November Update

Things have been going pretty well. Started going over hurdles about 2 weeks ago and things picked up pretty much where they left off in August.

Right now we are trying to fix my start. We have been recording every practice and reveiwing in extra slow motion to pick up the errors in my running.

there are many errors but we are fixing them and things are coming along well.

its pretty cool to see the progress in your technique and running when you view footage from last year, last month, and today.

i wont be challenging the world indoor record anytime soon but things have definitely improved since my college indoor days.

my first meet will be on December 6th and the Reggie Lewis Center (the track i train at) and it should be fun.

ive been really eager to get back to competing cause i find that life is pretty boring when im not running.

In other news, my brother Alex recently had his first child on November 19, 2008. He and his fiance Thaymmie had a beautiful baby boy whom they named Adrian William Cotto

He was born 8.1lbs, 19.5 inches on 10:57am :) woop woop! i am an uncle for the first time! i will not be spending time with my family this thanksgiving because i dont want to interrupt training, but i will be flying down to Ft. Lauterdale for Christmas to see the new baby and spend time with my Brother his fiance, my mom (whom i havent seen in a year) and hopefully my sister if she decides to go down :)

congrats to Alex and Thaymmie for bringing a beautiful baby boy into this world.

Happy Halloween!

So its Halloween and i have no plans for the night. I love Halloween but i think im gonna take this year off. Last year i went to downtown Greenville in NC because they are always getting crazy down there, but nothing like that happens up here in the north so im just gonna sit back and relax.

Training is going well. Im in surprisingly good shape. Im starting off the season pretty strong too so im happy.

On the track ive been doing 102, 20s, and 30s with spikes and in flats. Havent touched a hurdle and i probably wont for a while.

Coach runs his fall program like no other coach i know. He likes to start off short and fast and gradually extend as the season progresses.

Its interesting and i feel good for the most part so things are going well.

Other than training i havent been doing much. Just sit around on the PC and EAT. Then run, lift weights, and come home to do the same. Its a pretty simple life but im just focused on running faster so its all good.

Ive been eating close to 4000 calories a day in an effort to weigh 195 in Jan. and its tough. The eating isnt hard, but gaining the weight is. In the first week i gained like 4 pounds but havent gained much since lol. I currently weigh 184 but i seem to have stop gaining so i guess ima have to start eating even MORE which isnt easy because my funds are limited.

Anyways so far things are looking good and i hope they continue to get better.

Back to training

I'm back in Boston (Waltham) and ive started training again.

We'll be taking it slow the next couple weeks, with running being simply strides one day off one day off and lifting (minor) everyday.

Yesterday was the first day, i did a full warm up and then ran ten 100 meter strides. I then did a core workout and called it a day.

today i didnt run but did some upper body lifts in the weight room

I weighed 178 yesterday and today the same. my goal is 195 so ill be eating 3500 cals a day for about two weeks and then jack it up to at least 4500/day

ill begin sprinting in 2 weeks (10s, 20s and 30s) and around Nov 15th will begin going over hurdles again.

So far so good, im really excited for the coming season. Im still not in my "ideal" situation but im in the best environment ive ever been in so im happy. im broke, but i have nothing to worry about except waking up and training so i should see lots of good results.

Relaxing in Florida

So i havent been up to much lately. been in Florida for 2 weeks visiting friends and family.

I stopped by my uncle Angels house as soon as i got here and he sat and told me how proud he was of me. He told me i was all over the news (spanish news) and telemundo and univision. He called some other family members over and all of a sudden there was 20 people in his living room. It was nice seeing them all and seeing how happy they were that a family member of theirs was in the Olympics.

I also drove down to Ft. Lauderdale to go to my Brothers fiances baby shower. she is 7.5 months and expects to have a baby boy in November. It was nice to see them as well. They were proud of me competing in the Olympics as well.

Before i leave i might head to Disney world and ill also be meeting a sister of mine. She is my dads daughter and ive never met her so that should be interesting. She is 20 or 21 years old i believe so i guess we have alot to catch up on.

I head back to Boston on October 1st and begin fall training on the 2nd (i believe). Im read to start training, i feel ill have an incredible indoor season and i cant wait to get that started.

My indoor season will start in December and ill get in maybe 10 races before outdoor.

Ill update this when i get back to Boston and begin training. Ill also try to update the blog more often because i finally have a computer thanks to Thaymmie (brothers fiance) who gave me her old one when they bought new Macbooks. :) thanks