crossroadsbeijingG'day and Goodbye....
First of all I'd like to appologize for waiting this long to make this entry. I have been putting off this last entry for quite some while. The long and short of it is, that I have failed (for now at least) to qualify for my 2nd Olympic Games. As you could tell from my last entry, things weren't going to well with my health when I was back in Europe.
So a brief recap of what's gone on since that last entry:
I eventually got over the food poisoning. I had never experienced it before and thus didn't know what to expect as far as recovery times. Needless to say my stomach got better well before the rest of my body/head did. The day after the race in The Netherlands, I could only make it 7.50 minutes in my run, when I had to turn back. I spent the next week ONLY being able to run between 30 - 45 minutes before I would feel rather week/dizzy.
Time wasn't on my side, and in the end I wasn't able to race at Heusden (although a lot of deserving athletes were turned away this year by the meet organizer). This essentially ended my last hope @ Beijing. I decided to take a stab at one more Olympic birth in the 1500 instead. That also was a bit too optimistic as all year/season long I had conditioned my body to handle 68 to 70 second pace per 400 meters, instead of the 58 to 59 second per 400 meter pace I'd now need. I even when as far as extending my trip in Europe by an extra week so I could get extra rest and one las shot @ the 1500.
In the end it was not to be. Sometimes once's got to face the music. So unfortunately this tale will not have the ending I would've wanted. I headed to Europe a little over a month ago with high hopes and good spirits, I had a plan and it went awry prettty quickly. I tried to adjust and face the obstacles (no pun intended) head on with a positive attitude, but eventually I had to just let go.
I left Europe last Tuesday (July 29th) to head back to the U.S. I was and felt severly dissapointed and overwhelmingly crestfallen. I've worked so hard and been so focused the last 4 years for this one goal and to have it come down to circumstances that were somewhat out of my hands, was too much to handle. I could always accept failing, but to have my last few attempts be at a state of being less than 100% was really a tough pill to swallow.
So now I'm currently in New Jersey visiting my mother who's back in the U.S and my grandmother who's in the U.S for the 1st time ever. I'm taking (or will attempt) 1 month off completely from running. I have never taken this much time off since I started running competitively (8 + yrs now?). I hope this break will recharge both my mental and physical batteries, as I arrived back in the U.S severely down and sad.
I'm clearly at a cross roads in my athletics life, or at least I feel/felt that's the case. I'm young enough (26 yrs old) to be in this game for another 4 - 8 yrs (basically two more Olympic cycles), but I'm also (for now at least) mentally drained from the single minded focus I invested into the Beijing Games. I hope this break from running will do me some good and really light that fire in me again. I wouldn't want to go out on a down note.
The next step as of now will be to return to Boulder by the begining of September and resume training. I have far too many goals out there to just hang 'em up. I'll sit down and look over the past year's training and see what could/can be done different. Possibly tweak some workouts here and there differently as well. Next year is also a big year. Berlin, Germany will be hosting the 2009 IAAF World Track and Field Championships. Basically the World Championships are the 2nd biggest show on earth for us Track Athletes outside of the Olympics of course. I'll refocus my efforts/goals for that event.
Nothing will ever replace not making Beijing, but I have (slowly over the past week) started to come to terms with that. I can't look towards 2009 and beyond (2012 Olympics in London) till I've fully come to terms with this year's events. It's been a long and tough ride. Many ups and of course downs. I will remember both and take many lessons away. I will cheer on my fellow athletes and mates that will participate in the Opening ceremonies and compete in their respective events/sports over the next few weeks.
Lastly I'd like to thank a few (I clearly won't name everyone) people that have been helpful along the way, not just in this year but over the past few.
My parents: John & Nuria Caracciolo
Coach (past/present): Steve Clarke ('03 - '05), Brad Hudson ('05 - 07), Lorraine Moller
Friends/Family (some but clearly not all): Clay & Sky Hope, Carlos "Dadito" Mandje, Henry Caracciolo, Al Garraffa, Adam Ostrow, Ramat & Tanimu, John Dinozzi, David Krummenacker, Bolota Asmeron, The Faraci & Ziminsky Families, Ross Schubert, Spencer Casey, Paul Hamblyn, The Torri twins: Jorge & Ed, Jason Hartman, all of my kiwi training mates (you guys/girls know who you are), Yommi O, Myra Moller, Murray Taylor, Jasmine Moller, Harlan Smith, (Virtually everyone in Boulder -truly a great community for athletes), Samia Akbar, Steve Sherer, Delwyn Moller & fam., Steve Sumner, Sunny Turner, Danny over @ Newton Co., Nobby, Rod Dixon, Gary Moller, Bruce Moller, Fasil Bizuneh, Stefano Galli, Franki Poli, Johan Mordijck (Belgium isn't Belgium w/out him) & many many more people. I'd go on, but it'd take forever and they're already playing the "wrap it up" music in my head. Ha ha just kidding.
