My 2012 London Olympic Games train left the station last Saturday. In other words, not only did I begin my 2012 season but I began down the final stretch towards London and the Olympics. Considering that I missed qualifying for Beijing, this has been four years in the making. With that said, and although every track and field athlete has their eyes squarely set on London, I try and will continue to try very hard not to get ahead of myself. I’m still committed to taking this year one day, one competition, one training session, one lift and one jump at a time. Still, it was fun to get the ball rolling even if it was only slightly in the grand scheme of things.

To start the day on Saturday, I ran the 60 meter dash for the first time in six years. That fact alone should really let you know that this was little more than a ‘training competition’. To be honest though, while I didn’t run under 7 seconds which was my goal, the race was a lot of fun and I can live with 7.05 considering we haven’t actually done any speed work yet in practice and probably won’t for some time. I’m hoping coach will let me run it again before the indoor season is out though and I’ll be shooting for something in the 6.80s. Check out the race below and try not to laugh to hard.

My transition out of my drive phase was horrible so my hips were too low and a bit behind me, and I definitely didn’t run through the line but I suppose my sprinting is even more of a work in progress than my triple jumping.

Over on the runway, I planned to take only two jumps and ended up taking three because my first jump (which came out to a respectable 17.05m, give or take a bit, when my coach measured it after the competition) was just barely a foul. If I were the official, I would have thrown the white flag though — you check the tape. Not only was last Thursday the first time coach and I had truly worked on my approach since Daegu in August, but as you can tell from the fact that I switched technique between jumps 2 and 3 and the jump phase on my first jump looking a bit crazy, I haven’t done any technique work at all since August either.

Believe it or not, I’m pretty satisfied with my jumps. You guys know that is pretty rare. I didn’t continue pushing my approach through the board, my timing was off and I was impatient on all three of my phases and I have no idea what was going on with my arms in my hop phases (I should probably figure that out FAST) but the jumps felt easy, my speed wasn’t too bad on the runway considering how early is it and I came away healthy. As far as shaking the rust off goes, there isn’t much more that I could have asked for!

Next up is the Collegiate Invitational at the Armory this weekend where I’ll be taking just a couple jumps like last weekend and then it’s looking like I’ll head over to France (Liévin) for the Meeting Pas de Calais which will be my last time jumping in competition until the World Indoor Champs.

Full speed ahead.

“Yeah, I thought it and I achieved it…“

‘Doing’ is very distinct from ‘trying.’ It’s so distinct, that the mindset you decide to approach an undertaking with, that you’re going to do or you’re going to try (to do), can make all the difference in the outcome of that undertaking.

My approach when it comes to competitions AND training is to be a ‘doer’ as opposed to a ‘trier’. If coach has a killer workout penciled in for the day, I never get to the track thinking that I’m going to try and get through or survive the workout, but rather that I’m going to manhandle it; period. That goes for every workout, regardless of what’s on tap or what day it is. If I’m at a meet and I’ve outlined a goal for myself beforehand then my mindset is that it’s already a done deal. In many respects getting on the runway just becomes protocol mostly because I’ve already accomplished the goal and rehearsed my jumps so many times in my mind that the execution takes care of itself.

It would be incredible if my attempt to be a ‘doer’ always resulted in the achievement of my goals an aspirations (whether in triple jumping or otherwise) but as you might imagine, this unfortunately isn’t the case. I’m certain that it isn’t the case for anybody, regardless of how solid they are at mental preparation or how accomplished they may be overall. Still, the only way to get a running start down the road towards your dreams, whether Olympic gold or absolutely anything else, is to do, not to try.

Ralph Marston had a superb post on his own blog/website last Thursday, The Daily Motivator, so call me lazy for piggybacking on it but I couldn’t have written a better post on the topic if I tried so I’ll share it here. Of course, these aren’t my words –

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The way to achieve is not to try. The way to achieve is to do.

The difference between trying and doing is all in your perspective. That difference makes all the difference in the world.

When you see yourself as trying, you are burdening yourself with the expectation of failure. Instead, put all your energy and focus into doing your very best, and into expecting the best results.

Merely trying is itself an excuse, and it gives you permission to make all sorts of other excuses. Doing, on the other hand, gets results.

If you’re going to make the effort, then make it count. Let go of any thoughts that you’re just trying, and embrace the most positive expectations.

You are absolutely capable of making a real and valuable difference. So forget about trying, and with well-deserved confidence, go ahead and get it done.

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On that note, I like how my New York Giants got it done last night especially considering that, to a man, the entire team went into the game to claim victory and nothing less. Super Bowl here we come!

