Own Your Performance!...

That's the slogan of my newly acquired supplement sponsor Rival-US, a sports nutrition company based out of Canada, formed by Dr. Darren Burke. Dr. Burke is a well respected scientist that has had many papers and research distributed world wide.

I have been with the company for a little over a month and it has been beneficial on both ends. Rival-Us has been in existence for a while now, but now they are entering in to the market in the United States. Several athletes over a variety of sports ranging from ice hockey to cycling. I'm happy to be apart of the team.

It is funny how the deal actually came actually came about. A former training partner of mine, Adrienne Power, a Canadian sprinter, contacted me out of the blue asking if I would be interested in a supplement deal. Of course I said yes.

As a professional athlete, I spend a lot of money on supplements, probably upwards of $2,000 a year, so securing a supplement sponsor has always been something I was interested in, I just didn't know the avenue in which to get that accomplished. It's funny how things work out. The compensation package they worked out for me was a big plus as well.

Dr. Burke and I emailed back and forth for a few days, he sent out some product to see if it was something I could see myself using. There are two very important things that this company possesses that other supplement companies I've used can't compare. One is the fact that I am always able to contact Dr. Burke directly at any time. If I have any issues or questions about a product, he's always a phone call or email away. The most important and critical, value added element Rival-Us brings to the table is the fact that every last batch of every last product is clinically tested and cetified not to contain any banned substances per World Anti Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee standards.

As an athlete that is tested very frequently (I've provided about 11 urine samples and three blood samples in 2010), it is imperative that I keep a clean record and with the other products I have been taking thoughout my career, I could have been playing with fire. I don't know what's really in this stuff I was taking. For every drug test I take, I'm always nervous, not knowing if maybe something I took could mix with something else and cause and adverse finding in my sample, I just never knew. I know I wasn't doing anything illegal, but I didn't want to be one of those athletes you hear about testing positive and they say they didn't know how, because 100% of the time I hear somebody say that, I think they're lying.

I work very hard and if that happened, that would not only be devastating, but very embarrassing, not only to me but my family. I think embarrassing my family is one of the worst things I could possibly do. I'm not the only one that's going to have to answer "What happened to David?". My mom and grandma champion me at church so much, how is that going to look when they have to answer questions about me being a dirty athlete? Then it will give all the naysayers and pundit's who think I am on some performance enhancement anyway (trust me, I've heard that, I just take it as a compliment) the "I knew it!" they are waiting for.

Now enters Dr. Burke and Rival-Us. I've taken three doping tests since I've been on their products and I don't even think about the test once the USADA sample collectors walk out of my front door.

It's amazing how Dr. Burke is revolutionizing the supplement game. Any time you order a product, you can look on the bottle for the lot number, go to the website and look up the "Certificate of Conformance" where it has been guaranteed certified by the SAEF. You talk about having a piece of mind now!

The products work great and I'm hoping this is a partnership that will continue throughout the course of the remainder of my career. Hopefully you'll see me soon in some advertisements for the products, you all know how I love being in stuff LOL.

This is a picture they desgined to commemorate my performance and they used it for an update on the website, check RIVAL-US out!

Track and Field News Interview

Out at the Sacramento Relays, I had a chance to sit down with Jon Hendershott, a reporter for Track and Field News, one of my favorite websites to visit.

Here's the link:

Track and Field News Interview Click Here

I told Jon I need to do something to get the cover of the magazine! I guess if I can accomplish this mission of 12.85 that might be enough LOL.

Happy Retirement To A Great Man

The man who gave me my shot at running Division I track and field at Howard University has announced his retirement from coaching.

I still vividly remember the first time I held a conversation with Coach Merritt. It was the week before the state regional championships and he called my house. I was pretty excited because I had sent Howard no less than four letters and never got a single response back. I figured they must have been good and really didn't need me.

Unbeknown to me, they didn't have a coach in place and they weren't good at all! At the conference meet spring of 2000, they only scored one point! so the first thing Merritt did when he was hired and read the letters was call me up. He flew out to the regional championship where I won the 110 hurdles in 14.14 as well as the 300 hurdles in 38.52 and anchored the 4x4 to a second place finish.

