Osaka...HERE I COME AGAIN!!

My next big meet was going to a place that was all so familiar to me, a place that I called home for three weeks. I wasn't excited about the 12 hour flight, but I was excited to go back to the place where I had won gold. The Osaka GP was an event that I attended last year and there I had won the women's 400 in 51.22. As the defending champion, it was now up to me to come back and place with another win.

Prior to making the trip I had checked the weather, I wanted to pack and be prepared for anything. The weather called for rain and chilly conditions, but I didn't let that get me down. I left for Japan on Wednesday and arrived on Thursday, and of course since I am not a high roller or big baller you could say..I rode in coach class. But man I wish I could have flown business, it looked so cozy up there on the second deck of the jumbo plane. All I could do was get a quick glimpse of those who travel in style and comfort...hahah. I got comfortable in my seat and made sure that on the flight home I would request an exit row.

Heading into the meet before I left Ohio I got a sinus infection, so imagine how comfortable flying was....I was stuffed up and my ears felt like they were full. I was happy once we arrived in Japan....I couldn't wait to get off the plane and once again say OHIO (good morning)
My Japanese was very limited but it was nice to arrive at the hotel and have some who spoke English. The Japanese people are always friendly and when they say hello they often bow. As an American I never know if I should bow also, but I enjoy the experience of being somewhere different.

Our hotel was very nice that we stayed in, but I stayed away from trying any different foods. Due to already have sinus problems and not risking getting sick..I didn't try any sushi or traditional Japanese dishes. Man you never want to get sick when traveling...not a good thing. I wasn't sure of the competition in the meet, many athletes had not made it to the meet for various reasons or were heading to another big meet in DOHA. My plan was to go out and have fun in the race, execute and come home with a win.

On the day of the race it rain all day , and was so gloomy and chilly. I always have wondered why in a meet when it is pouring raining why they make you stand in the rain as other athletes are still undressing. The rain didn't bother me too much...good thing my hair was able to wave up and be pulled back into a ponytail. (HAHA) No but really the meet was enjoyable and there was a nice crowd there to support even with the rainy weather. Osaka, thanks for having me!!!!! I ended up winning the race in 51.5, wasn't excited about the time, but again accepted the win.

My goal is to gear up for the next meet, and hope for better weather. By the way the countdown to the Olympic Trials is now less than 50 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you all and thanks again for staying updated!!!!

2008 Penn Relays

USA vs The World has always been an exiting meet to attend and participate in. I can remember in college counting down the days until we would come to the PENN RELAYS. Chris's first year at the Penn Relays resulted in a 3rd place finish in the decathlon while he was a sophomore. I actually participated in the relays in college when we attended.

The thing I enjoy the most is the crowd, the atmosphere and of course the loud Jamaicans. You enter the stadium on Saturday and all you see is green, yellow and black. Jamaican flags, shoes, clothing and of course you smell Jamaican patties/Jerk chicken in the air. OOHHHH what good food...if you haven't tried it make sure you get some authentic food, no wanna be's. It's definitely not the same. You see me I am lucky to have my mother stew up some oxtails/red beans and rice, and my other relatives they make the rum cake. Before the meet my family will state how well the JA's will do. But I have to let them know that USA will always come out on top, the wonderful red, white and blue.

This was the case in many of the relays for the Americans, even though Jamaica did come out on top in some events. Whenever we prepare for USA relay meets, you really never know what team you will be made up of or even what leg you will run until the day before. For me training was heading in the right direction and I was ready to be on any team and run my best. I was on the team made up of Wineberg, Felix, Hastings, and Richards.(same girls from World's prelim and Final...missing Trotter) We ended up running a Penn Relays record and winning in first place over the rest of the field. It was such a good feeling to be able to pass the baton on and really see us make up some ground.

After winning we were able to get up on the podium and accept our Penn relay watches. I now have three watches...hey I will always know the time. This meet was also exciting because some of the UC athletes and Chris were able to stay behind and watch me run. It always helps to have support!!! My mom, family and friends make sure they catch me on TV...and hopefully you fans watch and are screaming at the TV for me to RUN, RUN MARY, AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!!

Sea Ray Relays- April 11-12, 2008

This week I headed to Knoxville, TN with UC to attend the Sea Ray Relays. I knew here the competition would be better and I would have a chance to possibly improve my 200 and 400 meter time. I always enjoy attending this meet because it is not as stressful as some of my bigger meets. I am able to go into the meet with a relaxed mind and no pressure. The game plan was to attack the race and see what results. Here at this meet, I also get a chance to compete against some other professional athletes that may train in the University of Tennessee area.

Once we arrived, the weather was nice and warm. They did predict rain for the next day and man the winds were strong! On Friday I would run the 400 and on Saturday the 200. As I warmed up for the 400 meters, I was almost blown away by the strong winds(up to 8 meters per second). I guess I picked the wrong day o run the 400...haha.
Once we lined up in our blocks and the announcer went through the field. He saw this race as being the race of the day...I had won the 400 in 2006, 2007 got second, what would happen in 2008?

I ended up winning the race in 52.23, which was no faster than last week at all but due to the windy conditions that was a good time. Man if I didn't have the wind I would have been at least 1.5 seconds faster......
Coach Jim and Chris were satisfied so I decided that it was a good day of training. I cooled down and then went on to cheer for UC the rest of the day.

I had the 200 the next day and I as excited to try again and get a PR out of the weekend. So again the competition was good for the 200 meters and I ended up second overall running in a personal best in a time of 23.05. So the meet turned out to be a success and to top it off i won a special award from the meet. Just as we were leaving the announcers, called my name at the end of the meet to state that i had won the Athlete of the Meet award. It was definitely an honour and I was thankful. I will let you all know what the award looks like once I get it.

Again thanks for stopping by and remember to live life to the fullest!!!!
By the way if you guys are curious the picture in this blog is from a photo shoot that I did with Cincinnati Magazine for the April issue. The photographer Jonathan Willis did a great job! Check out his site if you get a chance
www.willisphotoart.com

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!!!!!!