Well I am here! Departed my home at 8:15 this morning and made my way to the airport  for a 10am flight. Unfortunately, where we were delayed 40mins but I had no need to worry because after my 6.5hr flight I had a 3hr layover waiting for me. Thanks goodness for Terrance Trammell and Ashley Kidd I had someone to keep me company.  It was a short one hour flight to Eugene which put me on the ground 8:50pm. Lovely 12hrs of travel….I cant wait till the Championships move back to the East Coast!

Still I am happy to be here once again. I compete Thurs-Sun so you probably won’t hear from me until I know the verdict. Hope that everyone is praying for my health, speed and positive impact on the sport, world and those who admire me. Love you all.

L

This Sunday was Fathers Day and my father’s birthday. Instead of moping around missing him my siblings and I were celebrating him.  Myself, three of my sisters and my two brothers met up in Atlanta for a quick 24hr trip. Residing in 5 different states, getting everyone in the same place is no easy feat, but 6 out of 7 is not bad!  Each one of us possesses a different but undeniable characteristic that assures we are all from the same blood line. In meeting the 7 of us you would definitely get a feel for who my father was.   I really believe it brought joy to my Fathers heart as he looked down and saw his children in one place spending time together.  I am sure he is proud to see that all of us are doing ok and we are looking after each other. I miss him so much but am glad he left me with so many reminders of him thru them.

Speaking of family I want to give a shot out to a family who has adopted me as their own and has been Godsend since I have met them and especially during the rough times. The Humphrey’s have kept me grounded and made my life as easy as possible however they can.  Whether it be helping pack for a trip, looking after Atheena while I am away, fixing up around the house, making airport runs or just keeping us company on holidays my mother and I would otherwise spend alone they are ALWAYS there when I need them. For group of people to make such an effort when they have so much going on in their own lives mean the world to me. So Calvin, Deborah, Talib, Kashata, Khayla, Keyonne,  Jakiya, Jalen and Taniyah. Thanks!

Thursday I traveled to the Myron Rolle Leadership Academy in Jacksonville Florida to speak. I was to close out a week which had speakers like Rudy (Notre Dame football inspiration) , Judge Faye Allen and Coach Herman Boone (from Remember the Titans’) among others. Knowing Myron’s speaking ability and having heard about the other acts I had to follow I was a nervous wreck! I had to step my game up but somehow I got through it and seemed to do one of my better jobs as speaking is NOT my strong point.

The camp was phenomenal and once again this guy has amazed me! Myron’s foundation brought 86 foster children from all over Florida to spend a week learning the importance of leadership and good character no matter what hand life has dealt you. Myron was present each day and even lead morning calisthenics. So often you find athletes set up these sort of events with good intentions but seldom participate beyond a guest appearance. It was nice to meet his brother and closest friend Mckinley along with is parents Beverly and Whitney. With such a quality support group it is plain to see how he became such a stand out person.

Hopefully I can attend again next year as a mentor. I would love to participate in all the weeks events without the pressure of the speech giving. I think I am much more useful in a conversational environment.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. I know that this was a good opportunity for my to continue to sharpen my delivery as I am sure this won’t be the last speech I give. Thanks Myron

The Prefontaine meet was really nice, as usual!

I wish the atmosphere could be recreated in other places in the U.S. It reminds me of competing in so many meets in Europe, especially Zurich. No matter what the stands look like before the first race you can rest assured that it will be totally packed before the first gun fires. It makes racing so much more exciting when there are thousands of fans interested in your performance.

I felt very prepared going into the race, but you can never truly predict your time in the 400 because the wind can be such a huge factor. The race was pretty early and it was cool with mild winds. At this point, I wasn’t overly concerned about running a really fast time, I just wanted to win. I was thrilled when I looked up and saw 49.85. I felt as though I held back a bit on the backstretch so going sub 50 was really exciting!

However the highlight of the meet happened by accident!

After the race I saw a really nice lady and felt the urge to give her my flowers. I had no idea who she was but I prefer to give my flowers to someone I make eye contact with than to just randomly throw them in the stands. After the meet was over, I went to the restroom and found out I gave my flowers to Mrs. Prefontaine! What are the chances? She was so happy. She rarely goes out anymore because she’s blind but of course enjoys honoring the memory of her son, Steve, every year. I was so excited to meet her and she felt the same way.

After the Pre meet, I went home for one day and headed to Europe to prepare for the meet in Berlin. I wanted to get one more race in before going to Nationals, and why not run on the track I hope to be back on in August! There’s just something about the blue track that I love. Not sure if it’s only in my mind, but it just seems a little easier to get around. I hoped to run 49.5 at the meet but knew it was a bit presumptuous because I’ve never run that fast so early. I was elated to see the time I’d hoped for and only desire that I will continue to get faster as the season progresses!

