As a pro track athlete in the US it is almost 3 or 4 times harder than most other sports here. We don’t get as much publicity and hype as sports such as basketball, football, or baseball so you really cannot compare even Usain Bolt (currently the most publicized T&F athlete) of our sport to a star in another “traditional American sport”. The bottom line is that Americans are not that interested in watching a 2 hour track meet on TV where people run endlessly around an oval. Most people, I would say, are ignorant of a majority of the track and field events and don’t find it all that exciting. However, as all track athletes know every 4 years the US get that Olympic fever and decide to strongly support the “long winded” sport. I suppose that some Americans get their fill of Track excitement in Olympic years and that it lasts a whopping 4 years until the next go round, but maybe there's hope!
The truth is that most people like watching track races and some specific athletes, but there just isn’t enough media on the sport for fans to stay in the fast lane. There are only a handful of meets shown on TV here in the US, and these meets you have to search for in order to find. You don’t normally see track meets like the USA Visa Campionship Series heavily advertised on sports centerfor like other sports. In fact, I can only recall one short appearance from a track highlight on the ESPN top 10 list: Maurice Green when he creatively celebrated his 100m win by extinguishing his spikes out in California. I feel like people are not really connecting with track athletes for some reason. Perhaps they don’t know enough about the athletes, our fun-loving personalities, or demanding schedules, and feel like they can’t relate. Maybe there aren't enough celebrations and tauntings to make it interesting, or perhaps not enough physical contact or close calls. We do have the occasional photo finishes that can boost fire from those adrenal glands!! Well…maybe not, but that explosive competitive spirit in other sports is in every race as runners surpass complete physical exhaustion and their breaking points to win races and shatter records.
Those seasonal fans who would actually consider watching a track meet just don’t know when or where to check out information on upcoming meets. Others think that the only track event that there is, is the Olympics. I can’t tell you how many people think that track athletes train meticulously throughout four years to have one shot at a chance for the Olympics. This is so far from the truth. Track has seasons just like any other sport. Depending on your event you may have many seasons verses a primary one and done. For example runners can choose to compete in cross country (yes even as pros, lol), Indoor track, and outdoor track. Indoor season for professional athletes tends to start mid January and finish up in early March. Outdoor season typically starts in late March, and finishes in September with a few specialized meets in October. Pro athletes compete at college meets, various meets around the country allowing unattached athlete participation, and professional invitation meets. The US invite meets are sponsored and feature some of the most known track athletes. You can usually find a meet and/or media schedule for the US meets on www.usatf.org. With the lack of fan support US athletes are forced to travel the world for meets due to the limited number of meets here. This is why you may have heard about track athletes flying to Europe, S. America, Asia, or the Caribbean to compete. In Europe, downer sports in the US such as Track and soccer, offer a huge fan base and normally house 50,000+ fans at each meet. It’s no surprise that runners would travel overseas to compete since the fans are there, and they bring the money in.
Interested in learning more about the sport, or following up on meets, athletes, and other track events see these additional websites: www.trackandfieldnews.com, www.iaaf.org, and www.dystatelite.com (for high schoolers)
This is the life of a track athlete.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Training continued
Since the last meet I've been on a steady yet intense training schedule. I haven't been able to work back into the weight room like the weeks prior to our first meet, but we have been able to put in a little work. My intervals have jumped back up and have been really taking it to me! The workout Tuesday showed that Im definitely not out of shape, Im just missing the competition factor.
I had to sprint a total of 2000 meters and faired pretty well. My fitness is well and my speed is alright right now, but we just finished our first week of getting over hurdles. Of course, being the first day back over hurdles I was struggling to find my steps for the 400H and getting my timing back down. Friday was a really technical day on the blocks, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Apparently, a lot of what I thought I knew about blocks was probably not the best information out there. Since my coach was one of the best starters in the sport it would probably be wise to throw out all the old stuff and input his technique for blockwork. Blocks are one of the most important part of any sprinters race from the 100 to the short hurdles to the 400, and that is something that I'll definitely be focusing on also.
