Weekly Update/Blog

May 5th to 6th

What a long day/two days.  I took off out of SFO at 6:56pm on the 5th and landed in Milan Italy at 5:35pm on the 6th.  After 14 hours I had arrived in Milan and then had a 2 hours car ride to the hotel in Desenzano del Garda.  Upon arrival at the hotel Abergo al Caccitore, Matt Chisam and I then did a 10 minute run and stretched.  We then grabbed dinner and returned to go to sleep at around 11:30pm.  I had arrived in Europe and will return to the states on June 1st.

May 1st

Today I was suppose to take part in the All City Meet in Santa Rosa but due to Rain I was not able pole vault.  I was going to pole vault at the high school meet to bring some excitement to the community about track.  I was very disappointed that I was not able to Vault but I will set up to do it again.  I need to thank Greg Fog and HEART and SOLE running store for setting all of this up and being such supporters of me.

April

I took part in the Sun Angel, Mt. Sac, Long Beach State meet, and Sun Devil meets for the rest of the month.  All the meets went well for how hard we trained going into each one.  I did the Pole Vault (4.90m) and 400 meter hurdles (54.55) at Sun Angel.  I decide to do the 400 meter hurdles as a change in training and had no training going into it.  I ran well but definitely off at each hurdle.  Mt. Sac I did the Pole vault (4.90) and high jump (1.95) on Friday and then did Long Beach State meet on Saturday where I did the pole vault (4.90).  The last meet I did was the Sun Devil meet where I did the Long Jump (6.77), Pole Vault (4.90), discus (46.09)PR, and 110HH (14.24).  The month went really well and I was excited at what I did and can’t wait to go to Europe for May and kick butt in the Desenzano and Gotzis Decathlons. 

April 3rd

Today was the second day of the Jim Click Multis and today I will do all the events except the 1500 meters.  I started with the 110 meter hurdles and ran a 14.30 which is a great opening time especially for the first time running 10 hurdles.  Second was the discus which was not great I threw 142’ which is ok but not to where I had been in practice.  The pole vault went great during warm ups but then the weather changed and it became extremely windy and I went 4.70 and couldn’t make anything else.  The weather was a big factor and I did Javelin but nothing good came of it.  Chris finished with a PR score.  Chris has been a great addition to my training.  After 5 years of training alone it has been good to have a partner to run with and push me each day.

April 2nd

Today was the first day of the Jim Click Multis and I will be competing in the Long jump, shot put, and High Jump.  It was a very good day with a 6.97 long jump, 14.54 shot put, and 1.97 high jump.  It was a good training day and I was excited to open up for the outdoor season with such good marks.  My training partner Chris McGovern had a good first day with PR in the 100 and long jump.  He had a PR first day and hope he keep it up to PR the second day.

March 14th

Well only a week after the USA Championships I decided to take part in the University of Arizona NFL Pro Day.  I took part in the 40meter dash (4.54secs), vertical jump (36inches), broad jump (10’ 9), 3 cone drill (7.22secs), 20 meter shuffle (4.50secs), and ran routes as a wide receiver.   The cone drills and shuffle gave me a little trouble.  Overall I felt I did really good and ran some good routes as a receiver.  For only doing football stuff for a week with Willie and Mike I felt I did very good and we will see.

March 8th

The second day started at 1pm.  I had tweaked my groin in the High Jump the day before and it was getting tight as I was warming up so I had the trainer wrap up the groin and leg and finished my warm up for hurdles.  It was a good race at 8.15 but I know if my leg wasn’t hurting I would have been better.  Going into the vault I had a good lead and after making 4.95 (16’ 2 3/4) I had a significant lead over second place.  In the 1000 I sat behind the second place guy and with 200meters to go blew past him and ran 2:50.04. Not a great time but what I needed to do to win USA Indoor Combined Championships. I scored 5748 which I felt was not a good meet for me but sometimes it doesn’t matter the score it is how you compete against the rest of the field and today I was on top.

March 7th

Today is the first day of the USA Combined Events Championships and we started at 1pm.  I was feeling good but a little stiff from all the training but after warm ups I was ready to go. The day didn’t start out well for me or the rest of the competitors because of an extremely fast gun in the first heat, none of the competitors were ready and had slow starts.  I myself was not even set when the gun went off. So ran a 7.20 which was fast compared to the field but not for where I should have run. The long jump was again not up to par with a 6.81.  But brought it all back with a 14.94 (49’ 00 ¼) and moved into 1st.  High Jump began and I was feeling good but was only able to clear 1.97 (6’5 ½) as my best height.  After day 1 I ws in 1st and ready to keep that lead through the second day.

March 6th

Today was very low key.  We woke up late and by the time we got going it was lunchtime.  We checked out Duke and I went to the track for a shake out.  That night we had dinner with a few of my friends from Carolina and then it was off to bed because tomorrow was day 1.

March 5th

I flew into North Carolina today for the USA Indoor Combined Championships.  I arrived and rented my first car from Alamo.  It was interesting because I had to leave the poles at the airport go get the car and come back to grab them but everything worked out fine and I got the poles and the car just fine.  I then drove to the hotel about 20 mins down the highway where I changed and headed to the track to do a shake out.  I was feeling good after my workout and ready to go on Saturday.

I returned to the airport and picked up my parents who came in to watch my meet.  I was excited to have them here and cheering me on.

Month of February

I did do any meets for the month of February instead I took the weekends to install my kitchen and work on my house.  The last weekend of February I headed to Seattle with the U of A team to coach at the Mt Pac championships. Training has been very good and I look forward to Indoor nationals the first week of March. I feel strong and fast but very tired from all the intense training. 

