Yesterday was my first official run on the new athletics track with the same surface as the Beijing olympic track! The stadium is at the AK reserve near Perry Lakes and is called the Shirley Strickland stadium. Poor Perry Lakes it was so sad to see it empty and run down, i know it is old but will always hold special memories for me.
Mum and i did get lost at first going up, down and through almost every aisle to find the registration! but eventually got sorted and i headed out for a warm up. What was so cool was the fact that Steve Hooker was just sitting on the pole vault site watching the WA pole vaulters train, it was very exciting to see him. But the feeling that soon followed especially as more and more athletes arrived was nerves, and it was only a friday night weekly competition in perth! but everyone looked so professional, lean and fit! in all their running uniforms and coaches i felt a little out of place but i wanted to be as professional as they all seemed to be and have a coach to talk to and guide me through the processes of warm-up, race, injury prevention, everything.
I tried to put it out of my mind though and just focus on having my first experience on the track in my new christmas tree spikes, running my first proper 1500m for 2... actually almost 3 years! I was placed in the second heat after putting down my PB of 5 minutes and 8 seconds from the previous years, my goal was to break 5 minutes as a blind estimate from my swimming and limited track trainings, i really wanted to. The first heat an extremely muscular, fit looking girl about 23 won by over a hundred meters in a time of 4 minutes and 33 seconds, amazing. The rest of the field was a bulk around the 4 min 55sec mark which i would of loved to of been in.
The second heat had about 12 people as well, we startesd off with a fast pace and a 54 seconds 300m pace which is a 4 min 30 sec 1500m pace, but slowed down. I was around the 6th spot and slowly over took some girls in front. Most were tiny! Alot come from little A's and run fridays night comps as well, but they are still so fast, and there are still some tall long legged older girls as well! I felt quite strong coming into the last lap and had a sprint finish to overtake the girls in front of me to come second in a time of 4 min 59 sec .89 which i was over the moon about. I originally thought i ran a 4.48min but that was the winner who stayed in front the whole way. But with the sprint finish confirming it, although it was still a fast race i know i can go faster! I wasn't hurting nearly as much as i should have been which gives me hope that next time i will keep a faster pace throughout the 2nd and 3rd lap to bring my time down. The open national qualification time is 4 min 40 seconds which is keeping up an 18.7sec 100m pace (or 2 min 30sec 800m pace) which sounds like something i could do with a little more training. The time frame is a worry though with less than 2 months until states and a nagging foot injury i'm worried about. I haven't done nearly enough track training because of my foot, i know i should rest it but i just can't! i am doing more swimming and bike riding to reduce impact on my foot and keeping up some fitness but it is frustrating not being able to give 100% into running. So I am very happy with my time considering. I would of loved to have run a 400m and be as fit as the 400m runners, i do
love the thrill and even the pain in a 400m, it must be an adrenaline thing! I'll build my confidence up and run one again one day. The main run i was always looking at working on is the 800m. I was hoping to myself in the 800m in perth next week but it is sarahs 16th birthday so although i would love it may not happen. I need to remind myself sometimes that there are others things more important than running. Then i will be going to adelaide for a week to visit bronte with emma and rhian which will be fun but i will also miss out on running again so wouldn't be able to run an 800m in perth for 3 weeks but even that is up in the air as i need to go to perth the next day to move into trinity again for uni and would be going back and forth two days in a row... i wouldn't mind actually lol! I'll get there eventually :)
"Excuse me, how do we get to the train station?"
'Mi scusa, come prendiamo alla stazione ferroviaria?'
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