It has been exactly two years to the day, since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ravaged Haiti, which was without a doubt much maligned even before the natural disaster. An estimated 220,000 Haitians lost their lives that day with over 1.5 million losing their homes. Still, even two years later, over 500,000 people reside in camps in and around the capital — Port-au-Prince (PaP). Personally, I can only speak to how blessed I was to not lose any family members in spite of the fact that several of my aunts and uncles flew down to PaP on the day of the quake for a funeral. My grandparent’s lost their home and I spent the next week or so literally holding my breath as my family and I tried to make contact with our family members on the island. Considering how difficult that task tends to be on a normal day, you can imagine what it was like immediately following January 12, 2010.

After visiting PaP and Cap-Haitien last spring I can say that there is more to be done than one would like to see at this point, but progress is being made and that’s better than nothing even if it’s at a snail’s pace. The song I included above is by the extremely popular kompa group, T-Vice, and was released following the earthquake to inspire, unite and give people hope. I can honestly say that I listen to the song on a regular basis am inspired each and every time that I do so; although I wouldn’t listen to the song immediately before a competition or workout. The gist of the song’s lyrics, for those who don’t speak creole, encourage the country as a whole to never let go and never give up especially since Haiti has been fighting (whether other natural disasters, the French or ruthless dictators) since 1791. The country’s history is one that could truly be made into several, distinct and individually moving Oscar winning productions and a happy ending/2nd act is slowly but surely being penciled into the story. I’m looking forward to playing my role in the more recent, more positive stories of the island, both as an athlete and as someone who actually made a difference working hands-on on the island.

“L’Union Fait La Force.”

2012 is finally here…

I keep saying that I need to blog on a more frequent and more consistent basis, and I really do mean it when I say it; let’s see if I can actually get the ball rolling in 2012 though.

In any case, for this first blog post of 2012 I just wanted to share an interview that I recently did with BBC Sports. Check it out, feel free to comment here and also check out (and ‘like’) my Facebook Fan Page while you’re at it since I share tidbits there a little more frequently than I do here.

Training is going really well and I most likely won’t open up my season until February, in anticipation of the World Indoor Champs. We’re getting into things a little bit more gradually this time around since I’ve already hit all of the important competition standards. I’ll be back with some training and other updates in the near future.

Happy New Year folks!

239 Days to Go. That’s what the countdown on the London 2012 website reads now and although it seems like the Games of the XXX Olympiad are right around the corner, I have to fight back my anxiety. I’m sure other athletes preparing for next summer are doing the same thing because although the utmost effort, focus and intensity are requirements for each and every training session between now and July/August 2012, you don’t want to burn out emotionally before the summer even gets here.

2011 was a long season for me, to say the least. I began competing in January and went through October. I got off to a great start (May through July) but I didn’t maintain that momentum and fell short in my two primary goals for the season, those of course being the World Championships and the Pan American Games. Better this year than next year though, right? That’s what folks have told me and it’s 100% accurate. I’ll be heading to Istanbul, Turkey for the World Indoor Championships in March and we’ve got 98 days to go until then. Although the indoor champs don’t mean as much as the Olympic Games…I’m looking forward to them just as much as I’m looking forward to London. I’ll be ready for Istanbul but will be even more prepared for London and looking to do something truly special. It all starts here; 8 or so months out.

I’ve had the last 4+ weeks off from training and it’s been great to just relax and spend the time in New York without my family. About a week and a half ago though, I started with some really light workouts to get the blood flowing and muscles going again. Even though I did some light weight/high repetition workouts in the weight room, I actually jogged for the first time in a month this week; I had been biking to that point. I’m definitely easing into things before the workouts get truly intense but something tells me that I won’t be any less sore come next week or the week after. Either way, it’ll be really  good to get back to work; with my eyes on the prize…

Daegu was disappointing to say the least and I’ve been underground a bit since then. Considering the fact that I was in the best shape of my life (thus far) having jumped near or farther than 17 meters from a short approach on two separate occasions, I really can’t even explain how or why I jumped as poorly as I did. Sure I could have used a trip to the chiropractor while I was out there but I felt fast on the runway and my workouts while out in Korea had all been on point. In any case, if you read my blog posts or check out my Facebook fan page with any regularity you know that things went as bad as they could have gone. While Daegu was supposed to be my introduction to the world, I now consider it just a “minor setback for a major comeback.” That comeback is going to begin in Guadalajara, Mexico.