Jan 31st

The second day started at 11am which I fell is a great time to start. The day started with the 60m hurdles and warm ups went great but only ran an 8.25 because I hit the first hurdle. The next event was the pole vault which has been interesting this year because I have changed a lot of things. I only went 4.95 (16’ 2 ¾) but was happy because the things I changed started to feel comfortable and pay off. The last event was the 1000m and I was hoping to run 2:45 but being rusty my pacing is off and I ran a 2:52.4. I was able to win every event of the Hep and scored 5649 which for only my second meet was a good start.

Jan 30th

We had a 2pm start today which is totally different usually it is 9am and really early. I am so used to an earlier start that I found myself trying to find stuff to do for a few hours before I started. The first day was a good opener for getting the rust off. There was a very quick gun at the start of the 60m and I was not totally set and ran a 7.16 which second fastest time in a hep. I just wish I had a better start.   Long jump warm ups felt great but the second I had to jump I was so worried about the board and not fouling that I had three bad jumps but still jumped 6.74 (22’ 1 ¾). The shot was really bad this meet but high jump went really well and I jumped 2.01 (6’ 7). It was a good first day and I was able to win every event of the first day.

Jan 29

Traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a heptathlon. I have done one indoor meet this year at Flagstaff two weeks ago. I did the hurdles and the Pole Vault. Hurdles went really well but vault was a little off. I am looking forward to competing again in a multi event. I feel really good and want to see how things are by doing this heptathlon.

Jan

Home Depot is dropping their Olympic Program which will end March 2nd. This will interesting for many athletes and I hope they bring it back when the economy turns around. The good news is I am in negotiations with Asics to sign a contract to run for them. So look for their shoes and apparel.

On a different note I have decided to stay in Tucson until 2012 for the London Olympics and train with Sheldon Blockburger so I bought a house right before Thanksgiving and have remodeled it with a new kitchen, floors, paint, and much more. What an experience it has been being a Homeowner.

Sept – Dec

Fall training was really good this year. I am going into the indoor season feeling good and healthy. All of September and October all I did was lift and polymerics. I came out stronger and more dynamic then I have ever been. I then began technical work in November and because of how good of shape I am in the events were very easy to pick back up. I am really excited for this season. All I have to do is stay healthy and big things will happen.

August 12th – 24th (Watching Olympic Games in Beijing)

I was fortunate to have money donated to me by 4 Santa Rosa businessmen to go to Beijing China to watch the Olympic Games. This was an amazing opportunity that I got to experience. I went with my friend Aaron Robinson which made the trip 10 times better have such a good friend there to experience this with. I was able to enjoy many events including Softball Gold Medal match, Baseball Bronze medal match and many of the track finals and events. I got to watch Usain Bolt break all the records as well as many of my friends compete at the Olympics.

I visited the Great Wall which is more amazing in person then anything I have seen. I enjoyed the Silk Market, Forbidden City, and many of the great things Beijing had to offer. It was a great experience to see and be part of the Olympic games. If you want to know more just find me and I will tell you all about it.

August 3rd

The second day of the Thorpe cup was just as hot and humid as the first day. It was so hot and miserable and I felt good warming up. Hurdle warm ups were really good and ran a 14.26 and got second. This moved me up in the standing. Discus my hip began to tighten up like it had all year but I still threw well 45.71 (150’) and then came Pole Vault which by this time my little injuries began o come back I cleared 4.95 (16’ 2 ¾) which was not bad but running down the run way was not so fluid. I moved into first and with Javelin and 1500 left. Javelin was 58.04 (190’ 5) which put me a little more ahead. With just the 1500 I was ahead by about 90 points but the German behind me was good in the 1500 and I had about 9 seconds to spear. I ran 4:36.1 which was good for me with 4 weeks of little training but the German beat me and won by 8 points about a second to slow for me. I was very happy with this meet scoring 8191 my second best ever and it was good I took part in it. Our team won with the second best team score ever averaging over 8000 points for the 5 guys. Now back to getting healthy and getting ready to make the Berlin World Team in 2009.

August 2nd

Today was the first day of the Thorpe Cup and it is hot and humid it was 105 degrees with 95% humidity. As always I woke up got my breakfast and headed to the track. I felt good even though that I have not done much in the last four weeks because I was letting my body heal. But I knew with the training I had done all year that I was good to go and feeling healthy was way better then anything. I had personal records in the first three events 100m was 11.03 a .05 sec improvement, Long Jump was 7.22 (23’9) which was a 9 inch improvement, and the Shot Put was 15.17 which was 800 points in a throw. High Jump was better then it had been all year and I went 2.00 meters ( 6’6 ¾). Due to the injuries and everything after Trials I really kept the training down so the 400 was a challenge and I ran 49.49. Which was not bad considering the lack of training. This was a PR first day in the dec by almost 100 points, it was 4161. Good start to the dec in Manhattan.

August 1st

Manhattan, KS is hot and humid. Today it was 100 degrees with about 95% humidity. This is the expected the weather for the rest of the weekend but may be hotter. This will be interesting to do a decathlon in this kind of heat. It been really fun at this meet so far because it a team atmosphere out here and I haven’t had that since college. This is the first time this year that I have not been stressed out before a meet. I actually feel like I used to when I had fun competing. With the Olympics and everything it been a crazy year. Good Night

July 31st

Well today I am flying to Manhattan Kansas to compete in the USA vs Germany Thorpe Cup decathlon challenge. My coach Sheldon Blockburger was selected as the Head coach for the men’s side and I was chosen as Captain. The Thorpe Cup is 7 German decathletes and 7 USA Decathletes that compete in the decathlon. The top 5 scores from each team are added up and high team score wins. It will be a close battle and I expect USA will be on top. I feel we have 7 strong decathletes on the team that will do amazing.

