since i do not know how i access the history on my droid. i cant not pull up the exact page. but i know it was from a search id done on google. about what? who knows, i ask a million questions a day.
but i liked the way people communicated on here, so i read further, and obviously decided to join
i was thrown in one day. at Brighton Middle school in 8th grade (my first year running). I raced to a white line stretched across, i believe, the 80 meter mark, to win the hurdles and apparently establish a new middle school record in the process (yay)
I then had the opportunity to work with a great coach as a 9th grader, and he provided me with enough motivation and knowledge to last me until i graduated in 2007 from ECU.
I coached myself in HS and college over the hurdles.
the biggest hurdle i continue to have to overcome is funding
i am forced to train like a HS kid yet am expected to deliver world class results, and it just can not be done on a budget. unless i cheat of course, but then wheres the fun in that?
You brought up drugs…what is your point of view on doping?
Oh you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
I’d ask you a question, but I’m busy packing to pick up my Nobel Prize in kick-boxing. Plus Scarlett Johansson is calling me to bed. Hey, maybe she’ll post a question in the morning.
This is out of line for this forum and topic and is basically the definition of threadshitting. If you can’t respond civilly or have a question, you don’t have to reply.
Consequently, if you have a problem with another poster, you should know where to take it by now.
the rumors are false. the majority here do NOT want to become a state. please dont believe all those things you read and see about on the news.
But if Puerto Rico were to become the 51st state it would basically replace our Olympic Committee.
This would be great news long term, as im certain PR is capable of producing an enormous amount of talent in a variety of sports (think Florida). But it would also suck because, well id no longer be representing my beautiful little island, and culture. Id be representing the USA.
Dont get me wrong, i love the USA but as you know cultures (Italians, Greeks, Irish, Afrincans, Indians tec..) always connect to their culture very deeply, and it would feel pretty awkward and difficult, were it to just be wiped off the earth.
A friend of mine is married to an Olympic skiier and they have two kids.
Do you have a long term relationship? How do you think your training and competition schedule impacts that part of your life? Do you have a post Olympic plan for your career?
How did the experiences differ between Beijing and London? I imagine the games in each place were run on quite different lines.
To verify your identity would you be willing to have a picture taken of you jumping a (flaming) hurdle while holding a laptop open to the Straight Dope?
So far my bullshit detector is not going off but it would be a really cool picture.
My view on drugs is i dont give a damn.
Its like anything else. How many husbands cheat on their wives? How many wives cheat on their husbands? How many cheat on their taxes? How many speed? or drive a little under the influence? or smoke illegal plants behind closed doors?
There are many things in life we can do, in order to take a shortcut to happiness. And if its something that you want to do, well then cool for you. I dont judge anybody, as i have no right. I am far from perfect.
If you cheat on your perfect wife (who i would likely bang during your separation, after she discovers you) well then hey that’s your problem. Sure i think your an idiot, but im not gonna sit here and think you a horrible person, i just see you have some issues. No biggie, we all do.
I wouldnt cheat on my wife, but i know countless husbands who do, and hey thats their problem. If it last forever and they never get caught, good for them. And if they do get caught and all hell breaks loose, well then hey they knew what the risks were.
Same can be said as far as drugs in sports. yes many will use them, despite knowing the rules and consequences. and if it they make it a lifetime never getting caught (which many do), then hey cool for them. And if they get caught, and humiliated well then hey what the hell? you knew it was a possibility right? so get over it.
The only thing that bothers me about the whole “drugs” issue, is the general fool whos OMG SO SHOCKED, and the coward “hero” who denies he ever used. I respect the athlete that can admit he was wrong, and i feel sorry for the fan who’s so naive as to not realise how it works in the real world.
i personally choose not to use drugs because, well it just wouldnt be the same.
Its like when i played Sonic the Hedgehog as a little kid. Many of my friends would enter cheat-codes, and greatly over exaggerate their abilities, in an order to make the game easier and win.
But i couldnt bring myself to do it. it completely ruined the game, and i wouldnt even continue playing if cheat codes were enabled. Its no fun, if you can beat the game in 1 sitting. (im a fan of RPGs by the way)
So its the same with my track career. Sure i could take drugs and be ranked top 3 in the world next year, but then itd feel fake. And when i spoke to the kids about what it takes, id be a liar telling them that drugs had nothing to do with my World Championship Medal.
Id rather not be that guy, and so i personally dont use them. But again could care less if the guy next to me uses them. Ive never felt ashamed when losing a race to a man on a bike, while i was on foot.
I actually dont mind this poster at all. I find it funny, get a chuckle and simply continue with my day.
I do have a long term relationship. And it also happens to be a long distance relationship.
I am trying to do the best that i can with that, same as anyone else would. I simply feel i am doing a better job, and have a better chance, because i have developed a talent for maintaining great communication through the distance.
The training and constant traveling in my case makes things easier. Were my relationship a typical one (not long distance) than it would probably be a great burden to be away from my girlfriend for so long. But since we are already used to not seeing eachother as often as wed like, we find it a bit easier to maintain the relationship despite not being physically together most of the time.
My post Olympic plans are to start a couple small businesses. I greatly enjoy not having to depend on others for my success and would like to continue this after my running days are over.
I am currently in the process of planning out a few business ideas that i would like to implement in the coming years. This is actually what i spend most of my free time doing (in case you were wondering what i do when not training)
Thanks, I admire your balanced view on doping.
I read somewhere (probably on Cracked) that the Olympic Village is one huge sex-fest. Is this true? Any juicy details?
Assuming you’re the real deal, it’s pretty cool you’re doing this.
The games in London were different in very many ways. My experience always comes down to the culture experience, not the grand lights they host city puts on the the public. And so ill tell you a couple of the things that stood out to me, and made me enjoy each.
