2008 Oliver Nikoloff Meet -April 5, 2008

Hello everyone,

As many of you can imagine I was very excited to see that the weather worked out for the University of Cincinnati's second home meet. The Oliver Nikoloff turned out to be very successful both for myself and the UC Team. At this time in April we usually still see some cold weather and sometimes a little snow. But that wasn't the case at all this time, April 5th was about 58 degrees and sunny.

I was using this meet as a warm up meet to see where I was in terms of my training. After not going to the Texas Relays, like I always do every year, I figured running in my own back yard wouldn't be so bad. I didn't quite have the competition like I needed too, so it was up to me running against the clock. In my heat of the 400 meters I had 2 UC top 400 meter runners. As the gun went off I quickly made up all staggers and was in the lead of my own race. I came to the home stretch with the other girls 4 seconds behind me, all I could hear was Coach Brandon Hon from UC screaming Go Mary...through the line!

I crossed the line alone in 51.22. The other 2 UC girls cam across in PB of 55's. They did a great job and I was proud of them. One girl was slightly off my freshman record in the 400 meters. Yes you may be wondering well where does this put you? I was now ahead of the game,last year at my first meet I opened up with a 51.88 Since it is still early in the season it was a world leading time. I haven't checked lately to see if it is still holding, but my goal of course is to keep lowing my time, each week.

Thanks to you all who attended the meet! Hope you had a great time. If your interested we will be hosting a very big event this weekend called the All-Ohio. We will have all the track teams in Ohio come and compete for the title. It should be huge and we are also having a reunion for current and past BEARCATS!! Hope to see you there!!!!!!

OUTDOOR SEASON......ready, set, GO!!!

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure if you all stayed updated with Team USA this weekend in Valencia, Spain for the 2008 Indoor World Championships. I know many of you are wondering why I didn't attend due to my 3rd place finish at the National Meet. I was eligible to run the relay, but my coach and I already had a plan in place for indoors. Regardless of my place at the National Meet, I would not be attending. Team USA did a great job, I was so excited and nervous for them when I watched the 400 and the 4x400. Fellow 400 meter runners did well excelling to the final and having PB's. Congrats to them!!!!!!!!!

Well today was a very hard day at practice, so hard that I passed out on the pole vault pit afterward. I am happy to be able to train again with no pain! Yes a lot of people didn't know that I battled some injures prior to the meets I participated in this indoor season. The good news that I have is that I am healthy again, and that is nice to know! I was diagnosed with a cyst on my ovary over a month ago and now as of 4 days ago has shrunken and will not be a factor for now. When I heard the news I thanked the Lord!

So back to passing out..hahaha
Don't worry it wasn't a pass out that would require the Emergency Squad. Passing out is track talk for...working out so hard that you feel the intense burn of the workout. Your legs are full of lactic acid, you can barely crawl or walk and the only thing you are thinking about is....HOW TO GET RID OF THE PAIN.

The killer workout was 300 meters...which I usually love. I can't wait to get outside on an outdoor track. We had a lot of snow this past weekend, and it is slowly melting away. After this workout or any hard workout the best thing that I usually do is take a cold cold ice bath. THIS WORKS OUT THE PAIN.
Hope all is well in your life, please be safe and remember working out is good for your health. Try walking or exercising,it can be rewarding!!!!!!!!

Indoor Nationals (The Good, Bad and Ugly)

Well some of you might be a little confused by the title to this blog. But it's how I felt after day 1 of running the 400 meters. Please let me go into more details....
I had purchased my ticket to attend the meet in Boston to leave on Friday morning at 7:40am arriving in Boston at 10:50am. Mother Nature was not very nice, she brought tons of snow, ice and horrible conditions. After getting up at 4am on Friday morning to head to the airport, I was hoping for a miracle.

Soon as I arrived at the ticket counter I saw CANCELED. The flight was rescheduled to go at 10:50am, seeing this made me think I had hope. This small change was just a taste of what my day would consist of! To make the story short after trying to check in at 10:00am, I once again saw CANCELLED. The whole day I was rescheduled to five other flights...after begging and pleading to the Delta customer service. But here's the kicker, all the 5 flights were cancelled one after another. Finally the airline made an announcement that NO FLIGHTS TO BOSTON OR NEW YORK for the rest of the day, or even the next day. I explained to them that I had a meet to get to and please whatever they could do...please get me there. I was tired, mad, hungry and just wanted to get on a plane!

After being rejected several times and being told ma'am there is nothing we can do, but put you on standby with 50 other people. I did not know what to do...I questioned should I just go home? Should I try to find a flight the next day and risk missing the first round on Saturday? I contacted the meet and they were aware of the cancelled flights. They told me to try another counter or different person.

Luck finally came my way, I tried one more individual and he answered my prayer, by this time it was 4:30pm.....that's right I slept, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the airport that day. He was able to get me on a flight to Manchester, NH at 7:40 arriving at 10:30pm. As soon as I would arrive I would have to find transportation to be taken to Boston in the terrible ice and snow for an 1 hour and 15 min ride.


Well folks, that is what I did. The flight worked out and I caught a cab and finally arrived to Boson at midnight and had to race the next day. I was happy with my time in the 400, because I had a lot going on the day before. I was able to not let it defeat me and make it to the next round. Now after the race I will take an ice bath, get some rest and prepare for the final. Please keep me in your prayers. I hope to have good news for you tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a Relief.....

Hey everyone,

I guess I can now say, what a relief! Thanks for all your concerns and prayers. I am still in a little bit of pain at times and the swelling has gone down tremedously. I took some time off from training (which was hard) and did rehab, now I am back!

Let's talk about some other good news, you all know that I help out at UC with the track team. Well this weekend is the All-Ohio Championship. The meet helps to determine who is the best team in Ohio. The goal is to have UC take home this victory, so best of luck to both the men and women. I wish thme well and best marks.

The workouts were brutal ranging from the killer 300's to the speedy 30's, my knee survived but I was very cautious as to how I landed and turned with my leg. I honestly feel good, not 100 percent but close enough for where I want to be right now. Anyway, who ever feels 100 percent on race day? I do plan on attending Indoor Nationals in Boston next weekend so stay tuned and watch me on TV if you get a chance. Check out www.usatf.com. See you all soon and God Bless!