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…