her on Monday and seeing if she may also assist in the endeavor.

Monday morning I headed to the indoor track and met with Dylan's mom, paid my track club fees and gained knowledge of housing in the area. First off, the indoor track facility is unreal. The track area itself may not be as nice as Penn States but I can still throw an outdoor shot indoors and the seating is much larger. The entire facility is quite impressive. There is an Olympic sized pool along with a recreational pool, a diving well, showers and locker rooms, basketball, badminton courts and an enormous gymnastics setup. It is very similar to the facility found in Prince Georges County in Maryland. There is also a very nice outdoor facility with a cool throwing area and brand new track and turf field. Inside there is also a classic track and field weight room.

Although I was quite impressed by the layout of the facility, I was still stressing over finding a residency. After making nearly 60 phone calls, I discussed options with Chris and decided I would find a hotel to rent for a week and hope that eventually we could find a place to stay.

The following Tuesday was my first day of training. I was extremely nervous. I was in an entirely new setting, with a coach who barely spoke any English and another shot putter from the US who at this moment is significantly better than I am. So, needless to say I felt a lot of pressure to show somewhat of a glimmer as for the reason I came to Kamloops from PA. My first throwing session was mediocre at best, somewhat embarrassing. I threw the 18 pound shot the entire time and was doing drills I had never really done before. Eventually, I made it through the workout and headed back to the hotel, to find Chris laid out in his bed as he would be for much of the remainder of the week, recovering from our travel and really just being a giant turd.

As for the apartments, I had no luck on Tuesday. Wednesday I went to practice and threw a bit better and was sore from the two practices the previous day. I also finally found two apartments and once I viewed the apartment that was cheaper, I decided to take it. My move in date would be the ensuing Sunday. At least that was settled. Now it was time for me to eat and recover from the two practices each day.

The training is a lot different from what I was used to in the states. It entailed (and my program has not changed yet) me taking about 4 standing throws to loosen up and then taking about 3 South Africans, 3 3/4 throws and then a handful of fulls. There was no dynamic warm up, no stretching and no half throws. My coach believes these things are all a waste of time and what better way to warm up than to actually warm up the muscles you are using to throw by actually throwing. My stance is also taller and more narrow in the back which I find to be very comfortable and he does not worry about moving the right foot, instead he wants the right foot to move because of the body. My throwing has improved a decent amount so far. We throw everyday, and take about 20-25 fulls and we throw the 18 from a full. Our training is set up as twice a day at 9 AM and then again at 3 PM...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Thursdays and Sundays are off. I really like this split. We lift after we throw in the morning and the lift is light and fast and it is done everyday as well. In the afternoon I do straight up shot put throws for 60 reps to my right side with a 4k and then do 5 x 6 explosive push ups. In about 4 weeks I will move into side dumbbell throws with a 35 pound DB from a three step approach.

Back to the hotel. The hotel was a crap hole and my life there consisted of me dropping off Chris at the library, going to train, picking up Chris and discussing how expensive everything was and then coming back and eating, sleeping, walking Anton and watching the Phillies lose. Chris' life was much similar but more focused around laying in bed, writing in his journal and masturbating in the shower. As shitty as the place was, Chris and I made the best of it and it was easy to handle with his presence.

He and I went out on Wednesday evening to check out the town. The entire town was dead, no where close to what State College would be like. It was even more dead than Leesport on a Wednesday. We ended up walking around town and actually ran into my training partner at a bar where I will be working. We then headed to this "dance club" and really experienced a god awful place. It was a combination of the Silo in Reading and the Fairview in Leesport, but filled with legal 19 year old patrons. I do not mind the younger drinking age but it is quite strange seeing such young people out in the nightlife. Chris and I just wondered around, bored and decided to speak with a homeless man who I found out was an angel in the outfield...he almost cried when I told him that. Off we went after that for a midnight snack where Chris, once again, picked the shittiest possible food for us.

The rest of the week was quite uneventful. Training was going well. Chris and I built a glove for me to throw with, the Phillies sucked balls and the Sens were off to an undefeated start. Otherwise, there was not much going on before Chris and I were headed back to the border to drop him off for his trip.