No Stoppin' Now | USA's 2008 Paralympic Silver Medalist

Wow, I’m finally back in sunny San Diego, California at the Olympic Training Center. It feels so good to be back. This is my home away from home. It’s hard to imagine leaving cold weather in Raleigh, NC and arriving in 70 to 80 degree weather. Amazing!

This is where it all begins in 2009. It’s time to begin the long journey for London 2012. It seems so far away, but the way time flies it’ll be here before I know it. Shockingly, this will be my first time seriously training and preparing for the next games. I mean, 2004, I was just getting in to all of this and didn’t know what to expect so I was doing my thing. From 2004 to 2008, I was attending ECU and had to focus on school, my social life, and training. Training took the back burner most of the time. Now, I’m 24, and serious about trying to be the best in all of my events. My guide runner, Wes, is here and ready to get the ball rolling. We have new coaches and a new program here at the training center so things are on the “up and up”. I’m excited.

Off the track, things are looking pretty good. The public speaking is going pretty well actually and I’m hoping to get more speeches in the near future. I love to stay busy.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to start training though. I’ve been at home eating up every signature southern dish/food possible. That includes Bojangles’ fried chicken, biscuits, and fries, mac and cheese, Hungry Howie’s pepperoni pizza, and the list goes on and on. The first couple weeks of training may be the worse ever LOL.

My room here is a total mess though. I need to get some organization in there. It’s hard to juggle all of it with such little space. I’ll get it done sometime in the next few days.

Even though I miss the food and home, I’ll be back in a few weeks to receive an award that I was nominated for. The banquet is called the Evening of Champions, and it will be at the Embassy Suites in Cary, NC. It’s on March 5, 2009. And yes, you may attend if you would like. You can find all of the information about the event at www.thesportscouncil.org.

On that note, I’m going to get out of here and see what I can find to eat.