A quick note to J.R:

You are completely ready for the next phase of your steeple season. You are in fantastic shape. I have seen you race and I have seen you train. You are crushing both. You’re hurdling better than ever and I hope you are really confident and excited going into this race.

After racing last week I think you know what to expect with regards to pacing. You can never be completely sure of the competition when they are unknown. That is why we need to focus only on what we can do. So here are some thoughts.

Arrive to the stadium with plenty of time to spare. Get in a fantastic warm up. Make sure you wake your body up and you are well prepared physically and mentally. Hurdle drills, trail and lead. Fast strides, and finally go over some hurdles in warm up.

This is a perfect race to practice being confident in who you are and what you are doing. Julia Reicin you have all these wonderful ingredients. You are competitive and talented. You are aerobically fit; you can hurdle; you can run really fast; you are highly coordinated. You train everyday and love it. You are a wonderful athlete and you care about all of this, or else you wouldn’t be doing it. Mix it all together and you have fantastic recipe. It’s time to really start testing and perfecting this recipe.

Have fun,

DW

I found this quote to be pretty fitting in regards to your summer:

“Integrity is an essential value because it inspires an unflagging effort to do the right thing, the right way, every time — whether anyone is looking or not. It guides individuals leading to higher standards, accountability, openness to improvement, and long-term excellence. In contrast, taking shortcuts leads to shortsightedness, poor results, or worse.”