Honestly though it's been a great ride -well not the happiest of endings, but lesson will be learned from this and I'll be a better person for it - and I couldn't have done nearly as much as I did in this past year or the last four for that matter without the support of many of the names above.
Thanks again to each and everyone of you who took this journey with me and expressed interest in my progress, whether it was in person, via e-mail or of course through Mindsay.
This will be my last entry (although I may chronicle another big journey in my athletic's life sometime between now and 2012, but only TIME will tell). I'll gladly answer any questions or reply to comments on this or via e-mail. I plan on taking a much needed vacation from my life and heading to Barcelona & Ibiza, so just in case I don't reply promptly, you'll know why.
To quote Semisonic's Closing Times, "Every new begining comes from some other begining's end...."
Peace & Love
I'm back in my hotel room (somewhere) in the Netherlands. I just participated in my first European Steeple of the season. I flew into Belgium last Friday, where I'll be based till I head back to the U.S.
Things haven't been going well since getting here last week. I had severe pain in my left hamstring, and had to see Martin, the Belgium National Team physio guy. He's great and worked with me twice in the past week. He also gave me a few drills/stretches that would help them recover quicker.
The good news? Well they worked and my hamstrings feel good as new, the bad news? I got food poisoning for what I believe to be the 1st time ever on Thursday. Most of the day Thursday found me throwing up and battling dizziness and overall weakness. The worst of it was when I was out to dinner with two friends of mine: Mitch Potter (400m guy) and Bolota Asmeron (5,000m guy). I couldn't even focus on them during the meal as the whole world was spinning. I did all I could to make it to the restaurant's bathroom in time vomit yet again.
Long story short, I was signed up to race in Uden and didn't want to blow my 1st of (possibly) last two chances @ Beijing. Training's been going well and I know the fitness is there. So I came out here yesterday (Friday) after not being able to run the whole day. I jogged a bit this A.M to see how I felt. The good news, was that I wasn't dizzy anymore, the bad? I was pretty damn weak.
So I "raced" or rather lined up and finished, but the result (9:42?) was -I believe- my slowest time in many many many years. I'll head back to Leuven, Belgium tomorrow and wait to see if I'll be accepted into Heusden for the ULTRA competitive steeple, which will most likely be my last chance of the season. If not, then I might just race a 1500 just for the hell of it.
Sorry to have gapped the entries so much, and thanks for stopping by.
Peace & Love
travelUpon getting back to Boulder on Memorial Day, I was greeting by not just Lorraine, but my good friends and mentors Nobby Hashizume and Rod Dixon. They were staying @ Lorraine's place during the week of the Bolder Boulder 10k road race (a very big deal in our city) and also in town for some Lydiard Foundation meetings.
They already knew of my meltdown in Beantown and were eager to sort my head out. I had good talks with both of those guys. I enjoyed my one on one with Rod even more though, as we're much more alike (personality that is) than one would've thought. We had great conversations over dinner (and beers) where I got to pick his brain and just generally shoot the breeze. All in all I felt better about myself, training, talent and future outlook when their stay was up. Rod was nice enough to autograph me a limited edition painting of his memorable NYC Marathon Victory. Nobby was nice enough to introduce me t some of the local Japanese runners that were in town during their build up for the Games.
Nobby and Rod took time out to also look @ my running log for the past few months to see what I had done. Both seemed impressed with the workouts that I had been doing, and clearly showed that I've got the talent to accomplish my goals -not just this year but in the future as well - so that was reassuring to hear. So for the next 10 days or so till my next race I just hung out and ran easy. Lorraine, Harlan and I really focused on running easy (I was pretty tired from traveling), and made sure to get after it in workouts.