July

After trials I sat down with my coach and we discussed the hip and abdomen issues I had been having for the last year. We were saying call it a season and begin the healing but I had been dealing with it for a while and wanted to compete one more time at USA vs Germany Thorpe Cup. So we decided that I would take two weeks off and come back training with no volume and just technical work. It has been working and even though I may loss some stuff in events been healthy is more important through 10 events.

June 30th

I woke up feeling tight so I got to the track early to get work done and get loss for the hurdles which I decided was going to be a turning point and I was going to finally get a Personal best. The gun went off and I had a great start and blistered to a 14.12 which was a .08 second personal best and ranked me 4th in that event. Discus was next and I had been throwing well in the past weeks so I was looking for another personal best, 46.02 (151’) and it was a new pb. I had a long break after discus because there was a second flight but I was ready to vault high. I had vault 17 feet plus in many meets this year and was ready to do it again. The winds were not good for vault but that doesn’t matter to me because if I get on my poles I will go 17 feet. I felt good in warm ups and the first few heights and then the hips and hamstrings got tight and instead of relaxing and running better I tried to push harder and my rhythm was off. I vaulted 5.00 (16’4.75”) well below the 5.30 (17’ 4.5) I was hoping for. This point the only way I was making the team was if someone got hurt or didn’t finish ahead of me. I went into Javelin still tight and threw ok but at this time disappointed in myself for my performance. We had a four hour break between Jav and the 1500 meters and I convinced myself that I was going to finish strong and get 4th place no matter what. It was close but I did get 4th by 8 points. I ran 4:31.66 just .5 seconds off my pb. Ashton Eaton from Oregon ran an incredible race and ran 4:20 which almost allowed him to pass me.

The crowd during the 1500 meters was incredible they were yelling the whole race. For a decathlete you don’t hear that during the 1500 meters because many people say we are jogging but I know I am running as hard as I can. I want to see people 195 lbs that have just done 9 events and been at the track 20 hours in the last two days not look tired. No thanks to announcer (((((((( for saying here comes the jog. You just did the High Jump and I know if you had to jump two days in a row that you would say you were tired.

Well thank you to all my fans that were at the trials and keeping up with me on the computer. Thanks for all the support and love it means so much.

June 29th

I had trouble getting to sleep but slept well. My dad met me for breakfast bright and early and then took me over to the track to get warmed up for day one. Warm-ups went well and I felt good but really nervous and worked up for me. But once the gun went off in the 100 meters I was good. Besides a head wind in the 100 meters I ran really well clocking 11.11 my second best ever. Out of the field I was the closest to my personal best .03 off. Long Jump was next and this was the swing event for me and it was average. Only 6.91 (22’9) and when you hope for 7.20 that not good. What was worse is the guys I needed to beat started strong and LJ they blew me away.

Shot was next and again an average mark 14.54 meters. High Jump was next and at this point the guys I needed to beat were rolling and High Jump was the event I needed to be amazing in and instead I went 1.96. My hips were tightening up on me. High felt good but I needed at least three for bars. We had a long break between high jump and the 400 meters but it allowed me to get stretched and worked on so I wasn’t so tight. I was pumped to run this 400 because the stadium was packed and roaring. I stepped into the blocks in lane 2 which is a tough lane to be in but allowed me to see everyone. By 250 I was running well and as I came off the turn feeling good but my hamstring tightened with 70 to go and I ran 48.66 my second best ever, I was very happy with the time. Finished day one 4033 well below the 4200 I was hoping because I had been average and really didn’t do what I needed to. But day two is my day and as I know anything can happen.

June 28th

Family and Friends came in today and it was good to see them. I must admit I am nervous and excited to be here. Lets hope I can sleep tonight.

June 27th

I went to the track and I did a shake out and saw the chiros and massage therapist. I then watched the women’s heptathlon to cheer on some friends. I watched for an hour or two and then left. I can already see the hype of the Oregon crowd and how enthusiastic they are to watch these amazing trials.

June 26th

It was nice staying at the Hilton because it was where the Hospitality room was for athletes. They had everything we needed. Got breakfast and then meet up with Sheldon at Hayward field to do a workout. WOW! What a site Hayward Field is with all the stands and stuff going on around it. I did discus, long jump approaches, and block starts. After that I headed to the chiros and massage therapist they had provided for the athletes. I returned and got lunch and later went to dinner with Joe Detmer, Raven Cepeda, and a few UNI guys. I returned home and went to bed after that. Hayward was a site to see and tomorrow events start so should be interesting to see the amount of people.

June 25th (travel to Trials)

Today I traveled to Eugene Oregon for the Olympic Trials. I was up early and flew from Tucson into Portland because to get poles to Eugene it was easier to take Southwest airlines to Portland and then take the free Athlete shuttle down. The trip went easy but the butterflies of the Trials began to stir. I arrived late afternoon and checked into the Hilton where I was staying. Then I relaxed got dinner and groceries with Sheldon and Shevell. Then went to bed. I was finally here after a year of training. Feeling good and ready to go. I feel fast and strong just hope the body agrees when the day comes.

June 17 Home Depot Commercial

I was in Carson, CA at the Home Depot Center at 11:30am to film me long jumping on camera for a national commercial. I had my own changing room and from 11:30 til 1:30 I was hanging out. I did a fitting and got briefed on what I needed to do. I warmed up and waited until 1:30pm when they finally got me to go to the stadium. I met a lot of people but the Director was the director of Invincible with Mark Wahlburg and he also helped on Fast and the Furious. It was really cool to meet him and everyone was so cool that was working on the set. I did a quick warm-up when I got there as they set-up and waited for instructions.

