hills

It is 7:24 am and I have just arrived back in my room after running 12 hills at the Comcast center. For any one who has ever been to the Comcast Center or is wondering what hill I am talking about, it is directly to the left of the main staircase entrance. It is a double hill rolled into one, we start off in flat ground and then begin to stride over the first hill which is some what gentle compared to the second one. After that first hill I maintain my stride, which has been improving since I got here, and then gradually begin to accelerate as I reach the bottom of the second hill. There is a rapid acceleration needed in order to successfully advance this second hill because after the first hill there is somewhat of a slight downward slope that turns back into flat grass. If you can picture this: it is like running a 110 degree angle. That is how steep the hill is. The first four were fairly regular as we started and ended at the points we normally start and finish at. However, after the fourth hill my coach began to move the cones further and further back with each hill until by the ninth hill we stopping right before the entrance to the garage. And once we hit the tenth hill my coach basically threw a cone into the garage and told us to go and find it. It was funny because he hid it all the way in the back of the garage, I might as well had gone back to my dorm, that is how far we had to go. The final two hills my coach put on us, he gave one person the opportunity to decide where we would stop, being that we are all a bunch of competitive jerks it really did not matter who he gave the responsibility to, I knew immediately that we were headed all the way back to the end of the garage because that is what I would have done. That is exactly what we did too, unlike the girls who stopped right as they got to the top of the hill, we pushed ourselves all the way to the end of the garage-three times we did this. I must say though that it was one of the best workouts I have completed since I have been here, I felt light one my feet and I seemed to just roll up the hill and cruise past upperclassmen boys and even some of the girls who start before us. I am beginning to feel like I did when ran all the times that got me here. I am beginning to become me again, the sprinter that never quits. After being disappointed in myself so many times after workouts I am now leading. It is a place that I like to be and a place I see myself staying at now that I have fully adjusted to the intensity of practice. I am happy to be back.

thanksgiving

The countdown to thanksgiving break has begun, at least for me it has. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday point blank. For me it is all about the delicious food that my mother makes and just me being back with my family, just the three of us. I've been home once already but that did not afford me nearly enough time to really get the feeling of being back home. I mean I did not really even get an actual home cooked meal because I was not there long enough. But this time around, Thanksgiving, I am not only guaranteed a home cooked meal, but a bountiful feast. I believe that nobody does a better job at preparing a Thanksgiving dinner than my mother. Over the years whether we have stayed home or gone to a relatives house my mother has always managed to provide a part of the meal where people say "MMMM, who made this?!?" Besides that my mother also picks up recipes and ideas from other people and adds that to her repertoire. I really just can not wait to be sitting at the table over some egg nog and the feast before me. However, I know that the week ahead, the last full week before Thanksgiving break, is going to be slow and rough. Aside from the papers and test that I may have, practice this week is going to be a killer because it is right before we go home. It starts early tomorrow morning waking up at 5:30 in the morning for twelve hills at Comcast and then continues throughout the week with other workouts, not to mention weight room sessions where we will be tested to find out what our maxes are. Because I am a hurdler/sprinter I am not afforded as many days rest as some of my other teammates are. This week in particular is going to be a challenge because it looks as though I have workouts almost everyday. By the time Thanksgiving comes I may be to tired to eat. It is not that I will not get through the week, I will, it is just that I know the toll it is going to take on me when the week is done. Right now I am trying to maintain a positive outlook, and I am using Thanksgiving as factor in my motivation for this week. I am really looking forward to going home not only to see my sister and mother but some of my friends who I have not seen since we left for college. Two of my best friends were supposed to come visit, but the plans always fell through so now being home for a few days provides with ample time to see all my friends. It is going to be like a big reunion when all my friends get together during the break just to chill and hang out without the stresses of school and practice at the front of our brains. At least for some people, I know that there is studying to be done at home as well as workouts that I have to do on my own at home. This is all apart of the job I have at accomplishing my goals, and of course I will do what it takes to get there. But above all Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday given to man, we should all be grateful because I know I am.