I had 3 workouts between the May 24th race and the next race slated on June 7th. I had asked Lorraine if we could do some workouts over barriers so I could get a bit more comfortable at them. We ran workouts such as 2 x 2k over hurdles which was both tiring and satisfying. We did 'em in away to work on negative splitting. So I'd run let's say 6:10 for both 2k's but it'd be 1st k @ 3:10 and the last k (k = 1,000 meters) @ 3:00. The other workout we did was just 1 x 2k over steeples as well, where this time we'd run the 1st k in 3:10 but work on running the second 1,000 meters closer to goal pace (at sea level) which was 2:55. So I ran that in 6:05 (3:10/2:55). I started getting confidence from these workouts, and Lorraine/Harlan said I looked good. The last workout I did before flying out to California was done on the Tuesday before the Satrday (June 7th) race. It consisted of a 6 mile uptempo run (mid 5:40's pace) then straight into the track, change into spikes and run a mile over steeples.
Harlan & Lorraine did a great job @ setting up the track with the hurdles/barriers while I was out running. I came on the track and suited up. Got to the start and Lorraine told me to run 72's (9:00 pace) for the 1st 1200 and then pick it up on the last lap. I ran straight 1:12, 2:24, 3:34 and closed with a 65 for a 4:39. It felt very easy and I was looking forward to California.
I was thankfully looked after by Steve Sumner's group of runners once I got to Chino Hills on Wednesday afternoon. Steve's got a running group he's generously starting out there. He's got some talented runners coming in. One such runner could be Steve Magness who was a miling stud in High School (4:01) a few years back. He and I hit it off well and trained everyday together while I was there.
Saturday's race went well, in that it was a season best. I ran 9:04., but there was so much left in the tank, that I wished I had engaged a bit more. After watching the video of it Lorraine agreed that there was not only more there, but I could've/should've engaged more. I finished 3rd @ the USATF West Coast Champs, but 1st and 2nd place were a good 17+ seconds up on me. Here's the link from the meet that one of my mates sent me: http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&pg=1&event_id=30&video_id=4658&folder_id=360&offset=20#video you can't really see me too much during it, because I'm so far back, but figured I'd add it since I had access to it. The folks @ www.runnerspace.com & www.flotrack.com have really made it easy to follow track online the past 12 - 24 months.
So I got a bit of confidence from that race and felt that things are/were moving in the right direction. Figured I'd come back to Boulder and rest up for one last steeple in the U.S before heading over to Europe. I unfortunately got sick earlier last week. I got back to Boulder on Sunday night. Felt good on Monday, then woke up (after a horrible night's sleep) sick on Tuesday. I spent all Tuesday (and part of Wednesday) on my back. I was either sleeping on the couch or napping in bed. Just a terrible cold where I'd have impressively long sneezing bouts.
I tried not to panic and just focus on getting healthy, as I already had my ticket booked for the next race (June 14th). Luckily I started coming around on Wed and Thursday. I got in some easy running, but definitely didn't feel too strong. I flew out to Chicago on Friday. Got to my hotel after getting picked up by awesome Meet Director: Patrick Tomasiewicz. I was very impressed by his professionalism and ability to multitask, especially when you take into account that he's younger than I'm (about 23 or 24). So Thanks again Pat!
Once in the hotel I quickly changed and headed out for an easy 3 mile shake out. I didn't feel that great during the run, but once again told myself I'd be okay by Saturday evening (race was @ 8:04 PM). I slept well and woke up feeling much better. My nose/breathing was starting to come around, despite the impressive midwest humidity. I ran another easy 3 miles that morning before retiring to my room to cheer on Spain in the Euro Cup (we won the match!)
Finally I got to the track with my buddy and fellow competitor from Boulder, Andy Smith. The meet: www.midwestdistancegala.com was very impressive and well run. It's an elite High School meet, with a Pro Men's Steeplechase in the middle of it. It was great to meet and interact with the high school kids. Unfortunately my race didn't go as well as Andy's (he won in 8:34). I finished a well beaten 7th in 9:15. No where near what I had hoped to accomplish (8:45 - 50 was the goal). I'm definitely fit for that or even better and I'll surely run that or faster the net time out. I knew I was in trouble about 600 meters into the race. I felt flat and tired. I battled back from last place a few times only to get dropped again. Luckily I've got a good kick and was able to just muscle my way through the last 800 meters.
All in all it was a good experience. Sometime we learn more about ourselves from bad races than we do from good ones. This also concludes the 1st part/phase of my racing season. I can't say it's started or it has gone as well as I had hoped. I was hoping by now I'd be running in the 8:40's, instead of 9:04. Regardless, "It's not where you start, but where you end up." as my coach Lorraine likes to tell me.
