the Great Indoors
soooo, it snowed the other day... and you know what that means!!! We finally moved indoors. anyone from the midwest knows that Michigan weather is about as predictable as the Daily 4 lottery numbers. So we were outside most of this fall, rain or shine. Now that we are indoors, that means the indoor season is right around the corner. I kow some teams start as early as this month, we for one start the first week in December, against CMU in a little dual meet that should be pretty interesting. This fall has given me alot to look forward to as far as my optimism about my team. We seem to have a new look and new feel. Our cross team has been setting the tone so far and have done a terrific job on the mens and womens behalf. Also, we really have some depth in our sprint group for the first time in my five years here. I have to say, then men are looking good. Barring everyone stays healthy, we are really gonna make some noise (as i said in my last blog). But yeah, I am really looking forward to this indoor season. I gotta tell you, I hate the tight turns and the humidityor coldness of our indoor facility. but I am happy to be inside none the less. Just wanted to update you guys on my status thus far and let you know that my fall has gone very well. oh yeah, we had time trials a couple of weeks ago, and my teammates really wow'ed me! I personally very satisfied with my 300 time at that point in the season (october), as well as my 30 and 40 meter times. But my teammates had some dashing times that makes me excited about our relays and the future success of the team when i'm gone. but let me quit blabbering. You will be hearing from me soon and alot more often once this season gets on and poppin'. til next time...
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Back at it
So this week was our first official, unofficial week of practice. we just did some some light tempo stuff and some core exercises. it feels good to have a fresh new start. its like new years or something, lol. but yeah, im really looking forward to this season. its my last one and i feel as though i have a chance to be a part of something special. we have a lot of new fresh faces that are looking to make our team and make a difference. and we have some returning big ten scorers that are hungry and looking to reach the podium this year. as for me, i'm not gonna make any crazy predictions or boost myself. I'm just working on staying healthy and doing what it takes to help this team take it to the next level before my time here is done. i will say that i have alot of confidence in this team, more so than i have had for any msu team i have been on in the past. we really have so great coaches in place and some good leadership and some really good athletes that are primed and ready to take it from the bottom of the big ten to the top. so yeah, this was just an update letting you guys know that we were back at it again. i had a great summer in which i got to rehab and get stronger and healthier. sooooo, you'll be hearing from me weekly with updates and what not. goodluck to every one getting ready for the season and those who are running cross...i look forward to seeing some great performances around the country this year. so take care, untill next time...
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Track Fan/Summer PLan
Its been a while since a have updated my blog..sorry..i've been sooo freakin busy with summer class!!! None the less, Im back. My summer classes are over, thank God, 4.0'd that piece!!! Now I have all summer left to relax...and train of course :-) My hamstring is perfect again, now im just gonna start back strengthening and getting back into base shape. I start working back oout on monday. My summer workouts usually just consist of conditioning..miles, stadiums, repeat 50's, and of course some mucho heavy weightlifting. Although i never stopped lifting upper body, im looking forward to kicking the weights up another notch and really putting some more emphasis on lower body this summer. in the time that I was out, i got to sit and watch alot of running. Needless to say, It sucks being a spectator but in all honesty, this year on the sideline gave me a better appreciation for track as a sport.
I had never really been s tudent of the game or a track fan. I was always concerned about my own races and what was going on in my conference. But since i have been watching all year leading up to the trials which are going on now, I have seen some amazing races and great indiviual and team performances throughout the seaosn. Bolts world record 100, tysons 9.6, Merrit take down Wairner (TWICE!!!). Even the distances have been intriguing with the new womens amercian record in the steeple, those 3 oregon dudes going 1,2,3 in the 800. Shoot, my homies from Michigan placing 4th at NCAAs, MSU's own Nicole Bush placing 4th at the trials in the steeple (my pick to win ncaas next year..you heard it here first). But i dont know, its crazy to just sit back and watch all of this going down and it excites me. Nothing like a good showdown, where runners arent dodging eeach other or pulling up lame. This was a seaon of surprises for me. It only fules me to wanna be better next season. Like it makes me wanna take my game to that next level. Myabe this year on the sideline was what i needed to show me what it takes to step it up. either way, i am amped for next season. I cant wait to hit the track on monday. so goodluck to my homies at the trials and headed to the olympics. I'll be routing for you and watching ever so closely. just wanted to drop a line and share my thought with you guys, I hope all is well, everythings great on my part. Until Next time...
