Reconnecting

Alright everyone, Happy Friday! I know its been quite a while since we’ve had a chance to chat. Well That’s because a few reasons. 1) I’ve really been pretty focused on taking care of myself both on and off the track and haven’t made the time to drop off some info for yall.

Anyways, since I’ve been focusing more on what I want and am working towards, I’ve seen a good amount of improvement and have been progressing quickly. Last week I ended up running a great race and just about ran my fastest time ever. Things are looking up for me, and I’m starting to see some payouts from the work that I put in several months prior.

One reason I think I may be having such a late spark for decent times, as compared to collegiately, is because of the volume of running we did then. Not just running, but competing, is a key to a lot of success for collegiate athletes. The many weekends of competition from indoor seasons straight through to outdoor profit the athletes to “run themselves into shape”. As a professional our season doesn’t really “start” until about May and then runs all the way through August, September, and for some as late as October. So that is a much different schedule than the college Dec-June schedule.

The problem lies that when a collegiate athlete starts competing in December say, it will take them until about April or early May to start to run extremely fast (i.e. competitive with the professional athletes). That means for the average person they don’t run comfortably fast for about 4 - 4.5 months. Theoretically, that means as a rookie or new professional track athlete your peaking period won’t take place until about July and August. The unfortunate truth about this is that in mid-June the availability of races in the states is slim to none. The majority of races are run in Europe and abroad, but in order to get to those meets you have to run quick times or qualifying times early in the season to set you up for the whole professional season.

The challenge for the new professionals is to fine tune your training and race readiness so much so that it only takes a few races to run fast and lock in some of those later meets overseas. That’s one of the main reasons I can say I have been faltering to run fast earlier in the season…I just need more competitions. I used to run 3 events in college, now I run 1 and don’t even get a chance to run a relay at the end of the day. It definitely has an effect, but I’m going to find ways to move myself into the right mindset in order to run fast now. After all its my time now! I’ll let you all in on some of the things that have helped me succeed thus far in my next post (tomorrow after race). This is the life…of DK the Great. PEACE!

Extra Training

Hey Bloggers. Hope all is well on your end. Things are going pretty good here in Orlando. I had been a little bit of a downer the past week and a half or so because I hadn't started out my competitions as fast as I wanted. After talking with several of the guys on the team I realized that even some of the great track athletes don't open up as fast as they'd like to. It doesn't mean that you're not good or that this season will be chalked as a loss. On the contrary, you just have to maintain your position and accept better races as you get into the groove of things. Now granted there are some athletes (Mr. Gay) that can open up as fast as they want with a scare at their current PRs (personal record), but not everyone is like that. For the average athlete you have to be get into a groove first of competing again then of your actual race. Just being comfortable in your skin is the key. Don't freak out and start doing some crazy off the wall stuff because chances are you're right where you need to be. Just keep working hard and believe that next time it will be a little better, then faster, then more comfortable, and add some power to finish it off and you have a PR waiting for you at the finish line down the road. I also had a chance to have a good chat with my older brother David who put a lot of things in perspective. He did an awesome job encouraging me, even though at the time I was completely oblivious to it all, lol. He definitely helped me out though, so a great appreciation and thanks goes to you bro! Im sure you're wondering how I've been doing at meets right? Well, like I mentioned earlier I havent run where I wanted, but coach put me out there trusting that through these races, I'd be able to get in a rhythm that will propel me to better races in the next few meets. I believe Im right on too. This is still my year to run fast and achieve success towards my goals! Positive Mental Attitude is a phrase that is thrown around at practice by some of the team when we're really not trying to hear our workout, let alone actually run the darn thing! Sometimes it helps, but track and life in general depends on what you know to be true even though it doesn't look like that and you may not be able to explain it. Faith. Its a law of this world, just like gravity and centripetal force. For my next meet I'll be stationed in Gainesville, FL for the Tom Jones Invitational. This is more of a low key meet, but should still be some decent competition for everyone. I had a good practice over hurdles today and never looked back. This next meet I will see an improvement in my performance. Hope to see you there :P This is the life...of DK the Trackstar

More Racing

Hey yall bloggerz whats up? Im in the hotel reporting on the day, which proved to be a rather beyond poor day to race. There were a lot of "fast" people at the meet today ready to run their respective open events, but for some reason hardly anyone ran fast. So what were the conditions right? The temp was warm and the sun was out, but it didn't seem overly hot; the humidity seemed low-normal; the track felt like trying to run on ice for some reason; the wind was really gusting in a swirl and frequently changing directions. I guess you could say that the weather was less than perfect, but it was still quite a shock to see soo many people not running to their potential. I was no different, and didn't have the race I would have liked to, but there were some good things I can take from it. Coach said I looked really good for 200. Unfortunately, I run 400H so that doesn't help me so much. I need to find the second half of my race. For now, I'll just rest up for the 4x400 tomorrow and see if I can save any face, l0l. Im definitely going to need a sit-down with coach to discuss my race and where the disconnect is coming from. The thing that doesn't add up to me is that my practices are pretty good and my track workouts are much better than last year. Im sure we'll find the issue and set it right so I can make some grounds towards some goals. DK

COMPETITION!

