Comps in Brum

Last month saw me compete in Birmingham twice, for two different sports; goalball and athletics.

Birmingham Novice Tournament:
This was the second tournament I have played for Nottingham and this time I was playing for our A team, although both of our teams are very good. We played as a three, so had no substitutes. I quite enjoy this set up since the games don’t last for long at that level. Unfortunately, we lost our first game, a combination of poor communication and silly mistakes. This meant the highest we could finish was fifth overall, which we easily managed floating through our following three games. To be honest I felt like we had the ability to win the entire tournament, but there are no second chances.

I was hoping to play at intermediate level tomorrow in Cambridge, but a freak injury has prevented me, which I’m gutted about. I’m not sure how much more goalball I’ll be playing in the coming months, as athletics will now take priority with just seven weeks to go until Commonwealth selection.

Midlands Open:
I have trained at The Alexander stadium a million times and raced outdoors there on several occasions. However, I have never competed indoors there before and don’t intend to again. The warm up area was like a cattle market and when you need two lanes to do even striders, it’s near impossible. I made the best use of what space was available before my race.

For the first time ever I nearly false started, which immediately impacted upon my performance. 60m in 8.91, nothing special and nowhere near the speed I showed in Glasgow. Nevertheless, it was a good opportunity to get another race in before the outdoor season commences.

It’s still yet to be decided, but I will open up my outdoor campaign either on 30 April or 7 May depending on how I am feeling. One thing is for certain, this is going to be my most testing year to date, but hopefully my most successful one too. Commonwealths, Europeans, let’s go!