So ive been at the village for a couple days and ive been having a pretty good time.
the flight took forever, 13hrs from Newark, NJ. i was a walking zombie, on auto-pilot the first day we arrived. since then ive been pretty good. ive been waking up pretty early and going to bed around 11-12.
there are 22 total Puerto Rican athletes here. 5 on the track team. my teammates are David Freeman (1500m) Felix Martinez (400m) Javier Culson (400h) and Carol Rodriguez (1,2,400ms)
we have a scheduled visit to the great wall of china on sunday so that should be pretty nice. so far we havent done too much site seeing other than the city itself. we (david, felix, and I) visited a local shopping area 2 days in a row and it was pretty crazy. there is an electronics store on every corner!! i am by far the tallest person walking the streets of china haha. all the locals look at us as if we were aliens! not the out of the country kind but the out of this world kind.
they are all pretty cool though, they all want to take pictures and get our autographs ofcourse so thats cool.
the weather conditions here ARE just as bad as they claimed. the sky is always cloudy and there is always smog. this morning for the first time i saw blue sky. the clouds were broken up a little around 630am after a full night of rain.
I have been taking lots of pictures and recording lots of video here. i have 740+ pictures left on my digital camera and i expect to use all of them before i leave.
i will try to upload some pictures if i get a chance, and ill try to upload competition footage later in the month, when the games start!
thats all for now. China is pretty awesome and im having a good time. ill update the blog a little later in the week, hopefully with some nice pictures as well.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Going to the Olympics!!
Quick update.
I qualified for the olympics. here is a quick update on my last couple meets.
Vancouver- 14.33 (2nd) i smashed 3 hurdles with my lead leg back to back and well, i ran slow
Ottawa- 13.64 ran a new PR against NO competition. 2nd place was 14.4x by a highschool kid over the 39"
CAC Games Colombia- Prelims 13.61- my best race of the year minus my smacking a hurdle with my lead leg. This would have been my A qualifier had i not ran into that hurdle.
Finals- 13.55w finished 3rd and ran the A standard finally even though the wind was a little over the limit.
USATF Club Nationals- Prelims 14.08 -1.2w ran pretty bad and it showed..
Finals- 13.85 -2.5w. ran a decent race but i hit hurdles 5 and 6 and almost got caught. i finished first but the time was not very good.
i am done with races until the olympics but so far everything has gone as planned this year. i am on the EXACT pace coach planned at the beginning of the season. If things go as planned i should set a pretty nice PR before the summer is out.
so im off to the olympics :)
its been a rough and bumpy ride but despite everything i have arrived and im happy.
This is just the beginning though. I will run my first indoor race since 2005 in 2009 and that should be something nice to look forward too.
so next year i will be full time and an offical Professional Athlete. training should go alot easier and my times should drop pretty quickly.
i have alot of people to thank for getting me here.
firstly GOD. I have prayed for the opportunity for many years and he has provided me it. i am very thankful for my blessings and i plan to take full advantage of the gifts that God has given me.
Mom- she has always supported me no matter what. half the time she didnt know what event i ran but she always told me i was gonna make it. over the years things like that sink in, and im 100% positive that had i not had her encouragement and positive words over the years, i would have never continued to pursue my passion in track and field.
Flash- my first track and field coach and the guy who introduced me to the hurdles. thanks alot coach, i would have never known i had this talent had you not inspired me at an early age.
Coach Good- Coach Good was my high school track coach when i moved to NC. he was so enthusiastic about the sport and went out of his way to make sure i ran. when i arrived the school didnt have a indoor track program. I asked coach to take me to a couple meets though and he happily did so. that year i finished 2nd at states indoor and ran 7.46. that run was the ONLY reason i was able to compete at ECU on an athletic scholarship, and its crazy to think that had coach never went out of his way to help me out i would have never got the opportunity to run in college and would without a doubt not be running today. Thanks Coach!
Coach Carson- Bill Carson was my head coach at ECU. he didnt coacht me in the hurdles but he did a wonderful job at coaching me as a 400 runner. i always compain that had i gone to a powerhouse hurdle school like SC or tennessee, id be so much further in my career. the fact is though, that i didnt and Carson took a HUGE chance at bringing me on the team after a year and a half of not training for track and field. so for that i have to be thankful, he took a chance on me and i am eternaly greatful.
Coach McGill- Coach Steve McGill runs the wonderful hurdlesfirst website and many people dont know but he has helped me very much over the years. Last year when i was training on my own in Greenville, NC Coach supervised my workouts through emails and watching videos of my practice sessions. He reminded me of Coach Flash in that he really saw something in me and thought i could be an incredible hurdler one day. Hes a great coach and i have to thank him for inspiring me to keep at it last year when i was getting $0 funding from Puerto Rico and wanted on many occassions to give up on track.
