Thursday, April 24, 2008

PENN RELAYS

So this morning I flew to Philadelphia, PA for the renowned Penn Relays. It is one of, if not the largest track meet held every year in the US. I haven't competed here in years and to be honest in spite of the hype and circumstance, it's never really been one of my favorite meets, perhaps due in a large part to the overwhelming number of athletes that do come. On the one hand, it's a great thing because that means track and field is alive and well. On the other hand, they really herd you around like cattle to get all the many races off on schedule. In addition to the fact that there is no warm up area so you literally have to warm up in the nearby streets. Not a pleasant thing to do, particularly if you have shin splints like I do.

OK. That's it for the negativity! Now that I've gotten that out, I'm coming with new eyes and a fresh attitude in hopes of performing well. There is a little more pressure this weekend because I am competing for my country and once I have The Bahamas written across my chest, the stakes rise just a little bit.

Several of my training partners are here for this weekend as well, along with our coach, Brooks. The 110 men's hurdle crew will be going for the world record in the shuttle hurdles relay and they stand a VERY good chance of breaking it. So good luck to them.

Before I sign off, let me take the opportunity to wish my friend David a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! He turns 26 today! Perhaps that world record will be his birthday present to himself! Since I knew we would be traveling today, I wanted to return the favor and make sure he had a great birthday dinner a couple nights ago - David, me, Joice, Aub, Joel and Randy. We had a lot of fun at this Italian restaurant where Dave was up to his usual antics. Poor Sassy, our waitress, she had no idea what she had signed up for:) Here are just a couple pics from our night out. I wish I could post them all but I'll just share a few. And yes , it is still the same night in the bottom picture, but Dave decided to change his shirt mid-dinner!!

Anyway, that's it for now, I'll let you know how it goes.


14 comments:

Brianna said...

HILARIOUS! David changed his shirt mid-dinner??!!! Only him.

Have fun at Penn!

Eb the Celeb said...

He's a cutie... have fun!

anonymousnupe said...

Yeah, I posed that question prior to your Penn Relays posting. What are the odds of you looking up my daughter (15 yr. old sophomore, ran 4x400 today) and thrilling her by taking a few pics with her and her teammates? She proly don't know you, but she gets kinda awestruck when she's around very accomplished track people. Hit me at anonymousnupe@gmail.com. I know you don't know me from a can of paint in the paint store, so it's quite cool if you can't/won't or wonder out loud, "who the hell...?" You know how we do: Dads will do practically anything for our children, especially daughters, including "axing" for the moon or embarrassing ourselves on their behalf.

Now I'll go read your entry.

anonymousnupe said...

Ohhhh, see I didn't realize you are there to actually compete! I only glanced at the first couple lines when I typed my first comment. It pays to read, I tell ya'.

So cancellation on the request. I wouldn't dream of imposing on a pro during her "office" time for my whimsy (or my child's). I apologize.

Now is it gay if I say birfday dude is hot? Yeah, it proly is.

David Oliver said...

Yeah it would be, very homo.

Anonymous said...

Poor Sassy! She just didn't know.

Best wishes in Philly! I will be in New York this weekend so I more than likely won't be able to tune in. Maybe I can DVR it. It will be televised right??

Nice pics. You sure do have a lot of hair. And you're so pretty=)

anonymousnupe said...

Well, see, that's why I didn't say it!

Bodies By Joice said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bodies By Joice said...

anonymousnupe are you trying to give David palpitations. For him to even comment means he's disturbed by the comment. lol

I blame eb the celeb for starting this. lol

Good luck Jack in Penn.
I'll see if I can drag myself away from the shops to watch. lol

What time you need me to come pick you up from the airport? I forgot.

Jackie E. said...

I am finding all these comments quite hilarious!!! Anonymousnupe, if your daughter is around on Saturday at some point, then I would have no problem meeting her after I compete.

Dana said...

Good Luck Jackie!!! =) I wish you the BEST!!

LMAO @ anonymousnupe...I hope your 15 yr old daughter really wrote that and not you!! =)

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

good luck, yawl make a cute couple

anonymousnupe said...

LOL, Malibu (which was my first real car, 1970, sky blue). Naw, I wrote it. Just trying to bring the humor, bring the laughs. I don't allow her (my 15 yr. old) to visit grown folks' blogs. There's adult content up in here! (She might do it while I’m not looking, but that’s what surreptitiously installed tracking software is for, right?)

Jackie, if it's not too much of an imposition, that would be wonderful for her and her teammates! She will be there on Saturday (the boys run the 4x4) all day.

Just let me know how you'd like to work it!!! You have my e-mail address. I can send you her pic and vitals, give you her celly, and whatever else. Just holla.

She's gonna faint if she sees you jump out da pit and then later sidle up to her with a familiar, "What's up, T-Money?!" (her track nickname).

Again, do not feel obligated to do this. We’ll still be rooting for you (and your girl Bri), either way.

dejanae said...

happy bornday to the bud
hope ur enjoying urself down there