What A Week

Well it has definitely been a pretty busy week for me.  Monday was a regular training day for me.  When I got to the park though, the atmosphere was a little different.  I  came to find everyone still in their school uniforms sitting together on the benches.  As I grabbed a seat myself I realized they weren’t going to be training this day.  One by one each athlete was voicing what their goals were going to be for the next two days. Intercol was going to be on Tuesday and Wednesday so no training on Monday for the high school guys.  I had planned on doing 300s with the guys, but since they weren’t training I did 2(4x250) with one of the older guys instead.  My partner ended up joining me half way through the first set, and called it quits on the 7th 250.  The park was very empty without all of the high school kids there, it was nice because there was less traffic, but I did miss the chatter that they usually bring.  One of the coaches was there to help me through my workout, and at the end once again killed my abs with his insane core workout.  Some of the cricket players decided to join in with the core workout, and they had no idea what they were in for.  Half way through all but one had dropped out, and the last was holding on just to try and beat me.  It just wasn’t his day though, and he dropped out with just over a minute left. 

Tuesday was the first day of competition for Intercol.  I volunteered to help out, so I was at the stadium by 9:30.  My uncle couldn’t drive me all the way there, so he dropped me off 2km from the stadium and I walked the rest of the way.  As I got closer to the stadium there were more and more kids in uniform walking with me.  Coming around the last corner to the stadium the road all of a sudden filled with kids in uniforms.  The kids had no fear of getting hit by cars as they walked three to four a breast down the main highway.  I worked my way through the crowd and tried to find my coach to see where my help was needed.  I saw a couple of the guys from the track club and wished them good luck, and a couple of the other coaches were there so I limed with them for a bit in the stands.  The crowd outside the stadium started to thin out a bit, and the stands started to fill.  There were more people in the stands then any track meet I had ever been to, and it was only the students so far.  I eventually found my coach, and got set up at long jump to help out.  To start off the meet they had a parade of March Pass.  Each school had a group to represent them wearing their school colors and carrying their school flag.  The crowd would erupt with each group that came out, and instantly the energy level of the stadium was elevated, and it stayed that way all day long.   The competition was great all day long, on the track and in the field.  All the people from the track club did amazing, and it was nice to see them put all their training to work for them.  The day ended a little late, and by the time I got back to the park to do my own workout it was already 6:30.  The sun was already down, so I cut my workout a bit short since I couldn’t see anything. 

On Wednesday I decided to do my workout before I headed to the stadium, that way I’d be able to get it in without having to worry about the sun setting on me.  The only down fall on practicing early was that it was SUPER hot for my workout.  My t-shirt was drenched after my two lap jog, but I just reminded myself how cold it was back in Regina and the heat didn’t seem to bother me at all.  My workout was just a circuit, and I was done within an hour, so I showered, ate and made my way over to the stadium for day two of competition.  When I got there I could hear the music and cheering from outside of the stadium.  When I got inside they were just finishing up race walking, and long jump had already began, so I made my way down to the pits.  There was only one group to jump, and they didn’t need my help, so I spent the day as a spectator.   Day two was just as exciting as the first.  Even though they were in competition against each other, all the athletes were very supportive of each other.  There was also a lot of smack talk too. During the boys 200 meter final the boy in the lead coming off the bend turned and pointed at the guy in second, then to the crowd with a huge smile on his face. The crowd loved it, and cheered so loud I could feel the whole place shake.  At the end of the race the boys hi fived and congratulated each other on a good race.  The day ended with relays, which are always exciting.  The athletes not running in the relay lined the track and cheered on their teams around the track. It felt like a meet back in Regina with towels waving and people right on the track cheering.  I wanted to be running so bad!  The meet finished on time, and afterwards I headed to the park to lift weights since I missed them on Tuesday.  The weight room was empty so it didn’t take too long to get through my program.  One of the high school guys came by and retold the stories of the day to the guys who couldn’t make it to the meet.  Everyone who got first or second at the meet will be heading to Trinidad at the beginning of March for their national track meet. I’m hoping to head over and watch, and if its anything like the last two days it should be a lot of fun!

Thursday was back to normal for me.  Before I headed to practice though, me, my uncle and my mom headed up to the country to buy some fish.  This may be the freshest fish I’ll ever have in my whole life.  We went to the beach and waited for the fisherman to bring in his catch for the day.  Red fish and Tobago dolphin were the catches for the day.  We picked out the fish that looked the best and the fisherman de-scaled and cut up the fish right in front of us.  We zipped back to the city and I go dropped off at the park to do my workout.  300-300-300 was the workout for today, full recovery so they were going to be run hard.  There were a couple groups of cricketers and a group of guys playing soccer so I had a lot of obstacles to worry about during my runs.  The senior throwers were training, but no runners to join in the workout with me.  It took me a while to finally get going because I was trying to figure out the safest way for me to do my runs, but no matter how I worked it out, I would have to run through some sort of traffic.  I decided to just run them like normal 300s and just deal with whatever came in my way.  The first rep I ran pretty scotch free, the guys playing soccer chased me for about 50 meters, but I was able to easily get away.  My goals for the runs were to be around 42 second, the first one was 43.45, so not a bad start.  I tried to relax during the break and not think too much about the run I had just done, and the runs I had left ahead of me.  With three minutes left in the break, I headed back to the 300 meter start and got my focus back on.  Before I went I waved down to the cricketers to let them know I was coming, they stepped back and held on to their ball and waved me down.  As I passed I could hear words of encouragement that gave me a little boost.  As I came around the corner, I came onto the soccer game that was going on.  I could see the ball and I tried my best to stay out of the way, but as I was coming off the corner the ball came my way, and so did the defender.  In a split second I had to decide whether to speed up or slow down, dodge or stay on path.  I chose the combination of speed up and dodge, and was successful in not only avoiding a collision but also making a good time on the rep, 42.62.  I felt good after the second rep, and once again during the break I tried to relax and make sure my head was clear before going into the last one.  I tried not to over think the workout too much and just take it as it comes.  Just as I get into the last rep, I remind my self I can do it, and I try to focus on the points my coach told me to work on.  He said my shoulders are looking much more relaxed, so I concentrate on those to make sure they don’t go back to old habits.  I don’t get to tired during the run and my form feels really good, 43.44 is what I finish in.  Even though they all weren’t at the 42 second mark, my coach back home said not to beat myself up.  With in  the next couple weeks I should be able to hit the times no problem, then I’ll be able to see some improvements in my races on the track as well.

Finally, today, Friday.  No practice today, but I still had to get up early.  I’m heading to Trinidad for the next couple days to take in Carnival.  My boat leaves at 1:30 but since Carnival is kicking off today, I’m heading to the dock early to avoid the rush.  I’ve packed and unpacked my bag three times already, and it I still can’t believe how heavy it is.  I’m only staying in Trinidad for 6 days, but my bag is still popping at the seams. There is a big Soca competition going on tonight, and I’ve been told I’ll be able to hear most of it from the upstairs of my aunts house.  Tomorrow is an event called Insomnia, which I guess goes form 9pm till 9am and probably even later.  I’ve been sent my workout for Sunday and its just a jog, so any sort of Carnival activities I do shouldn’t have too big of am effect on my training.  Its off to pack my bags once more then onto the boat.  Carnival sounds like its going to be fun, and I can’t wait for it to start!