Now I'm sitting in a Chicago airport with a lot of things going through my mind. DOUBT is definitely not one of them. I know that my Olympic Odyssey isn't over yet. In fact it won't be over (one way or another) till July 23rd (The IAAF/IOC deadline). I'm also very realistic and know that unless I get my act together I could be sitting at home come August watching the games. I can live with that if I've given my best and GOTTEN the best out of myself in the races. At this point in time though, that's not the case. There's a lot left to do and Lorraine's got the plans set in motion already to do what we need to do in order to make the next 20 or 30 second jump that my fitness/workouts show I can manage.
The next 2.5 - 3wks or so will be spent in Boulder. This will be the longest time I'll have been back "home" since the end of March. I look forward to this time. I'll probably take a few easy days of running to make sure that my health is 100% (which it clearly wasn't last night) and then probably start the next round of workouts. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm definitely excited, as I fully trust Lorraine.
In the meantime I'll also start thinking about which Euro meetings I want to (and will be accepted to) take part in. The "KBC Natch of Atheltics" in Heusden is def # 1 on my list, but thats not till July 20th, which would probably (if all goes to plan) be my last race before Beijing. What I need to do now is find one or preferably two steeples before that, starting as early as July 5th.
We'll see what comes of all this. Either way I thank YOU (the readers) for following along my journey. One way or another we'll all find out in the next month+ how or where it'll end. I look forward to that moment....I have already learned a lot on this 1st part of my racing/traveling season. I want to thank everyone who's made my travels/training/racing easier through extending themselves with transportation/accommodations/meals/expenses assistance.
Peace & Love
-Rob
G'day again, yup it's been a while and a half since my last proper update (April 8th). I wish I could say things have been going great or even well. There have been a few bumps along the way so I'll do my best to recap what's transpired since my last meaningful update.
I've basically been on the road training/racing since the very end of March, so almost two months now. In that time I have been back in Boulder several times, but for not much longer than 10 - 14 days at a time. I've been to California (Both Northern and Southern parts) twice, have been to Boston twice now as well as NY (where I'm currently typing from).
My trips to California were good/bad. Good in the sense that Lorraine and I started getting a grasp on when I should head "down" (meaning to sea level) for a competition. We're thinking three days before (meaning racing on the 3rd day) is when I've felt the best. That's not too earth shaking, as it goes along with the common belief. We also did some speed work on those two trips down to California, and discovered that my natural wheels come back rather quickly. I did some speed sessions with my good buddy and host: Steve "Mr. 3:56" Sherer.
Now on to the more somber news. I headed into these trips and continue to with high hopes and optimism. After all training this past fall and winter had gone well and even more so the workouts had been indicating good things to come. I opened up with a low key 1500 meter race somewhere in San Francisco around April 12th. This was apparently a sign of things to come. I had burned the bottom of my feet the day before running a cool down (post-workout run) barefoot on the hot track. I had done this many times before, but apparently this was ONCE too many times.
So I took off from the line and realized no one was going to come with me. I was simply testing my feet and fitness. I had to pull the pin and DNF (Did Not Finish) after about 1000 meters, because I feared the carnage I would unleash on my feet as they hurt to run on. I was also leading by a decent amount at the time. I wasn't happy with this decision, but thought it was the smart thing to do.
My next outing about a week or so later was in Walnut, CA. I left Steve's place and headed down to Delwyn Moller's (my coach's younger sister) place. Her and her husband Brian and two beautiful kids treated me very well and were kind host. The meet had changed the sched up a bit and I found out I'd be racing the very next day after I had arrived. I wasn't too bothered by this, since I had just been on a simple 1 hour flight down from San Jose towards the Sierra Madre/Burbank area.
I had put the frustrations of the 1500 behind and m feet had started to come around, still blistered underneath, but not too bad. I left for the race the next day allowing myself plenty of time to make the 18 mile trip. Given that Id' be dealing with California traffic, which can make even the most laid back of people absolutely mad with rage! What I failed to realize, which Delwyn would inform me on later, was that there had been some sort of Bomb threat or scare called in not long before I headed out of the house, and thus caused a massive grid lock on the roads. Long story short I covered 18 miles (yes with a car) in close to 2 hours! I've covered further distances than that on foot on training runs before.
I made it to the meet just in time to hear "last call for men's steeplechase." I tried not getting anxious but knew I'd have 15 - 20 mins to check in, warm up and head to the line. "No worries", I thought. Anyways my legs felt fine and I knew I'd have a good go at things. I started the race and I felt fine, but shortly after a mile (I was 3rd or so at that point) I started to really fade and almost went into sleep mode (like a computer). I finished the race, because I didn't want another DNF next to my name. I came away from it feeling very down and upset.
