Leading Up to the Event
January 18, 2008 - 2:32pm
I am very excited about this opportunity to coach the US Women overseas. I have developed a strong working relationship with many of the athletes on the trip and look forward to working with this group. I went to Russia in December, 2003 and it was one of my most enjoyable experiences in the sport of wrestling. The Russian people love their wrestlers and accept American wrestlers like their own. They are very educated wrestling fans and know more about our wrestling heroes than American fans do! I also loved being in Russia. It is a very interesting place to be and far from the United States in many aspects. Obviously, the two biggest problems for me on this trip are being away from my wife Liz for so long and, this time, missing the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. It pains me to write that as I am in the air over the North Atlantic, the Packers will be playing the Giants for a spot in the Super Bowl. On top of this, my brother Tony has tickets for the game and will be there cheering on the Green and Gold (and #4)!
January 19, 2008 - 7:50pm
Well, we're only one day out and I have everything prepared. I am packed and have all my necessary items ready (passport, computer, iPod, etc.). I get very anxious when I'm this close to a trip, but I begin to miss Liz and home before I even leave. Today it was very cold in Wisconsin (-14 degrees at 8:00am), so I'm mentally prepared for Siberia. The temperature the past few days has been 0 - 20 below! Today was a very good day for women's wrestling in the United States. The US women earned their way to the championship final at the World Cup. They will wrestle host country China for the Gold Medal. Earlier in the day they defeated a tough Ukraine team and then knocked off top-seeded Japan in a historic competition. American Marcie Van Dusen defeated Saori Yoshida at 55 kg. Yoshida had a 119 match winning streak. Her last loss was in 2001 at the Japanese University Games. She had a 114 match winning streak before that. Yoshida is a 6-time world champion and Olympic Champion. Marcie's win and the team's success has created a buzz around the world for USA Wrestling and we are excited for the chance to carry the momentum to Krasnoyarsk!
January 21, 2008 - 9:36pm
We made it to Moscow. The full day of travel did not allow me update the blog, but it was a very nice and successful trip. Our first flight from Minneapolis left Sunday morning at 10:30. We (Alaina and I) met the rest of the team in Chicago and traveled to Munich, Germany with Lufthansa. I was very impressed with Lufthansa. The flight was just under 8 hours. I had an isle seat, so I had plenty of comfort. The worst part of the flight was finding out that the Packers had lost. I was all over the flight attendants to give me updates. I was crushed when one of them handed me the final score on a printed telegram that the captain had received. From Munich, we flew directly to Moscow. It was a quick 4-hour flight because I slept the entire time. To my surprise, all of our luggage arrived...on time! I tried to be proactive and bring all of my luggage on board with me, but as I was getting on the Chicago-Munich flight a nice blonde German lady took my bag and "checked" it. I was sure I was never going to see it again, but I did. I have not had the best of luck traveling in Eastern Europe. Last time I arrived in Moscow my luggage arrived 3 days later. In Azerbaijan last September, I got my luggage the day before we left.
Once we got in to Moscow we drove to the hotel and got a workout in. Some of the girls needed to get some weight off, so they were on their own. I did a Kettlebell workout and a BodyBar workout followed by a very nice (Russian) sauna. When I got back to the hotel I ate some food at the hotel restaurant. I had my favorite--Solyanka. It is a beef broth with meat, vegetables and pickles topped with sour cream. It is delicious. I am sure I will eat solyanka at every restaurant we go to. I would like to try out the cafe next to the hotel. It is a cafe/dance club/sauna. Sounds interesting.
I am able to call back home to talk to Liz through the computer on a free program called Skype. It only costs .02 per minute, but I need a high speed internet connection to complete calls. Fortunately we have free Wi-Fi at this hotel. I also recently discovered that wearing a ring on the left ring-finger in Russia means you are divorced! I proudly wear my ring on my left hand to show the world that I am happily married, but I may need to converse with Liz over this small matter. Regardless of what this culture says, I am very happily married and intend to remain that way for the rest of my life.
Happy Birthday Mom and Happy Belated Birthday to my sister, Amy.
