ok so things didnt go as well as id hoped. i finished dead last in 14.09. my reaction was by far the worst in the field at .260 quite possibly the worst reaction ever by a hurdler. the rain didnt bother met at all so i really have no excuses. i felt GREAT (caps for emphasis) before the race. i was excited to run and felt very confident that id run fast.

in the blocks i told my self to listen for the gun. all i heard was the crowd though. they held us in the ready position forever but once we were in set the gun was fast. i did not react to the gun instead i reacted to dayron robles in lane 6 next to me. his reaction was .102 faster than mine. i actually saw his first foot plant before i even reacted.

im really upset because i feel like i did not run the fastest i could have ran this year. its a really bad feeling to know you should be running 13.4/5 but not being able to put everything together for the races.

im greatful for the experience and the opportunities though. i was given plenty of chances to prove myself and i just didnt do it.

so thats it for this year. now i head back to PR and then back to NC on the 1st. im not sure if ill continue to run next year because quite honestly its not a very profitable. if puerto rico decides to put me on the payroll then ill be at this full time starting in september. but if not then ill more than likey just work a regular 9-5 in janurary when i get my degree in mechanical design :)

i really hope to be able to go at this track thing hardcore next year for the olympics. ive already made the B standard for the olympics but we will see what happens.

only time will tell. any questions or comments feel free to email me. ill put the race up as soon as someone posts it to youtube.

here is the difference between where i am and where i wanna be


sad :(

-Cotto

Pan Ams

Today were the prelims at the pan am games. i was in heat 3 of 3 and i ran out of lane 3. I knew going into the race that it should be the easiest heat to qualify from and it was. Last night i figured id have to beat either Maurice Wignall or Yoel Hernandez to get an entry to the finals. Wignall did not show up so i pretty much knew i had an easy run to the finals. i got out bad, floated every hurdle BUT ran across the line hard to finish second and make the finals in 13.92 hernandez took the easy win with 13.91.

it was an extremly slow race but no complaining from me seeing as i go to the finals.

tomorrow i run at 4:20pm local and i am in lane 7. Dayron Robles (13.00) is in lane 6. My goal is to keep as close to him as possible and set a personal record and new Puerto Rican national record. I still have World Championships on my mind so lets see what happens.

Im pretty confident i can do it so tomorrow i should be updating the blog with great news :D

im out..

-Cotto

Update

Ok i havent updated this thing in a while so here is what ive been up to.

Ive been in Puerto Rico since June 14th. been staying in a place called Albergue. The second week here i had a meet in Jamaica. Jamaican nationals. I finished 3rd with a time of 14.20. I was pretty disappointed of course but its all good. i ran in lane 7 had a guy who ran 15+ in lane 6 and i thought i was in the lead until midway thru the race when i realized i was screwed..

So my second meet was in Carolina, Puerto Rico. i finished 2nd in 13.82. I was leading the race until hurdle 8 when my form broke down.

My 3rd race was in vega Baja, Puerto Rico. it was extremely bootleg but i guess it was a good practice. when we arrived to the track there was absolutely no one there. they set up 2 lanes of hurdles for me and the other hurdler from Puerto Rico Enrique llanos. then at the last minute they set up a 3rd lane of hurdles for another hurdler. the 3rd guy was in 2 Enrique was in 4 and I was in 6. i ran a 13.74 wind aided time for second.

i am now in El Salvador now for the NACAC open meet. i run saturday morning and then afternoon for the finals. After this we go to Brazil for the Pan American games. And hopefully by then i will have ran the qualifying mark for World Champs of 13.55. That is the ultimate goal for this year so we'll see what happens.

But ive had a pretty good time in Puerto Rico so far. still some headaches as usual but its all good. Im glad to be competing on a consistent basis, and i feel as im still on target for my goals this year.


Ill try to update this blog after my race this saturday with the results and hopefully some footage.