Since I've decided to train for the next two weeks going into the Bahamas meet I won't be running this weekend with the team at Florida. Nonetheless I've been getting a lot of flack from my team about not running. They all said that I was on a good track to drop a much faster time than my 2 early races. They said that sometimes you need to race yourself into shape. I agree with them about running yourself into shape, but I can also get into good shape by the strenuous training Coach Mitchell has been putting me through as well. For me I think one of the reasons I could have done good by racing this weekend is to get a faster time (I was guaranteed to drop) and to elevate my confidence level in the 400 races.
All the more, my choice to train through the next two weeks comes at the news of beginning hurdle practices again. I wanted to be able to seriously take a look at where I am in the hurdles and what I need to focus on without having to back the training off because of a track meet. All in all Im winning either way...choices and results.
I had to sprint a total of 2000 meters and faired pretty well. My fitness is well and my speed is alright right now, but we just finished our first week of getting over hurdles. Of course, being the first day back over hurdles I was struggling to find my steps for the 400H and getting my timing back down. Friday was a really technical day on the blocks, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Apparently, a lot of what I thought I knew about blocks was probably not the best information out there. Since my coach was one of the best starters in the sport it would probably be wise to throw out all the old stuff and input his technique for blockwork. Blocks are one of the most important part of any sprinters race from the 100 to the short hurdles to the 400, and that is something that I'll definitely be focusing on also.
Since I've decided to train for the next two weeks going into the Bahamas meet I won't be running this weekend with the team at Florida. Nonetheless I've been getting a lot of flack from my team about not running. They all said that I was on a good track to drop a much faster time than my 2 early races. They said that sometimes you need to race yourself into shape. I agree with them about running yourself into shape, but I can also get into good shape by the strenuous training Coach Mitchell has been putting me through as well. For me I think one of the reasons I could have done good by racing this weekend is to get a faster time (I was guaranteed to drop) and to elevate my confidence level in the 400 races.
All the more, my choice to train through the next two weeks comes at the news of beginning hurdle practices again. I wanted to be able to seriously take a look at where I am in the hurdles and what I need to focus on without having to back the training off because of a track meet. All in all Im winning either way...choices and results.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Miami
Well Miami was definitely an experience not to be forgotten. I don't know if it was all the excitement from being there for the "first" time, being able to chat it up with family members and learn some more about our past, breaking bread with one of my old high school coaches and a former teammate from back in the day.
I would say its a combo of all of that. I will tell you that in Miami I saw the most luxury and exotic sport cars (outside of the auto show) in one place at the same time, lol. Ferrari's, Lambo's, my Audi R8, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Range Rover, BMW, Mercedes, the list goes on. As you know Im a huge car guy and I was absolutely in love down there.
Miami is a real city. It has a large population, a big downtown, a lot of events and festivals all the time, a myriad of ethnicities (a personal favorite), great places to hang out and eat, and of course an amazing beach area. Even though I didn't grow up IN a city I have always been drawn by them. Orlando is a cool place to visit and what not, but not my kind of "city".
Another reason I enjoyed my time there so much is because I stayed with family and had a chance to get to know some of them a lot better. I love the thought of reconnecting and staying in contact with family. Some of the best times are those when you sit and listen to the old folks talk about their stories and how things used to be back then. Its just like reading a good mystery or suspense book, just cant leave it alone for too long.
It was too bad that no one saw me run because of Miami's CRAZY traffic, but they seemed a bit more upset than I. Our relay team was either unwilling or unable to run so I ended up traveling 240 miles for less than 50 seconds, lmbo. I love my job! I did run much better than last week and felt like I was supposed to feel during and after the 400. Im still on the cusp of running fast, and I know how I can do it I just have to pull it out of myself. I kept up my streak of "not getting out" in the open 400, which is the one major key to having a successful race. If anyone has any tips for 400 starts please feel free to jot down a comment. Its funny that I haven't really had such a problem with starting fast in the 400 Hurdles, its just the open 4; weird huh?
Going forward coach said we're back on track to start getting work in over hurdles, YESS! Im not scheduled to run again until May 1 in the Bahamas, heeey. Instead I have decided to really try to get my sprint shape under control and focus on getting back on the hurdles. Im thinking that my first hurdle (test) race won't be until May 6th in Orlando, but we'll see how the training progresses. This...is my life
I would say its a combo of all of that. I will tell you that in Miami I saw the most luxury and exotic sport cars (outside of the auto show) in one place at the same time, lol. Ferrari's, Lambo's, my Audi R8, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Range Rover, BMW, Mercedes, the list goes on. As you know Im a huge car guy and I was absolutely in love down there.