Hey bloggers! Sorry for the delay, but I've been busy building up my customer base for my new business, and its going pretty well :). Like I've mentioned in previous posts and on facebook too; if the state of the world economy looks bad create your own economy and build a business. I've taken that to heart and I fully believe that my situation is turning around even as you read this. Matter of fact, if you'd like to see what I have to offer check out my website yourself: www.thedkshop.com. Aside in my foundation building for my business, I've been making some good gains on the track. I had my first meet last weekend. I don't know what time I officially ran, but the race felt pretty good. I had a decent start and pressed through the first 3 hurdles and maintained on the back stretch pretty well. Im was able to press a little more down the back stretch, but I started to get too comfortable and relaxed. By 300m I was out in front feeling pretty good, but subconsciously allowed my body to slow down which resulted in an unfortunate ending. I was passed up the last 10 meters for a 2nd place finish. I was pretty upset with myself for relaxing soo much and allowing my competitors a second chance. Fortunately, there is another day to compete and always a chance to learn from your mistakes. This next race I'll make good on getting out hard and pressing the back stretch all the way through the finish line. My next race is going to be tomorrow at around 4pm. I'll have an update for you all coming up shortly after the meet. Until later yall. This is the life of a man chasing his dreams. DK

Investments: You Choose, but Choose the Right One

Hey bloggerz!

Im back with a little something to meditate, a note to think on, and hopefully motivate you. Selah.

The last post was a bit of overflow that I've been acquiring the past few months through the active, yet very rewarding feat of conquering books. Since I've been out of school and no longer have to read books, I've realized how momentous they can be to one's life. The greatest thing to invest in is yourself, your own mind. Books have the power to shape the way we think about things and can give us insight as to things that will either stunt or propel our growth. Since I've read a few books, I notice how simple some of the techniques are to put into play - for that matter how often I remember hearing them growing up. I believe that only when you start to analyze the information in a book for yourself in a way where you can apply it to your life that we realize significance of words, creating a desire for more of them. So thats exactly what I've been up to lately.

Going along with the latest post I want to educate everyone reading about making money effectively. I have been blessed with an ability and desire to teach people and explain things. This is something I believe many people need to know, so hopefully you have stopped by purposefully or accidentaly and will take away valuable understanding from this post.

Aside from investing in myself, I've decided to give investing a sure shot. After some careful analysis of risks and benefits I decided to invest in a business model. For those of you who may not be too business savy there are four main ways to create income. The first two are very active ways whereby you devote time for dollars and only time invested, each week say, will amount to dollars earned. So number 1 way people make money is to become an employee of someone or some company. The other active way to create income is to start your own traditional business where you have to invest your money (or the bank's) along with a substantial amount of time in order to generate income. Mind you, although the traditional business approach is a great way to earn a good income as your own boss more that 50% of businesses fail within 2 years and the other 50% will either fail within the next year or "break even" (earn as much money as they invested) within 3 more years. So statistically, all businesses, if they survive long enough, generally require 5 years to break even. That doesn't sound like something I can afford to do, so what are the last two ways to make money?

Glad that you asked and are still tuned in! The next way to make money is a passive creation of income: investments. Yes at first you may study the ways to invest and what markets or industries are heavily invested or soon to grow cash cows, but after you make your initial investment you can sit back and do a few clicks on your computer to watch your money grow. The problem with investments is that they are SO risky. The stock markets move in cycles and are constantly in a up down transition. Also, investments depend a lot on what news and events are going on around the globe. *As you can see in the Middle East and East-African countries, their protests are driving our gas prices up, WAY UP.

So you may think well how else can I make money without worrying about someone telling me what to do, without the fear of bankruptcy or loss of investment, and without the immeasurable risk in the stock market? The 4th and final way to make money is to create or invest in a business model. This passive form of income is an idea im sure you've heard of: creating residual income. Residual income is money that comes in regardless of if you continue to put more work in or not. A business model is one where you link your success to others' success and by so doing, create an exponential ability to create income. How many of you know that one person can only make so much money by themselves. That is why people employ others to do the simple foundational work while their net worth increases. This form of income may take a little while to establish enough income to where you can live solely off of it. However, when the foundation is created it can work wonders for your financial and personal freedom.

I have recently decided to invest in a business model myself through the great team of LTD. Through LTD I market products from huge companies like Best Buy, Barnes & Nobel, Amway Global, and Office Depot to name a few, to consumers in need of those products, which in turn allows me to make money. Now Im not advocating any schemes or scams. A legal residual income business should allow you the freedom of making more money than the person sponsoring you if you do more work; success based on your own terms (i.e. personal goals and ambitions); a limited risk for investing-similar to a franchising model; and also allow you to withdraw from the program within a trial period to determine if it is for you (with a full refund in the process). Now the LTD team Im hooked up with allows me all of this and is a legitimate way to make some extra money. If you think you'd be interested in learning more about exponential income and want to talk feel free to post a comment, e-mail me: dkinney_hu@comcast.net, or view my website: http://kinneyenterprises.ltdteam.com Username: 8549732 Password: guest

What Will Make You Rich and Allow You To Enjoy It?

Hey Bloggers, I have some exciting news! Have you ever wondered how to become rich; like what is it that will get YOU there? I feel that a lot of people are milling around life just hoping to have success, and unfortunately it will probably never happen like that. So many millionaires and wealthy people have done just about two things to ensure their success. That is 1) to invest their years into themselves by studying or reading lots of books or either making sure they position themselves around someone who knows what they need to know (a mentor); and 2)they take action!

You can't expect to gain anything without taking action. 100 times out of 100.99 times money doesn't just fall out of the sky and waah-la you're rich. You will have to take some kind of action towards success before it actually has an ability to become reality. Well, you might say, "Daniel, I don't know what I should do to create wealth for myself". I can let you in on a little secret that you may have even heard before. Follow your passions and dreams especially if your natural talents match up closely with those dreams. For example, if you have always loved helping people when they are injured, and you do very well in classes like anatomy and biology you may want to look at being somewhere in the medical field. John Maxwell said 90% of the time your passions will tell you your purpose, but your talents will tell you 100% of the time.