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:( sad face
you ever have a plan or a vision of something great...like mapping out this big scheme of how things are suppose to go for yourself!!! and then BOOM!! Things change... Thats how i felt this year. My season ended before it even began this year. Injuries from the indoor season persisted and nag me the throughout the entire indoor season, forcing me to hang my spikes up for the outdoor season. I know what your thinking, man thats weak way to go out in your 4th year...But not so fast my friend, i still have a full year left next year, indoor and oudoor season, so dont write me off jsut yet,lol. It just sucks to lose a season that was full of such promise.
Thankfully it wasnt any major injuries, just little nagging injuries that were just enough to say "maybe it wouldnt be the best idea to run." I did what i could to get back healthy and stay in shape, but.... you know how things go sometimes. For a while i got really frustrated, but managed to calm myself and realize that this is part of sports. I signed up for this, the risk of injury is high and can be expected when running at high speeds, such as myself :) but yeah, i chalked it up and didnt run this weekend at big tens. I was actually gearing towards running, but got there and didnt feel well so i sat it down ( for those of you who saw me there warming up before the 400 and maybe wondered what happened). by the grace of my coaches, I was allowed to make a game time decision and i made the decison that was best for my health and well being. As much as i wanted to get out there and compete and help my team out, it wasnt worth the risk.
But they say for one thing to begin, something has to end. so ends my lame outdoor season, but so begins the road to recovery and redemption. I already have next season in my sights. My radar is focused on getting healthy this summer, and going out with a BANG in my last collegiate season. With that said, keep ya mans J.O. in your prayers and wish me luck. I'm looking forwaard to gracing the track with my presence once again next season. to my team and all my trakc homies around the country still competing... do it big and good luck with the remainder of your season. ill be watching and cheering you guys on. Until next time...
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Track! the ultimate spectator sport!
lol, so maybe its not the "Ultimate" spectator sport, but its up there. I say this becasue lately i have had the oppurtunity to actually sit back and watch, and not have to run over the past few weeks. and although i have missed the running, i am thoroughly pleased by what i have seen from my team!! in particular my sprint group. I was joking with them the other day before some of the guys ran the open 400 (my main event)! i told them i felt like a nervous dad who was about to watch his own kids compete, lol. And after they ran, i was just as proud as a parent would be! we had some really great perfromance from, including a low 47 and pr by my man Mike Smoot. he also beat some ket competition, and pushed some good runners down to the wire. we aslso yury ratomski, a freshman who hasnt ever even run a open 400, run a 48 with a win in his heat, and one of my red shirt homies Dave Calile when his heat at the emu twilight.
im also seeing major progress in our 400 hurdler Jake Hamilton! he went from never running the 400 hurdlers to running a 52 high in just the thrid week of the season, just hundreths off the regional mark! now tell me that doesnt, excite you! and!!! and!!! and!!! i got my roll dog Keith, back on the "Track", making a splash! i emphasize track becasue out of high school (the infamous Mumford Highschool and Motor city Track Club) he switched from running to jumping, but just a few weeks ago made return to the track to our relay and some open events. once he gets in real shape...its gonna be ugly!
now imagine being me..and seeing all of this going on around you as you just sit back and watch. and some of you know me as the work hourse from MSU who has been scoring most of the points for the last 4 years.. which is true.. but imagine seeing all of this stuff going own around you and knowing that your teammates are carrying the load in your abscence and growing up right before your eyes..tear tear! I LOVE IT!!! Im so proud of you guys, incase i havent told you. keep up the good work. keep working hard as you have been and keep progressing. like i said before, i miss running and competing and will be back on the track soon, but as long as you guys keep running and competing this well you're making track and field, for me, the "ultimate spectator sport"! until next time...
