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Napa-Sonoma Half Marathon, July 20, 2014
Noble Canyon 50km Trail, September 20, 2014

Monday, September 11, 2000

Brisbane

G'day, mates!

Today was a bust. I've come to realize after years of training and racing at a high level that there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days. Today was a bad day.

We were scheduled for a hard speed workout at the University of Queensland track. During my warm-up, I was laboring with my breathing and I felt a kind of tunnel-vision dizziness. And it just got worse when I started going faster. Rather than do the 5 kilometer intervals, I went out on to the adjacent road and did an easier steady state walk.

When I got back to the hotel, I fell asleep for nearly an hour. I was just exhausted and had no energy. Perhaps I haven't completely recovered from last week's workouts.

I can't remember if I wrote about the fun I had two days ago. Brisbane is going to be hosting next year's Goodwill Games (the first time that it will be outside of either the U.S. or Russia). The organizers had a bunch of us athletes over for a media day where we got to meet a velvet python and fuzzy fuzzy koalas. They were both super soft and smooth. The koalas didn't pay much attention to all the people there, they just kept eating eucalyptus leaves.

And yesterday I saw several famous track & field athletes at an international track meet held south of Brisbane at the Super Sports Centre in Runaway Bay. Merlene Ottey from Jamaica, who has won something like eight Olympic medals won the women's 100 meter dash. Donovan Bailey, 1996 Olympic Champ and former world record holder from Canada, was in the stands. And I saw Hachim El Guerrouj, world record holder in the mile and 1500 meters from Morocco. They were all very normal and nice, which shouldn't have surprised me because everyone I have met on the U.S. Olympic Team has also been very nice and approachable.

Tonight I had a lovely dinner with three Olympic Trials winners: Deena Drossin, women's 10k (and second in the 5K); Adam Goucher, men's 5k; and Gabe Jennings, men's 1500mt. They are all very interesting, smart people, which was refreshing to see. The U.S. Team heads down to Sydney and check in to the Olympic Village tomorrow morning. I will be staying here in Brisbane for a few days longer before I head down for the BIG festivities at the Opening Ceremonies.

That's it for today. Good night everyone...

Philip

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