At the moment I’m fairly satisfied with life. I had a great birthday. The day before I went to see an audio described performance of Mamma Mia at the Birmingham Hippodrome with some friends. Then the day of my birthday, I had lunch with my family and raced in the evening where I finally broke my 100m PB after three long years. I knew the PB would definitely be broken this year as I’m running better than ever, but it was good to get that monkey off my back. MyPB from 2013 was 13.93 and twice this year I got agonisingly close to it clocking 13.96 both times. Then on my birthday I managed to drop it down to 13.61, which was a time I knew I had in me and was so pleased to actually produce it. To prove it wasn’t a one off, last Saturday I ran 13.52 but the time is illegal, as the wind was just over the allowed limit. Nevertheless, with a few races left of the season, I hope to continue running mid 13s if not even better.
A few days after my birthday I was given the opportunity to represent Great Britain for the first time at the London Anniversary Games over 200m. It would only be my second 200m in four years and it is an event that I do zero training for. However, I couldn’t give up the chance to race in the Olympic Stadium in front of a crowd around fifty thousand people. With it not being my primary event, I was able to really enjoy the experience as I didn’t have any pressure. I have to admit the second 100m of the race felt like hell. The lactic really kicked in and I was seriously hurting. My previous 200m PB was 30.54 which I ran a couple of weeks before. I knew I would run faster than that and was happy with 28.91. In my head I really wanted to run twenty-eight something. To put my 13.61 and 28.91 into perspective, they would have got me 4th at the Europeans in June. Things are heading in the right direction, but I know they are just the beginning. I need to keep progressing and not wait another three years to break my PBs again.
I also have a new job, which I hope will be more successful than the one I had last year. It is a zero hour contract, but that works for me. I only want to work a couple of days per month so it doesn’t disrupt the athletics training yet gives me a boost to my income. I will be working as an Expert by Experience. Basically the job entails helping inspectors with their inspections of health and social care provisions. I have enjoyed the training and look forward to starting properly later this month.
On my last birthday I remember feeling a bit lost with life. This year I’m feeling more positive. I’m lucky to have a small number of close friends both sighted and visually impaired. I’m grateful to have found a job that will compliment my athletics career. I’m confident that my hard work is paying off and I’m going to reach my athletics goals. I’m privileged to have a supportive network around me. Ok so I’m not getting married or having babies anytime soon, but I’m living life and loving it.
Showing posts with label 200m. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 200m. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
Monday, 11 June 2012
Consistant Racing
Now uni has finished for the summer, hopefully I can blog more regularly. I have raced twice since my last post, in Chelmsford on 26 May and in Birmingham on 2 June.
Chelmsford:
This was the week that it was summer in England with beautiful warm weather for racing. However, despite it being warm, I felt like my muscles were struggling to come alive. I was slow to come out of the blocks, slow to pass the other athletes and slow to get up to speed. I was therefore surprised to run 14.62secs, 0.01 faster than the Olympic stadium, all be it with a bit more of a following wind.
For the first time this year, I had no reason to avoid the 200m, although I did feel quite dehydrated by the time it got around to running it. I ran the best bend I have ever done before, most likely due to swapping my guide to my left so they can lead me around the bend. Nevertheless, after building up a strong lead, my legs began to go and my guide runner ignored our plan to kick at 50m to go, telling me afterwards he thought I was dead. I felt the other athletes come up beside me and had to kick by myself to the finish. The time came out at 32.29secs, 0.07 shy of my PB, best season opener, but it really should have been a big PB. But I did win in the end!
Birmingham:
I only did the 100m in Birmingham, as it ran over two days and I needed to finish off my uni work. There was strong competition there and on paper I was third fastest. Nonetheless, I was gunning for the win. For the first time this year I got a great start, perhaps because that’s what we had been working on constantly the days leading up to the event! Then, I managed to make hard work of the second part of the race. I knew I was taking too many steps, not getting any air time, so kept trying to adjust my body, but failed. I was leading for most of the race and one athlete just shot by me to clinch the win. If only I had executed my race, I would have had it in the bag. Unbelievably, the time came out as 14.61, yet another 0.01 off my PB.
So it seems I can run 14.6 with a bad start, good start, head wind, following wind, no wind, hell any which way I like! I’m ready to run faster now though, it will be a killer if it’s 14.60secs next time!
My next race is on 23 June in Wigan and with many of the Paralympic athletes going to the IPC European Championships, it will be a pressure free race. Until then my training will be circled around execution.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
Chelmsford:
This was the week that it was summer in England with beautiful warm weather for racing. However, despite it being warm, I felt like my muscles were struggling to come alive. I was slow to come out of the blocks, slow to pass the other athletes and slow to get up to speed. I was therefore surprised to run 14.62secs, 0.01 faster than the Olympic stadium, all be it with a bit more of a following wind.
For the first time this year, I had no reason to avoid the 200m, although I did feel quite dehydrated by the time it got around to running it. I ran the best bend I have ever done before, most likely due to swapping my guide to my left so they can lead me around the bend. Nevertheless, after building up a strong lead, my legs began to go and my guide runner ignored our plan to kick at 50m to go, telling me afterwards he thought I was dead. I felt the other athletes come up beside me and had to kick by myself to the finish. The time came out at 32.29secs, 0.07 shy of my PB, best season opener, but it really should have been a big PB. But I did win in the end!
Birmingham:
I only did the 100m in Birmingham, as it ran over two days and I needed to finish off my uni work. There was strong competition there and on paper I was third fastest. Nonetheless, I was gunning for the win. For the first time this year I got a great start, perhaps because that’s what we had been working on constantly the days leading up to the event! Then, I managed to make hard work of the second part of the race. I knew I was taking too many steps, not getting any air time, so kept trying to adjust my body, but failed. I was leading for most of the race and one athlete just shot by me to clinch the win. If only I had executed my race, I would have had it in the bag. Unbelievably, the time came out as 14.61, yet another 0.01 off my PB.
So it seems I can run 14.6 with a bad start, good start, head wind, following wind, no wind, hell any which way I like! I’m ready to run faster now though, it will be a killer if it’s 14.60secs next time!
My next race is on 23 June in Wigan and with many of the Paralympic athletes going to the IPC European Championships, it will be a pressure free race. Until then my training will be circled around execution.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
Monday, 29 August 2011
1 Year To Go
It feels like it was only yesterday when I was blogging about two years to go until the London 2012 Paralympics, but suddenly there is only a year left! That Paralympic Show’s third series begins on Saturday, continuing to introduce the public to disability sport in a fun light hearted, but educational manner. Channel 4 are also launching a documentary series called Best of Britain profiling our top Paralympic athletes, which will be coming soon.
Regarding my preparations for the games, my final competition in Gateshead saw me achieve two PBs, along with two wins. It was raining heavily for my 100m, which made warming up a bit miserable and I’ve never actually seen proper puddles on the track before. I had a poor reaction off of the start, which has been the same story throughout this season, but I managed to pick it up. I didn’t feel as smooth, aggressive or as quick as I did in training, so was relieved to run a legal PB of 15.06secs with a wind of 1.2. No qualification standard this year.
The weather cleared up for my 200m, but it was still quite chilly for August! Usually, I find myself drawn in lanes one and two or seven and eight. Strangely, I was in four and five, where I rarely practice running around the bend. On my inside was a world class athlete for her category and I knew she had run faster than me this year and had a better PB overall. Coming around the bend we were about level. As I attempted to straighten up for the final 100m, I misjudged it, running in god knows what direction and losing a couple of metres. With 80m to go I kicked for my life, but so did the other athlete. Rocking and rolling with 30m to go, I just kept it going as best I could to the line. It was her home track and the crowd were clearly all going crazy for her and not me, which made me more determined. A time of 32.22secs takes just over a tenth off of my PB of 32.35secs, but it was a good result, as I haven’t run faster than 32.92secs this year. Hopefully, with a killer winter, I’ll get the strength to get closer to the B standard of 30.30secs.
I’m having a week off training before starting back in the gym and doing a combination of circuits and cycling. It won’t be until the end of September that I start running again. My last two winters have been interrupted with injury and guide runner issues, so I’m excited to have a full, hard winter of training. I’m ready to throw up after sessions because I’ve pushed myself to the limit!
One year to go and I still have one goal, one dream, London 2012 Paralympics!
Regarding my preparations for the games, my final competition in Gateshead saw me achieve two PBs, along with two wins. It was raining heavily for my 100m, which made warming up a bit miserable and I’ve never actually seen proper puddles on the track before. I had a poor reaction off of the start, which has been the same story throughout this season, but I managed to pick it up. I didn’t feel as smooth, aggressive or as quick as I did in training, so was relieved to run a legal PB of 15.06secs with a wind of 1.2. No qualification standard this year.
The weather cleared up for my 200m, but it was still quite chilly for August! Usually, I find myself drawn in lanes one and two or seven and eight. Strangely, I was in four and five, where I rarely practice running around the bend. On my inside was a world class athlete for her category and I knew she had run faster than me this year and had a better PB overall. Coming around the bend we were about level. As I attempted to straighten up for the final 100m, I misjudged it, running in god knows what direction and losing a couple of metres. With 80m to go I kicked for my life, but so did the other athlete. Rocking and rolling with 30m to go, I just kept it going as best I could to the line. It was her home track and the crowd were clearly all going crazy for her and not me, which made me more determined. A time of 32.22secs takes just over a tenth off of my PB of 32.35secs, but it was a good result, as I haven’t run faster than 32.92secs this year. Hopefully, with a killer winter, I’ll get the strength to get closer to the B standard of 30.30secs.
I’m having a week off training before starting back in the gym and doing a combination of circuits and cycling. It won’t be until the end of September that I start running again. My last two winters have been interrupted with injury and guide runner issues, so I’m excited to have a full, hard winter of training. I’m ready to throw up after sessions because I’ve pushed myself to the limit!
One year to go and I still have one goal, one dream, London 2012 Paralympics!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Sub 15, finally!
I competed twice last week, Charnwood Open and in the Midland League, neither of which are disability competitions. I started to worry that the day would never come for me to run sub 15secs, but thank goodness it did, but how frustrating that the wind was illegal! I ran 14.91secs for 100m with a wind of plus 2.1. The most you are allowed to be deemed legal is plus 2.0. I know that I had a good race, but my body did seize up 10m to go again, so it’s reassuring to know that there is more in the tank. Now I feel within touching distance of the B standard 14.80secs.
On Sunday I raced in Nottingham, which is always a horrible windy track. My 100m was into a minus 2.3 and I managed 15.4secs, there was no electronic timing. The 200m was into a minus 3.0 and I got 33.4secs, but was quite disappointed with my home straight, as the wind gobbled me up and I had no kick finish. There were also no blocks available for my 200m, which was weird.
Positives:
1. I ran sub 15secs
2. I know there is still more to come
3. I’ve stopped running left
4. My starts were smooth
5. I’m improving with every race
My next and final race of the season is in Gateshead on 27 August. This is the track where I achieved my PBs last year and hoping for the same this year.
