Surprise! Allyson Felix at her 25th birthday bash (© Freelance)
In her latest IAAF Online Diary, Samsung Diamond League Ambassador Allyson Felix fills us in on her third USA Athlete of the Year award, her 'challenging' training period, and surprise birthday party.
“I just got back from Virginia Beach where I had a great time at the Jesse Owens awards dinner where I was the recipient of the honor with David Oliver as the top U.S. performers of 2010.
“My family, including my brother Wes and parents Paul and Marlean, were able to come with me and it made my night extremely memorable. My parents made so many sacrifices so that I could have success on the track that it means the world to me when I can tell them how grateful I am for all they have done.
“It’s the third time that I have won the award. I was also honored in 2005 and 2007. It's a huge honor to me and extremely humbling. It's also inspiring when I think of past winners and as I continue to strive to reach my goals.
“I celebrated a very memorable birthday on 18 November. My friends Kenny Ferguson and Joanna Hayes threw me a surprise birthday party. I had no idea about it at all. I thought I was going out to dinner and was completely shocked to see all my friends and family there.
“My track friends Dawn Harper, Ginnie and Shawn Crawford, Lashinda Demus, Nicole Leach and lots others away from track attended.
“Training is progressing nicely. I have had the most challenging time doing my long distance runs. We have been doing lots of runs around three miles and it makes me have a huge appreciation for distance runners.
“I'm still bowling. I'm also into a new video game Xbox came out with called kinect. It is so much fun to play. You can play sports games and dance. I'm having a lot of fun with it.
“Merry Christmas to all.”
Allyson
“I just got back from Virginia Beach where I had a great time at the Jesse Owens awards dinner where I was the recipient of the honor with David Oliver as the top U.S. performers of 2010.
“My family, including my brother Wes and parents Paul and Marlean, were able to come with me and it made my night extremely memorable. My parents made so many sacrifices so that I could have success on the track that it means the world to me when I can tell them how grateful I am for all they have done.
“It’s the third time that I have won the award. I was also honored in 2005 and 2007. It's a huge honor to me and extremely humbling. It's also inspiring when I think of past winners and as I continue to strive to reach my goals.
“I celebrated a very memorable birthday on 18 November. My friends Kenny Ferguson and Joanna Hayes threw me a surprise birthday party. I had no idea about it at all. I thought I was going out to dinner and was completely shocked to see all my friends and family there.
“My track friends Dawn Harper, Ginnie and Shawn Crawford, Lashinda Demus, Nicole Leach and lots others away from track attended.
“Training is progressing nicely. I have had the most challenging time doing my long distance runs. We have been doing lots of runs around three miles and it makes me have a huge appreciation for distance runners.
“I'm still bowling. I'm also into a new video game Xbox came out with called kinect. It is so much fun to play. You can play sports games and dance. I'm having a lot of fun with it.
“Merry Christmas to all.”
Allyson