On October 27^th I’ll be competing at my second Pan American Games which are officially underway as of Friday. My performance in a torrential downpour in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 is pretty amusing now that I look back at it. I think I jumped 15.45m even though my season best that year was 16.31m. I am certainly not the athlete that I was then and unless one of my teammates beats me to it this year, I plan on coming away with Haiti’s first Pan American Games medal in athletics. Training since Daegu has been…interesting and somewhat up and down. I’m sure my body is a bit surprised by being in this phase of training all the way into October but with a couple weeks until Pan Ams we’re starting to kick training up even more and things are beginning to fall into place and finally starting to get excited about being back on the runway.  I’m definitely excited to be one of the 12 athletes (8 track and field, 1 tae kwon do, 1 judo, 1 tennis and 1 weightlifting) representing Haiti at the Games though! Compare that to the US’s 600 athletes.

I’ve been in Daegu since Wednesday and am starting to get my legs under me; finally. Getting here was a story in and of itself considering the fact that it took just under 27 hours, but I’m fortunate to not have to compete for the first time until Friday. My teammate Moise on the other hand, had to run the first round of the 800m on Saturday morning and definitely felt the effects of the trip in the closing stretch of his race. Getting to Daegu just two or three days before his race was quite the disadvantage for him but once again, the reason that we didn’t arrive earlier that is a story in it’s own right.

The accommodations here are definitely pretty comfortable to say the least and Daegu pulled out all the stops for this village and as far as taking care of the athletes is concerned. The food leaves  a bit to be desired, but hey…it can’t all be perfect and luckily I brought a good amount of Rivalus Promasil along with some other snacks just in case.

My coach gets in today but the workouts I’ve done on my own since being here have gone pretty well; each one better than the next. I’ve already had three relatively light weight room sessions as well as a speed session so I’m getting nice and familiar with the track and with getting my body going early in the AM since I’ll be competing at 10:30 AM on Friday. Now that coach is here though I’ll hop on the runway for some approaches and light jumping.

The fact that I compete at the tail end of the meet means that I’ve been venturing out of the village only to hit the track and a shopping center that happens to be a five minute bike ride away. This is my 2nd time in Daegu and I didn’t do any sightseeing last time either but from what I’ve heard there isn’t too much to see anyhow; unlike Seoul where there’s plenty to see and do. I’ve been passing the time by making use of the Kindle app on my iPad, watching episodes of “Breaking Bad” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and of course tuning into the meet. I still wish I hadn’t blown the AC adapter for my Xbox on my first day here!

P.S. Huge thanks to Mizuno for helping us look like we belong at the World Championships.  They provided our team with some pretty amazing uniforms and gear!

The World Championships are literally around the corner at this point and I can’t wait. I’m as ready as I’ve ever been and will be even more prepared come the qualifying round. Since my last blog post, I took the New York State bar exam up in Albany, NY which was far from fun as anybody who has taken the exam will tell you. Now that it is out of the way though, I not only have a little more free time on my hands, but I can gladly turn my attention and focus to September 2nd and 4th (qualifying and finals of the TJ in Daegu).

I competed at the Aviva London Grand Prix two weeks ago now and although it didn’t go as expected (16.61m for 6th place), it felt good to get back on the runway without having Criminal Procedure, Secured Transactions, Evidence, Wills or some other bar exam topic in the back of my mind. My pre-meet workout felt great but when Saturday morning rolled around and it was time to warmup to compete, I felt a bit more tired than I would have liked. During the competition itself, I felt as if I was jumping well as far as technique is concerned aside from a flat jump phase, but I wasn’t running as well as I did down in Puerto Rico. At this point speed is the name of the game and I definitely didn’t have it then. Considering the fact that we’re now starting to do more and more speed work in practice though, I know my speed won’t be a problem in Daegu. On top of that, I’ll have more than just one day to get over the time zone shift which is what I dealt with out in London.

Last week was probably the final week where I’ll be lifting heavy and doing some “serious” jumping in practice so it seems we’re finally starting to taper off; especially as we get closer to about two weeks or so out from the first day of jumping in Korea. I actually had two jumping sessions in a week for the first time in a while last week. That was in addition to the heavy weight room loads that I mentioned but I know I needed a week like that. The benefit of our competition starting so late is the fact that I’m able to get these couple extra weeks of solid training in and I’m not complaining about at all. Still, I’m definitely excited as we start to shave things off here and there in training. I’m certain that the results will speak for themselves come Spetember 2nd and 4th.

Check back later this week for the results of my last, intense short approach jump session. Here’s how things went last time -

It’s been about a month since I last stepped on the runway and just as much time since I shared a new blog post. I’m hoping to be doing both of those things a little more regularly (even if it’s once every other week). Last weekend though, I made my way down to the Bahamas with a few of my teammates to compete in their National/Open Championships. Since Haiti doesn’t have a National Champs of their own, the BAAA (the track and field federation down there) has always been kind and cooperative enough to give us the opportunity to compete at their own championships. The Bahamas is strong in a number of events and with Leevan Sands being a World and Olympic medalist, the triple jump is definitely one of those strong events; so you know I was excited to get some great competition and not have to fly more than 3 hours to find it.