Climbing the ladder of success!
On Sunday I raced in Nottingham, which is always a horrible windy track. My 100m was into a minus 2.3 and I managed 15.4secs, there was no electronic timing. The 200m was into a minus 3.0 and I got 33.4secs, but was quite disappointed with my home straight, as the wind gobbled me up and I had no kick finish. There were also no blocks available for my 200m, which was weird.
Positives:
1. I ran sub 15secs
2. I know there is still more to come
3. I’ve stopped running left
4. My starts were smooth
5. I’m improving with every race
My next and final race of the season is in Gateshead on 27 August. This is the track where I achieved my PBs last year and hoping for the same this year.
Climbing the ladder of success!
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Stoke Mandeville
Last weekend was the Stoke Mandeville Disability Challenge where an international field were present. In my race alone there were athletes from South Africa, Cyprus and Australia. It was a fairly successful competition, but I always want and need more!
I didn’t get a brilliant start in the 100m, as I stumbled a little out of the blocks; however I picked it up and was surprised to be in contention with the field. At 90m, I made a final push, but my body just collapsed on me, which has never happened to me before. I think I must have been trying so hard that I tightened up too much. I came last, as expected, but ran a season’s best time of 15.24secs, just 0.02secs outside of my PB, which was run with a much stronger following wind, so basically it was the best race of my life, yet it was far from perfect.
Tucked in on the inside lane for the 200m I gave it my best shot to chase everyone down. It was by far one of my better bend runs, excluding the fact that I kept hitting myself with the arm attached to my guide. I wish I had a bit of a stronger finish, as my legs were burning with 30m to go. I still managed to run a season’s best of 32.92secs into a minus 1.5 head wind, which is pretty impressive. If the wind was the other way around, I would have run a PB for sure. To put it into perspective, an athlete who beat me by half a second in Bedford, ran nearly half a second slower than me, all be it in a race after mine. Oh yeah I came last again, but it is much better to chase than be ahead, it’s the only way I’m going to improve.
Positives:
1. I ran two season best times
2. I’m improving around the bend
3. I’m able to stay in the drive phase for a full 30m
4. My performances are getting better not worse
5. I know there is still more in the tank
So I still lack any qualification times or PBs to my name, but thankfully the season isn’t over yet. My next race is on Wednesday, Charnwood Open.
There can be miracles, when you believe!
I didn’t get a brilliant start in the 100m, as I stumbled a little out of the blocks; however I picked it up and was surprised to be in contention with the field. At 90m, I made a final push, but my body just collapsed on me, which has never happened to me before. I think I must have been trying so hard that I tightened up too much. I came last, as expected, but ran a season’s best time of 15.24secs, just 0.02secs outside of my PB, which was run with a much stronger following wind, so basically it was the best race of my life, yet it was far from perfect.
Tucked in on the inside lane for the 200m I gave it my best shot to chase everyone down. It was by far one of my better bend runs, excluding the fact that I kept hitting myself with the arm attached to my guide. I wish I had a bit of a stronger finish, as my legs were burning with 30m to go. I still managed to run a season’s best of 32.92secs into a minus 1.5 head wind, which is pretty impressive. If the wind was the other way around, I would have run a PB for sure. To put it into perspective, an athlete who beat me by half a second in Bedford, ran nearly half a second slower than me, all be it in a race after mine. Oh yeah I came last again, but it is much better to chase than be ahead, it’s the only way I’m going to improve.
Positives:
1. I ran two season best times
2. I’m improving around the bend
3. I’m able to stay in the drive phase for a full 30m
4. My performances are getting better not worse
5. I know there is still more in the tank
So I still lack any qualification times or PBs to my name, but thankfully the season isn’t over yet. My next race is on Wednesday, Charnwood Open.
There can be miracles, when you believe!
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
One Vision, 2012!
Three days of racing in one week and thankfully some positive results, but lack of consistency and qualification standards is frustrating.
Last Wednesday was my local club’s open and I did both sprint events. I was pretty disappointed to only get 15.72secs over 100m, as I had been working on my drive phase and managed to stay down for the full 30m. However, my stride length lacked length! It was such a long wait until the 200m and it wasn’t until 9.45pm that I ended up racing. Because I am eternally jinxed, on the first stride my new guide rope snapped! I wasn’t actually aware of this until my guide runner told me to stop, as it was her side that had broken. I was allowed to run in the next heat, but had to use my old guide rope that just let’s me run in the wrong direction. Surprisingly I ran a season’s best of 33.67secs.
At the weekend it was the English and Parallel Success Championships held in Bedford. I had never raced there before, but had heard about the windy conditions that hovered over the track! Long jump was up first and it was absolutely pouring it down with rain. Feeling cold, wet and miserable in my vest and shorts I couldn’t wait for it to be over. My practice jumps were a disaster; I found it impossible to concentrate with the weather and commentator talking about the track events. To be fair, the officials acknowledged that this was an issue for me and a flag system was used, so when the flag was up the commentator had to stop speaking for my jump. They also had to move the board forward, as it was 2m from the pit and effectively I could jump from 3m away and not even make the pit, this wasn’t just for me though, as the other disabled jumpers would have also had a similar problem. After my awful warm-up jumps, I really went for it on my first jump, just to commit and definitely get one in, though it petrifies me every time jumping into the obis! I veered left and only one foot made the pit, with the other leg hitting the safety mat and grazing my knee. This was still measured, as I made the sand and because I was a little shaken afterwards and trying to regain my focus for the next five jumps, I didn’t hear the distance. I wish I did hear the distance, as it turned out to be my best jump and I would have gone in straight away! My next 3 jumps were no jumps; getting more confident and stretching out my stride length I went over the board marginally on 2 and just ran through one, as I felt rushed with a race about to start on the track and commentator waiting for me. My final two jumps were around the 2 and a half metre mark and I was utterly disgusted with my performance! Then the results came up and it turns out my first jump was 3.21m 9cm short of the B standard for the Paralympics next year. I was awarded a shiny good quality gold medal, as I was the closest to my classification’s world record.
Thankfully, the rain stopped for my 100m where I was faced with a pretty strong field. The number one Great Britain T11 sprinter, Tracey Hinton was drawn in the lane to my left and double world junior champion in the T37 category was drawn in the lane to my right. Sandwiched by world class athletes, my aim was to try and keep with Tracey for as long as possible, as I’m only able to gage athletes to my left with my guide runner being on my right. However, I was a little star struck when the gun went off and Tracey was gone within the first stride. I maintained my composure and raced on with no idea where I was in the race and was pleased to discover that I finished third behind the two world class athletes and beat the other three athletes, two of which have run around the 15.5secs mark this year. To demonstrate the difference between Tracey and me, her being the number one Brit and I number two, she ran a phenomenal 13.43secs and I ran 15.30secs! After the points were worked out I remained in third place and got a nice quality bronze medal to accompany my gold. I really don’t know where I’m going to find half a second from by the end of August though!
The 200m took place on the Sunday and I was up against the same athletes. This time I knew I would struggle to finish third, as four out of the five other athletes had run quicker than me over the distance this year. Drawn in lanes one and two, I had no chance of knowing where I was in the race. I knew I had taken the bend far too slowly, but for once we sustained a good arm rhythm and I desperately didn’t want to mess that up, as it feels so awkward when it goes wrong. Coming off of the bend I picked up the speed and the arm rhythm was lost for a couple of strides, but regained again and I stormed down the home straight, knowing that I must be a million miles behind. My guide runner confirmed to me afterwards that I was dead last coming on to the home straight, but I made up two places and was quickly closing down for third place, but ran out of metres. I clocked 32.93secs a good seven tenths quicker than the Wednesday before and creeping closer towards my PB of 32.35secs. I’m pleased I’m progressing in the event, but know much more improvement is needed.
Good points to take forward:
1. I’m only 9cm short of the B standard in the long jump
2. My 200m time is rapidly improving
3. I am now able to sustain a longer drive phase
4. I’m getting better at running around the bend
5. I didn’t let the fact that I was left for dead by Tracey impact on my performance
My next race is in Stoke Mandevil on 30/31 July.
Who needs 20:20 vision when you’ve got 2012 vision!
Last Wednesday was my local club’s open and I did both sprint events. I was pretty disappointed to only get 15.72secs over 100m, as I had been working on my drive phase and managed to stay down for the full 30m. However, my stride length lacked length! It was such a long wait until the 200m and it wasn’t until 9.45pm that I ended up racing. Because I am eternally jinxed, on the first stride my new guide rope snapped! I wasn’t actually aware of this until my guide runner told me to stop, as it was her side that had broken. I was allowed to run in the next heat, but had to use my old guide rope that just let’s me run in the wrong direction. Surprisingly I ran a season’s best of 33.67secs.
At the weekend it was the English and Parallel Success Championships held in Bedford. I had never raced there before, but had heard about the windy conditions that hovered over the track! Long jump was up first and it was absolutely pouring it down with rain. Feeling cold, wet and miserable in my vest and shorts I couldn’t wait for it to be over. My practice jumps were a disaster; I found it impossible to concentrate with the weather and commentator talking about the track events. To be fair, the officials acknowledged that this was an issue for me and a flag system was used, so when the flag was up the commentator had to stop speaking for my jump. They also had to move the board forward, as it was 2m from the pit and effectively I could jump from 3m away and not even make the pit, this wasn’t just for me though, as the other disabled jumpers would have also had a similar problem. After my awful warm-up jumps, I really went for it on my first jump, just to commit and definitely get one in, though it petrifies me every time jumping into the obis! I veered left and only one foot made the pit, with the other leg hitting the safety mat and grazing my knee. This was still measured, as I made the sand and because I was a little shaken afterwards and trying to regain my focus for the next five jumps, I didn’t hear the distance. I wish I did hear the distance, as it turned out to be my best jump and I would have gone in straight away! My next 3 jumps were no jumps; getting more confident and stretching out my stride length I went over the board marginally on 2 and just ran through one, as I felt rushed with a race about to start on the track and commentator waiting for me. My final two jumps were around the 2 and a half metre mark and I was utterly disgusted with my performance! Then the results came up and it turns out my first jump was 3.21m 9cm short of the B standard for the Paralympics next year. I was awarded a shiny good quality gold medal, as I was the closest to my classification’s world record.
Thankfully, the rain stopped for my 100m where I was faced with a pretty strong field. The number one Great Britain T11 sprinter, Tracey Hinton was drawn in the lane to my left and double world junior champion in the T37 category was drawn in the lane to my right. Sandwiched by world class athletes, my aim was to try and keep with Tracey for as long as possible, as I’m only able to gage athletes to my left with my guide runner being on my right. However, I was a little star struck when the gun went off and Tracey was gone within the first stride. I maintained my composure and raced on with no idea where I was in the race and was pleased to discover that I finished third behind the two world class athletes and beat the other three athletes, two of which have run around the 15.5secs mark this year. To demonstrate the difference between Tracey and me, her being the number one Brit and I number two, she ran a phenomenal 13.43secs and I ran 15.30secs! After the points were worked out I remained in third place and got a nice quality bronze medal to accompany my gold. I really don’t know where I’m going to find half a second from by the end of August though!
