Lolo hopes to stay vertical this time at Drake

Even before last year, life at Drake Stadium hasn't always been bouquets and triumph for Lolo Jones.

"It hasn't always been win, win, win for me," she said Thursday in a teleconference.

"In middle school, I ran the 300 or 400 there and I threw up on the side. I was wondering if track was even the sport for me."

Time has indicated that it is, despite some recent misfortunes.

The gold-medal favorite in the women's 100-meter dash in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Jones stumbled over the second-to-last hurdle and finished out of the medal hunt.

And at last year's return to Drake, she tweaked a hamstring, hit the eighth hurdle and was taken off the track in a golf cart.

Jones, 27, returns to her hometown Des Moines to compete in a women's special 100-meter dash during the 101st running of the Relays, April 22-24.

"I'm looking forward to running - and no disasters," she said.

Apparently fully recovered, Jones won the 60-meter hurdles title at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar last month.

After that, she took a week off in preparation for the outdoor season.

"I've run a lot of races indoors, and it immensely tired you. I've been hitting the weights and working on going over more than five hurdles in practice.

"I want to go all-out for Drake."

Jones figures to return to Des Moines for the USA Outdoor Championships June 23-27.

"It's good to get mental preparation (at Drake) for what I need, to get practice before the actual big dance," she said.