Saturday, January 23, 2016

Victorian Country Athletics Day 2

OK, so where did day 1 get to, you ask?  Well, yesterday was basically a travel day.  I drove the 180 odd km from home to Geelong, checked into the caravan park where the club is staying, and then proceeded to the track.  As I had no events, I simply watched some of those that were on.

After a lousy night's sleep due to too much stimulation combined with not enough exercise, I arrived at the track in plenty of time for my first event, the triple jump, which started at 9:00.  My first jump was off to a good start of a clear PB of 7.99 metres (previous 7.24).  Being so close to breaking 8 metres, I gave my next jump a bit more effort and achieved 8.06, which was bettered again in the third jump with 8.27m.  I had 3 extra jumps, but none of them beat my third jump.  Off to a good start with a massive PB, and not bad for an event I only started 2 weeks ago! :)

Next up was the 100 metres heat.  Felt good after the warmup, though a little sluggish.  Race went well, with a PB of 13.57 (prev 13.68) with neutral wind conditions, but not quite enough to qualify for the final.

My final event was the 400 metres.  By now, the wind had picked up and also turned to be a tail wind down the home straight (a serious headwind around the back).  In these tough conditions, I easily qualified with a 66.37 run.  Just under half a second shy of a PB.  The strong wind really played havoc with my race tactics and energy reserves.  4 hours later, at the end of the day, the final was ran.  The wind was still difficult, and by now I was completely exhausted.  Managed to finish in 67.73.

Returned to the caravan park for a BBQ dinner and some conversation, before heading off to the beach with one of the other guys for a recovery session in the cold water.

Feeling pleased with today and quietly confident about tomorrow, with my strongest events to come.  Now to get a good night's sleep. :)

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