It is an exciting time right now especially for athletes– right now, the Olympic Trials are being held in the track and field capital in the US– Eugene, Oregon. When the Olympic Trials were held four years ago, it was in Sacramento.
It’s amazing how time flies by– it was four years ago that I competed in the shot put. I remember it pretty clearly. I was currently taking summer school at Florida (reporting and marketing– two pretty tough courses are UF), and I had to fly out to California on a red-eye to San Luis Obispo. Mom, Dad, Karla, and I drove a few hours to Sacramento– and that is when it really hit me– I was going to compete at the Olympic Trials! Oh my goodness! 🙂
Coming into the shot competition, I thought that I was just lucky to compete. I had been battling a back injury on and off– and my best mark ranked me near the bottom of the qualifiers. Dad was there as my coach, and Mom was my support staff and Karla was my cheering section. 🙂 Well, the qualifying round came and went– and I got 6th and made it to finals. I was absolutely excited– I was like, wow! This is so cool! And then I was randomly drug tested. Well, it was definitely an experience! In the finals, I got 9th place, but I was really happy with that. It had always been a goal of mine to compete at the Olympic trials, and to make it to finals– I was very happy. 🙂
A lot has happened to me since the trials. I graduated from Florida with a degree in Public Relations in the summer of 2005 and two weeks later, I started my Master’s at USC. I competed for the Trojans where I got the school record, won at the USC-UCLA dual meet, and got my 4th All-American. After graduating from USC and going to South Africa for an internship, I went to Tennessee where I am starting my second year in the Ph.D. program.
I have had a lot of people ask me if I ever miss track. Sure, I do– I had a lot of really great memories from my experience as a track athlete. I remember all of the intense but fun workouts with Dad in our weight room and traveling with Mom, Dad, and Karla to track meet. I met a lot of really nice people and was part of two successful track and field programs. Track also gave me opportunities to see other parts of the US and other colleges at the same time.
I had my success in track– but I realized that I couldn’t be an athlete forever– and that is why I retired after competing for USC. I have used my experiences from track in the classroom and in Public relations– the hard work ethic and dedication that I had to have as an athlete really helped me out as a researcher and student.
Not only have I changed in terms of going from an athlete to a Ph.D. student– but I changed physically as well. Thanks to Jenny Craig, I have lost 70 lbs and increased my fitness level tremendously. My blood pressure is really low (thanks to running), and it is really nice to be able to wear a size 10 pair of jeans and look fabulous!
Anyway, I wish everyone the best at the trials and throw far, run fast, and jump high! 🙂 Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen 🙂
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