AP Photo/Bill KostrounAt last Saturday's Millrose Games in New York City, Sanya Richards-Ross ran a world-leading 50.89 to win the 400 meters by nearly a full second.Sanya Richards-Ross is blogging for espnW throughout her training for this summer's London Olympics. Her first installment is here; check back in March for more on her journey.
It's February, which is my favorite month for many reasons. It's Black History Month; we celebrate Valentine's Day; and it's my Birth-aversary, which is what I call Feb. 26, the date of both my birthday and my wedding anniversary. It doesn't get any better than that -- well, unless you add my husband winning another Super Bowl ring to the festivities.
Nobody could have told me, midway through the NFL season, that the Giants would make it to -- and then win! -- the Super Bowl. The G-Men showed flashes of greatness on occasion, but they just didn't look like a championship team early on. However, all that matters is that a team comes together when it counts, and that's exactly what the Giants did. I had been to a Super Bowl before, in Arizona in 2008, when the Giants beat the Patriots in Ross' rookie season. It's hard to say which one was more electric. This year's felt like déjà vu, with the Giants playing the Patriots again and the game decided in the final seconds. I believed New York would pull it off, but with Tom Brady having the final say, my heart was in my throat! Now I really understand how my family feels when they're watching me at a major championship meet. As the confetti fell in celebration of the Giants' win, I ran onto the field to celebrate with my husband, and I couldn't help but say a little prayer of thanks for how blessed his career has been. Two Super Bowl rings in five years ... UNTHINKABLE!
Sanya Richards-RossGame faces: Richards-Ross and her husband, Giants cornerback Aaron Ross, pose in Indy the day before Super Bowl XLVI.I flew to Indianapolis on Friday, two days before the game. I was invited to a lot of parties and events, but I opted to lie low and train instead. Just being there at a championship site inspired me so much, and I wanted to continue focusing on my intense training, so that this summer I can add to the ever-growing collection of hardware in our trophy room. One of the best parts of having a pro athlete as a husband is that he is equally concerned about where I would be able to get my training done, and he encouraged me to get my workouts in while I was there in Indy. Ross understands how important it is to put in the hard work now in order to get the payoff later. I even stayed over in Indy on Monday, and my entire family came to the track at IUPUI with me, supporting me as I trained. It's amazing having that kind of support, and it makes my job that much easier.
It was critical that I get that workout in on Monday, because I had only six days before I was slated to run the 400 meters at the Millrose Games in New York City, my second meet of the season. And that competition ended up going better than I could have hoped for. I won the race in 50.89 seconds, which set a new world-leading time and broke both the meet and Armory track records. I was really encouraged by my time, because to this point this season I haven't done any real speed work yet in my training. My coach had advised me to just treat the race like a practice, and as I told reporters after I won, I liked having 5,000 screaming spectators attend my "practice." It really feels great to be back on the track and feeling like myself again.
Now Ross and I have big plans for the remainder of the month. We're together for Valentine's Day, and we have a lot to celebrate this year. So we have an amazing day planned in the great city of New York. First we're having a couples' massage at a Manhattan spa, then my honey is taking me shopping, and after that we're going to dinner and a movie. I'm a lucky girl! We'll also need to figure out what we're going to do to celebrate my birthday and our second wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks. Like I said, February is my favorite month, with so much to look forward to. Stay tuned, and I'll fill you in on how everything turned out!