The 200m took place on the Sunday and I was up against the same athletes. This time I knew I would struggle to finish third, as four out of the five other athletes had run quicker than me over the distance this year. Drawn in lanes one and two, I had no chance of knowing where I was in the race. I knew I had taken the bend far too slowly, but for once we sustained a good arm rhythm and I desperately didn’t want to mess that up, as it feels so awkward when it goes wrong. Coming off of the bend I picked up the speed and the arm rhythm was lost for a couple of strides, but regained again and I stormed down the home straight, knowing that I must be a million miles behind. My guide runner confirmed to me afterwards that I was dead last coming on to the home straight, but I made up two places and was quickly closing down for third place, but ran out of metres. I clocked 32.93secs a good seven tenths quicker than the Wednesday before and creeping closer towards my PB of 32.35secs. I’m pleased I’m progressing in the event, but know much more improvement is needed.
Good points to take forward:
1. I’m only 9cm short of the B standard in the long jump
2. My 200m time is rapidly improving
3. I am now able to sustain a longer drive phase
4. I’m getting better at running around the bend
5. I didn’t let the fact that I was left for dead by Tracey impact on my performance
My next race is in Stoke Mandevil on 30/31 July.
Who needs 20:20 vision when you’ve got 2012 vision!
Monday, 4 July 2011
I'll Get There...
So it’s now July and I honestly thought by now I’d have at least a PB over 100m. Looks like I will have to wait just that little bit longer.
Yesterday I was racing in Birmingham, as part of the Midland League for Charnwood, so a mainstream event. I knew I had no chance of being in the mix, but it was nice to be in quick races. The 200m was first and haven’t done one since May. I’ve got a new guide rope to try and prevent my veering and aid my general running. From start to finish the race was a disaster. The arm co-ordination was lost and I physically couldn’t run properly, I apparently stepped out of my lane, which doesn’t surprise me, as I was certainly not going around the bend smoothly and to top it off my guide crossed the line first. Despite all of this I wasn’t disqualified, as they lacked electronic timing, wind gages and photo finishes. The time came out as 34.7secs, the most shocking thing of that is I’ve run two slower times this year when I was actually trying! However, it’s a good two seconds off of my PB and a further four seconds off of the B standard for 2012.
I was more confident going into the 100m, but appear to have some issues with positioning my hands on the start line. The new guide rope means I have to make a fist shape, as opposed to the usual going up on to your finger tips. When I went into the set position, I found myself balancing on my knuckles on one hand and thought to myself what an idiot! The race was one of my best this year, feeling smooth and quick. I seem to have my strength sorted over the short sprint and certainly don’t fade towards the end. Therefore I was hoping for a nice time, but was given 15.3secs. This isn’t awful since my official season’s best this year is 15.29secs, but I still need to find a half second from somewhere to get to the B standard of 14.8secs.
Positives to take forward-
1. Hand timing is not accurate
2. I wasn’t out of breath at the end of the 200m
3. I felt strong over 100m
4. The new guide rope prevented me from veering over 100m
5. I didn’t allow the faster athletes to intimidate me
Going forward, as going backwards is not an option!
Yesterday I was racing in Birmingham, as part of the Midland League for Charnwood, so a mainstream event. I knew I had no chance of being in the mix, but it was nice to be in quick races. The 200m was first and haven’t done one since May. I’ve got a new guide rope to try and prevent my veering and aid my general running. From start to finish the race was a disaster. The arm co-ordination was lost and I physically couldn’t run properly, I apparently stepped out of my lane, which doesn’t surprise me, as I was certainly not going around the bend smoothly and to top it off my guide crossed the line first. Despite all of this I wasn’t disqualified, as they lacked electronic timing, wind gages and photo finishes. The time came out as 34.7secs, the most shocking thing of that is I’ve run two slower times this year when I was actually trying! However, it’s a good two seconds off of my PB and a further four seconds off of the B standard for 2012.
I was more confident going into the 100m, but appear to have some issues with positioning my hands on the start line. The new guide rope means I have to make a fist shape, as opposed to the usual going up on to your finger tips. When I went into the set position, I found myself balancing on my knuckles on one hand and thought to myself what an idiot! The race was one of my best this year, feeling smooth and quick. I seem to have my strength sorted over the short sprint and certainly don’t fade towards the end. Therefore I was hoping for a nice time, but was given 15.3secs. This isn’t awful since my official season’s best this year is 15.29secs, but I still need to find a half second from somewhere to get to the B standard of 14.8secs.
Positives to take forward-
1. Hand timing is not accurate
2. I wasn’t out of breath at the end of the 200m
3. I felt strong over 100m
4. The new guide rope prevented me from veering over 100m
5. I didn’t allow the faster athletes to intimidate me
Going forward, as going backwards is not an option!
Monday, 23 May 2011
PB DQ -8.1
The title of this post sums up my weekend of racing in a nut shell. I was at the Knowsley Disability Athletics Challenge in Liverpool, my biggest competition of the season so far as there were entries from Brazil who have a wealth of visually impaired sprinting talent.
The six lane mondo track meant that only three athletes could race at any one time in the T11-13 classification, as the guide runners take up the other lanes. I was originally drawn to race the world record holder, but they must have reshuffled the races in order of times, so I went in the B race. This left me with the number three Brazilian and a T13 British athlete.
Before the race began one of the officials were moaning at the Brazilians for not being in their respective lanes. After a few times of listening to them trying to explain in English that T11/12 athletes are given two lanes and it doesn’t matter which one the guide or athlete is in and the official still insisting on forcing them to swap lanes I spoke up in a ratty tone and the official just shut up! I thought they were supposed to know the rules! Anyway, whilst my reaction was satisfactory, I felt I didn’t get off to a great start. I gave my guide instructions to track the T13 athlete who I know has a PB of 14.6secs. Pretty quickly we lost the arm rhythm and after I couldn’t get it back I just drove with my left arm and relaxed my attached one. I finished last, but knew I had run quicker than my previous two races and was the closest to the T13 athlete I had ever been before. The Brazilian number three stormed ahead achieving the A standard for 2012 clocking 14.16secs.
When I went to collect my kit an official approached me and asked if I spoke English. I was like ‘yeah I am English’! He then proceeded to tell me that I had been disqualified as my guide crossed the finish line before me. My response ‘you’re joking?!’ I had half an hour to appeal the decision; I just wanted to know my time! My guide and I went down to see the track official and were shown the photo finish, which apparently pictured the orange guide vest that was absolutely massive on my guide by a millimetre cross the line before me. Because the vest was so big the wind obviously puffed it out and that’s what made it to the finish first. They at least gave me my unofficial time of 15.13secs, just 0.24 off of the B standard for 2012 and a tenth quicker than my PB from last year. However, I won’t get this time put next to my name and will get a big fat DQ instead, which is a bit gutting. It’s funny how the officials knew this rule!
The 200m was on the Sunday and I faced the same athletes. Warming up I knew it was windy and wasn’t looking forward to the race, as I knew it was going to hurt and I had no chance of running a quick time. Again I wasn’t happy with my start and ran into my guide almost immediately. The wind felt ok around the bend, but as soon as I hit the straight it literally gobbled me up! My arms and legs were all over the place and I felt like I was going backwards not forwards. With 30m to go I was actually just going to stop, it felt like torture! I was shocked my time came out sub 40 and I managed 38.63secs over six seconds off of my PB. I didn’t feel too bad, as the Brazilian was six seconds off of her PB too running over 34secs. I wouldn’t have minded a big fat DQ next to that performance and never want to run into a -8.1 head wind ever again!
Positives to take forward:
1. I ran a PB even if it won’t be ratified
2. I’m just 0.24secs away from the B standard
3. I ran nearly a second quicker than my first couple of races
4. I know I can go faster if I get a good start and keep the arm rhythm
5. I know I need to get stronger to run a decent 200m
My next race is on Thursday 9th June, which is just my local club’s open.
In every good is bad and in every bad is good!
The six lane mondo track meant that only three athletes could race at any one time in the T11-13 classification, as the guide runners take up the other lanes. I was originally drawn to race the world record holder, but they must have reshuffled the races in order of times, so I went in the B race. This left me with the number three Brazilian and a T13 British athlete.
Before the race began one of the officials were moaning at the Brazilians for not being in their respective lanes. After a few times of listening to them trying to explain in English that T11/12 athletes are given two lanes and it doesn’t matter which one the guide or athlete is in and the official still insisting on forcing them to swap lanes I spoke up in a ratty tone and the official just shut up! I thought they were supposed to know the rules! Anyway, whilst my reaction was satisfactory, I felt I didn’t get off to a great start. I gave my guide instructions to track the T13 athlete who I know has a PB of 14.6secs. Pretty quickly we lost the arm rhythm and after I couldn’t get it back I just drove with my left arm and relaxed my attached one. I finished last, but knew I had run quicker than my previous two races and was the closest to the T13 athlete I had ever been before. The Brazilian number three stormed ahead achieving the A standard for 2012 clocking 14.16secs.
When I went to collect my kit an official approached me and asked if I spoke English. I was like ‘yeah I am English’! He then proceeded to tell me that I had been disqualified as my guide crossed the finish line before me. My response ‘you’re joking?!’ I had half an hour to appeal the decision; I just wanted to know my time! My guide and I went down to see the track official and were shown the photo finish, which apparently pictured the orange guide vest that was absolutely massive on my guide by a millimetre cross the line before me. Because the vest was so big the wind obviously puffed it out and that’s what made it to the finish first. They at least gave me my unofficial time of 15.13secs, just 0.24 off of the B standard for 2012 and a tenth quicker than my PB from last year. However, I won’t get this time put next to my name and will get a big fat DQ instead, which is a bit gutting. It’s funny how the officials knew this rule!
The 200m was on the Sunday and I faced the same athletes. Warming up I knew it was windy and wasn’t looking forward to the race, as I knew it was going to hurt and I had no chance of running a quick time. Again I wasn’t happy with my start and ran into my guide almost immediately. The wind felt ok around the bend, but as soon as I hit the straight it literally gobbled me up! My arms and legs were all over the place and I felt like I was going backwards not forwards. With 30m to go I was actually just going to stop, it felt like torture! I was shocked my time came out sub 40 and I managed 38.63secs over six seconds off of my PB. I didn’t feel too bad, as the Brazilian was six seconds off of her PB too running over 34secs. I wouldn’t have minded a big fat DQ next to that performance and never want to run into a -8.1 head wind ever again!
Positives to take forward:
1. I ran a PB even if it won’t be ratified
2. I’m just 0.24secs away from the B standard
3. I ran nearly a second quicker than my first couple of races
4. I know I can go faster if I get a good start and keep the arm rhythm
5. I know I need to get stronger to run a decent 200m
My next race is on Thursday 9th June, which is just my local club’s open.
In every good is bad and in every bad is good!