I know that from church and from reading about successful people who have followed their passions that God places on the inside of us a strong desire to do something. That desire is always hooked up to our purpose or the things we are called to do in the earth. When you chase what you love to do, its much easier...it no longer seems like a job, or work, or just a means to an end. Isn't it much easier to do something you like to do whether someone tells you to do it versus doing something you don't like to do? YES, because it doesn't seem like a chore. You actually enjoy doing that task. That's the same way with your way to create wealth through your purpose.

Now just because you have good stage presence and can sing very well doesn't mean you will be a breakout actress or celebrity singer. It may take years to actually cultivate and fine tune your gifts and talents before you become wealthy. You may even be broke for a period of time while chasing your dreams. The key here is not to think about being wealthy, but to think about how much you really enjoy doing what it is you're chasing. If you don't get hung up on the WHEN and start to enjoy the NOW, then in due time the money will come.

A major law of the earth is Seed, Time, and Harvest. Just think about a farmer, and how he plants seeds, allows it time to grow, then collects the harvest that springs up. Think of yourself as a farmer of life. Sow seeds into your dreams and passions, allow time for them to spring up, and then (after the first two steps) you'll reap that harvest you have been waiting for. Now don't be discouraged when it doesn't come when you expect or want it to come. Its a race of patience and endurance. You will get there though, believe that!

I just want to encourage all of you reading this, not to quit you jobs that you loathe so much to wake up for each day, but to start planting seeds into your dream. If you work in corporate America and desire to have your own fashion line, start by taking some sewing classes or upholstery classes at your local JoAnn Fabrics. The continuous deposit of those small seeds will sprout up into a massive tree of life, where one day you can get on the path you were designed to walk and be in your wealthy place. Praise the LORD!
DK

Training with Warm Weather

Hey whats up everyone! Since the last time we talked, I've picked up quite a change in things. Practice is going great in track workouts, and my hurdling is coming around surely. Right now Im just excited about LYFE, lol! I believe that this season I'll have a great track showing and have some good times to put out there. One of my goals is still to get over to Europe and get that international experience in competition. Not only for competing, but just to travel the world and see new ways of life. I think that will be one of the coolest things about traveling.

Ok, now that all that rambling is out of the way, lol, we can talk. As February comes to a near close, Indoor season is starting to wind down. To be honest, I haven't really taken too much notice with any stats for this indoor season. I think that is because I didn't run indoor myself, and the fact I was so wrapped up in staying healthy, getting the workouts I have done right, and preparing for the outdoor season. I feel that I don't need to know whats happening in the world of track right now as long as Im focused on my lane and getting better. (Agreed?) Agreed.

I am so thankful that this year I've been able to get the treatment for my body and the supplements I need (credit my coach and my mentor D. Cavilla) to operate my best at this point in time. I think those two areas are key when training for intense competition, so I thank not only them, but God for putting them in my life to help me out. As I've heard before success isn't achieved by one person, but its a compilation of all the people who helped you that leads to the grand accomplishment in the end. I really believe on that so I try to be extremely grateful for anyone who helps me along this journey of mine.

As far as competition goes, I will be opening up my outdoor season towards the end of next month. I have yet to sit down with my coach and discuss fully the first few race opportunities I'll have and how we want to use them. I personally, would like to run a relay the first meet then run my 400 hurdle race and a relay the next meet. Our third competition will be a large venue and fast times are expected so I'd like to have at least one race under my belt before I step on that stage. I have to be mindful now that this also means I have to be ready to run a FULL RACE of hurdles by then, so I have some moving and shaking to accomplish on our hurdle days from here on out. I'll make sure I get done what needs to get done in order to set myself up for a few early races at seasons open.

Aside from track news Im in the process of opening up my own business for nutritional supplements and skin care. Its a great opportunity and even now as I finish up all the registration requirements, I'm already making over $100 a month. This is just doing a little advertising when Im out and about, and doesn't really require much more time than sitting down to read a book or running errands. Its something I promote while Im out and about which is simple. I'll tell you all about it when I finish the registering process and you'll be able to take a look at my website then.

It looks like my time is up and I need to be heading off to my Maximized Living Chiro now so until next time bloggers! This is the life of...a man with a dream.

The Pangs of Indoor

Hey bloggers, I hope you all Northerners are staying in a bundled up. I just got off the phone with my dad and he said they are expecting at least 12 inches of snow TONIGHT. It is supposed to be below zero with the windchill, and that makes for dangerous conditions. He said that this will be the worst winter storm in forty (40) years!! Now thats crazy.

Fortunately for me, I think I escaped the harsh northern winters just in time. Here in Florida its probably 65 right now 11:37pm and tomorrow it is forcasted to be in the 80s. If that isn't completely opposite weather I don't know what is. Thank God for the sunshine state, lol :)

Besides blizzards and delayed travel, tomorrow also marks the first day where a large group of the Star Athletics team will make the push up North...further than our North; Im talking Canada. It is the first weekend where we'll start to compete across borders so thats pretty exciting. In races its important to have good runs and really do your best because money is on the line and people gotta eat.

