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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, February 12, 2007

ROAD TO THE PROS
For Ilaoa, there's little time for anything else but training

By Nate Ilaoa
Special to The Advertiser

KANSAS CITY — I came up to the Mainland a few weeks ago to train for the NFL Combine.

We're training near Houston, but right now I'm up in Kansas City for my uncle's funeral. I came up for the weekend. He was a close uncle. My whole family is close. It's good to be up here, to be around family. It's good to get away from the training for a little bit. I head back tonight, and I'll resume training.

The training we do is more technical. We're trying to work on certain parts. There's a lot of running, a lot of lifting, a lot of stretching, and all of that. That's basically what it's all about. Because I do a lot of stretching, I feel more limber.

The main thing is I spend a lot more time working out. We've got nothing but workout time on our hands. We definitely can cover a lot of things. We're not constrained by time, like having to go to class. I can take care of everything.

I don't really have any specific goals for the combine, like what I want to run in the 40. I'm going to run as fast as I can. That's all you can ask for: to do your best. You can't wish you had something else, but you can work to do your best. Besides, there's a lot more to it than running 40s.

I'm continuing to lose weight. It's all through running and working out. I'm focusing on being at full strength. We'll see how it goes. I haven't weighed myself.

It's nice over in Texas. It's not cold. It was warming up when I left for Kansas City.

I'm getting used to it. I'm a military kid. Moving is nothing new. The main thing is to try and adapt. Of course, I miss my friends and family back in Hawai'i. But I want to make the most of this. I'm trying to get to know people. It's always good to meet people from different backgrounds. It's interesting to learn about how people got to this point in their life.

Other than training, we watch movies. We bought a lot of DVDs. We're going to the theater all of the time. We really don't know our way around the city, so we don't venture too far. Besides going to the airport or taking Mel (Purcell, a former UH defensive lineman) to the hospital for checkups, we don't go out. We hang out with each other, and try to have fun. We have the same goals. That's why we get along.

The combine is coming up, but I'm not really nervous. Well, maybe a little bit, but that's natural. Before a game I'm kind of nervous. But then I go out and do what I have to do. That's the way to think about the combine. It's an easier way to approach it.

CLARIFICATION

In an earlier diary, it was incorrectly implied that the players had to reimburse the agents for living expenses while training on the Mainland. The agents, in fact, assume all of those charges without reimbursement.