While many athletes are beginning to wind down their winter seasons, Sanya Richards, the 2006 Athlete of the Year, who opted against competing indoors this year, has been, as she says, “Training very, very hard. Coach Hart has stepped up the training a notch and I feel like I'm in great shape again.”

In this, her second diary installment of the year for the IAAF, the U.S. 400m record holder updates us on what she's been up to.

"I made a trip to Volusia County (Atlantic coast, central Florida) to be the keynote speaker at a National Girls and Women in Sport Celebration. It was an awesome experience. It was my first time being a keynote speaker and I thought it went very well. The girls there were great and very receptive. I love that being an athlete has afforded me the opportunity to inspire others to be their best."
 
“I also went to Oklahoma and saw my boyfriend accept the Thorpe Award trophy that is presented to the best defensive back in the nation. It was very exciting as we both promised each other at the beginning of the year that we would be the best in our sport and we both received the top honours in 2006.”

[NB: Her boyfriend, Aaron Ross, is a standout American football star at the University of Texas.]

On her recent training...

"Well workouts have been even tougher. In previous years we never did such gradual step downs, for instance last year we did 2x800, then 2x700, then quickly got into our usual regiment of 2x500.”

“This year we started at 1000, then 950, then 900 then 850, then now we're at 2x800's. It’s much harder than in the past and I'm happy that we decided not to compete indoors because we are much stronger than we've ever been."
 
On her training interactions with Olympic and World 400m champion Jeremy Wariner, who also trains in Waco, Texas, with Clyde Hart.

“We used to interact more and train at the exact same times but with Coach having a lot more free time, I find that we sometimes miss each other because of our busy schedules. We always have the same workouts though, and even if we go out at different hours of the day we still compete against our times and push each other.”
 
Richards turned 22 on Monday (26 February). On her plans for the day:

“Well I had a big celebration last year around April for my 21st birthday at the Texas Relays. It was a huge success so I think I'm going to have another party again. I know it’s a little late but it’s the only time that most of my friends are in Austin so it works out well.”

“For my actual Birthday, it falls on a Monday so other than the gifts and cards I'm sure I'll receive, I'll be doing Coach Harts 200 special!”

Richards enjoys films; on her thoughts about the Academy Awards (Sunday, 25 February):

“I will watch the Oscars this year, and the person I am rooting for the most is Jennifer Hudson. I think she has an amazing story, was awesome in Dream Girls, and is an inspiration to young girls everywhere.”

[NB: Hudson won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Dream Girls, her feature film debut.]
 
On being a fan of track and field, and her thoughts about the 2007 indoor season:
 
“I am a huge fan of the sport and I watch attentively for the results of each meet. This indoor season I was most impressed with Dibaba's and Defar’s world record runs, Yelena's recapturing of her top form, Allyson Felix and Shalane Flannagan's American record runs, and Naimova's 7.13 run as a new senior. Bianca Knight was also impressive indoor with the first sub 23-second run.”
 
“There are a lot of women doing some exceptional things and it really motivates and inspires me to train as hard as I can.”

On when she plans to open her 2007 season:
 
“I plan to open up in Waco in the 400 at the Michael Johnson Invitational (21 April). I may run a 200 in Arlington the weekend before that and then run at the Penn Relays next.”

Sanya

Click here for Sanya’s first diary installment (30 January)