Unfortunately for me, I won't be accompanying the bulk of the team. I'll be here enjoying sunny FL weather. I was actually looking forward to running in that meet, but upon further review coach said that he would hold me out of another indoor season and continue to focus on and getting around the track outdoors. I can't be mad because I know I need some more training now and with meets on the weekends I would have to taper my workouts during the week leaving me with only small gains.

It kind of sucks though watching everyone on your team travel around the world and your still here. I mean I would have liked to get in at least an open 400 or maybe a 600 to work on some sprint endurance (even though I hate that race). Its all good though I will just have to keep my head in it and on the goals at hand. I will be able to use this training to propel me toward some meets in late March where I will be able to reap some of the benefits of not running indoor.

This week practice has been going really well (lol, I know its only Tues, but are harder days are Mon/Tues) and I made some decisions to get the workouts done. Its much easier to do physical or strenuous work when your mind is dreading what you do. Your thoughts control your emotions and your emotions determine how you perceive something, that then becomes your reality. Pretty serious huh? Guard your thoughts and make sure you don't speak negative about your situation. Being positive and speaking positive helps more than you may ever know. Well Im beat and ready to take it down...Catch yall later bloggerz!
DK

January's End Season's beginning

Hiya bloggers,

This is ya boy back on the blog network! Ima try and stay consistent for yall so you can keep up on the good stuff :).

Talk about time flying...The indoor season for our team is kicking off this weekend. We're about 3 days from the Star Athletics team getting a crack at some of our rivals and competitors. The meet will be on Saturday and Sunday @ the University of Florida. I have been anticipating getting closer to the start date for competition, but as it gets closer Im trying to stay focused and buckle down for this last stretch so everything will be what it needs to be. Unfortunately, Im talking last several weeks stretch and not days, lol. I'll be training through the indoor season and preparing to go smack at it come outdoor season. My training has been going well, but I've had some mental blocks holding me back the past few weeks and hadn't practiced like I know Im capable of. Thats why from here out I'm going to try my best to leave the drama from my life at my house or in my car while I go to work on the track. I have to make sure Im ready to go and with no doubt in mind am ready to accomplish those goals I've placed for this year. My primary goal is to qualify and compete in the USA National Outdoor Championships. My secondary goal either during or after I've achieved the first is to run 49.5 seconds in my event 400hurdles. Lastly, I've put a goal out there to compete overseas for the first year. I feel that it would be a great catalyst going into the following season...an Olympic year. Overseas competitions would put me in the atmosphere of international runners and allow me to get a better idea of the true nature of the track and field world.

In other news, excitingly, we had two gentlemen from France visit our team for a day and administer a new system to train your mental zone and allow yourself focus more and be free from stresses and mental barriers. It was kind of like a stress relief technique where you completely relax your mind and body and not focus on one thing or another, but just do whatever they said (i.e. jog, walk, run)I, along with four other teammates, had the privelege to test this new guaranteed system out. I felt that it was pretty accurate as to the issues that were holding each athlete back from doing better, or an area that they could improve on that would ultimately have a very positive affect on their training and competion. There was a bit of a bump in the road though, Ok maybe it was more like a pile of steel cinderblocks (if there is such a thing). Nonetheless, the cost for 12 sessions with these guys was 20k thats ($20,000). Im not sure any one of us has 20k to just throw around, and if they do they can give it to me and I'll help them focus for 20 thousand, lol. Anyway, I believe that a person can use techniques from ways to relieve stress and also Biblical principles that help to keep your body whole, well, and balanced.

On a lighter note, has anyone seen Dinner for Schmucks? I just saw it a few days ago and it is a pretty shallow movie, and at times I was a bit upset at some characters for their outrageous behavior, but there are some pretty hilarious parts in there too. not many though, so I wouldn't recommend buying the thing...just redbox it and if you don't like it, its only a dollar wasted. Check it out. Anyway, thats what I've been up to.

Well, this is about all for me this week. I'll keep you all updated on the rest of my week and weekend...should be a good one. This is the life of...a man getting it together!

2011

Wow, So 2011 is already hear and off to a great start. Thinking back to 2010 I sometimes fail to think of all that I've accomplished and only focus on those things which I didn't manage to complete. Maybe you are like that too. Perhaps there are some things you desired to do or goals to hit in 2010 and didn't. Maybe you can say that I have a good idea of how to achieve goals, but don't always follow the guidelines to the T. Well, I've found that the first step to a goal is to write it down and bring it into the world...an idea isn't real until its brought to vision. That first step to vision is to make it concrete by writing it down on a piece of important paper. (You know because if it wasn't important you would prolly just throw it away with all the other scraps on your desk, lol). From there your job is to go about every day doing at least one thing to achieve that goal until its reality. Set your goals high and go after them!


Hey Bloggers, its D Kinney back on the site ready for my first blog of the new year. 2011 will be an amazing year, believe that!! Im looking forward to a lot of things going on from opening my business to seeing some better outcomes from my training, to growing more spiritually, and on and on. Im super excited about it. Keep an ear out for me and an eye on my blog to see all the news that goes down for this year. I know this particular post is more than a week overdue, but the next couple posts should give a little insight as to whats been the holdup.



First up is bringing in the new year. I would love to say that I spent the December holidays with my family back in Michigan, but well, it didn't happen like that this year. Instead I made the choice to follow the strong suggestion of my coach "not to miss practice" over the holiday season. I've heard that sacrifices must be made in order to fully achieve your dream of dreams, so thats what I call myself doing. Unfortunately, my family are the ones who get the backlash of my choices. Christmas, I stayed in Orlando and went to a friends house then spent some time having fun with my roomate. He's from Cali and was actually stuck working at one of the only places I know that is open 24/7/365, (those familiar w/Orlando can probably guess what place he works). I hope he managed to scrape up some kind of enjoyment for the Christmas day after a somber day at work.