The set was in the LA Galaxy Stadium and they had set up a raised wood runway for the long jump. It was up against the wall like we were in a stadium. There was fake people in the stands and real people mixed in to cheer when I took a jump. It was amazing feeling thinking of being in a commercial. I did a few run throughs and they told me that they would be filming the landing and then doing a full jump with run and everything. I began with short run of a box for the landings that were a very close shot on where I landed and nothing else. I did about five because it was such a zoomed in shot it had to be within two feet so I needed to land right in frame. We then moved onto full run jumps like I would in a meet. I took three of these and then was done with the action part. They were some amazing shots and I can’t wait to see which ones they chose.

We then broke for lunch and came back to do a close up shot of each of the athletes. Then they took some photos and I was all done. I was able to catch the earlier flight into Tucson and was home by 10:30pm. A long day but so exciting and fun,  just another amazing adventure in my life.

Keep an eye out for the commercial during Trials and all summer!!!

June 16

I got in last night after 15 hours of traveling and crashed. Got up in the morning went to breakfast with Jarred Sola that was leaving town and then got a call that I was needed in LA to do a Home Depot commercial. I said yes and was flying out at 4:49pm. My call time was 11:30am the next morning.

June 11-15

I decided to go to Des Moines, Iowa to train with Sheldon for the week while he was at NCAA Championships. I finally arrived on the 11th while trying to get on a D3 pass for the last two days. I was very glad that I went to Des Moines to train with Sheldon and watch the NCAA’s. Train was awesome and watching NCAA’s got me even more fired up about going to Trials in two weeks. U of A had national champion in the women’s high jump and many all-americans. It was a fun week but Sunday was a long travel day back to Tucson.

June 8

So the time had come to see how my leg would react to the first day and when I woke up it was tight but as I warmed up it felt very good. My leg is about 85-90% right now. I ran 14.33 in the 100 hurdles and threw the discus 145’. All felt good and with three more weeks I should be 100% going into the Trials in Eugene.

This meet is very fun for me because a lot of the decathletes that I have meet over the years are all in one place competing and hanging out. It's fun to go to meets that are for decathletes and heptathletes because I relate to them so well. It was a good weekend and I am ready to hit the ground running at Trials.

June 7

I traveled to Dallas for the Texas Greatest Athletes Decathlon at St. Marks High School. I planned to do events to see where my leg was at during competition. Today I did the 100m, LJ, SP, HJ and 200meters of the 400 meters. I ran a 10.96 in the 100meters, Long jumped 6.80 (22’3”), did one shot throw at 47’, and High Jumped 1.97 (6’6). I then fished the day off with running the first 200meters of the 400meters. I am planning to do the 110 hurdles and the discus tomorrow.

May (Finished up)

The rest of May was pretty busy with trips to Provo, Utah and Regionals in Northridge, Ca. After Pac-10 I headed to BYU in Provo for a High Performance meet that the USATF paid for to do some events. Still with a leg that was 70% I did the long jump, high jump, and discus. The meet went well but still had to rehab the leg. I then traveled to Northridge with the U of A team to coach the women and men’s vault. Both Jaci and Brendan got personal records and almost made some big bars. Our team did well and had a bunch make it on to nationals. May was a busy month and I was only in Tucson for about 10 days the whole month. I have one more meet in Dallas and then three weeks of rest before trials.

May 15 Flew Home

A long day of flying that ended in Phoenix where I stayed for the weekend to coach Pac-10 for the U of A team.

May 14 Verona

We woke up late and walked around Desenzano and had lunch before we meet with Gabriel at our hotel at 2pm. Gabriel was one of the teachers from the hospitality high school that I had visited. My mom had seen him at the track meet and offered to take us around Verona that he had taken his class many times. He was amazing tour guides that took us too many places in Verona and explained the history and significance of each one. We saw many of the churches, the castle, the coliseum, the tombs and the famous bridges. Venice was amazing but we had a very short trip so I must admit I had the most fun in Verona. There was an amazing market to buy gifts for everyone and the structures were amazing.

WOW! I never got to Southern Italy but the people in Northern Italy were so helpful and nice. If I knew the language I could easily see myself living there and enjoying the culture and amazing atmosphere. I will return next year to win the meet and show them what I really can do in track.

May 13 Lago Del Garda (5 different cities) 
Happy 22nd Birthday Tom

Well before we went to bed last night we asked at the front desk about trains and what we should do for today. To go to Florence we would have had to get on a train at 6:55 and arrive there at 12:45pm and leave 8 hours later for the same train ride. We decided against the long trip and decided to rent a car and drive around Lake Garda and see what it had to offer. This was an amazing choice and something most tourist miss doing. We started in Desenzano and went to Salo, Tremosine, Riva del Garda, Malcesine, and Peschiera.

Salo was a city in a bay that was on the water and it was beautiful. The next stop was Tremosine which was toward the North end of the lake which is totally different then that of the South. You begin the Alps and there are huge mountains instead of flat ground. To get to Tremosine you had to go up and little road that at most place only fit one car but the site from the top of the Mountain was amazing. I could see so much from the city from the mountain ranges to the lake down below. The next stop was Riva at the very north of the Lake. Riva was surrounded by mountains and was a very popular area for wind surfing. Riva had many expensive stores and high end stuff. The next stop was Malcesine which had a famous castle on the banks of the lake. This area had a lot of beaches and people enjoying the lake. The last stop was Peschiera where we had dinner at a small restaurant tucked away in the back streets. The whole day was so much fun, I could go on forever telling you the beauty of the lake and everything I saw. I learned to drive on round abouts and had an amazing day with my mom.

