When the boys are away....

So this weekend, most of the guys in the group are on the road, traveling somewhere around the world. David and Joel are in Berlin, Aub was in Belgrade and now he is in Zaragoza, Spain and so a couple of the ladies in my training group, Anne and Moushami and myself thought it would be a good time to have a night on the town. I haven't been to a club in quite a while and in spite of some forewarning about what to expect, I decided that it was about time.

First I couldn't decide what top to wear. I had on a grey blouse at first, but so many times when I wear this type of top, the questions about do you run track and why my arms look the way they do are more than I care to answer so at the last minute I decided to change.

I know my arms are still out in this top too but somehow it looks different and maybe because it has bright colors, your eyes tend to be drawn to that instead. Anyway, Moushami came over and we left from here. I wasn't sure what to expect.

We ended up having a pretty good time. The music was pretty good and I hadn't danced in a while so that alone made the night fun. It's always interesting for me to go out and people watch. The outfits, the interactions, the moves that guys try to make and what alcohol does to some people is all the entertainment I need.

We stayed for quite a while and to be honest I don't know what time we made it home but suffice to say, it was all I could to fall into my bed and surprise, surprise I woke up with a headache this morning. I've spent the entire day on the couch watching TV. There were two different track meets airing today, one from New York from last night where the men's 100m world record was set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica in 9.72 seconds!! The other was the meet in Berlin where Dave ended up winning the hurdles, again. He sure is having an outstanding season thus far. Congrats to them both!

Anyway, that's it for my weekend. Training resumes tomorrow and life goes back to normal but it sure was fun to get out and "let my hair down" for a change!

Why? wHy? whY?

A few weeks ago, I did a post querying why this and why that? I've had a few more thoughts since then so here we go:

Why is it that you can pluck one eye brow hair and it'll grow right back, but then it just stops growing? Why don't they just keep growing and growing and growing??? (Actually, that would not be a good look, LOL!)

Why is it that when I try to lose weight I can't but then when I have no interest in it, weight just seems to fall off?

Why did it just snow in North Dakota a couple weeks ago? Glad I don't live there!

Why does anyone live in North Dakota?

Why do I quote Oprah as a source for factual evidence?

Why do I hate driving so much? I swear if I win the lottery, I'm getting a driver!

Why do so many people from the Caribbean not know how to swim? Answer: Cause we just go in the ocean to "cool off", not for sport! (For the record, I CAN swim)

Why do Americans pay so much in taxes and then still have to pay for healthcare? (We don't have income tax in the Bahamas:)

Why did they ever invent the blackberry? Seriously, why? They must really want people to crash while they're driving, not that I would ever use that thing when I'm on the road or anything!

Why do we need passports? Just because I paid a fee for this visa and you stamped your stamp in there doesn't mean I won't come in your country and act a complete fool.

Why don't I just trade in my SUV for a tricycle? I'd sure save a whole lotta money on gas!

Why is it that I don't swear? For some reason it doesn't feel right coming out of my mouth.

Why do people generally either love or hate The Lakers? I for one, love them!

What's with foot fat? You've seen those ladies with the strappy shoes that are SO tight that it looks like their foot is just one big overstuffed muffin!

In that same vein, if your toes are jacked, why would you wear open toed shoes?

Why do you get paid $25,000 to LOSE in the first round of the French Open? Who can't do that?

Why on a bad day, does my hair look like old school Tina Turner?

What happened to Rosie O' Donnell? She used to be the "queen of nice". Now she's just annoying.

Why do some people think it's ok to talk on their phone at the movies. Unless someone's dying, it's NEVER ok, OK?

Why is it that a couple grains of sand can literally make or break my day?

And lastly, why do I often have to translate from English to English for my mother when we're at the cash register checking out? They're just saying cash, check or charge, mom. It's not a trick question:)

MOVIE REVIEW

This past Saturday night, I went to the movies. At first, the plan was to see Ironman. I've heard so much about how great this movie was and so I was looking forward to seeing it. At the last minute, plans changed and I ended up watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.


Perhaps it's because I don't remember what the other previous Indiana Jones movies were about or maybe I didn't even see them, who knows although I vaguely remember something about seeing Sean Connery in one of them. Or perhaps it's because I'm not a big fan of Sci Fi movies to begin with. Lord of The Rings, no thank you, Harry Potter, nope, Star Wars, I'll pass. Give me a good action flick, or suspense movie, or romantic comedy any day. Suffice to say this movie gets one thumb down and one thumb sideways from me. It was entertaining I guess, but for the most part, I don't think I knew exactly what was going on. I probably wasn't really paying enough attention anyway.

My friends are always trying to convince me to go see these types of movies and every once in a while I relent and then it usually only reaffirms for me, that I was right to begin with. You know the movie is not too believable when you're sitting there with your lip turned up with that "no they didn't" look on your face, you know what look I'm talking about. That look when Harrison Ford and friends goes over the 500ft waterfall in a boat and they all survive.....C'mon now....give me a break!!!! LOL!