Speaking to Lorraine shortly after the race helped a bit, but we were both frustrated. I took it out on a long run the next day, heading up the Sierra Madre mountains behind Delwyn and Brian's property. After that it was a loooooong day of traveling towards Boston. I got in very tired but with 8 hours (4 of sleeping) to spare before Samia's Olympic Marathon Trial's race. From the airport I headed to some hotel where I met up w/ my college teammate/roomates: Andy and Chris. They'd come into town to see me and watch the race. Life savors they were, as they booked the hotel and everything beforehand, so I could just come in and sleep.
Samia had a strong race and was right in the thick of things, till about 8 - 10 miles to go, when she started to fade and finished 18th. Not bad by any means, but she was clearly hoping for a top 3. It was great to catch up w/ her and finally meet her family. It was a great weekend, but I was ready to head back to Boulder after being away for almost an entire month. I also wanted to head back and figure out what was going on with me.
We (Lorraine/Harlan/I) deduced that there were some mental barriers/pressure that I had to deal with in order to sort things out, as well as that I was a bit low on my iron. The mental stuff didn't surprise me too much, as I have had a habit in the past or at times of putting too much pressure in a situation and expecting too much, hence overwhelming myself almost before the event even takes place. The low iron was a bit of a surprise, as I've never had that issue before.
So we new we had a FEW (perhaps and understatement) things to fix before my next outing, as I was already booked to leave town for California again in a week or so. I started taking Iron pills which didn't taste too great. I next headed back to Steve's place in Los Gatos, CA. He had been struggling with an injury almost since the first time I got there, so we weren't really able to train together. It wasn't much of a bother though, as I was simply there for a few days this time and wasn't putting in much in the way of workouts. The whole time I was there I was focused on having a good race. I also never once got nervous in the days or even hours before the race, this somewhat puzzled Steve. I simply told him, "I can't help not getting nervous, sometimes I'm VERY VERY nervous before a race and other times I'm super calm....it never seems to indicate what type of race I'll have, as I've done well off both instances."
Well I headed off to the ultra competitive Payton Jordan Invite, where I of course ran into tons and tons of coaches/agents and training mates from around the country/world. It was good to see friends, but also a little distracting (my own fault). I started focusing on being judge by my pears instead on what I had to do to perform well.
I was in a good steeplechase field and hoping to run my "own" splits for the 1st half and then GO. This was the plan that Lorraine and I put down. Unfortunately my head got the better of me and I DNF again (3rd time ever!). I had no real reason to not finish, other than I didn't like the position I was in. It turned out the field went out way faster than I had anticipated and although I was running a pace that would've (had I hung on to finish) landed me a top 3 finish, I panicked and pulled out.
Frustrated and upset I called up Lorraine, who already knew the results as the meet was being streamed live on the net. I wasn't sure what was worst the shame of NOT finishing or the shame of potentially finishing last (which didn't transpire of course).
I headed back to Boulder the next day. Unsure if it was my fitness or just my head, Lorraine had me do a 3 mile tempo on a very hilly road that we've used earlier in the year. I wasn't really feeling up to this workout, but wasn't about to go against Lorraine's wishes. She's very awesome and supportive in that sense. I went out and ran my fastest 3 mile tempo ever (for the hilly course).
Between that 3 mile workout and today I completed 4 different workouts, each of them being better than the previous best for the specific workout (track and roads). This showed and SHOWS that I'm fit, it of course didn't really do TOO much for the confidence, as it showed that the problem was/is most likely upstairs (pointing at my head).
Lorraine then hooked me up with her friend: Sunn Turner, who's got a bio-feedback machine. The goal was to hook me up to this and have simple conversations and measure how my body/heart rate react to certain cues and situations. I had two sessions with Sunny, which were rather helpful. We learned that I've framed things (when competition is involved) as "All or Nothing". Meaning I either HAVE to win or run "X" time or it's not really worth my time. So almost as if it's either ACCOMPLISH the goal or 2nd,3rd,4th place = same as last place or not finishing.
This of course is not the healthiest of ways to frame things. I've still got a ways to go. Unfortunately time is also clicking closer and closer to crunch time. My only saving grace (if I can call it that), is that my fitness is there and my coach believes that I'm CLOSE to a breakthrough. I'm hoping this is the case, as I'm long over due for a massive PB (Personal Best). I've spoken to a lot of my running friends who've struggle as I'm struggling now, and asked their sincere advice on how they've come out of it.
