Allen,

You hurt me. You glibly hide behind euphemisms on matters which have already
received closure. To indirectly insinuate I fit into the group with a "Silver
Spoon" hurts. I'm sure you'll do your best to imply that wasn't your intention
but I know you. I've sacrificed as much as you have but in a different way.
I've learned over the past few days how those sacrifices must be adjusted in
order to make an Olympic bid. People told me this would get ugly but a piece of
me still thinks it was the right thing to do. A lot of helpful insight and
beautiful things occurred. Nevertheless, my sincerest apologies for taking the
spotlight off of the superb accomplishments of yesterday and to those who
perceived this to be just another round of the "same old, same old." Moving
forward I promise to direct my thoughts and ideas through a more private
channel.

Mike


--- In racewalking@yahoogroups.com, "Allen James" <allen.james@...> wrote:
>
> Thank you Dave & Lauren for telling it like it is. My story mirrors Dave's to
a T. My goal after college was to find my way to Colorado Springs, one way or
another, to train with the best. That was until the program ended. For the
next five years I struggled on my own, thankful that at least we had some camps
and the Olympic Festivals to keep me motivated. Training on my own with very
little support, I made it work, even living in SoCal.
>
> Just read the Olympic Creed -
> "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take
part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the
struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
>
> Embrace the struggle! Only then can you be victorious.
> I moved my wife and then one daughter to LaGrange in February of 1993. There
were no walkers, no promised job and no savings. I was down to my last rent
check and still no job. In June, I finally started working and was able to pay
the rent. You want life on the edge, you got it. Many of the other walkers
started to follow my lead. From Oct `93 to May of 94, I set five U.S. records.
Embrace the struggle.
>
> I've been talking to high school track teams lately regarding mental
preparation and focus. I talk about the silver spoon syndrome and how I had it
too easy as a child and that transferred into my approach toward competitions as
everything came so easy to me. Training so little and doing generally well was
the high life. At least until you run into someone who's trying a lot harder.
>
> I began to wake up when I was 22. It wasn't until I left home a year later
that I really found out. We have a young nucleus of college students that can
and need to find out what's out there. Where is that dairy farm, the next
LaGrange (Greensboro?), the cheap remote mountain valley????? Most of these
prospects will say "not for me", but maybe some of them will go for it, better
to scare them now, they just might do it! Go Lauren and the rest of the gang of
course!
> Allen
>