Mt. Sac

So i didnt run as well as id hoped. I stopped the clock at 14.23. I felt good and my warm up left me feeling as if id run great but it wasnt to be. I was set to run the the 1st heat, which was the olympic developmental heat. I was in lane 3 and there was a left leg lead-leg hurdler in lane two, we bumped arms going over hurdle 1 and again over hurdle 2. he was disrupted and pulled up and so did i. i knocked the 4th hurdle down so i wouldnt crash into it while slowing down and it popped up and struck me in the right knee. i got a big scartch on my knee now but its nothing that will hinder my performance in the future. i was allowed to run in the second heat so i was still able to get a full race in which im thankful for.

so anyway, i ran 14.23. its my fastest opener though it should have been faster. i got out too strong and ran up on the first hurdle too much which caused me to clear it higher and completely threw off my rythm. over hurdle 7 i was way out of the race and put it into cruise mode and decided to jog through the line.

although this is embarassing i will still post the video for all my 15 fans to see.

i could have been upset, but in all honesty im not. this was my first race since Pan Ams back in July (9 months) and i still ran a PR for my first meet.

I will not be running at Penn relays becasue the field is filled with guys that have already dropped times this season. its not a big deal though because this allowed me to train again. had i gone to Penns i would have arrived in Boston on Tuesday, trained for the day and then headed to Philly on Wednesday. Instead i got to train the entire week and will be running in Rhode Island on sunday.

The race should go much better and ill be sure to update the blog afterwards.

here is the video, i am the one closest to the screen.

season starts

I did not get a chance to run at A&T. I had a minor injury, my left shin was bothering me a lot so coach decided we would take two weeks off from running hard on it. In those two weeks i saw a great physio and did lots of lifting. I thought taking 2 weeks off from running was a bit extreme, but coach didnt want to risk a stress fracture.

So that's why I was not able to run. But now I'm good and I'm ready to start my season at Mt. Sac this weekend. I fly out Wednesday and I run on Sunday. I feel pretty confident so I plan on running my fastest opener by far. That's not saying much seeing as my fastest opener is only 14.3 haha but I plan on running a good half a second faster than that.

After Mt. Sac i have Penn Relays. And then 2 meets in Puerto Rico in mid May. My goal is to run the 13.55 A standard by May and even though i havent competed yet, i feel im on pace to do that.

My technique feels better than ever and im am without a doubt carrying more speed over the hurdles(most important part of hurdling) but my turnover is not as good as its been in the past. The season is just starting and i have a long summer, so im sure my turnover will come as the season progresses.

Ill update this with the results on Sunday or Monday after i run.

Ready to start competing

Ok i can finally update this thing.

So training has been going great. Ive felt really good at practice except for the last 2 days at tha track. Ive had a pretty serious shin splint on my left leg (trail leg) and it stems from bad form. Coach decided that we would use this week as a de-loading week and give my body some rest.

I will be opening up at NC A&T on April 5Th and i feel ready to go. I feel as if i am already better than i was last year. I am very confident about this season. I am finally hurdling correctly.

the biggest focus we've had this year is running off the hurdle. In the past i was simply clearing the hurdles but i was not running off of them. therefore i was having to re-accelerate after every hurdle.

Am am now focusing on getting tall once i have landed and making sure my hips dont drop. you need to have a very active landing.

its a bit complicated if you dont know the event but its a HUGE flaw in my running. and i feel it is going to contribute a whole lot to my times this year.

I have also been focusing on alot of other things but for the most part this is my biggest flaw.

I am surprised i have ran so well in the past seeing as i was on my own for the most part. it is such a big difference when you have someone out there everyday. You need the immediate feedback in order to get better. in the past i was recording my practices and then reviewing them later that night, but by the time i had done that i had already ingrained the bad technique for that entire practice.

i think the biggest factor in succeeding in this sport is finding a good coach and im lucky to have found one. everyday i am learning something new at practice and im sure it will show this season.

ill update this again after my first meet and continue to update it as the season progresses.

2008

Hello to the 15 people that have read my blog. haha.

ALOT has changed for me since my alst update. So lets go down the list of what is happening in my life.

1) I graduated college on December 14th, 2007. Definitely the happiest moment of my life. HS graduated was nothing special but damn i was happy to be done with college. After 5 1/2 long years i did it :D it was free so i cant complain.

2) I moved to Boston, MA.
So i live in Boston MA now. Its a crazy story how it happened but its working out. I am a Mechanical Design Detailer at a company called TK Engineering. The company designs and details Jet Engines for GE.

So far i like Boston. Its not 70 degrees like im used to but its not bad.

3) I found a coach.
I honestly think everything happens for a reason. And how lucky did i get to have found a coach when i moved up here to Boston. His name is Carl Valle and he knows his shit. So for the first time i have a coach. Its just me him and another kid everyday so i am getting lots of attention and we are fixing alot of the mistakes that i developed over the years.

The plan was to train with Steve McGill in Raleigh but of course that was not possible. I pretty much had to move to Boston because i had a pretty nice job offer and could not afford to sit in NC and wait and hope for something better to come along. It sucks i was not able to train with him, because i had honestly been looking foward to it for so long. He is a very much under-rated coach and i was hoping we could do big things together.

but it all happens for a reason and im sure this was no different.

So Boston has been treating me well, work is great, and im training again.

Life is pretty good right now and hopefully will continue to get better.

Not sure how often ill get to post on here but ill try to keep it pretty regular for my 15 fans! :)

-Cotto