Miami is a real city. It has a large population, a big downtown, a lot of events and festivals all the time, a myriad of ethnicities (a personal favorite), great places to hang out and eat, and of course an amazing beach area. Even though I didn't grow up IN a city I have always been drawn by them. Orlando is a cool place to visit and what not, but not my kind of "city".
Another reason I enjoyed my time there so much is because I stayed with family and had a chance to get to know some of them a lot better. I love the thought of reconnecting and staying in contact with family. Some of the best times are those when you sit and listen to the old folks talk about their stories and how things used to be back then. Its just like reading a good mystery or suspense book, just cant leave it alone for too long.
It was too bad that no one saw me run because of Miami's CRAZY traffic, but they seemed a bit more upset than I. Our relay team was either unwilling or unable to run so I ended up traveling 240 miles for less than 50 seconds, lmbo. I love my job! I did run much better than last week and felt like I was supposed to feel during and after the 400. Im still on the cusp of running fast, and I know how I can do it I just have to pull it out of myself. I kept up my streak of "not getting out" in the open 400, which is the one major key to having a successful race. If anyone has any tips for 400 starts please feel free to jot down a comment. Its funny that I haven't really had such a problem with starting fast in the 400 Hurdles, its just the open 4; weird huh?
Going forward coach said we're back on track to start getting work in over hurdles, YESS! Im not scheduled to run again until May 1 in the Bahamas, heeey. Instead I have decided to really try to get my sprint shape under control and focus on getting back on the hurdles. Im thinking that my first hurdle (test) race won't be until May 6th in Orlando, but we'll see how the training progresses. This...is my life
Friday, April 9, 2010
Round 2
After a week of training I've made the trip down south to run at the University of Miami tomorrow. Training was a little surprising this week whereby the workouts went back to conditioning aspects. I ended up running some longer workouts and did a good job of staying on pace through them, and feeling pretty well afterwards too. I thought from my performance in the open 400 last week showed that I was out of shape, but my body has said otherwise. I just wasn't physically prepared for that meet. I have a better idea of how to handle this meet, and am expecting MUCH improvement, lol.
Thursday also marked the 2nd day that I've practiced hurdles since being out for several weeks. Im always soo excited to get over some hurdles again. There is just something about them that keeps you on the track, because those of you who have run before KNOW that sometimes track workouts make you want to throw in the towel. Anyways I just did a few 150s over the hurdles at a nice and easy pace to get the body comfortable with the technique again. I can't wait until Im in shape to run the hurdles, Im expecting good things early on.
You know what is also funny is that as a hurdler you are considered one of the most versatile competitors in athletics. Long hurdlers can usually run a decent time in the 800, fast time in the 400, and a decent time in the 200. Short hurdlers are very gifted in the fact that they can run full speed at 10 barriers 42" tall and adjust themselves and their foot speed in between if any circumstancial events occur in the race (ie. someone falls, knocks your hurdle down, spikes you, or my favorite, is throwing bows over top of each hurdles). It is not very uncommon that some hurdles are only good at hurdling! Go figure. Take myself for example; I can run 13 seconds in the 110 hurdles, but can barely break 10.7 in the 100. I have also had a problem in the past with running the open 400. Lets just say that given a chance I between the two 400 races I would choose the hurdles every time. Judging from my race last week there are still a few kinks that Im working out in the open 400, and my teammate reminded me today at the pre-meet warm up today at the track. "Don't have no big entourage (family coming to watch) if you don't plan on running well".
Well to say the least I suppose I'll have to run the race of my life tomorrow. This is the life of an athlete.
Thursday also marked the 2nd day that I've practiced hurdles since being out for several weeks. Im always soo excited to get over some hurdles again. There is just something about them that keeps you on the track, because those of you who have run before KNOW that sometimes track workouts make you want to throw in the towel. Anyways I just did a few 150s over the hurdles at a nice and easy pace to get the body comfortable with the technique again. I can't wait until Im in shape to run the hurdles, Im expecting good things early on.
