Happy New Year

If I said I'm glad 2008 over it would be an understatement.

What a shitty year it was. I don't even want to review it. All I can saw is Phew



But as Maya Angelou says

Still I Rise

Happy New Year everybody.

Jx

Things I love

In no particular order other than number one

1. Family
They are what makes me. My mother and sister especially. You know my Nephew is the apple of my eye.



2. My friends even though I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like I know we can pick up where ever when ever.



Dani C - Training partner - I call her the old soul.





Durst (Stephanie Durst) - Love this girl to death. She's so funny. Had to have a pic with her and 'Happy Harry'


Jack - My sister in everyway


Andrea - No matter where I am or how long I'm away she remains my greatest girlfriend



Maria - My cousin. I'm 3 months older than her. Growing up we were inseperable.



Tasha D - Discribe her in a word 'Crazy'. We have had up's and downs but deep down know we will ALWAYS be friends. We can't stay mad at eachother for too long. lol

3. Handbags
Lucky for me my sister makes fab bags. Heres one of her's


4. Shoes. Hint hint. lol




5. Funny Movies. Love Stinks is my fav






6. Hanging out laughing joking with friends

7. Reading


Martina Cole
Eric Jerome Dickey
John Grisham



8. Curling up on the sofa in a comforter watching TV. I miss Jake and our Orlando evening TV watching


9. Relaxing around the house is sweats and a hoodie



10. Gettin my hair done in loud and crazy hair salon.




11. Music!!! He's my first love. There's a song for everything



12. Looking at home and furniture books
I'm doing an Interior Design course. Want me to come round and remodel your house?




13. Atlanta don't tell nobody...but really like it here




14. My new BlackBerry Bold
Thanks Santa!!


Only prob is I still can't BBM Jack. Aaaaaaaaargh
Email me for my new PIN if I have'nt contacted you already.

My friends in town for the weekend can you take him out to eat?

A couple of weeks ago both Dani and I received a PIN from Patrick Stevens which said 'Hey my friends in town for the weekend can you take him out to eat'. Funny thing is I had stayed round Dani's house that night so we both received the PIN at the same time and laughed at Patrick who was obviously trying to be slick. lol

We went back and forth with 'His names Edgar I will give him your PIN so he can contact you'. Dani and I were headed to Lennox Square Mall and during the day told Edgar this. Long story short he decided to go to the mall too. Whilst shopping a guy appeared in between both Dani and I. I thought he wanted to walk past so stepped aside to let him through. It turns out it was Edgar he was with another friend of mine Caimin Douglas. Who thought it would be funny to let Edgar breeze up to us in the mall. Hmmmmmmmm

We hung out we ate and it turns out Edgar was Edgar Davids the Football player. Yeah dumb blonde moment for Joice. Now I'm not clued up on my football players as you can probably tell.



As we were talking it turns out that Edgar had worked out at Velocity Sports. I told him Loren coached me and he couldn't believe it. He asked if he could work out with us the following day. I got Loren on the phone handed it to Edgar and long story short Edgar has been in and out of ATL over the past 4 weeks working out with us.



I now first hand have an appreciation of just what a determined and talented individual he is. He loves working out and he's a pretty decent guy too. Down to earth and a good laugh.



He kept hinting that he was quick enough to make the Dutch 4x100 team. The funny thing is with a decent pair of spikes he probably could. lol

Whistle stop ............Back in ATL

This morning at the crack of dawn I set out to the airport to head back to Atlanta. A 9am flight meant I had to leave the house at 6am to get to the airport and check in.

I don't consider myself to be a moody person especially in the morning, but today takes the biscuit. There are just some situations where if a person took the time to read my face they would see clearly that I have 'F*$@ RIGHT OFF' written clearly on my forehead.

Trust me to take Loren's advise and fly with Delta. Firstly they did not allocate me a seat at check in. Telling me something about being given a seat at the departures lounge. I'm thinking UPGRADE. Hell no!!

I stopped off at EAT to get some breakfast and well see below for yourself as to what happened .