weekend

This weekend was pretty eventful and a little different from a normal weekend. I attended my first Maryland basketball game against Bucknell, the first of many. Anyway I met up with two of my friends and one of their friends from out of town and we arrived at the Comcast Center, where all the home basketball games are played, just as halftime was beginning. Just as a side note I would like to add that the cheerleaders at both the football games and basketball games lack that necessary skill called dancing. OK, anyhow my friends and I, despite arriving at halftime, got seats that were only five rows above the court level and directly to the right of the hoop, we were basically on top of the players when they flew out of bounds for a loose ball. I would guess that the reason we got such good seats is because we were playing Bucknell. I mean when we got to the game at the half we were already up by more than twenty points and when the second half began the Maryland men continued to dominate them. I know many of the basketball players because we all have to go to study table together. I had not really seen any of the them play though and it was special, the team does not have just a few good players, every person that came off the bench and into the game was able to contribute something either offensively or defensively. I was impressed by how much quicker they were than even I had expected, some of the players just blew past their defenders and finished acrobatic layups at the rim. Even the new Korean player, Kim, impressed me because even at his height he had enough speed to run with the guards of the other team. I can not even explain how crazy the crowd went when Kim stepped behind the three-point line and made it look easy. We ended up winning the game by thirty points. After the game and went back to my dorm and took a nap until about 12o'clock and then went back out to meet back up with my friends who went to the game with me. They had gone to Bentley's and had thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the bar. I had to guide them back to my friends apartment in the commons where they ate the Hawaiian pizza they had gotten from domino's and then we watched family guy, one of my favorite television shows until about 4am. I was pretty much spent from the day and passed out next to my friend on her bed.
On Saturday I woke up just early enough to run home and change my cloths to go the football game. Again I met up with my friend and a teammate of mine and together we enjoyed the football game in the rain. Even though the game was good we only stayed until halftime because we were all both hungry and freezing. I just want to say that Panda Express is the most delicious fast food place that we have in Stamp and it really hit the spot after being out in the rain for so long. After we dried off my friend Ashley and I went to the mall to pick up some things and then we headed to Bentley's. Despite having to wait on the line longer than usual in the freezing cold in just a button down shirt it turned out to be one of my better Bentley experiences. At the end of the night I was exhausted from all the dancing and pushing so I headed back home all the way across campus and passed out. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend, and I can not complain.

Lupe fiasco

I love music. Most people do, at least those who I've met in my life do. It may come as a surprise to many, and even to myself, that I have never had the opportunity to go to a concert. It is surprising to me because there are so many places in New York where concerts are held, I can not count how many Kanye West and Lil' Wayne concerts have been held at Nassau Coliseum or Madison Square Garden. I can not explain it I just never got the chance. However, that is all about to change now, of course it would now that I am in college and it is the perfect time to go see my first concert. To add to the excitement, I am going to see one of my favorite artist. . .Lupe Fiasco! Many of you know that on December 5Th he is coming to College Park, Maryland to perform at Richie Coliseum. I was so hyped to get a ticket to see him that me and a few of my teammates actually left one of our lifting sessions at the Varsity Team House in order to rush up the two hills to get to the booth in Stamp in order to get the tickets before the line started to form. It was a funny sight to see because some of my teammates have scooters (many of the athletes get them, I do not of course). Those of us who did not have scooters, such as myself hoped on the back of on of our teammates and about six scooters sped away from the Team House towards Stamp. Most of us were screaming because we were excited to get our tickets before the crowd. I know I was excited, as soon as we arrived at Stamp I hopped off of my teammates scooter and raced my other teammates to the entrance. Naturally I got there first, my desire was just too strong and I would not be the one who did not get a ticket. Fortunately that was not even an issue and all of my teammate got their tickets after they recited the password "richie rich" (do not ask me who came up with that password or why it was required, I just said it so I could get my ticket.) I got my ticket and I have locked it away in a safe until December 5Th arrives. It is that important to me.

THE PRESIDENT-ELECT IS. . .