That 4x4 was pretty embarrassing because it was my first time running the event and my team was winning until I got walked down with 150 meters to go by the guy I beat in the 300 hurdles. I split about 51, that was the first time I had ever run around the track completely.

Me getting walked down at regionals

I was still named MVP of the region, it was also the day of my senior prom and Coach Merritt offered me a full scholarship right then and there. At that point, it was the happiest moment in my life.

I am still shocked that Howard was the only school to offer me a full scholarship. I ran 13.25 and 38.84 at the state meet a week later, then University of Colorado and Colorado State upped their offers from 50% to full, but it was too late. These college coaches better do some homework! Considering I was in Denver where we had probably two meets where it wasn't snowing or cold, I think the other 14.1s and 38 mids I was running were pretty good times.

Going out to Washington D.C. was a great experience. Coach Merritt was a cool, reserved kind of guy, but he also didn't play. I learned that the hard way my sophomore year when I called myself knowing the ropes or whatever. I decided I was going to attend practice when I wanted to, more often than not, I was hanging out on the Yard chilling. So he kicked me and my good friend Lance off the team altogether. He called our parents as well. I was shocked and completely embarrassed because I'm 19 years old and my coach is calling my mom. It was the first time I had any disciplinary problems

The only reason I ended up back on the team was Coach Merritt had a phone conversation with the coach from the University of Maryland and he convinced my coach to give us another chance. That ended up being the best thing that happened to me in my collegiate career. I ended up being suspended for some meets to start my sophomore season and I had to start training with his group which consisted of the long sprinters and mid-distance guys. That helped me in getting stronger with my hurdle race and my relay splits started getting faster as well. It was a great boost in helping me attain the four outdoor conference titles I won. I guess you can say that I have always been able to finish a hurdle race strong.

MEAC Champs my freshman year

He always had my best interest in mind as well. When it came time for me to leave school and prepare for the professional side of track and field, he explicitly told me "If you want to make it happen, you have to leave here. You've exhausted everything I can offer you as a coach." He was a very self aware individual and didn't have the vision of living in the potential reflective glory I could have provided if I became successful. You see it often with these other coaches.

The runners that came to Howard from 2001 to present also have to champion Coach Merritt's efforts. I remember as a freshman, I qualified to attend the USA Junior Championships that were being hosted in Richmond, VA in 2001, it was like a two hour drive from D.C. The school wouldn't allow me to go because it wasn't an NCAA sanction event so we had to fight with compliance and eventually they started allowing us to attend meets like USA indoor and outdoor championships, Olympic Trials, USA Juniors etc. I guess they never had people qualify for those type of events so they had no experience with the process, so I couldn't fully fault the compliance department.

What really upset me about the whole thing was during my freshman year, I was running down in the 14.1-14.2 range consistently all season long and ran windy 13.9 twice. 14.38 and 14.50 ended up making the Junior Pan Am team. Not to say that I would have made the team because in the hurdles, you never know, but I do feel that I had a legitimate shot to make it on the team that represented the U.S. down in Argentina that year.

They say things happen for a reason, at least in future years, it was never a problem. Several athletes after me have been able to attend such big meets and display their talents. We all have Coach Merritt to thank for that. It was important for me because we didn't have the biggest budget in the world, so I rarely had great competition to race against, so outside of the NCAA championships and USA championships, I was generally winning races by half a second on average. That's a main reason I am a proponent of the NCAA regional system (not the one they have now, but the old system).

Howard spring sports MVP banquet '04

The ten years that Michael Merritt spent at Howard University had a lot of ups and downs, but the ups far exceeded the downs, we went from a program that was scoring one point at conference to always finishing in the top half at the Championships during my time there. I don't keep up too much with what's going on up there any more, but I'm sure they aren't scoring just one point anymore!

The University just lost a good man today. I am forever grateful for Coach Merritt, you'll be missed!

I was going through my old photo albums getting pictures for this post and came across this from the Track and Field News, April 2004 edition, whoever Dwight A. Love is, he definitely had a hell of a foresight!

California Invitational Relays

My week in Sacramento has come to an end.

I had a good time out here, starting with a few media ops earlier in the week as well as getting together with Sacramento High School track team and doing some light training with their hurdler, Tori Mason, before competing at the State meet. She ended up finishing fifth in the 100m hurdles and this is her first year competing in the event. She is a real talent.