Coach Valle- Carl Valle is my current coach. its weird how we met but i believe everything happens for a reason and im greatful to have found such a wonderful coach as Carl. He knows more about track than anyone ive ever met and is guiding me in every aspect of my life, not just athletics. we have big dreams for the future, and im sure we will accomplish much together. After 2 years of not improving, i PRed 3 times in less than 7 months with Carl. We have lots more to come though so stay tuned.
Obviously i have to thank all of my family and friends because they've all supported me and pushed me to be where i am today.
Im sure there are people ive forgotten to mention but in an effort to not make this post even LONGER i had to speak on those whom have had the biggest impact.
so thanks to everyone who ever believe and supported me!
i hope to make everyone proud at the olympics!
I qualified for the olympics. here is a quick update on my last couple meets.
Vancouver- 14.33 (2nd) i smashed 3 hurdles with my lead leg back to back and well, i ran slow
Ottawa- 13.64 ran a new PR against NO competition. 2nd place was 14.4x by a highschool kid over the 39"
CAC Games Colombia- Prelims 13.61- my best race of the year minus my smacking a hurdle with my lead leg. This would have been my A qualifier had i not ran into that hurdle.
Finals- 13.55w finished 3rd and ran the A standard finally even though the wind was a little over the limit.
USATF Club Nationals- Prelims 14.08 -1.2w ran pretty bad and it showed..
Finals- 13.85 -2.5w. ran a decent race but i hit hurdles 5 and 6 and almost got caught. i finished first but the time was not very good.
i am done with races until the olympics but so far everything has gone as planned this year. i am on the EXACT pace coach planned at the beginning of the season. If things go as planned i should set a pretty nice PR before the summer is out.
so im off to the olympics :)
its been a rough and bumpy ride but despite everything i have arrived and im happy.
This is just the beginning though. I will run my first indoor race since 2005 in 2009 and that should be something nice to look forward too.
so next year i will be full time and an offical Professional Athlete. training should go alot easier and my times should drop pretty quickly.
i have alot of people to thank for getting me here.
firstly GOD. I have prayed for the opportunity for many years and he has provided me it. i am very thankful for my blessings and i plan to take full advantage of the gifts that God has given me.
Mom- she has always supported me no matter what. half the time she didnt know what event i ran but she always told me i was gonna make it. over the years things like that sink in, and im 100% positive that had i not had her encouragement and positive words over the years, i would have never continued to pursue my passion in track and field.
Flash- my first track and field coach and the guy who introduced me to the hurdles. thanks alot coach, i would have never known i had this talent had you not inspired me at an early age.
Coach Good- Coach Good was my high school track coach when i moved to NC. he was so enthusiastic about the sport and went out of his way to make sure i ran. when i arrived the school didnt have a indoor track program. I asked coach to take me to a couple meets though and he happily did so. that year i finished 2nd at states indoor and ran 7.46. that run was the ONLY reason i was able to compete at ECU on an athletic scholarship, and its crazy to think that had coach never went out of his way to help me out i would have never got the opportunity to run in college and would without a doubt not be running today. Thanks Coach!
Coach Carson- Bill Carson was my head coach at ECU. he didnt coacht me in the hurdles but he did a wonderful job at coaching me as a 400 runner. i always compain that had i gone to a powerhouse hurdle school like SC or tennessee, id be so much further in my career. the fact is though, that i didnt and Carson took a HUGE chance at bringing me on the team after a year and a half of not training for track and field. so for that i have to be thankful, he took a chance on me and i am eternaly greatful.
Coach McGill- Coach Steve McGill runs the wonderful hurdlesfirst website and many people dont know but he has helped me very much over the years. Last year when i was training on my own in Greenville, NC Coach supervised my workouts through emails and watching videos of my practice sessions. He reminded me of Coach Flash in that he really saw something in me and thought i could be an incredible hurdler one day. Hes a great coach and i have to thank him for inspiring me to keep at it last year when i was getting $0 funding from Puerto Rico and wanted on many occassions to give up on track.
Coach Valle- Carl Valle is my current coach. its weird how we met but i believe everything happens for a reason and im greatful to have found such a wonderful coach as Carl. He knows more about track than anyone ive ever met and is guiding me in every aspect of my life, not just athletics. we have big dreams for the future, and im sure we will accomplish much together. After 2 years of not improving, i PRed 3 times in less than 7 months with Carl. We have lots more to come though so stay tuned.
Obviously i have to thank all of my family and friends because they've all supported me and pushed me to be where i am today.
Im sure there are people ive forgotten to mention but in an effort to not make this post even LONGER i had to speak on those whom have had the biggest impact.
so thanks to everyone who ever believe and supported me!
i hope to make everyone proud at the olympics!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
NYC
Time for an update.