After a beautiful, sunny long run at Bonita/Rhor Park (no June gloom today), the boys and I headed to the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market (see photo below). The stalls were overflowing with fresh fruit and berries, which we felt inclined to sample. Only problem…by the time I finally made it to food section I was pretty much full. Everything looked delicious though, so I finally settled on a vegetable juice smoothie and a panini.

After cleaning up at our apartment, we met up with Alysia Johnson and a friend of mine from home, and headed down to Pacific Beach. Since Alysia lives in the area, she served as our tour guide. It was nice to relax on the beach and listen to the ocean.

We ended the day with a delicious sushi dinner on Garnet Ave at PB Mika Sushi. It was a small little shop, but the servers were friendly and the food was tastey.

All in all, a great Sunday Funday.

Just a few words i hope you think about at your future races. When you run you feel free. Winning races are important but the task of completing the race is what makes me happy. The thought that you have strived your hardest and the feeling of exhilaration after you have finished what seems like a mile long 100-meter dash. Deep in your mind as you look at the track you think: I’m here, i made it and i am a kick -but runner. I hope you feel that you have experienced your happiest moment while doing what you do best and keep on making every one proud that we have a strong woman who has to take two steps for every one step the other runners take yet still finishes strong. I wish you the best in all races.

I hated missing the Reebok meet this past weekend.

We have so few meets in the U.S. and the meet on Randall’s Island is by far one of the nicest to run in.

NBC and Universal Sports did a great job broadcasting the meet and the performances were amazing!

The weather seemed really good other than the noticeable strong winds on the backstretch.

I’m so happy for Tyson and Wallace! 19.58 and 19.91 are great indicators of how well they are both recovering from injury.

Lauryn looked great in the 200m and the women’s 100m was spectacular!

Allyson looked strong holding off Sherika in the 400m.

Leo Manzano rebounded well after a disappointing run the week before and Bershawn ran a great opener in the 400mH and looks to be ready for Nationals!

I could go on an on with all the great results but you get the picture…

I will be running the 400m at the Prefontaine Classic this Sunday and I can’t wait. My training has consistently been going really well and I look forward to my next couple races!

It has been awhile…. Guess I have been suffering from a bit of writers
block. Here is a quick update:
Adidas track Classic 2 weeks ago didn’t go so well. No excuses though I
just need to step it up a notch and quickly because my competitors are
bringing it each and every week. My event has been smoking the last few
years but no one person has been able to claim dominance . I am training
well and long overdue for a good race.

Tomorrow I run the 100m and 200m here in NY at Reebok Grand Prix. I
arrives Wednesday evening had a press conference Thursday AM which went
great. Afterward I was feeling touristy so I hopped on a tour bus and
checked out downtown. I have been to NY quite a few times but you can
never cover it all. I was also lucky enough to nab a ticket to wicked
last night, it was great!

As I type I am headed to the track for a Pre meet/ shake out. My baby
sister and best friend are in town so will probably catch up with them
when I finish then just hang around my room. I need to preserve my
energy because I want to be fast tomorrow!

Talk to you soon, hopefully with all good news.

I had the best time at my Nike shoot on Venice Beach last Monday.

I had been to California so many times but always in and out for competition. This was my first time hanging around after a meet and going to the beach. It wasn’t the nicest day, wished it were a little sunnier, but it wasn’t too bad. We took some really cool pics for the new Delicious line on the beach and in the famous outdoor weight room. The photographer, Ben, was really fun to work with. Most of the time he preferred to shoot me dancing and goofing around, than doing my actually lifts or running drills.

It was a lot of fun!

I also shot for NIKE behind the scenes. My dad, my strength coach Bruce, Ross, and our publicist Erit, were all there. They showed me interacting with them throughout the shoot. I think it’s really nice for people to be able to see all that goes into getting that perfect picture they see on the magazines or online, and this B-Roll gives fans that opportunity.

While we were there we had some close run ins with the locals. There were a lot of homeless people around and they were not too pleased to have us invade their homes with video and photo cameras. Most of them wouldn’t budge and we’d have to totally adjust the shot to get a good picture.

The one guy that stood out the most, walked right over to me during a shot. One of the producers moved towards him and asked if he would mind stepping out of the shot, he got really upset and asked, “Are you the police?”

I wasn’t sure how the producer would handle this man, then without reason he just looked at us gently and said,  “All I want to do is dance,” and he started dancing to the music. I joined in and the man finally walked away.

It was hilarious!

We were listening to Reggae on an iPod and all the man wanted to do was join in the fun! Sometimes the simplest things make people happy!

It was a nice shoot and everything, the pics and behind the scenes video, should be out in June on NIkewomen.com….

Also don’t forget to keep up with me and Aaron on twitter……

Search AaronandSanya

Until Next time……