Beijing 2008
-You could rarely see the sun. This is something that i thought was an obvious exaggeration in the news, but it was true. I believe i saw clear skies for total of 10hrs during my 30days. I thought it was pretty cool. though obv a big problem.
-Worst drivers in the world. Puerto Rico has some pretty horrible drivers, when compared to the USA, but China is in a class of its own. I distinctly remember when a country has bad drivers and when one has good drivers. In 2007 while at a track meet in El Salvador, i thought id never run across individuals who drive worse, until i competed in Beijing 2008.
Despite their crazy driving, i dont recal seeing a single accident. So i guess they are not as bad as i say, but it sure can get scary riding in a taxi. haha
-Thousands ride bikes. I found this to be pretty cool. In Europe, yea people ride bikes, but in China its a another ballgame. i thought this was pretty cool too
-When people want to rest, they simply squat in place. Very very strange at first, and if you attempt it you will find yourself standing within a couple minutes. But people all over the city, when tired of standing, simple squatted with their butts nearly on the floor. This has to lead to incredible leg strength throughout the years, but i wouldn’t have the research to back that up.
-Everyone was really short. Puerto Rico has some pretty short people for the most part, the same as many latin american countries, but China is on another level.
Id say the average height for males was 5’6 and females had to be 5’ even.
-The Silk Market
this is the part of town where everyone does their shopping. Most of the stuff is bootleg (generic) but it sells like hotcakes. You can find Polo Shirts, Lacoste Pants, Rolex watches, and LV purses at the Silk Market, all being sold for your negotiators best price. This area also has a plazas completely underground, which i thought was cool
-The great wall of china
you read about it in elementary and high school. But its a completely different in person. We went to a tourist section, where they told us we would get a chance to walk about a mile and a half of the wall. My initial reaction was “what a rippoff” because obviously a mile and a half can be walked in about 30mins and i wanted more. But well i was greatly mistaken.
The mile stretch took about 3 hrs to climb, and the return route was not even considered because by the time you made it to the top, you had no energy for much else than sitting.
The wall is not made in nice neat steps. See they didnt have sophisticated machines to help with all of that back then. The steps many times are not placed well, and for a couple meters at a time you are force to climb, rather than walk, as the steps are completely missing at it is sheer rock.
Needless to say i had a hard time training the next day.
-night life
i didnt go out much, but we always knew exactly where to go, when it was time to party. We spent our time at the China Doll. We usually got there around 1/2am and stayed until 6/7am. Good times, and they played top 40, as it was mostly athletes (and if you didnt know American Music is mainstream in any country, so you WILL hear your fav tunes abroad)
London 2012
I headed to this Olympics with more anticipation than in 2008. But the experience was not all that id hoped for. i ran bad, which didnt surprise me, but the city did not do the best of jobs for the athletes. and so i was very disappointed.
-Everything is super expensive, and even more expensive due to the Olympics. And well, athletes did not get much of a discount on anything. I had all of about nothing to spend over there, so i couldnt really enjoy myself in the way i would have liked. (most Olympians such as myself dont earn much)
-2am curfew.
this was the biggest downfall of the 2012 Olympics. Athletes on many occasions did not know which club was best to go to, and and even when they found were, they showed up only to be told it was closing. I dont understand how a city full of millions of people during an event such as the Olympics can close at 2am, but that is how it was. We still found lots of fun to get into, but it only came during the hours wasted searching for something to do.
-Cops
the cops were insanely friendly. Now the Cops in Puerto Rico are very nice as well, they dont bother with petty stuff, because the island has too much serious crime to worry about. Opposite USA cops.
I dont know the crime situation in London, but the cops there were seriously not looking to bother people for no reason.
the cops dont carry guns on them (a huge schock to me), and any one of them is approachable and friendly.
On the final night while waiting for a taxi after clubbing, i asked a group of officers (group of about 4) if they could point me to a bathroom. they laughingly suggested i urinate on the building in the shadow just off the road, and even joked not to let an “officer” see me. i thought this was hilarious and proceeded to do as they suggested haha.
Later that night, after trouble with a taxi, we decided to take the bus home, but apparently werent in the near the proper bus that would take us to the village. so we asked some officers in their car if they could point us in the right direction, and rather than point us in the right direction they gave us a lift to the station.
-tons to do
London, despite having a lame curfew, which is not fit for a big city, has tons to do during the day. I absolutely love the city and love how it has a full 4 season. The history in the city goes back a long way, and it would take a long time, to see everything on a week vacation.
Overall i did enjoy London more, despite the way i ran and the way the athletes were left to “fend for themselves”. But i did enjoy it more because i made it a conscious effort to enjoy my time there.
Beijing did a better job hosting the games for the athletes, but London was a better experience because i made a conscious effort to enjoy it more. And because London is a city i could actually see myself living in.
haha clearing a flaming hurdle would be a bit hard right now. Im barely in shape enough to clear a hurdle at the lowest height. sorry
but if there is another way that i could somehow confirm my identity i guess i wouldnt mind doing so.
Im not sure why someone would come on here and lie about this stuff. Its not like i won some kind of Gold Medal or earn millions.
I am everyone else. I am part of the 1% that makes it and the 95% that hasn’t quite made it yet. haha
So how many of the free condoms that are distributed to the atheletes during the olympics did you use while in the Olympic village? Did you keep the average per athelete high, or were you bringing it down?
haha this is always the funniest one.
I could tell you the truth, but it would ruin the general fantasy people have with this topic.
so instead i will just allow you to continue to think thats how it works. haha
haha those numbers are off sorry.
The true numbers, would be high yes, but nowhere near as high people claim them to be.
sorry to disappoint.