I'm so ready to be done w/ the weekend, most people love them. And I can too. But for me if I am not racing they are kinda dry. And weekdays equal training or travel and getting closer to the start line.
I have been counting down the days till my next race The Nike Prefontaine Classic on Sunday June 7th! Sheesh, hurry up and get here.
This is by far the longest I have gone between meets, since my season started. And my last one the Adidas meet on May 16 was a good two weeks ago now. I was originally scheduled to race at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 30th, but they removed the women's 100m hurdles from the line-up at the last minute.
Needless to say I was not impressed and the thought of going to Europe for a single race was not at all appealing to me. So that meant three weeks of solid training. Don't get me wrong I love to train, but I have always been the type of athlete that prefers to compete and have a meet on the horizon.
So after racing back to back weekends in April and early May this gap is feeling like an eternity.
But Monday is nearly here now and my next race will only be six measely days away.
I haven't thought much about where I was, I am much too engrossed on my 2009 season and each step ahead of me. But if you read my last post you know I had some lower limb issues over the weekend. So I went looking for my portable stim unit but couldn't find it.
I have a knack for mistreating/misplacing things I own.
During this house wide rummage I stumbled upon a thick stack of CDs, not of the Sasha Fierce variety, these contained all the images of my foot from last year. Months of CT, MRI, Xrays images of my left foot. Then, it was the most precious CD collection I owned and was so crucial to my fight to be healthy, that I always had them with me. They held the key to any progress I was making and to lose them would be to lose time. And once one of the best foot MDs in North America was happy to help me, I arrived in his presence with a hand full of visual information.
Until now I had forgot them, but now recall how unknown everything was this time last year. The fight wasn't for Beijing it was to remain world class long after the Olympics was over and others got their medals.
My foot would heal, but would it be any good? And all I wanted was a crystal ball to tell me everything would be OK and that way I could relax and do my time. But instead there was much caution and unpredictability about a hurdler landing over and over on a foot that requires eight months solid rest to heal and that would never be the same again.
So ya, I have this bump that protrudes from the top of my foot, and my big toe is now further away from my 2nd toe. But God is good to me because debilitating pain, early onset arthritis, chronic tendonitis, surgeries to fuse bones, have thus far been avoided by moi.
I am still working daily on getting that part of my body back to full function and the process will take a while but I will continue to believe that the healing will only get better and I am so grateful. See below, I had an inkling there would be life after Beijing and I can't wait to see where I am in yet another year!
First (if God said so), I'd wake up. Then I'd eat breakfast!
The whole night I could hardly sleep knowing what awaited me, I was going to make oatmeal (as I do every morning). But-- Saturday's oatmeal was going to be very very different. After years of only adding my staple flavors of Vanilla Bean or Cookies and Cream I decided to switch it up a little. And introduce my taste buds to a whole new world of flavorful fun. Enter: Peanut Butter Chocolate.
Sweet.
No really SWEET, as in Peanut butter chocolate and oatmeal should never ever merge. It could just be that I got N.P.F.H (new-protein-flavor-happy) and added too much to my bowl, but I'm thinking the intensity of it all was too much for this palate or any human palate.
Take it from me, don't try this at home.
So not the start I had imagined, but definitely the next item on the agenda would go as planned. My 2000m tempo workout on my own in a couple hours!
However sometime after shoveling too sweet, too thick oatmeal down my throat and relaxing on the coach my lower legs started to feel 'tight'. If you are a world class sprinter, you know what I mean. Right! Calf, soleus, tibialis anterior, posterior, the whole compartment just felt restricted.
See you've been there.
Anyhoo, I tried to walk it off, do some self massage, but to no avail, leg was bugging. I don't like to skip workouts, especially since today's was on the honor system. But from where I'm coming from, if I so much as feel the onset of pins and needles--Bye--I'm calling it a day!
And so I did. Instead I went to see my masseuse and iced.
The next order of business was to stretch, do my exercises, eat a light lunch and watch the Reebok meet live on NBC. (Simultaneously where applicable).
I grabbed my stretching rope, turned the TV on to catch the meet and also grabbed a bag of my sweet potato chips, just to nibble on a few before I made lunch during a commercial.
How about the next thing I knew an hour or so into the broadcast Tyson Gay had run 19.5 in the 200m and I was staring into the empty bottom of a 200g bag of chips, with stretching rope untouched beside.
What kinda Saturday is this...Clearly I have some different plans for Sunday.
Dites
Friday, May 29
I wish I had an excuse for such a ridiculous absence, but I don't. But, I'm back!
ASU Opener To update ya, I didn't compete indoors but began my indoor campaign very early. My first race was at ASU on April 10th, but it was a gong show because I got DQ'd for flinching. I was upset, because it clearly was a bad call by the official.
...And yes, Ill have some cheese w. my wine!
Kansas Relays Next up was Kansas Relays, On April 18th. I took 5th and ran a 13.38. I was proud because it would have been a high school PB! But naturally, it was very tentative and pedestrian and just part of the process of coming back.
Drake Relayss I had a better showing at Drake Relays on April 25, I placed 3rd and ran a windy 12.88. I was happy to be under 13 seconds, despite the 40 degrees F and cold rain making conditions hazardous. This race was the first one where I felt a better rhythm to my racing and knew things were rusty but on the right track.
Doha Super Grand Prix and Season's Best The sub 13 second trend continued in Doha on May 9th where I got a season's best of 12.80 and finished 5th in a very competitive field. Once again the race fitness was not there and technically things felt blah, but I competed.
The decision to race so early was not mine, my Coach and Chiro and some dear friends encouraged me to get out there early and try to establish that race rhythm sooner rather than later. I am glad I listened because it gave us a lot of feedback about where I am and what we need to be focusing on in practice. My start needs a lot of work and my first two hurdles are much too "soft". What I am doing in the middle as far as acceleration is good, yet the snappiness of my last 2 to 3 hurdles drops off a lot.
Great info to have so we can tailor my training to fixing the flaws in my race.
Adidas Track Classic My last race was the Adidas meet in Carson, CA on May 16th, which was a hard turnaround after being in the Middle East just five days before. I found my focus was the best it has been all season and I really tried to execute some of the elements we have been working on in practice. I didn't just race and abandon all, I thought the entire race. I placed 2nd behind the Olympic Champion Dawn Harper and ran 12.83, which I felt good about since it was into a moderate head wind of -1,1.
It's important to work on my race and see what works during this early part of the season, than trying to fix things later in the year when results really matter.
My next race is the Prefontaine Classic on June 7 in Eugene, I am looking forward to the high level of competition and the place that I set my 12.46 personal best.