Adding further insult to injury idiot boy was on the same flight as me. This meant he witnessed me not getting my upgrade. Instead I get subjected to another security check this time by two women who looked like they had snuck out from cleaning the toilet duties. They have set up a desk in the departures lounge. Secondary security check my arse. This woman touched me up in full view of the other passengers in the lounge. (Including 'Idiot Boy)'. That's when I kicked up and asked why I was being felt up by this woman? The Delta guy tried to assure me this was normal procedure. Toilet lady stopped her assult of my Maduaka when Delta guy told her to stop and let me take a seat. So far I had no seat, bothered twice once in EAT and another in WHSmith finally get touched up in the departures lounge. Great!!

I land in Atlanta and end up in the illegal immigrant room with some very shady individuals. All because customs lady did not appreciate the fact that I had several visa's in my passport and stamps to the USA. 'Ummm I run track, travel around the world' Doh.

45 mins later Customs lady calls Loren to vouch for me.

And how was your day?


Anyway now I have got that off my chest. My whistle stop trip home was great!!. I hung out with my niece Fontaine, who has turned into a young woman since last I saw her. We went shopping and caught up. I also spent bags of time with my sister mum and nephew Max. Max has become a very funny talkative 4 year old. Several times I asked my sister if he ever shuts up and she said 'no' lol



Mum was mum she now has an email address. lol Watching her peck away at the laptop was so funny. Bless her!!

So I'm back on the grind tomorrow God knows what Loren has planned for us.

I'm on my way home

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt

My family is my heart without them I would be nothing!

My sister is my best friend and can't put into words the love I have for her son my nephew Max. So I'm going home to get my Maduaka fix.

Its a fleeting visit but one that I need. Albeit also to pack some warm clothes and get my hair done.

I'm home till the weekend and then back to ATL.

Not enough hours to get myself into trouble. lol

Credit for my WAM Degree

Tonight I decided to gain credit towards my WAM Degree (Wife and Mother) lol

Up at Chateau Segrave Loren rules the kitchen with the best of them. Jamie Oliver, Lloyd Grossman. If you want a good feed after practice this is the place to be. Part of the reason why Derrick has been hanging out a lot. Claiming to be over watching video of the days training session. It just always so happens to be around dinner time. lol. He thinks we don't know. Well the cats out the bag now.

Anyway. I was having a Dorothy 'There's no place like home cravings' (English treats). I passed by Harry's to raid the English aisle. Found a Lloyd Grossman curry stir in sauce and offered to cook.



So with a little help from my kitchen assistants. Chief chopper upper Kyle O'Day (Massage Therapist) and Loren I gained my first credits for the WAM Degree that Anthony (Weight Room Coach) thinks all women should obtain. Not sexist at all. lol



God knows what other modules he thinks are in the syllabus. lol

Feel free to suggest some modules and please please please keep it clean. lol

Update: LUSSI

The main track that I train at whilst in Atlanta is Life University. The program that allows us to use the facility is called LUSSI Elite. Basically itsan extension of Life University’s sports health science program.

Last night was the first in a series of lectures targeted at Coaches, Physical Therapists, Athletics Trainers, other sports professionals and athletes in all sports.




This is how I met Clive Brewer. Clive was the first speaker. He spoke about "Periodization for Team Sports", how to manage players' training over the entire year, especially related to maintaining the biomotor abilities during the competition season. Yeah I thought it would be a little too techi but it was actually pretty cool to sit at the back and listen.


Clive was also available over the past two days to watch our weight room and track session. He gave me some great technical pointers to help me with my lifts.

Pics of the time with Clive below.

Anthony's TV Debut

Yesterday Anthony (Assistant Coach) had a screening gathering for his appearance on MTV's Made. Basically a kid asks MTV to make them into whatever they desire. Avery decided he wanted to be made into a basketball player. Anthony was one of his coaches during the process.

MADE - MTV Shows

Some of us from the group went along to support him. It was a nice gathering and lets just say we saw a little snippet of the other side of Anthony that we don't see at practice. Anthony was pretty hard on this kid. lol

I will post the full episode when it becomes available.