For the New Year I followed my family tradition and decided to attend my church service; not so much out of tradition, but for the word that would come forth. Each year our Grand Bishop gives all the connecting churches a Word from God regarding all of us and gives insight on some things we should expect or be cautious of in the year coming. As always it was a good message and I took a lot from it, and still need to grab that CD now that Im thinking about it. After I got home early that morning, I had to get right back up a few short hours later and head to work for a 7 hour shift; not so fun. So that was how I brought in 2011.



As for Track, things are going very well, by my standards. Im really running pretty decent and have set up about half of my race so far. I think a big key for me this year will be getting me faster. I need more 400m speed and the ability to hold a fast pace longer. In my time trial about 2 weeks ago I did run a faster 400 than I've run in quite a while, so that was encouraging. Physically, I'm feeling pretty good, I've been keeping up pretty well on my supplements, and Im starting to eat much better than I had been. Im taking care of my body and am in the business of avoiding injury so I can take full advantage of a whole year's training schedule. So thats the 2011 scoop thus far. From the house to the city, and of course, trackside. This is the life of...DK the Great.

Practice Update

Hey bloggers! As I mentioned in the last post, practices have been pretty tough the past month or so. Not to say that I have been doing bad, quite the contrary, but recovery after them is of definite importance. Today I'm not working so I get to catch up on some of my writing. :) yeay!

Starting back in mid November I've was back to struggling with the strenuous track workouts of a 400m hurdler. The workouts are very long, build lactic acid quickly, and require a lot of heart to say the least. Since then though I've made ground breaking progress towards handling them much better. The past two weeks especially have been great and have caused me to learn more about mentally preparing for tough practices.

I've learned these great techniques in a few different places including church, my coach, my teammates and others around me, and my business too. I've learned that when you have to do something difficult it doesn't help to worry yourself about it especially if you HAVE to do it (like really challenging practices). Worrying about it and trying to avoid it isn't going to help me when my coach says "Ready, GO!" Its not something that will change so I have realized that I might as well put in all my effort to do the workouts and earn the benefit from them rather than being scared and happenstancedly (don't try to look that word up, haha) get some type of benefit from it.

It doesn't help to worry or fear for things that are inevitable. Most of the issues I had with my training last year were due to a lack of confidence in my own ability to physically do what was being asked of me. I am now believing that I can do the workouts coach has for me and that he wouldn't give me something just to watch me struggle and fail. He genuinely wants me to get better. Besides, he also reaps a benefit from me doing well when I get that sponsorship or prize money. That being said, I realized that he wants me to get better, EVEN THOUGH he doesn't always say it or express it in the smallest manner, lol. The first thing to do is accept the fact that yes, this will be tough. Secondly, you have to adjust your attitude toward your task and cast out any thoughts of doubt or fear regarding it. You have to think positive and be stronger even though you're hurting, sore, in pain, or whatever the case may be. The last thing to do is enjoy the challenge or with respect to religion thank God for the moment.

Training has been tough, but Im getting more out of it and I've allowed or forced my body to react positively to the pain and challenge of finishing workouts. Personally, I feel like I've made a huge leap toward my dreams and I will continue to keep this attitude and mindset. There are no limits. This is the life of...a champion!!

Importance of Care The Reward Thereof

Hey bloggers hope all is well and your Thanksgiving was filled with great food, good fellowship, and a lot of realizing how blessed you are. Thank You GOD! I know this post is much overdue, but please bear with me. Practice has been really working my body out and I've been completely exhausted the past few weeks straight. It doesn't help that now we have had several days where we can't get much work in on the track due to frigid temps (FL frigid, lol). Anyways, this post ties in with the last one, so I'll give you all a practice update after this post.

We last left off talking about the importance of actually getting your body worked on for everyday people and for athletes alike. Hopefully you enjoyed that one. This post is primarily going to be about the chiropractic care, and my awesome opportunity that I was able to take advantage.

Maybe you've heard good or bad things about chiropractors, but I'll give you a bit more information about my experiences with chiropractors that will hopefully give you insight to make a better informed decision about your own care. The first thing you need to know about chiropractors is that there are a few different types of care. There are everyday chiropractors that adjust your body and you continue to come back, then there are corrective care practitioners. I have experienced both, and they are similar, but there is a stark difference between them.

Regular chiropractors have the knowledge to relieve pressure in your joints, nerves, and align your bones if they are out of place, but the disconnect I've experienced is that they don't teach you about what is happening to your body. Maybe you don't care if the teach you anything, but I feel if Im paying my hard earned money to someone to "fix" an issues I have with my body I want to know why I need it, how it will help, length of time I should expect, and so forth. I have to be in the KNOW, you heard me! Not only to they just allow you to walk through their offices day in and out without explaining what is going on with your body, why it is or isn't helping, etc., but they don't make attempts to permenantly correct the issue either. I don't believe that if you start going to a chiropractor you will become dependent on them. If you go to the right ones you can get the care you need and train your body to correct itself.

My corrective care chiropractor has educated me on the main area of focus for a healthier body and ultimately, life. That thing is the spinal cord, which I'll talk about next. I get my hips, spine, and neck adjusted each week and do the exercises that have been helping to strengthen my bones and muscles around those bones in order to hold position after adjustments. What I get done each week (down from 3 times a wk) is an adjustment for my hips, which are out of alignment by less than 5 degrees. This actually used to cause a lot of tension in my low back and would often affect my hamstrings while running, and since I've started my care I haven't had nearly as much strain in those areas. Imagine running around a track with one leg a little longer than the other ok? lol. It takes it's toll after a while.