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Outdoor is here!!!
ok, so i know im a little late and that outdoor meets have been going on for like a month now, but im still excited and its still new to me, lol. The last few years i have redshirted, so its really been 2 years since i actually competed in an outdoor season. that was sophmore year, which was actually a very successfull year, so i expected nothing short of a great ourdoor season this year as well. i had what i would consider a really good indoor season. it didnt end on the note i wolud have liked, but none the less it was a productive indoor season for me. i hit some marks and times and beat some top competition that i really think will set the tone for my outdoor season this year. ive gotten alot of questions from my track shark and facebook friends in regards to what happened to me as far as running the last chance meet and making it to nationals..i wont go into major detail, but i had a small injury that kept me from running. and there was a decison that needed ot be made as to run at last chance and possibly further injure myslef or just chalk it up and get ready for outdoor season. Lucky for me i have some really great and understanding coaches that allowed me to make that decision and help me with making that decision. with that said, we thought it would be best to not run and just let the injury heal. you guys will be happy to know i am doing fine after some much needed rest and good rehab.so please believe i'm back on my A game and ready to get it going. i probably wont open up the season for a few weeks.. mainly because we want to get some good training in coming off of that injury. and also because we are planning on it being a very long season if you get my drift :-) so there's no need to rush into running. besides, its like 30 degrees still in michigan so we havent even headed outside yet. but yeah, im really excited and looking forward to what lies ahead for me on the track in 08! whatever it is, im sure it will involve fast times, big wins, and alot of fun. so be on the lookout for me... until next time...
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focused on BIG TENS!!!!
Is it just me, or did this indoor season fly by? It seems like we were just having a dual meet with CMU and now we're getting ready to leave for Madison in a few day for the Big Ten Championship. None-the-less, I am soooo excited. I actually came home this weekend to calm my self and refocus. I didint get sidetracked or anything, but you know how some times you just need to go to that "place", where you can take a step back, gather your thoughts, and get ya mind right. Detroit is that place for me. I'm actually sitting in the basement of my house right now...waiting on mom to cook breakfast, lol. I kind of started to get caught up in the hype of the whole championship..the medals, honors, and the the fact the the Big Ten Network is televsing it. For a brief second I started to forget what I was going there for..and thats to run hard, put points on the board, and help my team in the best way that I can. So when I got home, i just layed in my room, chilled out, and refocused on the task at hand. With that said, I am ready.. and I am going ito next weekend with a sense of purpose and focus. Competitively, MSU has come a long way since I have been here. Although we may have been taking 9th or 10 place, we have really stepped it up. I am really looking forward to seeing some great things from my squad this coming week. So, dont be surprised if you see us finishing higher then we've finished in a long time. I'm not sayin we're gonna win this thing, but we are gonna be breathing down some team knecks. so goodluck to the rest of the Big ten..I'm looking forward to seeing you guys!! Goodluck to the rest of you that have conference championships this weekend and next weekend too. My advice: Stay focused. You wont here from me again until after the finals next sunday. So pray for me! until next time...
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Meyo!!!!!
So, the meyo invite is this weekend. in my four years here this meet never ceases to amaze me. I get so excited when this meet comes up. Aside from running my own events, its always great to see all those runners compete for indivual meyo titles. My freshman year i got to see the famous meyo mile run my the Jefferson brothers of Indiana and Brannen from U of M. I also was in the race when Johhny Drake of Central Michigan went 6.5, that was pretty sweet. not getting beat, but to see him run 6.5 low in person. Sophomore year i redshirted, so I missed out on the festivities. It was a really good race between Demi Omole of Wisconsin and Johnny Drake, in which Omole won. Last year, the crowd got a little treat on Friday night when Lashawn Merrit blasted the competition in the 300... he went like 31 something! And Ryan Shay (r.i.p) ran an amazing race.. I think it was the 3k. But none the less i am looking forward to some good races this year. I am expecting the 60 at meyo to be very fast!!! Dont be surprised if you see a 6.5 from my buddy Adam Harris from U of M! Just throwing that out there. The 60 hurdles should be rolling too. Ofcourse the "MEYO MILE" is always hot!!! So i guess this is just me telling you that if you are near a computer, dont forget to check for updates from the Meyo Invite this weekend on Friday and Saturday..It wont be disappointing by any means.
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Dual Meets continued...
