Training for 2 months now.....any progress???

Hello everyone,
I am excited to tell you all that Brooklyn is 3 months old and I have been training for 2 months now. Things have not been easy at all but you know I have had to keep my head up and keep pushing forth. This blog entry will allow you to enter a little into my personal life, so please bear with me. Just the other day I broke out into tears and could not understand why so many things were going wrong in our lives. For one,my mom has been battling a pinched nerve, slipped disk that no doctors seem to have an answer to for about a year now, she recently in the last 3 months has been in horrible pain. I am sad that I can't make it go away but we are scheduled to see another doctor next weekend, let's hope that there is good news. Second,I am still very bitter about not having the financial support of my sponsor NIKE throughout my pregnancy, and still being in limbo regarding my contract from last year and now like many who are unemployed are feeling the toll. Many female athletes have to decide when is the right time to have kids and it would be so much easier if they (sponsors)help not only when you are doing well and winning medals but when you take a brief break with great intentions of coming back into the track world. Practice has been a hard road, to figuring out how my day will go and getting back into my original shape. The best thing is that when Brooklyn is at practice she is a trooper. She enjoys watching mommy and daddy train at UC and between the fussy cries and laughter she does enjoy herself. She will definitely have an experience to share with others!!

After crying on Chris's shoulder and asking him "why..why are these things happening and will I be good again?" We immediately prayed and asked the Lord to help my mom find answers to her painful affliction. I also prayed that we would continue to be able to pay our bills and most of all that I would continue to get stronger and more fit each and every day. I will compete this indoor season and hopefully make he indoor team this winter. I will never forget the one thing he said to me and it has allowed me to want to push myself each and every day to be the best that I can be. He said, Mary yes we knew that this would be hard but your a fighter. You have fought for everything and whenever someone has put you down, you have picked yourself up and proven them wrong. He reminded me of my unique story that I often tell when giving motivational speeches. I was never a great athlete like many star athletes that represent track and field now, I grew into one and I will continue to grow. I wasn't highly recruited out of high school, didn't win a conference title in college, never made the NCAA's, quit my job as a school teacher to pursue track in 2006, never made a final in the 400 meters in a national championships until 2007, fought and fought to prove to my current sponsor that I could be a good 400 meter runner. And now... he said look at you...you have a Gold Medal, supportive family/friends and a beautiful daughter who will love to hear the story of how we decided to attain her into this world. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband and I know that as I continue to train....I HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE.

So yes I have made progress, I am getting my feel back, my strength, my speed, my fast twitch muscles. We are increasing the work outs this month and I will be working hard along with my training partner Courtney Wicks, and of course the hubby Chris! Please continue to pray for us and God Bless.