You know what is also funny is that as a hurdler you are considered one of the most versatile competitors in athletics. Long hurdlers can usually run a decent time in the 800, fast time in the 400, and a decent time in the 200. Short hurdlers are very gifted in the fact that they can run full speed at 10 barriers 42" tall and adjust themselves and their foot speed in between if any circumstancial events occur in the race (ie. someone falls, knocks your hurdle down, spikes you, or my favorite, is throwing bows over top of each hurdles). It is not very uncommon that some hurdles are only good at hurdling! Go figure. Take myself for example; I can run 13 seconds in the 110 hurdles, but can barely break 10.7 in the 100. I have also had a problem in the past with running the open 400. Lets just say that given a chance I between the two 400 races I would choose the hurdles every time. Judging from my race last week there are still a few kinks that Im working out in the open 400, and my teammate reminded me today at the pre-meet warm up today at the track. "Don't have no big entourage (family coming to watch) if you don't plan on running well".
Well to say the least I suppose I'll have to run the race of my life tomorrow. This is the life of an athlete.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Recap
So the FL relays went halfway decent for the Star Athletics team. We had a lot of runners best their season openers, others weren't so fortunate, but we all took away from it stuff that will help out our training and upcoming races.
I thought it was pretty exciting being my first meet competing as a "professional" or developmental athlete as some say. Although the same teams I've raced in the years past were there and the same pros I've seen over time were at the meet, it felt different for me. Primarily because it was my first meet competing for almost a full year, and the calibur of athletes there was a lot higher than Ive been up against for opening meets the past few years.
The first day was a scorcher, and the sun was out with a vengence on the athletes. It was about 85 and humid, which are not the greatest conditions to run in, but it is good it was hot. We started off right with the women's hurdles finishing in positions 2, 3, and 8. Our two forerunners both had nice races, resulting in great season openers. Next up were our men high hurdlers, one of which finished 3rd competing near his PR while our other was left scrambling for answers and what positive aspects he could salvage from his race. Not to be mistaken though, he came back and ran a solid 13.3 in the hurdle relay the next day to help close out the win.
Following were our male and female 100m runners who both ran season opener bests and had a great lot to show for their hard work over the past 5 months. Afterwards was my event...open 400m Dash! Long story short I was unprepared and ran REALLY slow! First race jitters among other mistakes led me straight to the tail end of competitors. I didn't feel that nervous and I felt like I was in shape, but the race said something different. I usually have a good reaction to the gun, but can definitely work on my drive phase all the way off the first turn. I felt like I didn't have any turnover and by the time I hit the back stretch I found myself behind and exerting way too much energy just to keep up. By the 200 split I was in a good position to make a move if I would have had anything left in the tank. I tied up pretty badly and died with about 120 to go, which is strange for me since I usually don't die so to speak. My finish is usually the strongest part of my race. Unfortunately not today though. Its all good though I just had to readjust and come back in the 4x400 relay which ended up MUCH better than the open.
There were numerous reasons compiled which led to my opening race demise. For example, I worked a 6 hour shift Thursday until 11pm, (1) was on my feet late and the day before the meet) came home hit the sack and was back up a little before 7am. 2)didn't get enough sleep. I don't know what I was thinking, but I ate what seemed wouldn't even feed a small dog for breakfast. 3)didn't eat enough to acquire enough energy to compensate for the duration of the day in the sun until my run time. Then I drove an hour and a half in the car to the meet to sit around in the heat (instead of going somewhere cool to relax) until it was time to warm up.
Thankfully the next day was our relay team ended up running 3:10 in the 4x400 with my 47 split. I prepared for this race much better and had just enough nerves to help get me around the track in a solid time to make up for the open race. Sadly, people don't pay attention to splits and it surly won't be looked at over my open race, but I race again next week in Miami. I've got my pre-race plan ready to put into action so Im expecting a much better open race.
You can catch all of the action on www.Flotrack.org for the results and actual race videos.
I thought it was pretty exciting being my first meet competing as a "professional" or developmental athlete as some say. Although the same teams I've raced in the years past were there and the same pros I've seen over time were at the meet, it felt different for me. Primarily because it was my first meet competing for almost a full year, and the calibur of athletes there was a lot higher than Ive been up against for opening meets the past few years.