The weather had been so off and on while I was out here, but on competition day, it was a very beautiful California spring day. Temperature was in the high 70s/low 80s and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, unfortunately for us runners, the winds were blowing in our faces at a strong clip.

I wasn't going to concern myself with what the wind was doing, I went and approached this race the same way I always do. Objective number one is always to win. I knew that running a fast time such as 13.0 was pretty impossible given the conditions, but winning is never impossible. This is why I am never in the business of chasing a time because depending on the conditions, you will be severely disappointed with what comes up on that scoreboard.

We had a pretty good field out there, Dexter Faulk and Aires Merritt, both of whom were ranked in the top 10 in the World in '09 as well, were in the race as well as former UCLA All-American Kevin Craddock.

I was crunk because when I check in, my bib number was 303, the area code for Denver, so I was reppin'! Those of you whole really know me, knows it doesn't take too much to get me fired up!

The gun went off and I ended up winning the race in 13.52 into a -3.6 headwind. Faulk was second and Craddock third, running 13.89 and 13.98.

That was the toughest race that I can remember running. The effort I had to put into that race is probably the equivalent to a race when I run 13.1. There is no such thing as coasting in a hurdle race, no matter how far in front of the competition you are because whether it is a -3.6 or +3.6 wind, the hurdle distance still stays the same. If you relent for a split second or lose focus, you may be watching the rest of the race from your back and up under a hurdle after you fall.

Personally, I'd rather run into a 3.6 than have it turned around and be a tail wind of 3.6. It is much more difficult for me in a race with that much tail wind. I feel that at the Olympic Trails when I ran 12.89 with a 3.2 tailwind, that was the most impressive race that I've run in my career. Given the fact that I was being pushed so close up on the hurdles, if I would have made the slightest mistake, I may not have finished that race. Being a bigger hurdler, I had to be so quick and technically sound and could not have afforded floating a hurdle or sliding my clip step in. Given that wind, 13.2 guys were still running 13.2 and 13.3 guys were still running 13.3 in that race.

If you look at my 13.52 performance in a vacuum, it's not very impressive, but given all the circumstances, I could not be disappointed with what came up on the results. After watching the race video, I am even more impressed with how I kept my technique tight because when we are running into headwinds, more often than not, people are getting splayed out over the hurdles and all wide because we have to work so much harder than normal.

After the race, I got to see my step brother Tre (Harold's son), who lives out in Sacramento, he just finished up college out in Philly, so I finally got to congratulate him on that. I hung out in the stands and took pictures, signed autographs and did interviews for TV and Track and Field News.

I would like to personally thank Greg Miller for all of his hospitality while I was out here, he took very good care of me and made sure that anything I needed, I had. I really had fun out here and I can't wait to be in attendance next season!

CHECK RACE VIDEO HERE:

California Invitational Relays Race Video

Changed Over to the Dark Side...

I thought that I would never make the switch from a PC to a Mac, but as I type this post up, I am writing it on my new MacBook Pro.

Due to the issues I was running in to with my faithful Toshiba computer over in Asia this past trip, I figured it was time for a change.

My boy Kenta Bell and I are posted up in Sacramento in preparations for the California Relays this weekend, so the first stop I made was to the local Best Buy to check out computers. The first question I asked the guy was "what is the best computer you guys carry that is 13 inches or under?" His instant response was "MacBook Pro". To me, his response was too quick, so I went and asked another associate working in the camera area and she said the same thing. So I went back and engaged in about a half hour conversation with the first guy because I had tons of questions. I figured if I was going to make a switch this drastic (lol), I needed to be pretty thorough with this information. After conversing with him, I was convinced this was the right move.

To my pleasant surprise, the adjustment to this machine wasn't as difficult as I initially thought and I am loving the fact that the time it takes this computer to turn on in about 30 seconds, not all that loading up time with a PC. I'm loving how the computer works like an Ipod touch as well, you can operate everything from the trackpad.

I can't wait to figure out the ins and outs of the MacBook as well as other nuances of the computer. I'm happy now with my decision, I hope it stays that way. Now I have to cross my fingers for my slingbox action to be set up properly when I get home, if that doesn't work, this thing is going right back to the store!