Friday, 20 May 2011
Determined or Deluded?
Last weekend was jam packed with competitions, as I sprinted in Liverpool on the Saturday and made my debut in the long jump in London on the Sunday. You may have already established from the title of this post that neither were a great success.
I left home at 7.30am on Saturday in order to arrive in Liverpool in good time for my races. Unusually the 200m was first, but I didn’t really think it would make a huge difference and if anything it was nice to get the leg burner out of the way! Considering we’ve been having pretty good weather for Britain, I was surprised with the swirling wind and ice cold conditions. I felt I got an adequate start in my 200m, but could feel the head wind fighting me around the bend. Nevertheless I felt stronger than my first race and whilst I still died in the home straight, it wasn’t as bad. However, I ran 35.80secs, over 3secs off of my PB and to top it off the wind came out as plus 2, even though in races before and after it was gauged to be -4.5 to -6.3!
It felt like an eternity until my 100m, which wasn’t helped by the fact that the schedule was delayed by half an hour. When I went into the set position, I remember thinking ‘oooh it’s windy’ and the next thing I knew the gun had gone off. So I had a sluggish start and whilst I felt loose and smooth, I knew I wasn’t travelling very fast. I was drawn in lane 1 and what I didn’t realise was that I veered to the left during the race and nearly hit the curb, this wouldn’t have helped my time either. It came out as 16.03secs with a plus 3.5 wind making it an illegal time anyway (the maximum wind behind you can be plus 2). So I ran even slower than my first race over both distances.
Come Sunday I was exhausted, but was feeling really positive about the long jump. Traffic meant it took double the time to get there, meaning I had less time to warm up than I would have liked. The long jump pit was adjacent to the stands meaning it was very noisy at times. They chalked the runway to make the board a metre long, which is supposed to allow a larger take off area for F11/12 athletes. In training, I’ve only been using the regular board though. There wasn’t much time to measure my steps to the board and this is one of the reasons it didn’t go to plan. My first 4 jumps I didn’t even make the chalked area and to this day I’m shocked that I made the sand and didn’t land on the track! Included in one of those jumps I veered off and had to start again when I wasn’t in any state to after crashing into god knows what, but didn’t want to miss a jump. Not that I’m stubborn or anything! On my sixth and final jump I leapt to my furthest distance of 2.78m. I was looking to jump a metre more than that and was fuming all of the way home. In training I’ve easily been jumping over 3m off of 6 strides.
So, am I determined or deluded? I’m sure people looking at my times and distances must think I haven’t got a hope in hell of even being considered for selection for 2012. And do you know what; if I was looking at my data I would presume exactly the same! However, I truly, truly feel that I can do it. I train 5 times per week, I’ve put on 1 and a half stone in muscle since last year and I invest my every last penny into the sport.
My 5 positives to take forward:
1. I won my races
2. I felt stronger in my 200m
3. I long jumped for the first time
4. I now know and understand the take off area better
5. I feel I can progress to 10 strides to the board instead of 6
My next race is this weekend in Liverpool again, where I’ll be racing the world record holder for my classification. I’ll also be racing some other girls from Brazil who are swift too. By far my biggest challenge to date and what better time to step up!
Who says the sky is the limit when there are footsteps on the moon!
I left home at 7.30am on Saturday in order to arrive in Liverpool in good time for my races. Unusually the 200m was first, but I didn’t really think it would make a huge difference and if anything it was nice to get the leg burner out of the way! Considering we’ve been having pretty good weather for Britain, I was surprised with the swirling wind and ice cold conditions. I felt I got an adequate start in my 200m, but could feel the head wind fighting me around the bend. Nevertheless I felt stronger than my first race and whilst I still died in the home straight, it wasn’t as bad. However, I ran 35.80secs, over 3secs off of my PB and to top it off the wind came out as plus 2, even though in races before and after it was gauged to be -4.5 to -6.3!
It felt like an eternity until my 100m, which wasn’t helped by the fact that the schedule was delayed by half an hour. When I went into the set position, I remember thinking ‘oooh it’s windy’ and the next thing I knew the gun had gone off. So I had a sluggish start and whilst I felt loose and smooth, I knew I wasn’t travelling very fast. I was drawn in lane 1 and what I didn’t realise was that I veered to the left during the race and nearly hit the curb, this wouldn’t have helped my time either. It came out as 16.03secs with a plus 3.5 wind making it an illegal time anyway (the maximum wind behind you can be plus 2). So I ran even slower than my first race over both distances.
Come Sunday I was exhausted, but was feeling really positive about the long jump. Traffic meant it took double the time to get there, meaning I had less time to warm up than I would have liked. The long jump pit was adjacent to the stands meaning it was very noisy at times. They chalked the runway to make the board a metre long, which is supposed to allow a larger take off area for F11/12 athletes. In training, I’ve only been using the regular board though. There wasn’t much time to measure my steps to the board and this is one of the reasons it didn’t go to plan. My first 4 jumps I didn’t even make the chalked area and to this day I’m shocked that I made the sand and didn’t land on the track! Included in one of those jumps I veered off and had to start again when I wasn’t in any state to after crashing into god knows what, but didn’t want to miss a jump. Not that I’m stubborn or anything! On my sixth and final jump I leapt to my furthest distance of 2.78m. I was looking to jump a metre more than that and was fuming all of the way home. In training I’ve easily been jumping over 3m off of 6 strides.
So, am I determined or deluded? I’m sure people looking at my times and distances must think I haven’t got a hope in hell of even being considered for selection for 2012. And do you know what; if I was looking at my data I would presume exactly the same! However, I truly, truly feel that I can do it. I train 5 times per week, I’ve put on 1 and a half stone in muscle since last year and I invest my every last penny into the sport.
My 5 positives to take forward:
1. I won my races
2. I felt stronger in my 200m
3. I long jumped for the first time
4. I now know and understand the take off area better
5. I feel I can progress to 10 strides to the board instead of 6
My next race is this weekend in Liverpool again, where I’ll be racing the world record holder for my classification. I’ll also be racing some other girls from Brazil who are swift too. By far my biggest challenge to date and what better time to step up!
Who says the sky is the limit when there are footsteps on the moon!
Thursday, 5 May 2011
First Race of the Season
Last night was my first race of the 2011 season, my first race with my new guide runner and my first race with starting blocks. Yet I still had a good feeling that I was going to smash it! I suppose when you have such high expectations as I always do, there’s a high chance of failure. Does this mean I’ll lower my expectations in the future? Hell no!
The race was just my local club’s open and therefore whether I ran amazing or not the times are not eligible for Paralympic qualification or UKAs WCPP. However, it was an opportunity to see where I’m at and remember what it’s like to be in race mode.
My 100m was up first and my immediate error was that for some unknown reason I hesitated when coming up into the set position and therefore didn’t raise my hips high enough. The only explanation I can think of is that I might have panicked that the gun would go before I was ready. My reaction was adequate, but because I had already made an error, my drive phase was compromised and I felt the field immediately pull away from me. Instead of relaxing and set on catching them, I completely crumbled. My whole body seized up, I could feel I was running like a robot, but I couldn’t do anything about it. When I eventually strolled across the line in last place, I growled in frustration. I don’t believe I’m mentally weak and yet I allowed myself to be crushed. Unbelievable and let me assure you I won’t be making the same mistake again! I’m so used to chasing my group in training; it normally makes me more determined. My time came out at 16.00 and I actually burst into tears! Don’t worry it was for only about five seconds and then I became my usual hard core self, ready to murder the 200m!
It was a long wait until the 200m, the temperature had dropped somewhat and the wind picked up. Thankfully when you’re as slow as I am, you don’t have to wait too long for your heat as it’s graded in time order. I was down to race in lanes six and seven, but asked in my sweetest, poor little blind girl voice if I could run in lanes 1 and 2, as I didn’t want the pressure of having to chase again, I can feel the bend better on the inside and we had only practised setting the blocks up in those lanes! The stern ice lady nearly choked when she approved it and I was pleased to see my A Level drama hadn’t gone to waste! Anyway, I killed the start and when my guide runner called 30m to indicate to come out of my drive phase I was shocked that I had got there so quickly and it took me a bit of time to register it. I continued to execute the bend, which has been my Achilles heel since time began! Then, something had to go wrong! The transition off of the bend wasn’t smooth and I found myself unable to straighten up causing some co-ordination to be lost between my guide runner and I. In all the mayhem I didn’t hear or my guide runner forgot to call 80m for the kick to the finish and so I didn’t start to kick until it was 50m to go. My legs were completely like jelly at this point, my technique had gone out of the window, I was doing more of a front crawl swimming motion towards the end and the last call I heard was 10m to go. I didn’t feel my guide runner pull back before the end (they aren’t allowed to cross the line first), but guessed I was at the finish and slowed down. As soon as we stopped, I found the energy to ask if I stopped before the line, but was assured I didn’t. However, on reading the results I show as two seconds behind everyone else. That equates to approximately 12metres and I know I wasn’t that distant. My time came out as 34.15 and yet everyone else in my race ran sub 33. I wouldn’t have run a PB because of my poor ending, but I wouldn’t have been miles outside of it. Therefore I’ve learnt never ever to stop running until told, no matter how traumatic it is!
Enough of the negatives, I need to reflect on the positives and what I’ll be taking forward.
1. I came out of starting blocks
2. I made it to the end of both races
3. I ran the best bend of my life
4. I reacted well to the gun
5. I’ve learnt so many valuable lessons
I could be racing next Wednesday, but it’s not confirmed. If not I’ll next be competing on 14 May.
As an iconic song once said ‘I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down’!
The race was just my local club’s open and therefore whether I ran amazing or not the times are not eligible for Paralympic qualification or UKAs WCPP. However, it was an opportunity to see where I’m at and remember what it’s like to be in race mode.
My 100m was up first and my immediate error was that for some unknown reason I hesitated when coming up into the set position and therefore didn’t raise my hips high enough. The only explanation I can think of is that I might have panicked that the gun would go before I was ready. My reaction was adequate, but because I had already made an error, my drive phase was compromised and I felt the field immediately pull away from me. Instead of relaxing and set on catching them, I completely crumbled. My whole body seized up, I could feel I was running like a robot, but I couldn’t do anything about it. When I eventually strolled across the line in last place, I growled in frustration. I don’t believe I’m mentally weak and yet I allowed myself to be crushed. Unbelievable and let me assure you I won’t be making the same mistake again! I’m so used to chasing my group in training; it normally makes me more determined. My time came out at 16.00 and I actually burst into tears! Don’t worry it was for only about five seconds and then I became my usual hard core self, ready to murder the 200m!