BARACK OBAMA, the forty-fourth president of the United States of America and the VERY first African-American president in our countries history. This, as many can imagine, has a special significance to African-Americans because this is not just another run of the mill white president. For a change he is one of us, a black man. I will never forget the feelings that ran through me when I found out. I had fallen asleep waiting for the next president of the United States be announced and of course I turned off the television but that did not matter. I remember waking up and rushing to turn the television on for no reason in particular and Comedy Central was on broadcasting the John Stewart and Stephen Colbert special of the 2008 election. It was only 11:00pm at this point and did not think they had even counted all the votes. But just as I was about to turn off the television John Stewart stopped Stephen Colbert as he was in the middle of a sentence and told him and his audience that Barack Obama was elected president. At first I was ready to celebrate but then I sat back down on my bed and told myself that I was watching Comedy Central, how could this be true at all? I quickly changed the channel to Fox, nothing, then to C-Span, nothing again, and then finally to CNN where they displaying the electoral college votes in the lower right-hand corner. For anyone who knows about the presidential elections the person who reaches 270 electoral votes first is usually elected president. When I looked at CNN's display of Barack Obama's electoral votes I really was besides myself. He had two-hundred and something, I do not remember the exact number because I ran out of my room and down the hallway in joy and pride. I was screaming in celebration and running with my hands above my head. I was just proud that he had done it. I called my mother and we congratulated each other, I could tell she was smiling over the phone because of the way she was speaking. Soon after the riots and celebrations that ensued could be heard from my window, and of course I had to add to the chaos by yelling from the window. If I were to regret anything about that night it would be that I did not leave my building and join the celebrations. Nevertheless, I feel a great deal of pride and actually feel like I made a difference, especially being that it was my first time voting. This is still hard to believe and it is a dream come true. Again Barack Obama is the next president of the United States!!!!!

So this past weekend I went back home to the NY, it took two cars, a bus and a train but I got there. I had to wake up at 5:20 in the morning in order to get ready so that we could be on the road to DC by 6:00am at the latest but my roommate/teammate was procrastinating and taking his time getting ready so we left out a little bit after 6:00am and were rushing when we should not have been. We were to catch a 6:30am Bolt Bus from DC to New York's Penn Station. Rushing and already behind schedule, my roommate then had us driving in circles because he was looking at the GPS upside down and by the time he realized it was past 6:30am. We got the the street where the bus was supposed to be departing from and got worried that it was not there. Fortunately for us the bus was just leaving and we were able to stop the bus before it made its turn towards the highway to New York. The bus ride was exactly four hours long from DC to New York, just as Bolt Bus advertised online. I then took the train onto Long Island where my sister was racing and thoroughly surprised my sister because she was not aware that I was coming to see her. Although she did not race particularly well I think my being there at her race eased the disappointment and she seemed happier than she usually is after she runs bad. After we left the race course we went home went out to eat and just enjoyed each others company, after all we had not seen each other in over three months. After the race and eating I was too tired to do anything else so I sleep in my own bed for the first time since leaving for school, and slept like a baby. The next morning I was back on my way to the University of Maryland, I said my goodbyes and gave hugs and kisses and was back out the door. It was almost as if I had not spent any time with my mother and sister but all in all it was a good trip home.

Time to Elect

Finally the day has come; tomorrow is Election Day and what will be on of the most historic events in United States history. We will either have our first black president or our first female vice president. John McCain/Sarah Palin and Barack Obama/Joe Biden have been putting each other through the grinder and are fighting each other to the bitter end of their campaigns. Even today, the very day before the election, both John McCain and Barack Obama are on the campaign trail traveling from state to state trying to spread their last words of change upon us. Apparently neither of them can afford to take a break. I guess it is just as the old saying goes, "when you are not working someone else is." With the race as close it is neither of the them can afford to sit back and watch the other continue to press forward, working hard for every last vote that they can get. With all the drama surrounding the two serious presidential candidates, a third party visited the University of Maryland campus yesterday. The Independent party candidate, Ralph Nader, spoke in the Colony Ballroom in Stamp where he attempted to denounce the two-party system, but more importantly he heavily criticized Barack Obama while barely addressing John McCain. My question is why would he wait until two days before the election, knowing that he does not even remotely stand a chance against either Barack Obama or John McCain? After running as many times as Ralph Nader has for president, at some point he should have learned that the two-party system is dominant in this country, and that his campaigning two days before one of the most historic elections in history is useless.