The next thing I get taken care of is my spinal cord. Every person has a spine and it is like a hollowed shell that protects your spinal cord. This cord is THE ONE thing, aside from your heart that keeps you living long and strong. It sends all the signals from the brain to the rest of your body including limbs and organs. Imagine what would happen if one of those nerves was pinched because your spine was out of alignment. Maybe this issue occurred in your lower back where the nerve that controls you kidney is housed. The bone on that particular nervewould be clamping on your nerve like a rubberband wrapped tightly around your finger. After a while you finger goes numb and it starts to turn colors due to lack of circulation right? The same thing happens with our nerves. That pinched nerve tries to tell the kidney to clean out the blood system when you eat some bad food, but since you aren't getting 100% power trhough that nerve the signal is blocked and the kidney doesn't get all the instructions. This can cause kidney failure or more damage in your body since it is unable to do its job.

That scenario could go for any of your other organs including the heart. I hope that you can see the importance of having your spine adjusted regularly. I would highly recommend you at least go check out a corrective care chiropractor and get the interim x-rays to find out the facts on your body. From there you can decide what to do.

Importance of Care

That is one thing that will always resonnate within me: "Take Care of your body!!!" Something Coach reminds of at least once a week, but the occasional 3/4 times doesn't surprise anyone either, lol.

Hey bloggerz! Sorry for the delay in posting this one, but I've been under the gun to get a few things done. Well, I guess my own gun with a slow trigger and possibly rubber bullets. Ok, ok I was taking my time and just didn't feel like writing the past few weeks, even though this is something I am pretty eager to get out to you. There is just something about a tough day's work on the track that makes everything else seem so unimportant compared to the amount of sleep and recovery your body wants to slouch about in.

Back to the topic at hand. The quote above is from my coach reminding us to continue to take care of our body as athletes. Now you may be thinking that he is talking about eating right and drinking water and such, which he is, but not entirely. The main point he makes with that statement is to make sure we are getting our bodies "worked on" as we call it. This only means that we are making appointments to see any specialists that will aid in our recovery and allow us to keep our bodies in optimal shape from all the mileage (literal, lol) and strength and mental confidence we command of them.

For me this usually means that in a week I'll get an ice bath, a torturous deep tissue massage (hey don't give me that, there is no calming music and sounds of waterfalls in the background, lots of moments of pain comes from them), a epsom salt bath, maybe some accupuncture, an adjustment from the Chiro, icing my knees down several times a week, and stretching each night. It might sound like a lot, but the routine works for me and when Im consistent I usually have really good practices because my recovery is much better or faster.

Taking care of your body is no different for sports athletes than for regular everyday people. Perhaps you could take out a full ice bath and get away with that bruised ankle of yours. I probably wouldn't recommend a deep tissue to anyone who doesn't need it either, unless of course you're just curious, I would applaud you for trying one. These things are what helps our bodies recover and get back into working shape. Icing for example helps to numb the area of pain or inflamation so that when you have endured anywhere from 8-15 minutes and allow your body temp or restore itself blood will flow to the injured area more rapidly. This rapid blood flow creates new blood to come and repair damaged tissue and muscles which will speed up the healing process.

Epsom salt baths are usually done when you are extremely sore, but not bruised or muscles inflamed. The hot bath mixed with salt (to pull out toxins and overload the body with one of the electrolytes that it needs) will not only relax you, but allow your muscles to drain themselves of unwanted material through your pours as you sweat. It is similar to a detox, but not as inclusive. Usually you want to do hot baths or hot packs on affected areas prior to activities to help the stiff areas loosen up some or before bed for ultimate comfort. With epsom salt, I've noticed that my soreness lasts for much less than usual, I can be back running on a sore appendage sooner, and that my muscles have a chance to relax and loosen themselves which can help save you from a muscle pull. Of course you don't want to forget to drink LOTS of water while doing an epsom salt because if will dehydrate you and you will feel those affects the next day for sure.

Now Chiropractic care is something that I've heard several physical therapists and trainers look down upon. One reason is because a chiro has the knowledge or lack thereof to rearrange and adjust your bone structure. Now this is good if your spinal cord or low back or hips are out of alignment, but if you get worked on by someone who knows not what they're doing, they could really mess some stuff up. Honestly and personally though, I like Chiropractors. They not only adjust your body and any bones that have subluxation (misalignment), but also help in the corrective care area to release tension on your nerves. This technique is primarily focused on the spinal cord adjustments that allow nerve relief which can help your body function and operate better or optimally. I'll discuss more about Chiropractors in detail next post.