It was a long wait until the 200m, the temperature had dropped somewhat and the wind picked up. Thankfully when you’re as slow as I am, you don’t have to wait too long for your heat as it’s graded in time order. I was down to race in lanes six and seven, but asked in my sweetest, poor little blind girl voice if I could run in lanes 1 and 2, as I didn’t want the pressure of having to chase again, I can feel the bend better on the inside and we had only practised setting the blocks up in those lanes! The stern ice lady nearly choked when she approved it and I was pleased to see my A Level drama hadn’t gone to waste! Anyway, I killed the start and when my guide runner called 30m to indicate to come out of my drive phase I was shocked that I had got there so quickly and it took me a bit of time to register it. I continued to execute the bend, which has been my Achilles heel since time began! Then, something had to go wrong! The transition off of the bend wasn’t smooth and I found myself unable to straighten up causing some co-ordination to be lost between my guide runner and I. In all the mayhem I didn’t hear or my guide runner forgot to call 80m for the kick to the finish and so I didn’t start to kick until it was 50m to go. My legs were completely like jelly at this point, my technique had gone out of the window, I was doing more of a front crawl swimming motion towards the end and the last call I heard was 10m to go. I didn’t feel my guide runner pull back before the end (they aren’t allowed to cross the line first), but guessed I was at the finish and slowed down. As soon as we stopped, I found the energy to ask if I stopped before the line, but was assured I didn’t. However, on reading the results I show as two seconds behind everyone else. That equates to approximately 12metres and I know I wasn’t that distant. My time came out as 34.15 and yet everyone else in my race ran sub 33. I wouldn’t have run a PB because of my poor ending, but I wouldn’t have been miles outside of it. Therefore I’ve learnt never ever to stop running until told, no matter how traumatic it is!
Enough of the negatives, I need to reflect on the positives and what I’ll be taking forward.
1. I came out of starting blocks
2. I made it to the end of both races
3. I ran the best bend of my life
4. I reacted well to the gun
5. I’ve learnt so many valuable lessons
I could be racing next Wednesday, but it’s not confirmed. If not I’ll next be competing on 14 May.
As an iconic song once said ‘I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down’!
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Qualification Standards
Yesterday the qualification standards were finally released for the Paralympic Games. The IPC press release gave me a mini heart attack when it stated that the A standard for T11 100m was 13.60secs. Thankfully it was incorrect, but scary nonetheless!
Here they are:
T11 100m A 14.25, B 14.80
T11 200m A 28.65, B 30.30
F11 Long Jump A 3.80, B 3.30
As you can see I was fairly accurate with my 100m predictions, but was perhaps a bit optimistic on the other two events. Now I know exactly what I’m aiming for it’s a relief in one sense and a mountain to climb in another! I have confidence that the B standard for 100m is within touching distance, but I need to slash two whole seconds off of my 200m PB and with long jump being a new discipline I can’t possibly judge it. I’ve got physio today to find out what’s wrong with my ankle and all being well my first race will be on 4th May.
Chasing the dream!
Here they are:
T11 100m A 14.25, B 14.80
T11 200m A 28.65, B 30.30
F11 Long Jump A 3.80, B 3.30
As you can see I was fairly accurate with my 100m predictions, but was perhaps a bit optimistic on the other two events. Now I know exactly what I’m aiming for it’s a relief in one sense and a mountain to climb in another! I have confidence that the B standard for 100m is within touching distance, but I need to slash two whole seconds off of my 200m PB and with long jump being a new discipline I can’t possibly judge it. I’ve got physio today to find out what’s wrong with my ankle and all being well my first race will be on 4th May.
Chasing the dream!
Sunday, 17 April 2011
500 Days
Today marks 500 days until the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. I was hoping to celebrate today with two new personal best performances, but due to a freak injury where I just stood up and found I couldn’t weight bear on my ‘good’ ankle, I haven’t been able to race.
A week on and I’m still unable to walk pain free. I have no swelling, full movement and no sore points, which is all very confusing. The only abnormal thing is that I have a clicking sound when I walk. I saw the doctor on Friday and he suspects tendonitis, but I will get this confirmed when I visit my physio on Wednesday. Of course you can never get an appointment when you need one!
I am pretty gutted about not being able to race, but I need to try and keep a positive mental attitude. This is just another hurdle of many I need to jump before making my ultimate dream a reality. It’s going to take something extremely dramatic before I give up. Injuries heal, guide runners can be replaced.
Possibly tomorrow, or hopefully sometime next week the qualification standards will be released. I’m excited and nervous about this, excited because I’ll know exactly what I’m aiming for, but apprehensive because they might be out of my reach. Earlier this week the events were announced and luckily for me there is female T11 100m and 200m, along with a mixed class F11/12 long jump. I still haven’t tried out the long jump; nevertheless believe it might be my best chance of qualifying because we have no F11/12 long jumper in Great Britain.
Here are my qualification predictions, let’s see how accurate I am-
100m B standard 14.8secs, A standard 14.0secs
200m B standard 30.5secs, A standard 29.5secs
Long Jump B standard 2.80m, A standard 3.20m
I can do this!
A week on and I’m still unable to walk pain free. I have no swelling, full movement and no sore points, which is all very confusing. The only abnormal thing is that I have a clicking sound when I walk. I saw the doctor on Friday and he suspects tendonitis, but I will get this confirmed when I visit my physio on Wednesday. Of course you can never get an appointment when you need one!
I am pretty gutted about not being able to race, but I need to try and keep a positive mental attitude. This is just another hurdle of many I need to jump before making my ultimate dream a reality. It’s going to take something extremely dramatic before I give up. Injuries heal, guide runners can be replaced.
Possibly tomorrow, or hopefully sometime next week the qualification standards will be released. I’m excited and nervous about this, excited because I’ll know exactly what I’m aiming for, but apprehensive because they might be out of my reach. Earlier this week the events were announced and luckily for me there is female T11 100m and 200m, along with a mixed class F11/12 long jump. I still haven’t tried out the long jump; nevertheless believe it might be my best chance of qualifying because we have no F11/12 long jumper in Great Britain.
Here are my qualification predictions, let’s see how accurate I am-
100m B standard 14.8secs, A standard 14.0secs
200m B standard 30.5secs, A standard 29.5secs
Long Jump B standard 2.80m, A standard 3.20m
I can do this!
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Is it a bird...is it a plane...no it's Calvin...
Earlier today I was winning the 200m in Nottingham, when Calvin, my adorable Guide Dog managed to break free from where he was tied up. He came charging across the track, fortunately didn’t impede any other athletes, but knocked me flying, as he raced towards me. I landed heavily on my knees, thankfully only grazing them, but I was in such a state of shock. Calvin didn’t break his lead, but it just goes to show he gets far too excited still when I’m running. The official allowed me to run again about 20mins later on my own, but I only managed 33.2secs in the gusty wind.
My 100m hadn’t gone much better earlier on, with a 16sec flat run, into an evil head wind and muddy puddles, but I won!
I had the Charnwood Open last Wednesday and only did the 100m, which was a disappointing 15.7secs. So things aren’t going too well really. My next competition isn’t until 15th August and I only have 3 more races to gain the funding standards. Right now I’m not on schedule and feel frustrated. I will go training on Monday and talk to my coach, but not sure how I can improve in such a short space of time.
My birthday is on Tuesday, but no major plans arranged. I’m tempted to go to the gym as normal!
My 100m hadn’t gone much better earlier on, with a 16sec flat run, into an evil head wind and muddy puddles, but I won!
I had the Charnwood Open last Wednesday and only did the 100m, which was a disappointing 15.7secs. So things aren’t going too well really. My next competition isn’t until 15th August and I only have 3 more races to gain the funding standards. Right now I’m not on schedule and feel frustrated. I will go training on Monday and talk to my coach, but not sure how I can improve in such a short space of time.
My birthday is on Tuesday, but no major plans arranged. I’m tempted to go to the gym as normal!
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Gateshead Disability Challenge
My fourth athletics competition of the season took place in Gateshead a day after the Diamond League event held at the same venue. Originally, they were asking for specific standards, which would have meant I wouldn’t have been able to run, as I’m having a bad season. However, these were dropped.
This was the first time I would run with the same guide, as the previous three competitions have all been with different people. My cousin got married on Saturday, so we couldn’t travel up to Gateshead until afterwards, resulting in arriving there at 11.30pm. Things didn’t go well the next morning, as they moved my race forward without notifying anyone and when we arrived at the track at 10am, they had called my race. It was essential I had a good warm up because of my calf still not 100%, but I wasn’t able to do anything. I got a couple of runs in down on the track before the start, but then felt even more stressed when the official was harping on at me to use blocks, which I am still learning. I rounded off my bad luck with a false start and held back the second time around.
Bang, I felt like I was being dragged all the way and gripped onto the guide rope as tight as I could. Realistically I should have been able to stay up with her, but I was slow off the start. This put me off balance a little. I came last, but that was expected as I was racing five time Paralympian Tracey Hinton and silver Paralympic medallist Libby Clegg. My time came out at 15.22, my best this season, a tenth off my PB and a tenth off funding. I should have started the season with this sort of time.
My calf felt really tight after I had finished and did a good warm up before my 200m. Bang, I was in lane one so chasing all the way and wasn’t going around the bend at all. I kept barging my guide. As we came onto the home straight, I straightened up and kicked hard at 80m, on reflection I should have kicked again at 50m, but I thought I had really messed up since I had allot of energy left. So, I was really surprised to get a PB of 32.35secs, a tenth of a second off of funding. I know if I get the bend right I can smash that time.
Overall it wasn’t a bad day, but I’m so behind of schedule through injury, lack of guide runner and racing that the World Champs qualification standards look out of my reach. However, I should be able to secure my funding by the end of the season.
I trained on Monday and I was in agony with my calf. Yesterday and today I’m icing it every two hours, stretching it out as much as possible and massaging it too. I’m racing again tonight in the Charnwood Open and then again on Saturday. I probs shouldn’t be running on it at all, but I’ve missed far too many races.
This was the first time I would run with the same guide, as the previous three competitions have all been with different people. My cousin got married on Saturday, so we couldn’t travel up to Gateshead until afterwards, resulting in arriving there at 11.30pm. Things didn’t go well the next morning, as they moved my race forward without notifying anyone and when we arrived at the track at 10am, they had called my race. It was essential I had a good warm up because of my calf still not 100%, but I wasn’t able to do anything. I got a couple of runs in down on the track before the start, but then felt even more stressed when the official was harping on at me to use blocks, which I am still learning. I rounded off my bad luck with a false start and held back the second time around.
Bang, I felt like I was being dragged all the way and gripped onto the guide rope as tight as I could. Realistically I should have been able to stay up with her, but I was slow off the start. This put me off balance a little. I came last, but that was expected as I was racing five time Paralympian Tracey Hinton and silver Paralympic medallist Libby Clegg. My time came out at 15.22, my best this season, a tenth off my PB and a tenth off funding. I should have started the season with this sort of time.
My calf felt really tight after I had finished and did a good warm up before my 200m. Bang, I was in lane one so chasing all the way and wasn’t going around the bend at all. I kept barging my guide. As we came onto the home straight, I straightened up and kicked hard at 80m, on reflection I should have kicked again at 50m, but I thought I had really messed up since I had allot of energy left. So, I was really surprised to get a PB of 32.35secs, a tenth of a second off of funding. I know if I get the bend right I can smash that time.