May 12 Venice (Day 6)

Well after having such a bad meet I am glad I am staying in Italy to take some R&R while checking out all the amazing things Italy has to offer. I had never been to Europe so this was going to be an experience. Our first stop was Venice with Jackie and my mom. We got a late start but we got to Venice by train around 2pm and the train left at 7:50pm. The train was very cool because we got our own cabin and just napped all the way there. As you leave the train station the Grand Canal is there with so many boats going around as they were cars. We decided to jump on the Water ferry and go all the way to the end and walk back hitting all of the sites. WOW, the buildings were amazing with so much history. Even the simplest a bridge was a work of art as you went down the canal. Streets had become water and no one missed a beat. Our first stop was the St. Marks Square which was huge and had so much history and beauty. We mad sure to get lost in all the side streets to see all of Venice. We visited an art exhibit and saw artwork from many different artists. Well I will be the first to say I need a week in Venice to even see enough to make me happy. We had dinner and returned home on the train. Watch out, Venice is expensive and for the most part all of Italy was a little pricy. Tomorrow we may try Florence but seeing a 4 hour train ride we may skip that.

May 11 Italy (Day 5) Day 2 of Decathlon

I woke up feeling good except this nagging groin and hip stuff I have been having going on for a while. I did everything to get warm for hurdles and still had trouble so wrapped it up and put icy-hot on it. I was ready to go and ran a good race. I won the hurdles for the meet running 14.39. After hurdles and adrenaline were over, my hip and right leg tightened up and I couldn’t get it to loosen up the rest of the day and just told myself to finish and not hurt myself so I could do anything after this meet. I am fine and will take a few weeks to get healthy and be ready to still go score 8400 at the Olympic Trials and go to the Olympics in Beijing. This is the first bad meet I have had in two years so I am glad it came now and not later.

That night they had a huge dinner for all of the athletes and coaches to celebrate as they handed out all the awards for the meet. It was very fun hanging out having some vino with everyone. My mom was there as well having a grand old time.

May 10 Italy (Day 4) Day 1 of Decathlon

Well I had about one of the most nerve racking days of my track career. I began the day as I always do with breakfast and getting to the track 2 hours prior. Listened to my music and warmed up. Warm up took longer then usually but I got my hip and groin ready to run a fast 100meters. I felt fast and besides the head wind I was ready to run fast. I ran a 11.08 and was tied for third after the 100meters which is really good for me in the 100meters. Well that was the last good thing of the meet. I warmed up awesome for the long jump but scratched my first because I was running fast so I moved back and had a huge jump on my second but scratched as well. I had never had two scratches before and I started to doubt myself and was so rattled I couldn't calm myself. I jumped 6.39 and lost over 100 points. After that I couldn’t get anything going putting up less then par marks. I finally decided enough and was going to run a great 400meters but as the 4th heat began a storm blew in and we had terrible winds with tents flying and wind swirling in all directions. I began with strong wind in my face and tried to fight this wind through 200 meters but by the time I got to 300meters the wind took it’s toll on me and I ran 49.85. I just had one of though days. To bed and hopefully I can turn things around tomorrow because I am not out of the meet.

May 9 Italy (Day 3) Day before decathlon

Today I woke up around 7:30 and had a decant night sleep considering the bed is smaller then me. I then went and had breakfast with everyone and then we all headed to the track at 10am for are shake out before starting tomorrow. My legs felt really good today. My hips have loosened up. Joe and I again played soccer and after three days we were all tied up at 3 goals so we will never know who wins. I feel ready to go for my decathlon I just hope my groin and hip don’t give me any trouble. One of the athlete had some eye trouble and my mom went with her to the hospital so that she had a mom. Everyone at the meet was so helpful and got everything dealt with.

After our workout we returned to the hotel and then went on a day trip to Sirmione which is a city 15 mins away that is on a peninsula that goes out into the water. It was a very beautiful city. We visited the castle that overlooked the whole city and across the lake. We took a bus here and a boat back across. Italy is an amazing country that is so beautiful and everyone is so nice and very helpful. So far Daniele, Barbara, and everyone has gone the extra mile to make sure that everything is good to go. To bed now and hopefully a day full of Personal Records.

May 8 Italy (Day 2)

Well I crashed hard last night and really didn’t move for 9 hours. I woke up around 6:40am and tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t so I got up and went down to the lobby and messed around on my computer. I then had breakfast with some of the heptathletes and at 10am I was picked up to go talk to a High School that was a Hospitality technical (vocational) school. It was very interesting because they had the school centered around three jobs; receptionist, cooks, and waiters. They had a bar, kitchen, and everything you would see in a hotel.

Joe, Jackie, my mom and I first got a tour around the school and then went into the gym to talk to the kids. It was chaos at first but got better but they were still High School students. I was that way in High School too. It was very cool after we were done taking pictures and signing autographs. We then were taken to the dining room where the students had prepared lunch for us. We were served like we were in a fancy restaurant with different courses and it was delicious. After all the school stuff we headed to the track.

Joe, Jackie, and I did our shake out and a little workout at the track. Then Joe and I played soccer for about 20 mins before we returned to the hotel. The rest of the day was low key and tomorrow will be a very low key day before I start Saturday. I am very excited for this meet and can’t wait to start.

May 6-7 Italy (Day 1)

What a long day of travel. I woke up at 4:30 am and went to the airport. I flew out of Phoenix at 7:15am and landed in Philadelphia at 3:00pm and left there at 4:25pm for Milan. My mom meet me in Philly and it was really good to see her and have someone going with me to Italy. I was only able to sleep about 4 hours over all this time and we landed at 6:25am Milan time on May 7th. I then stayed up for the whole day and finally went to bed at 9:00pm. To best adjust to the time, I had to do this and by the time I went to bed I was exhausted. Besides the crazy day of travel, Italy is amazing. I was able to go to the track with Joe where we did a shake out and played soccer. I'm in the city of Desenzano del Garda, which is right on a huge lake it reminds me of a mix between Catalina and San Diego. I am very excited for the meet this weekend and hope that I can show the world how good I can be.