After this past weekend, i am thoroughly convinced that scored meets bring out the best in athletes..or atleast with my team. I mentioned last week that we had a scored meet with Notre Dame last Friday evening. Marquette was there too. But at that meet i saw a side of my teammates that i havent seen in any of my teammates in my 4 years here. Let me set the stage. MSU is in East Lansing, Michigan. Notre Dame is in South Bend, Indiana. That is about a 2 hour bus ride. 2 and a half hours at the most....We left at 1:30 pm....Cut to the bus not arriving at the meet until 6:30 pm. The meet was to start at 5:30. Needless to say, we got stuck in traffic. And although the Coaches at ND were kind enough to allow the meet to start an hour later, i cant say it made a difference. Can you imagine the uncomfort, stress, and TIGHTNESS, that sitting still on a bus for 5 hours can cause to a runners legs!!!! To be completely honest after that bus ride i really didnt expect much from my team or myself for that matter. I mean we had to get off the bus, quickly warm up, and run. But before we ran. our head coach gathered us together and said something that got our minds refocused. He said when people look at the results, there isnt gonna be an astrict(*) by anyones name saying that they had to ride on the bus for 5 hours. lol! I thought that was sooo funny, but at the same time, i knew it was true, and so did my teammates. Man, we got out there and competed like our lives depended on it..I was so proud. Our women and men ran so well. I felt like a proud parent..Maybe cuz i'm the old dude on the team and the team is kinda young this year. BUt it was great to see how once again, a scored meet brought out the best in us.Long story short, notre dame smashed us when u check the score...lol...but the score doesnt tell the whole story. Our women tied for first actually tho. they reallyed ran well. But yeah, i just really wanted to give a shout out to my team and tell them that i am proud of them and that they did very good this past weekend. And that i encourage them to hold on to that competiveness for the whole season and tap into again when the Championships roll around. If we can do that, we will be okay :) until next time...
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DUAL MEETS
with the UofM and OSU dual meet this past weekend, it really got me wondering why there is such a lack of scored meets throughout the year! I am a MSU man all the way. I bleed green and white, but i myself was actually excited about "THE DUAL" between those 2 storied school rivals. We actually had a scored meet the night before with akron and cmu. and although there wasnt any pride or bragging rights on the line, i noticed that it really brought out the competiveness in myself, as well as my teammates. I kinda felt a small flame ignite that usually only catches fire around Conference meet time. And i thought that was kinda cool. Granted, that meet cant even compare to a big ten championship, but its nice to get in that competitive setting where you dont wanna go home a loser. It kinda brought out the winner in me. Even when talking to my buddy from UofM i could just tell that the night before he was just burning to run and compete for wolverines and roll out on osu. And he did! But i guess my main point is that there should be more scored duals, triangulars, and quads arounf the country. With that said, we have a really good meet next week against an old MSU rival...Notre Dame. And i must admt, im really looking forward to competing with my Green and White on!!!! But yeah, just thought i would share that with you guys. So until next time...
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BREAK!?!?
I'm finally done with finals...Sooo, that means Christmas break right? Wrong!!! I must admit, thats the one thing i hate about being a runner. You miss all the breaks; Christmas, spring, and dont make it to outdoor nationals, lol, you'll luck up and half ya summer might be gone! Dont get me wrong, I'm no stranger to hard work. But sometimes a brotha just be wantin to chill. None the less, i will be here in this wonderful city of East Lansing (cough cough), becasue detroit doesnt have an indoor facility. Thats another thing! Why the hexk isnt there not one Indoor track in the whole city of Detroit? I'm sorry, i probably sound like "angry man" right now. To be honest, this year i am actually looking forward to the break so i can train. With the break from classes i can focus all of my energy on running. I can just zone in on the practices and go to work on the runs. I dont mind missing out on all the fun and relaxing, because i know that it will all pay off in the end. Im looking forward to a long and successful season, and i know i need this work now so that later in the season ill be tight. With that said, im oing to tell all you tracksharkers out there to use your break wisely. Til next time...
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And We're Off!!!!
So, the season is finally here. We have been in stride for some months now. And to be honest it feels great. I have been redhsirting these last 2 years. One indoor season and one outdoor season, so i never really got he chance to get going like i wanted to since my freshman campaign. But it was okay, because i knew it was for the best. And now with a full year ahead of me and being at full health, im feeling really good. im ready to drop some fast times..early. Extre early to be exact, the first meet is next friday, december 7th. we open up witha dual meet against Central Michigan at our home track. I'm really looking forward to it. Granted, it is rather early, but the early bird gets the worm. and itll give us a chance to see where we are at in our training and let me know what i need to work on. Man it seems as though the season came so very fast this year. I cant be the only one that feels like that right? BUt this is my first blog, i just wanted to get things up and running and let you guys know how i am doing here in East Lansing. Keep track of this blog, its gonna be smokin hot!!! Til next time...
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Recent Entries
• the Great Indoors
• Back at it
• Track Fan/Summer PLan
• :( sad face
• Track! the ultimate spectator sport!
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