I had a pretty busy day yesterday. Hills and weight room in the morning. Anthony's screening in the afternoon. Plus Loren and I had a radio interview with Dr Casey Cooper Ph.D on 'The Dr Casey Show'

We discussed my current goals and focus, What led me to make my coaching shift to Atlanta, The differences in my training and my body's ability to recover, my values and philosophies which enable me to continue my drive to compete.
It was a nice interview which did not cover the usual stuff that I am asked.

I will post the podcast when it becomes available.

Chateau Segrave Chess Challenge

Tonight we had the first of I'm sure many Chess challenges.

Derrick Atkins gave me a Bahamina ass kicking. All I can say is that it has been a very long time since I played. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it. In good old sprinter mode he trash talked whilst I called myself the 'Silent Assasin'.

And then the Grand Master (Loren) stepped into the hot seat. Poor Derrick!! lol

Lets just say Derrik got his second lesson of the day from the coach. He learnt about 'Castling' albeit part way through the game. lol

The body languge said it all. Derrick lent forward poised for attach. Whilst Loren sat back calm planing a not so painful onslaught. Did Derrick think he was really going to win? The sad this is he really thinks/thought he was going to win.

Sitting and watching the game you could see that Loren was a good 3 moves ahead in thought than Derrick.

Now I always thought the sprinter boys spent every waking moment when not practing or competing playing Xbox and chasing women. Derrick dispelled that myth this evening by putting up a pretty good fight. Im sure he will be back for another thrashing. lol

Final score


Derrick 1 - Joice 0

Loren 1 - Derrick 0

Happy Thanksgiving

So yesterday was my 2nd ever Thanksgiving.

I spent it with my coach Loren Seagrave and his family. For those who don't Loren is a damn good chef. He could give Jamie Oliver a run for his money. lol

So I had the traditional items on the Thanksgiving menu. Turkey, Collard Greens (which I can't pronounce the American way), Corn Bread and many others dishes that I had never had before.

Dani (Danielle Carruthers) my training partner also came over to eat with the family.



The family also trimmed the tree. Which was really nice watching the boys dress the Christmas tree.



And then in good old fashioned style Dani caught a case of the da itus.

Yep I caught it too but, sorry there is no photo evidence.



So it was back to practice this morning. No rest for the wicked.

Thought I would share

I recieved this email and it made me chuckle

Enjoy!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1940's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's !


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.



They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.




Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.



We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking!!!

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.



Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!


We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.


No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and cubby houses and played in river beds with matchbox cars.




We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on DSTV, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time.......no really!

We were given pellet guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays!!



We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT AND NOT DUE TO BLACKMAIL, THREATS AND GUILT FROM THE PAST..... strange but true!

Our teachers used to belt us with big sticks and leather straps and bully's always ruled the playground at school.




The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 70 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.


We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!


CONGRATULATIONS!

Wheres Joice?

Its been a while since I last blogged as I needed some time to regroup and chill. I would like to thank everyone for their kind words and thoughts.

But, Im back!!



I am now pretty much settled in at my new training location. Im in Atlanta, Georgia. My new coach is Loren Seagrave.



Practice is going well. The training group dynamics are also great.




I will divulge about the people in the training group another time.

This past week has been a little hetic. There has been a delegation of coaches from Chinese Taipei. Loren has been holding morning lectures with them. Followed by the coaches observing our training group.

I was a hit with the coaches when I went with Anthony (Weight Room/Assistant Coach) to pick them up from the airport. I completly forgot about the Chineese phrase I have tatted on my wrists. I received thumbs up and won a place in there hearts. lol

I was able to sit in on some of the morning lectures. This helped me understand the process that we were going through in our practice session which followed.



The experience with the coaches has been great. I can't think what other walk of life I would have ever met them. They are so desperate to learn, engage and understand sprints, hurdles and jumps. It was great watching them. Their interpreter Shih-Chung Cheng studied at Nottingham Uni. I know he was drained daily from the lectures as there were no stop questions.



Loren has one of those brains that you just want to pick. lol

Im like a sponge around him. The fact that he likes to talk about track and stuff helps loads too.

Over the coming weeks I will introduce you to the people in my training group. Some people you might have heard of others not.