Track Teams

Hey Bloggers, whats up! First off I would like to apologize for all those looking forward to a post for a few weeks now. I have been really active in taking my body and training, and all that is on top of my part-time work schedule in "the real world". lol. Basically, I've been busy, busy, busy working hard and preparing for the challenges to come.

Even though track isn't a team sport many training groups consider themselves a team due to the facts that you spend a lot of time getting to know each other, each member usually holds some accountability to the person next to them, and when encouragement is needed everyone is right there cheering you on. Since our season's end (August)we have gathered up several other athletes from around the world to add to our roster. I was surprised and pleased to see ALL of the faces from last year plus several new ones.We now have a pretty big training group, which brings both positives and negatives. Before I get into the new team break down lets back up to the first day of practice.

Of course as an athlete the hardest part of your training generally comes at the beginning when you have to put away the nutter bars, cookies, and ice cream only to burn off those delectable treats during conditioning. It usually takes anywhere between 2-3 weeks to get into decent shape where you are able to start working on important things. Our first day was something of a challenge, but went well. We started the week off with three sets of our regular endurance intervals, which was a bit gruesome, but no one fell out (success, lmbo). We normally don't start that intense, but gotta step up for the World Champ year. By the second day we were on to core exercises that KICK MY BUTT! I have never been a big muscle guy and for that I tend to struggle with exercises dealing with brute strength and body weight. That day I really had to put my goals for the season in front of my face and go after it. The next day I can say that with every step it felt like someone was playing bongos on my butt (Talk about Soreness!). It didn't get any better from there on our Wed plyo day (another challenge for ya boy). After struggling to get my limpy noodles to move like actual legs through all of our exercises I could rest, knowing that the next 2 days were down hill. Thursday and Friday were more sprint endurance and wouldn't have been so bad if my legs didn't feel like Egg Drop soup (you know what Im talking about). Nonetheless I didn't slack at all that week and was able to create the correct outcome in my mind and force the body to do it. Like coach says: I hear it, process it, and simply DO it.

I am so greatful for everything I went through last year because I feel that it made me much tougher and I realized how soft (for lack of better words) I was acting when faced with a challenge. I have broken out of that mindset and am much stronger mentally, which will make all the difference this year. It also helps when your teammates are there doing the drills and hurting just like you are, but pushing each other to finish, and finish well.

Overall we have, I think I counted 18, people in our group with 3 of them being new and 4 others who were back and forth about joining the team late last season. Pretty much have 6 new people starting the season of with us, and I feel that they are all good additions to the squad. They are 3 Ameican sprinters (2 male), 2 sprinters from Curacao, and 2 high hurdlers (American male, and female from UK). Everyone is positive, full of energy, and as most track runners are, quite the character. Despite the big group coach has assured me that I, being the only 400 runner, won't be neglected. That was a big issue for me when I was picking my training group and I believe he will honor his word. I know this was a long post, but now you have the very details of the season's start, so holla @cha boy and drop a comment. This is the life of...a Champion!

Conditioning

Here it is!! The World Championship season is just down the street and the olympic year is soon approaching as well. As you may or may not know this coming 2011 year will be a world championship year, where many outstanding athletes will once again come together represent their countries and compete for medals. This championship event comes around every other year and you can think of it as a lesser publicized Olympic Games competition. Many people will be stepping up their training schedules and coming out of their hiatus' to perform their potentials this season, so everyone must be prepared when they step into that lane aiming to earn a spot on their country's championship team.

Speaking of training harder, I began my second week of fall conditioning yesterday, and am pretty encouraged. Last week was not too bad considering I took a complete month to do NO RUNNING WHATSOEVER!! lol. If you have had a chance to read some of my last posts, you'll know that I did stay pretty active, so I believe that had a large part of my conditioning start. Anyways, the soreness period is slowly leaving (Thank God) and I should be back to running at regular conditioning pace without any soreness. It will be just in time for our official season start on Oct. 25 (2 days after my birthday*). I am ready for this season and have a lot of people pulling on me to stay strong and "keep moving towards my goals". I can tell you from what little experience that I have, that your support team can really get you through some tough times, so I want to personally thank all of you all who have been there for me and will continue to push me toward greatness.

As far as conditioning I would say Im about where I need to be for now and that the next week and a half will get me into the shape I need to be in for practice with Coach Mitchell. This will be my sophomore year in the Pro life, but I feel like it is a rookie year all over again. I had so much confusion and anxiety last year that I didn't know what to expect. Now that I have been through a season and understand what is expected of me and what I should expect, I will be able to have better practices and ultimately better performances. As the season roars to an exciting start I am ready to take the reigns of this opportunity and carpe diem (Latin. seize the day). The life of...a warrior

Magic!

Hey hey bloggers whats up!! So the off season continues to bring all sorts of fun, and Im LOVING IT! What have I been up to that has me so excited? Im glad you asked :) This past weekend I had the privilege to secure tickets to the event "enter Legend". this was the theme of the newly built Amway Center where the Orlando magic NBA Team play. I had heard so much about it from the state of the art technology to the comfy seats to the exquisite restaurants on site.With all the hype I couldn't help but be excited. they said they did a great job and boy did the city SHOW OUT for their Magic basketball team! The stadium is 2.5 times bigger tan the old Amway Arena and has more than 3 times the bathrooms available. (I guess that was a major issue at the lat arena). It has the largest center court screen in the country (which is comparable to the Dallas Cowboys screen, in relation to the stadium of course, in Texas). It has 2 restaurants that I saw, 2 lounges to hang out at, 2 open area bar and food locations on the upper levels, and a pretty happening kids zone too. Thats not the only thing though...their practice court is connected to the stadium as a wing that connects right to the back of their locker room. News channels had been interviewing the players prior to the grand opening and they seemed REALLY authentically hype about it.

When you walk into the Amway Center you are welcomed by a gigantic lobby area with 50 foot posters of the several star players on the team. The lobby itself is 80 feet tall and fans must take escalators to the first level. I believe I remember hearing that it has 5 levels in and of itself for seating and entertainment, and every seat has a great view of the court. Even the nosebleed$5 seats that they offer for magic games have a really good view in my opinion. Needless to say the Orlando Magic has a new home and they aren't looking back for one second, except to say "I never would have imagined something this great"! they are enjoying every moment of it and I did too. Im hoping to snatch up a couple home game tickets and check out the live action in the new Center for myself. Even if they're against crappy teams sports venues are fun to attend and can leave you with great experiences. I suggest that everyone who is able to check out the arena at one point or another. Because after all, who knows who you might meet?