The first day was a scorcher, and the sun was out with a vengence on the athletes. It was about 85 and humid, which are not the greatest conditions to run in, but it is good it was hot. We started off right with the women's hurdles finishing in positions 2, 3, and 8. Our two forerunners both had nice races, resulting in great season openers. Next up were our men high hurdlers, one of which finished 3rd competing near his PR while our other was left scrambling for answers and what positive aspects he could salvage from his race. Not to be mistaken though, he came back and ran a solid 13.3 in the hurdle relay the next day to help close out the win.
Following were our male and female 100m runners who both ran season opener bests and had a great lot to show for their hard work over the past 5 months. Afterwards was my event...open 400m Dash! Long story short I was unprepared and ran REALLY slow! First race jitters among other mistakes led me straight to the tail end of competitors. I didn't feel that nervous and I felt like I was in shape, but the race said something different. I usually have a good reaction to the gun, but can definitely work on my drive phase all the way off the first turn. I felt like I didn't have any turnover and by the time I hit the back stretch I found myself behind and exerting way too much energy just to keep up. By the 200 split I was in a good position to make a move if I would have had anything left in the tank. I tied up pretty badly and died with about 120 to go, which is strange for me since I usually don't die so to speak. My finish is usually the strongest part of my race. Unfortunately not today though. Its all good though I just had to readjust and come back in the 4x400 relay which ended up MUCH better than the open.
There were numerous reasons compiled which led to my opening race demise. For example, I worked a 6 hour shift Thursday until 11pm, (1) was on my feet late and the day before the meet) came home hit the sack and was back up a little before 7am. 2)didn't get enough sleep. I don't know what I was thinking, but I ate what seemed wouldn't even feed a small dog for breakfast. 3)didn't eat enough to acquire enough energy to compensate for the duration of the day in the sun until my run time. Then I drove an hour and a half in the car to the meet to sit around in the heat (instead of going somewhere cool to relax) until it was time to warm up.
Thankfully the next day was our relay team ended up running 3:10 in the 4x400 with my 47 split. I prepared for this race much better and had just enough nerves to help get me around the track in a solid time to make up for the open race. Sadly, people don't pay attention to splits and it surly won't be looked at over my open race, but I race again next week in Miami. I've got my pre-race plan ready to put into action so Im expecting a much better open race.
You can catch all of the action on www.Flotrack.org for the results and actual race videos.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Florida Relays
Its here folks. The gun will go off tomorrow at around noon to kick off the FL Relays. On the line is the "state championships" for the respective area teams. Its looking like the weather is going to be amazing (81 degrees and sunny). Hopefully all the athletes have been hydrating throughout the week, so we don't have to postpone anything due to heat exhaustion. Hey, I've seen it happen before...pretty crazy!
The Star Athletics team (ie. my training camp) looked well prepared and had a great practice to close the week out going into the meet. I felt alive and well, lol, and am looking forward to a successful weekend all in all. For me this meet is a large one only in the sense that I havent competed in a little less than a year and have been awaiting my debut. Im ready to test out the legs and get a feel for the race while I rev my competitive juices. The race strategy that we're going for is to get out hard and keep burning it up. It is more of a race to determine where my practices will go from here.
Im also looking forward to seeing the mens 110 Hurdles in action, our womens hurdlers, and of course I have to keep tabs on my 400H event, so that should be interesting. Open events are tomorrow on Friday and all relays will go off Sat afternoon. I'll let everyone know how the meet finished up over the next few days. As for now I've gotta pack and cook dinner before I go into work for a few hours. As important as track is right now...I still have to pay the bills. This is the life of a hard worker.
The Star Athletics team (ie. my training camp) looked well prepared and had a great practice to close the week out going into the meet. I felt alive and well, lol, and am looking forward to a successful weekend all in all. For me this meet is a large one only in the sense that I havent competed in a little less than a year and have been awaiting my debut. Im ready to test out the legs and get a feel for the race while I rev my competitive juices. The race strategy that we're going for is to get out hard and keep burning it up. It is more of a race to determine where my practices will go from here.
Im also looking forward to seeing the mens 110 Hurdles in action, our womens hurdlers, and of course I have to keep tabs on my 400H event, so that should be interesting. Open events are tomorrow on Friday and all relays will go off Sat afternoon. I'll let everyone know how the meet finished up over the next few days. As for now I've gotta pack and cook dinner before I go into work for a few hours. As important as track is right now...I still have to pay the bills. This is the life of a hard worker.
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