Ciao

April Outdoor meets

April was a good month at the end but started very slow. I competed in a meet at Tucson, Phoenix, and San Diego. The first meet was a decathlon at U of A on the 3rd and 4th where I did everything but the 100m on the first day and was suppose to do the first three events of the second day but was having some hip and groin issues. I had a very solid first day with a long jump of 6.93 (22’10), shot put of 14.6 ( 48’), High Jump of 2.00 (‘6 ¾), and ran a 48.66 in the 400m. I was very happy with the marks but was not happy being hurt. The next week I went to Phoenix and threw the discus and did the Pole Vault. I was still having groin issues but threw the discus about 147’ and pole vaulted 5.05 (16’7). The last few vaults I began to feel the best I had since NCAA last year, so that was very encouraging. Things were coming around and I was excited to see how I would do in San Diego. I took the weekend off after Phoenix and returned home.

I returned home to go to a function that Scott Wilmore and the Culinary Kings had set-up for me to receive money from families for my track endeavors. The function was more amazing then anything that I could have imagined and I was able to raise plenty of money to take my coach to Beijing, cover my travel expenses to meets, and buy the track gear that I need. I thank everyone that was part of the function and can not tell you how much I appreciate all of your donations.

The last meet of April was in San Diego and I was very excited to compete because my hip and groin were feeling better and training was going very very well. I participated in the long jump, pole vault, high jump, discus, and the 110 hurdles. I was very pleased with everything except long jump. I pole vaulted 5.21 (17’1), threw the discus 44.76 (148’), high jumped 1.95 (6’5 ½) but had great attempts at 2.05(6’ 8 ¾) and ran 14.34 in the hurdles and got hit at the 4th hurdle. I was pleased to know that things were coming together for my big meet in Italy where I am doing a full decathlon.

March Outdoor meets

Well outdoor has been going really good so far considering that we have been training so hard through all of the meets. I competed in the one Tucson meet and an El Paso meet to start off my season in March.. The first meet was the Willie Williams Meet and I competed in Pole Vault, Discus, long jump and 110 hurdles. I was very pleased with my hurdles (14.4) but everything else was a little off but still had good marks so that was exciting. Discus 143’, Pole Vault 5.05 (16’7), and long jump. I was suppose to compete in Tucson again but it was cancelled and I made the trip to UTEP for a meet where I did the long jump, javelin, and high jump. This was my bad meet for the year and that all I have to say. Training caught up to me and the legs did not want to go. Training has been going really well though and things like this are expected.

What I have Left for Outdoor

The season has gone quickly and I only have two more meets before my first decathlon in Italy. I have Sun Angel on April 12th and the Triton meet on April 26th. Then I head to Italy for a decathlon on May 10th and 11th. I have a prep meet in June and then the Trials on the 29th and 30th of June. Hopefully, Beijing, China in August. So that my schedule and what I have been up too. I will put up updates as meets finish so keep an eye out for me.

March Outdoor Meets

Training has been really hard and intense since indoor ended. I have been training very hard because this is the time of the year before the big meets that I have to train hard and not worry about having good mark in meets. Training has been very good and my marks have been really good at meets considering the fatigued legs.

Outdoor started March 21-22 at the Willie Williams Classic at the U of A where I participated in the 110 hurdles, Pole Vault, and Discus. I vaulted 5.05 (16’ 6.75”), threw the discus 43.40, and ran 14.40 in the hurdles. The following weekend I participated in the UTEP Springtime Invitational where I competed in the High Jump, Long Jump, and Javelin. Which training caught up with me and I had a bad weekend of competing in UTEP. The following weekend, April 3-4, I participated in part of a decathlon here in Tucson at the Jim Click Multis. I participated in all events on the first day except the 100 meters which I just did a block start and jogged out of it. I had 4 solid marks after not running the 100 meters. I long jumped 6.93 (22’ 9”), then shot put was 14.65 (48’ 0.5”), high jump was 2.00 (6’ 6.75”) and last the 400 meters which I ran 48.66 my second best time ever. Overall it was a great first day. I was suppose to participate the second day in the hurdles, discus and pole vault but had some groin issues that kept me from starting.

March 9, 2008 (Second Day of USA Indoors)

After yesterday’s performance I woke up ready to go and win my first USA title. Warming up I felt really good and knew that I was ready to run a fast hurdle race. The hurdle race went really well except at the start. The starter had such a fast gun that I was not totally set and got a slow start but by the second hurdle I got back into a grove and was still able to get a personal best 8.09 in the 60 meter hurdles. The second event was the pole vault, which is usually my best event but today my timing was a little off and only went 4.90 meters (16’ 0.75”). After 6 events I was in 1st place and all I had to do was stay within 7 seconds of 2nd place and I was the winner. I ran a 2:47.49 in the 1000 meters and won by 57 points to get my first USA Title. After the win I was really excited but it only lasted for part of the day because the real goal is the Olympic Trials and I knew I had some stuff to work on.

March 8, 2008 (First Day of USA Indoors)

The start time for today was 1pm and that was nice because I am used to going at 10am. I have been feeling really good in training and it came out in today’s marks. I began the day with a personal best in 7.11 in the 60-meter-dash which tied me for second place. I then topped that with another personal best in the long jump with a 7.05 (23’ 1.75), which was huge because I finally got the 7-meter barrier and this tied me for first place. I felt good going into shot but only threw 14.60 (47’ 11) which was 40 cm lower then my best but put me into first by 100+ points. The last event of the day was the high jump and I went 1.98 (6’ 6). It was a solid mark but not what I was hoping for. After all was said and done I was first with 3220 points, which was a first day personal record by 110 points. I am feeling good and ready to put up big marks tomorrow in the hurdles, pole vault and 1000-meters.

Press Democrat article for today.