As you can see taking care of your body is pretty important. These things to take care of your body during aches, pains, and healthy living. Along with these things you can help to improve your health, while living long and strong! Some keys to this are drinking LOTS of water. Think of a lot of water and how much that is to you, then drink more than that, lol. Try to decrease or eliminate stress if possible, detoxify your body when necessary, get plenty of sleep, and eat healthy and supplement your food with those important vitamins and minerals that your body needs. This has been another service announcement from the life of...DK Research.truth. (Not a real website, lol)

Training

Hey bloggers, I bet you've been wondering what I've been up to huh? Training of course! lol. Yes, we have been training for several weeks now and we just started our 5th week today. I can't believe that we are already 5 weeks into the season! I feel like we just started a week ago, well at least in my mind. My body would tell you that I've been running for near 2 months, lol. Our load and training work is challenging on our bodies at times, so we have to make sure we set aside time to get "worked on" as we call it. You know, I was talking to one of my co-workers at my part-time job and had mentioned that I had a chiro (Chiropractic) appointment that day. It was funny because he asked me why do YOU need a chiropractor with your young and in shape, vibrant (ok let me stop) self. Hahaha. I told him "naw, I mean I need it, but its not what you're thinking, its just maintenance". He looked at me funny and said you say that like ur a car or something. I thought that was funny, but partly true too. We athletes put a lot into our bodies to get a lot out of our bodies. We take care of our pains and aches by getting worked on by chiro's, physio's, therapists, etc. So in a way we could view our bodies as a car analogy and think of it as trying to get premium mileage with minimal wear and tear on the vessel. :)



Coach had hinted that pretty soon we would be heading back to the track and starting to run on it instead of around it. I just didn't know that today would be that day. All in all track workouts are usually more difficult because you have a level surface that gives feedback to your pounding footsteps and you usually don't have to worry about pot holes like you do in the grass. Here in FL we're blessed to train at a facility that doesn't have any track pot holes. With the surface, though, coach expects a lot more out of you and your body does too; its our office! I wish I could tell you that I got on the track for the first time this season for a workout and was pretty cool and did the workout on pace, but I can't. Truth is when we get to our office I can't do anything, BUT get excited, so needless to say the first 450 I did in today's workout was WAY too fast. I felt so good, my legs were light, the sun was warm on my skin, and there was only a very slight wind. I almost got lost and coach told us to slow it down a few times, hehehe.



So we're back on the track running and I hear that tomorrow we get to start some technical work...which means hurdles! I hope that between todays workout and tonight's rest I will be able to calm down enough not to get all stupid on the hurdles. With something as serious as technique, I have to slow it back and focus on the movements and angles. Besides, it just makes it so much easier when we bring all those great practices into competition. I mentioned above about getting worked on. I have a feeling that when I say this many civilians or normie's don't really know what it is, so I'll plan to have a post on it coming soon, maybe even tomorrow. Don't be alarmed by those nicknames, some characters in the track world have some funny names for those who don't train professionally, but it's not derogative, shoot I know plenty of track athletes that would love to not have to worry about what they're eating, how much sleep they get, and how many thousands of miles they have to travel just to force their bodies to adjust to the time and then perform a physical symphony on the track. Truth is, we wouldn't mind being in your shoes, but this is the path we chose, and you chose yours. :) More to come! This is...the life of a professional athlete!

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?

Off-Season

Hey fellow bloggers! It has been a little while since I've had a chance to chat with you all. I've decided to give myself a complete rest from track and didn't think much about the sport or what was going on with track, etc, etc. I did keep up on a few of my favorite blogs, but that was about it. Since putting this decision into motion I have had a COMPLETE BALL. I haven't been doing a great plethora of things, but I've done some things that have kept my attention. For example, I've had the pleasure to visit 2 of Disney's many theme parks (Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom). The last time I've been to the theme parks here in Florida was more than 20 years ago when we had a huge family reunion and, sadly, I barely remember anything we did. Even though Disney is more for kids and families, I did enjoy the "magic" that the place has to offer, and it was pretty exciting. I have been twice now and have been blessed to have not paid a dime for parking or admittance to the park...you know, I've got people lol. Nonetheless, I'm waiting for one of my roommates to come through for some tix to Universal Studios so I can get on some of those roller coasters.

I have been working a good deal more than I was, but I end up having more time to myself still. I've noticed that track season takes up a lot more time than I thought until my season came to a halt. Now I do fun stuff like study or read books on things of interest like nutrition, finance and investments, cars, and the Bible. I love to learn and since being away from the college environment my brain has consistently pleaded with me to feed it something. Plus I've realized after all the years my parents forced me to read semi-interesting novels as a child, that reading is THE WAY to learn outside of formal education.

Aside from reading up on things of importance to me I've had the pleasure to stay active as well. Since season's end I've been choosing to walk or bike to work which is a good source of exercise and way to stay active without 'working out'. After talking with one of my mentors I decided to do something I had always been at least remotely interested in...dancing. Don't get me wrong...I CAN dance and have good rhythm, but I have always wanted to learn partnered dances and maybe to a hip-hop dance class. I finally mustered up enough guts to go out to a salsa spot and enter in to the unknown. They had a beginners class where I learned the Salsa basics and had some great instructors. One young lady also took me under her wing, seeing how I was pretty rhythmic and decided to teach me a touch of another style (I don't remember the name now). I can assure you that I am by all means a salsa beginner, but some of the movements came pretty easy to me. The issue was involving your partner into the dance because in salsa, and many other Latin dance styles, the man leads the woman almost as if he were a puppeteer. The basics are pretty easy to get down, but with all things practice, practice, practice is the key. I hope I can turn this new interest into something that I will enjoy for many many years to come.

I have some more fun things in the works, and hopefully I can knock them off the list before practice starts back up in full force. I'll keep you posted on the rest of the fun. This is the life...of the off-season!

Season's Recap II

HELLO Bloggers! As I stated in Recap I the season has come to an end. Needless to say this will probably be the last post for a little bit, but who knows I may throw a few off season posts in to keep you caught up on my happenings. Recap II is about the struggle this year.

