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Kicking off the ‘09 Season

Two weeks ago I travelled to Tampa, FL for the Gasparilla 15k, my first race of the ‘09 season. The Gasparilla 15k was a great race for wheelers in the 90’s but sadly the race lost its sponsorship and the wheelchair division dissolved. Last year, however, with support from the Challenged Athlete’s Foundation Florida division, the race brought back our division and I couldn’t be more excited! It’s great to have an early season race in warm weather. It gives me the chance to get out on the road and start to work out the winter kinks. I finished third in the women’s division at this year’s race with a time of 39:37, about 3 minutes faster than last year’s time. It felt great getting out there and competing again. Although I have to admit I forgot how much my body hurts when I work that hard because I’m not at the peak of my training yet!

Next week I will be travelling to Washington, D.C. for the USOC Paralympic Briefing. I’m really looking forward to the trip because I will have the chance to learn about the latest initiatives of the USOC and meet with national leaders in sports and recreation. My next two races will be in two weeks in Atlanta! Can’t wait for some warmer weather!

National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2008

Be sure to check out the Department of Human Health and Service’s website, which features information on employment of individuals with disabilities.

I am featured under the section “Famous People”.

Website Link: http://hhsu.learning.hhs.gov/DisabilityEmploymentAwareness08/index.html

Beijing and other adventures

I know it has been too long since I last wrote. Beijing was amazing! For those of you that may not have followed my progress, I returned home from China with five medals. A gold in the 400m, a silver in the 100m, 200m and 800m and a bronze in the 4×100m relay. This was by far my most successful Paralympic Games yet and I am still having a hard time believing all of those medals belong to me!

I would like to say that once I got home I did nothing for weeks on end but of course, life must go on. Luckily, I was invited on some pretty cool adventures in the last month or so.

Chicago Bears Game

My first weekend back I had the chance to attend a Chicago Bears game with two fellow Olympians. Chicago 2016, the group vying for the 2016 Olympic Games, set the event up for us. We all were given the chance to stand on the field during warm-up and for kickoff. Then we were ushered up to a skybox where we ate some lunch. Katy went up to Chicago with me and we both were shocked when we walked into the skybox and saw Vince Vaughn sitting only a few feet away! At halftime, we were all taken back down to the field where we were announced to the crowd. Unfortunately Katy and I weren’t able to stay for the whole game but it was a fun day and definitely worth the drive up to the city.

Washington, DC Trip

Next, I had the chance to go to Washington, DC for a visit at the White House. Following the Games every four years, all the Paralympians and Olympians are invited on this exciting visit to the nation’s capitol. I had a great time in 2000 but unfortunately wasn’t able to go in 2004 and so I was excited to return this year! We all flew into DC on Monday, Oct. 6. That evening we were hosted at a banquet in downtown Baltimore and then most of the Paralympians and Olympians made their way over to a local bar called Pickles. I think the bar was more than overwhelmed with the large crowd on a Monday night but everyone had a great time celebrating our victories in China. The next morning we were up early loading onto buses at 6am headed to the White House. We were welcomed onto the South grounds of the White House and were seated in front of the press with the White House as our backdrop. Following a speech by President Bush, we all had the opportunity to tour the White House. I also was invited to attend a brief press conference along with fellow Paralympians and Olympians.

Homecoming

I flew back to Illinois on Oct. 7th and had a couple of days rest before my next adventure. On Friday, Oct. 10th I had the opportunity to represent my school and my country when I was honored as the Grand Marshall in the University of Illinois Homecoming Parade. Having never attended Homecoming in years past (I know what sort of Illini am I!?), I wasn’t quite sure what I had to do as “Grand Marshall”. I arrived at the pre-party a little nervous about my duties for the evening but quickly settled in with the other guests. I met one alum of the University that currently teachers in the medical school at Stanford and had been teaching a course abroad in Beijing during Paralympic Games. What a small world it can be sometimes!

It turns out my role as Grand Marshall was fairly simple…job #1 smile…job #2 wave. I got to ride along the parade route on top of a blue corvette with a very kind couple that donated their time and car for the parade. I am happy to report that I manage to successfully stay upright the entire route and although my one hand went numb from me hanging on so tight to the front seat, I waved and smiled myself silly. Following the parade, the school hosted a pep rally where I was announced. Overall, it was an awesome experience that I will never forget!

Chicago Marathon

The following day, I drove up to Chicago to join my Illini teammates that were getting ready for the Chicago Marathon. My trip up to Chicago offered me a chance to have a little fun and work at the same time. I had been invited by the group Chicago 2016 to be the honorary starter for the wheelchair portion of the marathon. So on Sunday morning I was up bright and early with the runners to start the race. The race also invited me to be a finish line representative, which meant that I got hold up one end of the Bank of America banner as the first wheelchair racer crossed the line. It was a fun weekend and I had a great time being a spectator rather than a participant!

I’ve been working hard on updating my photos on the website so be sure to check them out!

NBC Paralympic Highlights Show

Universal Sports Interview

Check out an interview I did with Universal Sports following my 400m in Beijing.