Shanghai Diamond League Race Video

1 David Oliver USA 12.99 WL, MR
2 Dongpeng Shi CHN 13.39
3 Xiang Liu CHN 13.40
4 Wenjun Xie CHN 13.58
5 Allen Johnson USA 13.65
6 Dwight Thomas JAM 13.75
7 Jing Yin CHN 13.95
8 Mike van Kruchten NED 14.01

- Ryan Brathwaite BAR DNF

Sub 13 Action Again!

Shanghai, China, 9:40PM, I added my name in the books as the 42nd sub 13 performance in the history of the 110 hurdle event. Only 12 individuals have accounted for all of those performances and I've personally added my name three times.

I stopped the clock in 12.99 (-0.4w), winning the first Diamond League race for the 110 hurdles this season. In the process I broke the stadium record of 13.01 set by Dayron Robles back in 2007.

So far in my last three races, I have run seasons bests as well as broken the stadium records, all of which got exponentially harder to do. 13.34 in Puerto Rico, 13.14 in Korea and 13.01 in Shanghai.

The conditions at the meet weren't ideal, but I come from a school of thought that it doesn't matter how you feel, when your name is called, you have to perform.

Stepping out on that track Sunday night was amazing. Having Liu back in action in his hometown and hearing the crowd reaction to that as well as the introductions had me super crunk! The energy was crazy! I don't think people understand that we feed off that energy from the crowd and it fuels our performances. Maybe it doesn't for everybody, but I definitely feel it and that's why I think that meets like Shanghai, Zurich and New York in the sprints and Eugene and Brussels in the distance events generally produce great times. The crowds are ALL the way into the events.

When it came to the race though, once the crowd settled down, it was time to focus up. The gun went off and I got a better start than I had the other day in Korea and I felt like I had the race won by the time we got to hurdle three. I had a great warm up and I was able to carry that over to the race, sometimes you'll see people leave the race right over at the warm up stadium.

I felt like I faltered a bit coming off the tenth hurdle, like I rushed it trying to hurry to the finish line. I collapsed and was digging to the finish instead of driving thru the tape. As soon as i crossed I took a peak at the clock and it read 13.01 and my first thought was "Damn!" Being so close to sub 13 and equaling the record was good, but being so close was a quick disappointment.

That quickly changed by the time I received the flowers and looked at the main scoreboard and it read 1 David Oliver USA 12.99 -0.4 and I thought "Yes!!" To me it is light years between being one of many 13.0's to being one of so few 12.9's even if the difference may be only 12.99 to 13.01.

Chinese hurdlers Shi Dongpeng and Liu Xiang rounded out the podium, running 13.39 and 13.40 respectively. It was good seeing Liu back out there and competing well after a set back from injury. I have no doubt in my mind that whenever the next time I see him at a race, he will be ready to roll to something in the 13.1 range at least.

This morning in China, this picture was on the cover of every newspaper I saw. Even on the newspapers they have on plane had the picture gracing the cover, it definitely made for an interesting flight.
After a great Asian swing, I have now headed out to Sacramento for the California Relays that will be held this upcoming weekend.

Shanghai Diamond League

The first stop for the 110 hurdles in the newly formed IAAF Diamond League takes us to Shanghai, China. I am pretty interested in how this first season will turn out, some positives I can see already is that this "League" is more inclusive of all the events and gives minor events a chance to shine and participate in competitions. They have an equal opportunity to make money just as some of your more marquee events.

I'm not sure how many of these Diamond League races I will be in, the next stop is in Rome June 10th and I'm 90% sure I won't compete there.
I enjoy being out here in Shanghai, even though I can not access the websites that I like to go on out here, the people here take such good care of you that you can overlook those minor speed bumps.

Allen Johnson and myself came in on the same flight from Korea and it was a mad house at the airport. The 110 hurdles is by far the most popular event in China for obvious reasons. I was joking that since at World Indoor Championships I was in the lane next to Liu Xiang, I was in several photos with him, so that made my celebrity in China go through the roof! But the fans here knew who I was long before that race in March. I was shocked at my first time in Shanghai in 2006, shooting a commercial for Nike with Liu, that they knew who I was. That was just my second season as a pro and I hadn't really accomplished very much at the time.