So my second meet of the year was at the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island. I won with a 14.31 and i was pretty pissed of course. it was 50 degrees outside and drizzling so ofcourse i was mad about that as well.
My third race cam last night at the New Balance NYC meet in Ichan Stadium. In my prelim race i ran a horrendus 14.93. I smashed hurdles with my lead leg (like ive been doing all year) and i was forced to literaly "jump" a couple hurdles.
Even still i finished 9th and though id mad the finals. that wasnt to be the case though because they decided to only bring 8 back to the finals (even though they were running 2 heat finals in every other event). so i spoke with the meet director and she allowed me to run in the final. i am very thankful for that because there was no way i could go home with a 14.93.
so i had lane 1 in the finals and ran a clean 13.83. i was sitting in about 3rd place until the last 2 hurdles when i really made a surge for the line. as usual i had a mediocre start and had to get back in to the race towards the end.
I sprinted thru the line, dipped, but finished second to the winner who ran 13.82.
so 13.83 is nothing special but at least i had a clean race and sprinted through the line. i still have tons to work on, mainly my start, so im feeling pretty confident about the season.
my next 2 meets are in Puerto Rico. i have a Grand Prix meet (the 2nd anual) in Ponce on the 17th and then our national meet the following week.
I am looking to hit the A standard (13.55) by the end of the month, so hopefully i put some nice races together down there. the weather should be beautiful as always, and the track is fast so there should be no excuses.
We are going to start doing somre serious speed work pretty soon so i should see a nice drop in my times soon.
many of you (15 fans) might not know this but im not really in "May" shape because, like last year, i started training seriously in January and so had to do alot of base and conditioning work in the months that i should been doing transition and race-prep work.
so for those wondering why im running 14.3 and 14.9 in May thats why. its because im still playing catch up.
the meet yesterday in NYC was really a spur of the moment meet that i wasnt sure if i was gonna run at and i have to thank the guys from the Greater Boston Track Club for submitting my entry and also providing transportation to and from the meet. They are some nice guys who really love the sport and even though many arent aiming to run at the Olympics or any big meets like i am they still go out there and train their asses off for the love of the sport. very nice to see no in day, especially with all the scandals the sport has seen over the past few years.
but anyways, thats all for now.
Ill try to update this again after the grand prix meet this saturday with the results and hopefully some video.
So my second meet of the year was at the Brown Invitational in Rhode Island. I won with a 14.31 and i was pretty pissed of course. it was 50 degrees outside and drizzling so ofcourse i was mad about that as well.
My third race cam last night at the New Balance NYC meet in Ichan Stadium. In my prelim race i ran a horrendus 14.93. I smashed hurdles with my lead leg (like ive been doing all year) and i was forced to literaly "jump" a couple hurdles.
Even still i finished 9th and though id mad the finals. that wasnt to be the case though because they decided to only bring 8 back to the finals (even though they were running 2 heat finals in every other event). so i spoke with the meet director and she allowed me to run in the final. i am very thankful for that because there was no way i could go home with a 14.93.
so i had lane 1 in the finals and ran a clean 13.83. i was sitting in about 3rd place until the last 2 hurdles when i really made a surge for the line. as usual i had a mediocre start and had to get back in to the race towards the end.
I sprinted thru the line, dipped, but finished second to the winner who ran 13.82.
so 13.83 is nothing special but at least i had a clean race and sprinted through the line. i still have tons to work on, mainly my start, so im feeling pretty confident about the season.
my next 2 meets are in Puerto Rico. i have a Grand Prix meet (the 2nd anual) in Ponce on the 17th and then our national meet the following week.
I am looking to hit the A standard (13.55) by the end of the month, so hopefully i put some nice races together down there. the weather should be beautiful as always, and the track is fast so there should be no excuses.
We are going to start doing somre serious speed work pretty soon so i should see a nice drop in my times soon.
many of you (15 fans) might not know this but im not really in "May" shape because, like last year, i started training seriously in January and so had to do alot of base and conditioning work in the months that i should been doing transition and race-prep work.
so for those wondering why im running 14.3 and 14.9 in May thats why. its because im still playing catch up.
the meet yesterday in NYC was really a spur of the moment meet that i wasnt sure if i was gonna run at and i have to thank the guys from the Greater Boston Track Club for submitting my entry and also providing transportation to and from the meet. They are some nice guys who really love the sport and even though many arent aiming to run at the Olympics or any big meets like i am they still go out there and train their asses off for the love of the sport. very nice to see no in day, especially with all the scandals the sport has seen over the past few years.
but anyways, thats all for now.
Ill try to update this again after the grand prix meet this saturday with the results and hopefully some video.
Friday, April 25, 2008
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.
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.
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