February 2008

I apologize again for no updates until now. I will be posting a lot more frequently now that I will be getting into season. This month has been very good for training and meets. I began the month at Nebraska where I competed in a Heptathlon, which is 7 events instead of 10. I did it to see how I would do in a multi at this point in time. I didn’t expect too much but expected to finish strong. I scored 5659 and had some very solid marks. I then competed again in Flagstaff where I did the 60m, pole vault and long jump. Next meet with be USA Multi Indoor Nationals in Chappel Hill, North Carolina on March 8-9.

I recently went home on Feb 21-24 and had the pleasure of having lunch with some local business men of Santa Rosa that were interested with helping me with my Track endeavors. Special thanks goes to Michael Carney and Doug Bosco for setting up the lunch and helping me out with my track endeavors.

January 2008

Training has continued to be really good and feeling good about everything that Sheldon and I have been working on. After discuss things with Sheldon we have decide to take part in Indoor track. We feel that the training is going better then expect after taking off time for the abdomen. I will open up at Flagstaff, AZ on January 19th.

The Flagstaff meet went well I competed in the 60 meter hurdles, pole vault, and shot put. I ran in the prelims and Finals of the hurdles and ran a 8.19, vaulted 16’7, and threw the shot 47’. It was a good opener and I am excited to see that my training is going well.

November and December 2007

I apologize that I have not kept you up to date since Japan.

After Japan I returned to Tucson, Arizona where I have chosen to train for the upcoming Olympic Trials in June and ultimately the Olympics in Beijing, China in August of 2008. After returning to Tucson I was accepted into the Home Depot Olympic Program. The Home Depot Olympic Program is a program for training athletes that are hopefuls for the Olympics. The program has 219 athletes that work as Home Depot employees and it allows you to work part time and get paid full time as well as have your medical covered. I also traveled to Cancun, Mexico for a USATF Rookie Camp that brought in the Rookies as well as the two best athletes from each event in the USA. It was a very fun and educational weekend that has allowed me to be more prepared for my professional career.

After Japan I had to take two months off to heal my body from the abdomen strains that I had gotten over the summer. I began full training at the beginning of November and since it has been going really well. I have been working at Home Depot 20 hours a week and training 25-30 hours a week. It has been hard doing work and training but the great part about the Home Depot program is I can request any time I need off.

The Overall Experience

As an athlete you always want to do better then what the outcome is, but for my first international meet on such a big stage I couldn’t ask for anything better. Osaka, Japan was amazing and I am happy that I scored over 8000 points and can say that I am 13th in the world. I will tell you what, next year I will be 100% going into the meet and those guys better watch out. Thanks for all the emails and the support it was amazing. Thank you to Heather Van Holt for this amazing website.

September 1 Second Day

Well I got to bed at 12am last night after dinner and shake down. I woke up at 5:15am. Probably slept about 4 hours, which is the least amount I have ever had in between days. I was sore and tired but the adrenaline kicked in and things got easier except for my abs, which were causing some pain. This day was going to take every ounce of strength and mental toughness to get through. I ran the hurdles and block starts were very rough but I was ready. As I was running them I had a sharp pain go up my left side about the fifth hurdle. I finished the race running 14.72 which is the slowest I have run in years but it was ok I was still in it. After the hurdles I went in and Tom Pappas was almost in tears with pain in his foot. Minutes later he dropped out. Clay and Pappas out and I am wanting to stop with two ab strains. I quit once in a December and never was going to do it again. I got out there threw discus and got a good mark at 43.70meters. Vault was the event I was worried about with my abs but somehow I was able to go 5.10meters. But it took going on my smallest pole and being in pain every time I hit the mat. This was the first time I was not confident in vault and almost no heighted. This point I had gone to far and the last two events were easy on the body. Javelin was good in warm-ups but crappy in the competition 56.01 meters. Well the final event the 1500meters. I felt like I had no energy until the gun went off. I was feeling good and after the first lap took the lead but got kicked three times by the French guy and the third time almost went down. After that the legs started to lock and all I wanted was to break 4:44 and score 8000 points. I scored 8004 points and was 13th overall. I was very happy at what I had done. After all this, all the decathletes walked around the track together in a celebrated victory lap for finishing the decathlon.

August 31 First Day

This will be quick. Welll I was up at 6am and out to the track by 7:30 to start at 10:00am. I was in the last heat of the 100 meters. They had us check in at a call room where they checked everything in your bag and then take you over to the start. For 20 mins there was no where to warm up so that was new but my adrenaline was so high that it didn’t matter. I ran a great 100meter and ran a 11.14 which is my second best ever. Lon was a little struggle but still pulled off a 6.86m which is good for me. Shot was good at 14.74m and put me on pace for my best first day. We then had a four hour break. This was new and weird but I liked getting a good meal in the middle. I return to the track and had a shaky start in the high jump but made up for it in the end jumping 6’9, 2.06m. But the high jump took a toll on my legs and I ran a 49.02 in the 400m. It was the best first day ever and I am sitting 14th right now and in a great position to place in the top 8. Well I am going to try to get 5 hours of sleep night.

August 30 (Tomorrow the DAY)

The mood in my room was different today because my roommate competes today. I woke up early to get a shake out in at the track at 9:30. The shake out was interrupted by a down pour of rain for the morning but I still got it in at the track. I feel good and just want to get started. I met up with my parents and we checked out the Floating Garden Observatory which allows you to see all of Osaka from the top of the building. It was amazing the city goes on forever. I got a easy massage to shake out the legs and then headed to my room where I am hanging out the rest of the day. It is finally here and I am excited, nervous, and ready to kick some ass for the USA. I will try to get something up tomorrow night after the first day but depends when I finish. Love all of ya and thanks for all the Support.