Back in 2008, my first year actually competing at this event, I was able to get the win, capping an outstanding season. Now in 2010, since this is my third major outing of the season, I am hoping this race will be the spring board, catapulting me to having a better season than the one I experienced in 2008.

When I first got out here, my first stop was the custom tailor boutique in the hotel lobby. I got myself four suits and eight button downs tailor made. I love the quality and exact fit of their products. In the States it takes a five week turnaround, but here, three days tops!

I also had a press conference with fellow hurdler Ryan Brathwaite, javelin champion Andreas Thorkildson, pole vault champion Steven Hooker, 100 meter champion Shelly Ann Fraser and the second fastest woman ever in the 100 meters, Carmelita Jeter. I think I lost 1,000 calories with all of the laughing we were doing in there. I had a great time.

I have been taught the Chinese phrase: who ma I, tau way which means: We love David Oliver. The locals have made me gifts as well.

For the race tonight, it of course will be a tough battle like always. I will face former world record holder and Olympic champion Liu Xiang, World champion Ryan Brathwaite, World Championship finalists Dwight Thomas of Jamiaca, Shi Dongpeng and Wei Ji both of China and the immortal Allen Johnson.

In the hurdle event, you rarely get the proverbial "day off" where you can just have a nice, relaxing race without putting out maximum effort to get the job done. This is why I take time off from racing after a tough stretch, I have to find time to re-charge my batteries. I learned that I will either take rest voluntarily or my body will make me take a break involuntarily. Staying healthy is the most important thing for me to do. I feel that when I am healthy I have the ability to contend for the win in every single race I step on the line for.

You can catch the meet on universalsports.com starting at 8am eastern time. I run at 9:40, check it out! Hope to have something good to talk about next time I update!!

Colorful Daegu Post-Meet...Finally

Due to my computer being on the fritz Wednesday night after the meet, I couldn't update the blog with the post race review, now that I am in China, I am encountering issues due to the inability to access various websites including my blog, I'm sure it's probably because of government restrictions.

Now I have taken the circuitous route in updating the blog, thanks to the services of the Sub 13 Enterprises technical director McLean Cromer.

Wednesday night was a good night on the track for me, as I won the competition, defeating a pretty good field and ran a new world leading time of 13.11 (-0.2w). That time was also good enough to better Liu Xiang's previous meet record of 13.14 set in 2006. Any time you can take his name down off of a meet record, things are looking good.

Although the race was good from the standpoint of getting the win and running a decent time, it left a few things to be desired. I came out of the blocks squatting and not with my hips up, that in turn threw my first two to three hurdles off. That is a mistake that I make from time to time and I have really been trying to get that corrected, but I'll just spend a bit more time being conscious of it when I'm at practice.

On the flip side, I was impressed with my ability to break up the race and accelerated at the predetermined gear change zones. My last half was good. I never pressed during the competition either, which is easy to do when you know the caliber of the guys you are running against. It is very important to have supreme confidence in what you are doing and always feel that if you do your "stuff" the way you've been trained to, you'll always be in a position to have a shot at winning.

My training partner Dwight Thomas found himself on the podium again, finishing a strong third. That epitomizes what the basics of having a training partner is. When you come to a meet, the two of you should always finish on the podium baring something disastrous. So far at the three meets we have been at, we've finished 1-2, twice and 1-3 the third time. It's hard to finish 1-2 when you've got the world record holder and Olympic champ sandwiched between you, but I'm sure Brooks will be fine with the performances.

110m Hurdles Final
19 May 2010 20:25 Wind : -0.2m/s

RANK NAME NAT RESULT

1 David OLIVER USA 13.11 CR

2 Dayron ROBLES CUB 13.26

3 Dwight THOMAS JAM 13.40

4 David PAYNE USA 13.52
5 Ryan BRATHWAITE BAR 13.67

5 Tae-Kyoung PARK KOR 13.67

7 Allen JOHNSON USA 13.81

8 Hyeon-Woo LEE KOR 14.38

I have now traveled to Shanghai, China for a race this upcoming Sunday. I will shoot an update before the meet if I can!