Paris & Rome (First European Meets)

WOW..is all that I can say pertaining to my first 2 European meets..... There were definitely some good things that happened and some bad! I was so excited to come over that I probably packed more things than I really needed. I soon found out that in Europe they charge heavily for bags over 20kilos.....I now know to pack light the next time. While traveling in between Paris and Germany there was a strike at the airport, causing my bags to not arrive. Yes it took several days for them to come to me, and once I recieved them several items were taken out of my bag. Bad luck I guess you can say. But I tried not to let that bring my spirits down.....I looked on the bright side, at least I did get some luggage. HAHA

Paris was a wonderful place, the people were nice and the food was managable. The meet was a huge event in which they walked the athletes through several tunnels to get to the actual stadium. Once you walked out into the stadium, the bright lights hit you! The crowd attendance was like a typical Bengals game. So many people, so many faces, and of course the children screaming for autographs. My race could have been better, but I ended up 5th with a 50.91. Not too bad for the first race, I felt kind of flat from traveling and hadn't adjusted to the time change. I felt that my usual kick at the end was not present. In the last stretch of the race I told my legs to turn it on....and they just couldn't do it like at Nationls.

Running in Rome, was also very special and unique. We warmed up on the old stadium, they had many statues surrounding the track. The actual stadium was a nice size, and all of Italy came out to see the event. Not too many spoke English but I knew what they wanted when they asked me to sign their shoes or request autographs. As I passed out my photo cards, the children went crazy....they all wanted one. It was a pleasure for me to talk with them and see if they enjoyed the event. The race was not my best, but I really gave my all, and noticed that I was still unable to run my race. I got 7th with a 51.20, not bad but not great. My goal for all the meets is to stay under 51. I was disappointed but reminded myself that I have more races to go. As I am gearing up for the World's, I have been told by many athletes that the first year over to Europe is always the hardest! I am definitely not dwelling on the times, I know they will come down. My ultimate goal is Medaling at Worlds....so wish me luck and stayed tuned.....again thanks for your support. I will return to Cincy on the 25th....and then head back out on the 3oth.....