PARA: Galli interview in Beijing

400m Final

Well it is 11:15 in the evening here and I should be getting to sleep. But for those of you that may not have seen the 400m race yet, I wanted to post my results before going to bed. Tonight’s race was absolutely incredible! I couldn’t have asked for a better way to start off my third Paralympic Games. Last night I ran my 400m semi and afterwards I felt good. I had decided going into my semi that I wanted to race sub-57 seconds and I accomplished that goal with a time of 56.10 - a new Paralympic Record. In my semi I not only wanted to test myself but also my fellow competitors. It is always good to see who rises to the challenge when another athlete runs fast.

Going into tonight’s 400m final I felt confident but also a little nervous. I suppose the nerves are what make us human and I think they only help in times like tonight. I was seeded in Lane 5, which was a good lane. I knew that in order to win I would have to focus on myself and my race and not concern myself with where my competitors were so I tried not to concern myself with my competitors on the inside lanes since I knew I wouldn’t see them at the start of the race. After a false start (caused by the starting official who mistakenly gave the wrong commands), I was a bit jittery. My arms felt a little tight after having been prepared to start but I shook them out and set myself up for our second start. This time it was a fair start. I went out hard knowing that this would give me a higher maximum speed on the back straightaway. I felt relaxed going into the second turn but I think maybe a little too relaxed. I could hear one of my competitors coming up my inside and the crowd began to yell loudly. I knew then that I was not alone in the race and coming out of the final turn I gave the race all that I had! I could see the competitor in lane 4 coming up my inside but I focus on the track ahead and powered hard. Luckily my work paid off and I crossed the line in 54.88 seconds - first place and a new world record!

Going into this final event I had hoped to run 55 seconds and thought that maybe it was possible for my to break my old world record of 55.42. When I crossed the line and saw 54.88 seconds I couldn’t help but raise my arm and smile! Never in my dreams did I think I would run sub-55 seconds! Tonight has been amazing! Now I am going to go to bed and dream about my next race - my 100m semi, which will take place at 11:20am tomorrow morning.

So long for now. Hope to write again soon with more good news.

In the news…

Be sure to check out a recent article in the News Gazette at http://www.news-gazette.com/news/2008/09/06/large_ui_delegation_in_beijing_for_paralympic_games

Paralympic Blog at NY Times.com

Be sure to check out daily updates of the Games at http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/

Kadena Air Force Base

The start of the trip….

Well we’ve made it to Japan! I have to admit the trip over was one of the easiest overseas flights I’ve ever taken. Thanks to efforts by the US Department of Defense and the military, the swimming team and track & field team were flown over on a chartered DC-10 direct from Colorado Springs to Okinawa, Japan (with a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska). We couldn’t have asked for a better way to travel! The plane was only 1/3 of the way full so I had all five seats in a middle row to myself, which gave me lots of room to spread out and rest.

We landed at Kadena around 5:30pm on Sunday and were immediately welcomed by the men and women stationed here. We were first shuttled to our hotel with only our carry-on bags in hand while our checked baggage was loaded and delivered personally to our rooms by volunteers on base. Each of the athletes were assigned a sponsor, which meant that we each had our own personal volunteer to help get us aquainted with the area. After getting to freshen up, we were officially welcomed to Okinawa at a dinner hosted at the Officer’s Club. After dinner, the track & field team gathered for a team meeting and I think we all were happy that it didn’t last too long! I was in my room and fast asleep before 10pm ever came around!

Middle of the week….

We’ve been here at Kadena for a few days now and I’m feeling really good considering the time change.  We’ve been training here on base at either the middle school’s track or on the perimiter road of the base. Each morning volunteers from the Air Force arrive at our hotel to drive us to practice. It’s been great getting to meet some of the people on base, hearing about their experiences in the military and learning about their various duties while here in Okinawa. 

This week I’ve had two really fun experiences on site! On Wednesday, I went with my teammate Amanda to the flight simulator of a KC-135. She and I were given the opportunity to actually fly the plane in the simulator. I discovered quickly that if I want to be a pilot I am going to need a lot of practice! Later in the week, some of the crew from the KC-135’s set up a static show for anyone interested in checking out the plane. I went with a few of my teammates and explored. In addition to getting to climb down into the boom (the section of the plane where the controls for refueling exist), I was carried out on the wing of the plane for a great picture! Be sure to check it and other pictures from the week out in my photo gallery. Set up next to the KC-135 was an F-15. Unfortuantely, we weren’t allowed inside that plane but it was still cool to see it up close!

Our time at Kadena has come to an end…

Tonight the base hosted a goodbye and good luck party for the visiting athletes. Tomorrow we are off to Beijing where we will rest for a few days before opening ceremonies on September 6th.

My time here on Kadena has been amazing. Our hosts have gone above and beyond any expectations we had for our trip out here. I think we all had just hoped that we would have a some edible food and a place to train! So boy were we impressed when we arrived and were treated as honored guests. I want to just say thank you to all of the people who played a part in making this week on Kadena so successful.

USA Coverage of the Paralympic Games

Below is a link with information regarding TV coverage of the Paralympic Games in the USA.

First Ever Multiplatform Broadcast of Paralympic Games Coming to U.S. via Universal Sports