January 22, 2008 - 8:05am
The first night in Moscow is complete. I stayed up all day yesterday despite my desire to take a nap so I could sleep during regular sleeping hours and adjust to the time change. We are currently 9 hours ahead of Wisconsin. I did not sleep very well last night because my body wanted to be awake. Afterall, it was early in the evening in Wisconsin when I went to bed. I am usually at wrestling practice at that time, so I am most awake. I expect everything went well back home with the Youth and Middle School groups. Thank you Ryan for helping us out.
This morning we had a big breakfast. It was a typical hotel buffet, but with a Russian twist. The food tastes a little different because they prepare things differently and use different spices. Culturally, we did not fit in at breakfast. Everyone dressed up to eat. Men were in suits and women were in skirt. The other coach on the trip, Vladimir Izboinikov (a.k.a Coach Izzy), is from Moscow and he said that no one dare be seen in public in the casual attire that we were in. Sweatpants are strickly for the home. An individual would not even be seen taking out the trash in sweat pants. Our ladies were even wearing sweatpants, sans make-up. However, in a strange way, we were not out of place at all. We did not get any judgemental stares. So far, I have noticed that the Russian people keep to themselves. They do not look around at others or make eye contact with others. I am constantly looking around, scooping things out and trying to make eye contact with every individual to greet them. That is not the coustom here.
We are now preparing to leave for a wrestling workout at a local wrestling club. Wrestling is a big deal here in Moscow, so I am excited to see the facility. To get additional weight off later in the day, we will go back to the fitness center we worked out at last night. The center is called 'Marcus Aurellias' after the famous Roman general. It was a fun place to observe others because it was the hotbed for bodybuilders in this part of town. To me, it appeared as if most them reached their heights as bodybuilders in unethical and un-clean ways, if you know what I mean. I have to get a t-shirt from that place.
January 23 - January 26 will updated from the US. No internet connection was available in Krasnoyarsk.
January 27, 2008 - 2:26pm
It has been a while since I was able to update this blog. We had a great time in Krasnoyarsk and I will inport what I have written about the trip when I return to the US. I am currently in Moscow at the same hotel we stayed at on the way to Krasnoyarsk. We will be leaving here at 3:00am, so we are just killing time until we leave for the States. I am excited to return home because I miss Liz. It will not be long before I see her again, though. I am pretty patient.
We arrived in Moscow at 8:00am today. Our flight from Krasnoyarsk was very early in the morning. We had a fun time last night hanging out together for the final night. Izzy took us to the Siberian wilderness, literally the frozen tundra. It was mountainous and very cold, but very beautiful. It was completely pitch dark in all directions, not even a hint of moonlight. It was almost eerie. The first thing we did when we got to the hotel today was leave to eat at McDonalds. The girls had been cutting weight on the way over, but are now able to eat everything in sight--especially Mary. She has a very interesting problem of eating everything in sight. While we were eating at McD's, she decided to get seconds and then, on the walk back, bought a Russian burrito/gyro-thing. Now she's working out because she has to make weight in two weeks. She wrestled up a weight class this week, mind you, and was still cutting weight. Randi was not much better. Last night all she wanted was KFC, truly authentic Russian cuisine, and today she finally was able to eat her fried chicken (after we ate at McDonalds). We also spent way too long at an interesting market/bizaar. Mary was set on purchasing a Russian fur coat, but they were well overpriced and the quality was shotty, at best. Every woman in Russia has a fur coat. They are almost a 'right of passage.' Most receive their first on their 16th birthday and special events following. In the US, we may not be welcomed back with fur since we do not know what animals they are actually from. I have heard many complain about the fur in Russia because, allegedly, they use the fur of endangered animals. Nonetheless, they are very popular here.
Soon we will be going to the Red Square. I have been there before. It is nice; not the most spectatular thing I have ever seen, but we must go if we are in Russia and have the afternoon to ourselves. I suggested we go with only one hour of sunlight left so we can see it during the daylight to take pictures and then see it at night. It is very nice in the evening as it is lit up. One end is the famous St. Basil's Cathedral and the other end is the Polit Bureau (government) along with Lenin's tomb. It is surrounded by shops and stores with all of the designer brands (Burberry, Chanel, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Versace, etc.). Right now I am afraid I may never get Mary out of the stores and back to the hotel in time to catch our flights....we'll see.