Overall it wasn’t a bad day, but I’m so behind of schedule through injury, lack of guide runner and racing that the World Champs qualification standards look out of my reach. However, I should be able to secure my funding by the end of the season.
I trained on Monday and I was in agony with my calf. Yesterday and today I’m icing it every two hours, stretching it out as much as possible and massaging it too. I’m racing again tonight in the Charnwood Open and then again on Saturday. I probs shouldn’t be running on it at all, but I’ve missed far too many races.
Monday, 5 July 2010
Unlucky Is My Middle Name
The past few weeks have been a mixed bag of good, bad and the ugly! I’ve had to miss three athletics comps, which is very frustrating, as I’m just not getting the races in this year. Two were missed because I couldn’t get a guide runner and the most recent because I managed to tear a couple of ligaments in my calf! I have had two other comps though, but neither were very successful. The Charnwood Open was over before it began, as on my first stride the guide rope fell out of my guide’s hand. In a disability event I would have been disqualified on the spot, but after freezing, stunned and confused, my guide just grabbed my hand, but it was all too late really! The time came out at 16.8secs! The other comp was the Metro Games and although I won both of my races with ease, the times didn’t reflect a good performance. I’m still not sure of my 200m time, but the 100m was 16.01secs and there is no reason why I should be running that slow anymore!
On a brighter note I do have a new guide runner, so that is something! I’m running in Gateshead this weekend, followed by the Charnwood Open mid-week and then in Nottingham next weekend. Three comps in a row should help me get some race fitness. This is all assuming my calf is fixed!
On other things, still working hard at uni with an assignment due on Wednesday. Calvin and I are having a bit of a rough time, it doesn’t help that my road is swamped with road works, but we also had a two hour getting lost adventure, Calvin had an accident in the food court as he watered the floor, I have a fat lip after he walked me into someone and I’m getting very tired of his scavenging.
Anyway, life goes on and fifth teen days until my 22nd birthday, not that I have anything planned yet!
On a brighter note I do have a new guide runner, so that is something! I’m running in Gateshead this weekend, followed by the Charnwood Open mid-week and then in Nottingham next weekend. Three comps in a row should help me get some race fitness. This is all assuming my calf is fixed!
On other things, still working hard at uni with an assignment due on Wednesday. Calvin and I are having a bit of a rough time, it doesn’t help that my road is swamped with road works, but we also had a two hour getting lost adventure, Calvin had an accident in the food court as he watered the floor, I have a fat lip after he walked me into someone and I’m getting very tired of his scavenging.
Anyway, life goes on and fifth teen days until my 22nd birthday, not that I have anything planned yet!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
International Debut
In lane 5 representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland Selina Litt, are exciting words that I will always remember. For that moment I was care free and a broad smile took over my face.
My first international competition was the Knowsley Disability Challenge on 22/23 May. I’d never been to Liverpool before, so it made it that more interesting. On the Saturday was my 100m and the Sunday my 200m.
I went into the weekend feeling confident, as I was running with Jor’dan. We had only ever had a couple of runs together, literally over 40m, but she’s quick, so I didn’t need to worry about my guide being behind me!
Bang! After the drive phase my heart sank, Tash who has a PB of 14.5 was already a good 5m ahead of me. I carried on running to my best ability, mine and Jor’dan’s arms weren’t quite in sink, but my lane sticker got stuck to my hand so I was trying to shake it off. With 10m left to go, my hand slipped out of the guide rope, but I kept running to the finish. Afterwards I found out it’s ok to let go of the guide rope with just 10m to go, as long as your guide is in within 50cm of you. So, thankfully I wasn’t disqualified! I ran 15.49 and felt disappointed. I really thought I was going to run a PB, sub 15secs time. However, on reflection, under the circumstances it wasn’t so tragic, as it was my fastest electronic time to date.
Bang! It’s Sunday and the sun was still shining strong, but with a unwelcome breeze! I had nothing to lose in this race, but it seemed to take ages before I came out of my drive. Jor’dan told me afterwards she had extended it a further 5m so I had less time running upright in the wind, but this does take energy out of you. Since I was in lane 1, I was a bit hesitant of clipping the curb and was chasing all of the way the other athletes. As I hit the home straight, the wind just took my breath away, 50m to go I had no kick, 10m left it just seemed 10m too far! I ran 33.27, my second quickest time for the distance and quickest electronic time. I’m definitely lacking in speed endurance, but I did have a cold a week prior, which wouldn’t have helped. Again mine and Jor’dan’s arms weren’t in sink, but mainly because I was fading and she was doing her best to drag me! I’m still not taking the bend to the best of my ability, which is also losing me time.
Overall, it was a good experience and it’s a shame my times weren’t better. Last night when I was running in training on my own, I felt so quick. There’s big difference in speed when solo and with a guide. There’s allot of technical aspects to guide running, which I don’t think people appreciate.
Looking ahead, I’ve still not got my qualification times for funding, need to drop four tenths off my 100m and a second off my 200m. Certainly not impossible as I’m only 2 races in. Next comp could be in Cardiff on 12/13 June. However, I won’t find out until 2 June if i’ve been selected.
My first international competition was the Knowsley Disability Challenge on 22/23 May. I’d never been to Liverpool before, so it made it that more interesting. On the Saturday was my 100m and the Sunday my 200m.
I went into the weekend feeling confident, as I was running with Jor’dan. We had only ever had a couple of runs together, literally over 40m, but she’s quick, so I didn’t need to worry about my guide being behind me!
Bang! After the drive phase my heart sank, Tash who has a PB of 14.5 was already a good 5m ahead of me. I carried on running to my best ability, mine and Jor’dan’s arms weren’t quite in sink, but my lane sticker got stuck to my hand so I was trying to shake it off. With 10m left to go, my hand slipped out of the guide rope, but I kept running to the finish. Afterwards I found out it’s ok to let go of the guide rope with just 10m to go, as long as your guide is in within 50cm of you. So, thankfully I wasn’t disqualified! I ran 15.49 and felt disappointed. I really thought I was going to run a PB, sub 15secs time. However, on reflection, under the circumstances it wasn’t so tragic, as it was my fastest electronic time to date.
Bang! It’s Sunday and the sun was still shining strong, but with a unwelcome breeze! I had nothing to lose in this race, but it seemed to take ages before I came out of my drive. Jor’dan told me afterwards she had extended it a further 5m so I had less time running upright in the wind, but this does take energy out of you. Since I was in lane 1, I was a bit hesitant of clipping the curb and was chasing all of the way the other athletes. As I hit the home straight, the wind just took my breath away, 50m to go I had no kick, 10m left it just seemed 10m too far! I ran 33.27, my second quickest time for the distance and quickest electronic time. I’m definitely lacking in speed endurance, but I did have a cold a week prior, which wouldn’t have helped. Again mine and Jor’dan’s arms weren’t in sink, but mainly because I was fading and she was doing her best to drag me! I’m still not taking the bend to the best of my ability, which is also losing me time.
Overall, it was a good experience and it’s a shame my times weren’t better. Last night when I was running in training on my own, I felt so quick. There’s big difference in speed when solo and with a guide. There’s allot of technical aspects to guide running, which I don’t think people appreciate.
Looking ahead, I’ve still not got my qualification times for funding, need to drop four tenths off my 100m and a second off my 200m. Certainly not impossible as I’m only 2 races in. Next comp could be in Cardiff on 12/13 June. However, I won’t find out until 2 June if i’ve been selected.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Guide Dog of the Year and Paralympic Champion? Er perhaps not!
Sheffield Shambles:
Last Friday, Calvin and I ventured to Sheffield. This was the furthest we’ve travelled together solo. We were just going up for the day to meet Beth, Jenny and co who were there for the annual Aniridia Network meeting, which was being held on the Saturday.
We caught the train from Leicester station, which was a few mins late, but no big deal really. Calvin was quite well behaved, but beyond the tracks could apparently see someone spraying some sort of disinfectant that he must have been able to smell causing a couple of growls. Once on the train he was such a fidget. We’ve only ever done 10min journeys, excluding the tube, but the seating layout is different. Fair enough he has to have his frantic search under the seats to see what crumbs he can salvage, but then he wants to face the aisle so he can nose at everyone. The last time I checked, dogs can’t walk backwards, so when I usher him in he’s not facing his preferred way. He got comfy for a couple of mins in a nice tight ball so I had plenty of leg space. Next thing I know people are stepping over something in the aisle! He had only managed to sneak under my legs and was sprawled out in the middle of the train! He clearly thought, oooh there’s a nice big space there I can lie in! So, I went through the process of getting him back in, but he continued to fidget and force his way back into the aisle for the duration of the journey. It was one of the longest hour’s of my life!
When the train pulled into the station, I was more than happy to get off and Mr Fidget couldn’t wait either. We followed the mass crowd towards the exit and were rescued by an assistance guy who walked us to the front of the station. Calvin was quite calm, stopped properly at all of the steps and followed the guy all properly. Then he saw Jaynie, Jenny’s Guide Dog. All of his Christmases had come at once. Jaynie is a very calm, cool and collected Guide Dog and you could sense her rolling her eyes at Calvin who was bounding along, ready to have a party. He took his excitement out on Jenny, showing me up successfully by jumping up at her several times. It was one of those moments where you deny being connected in any shape or form to your child!
Next, Beth comes along with Sandie, a Guide Dog who is getting on a bit, but hasn’t forgotten her youth! At this point Calvin thinks I’m the best person in the world bringing him to this dog fest and greets Beth and Sandie accordingly. Sandie was clearly love struck by Calvin and the pair flirted for a while.
We left the station in pursuit of the hotel where the others would be staying. Calvin had a spring in his step and pulled so much, which I struggled to control. He insisted charging ahead, which wasn’t very sociable and didn’t help when I had no idea where we were heading. We arrived at the hotel and my arm was ready to drop off. Calvin and Sandie started playing in harness in reception, whilst Jaynie stood disapprovingly. I would like to say it was Sandie who was the bad influence urging Calvin to play and as if he’s going to refuse!
Calvin and his bitches got to have a play in Beth’s room where they fought over who was top dog. Calvin was fed and then attempted to climb into the bin where I had disposed the bag his food was in. The next challenge was spending him on concrete. At home he will do it no problem, but when out is a fuss pot and is only willing to do it on grass. It took him a while to oblige, but finally did a quick splash and dash!
We ate a pleasant dinner in the hotel and it was then time for me to get back to the station. Calvin pulled and pulled all the way there and I assume he needed a spend, but when we finally reached some grass he just stood there and wouldn’t move for ages. He’s a big drinker, so needs spending quite a bit. He fidgeted all the way back home and a creepy man started speaking to me. Somehow by the end of it Calvin changed his name to Selina!
I knew he must be bursting for a spend when we arrived and he nearly sent me flying when he didn’t stop at the stairs. I took him by the bike stand out of the way and didn’t need to be asked to do a busy. I felt like I was standing there for half an hour whilst the river flowed!