Training has also never been better over the past month. If you’d like to know why, see for yourself –

I’ve been working on fixing my jump phase by timing my arms better since it was flat in both Jamaica and Brazil. The whole timing/synchronization of the arms adjustment also helped my step phase as you can tell.

When the show got on the road down in Freeport last Saturday, I felt great, the crowd was engaged (even if it was only to cheer for Leevan) and I was ready to put up a big mark. Things didn’t exactly go that way though. I ended up fouling all of my respectable jumps, but at least they were jumps that I could live with…had I gotten a white flag on any one of them. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t great or even as good as the above training jumps but they were 17 meters+ and I can’t complain about 17 meter jumps. There’s also the fact that the runway had a 6 foot long jump board which meant that I wasn’t getting as much going into my jump phase as I would have liked and lost nearly all of my speed each time I landed on it.

I fouled a total of 4 of my 6 jumps and took one from way behind the board but here are a couple of those fouls –

Now, something has to be said for the pit we were jumping into. Typically, there’s nothing better than hitting a pit when it is nicely raked and properly dug up. This pit over the weekend couldn’t have been any further from that. The pit was so hard that when your feet hit it, they slid out from under your as if you were trying to jump on concrete with cleats on. They tried digging the pit up after each round but it didn’t help at all and every jumper left the pit limping thanks to a sore tailbone. It wasn’t a good look; to say the least.

All in all, the trip was a great one. The Bahamian Federation and population in general were amazingly helpful and accommodating which made the trip that much more enjoyable. As far as my runway issues are concerned, I’d actually prefer fouling to the stutter-stepping I was doing all last year because it means that I’m finally running all the way down the runway and probably that I just have a better drive phase. I compete again next weekend in New York, as opposed to a month from now so I’ll be able to get a rhythm going finally which is great because I’m anxious to fix some things from last week and get a legal jump that reflects the level I’m ready to compete at!

P.S. — Photo credit to my teammate Alie Beauvais

I made my second trip to Rio de Janeiro last week, this time for the Grande Premio Brasil Caixa de Atletismo which was an IAAF World Challenge competition. My first time to Rio was 4 years ago for the Pan American Games and considering the fact that I didn’t even make the finals back then, I felt like I had some unfinished business to handle at the stadium in Rio. On top of that, I’m not sure if one win counts as a win streak, but after getting the win in Jamaica I was anxious to go 2 for 2 at World Challenge meets, regardless of who else was competing.

After a reasonably long flight from Miami to Rio and about an hour drive to the hotel I was finally able to get a decent meal and then head straight to the track. Believe it or not, I laced up my spikes and did some bounding and accelerations/sprints to shake out the cobwebs and get some blood flowing in my legs again. The following day was a simple pre-meet warm up that included some hurdle hops along with some block starts to help me feel how I would like to drive in my first few strides on the runway. Looks like I should consider doing some sprinting on the side right? Or at least start giving folks lessons on coming out of the blocks! In all seriousness though, I felt great going into Thursday night’s competition and was ready to take care of business.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly as planned although I won’t complain too much about the outcome. I started off warm ups having a little trouble with my approach and it was probably thrown off by the fact that I was driving, pushing and just running better down the runway. So after fouling my first jump, I jumped into the lead in the second round with a 16.92m attempt which ended up being my best of the night. That lead didn’t last long as I was eventually passed by two former World Championships medalists from Cuba (one jumping 16.95m and the other jumping 16.93m). I actually passed my 4th attempt because my knee started to feel a little sore in the third round so I figured it wasn’t worth it since 16.92m was a mark I could live with in my second “real” competition of the year.

The competition itself wasn’t bad although the stadium was pretty much empty except for the backstretch where the runways were. Even with people watching the competition it seemed like they were more interested in partying than cheering for competitors, although the Brazilian athletes got some solid support which is to be expected. I didn’t mind though since I get a boost just about any time I hear noise, music or cheering in the stands and I’m about to jump…even if it’s not for me.

The jumps themselves felt good and relatively effortless like they should. It would have been nice to get some video but that’s usually tough to do. I have been working hardest on my approach and hop-step as you all know and my jump phase hasn’t been what it will eventually be (or even what it usually is). I felt as if I wasn’t being patient and simply curled into a ball and cannon-balled into the pit and as a result probably robbed myself of at least an extra foot. That won’t happen anymore and I’m looking forward to fixing it the next time I compete which will hopefully be on June 11th at the Adidas Grand Prix in NY; if not there then June 25th in the Bahamas.

Finally a quick thanks to a couple new/relatively new sponsors that I am now happy to be working with: Mizuno and RIVALUS.

ON TO THE NEXT ONE…