I had the last two day off of track, and I did absolutely nothing! At 6pm yesterday I tried to figure out what I had done all day, and I really couldn’t think of anything. I slept in a bit, 1030, which felt weird, almost wrong, then I had a nap at 1. I had planned on going to the beach, but some how that got thrown by the wayside. I was able to do some catching up though with some friends back home via email. I’m really enjoying Gmail’s chat like conversation email set up, it made it really easy to email back and forth without losing track of what was said. I talked my little brother a bit as well, and caught up on some shows online. I really wish there was more to say that I did, but that was it. I did feel accomplished at the end of the day though. Ever since fall of 2003 I’ve been on the go. School, work, and track ruled my life, with little to no break. I finally feel like I know what it is to really relax. I had nothing to do, and no where to be, I was on my own time, and it felt great. I’ve been able to finish two books so far, and two books that I actually enjoyed reading, not just a textbook. Now there were sometimes in the past where on a Sunday I would just sit around and do nothing, but I knew that by doing so, I’d be behind for the next couple days with school, so this time it was very different. I really enjoyed just relaxing and taking in my surroundings.
Today I still relaxed, but I took a different approach. Once again I didn’t have to practice, but I didn’t sleep in. I was up and about by 8am. I told myself though, that I wouldn’t spend my hole day in front of the computer or the TV. So after breakfast I spent an hour and half just talking and catching up with my uncle. He talked to me for the whole hour and a half and I happily listened. He told me about his battle and struggles, not just with cancer, but life, love, everything in general. It seems like everyone has their different battles, some bigger then others, but still some sort of battles. I seem to be full of saying lately, but you know what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I have a whole life of battles ahead of me, but right now mine is on the track. Tomorrow’s workout will help me determine where I am in this battle.
2(250+150) is the workout. So I run 250 meters, take 1 minute, run 150 meters, take 15 minutes, then repeat. This workout will help me to gauge how I would run a 400 meter race at this point, and I’m hoping for something in the 54 second range.
So after my conversation with my uncle I took a bit of a nap, at first I was going to jog to the beach but I was told the 1 o’clock sun would be too hot! At first I was going to nap for just an hour, but my body wanted a bit more. At 3 I got up and jogged to the beach, and I’m really glad I took that extra hour, because even at 3 the sun still killed me. I had been driven to this beach before and it took maybe 3 minutes so get there, so I figured it would take me no longer then 10 to 15 minutes to jog. Before I even got to the bottom of the hill of where my uncle lived, I was sweating up a storm. I don’t think my body is ever going to get use to this humidity! Half way through the jog I was ready to turn back, but I knew a beautiful beach was waiting for me. Even though I’d been to the beach once before, I still got foiled by a sign on the way. Coming over the last hill I saw the sign saying “Mt. Irving Beach…” and in my mind, I thought "almost there!” So naturally I sped up, thinking the beach was just around the corner. Well the rest of that sign read “Hotel”, and another 200 meters away was the beach I was wanting to go to. I was partially devastated for using that burst of energy a little too soon, and continued on briskly the remaining 200 meters. When I finally got to the beach, I couldn’t take my shoes and clothes off fast enough. I ran and jumped in the water and it was everything I had been waiting for. The cool ocean water was soothing and relaxing on the muscles that had just worked so hard to get me there. I usually hold back and don’t put my head under when I go swimming, but today I didn’t care. I dove in and swam around like I was a little dolphin! I must have looked silly though because a couple kids around me were looking at me funny. I instantly looked down to make sure I wasn’t pulling a Janet Jackson, but everything was in its place, so I just continued on my merry way. After about 20 minutes a gentleman came up to me and asked me what event I did, didn’t even ask if I did track or anything, just what event. He said from the moment I ran up the beach, he knew I did track. His daughter had competed for Trinidad and Tobago in the last Olympics and had gotten 3rd at the World Championships last year! I had told him, and about the club I was training with while down here and some of the coaches. He confirmed that I would be in good hands, and the guys helping me out really knew what they were talking about. It made me feel really good to hear him say that, and excited to see what will come of me training down here.
After 45 minutes at the beach, I was ready to head back home. I left my wet bathing suit on and threw my clothes over top so the jog back would be a bit cooler. But before I left I was stopped by the life guard and was asked what sport I did! She also said that once I ran up on the beach, she knew I wasn’t just a ‘normal girl’. I told her I was from Canada and all she did was shiver, I guess they heard how cold it gets up there. After getting some well wishes, I was on my way. For most of the jog I couldn’t believe that two people had been able to identify me as a runner without talking to me or anything. I couldn’t believe it, until a woman stopped in her car beside me on the road and asked me the same thing!! Let’s just say today ended up being a really big confidence booster. Having people notice and wishing me luck and all the best just felt really good. It’s hard to describe, but those kinds of little things just add up and help to motivate me to train harder.
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