I took him as soon as we got in and another half hour waterfall was in full flow. About 20mins later it was bedtime, but took him again and yet another stream was produced!
Calvin sleeps downstairs in the extension at night and the door is closed. He’s always been happy with the arrangement and it’s worked fine. However, he mustn’t have been able to cross his paws for much longer and broke down the door during the night. I heard him shake at the bottom of the stairs and confused went down to see how he had got there. I took him to spend and was surprised to witness yet another waterfall that made him whimper. He must have been holding for so long that it was now painful to pass water! I did feel for him, but I couldn’t have spent him much more than I did. For the rest of Saturday I took him hourly, just so he could flush everything out and he was fine by the end of the day. I learnt a hell of allot!
Competition Catastrophe:
Last Sunday saw my first athletics competition of the season. Of course it was freezing, windy and threatening to rain! It was being held down in Middlesex, North London and as usual I entered the 100 and 200m. Nerves filled my stomach and I was dying to get it over and done with! This year is so important for me, I just need 15.1secs for 100m, which I ran last year and 32.25secs for 200m, which I came so close to last season in order to secure my World Class funding. I’ve been running so well on my own due to a lack of guide runner and know for sure I should smash the required times.
However, I went down with Amy who is great at taking me to the gym, but isn’t the quickest of runners. I stayed positive, knowing I might not run as well as I am capable of, but looked to at least reach the necessary standards. I felt even sicker when I discovered Tracey Hinton, 5 times Paralympian and Britain’s No.1 for totally blind athletes would be racing against me! I’m No.2 in the country, but have obviously not achieved anything within her league yet!
Bang! Well I thought there should have been a bang by now! I false started! I desperately wanted to get a good start. I didn’t panic and thought maybe I’ve just put pressure on the rest of the field, which might work to my advantage! Bang! I got an excellent start, but wait where is my guide?! Still on the start line?! I’m 20m up the track! Considering we’re attached by a band, this isn’t good! I felt like I had to stop and wait for her. The result being a 15.93 run, last place and frustration!
Afterwards, whilst waiting for my time that The Head Coach of the GB Paralympic Team went to get, since he was eager to see if I had managed the standard, I spoke to Tracey’s guide. Nice bloke, gave me some hints on how guide running should be done and basically told Amy she was too slow for me! Tracey ran 13.85 and was disappointed! She should have been in my shoes! I felt silly!
A 3hour wait for the 200m, which I was determined to give my best shot. No false start this time, but yet again my guide was behind me! I swear it felt like I was running in a zigzag, our arms weren’t in sink and I was off balance because of it. I reached the finish line, 100m behind everyone else and felt like screaming! 35.1secs compared to Tracey’s 28.5! I was a good 3secs off of my own PB. After getting my time I tried to make a quick exit, but Tracey’s guide collared me to find out my time! Talk about rubbing salt into the wound!
What I did learn was that I can’t run with Amy again, as she’s just too slow. However, I don’t have anyone else despite advertising. On a slightly positive note it’s a better start than last year where I ran 16.9 and 36.9 in my opening race, but it’s far from my full potential.
On May 22/23 I have been invited to an international competition being held in Liverpool prior to the Paralympic World Cup. This is both an amazing opportunity and a vital event. I can’t afford to show myself up. Thankfully, Jor’dan who is the second quickest female at my club is helping me out. We’ve only had a couple of runs together, but it feels fast. I just want my times, then I don’t care if I run badly for the rest of the season!
Last Friday, Calvin and I ventured to Sheffield. This was the furthest we’ve travelled together solo. We were just going up for the day to meet Beth, Jenny and co who were there for the annual Aniridia Network meeting, which was being held on the Saturday.
We caught the train from Leicester station, which was a few mins late, but no big deal really. Calvin was quite well behaved, but beyond the tracks could apparently see someone spraying some sort of disinfectant that he must have been able to smell causing a couple of growls. Once on the train he was such a fidget. We’ve only ever done 10min journeys, excluding the tube, but the seating layout is different. Fair enough he has to have his frantic search under the seats to see what crumbs he can salvage, but then he wants to face the aisle so he can nose at everyone. The last time I checked, dogs can’t walk backwards, so when I usher him in he’s not facing his preferred way. He got comfy for a couple of mins in a nice tight ball so I had plenty of leg space. Next thing I know people are stepping over something in the aisle! He had only managed to sneak under my legs and was sprawled out in the middle of the train! He clearly thought, oooh there’s a nice big space there I can lie in! So, I went through the process of getting him back in, but he continued to fidget and force his way back into the aisle for the duration of the journey. It was one of the longest hour’s of my life!
When the train pulled into the station, I was more than happy to get off and Mr Fidget couldn’t wait either. We followed the mass crowd towards the exit and were rescued by an assistance guy who walked us to the front of the station. Calvin was quite calm, stopped properly at all of the steps and followed the guy all properly. Then he saw Jaynie, Jenny’s Guide Dog. All of his Christmases had come at once. Jaynie is a very calm, cool and collected Guide Dog and you could sense her rolling her eyes at Calvin who was bounding along, ready to have a party. He took his excitement out on Jenny, showing me up successfully by jumping up at her several times. It was one of those moments where you deny being connected in any shape or form to your child!
Next, Beth comes along with Sandie, a Guide Dog who is getting on a bit, but hasn’t forgotten her youth! At this point Calvin thinks I’m the best person in the world bringing him to this dog fest and greets Beth and Sandie accordingly. Sandie was clearly love struck by Calvin and the pair flirted for a while.
We left the station in pursuit of the hotel where the others would be staying. Calvin had a spring in his step and pulled so much, which I struggled to control. He insisted charging ahead, which wasn’t very sociable and didn’t help when I had no idea where we were heading. We arrived at the hotel and my arm was ready to drop off. Calvin and Sandie started playing in harness in reception, whilst Jaynie stood disapprovingly. I would like to say it was Sandie who was the bad influence urging Calvin to play and as if he’s going to refuse!
Calvin and his bitches got to have a play in Beth’s room where they fought over who was top dog. Calvin was fed and then attempted to climb into the bin where I had disposed the bag his food was in. The next challenge was spending him on concrete. At home he will do it no problem, but when out is a fuss pot and is only willing to do it on grass. It took him a while to oblige, but finally did a quick splash and dash!
We ate a pleasant dinner in the hotel and it was then time for me to get back to the station. Calvin pulled and pulled all the way there and I assume he needed a spend, but when we finally reached some grass he just stood there and wouldn’t move for ages. He’s a big drinker, so needs spending quite a bit. He fidgeted all the way back home and a creepy man started speaking to me. Somehow by the end of it Calvin changed his name to Selina!
I knew he must be bursting for a spend when we arrived and he nearly sent me flying when he didn’t stop at the stairs. I took him by the bike stand out of the way and didn’t need to be asked to do a busy. I felt like I was standing there for half an hour whilst the river flowed!
I took him as soon as we got in and another half hour waterfall was in full flow. About 20mins later it was bedtime, but took him again and yet another stream was produced!
Calvin sleeps downstairs in the extension at night and the door is closed. He’s always been happy with the arrangement and it’s worked fine. However, he mustn’t have been able to cross his paws for much longer and broke down the door during the night. I heard him shake at the bottom of the stairs and confused went down to see how he had got there. I took him to spend and was surprised to witness yet another waterfall that made him whimper. He must have been holding for so long that it was now painful to pass water! I did feel for him, but I couldn’t have spent him much more than I did. For the rest of Saturday I took him hourly, just so he could flush everything out and he was fine by the end of the day. I learnt a hell of allot!
Competition Catastrophe:
Last Sunday saw my first athletics competition of the season. Of course it was freezing, windy and threatening to rain! It was being held down in Middlesex, North London and as usual I entered the 100 and 200m. Nerves filled my stomach and I was dying to get it over and done with! This year is so important for me, I just need 15.1secs for 100m, which I ran last year and 32.25secs for 200m, which I came so close to last season in order to secure my World Class funding. I’ve been running so well on my own due to a lack of guide runner and know for sure I should smash the required times.
However, I went down with Amy who is great at taking me to the gym, but isn’t the quickest of runners. I stayed positive, knowing I might not run as well as I am capable of, but looked to at least reach the necessary standards. I felt even sicker when I discovered Tracey Hinton, 5 times Paralympian and Britain’s No.1 for totally blind athletes would be racing against me! I’m No.2 in the country, but have obviously not achieved anything within her league yet!
Bang! Well I thought there should have been a bang by now! I false started! I desperately wanted to get a good start. I didn’t panic and thought maybe I’ve just put pressure on the rest of the field, which might work to my advantage! Bang! I got an excellent start, but wait where is my guide?! Still on the start line?! I’m 20m up the track! Considering we’re attached by a band, this isn’t good! I felt like I had to stop and wait for her. The result being a 15.93 run, last place and frustration!
Afterwards, whilst waiting for my time that The Head Coach of the GB Paralympic Team went to get, since he was eager to see if I had managed the standard, I spoke to Tracey’s guide. Nice bloke, gave me some hints on how guide running should be done and basically told Amy she was too slow for me! Tracey ran 13.85 and was disappointed! She should have been in my shoes! I felt silly!
A 3hour wait for the 200m, which I was determined to give my best shot. No false start this time, but yet again my guide was behind me! I swear it felt like I was running in a zigzag, our arms weren’t in sink and I was off balance because of it. I reached the finish line, 100m behind everyone else and felt like screaming! 35.1secs compared to Tracey’s 28.5! I was a good 3secs off of my own PB. After getting my time I tried to make a quick exit, but Tracey’s guide collared me to find out my time! Talk about rubbing salt into the wound!
What I did learn was that I can’t run with Amy again, as she’s just too slow. However, I don’t have anyone else despite advertising. On a slightly positive note it’s a better start than last year where I ran 16.9 and 36.9 in my opening race, but it’s far from my full potential.
On May 22/23 I have been invited to an international competition being held in Liverpool prior to the Paralympic World Cup. This is both an amazing opportunity and a vital event. I can’t afford to show myself up. Thankfully, Jor’dan who is the second quickest female at my club is helping me out. We’ve only had a couple of runs together, but it feels fast. I just want my times, then I don’t care if I run badly for the rest of the season!
Friday, 1 January 2010
2010 Already?!
I don't know where the past few weeks have gone. Time to catch up!
Calvin:
What fun we've been having getting lost every other day and near death experiences. Calvin hasn't quite grasped he's meant to work curb to curb for some reason and finds it funny to cut corners so he can get an extended walk. Of course when we have gotten lost it's been a nightmare trying to find a single person on the street. It has knocked my confidence a fair bit regarding working him and is something I'm going to have to bring up with the trainer when she calls next week.