These friends include Fasil Bizuneh, who just had a great 10k breakthrough in running 27:50, after being stuck in the 28:20's and 30's for several years, Ryan Hall, who's been on fire every since moving up to the 1/2 and full marathon. He had come close to calling it quits not long ago in college. He spoke to me about that at length when we ran into each other in California and then Boston. Surely a good role model, even if we're the same age. The last is my other buddy Alan Webb, who's had a up/down career since breaking out. He told me how he's dealt with the pressures and of course how sometime you just gotta shut everything/everyone out. My girlfriend: Samia has also been a great help.
At the end of the day it's ALL up to me though. All the talent and workout fitness in the world isn't going to get me to the Olympics, if I'm not operating or rather RACING at full force. I've got maybe 2 - 3 races sched in June here in the U.S before I head overseas. My most sincere of goals is to close the gap on the 8:32 that I've been chasing since before I started my racing campaign this year.
I had another race in Boston yesterday which went better, but the time itself was rather lousy. I finished 3rd, but I lead for a while at the pace my coach and I had planned, the only missing part was the middle of the race where I hit a bad patch. It's strange that I can (barely) gain confidence from running a time that I would've been upset with, had I run it back when I was a sophomore in college, but that's just where I'm right now. I truly wish that I could be typing here with great news of my Olympic Journey.
It's far from over yet, but definitely not getting any easier. My only saving grace/hope, is that you're always one race away, the fitness is there, the work has be done and I just have to stay positive and start to work on how I frame things (mentally). This reminds me of when I started running back in 8th grade for our H.S varsity team. I showed great promise by running under 5 mins for the mile (solid time for an 8th grader), but then no matter how much I tried I didn't break 5 mins again for the next few years. I got close but never broke it again, till one day early into my Junior year (so we're talking 3 or 4 years now) I went out and ran 12 seconds faster than I had ever run before, and then then chopped off another 12 seconds in the following 2 races! I had gone from 5 mins to 4:36 in a span of 2 - 3 races! 24 seconds in ONE mile is a ton.
I look back at these and other instances in my life like that for hope. I also look REALISTICALLY towards the future. The goal is: BEIJING, but whether that occurs or not, I can't and won't give up. I know the talent is there. The beauty of running, is that you get out of it what you put in, the curse is that there's not exact time line or schedule on this pay back. As I mentioned earlier both Fasil and Ryan had breakthrough in the past couple of years, but had put in many frustrating performances up before that. I seem to be on that journey, after all this is only my 2nd full season of racing again since 2004, as I took a few years off to train. I'm hoping we can time things right and come out on top.
I will continue to be patient and not treat every race as DO or DIE, "All or Nothing". I'm still trying to come to terms with showing up at meets and because I'm an Olympian having a lot expected of me (as was the case yesterday in Boston). I look forward to my next few races, which I will decide on further once I return to Boulder (later tonight) and speak to Lorraine on Monday.
Regardless of how this Olympic Odyssey unfolds, I will head to Europe sometime in July and chase down new and faster PB's. I thank all the readers that have continue to show support and visited this blog of mine, especially in the past month and a half when I haven't been updating. It's been great to travel to meets and catch up with friends around the country and get a lot of encouragement from people who've stumbled across my blog.
I guess sometimes I'm not sure who or IF anyone reads it, since it doesn't show the number of visitors, unless they're mindsay members (I asked Mr. Ostrow to fix this, but it can't be done or something). It was good hearing feedback from Murray Taylor, my Kiwi manager in Europe last year, as well as my hearing back from my Dad: John after I hadn't updated for a while, and of course my college teammate Joe Pienta who's pushing for me to reach my goals this year and beyond, as he himself strives to get back to good fitness.
Alright this has been a rather long entry. I apologize for that, but I figured I owed it to the readers/supporters to explain my state of being in the past two months or so. I will remain patient and very much HUMBLE seeing how things haven't (yet?) transpired as I had hoped/planned. This is all part of the journey and I'm looking forward to seeing how it ends as the Olympic Games loom closer and closer. One thing is for sure, whether I make it or not, I will surely not be giving up....as I know the talent is there and the hard work is more than evident. The desire burns deep and I only hope I can showcase this in the upcoming weeks/months so that I can fulfill my goals and also show my supporters and friends/family that their love and support isn't being wasted.
I've gotta roll out for a short run before packing up and heading for a full day of traveling.
Peace & Love
-Rob