Anyway, it's all good. I had a good time anyway. Sometimes it's just nice to get out of the house...

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VISIT

Yesterday morning, David and I went to Dr. Phillips Elementary School at the invitation of Betsy Riccardi, the wife of my coach Brooks Johnson. Betsy and I go waaay back. While Brooks was the head coach at Stanford while I was there, Betsy was actually my long jump coach. She saw me through the most trying of times to the most triumphant. From gaining too much weight, let's just say it was more than the freshman 15 (can you say junk in the trunk, with a capital J!), to losing the weight to being two-time NCAA champion. She and I would travel to meets, sometimes just the two of us and during that period of time we became more than coach and athlete, we became friends.

So last week when she called and asked whether David and I would be willing to come to her Elementary school to talk to a group of third graders, it was a done deal before she could even finish the question. We had a fantastic time! I hadn't spoken to that age group in quite a while, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Suffice to say, the experience superceded my expectations. The kids were really inquisitive and asked all kinds of questions.

Dave showed them how high the hurdle is that he runs over, I showed them how far my personal record is and they saw video of both us competing. They also did a presentation for us where they told us about the ancient Olympics and how it originated as war games - the javelin was used as a weapon, the long jump was so that the warriors could jump over moats that surrounded the castles, the shot put was used in the catapult, pole vaulting was used to get over surrounding walls, the marathon was so that information could be transported from one town to another. I learned something too, because I never knew all of this.

We signed quite a few autographs, ate lunch in the cafeteria and then had to escape, Michael Jackson style, in a rush because we started getting ambushed!! It was pretty funny. All in all, it was a good day. I didn't realize it at the time just how much energy kids require because when I got back home, I think I fell asleep on the couch within 5 minutes, LOL!

It was definitely my pleasure to help Betsy out in any way I could and should she ask again, next year or whenever, I would gladly render my services again.

LENOVO OLYMPIC BLOGGER PROGRAM

Lenovo is the official electronics sponsor for the upcoming Olympic Games in Bejing, China. A few weeks ago they contacted me and asked me to be one of 100 Olympic hopefuls worldwide to be a part of their blogging project. I was surprised and honored to know that they were interested in my l'il ol' blog so of course I accepted their invitation. It's taken me a while to answer all of their bio questions, etc that they need for their official website but I finally managed to get it done.


They sent a new Lenovo laptop and a flip cam to help the blogging process be that much more easy and that much more entertaining. The computer is really fancy - almost out of my league, what with eye recognition and that sort of thing. I need to upgrade my own skill level:) Once I figure out how to use the flipcam and upload video, then I'll be sure to do some v-blogging too. That should be a whole lotta fun. If they had known just how unsavvy I am when it comes to these sorts of things, perhaps they wouldn't have been as inclined to include me. Thankfully, they were none the wiser!

So once again I want to say a big thank you to Kaitlyn and the people over at Lenovo for including me. It is most definitely my pleasure.

MEET RECAP

Today I competed at the Adidas Carson Invitational which was televised live on ESPN. I am still a work in progress this year. Things that I used to take for granted, like oh, jumping far, are not happening so easily this year. I am really fit and strong and fast but somehow my technique is not coming together as I would like or as I am accustomed to. Not to fear, I am nothing if not dedicated and motivated and willing to put the work in in order to figure it out. Today was definitely a step in the right direction. We had a pretty top notch field of jumpers. Five of the top US women who will be vying for spots on the US Olympic team competed today along with myself, another jumper from the Caribbean and then a girl from Australia. I finished 5th with a slight improvement in my season's best.


I'm trying to be grateful for small mercies but patience is not easy when time seems to be passing so quickly. I really feel as if I am on to something though and I think I can see that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The things I worked on this past week in practice I executed really well. The one thing I didn't work on, ended up being my downfall. At least I know now where my focus needs to be and that is a great thing to be aware of. When you're in no man's land and you have no idea what your problem is, that is the worst place to be in. I have about 3/4 of what I'm doing figured out and I vow to get this last part right in the short term, if it's the last thing I do. They're gonna have to throw me off the track because I am going to stay there until I get it.

And so I head back to Orlando in the morning bright and early. I have been away from my coach and my training group for a couple weeks and I am looking forward to getting back. Joice has left me to head back to Great Britain to prepare for her own upcoming Olympic Trials and I wish her all the best. Thanks to my handy blackberry:) we haven't gone a day without contact. So I will be minus a roommate but no worries, I've learned my way around the O and so I shouldn't have a problem. I really should get to bed as I have to get up in another 4 hours.

Thanks for all your support along the way so far this season. I hope to give you something to cheer about in the very near future!

PERSEVERANCE!

"FALL SEVEN TIMES, STAND UP EIGHT!" Japanese Proverb