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I had my last “workout” workout of the year yesterday afternoon in Belgium. I say “workout” workout because my coach already let me know that I’ll still be working out a bit once I get back to the States, in spite of the fact that tomorrow is my last meet for 2010. He said that he’d rather I ease into my couple weeks off by gradually doing less work than just abruptly halting my training altogether. I agree of course, but then again I guess it wasn’t really my call to make.

As I mentioned above and in previous posts, I’m out here in Brussels now for the Diamond League final. The event happens to be the last meet of the 2010 Diamond League series and also the finale for the triple jump. I managed to get a straight flight over here which was a must considering that in spite of the fact that I was in economy plus, the 5 extra of inches I was allegedly getting didn’t have the effect on my flight that I was looking for. At least I had an aisle seat though, so I was able to get up and stretch several times. Once I made it to baggage claim in Belgium I was immediately spotted by my driver and we shot over to the meet hotel, which is in the Brussels city center: no complaints here since I’m here until Sunday.

One of the toughest things to do while out here on the circuit is finding ways to pass the time when there are only one or two television channels in English. Fortunately enough, one of those channels this time around happens to be “ESPN America,” which is pretty much just regular ESPN. Also, since I’m in Belgium I get to watch some TV in French and work on my multilingual skills a bit. I don’t mind that at all. As always though, I made sure I brought enough movies and episodes of random shows that I follow to help fill any dead space that I had. That said, after filling some of that down time with Smallville, a nap and a couple meals, I got to check out Stade Roi Baudouin/Koning Boudewijnstadion…the stadium, which is sold out for the meet. That means 50,000+ spectators; which I got to experience at the World Champs last year but I’m sure the crowd and atmosphere will be no less awe inspiring.

I felt a little flat in the initial stages of my workout, which is to be expected after sitting on a plane for over 7 hours. As things got going though, I felt the explosiveness and “electricity” in my legs that I was looking for start to come back to me. I have no doubt that the massage I got following the workout probably helped out as well so I’ll be more than ready once tomorrow arrives, especially since I’m getting worked on a little bit today as well.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for a high of 64F/17C degrees and some light rain in the morning. I don’t compete until nearly 9PM which means that it’ll at least be dry by then but I’m guessing that it’ll be a bit cooler than the high for the day. Good thing I checked the weather forecasts before hopping on the plane so I have some warmer gear with me and the temperature shouldn’t pose a problem with a good warmup before going out to the runway.

I’m ready to end the season on a high note and use this meet as momentum going into training for next year’s World Championships and beyond; first things first though…