Calvin's other favourite thing to do when working other than growling at the dogs playing on the park, is refusing to go the long way around. I.e. we always walk over the bridge by the train station instead of walking across the track in order to prevent killing ourselves. Well, Danger Mouse doesn't want to walk over the bridge and merrily trots along straight pass the steps. Bribery has failed with meat and cheese treats, which surely isn't right! We recently had a near death experience as I cued Calvin in to find the steps. The siren began indicating that a train was coming and suddenly I feel the track under my feet. I go to turnaround in panic, but the barrier behind us had already come down. Some guy shouted at me to go straight ahead and we got through before the barrier came down in front of us, but it was a petrifying experience. Another thing I need to bring up with the trainer.
On a brighter note the sniffing has calmed down, but he is still a nosey parker and takes detours up peoples drives. On Xmas Day I fell flat on my ass thanks to Calvin spotting a cat, no consideration for the black ice!
Free runs have been fun at the time, as we've found Fosse Meadows where he can go wild and play with loads of other dogs, but somebody has a liking for mud baths. This has resulted in 2 baths since he stunk!
Open University:
I got my second assignment back a couple of weeks ago. I equalled my first score with 85% again, which I was thrilled with. I just submitted my third assignment yesterday. But not certain I'll be able to keep the great marks up.
Scrooge:
Was the latest musical I saw at the theatre. It featured Tommy Steels who is way before my time playing the lead. It wasn't the best of musicals, but I guess it was all in the Xmas spirit!
Athletics:
Now there's something I haven't blogged about in a while. I've taken Calvin a couple of times now and the first was so embarrassing. The cute little Guide Dog barked his head off insisting I had forgotten him and was sure he was meant to be running around with me. The trainer came out just before Xmas to sort this problem. He's still not completely relaxed at the track yet, but hopefully he'll get used to it soon.
Speaking of running, it is going quite well as far as I can tell. I should be entering my first indoor competition later this month and the summer season starts again in April.
2009:
Is history! The year began pretty slowly with a hundred and one rejections for jobs, which I eventually gave up on and started my degree with the OU. My birthday was fairly good, but since I spent my 16th in Miami and 18th in Italy it was always going to be hard to beat. I have travelled around from Blackpool, Bognor, Hartlepool and Turkey for fun times. Then, all of my athletics competitions took me to Ireland, London, Wigan, Bristol and Nottingham. I achieved 15.1secs for the 100m and 32.4secs for the 200m. Other sports wise Ferrari had an unlucky season, but the GB Team in Berlin did amazing at the athletics World Champs. Last but not least to finish off my year I finally got that all-important phone call. Calvin came along all bushy tailed and puppy dog eyes and we're having a roller coaster of a time!
2010:
Is going to be a good year for sure! I'm off to Mauritius next month, athletics comps start in April until September and I'm definitely getting the World Champs qualification times. I'm seeing Westlife in concert in May, I'm hoping to go to Paris for my 22nd, I intend to keep working hard on my degree and to round off the year I'm seeing JLS live. I'm also going to fix my Guide Dog, priority number one!
I would just like to thank everyone who reads my blog whether you comment or not. I've enjoyed writing and receiving feedback. Here's to the best year to come!!!!!!!!!!!
Calvin:
What fun we've been having getting lost every other day and near death experiences. Calvin hasn't quite grasped he's meant to work curb to curb for some reason and finds it funny to cut corners so he can get an extended walk. Of course when we have gotten lost it's been a nightmare trying to find a single person on the street. It has knocked my confidence a fair bit regarding working him and is something I'm going to have to bring up with the trainer when she calls next week.
Calvin's other favourite thing to do when working other than growling at the dogs playing on the park, is refusing to go the long way around. I.e. we always walk over the bridge by the train station instead of walking across the track in order to prevent killing ourselves. Well, Danger Mouse doesn't want to walk over the bridge and merrily trots along straight pass the steps. Bribery has failed with meat and cheese treats, which surely isn't right! We recently had a near death experience as I cued Calvin in to find the steps. The siren began indicating that a train was coming and suddenly I feel the track under my feet. I go to turnaround in panic, but the barrier behind us had already come down. Some guy shouted at me to go straight ahead and we got through before the barrier came down in front of us, but it was a petrifying experience. Another thing I need to bring up with the trainer.
On a brighter note the sniffing has calmed down, but he is still a nosey parker and takes detours up peoples drives. On Xmas Day I fell flat on my ass thanks to Calvin spotting a cat, no consideration for the black ice!
Free runs have been fun at the time, as we've found Fosse Meadows where he can go wild and play with loads of other dogs, but somebody has a liking for mud baths. This has resulted in 2 baths since he stunk!
Open University:
I got my second assignment back a couple of weeks ago. I equalled my first score with 85% again, which I was thrilled with. I just submitted my third assignment yesterday. But not certain I'll be able to keep the great marks up.
Scrooge:
Was the latest musical I saw at the theatre. It featured Tommy Steels who is way before my time playing the lead. It wasn't the best of musicals, but I guess it was all in the Xmas spirit!
Athletics:
Now there's something I haven't blogged about in a while. I've taken Calvin a couple of times now and the first was so embarrassing. The cute little Guide Dog barked his head off insisting I had forgotten him and was sure he was meant to be running around with me. The trainer came out just before Xmas to sort this problem. He's still not completely relaxed at the track yet, but hopefully he'll get used to it soon.
Speaking of running, it is going quite well as far as I can tell. I should be entering my first indoor competition later this month and the summer season starts again in April.
2009:
Is history! The year began pretty slowly with a hundred and one rejections for jobs, which I eventually gave up on and started my degree with the OU. My birthday was fairly good, but since I spent my 16th in Miami and 18th in Italy it was always going to be hard to beat. I have travelled around from Blackpool, Bognor, Hartlepool and Turkey for fun times. Then, all of my athletics competitions took me to Ireland, London, Wigan, Bristol and Nottingham. I achieved 15.1secs for the 100m and 32.4secs for the 200m. Other sports wise Ferrari had an unlucky season, but the GB Team in Berlin did amazing at the athletics World Champs. Last but not least to finish off my year I finally got that all-important phone call. Calvin came along all bushy tailed and puppy dog eyes and we're having a roller coaster of a time!
2010:
Is going to be a good year for sure! I'm off to Mauritius next month, athletics comps start in April until September and I'm definitely getting the World Champs qualification times. I'm seeing Westlife in concert in May, I'm hoping to go to Paris for my 22nd, I intend to keep working hard on my degree and to round off the year I'm seeing JLS live. I'm also going to fix my Guide Dog, priority number one!
I would just like to thank everyone who reads my blog whether you comment or not. I've enjoyed writing and receiving feedback. Here's to the best year to come!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, 18 September 2009
Gutted
Tomorrow was meant to be my final athletics competition of the season and my last chance to get under 15secs for the 100m, which I believe I'm more than capable of doing. However, my coach won't let me run! Sniffle sniffle!
I had a cold last week and when training on Monday and Wednesday my chest tightened up very quickly and I couldn't complete the full training sessions. So I've clearly lost my fitness thanks to a cold. I still think I could have run pretty well tomorrow, but my coach said it would be better if I finished off on a high.
At the moment it doesn't feel like that though! I haven't been able to achieve what I wanted to. I am pleased with my progress this season from running an awful 16.9secs at the start to 15.1secs last month for the 100m and dropping my time in the 200m from 36.9secs to 32.4secs.
From my last competition in August up until I got ill I have been running really well, which is the frustrating part. My coach reckoned I was running about 14.6secs pace, which I would have been ecstatic to get on paper. Anyway, get over yourself Selina!
I'm now taking 3 weeks off from doing any sort of training. I may go clinically insane, but I have a few things to occupy me in the meantime. I'm off to Bognor next week with the girlys and my Open University course starts too. I'm going to write about starting the course when I get back from Bognor, as I haven't mentioned it at all so far!
I had a cold last week and when training on Monday and Wednesday my chest tightened up very quickly and I couldn't complete the full training sessions. So I've clearly lost my fitness thanks to a cold. I still think I could have run pretty well tomorrow, but my coach said it would be better if I finished off on a high.
At the moment it doesn't feel like that though! I haven't been able to achieve what I wanted to. I am pleased with my progress this season from running an awful 16.9secs at the start to 15.1secs last month for the 100m and dropping my time in the 200m from 36.9secs to 32.4secs.
From my last competition in August up until I got ill I have been running really well, which is the frustrating part. My coach reckoned I was running about 14.6secs pace, which I would have been ecstatic to get on paper. Anyway, get over yourself Selina!
I'm now taking 3 weeks off from doing any sort of training. I may go clinically insane, but I have a few things to occupy me in the meantime. I'm off to Bognor next week with the girlys and my Open University course starts too. I'm going to write about starting the course when I get back from Bognor, as I haven't mentioned it at all so far!
Sunday, 9 August 2009
A Productive Comp
My computer conked out on Tuesday, but thankfully it’s been fixed now and I’m back online!
On Wednesday I had another athletics competition. It was the Charnwood Open again, so only at Loughborough. I’m pleased to report that I got not one, but two PBs! Woo hoo!
I had to wait until heat 14 for my 100m, as they were doing quickest to slowest. There were only 16 heats so shows how slow I am compared to the mainstream athletes. I didn’t get the best start on my 100m, but Courtney did a good job of pulling me along, as I felt I really had to push myself to keep up. I ran it in 15.1secs, which takes 2 tenths off my PB. Still aiming for that all-important 14.8secs for the B Standard for last year’s Paralympics. Nearly there now!
The organisers forgot to allocate me two lanes for my 200m, which meant I had to go in the heat before mine and therefore a quicker one. I was surprised that I finished 5th and not last! I had to wait quite a while for my time and when it came out as 32.4secs I was shocked! I only smashed my previous PB by 1.2secs!
It was a really good night and after both races I wasn’t even sure I ran that well. I went to sleep with a great big grin on my face!
I think my next competition will be on September 19th, but I’m not sure when the Charnwood Championships are. If I don’t get the Paralympic time at either competition I intend to run at the Watford Open on September 24th and that will be my very last event of the summer season.
On Wednesday I had another athletics competition. It was the Charnwood Open again, so only at Loughborough. I’m pleased to report that I got not one, but two PBs! Woo hoo!
I had to wait until heat 14 for my 100m, as they were doing quickest to slowest. There were only 16 heats so shows how slow I am compared to the mainstream athletes. I didn’t get the best start on my 100m, but Courtney did a good job of pulling me along, as I felt I really had to push myself to keep up. I ran it in 15.1secs, which takes 2 tenths off my PB. Still aiming for that all-important 14.8secs for the B Standard for last year’s Paralympics. Nearly there now!
The organisers forgot to allocate me two lanes for my 200m, which meant I had to go in the heat before mine and therefore a quicker one. I was surprised that I finished 5th and not last! I had to wait quite a while for my time and when it came out as 32.4secs I was shocked! I only smashed my previous PB by 1.2secs!
It was a really good night and after both races I wasn’t even sure I ran that well. I went to sleep with a great big grin on my face!
I think my next competition will be on September 19th, but I’m not sure when the Charnwood Championships are. If I don’t get the Paralympic time at either competition I intend to run at the Watford Open on September 24th and that will be my very last event of the summer season.
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