After 4 consecutive nights of up and down sleeping I think I finally will be able to get into a normal routine here in Belgium. Those 4 nights of sleep went like this: 11, 2.5, 12, 3.5. Last night I did the normal 8-9 hours and now that I won't be flying or having to get up at 4am to catch a train or plane I should be able to sleep normal for a couple weeks. But I've been dealing with the up and down sleep pretty well. I have to if I want to continue running well. That's one of the things about competing in Europe on this type of circuit. You have to roll with things and continually stay positive and upbeat. The minute you let it get to you, let it start weighing you down, your level of performance will suffer too. And when I say 'this type of European circuit' I mean what a majority of American athletes compete in. Not the upper 10% that are good enough to get into the super grand prix's and pick and choose their meets. Most don't get to do that and end up going from meet to meet at the will of convenient travel itineraries and connections.

So on to the meet. I opened up my European tour with a solid performance in Lignano, Italy. My body felt great warming up and the pace maker was scheduled to go through in 50.5 which is perfect for me. There were several good runners in the race including Brandon Shaw, Christian Smith, and Tom Chamney of Ireland. The pace went out in 50.9 and we rolled through the 600 at an equally solid pace. I went out behind the pacer and then led from 500 to 600 when Chamney took the lead. Coming off the curve Christian Smith went by and we finished in that order. So 3rd place with a 1:46.86, my 4th fastest time of me career and by far my fastest race in Europe. I felt strong all the way through and was very happy with my strategy and tactics. Often times the first race in Europe is a little off from all the traveling so if that holds true to me I believe I can get a new PR in the coming weeks. in my next races I would like to maybe get out a little bit fast and finish just a little bit stronger and I'll have a 1:45.5 or better for sure. I am now in Belgium in Liege where I'll be running on Wednesday followed by a race in Heusden, Belgium on Saturday.

Check out the RACE VIDEO here

The rest of the meet:

MENS 100M
Asafa Powell was in this race as he and several other Jamaicans are using it as their Europe base. Powell got out well from the blocks but looked about 95% effort through his drive phase. With 40 to go you could clearly see him start easing up and with 5m to go he COMPLETELY shut down, coming to a WALK just a few steps past the finish line. Of course running this way, the entire field caught back up to him and everyone crossed in a blanket finish. He ended up 3rd with a 10.42. There were even some boos from fans in response to his effort. Trell Kimmons took the win in 10.25.

MENS 400M
Rumors made it through the hotel the day before the meet that Jeremy Wariner wanted a shake out race before getting into his normal European tour and was a late add to the field. Wariner got out fast, making up the stagger of two lanes in about 120 meters and looked to keep the pace through the 200 mark before starting to let up and cruising to a 45.74 win. Although he won by just a half second, the win was never in doubt. He looked very comfortable and was barely even breathing hard afterwards.

WOMENS 800M
A good field with Geena Gall, Morgan Uceny, and Nicole Edwards. The pace was supposed to be 57 for the first 400 and I think it was a little slower than that. Gall was out right behind the pacer looking comfortable. At 600 the pacer looked as though she slowed to stop but didn't get off the track very quickly. The two runners directly behind her also slowed visibly and Yus Santiusti Caballero of Italy who was on Gall's shoulder easily took over the lead. Gall battled back down the homestretch getting the win by .03 at the line in a personal best of 2:00.44. Uceny was 3rd in 2:02.03

WOMENS 100M HURDLES
A pretty straight forward race with Lolo Jones out well and no one challenging. She got the win in 12.92 and Andrea Bliss of Jamaica was second in 13.18.

I did not see the other races so can't give very good recaps of them past looking at results. I have just a few of the races on video and the links are below.

VIDEO: Mens 800m

VIDEO: Womens 100m Hurdles

VIDEO: Womens 800m

FULL RESULTS