August 29 (2 days until competition)

It getting closer to the day and it getting harder to get to sleep at night but I am feeling really good and ready to go. The mornings are a little wet but by afternoon it clears up. I hope conditions are good on Friday and Saturday. Today woke up got breakfast and watched the meet. I went over to the track this afternoon so I got everything done before my family showed up. I went out to the track and did some block starts and felt fast and the legs had some good bounce. After workout I walked down to find my family’s hotel and leave them a note so they could find me when they arrived. I met up with them for dinner and it was so good to have them here. I am excited my family can see me compete here in Osaka. Well this is the most important night of sleep so I hope I sleep well tonight.

August 28 (3 days until Competition)

The days are really simple now just resting for the day I compete. I got a massage this morning and then watched the meet and did laundry. Japan is really humid and hot when you are outside. I am getting more used to it but I just have to remember to keep hydrated. I am so anxious now to compete. I went out to the track around 2:30pm and did shot put, discus, and javelin approaches. It went really well and all the timing in my throws was on so that was very good this close to competition. My family comes tomorrow and I am so excited to see them and have them here to watch me. It getting so close and I am feeling really good and excited.

Here I am in my USA gear with stadium in the background.

August 27 (4 days until Competition)

Every day I have been receiving massages and chiro work so that my body feels loose and ready to go come competition. The massage therapist are amazing here they are the best at what they do and have been getting everything done that I need to feel good. I can’t thank them enough. My day is mostly filled with just chilling and watching the meet in the morning and then heading to the track and watching the meet again. Today workout went really well over at the warm-up track by the stadium. I did Pole runs with the vaulting poles to just make sure I had the timing down and I felt like I had a lot of bounce in my step. I will do some technical stuff tomorrow and then it is just chilling until the day we start.

The food at the hotel is starting to get repetitive and boring but it is keeping me on a good diet before competition. I hope everyone is doing well back in the States and I will keep you updated to what is going on here.

August 26 (5 days until Competition)

Today was a real easy day. I woke up and got a massage from Benny and worked on my hip a little because it was tight then I got breakfast and watched the track meet in my room. I took a nap and then went to the track and did an easy shake out just to get the legs moving. I headed to the track for the Women’s Pole Vault Prelims and the 100 meter men’s final. The track meet is amazing and the caliber of talent is mind-blowing. I will tell you what though the Men’s 100 meter final was out of this world with Tyson Gay winning it for the USA. I was so pumped after watching that I wanted to go compete right away.

August 25 (6 days until Competition)

I had a good workout today but the legs are still a little shot from the flight and long season but I am sure I will feel great on Friday when it is ready to compete. I just did some long jump approaches and some short jumps which felt good but a little sluggish. Next I did the high jump and cleared 6’3 three times and felt really good. Last thing I did was two 150 meter runs at 17secs with a 3 min break. All and all it was a good training day and my last hard one before I compete.

The meet started today and I decide to go watch the evening section with the Men’s shot and 100 meter prelims. Well this was the first time in the stadium and my stomach dropped I had never seen a track stadium that big I felt like I was at a football game. WOOOOOWWW. The races and everything were awesome. I am so fired up now.

August 24 (7 days until Competition)

Today I woke up early and grab some breakfast with Courtney and we headed to the train station to take he train to a few Tokyo attractions. I did not have much time to tour because I had to be back for USA Team meeting at 6pm so I had to leave by 2pm. We went to Shibuya and saw the busiest intersection and all the stores, then we went to Harajuku and checked out the shrine, and last Akihabara which is the electric district with all the electronic stores. Tokyo was really fun and cool I wish I had more time up there.

The bullet train is so cool and fast. I made it back for the USA meeting and it was amazing and a shock to the nerves to see all the athletes representing the USA in one room. I am still living on cloud nine.

August 23 (8 days until Competition)

This morning I went out to the track early so that I could catch a train up to Tokyo to visit my friend. My workout this morning was suppose to be pretty tough but I was tight so I decided to listen to my body and take it easy for the morning. I am so excited right now to be here. So I head to Tokyo and got up there around 5pm and had dinner with my friend Courtney who dances at Disney, Tokyo, and had some amazing Sushi at a little place next to where she lives. I later hung out with her Disney Cast members and chilled.

August 22 (9 days until Competition)

Last Night I went to dinner with Brad Walker and Grace Upshaw and we had so great Sushi. Well today I woke up around 10 and feel ok but we will see when I go to the track. I cant believe everything that is happening I am eating everyday with athletes I only used to see only on TV. Osaka is a huge city that is a lot like Chicago with water ways running all through. This city is so clean though with no one littering. Today I saw a man open his car door ash his cigarette and the take it back in the car. Plus the crazy thing is there are no trash cans to be found anywhere.

I went to the Practice track by the main stadium and when I arrived I could not believe my eyes and how huge the stadium was. I felt that I was looking at a football stadium. My shake out went well but still a little tight from the flight over.

August 20 (In America) August 21 (In Japan)

Well today was a long day but one that I will never forget. I left Phoenix at 6:45am this morning on my way to San Francisco and finally Osaka, Japan. Great thanks goes to my buddy Adam who dropped me off this morning at 5:00am and then had to get back to Tucson. The trip went very well and was very easy. I checked all my bags in at the Phoenix Airport and they made it to Osaka, which took a lot of stress off of my mind.

I can’t start to tell all of you how much I have smiled today. I have gotten goose bumps twice today and had to pinch myself that this is all really happening. I am staying in the Hanshin Hotel which the rooms are tiny but we have everything we need here for the athletes. I am rooming with one of the best Pole Vaulters in the World, Brad Walker, and the second I walked in the hotel I saw the #1 decathlete Brian Clay. WOW. I am really here competing at the World Championships.

The city of Osaka is huge and everything is centered around the water. There are so many bridges and high-rise buildings. The time difference is 16 hours and it was strange that the whole time I was flying it was sunny outside. 10 days until I compete.