A few weeks ago I was thinking about this past season as a rookie in the professional realm of track and field. How did it go you ask? Well, I can honestly say that it wasnt something I will run through the streets jumping for joy about. I had a lot of awesome experiences that made for a great learning season, but there were a few hickups that caused my season to be less than expected too. For starters I had to learn how my new coach operates, and the type of workouts he prescribes, lol. Its not easy leaving one program only to start a totally different training philosophy. It took almost the entire year to understand how to run his practices well. Next issue was the unexplained injury during the middle of indoor season. I had a huge problem with my knees for about 2 months during a CRITICAL period of training! I tried almost everything to get better. Went to doctors and specialists, chiropractors, and even an acupuncturists and NO ONE could tell me why I was experiencing this excrutiating pains in my knees. After many bills and evaluations later with yet no answer we "called it" tendonitis. During that time training was supposed to be focused on the first half of my hurdle race, working on block starts, and increasing speed in workouts for quickness and getting faster. Well, unfortunately I wasn't able to get those aspects of my race tuned up, and as a result it showed in my competitions throughout the season. So after the injury subsided I came back only to start where we left off: at the tail end of basework. We had to go back to longer slower workouts and weren't able to train for the speed factor like we were scheduled to. I believe this is the SOLE reason I didn't PR this year because our goal was to break 50 seconds over the hurdles, and prior to, all signs pointed to surpassing the goal.

I would say that I came into the program fairly prepared for everything coach had for me on the track. Prior to the injury I was showing excellent fitness and was able to focus on other things like form, stride length, and frequency. With Coach D there is a definite system for training the body to succeed at each phase of a race. If you miss one of those phases you will be missing an element which will alter your progression or results on the track. There are usually 3 general phases (starting, top speed, and maintaining or finishing), but with a more technical race like hurdles you add at least a few more (hurdle approach, front side hurdle, backside, and hurdle-ground transition). After the injury I was a mental wreck unaware. I started to doubt a lot of my training, and my confidence on the track was pretty low. I was just nervous about getting back out and pushing my body on account of the injury especially since we never found out what it was. It ended up playing a serious role in my races and practices hindering me from getting what I needed out of them. It made coach's job about 3 times harder because he had to train me physically and also mentally.

Dispite the sob story, Im taking it as a learning experience and can only focus on the future now. I learned a lot about the sport, my race, and myself as an athlete. I was mentally weak, but my body has always been in shape to run fast. My coach and I know that the ability is there, I just need to get out of my own head on the track and stay healthy off the track. I allowed my body to dictate the success of my race when I should have been pushing my mind to MAKE the body perform. When it comes down to your race, in front of either ten or ten thousand people, it doesn't matter what you feel like. Your mind will can get your body through nearly anything. Once you can allow your body to just go, do, or react without any connection to your emotions only then will you become an elite athlete. I've only recently discovered that so I have to keep it in mind and at heart. As for now, Im looking for some ideas for cross-training. Even though Im not practicing I need to find something to keep me active. I was thinking about joining a dance class or maybe martial arts? If you have any ideas drop a comment. As always thanks for checking me out yall! This is the life of...an athlete - Keep your focus

Season's Recap I

Looking back on the season Im pretty satisfied. Not with everything, but for a lot. For example, I had enough guts to take a leap of faith, literally, and pursue a dream of mine with no excuses. I ended up learning a whole bunch from my new coach as well as the seasoned veterans in the sport that I run with.

Even though I look at the results from all of my meets and don't see all of the times I was shooting for, I can say that on this journey I've started to realize what it is that I want to accomplish. Upon discovering what you want you just have to put life in motion to get that goal done. This year I've learned about my coach and his training techniques, myself as an athlete (what things help me or discourage me), and the sport of Athletics (as the Europeans call it) from a technical and professional side. One thing I would have never imagined is how small the sport of Track & Field is. I've seen and met A LOT of big names that have stood out for years in the collegiate enviornment. These athletes are just regular people, some have attitudes, some are really nice, others you probably don't want to try to make eye contact with, lol. All in all I've started to take the fan out of myself as a runner and start to put strictly comptetion down on the track. After the meet, if I have a chance to chat or hang out with someone new thats cool, but if not I still have to handle my business at work (since my actual JOB is to RUN).

I've had an opportunity to find out that there is, like everything else, politics in the sport, and that a lot of times you are chosen to enter meets based on who you know or who your agent is. Some agents get together to try to blacklist athletes they don't like, and others just want to see some good races. I personally don't have an agent yet, but when the time comes I'll make sure I choose wisely.

Another thing I've noticed is that Track athletes don't get half as much, heck...a quarter, hype and press as other sports do. We are kind of on the "starving artist" employment. I've had my struggles this year financially, but I kept my eyes on God and watched his grace fill my life, which is pretty exciting. When the only thing you can do is to REALLY trust God, you see "miracles" all the time and your faith grows because of it. All in all, I've met some really interesting people like Tyson Gay, Natasha Hastings, Veronica Campbell, etc. Some really wonderful people Rodney Greene, Shalonda Solomon, Damu Cherry, Debbie Ferguson-Makenzie, etc. And have hung out with some big names too: Dave Oliver, Bershawn 'Batman' Jackson, Dwight Thomas, and Dennis Mitchell.

Taking this year as a learning experience will only help me explode into the realm of greatness next season. I know how to train, how to take care of my body, what to expect this next year of training, and I have a great support team of people in and out of my training camp. Everything is great because things could ALWAYS be worse. I'll delve a bit deaper into the ups and downs next post, SO stay tuned in! The life of...a rookie; DK