2019 Victorian Masters Track and Field ChampionshipsThis past weekend, the Victorian Masters Track...

2019 Victorian Masters Track and Field Championships

This past weekend, the Victorian Masters Track and Field championships were held at their usual venue in the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster.

This year, I entered 6 events - the 4 sprints (60, 100, 200 and 400 metres), plus the 100 and 400m hurdles.

On day 1, I made the 2 hour journey to the track. As I didn’t need to be there until around 1 PM, I was able to take the drive fairly easy. I arrived at 11:45, checked in and had lunch.

First event was the 100 metres. Had a good run, including holding off a last minute challenge to finish with bronze in a season best time of 13.28.

Shortly afterwards were the 100m hurdles. Finished second with a time of 22.02. after the hurdles, I collected the medals for both events.

After a 2 ½ hour wait, my final event for the day, the 400m, was run. Conditions were difficult, with a strong headwind in the back straight and second bend. My race went mostly to plan, except for hitting the wall in the last 50 metres. Finished 5th, in a time of 1:04.30, which wasn’t bad, considering that I lost some fitness due to injury, and was recovering from a cold.

After the 400m, I left the track and checked into my hotel, had dinner and settled in for the night.

Day 2 started with the 400 m hurdles. Again conditions were difficult, with the strong wind from the previous day persisting. Finished with silver in a time of 1:16.80.

The day’s events were in rapid succession. Next up was the 60 metres. Finished 6th, didn’t quite get the start I wanted, and had a slow time of 8.65 seconds.

My final event was the 200 metres. The wind was a headwind for most of the bend, and a slight tailwind in the home straight. Had a strong run in the bend, and held pace well in the straight. By this time, I was in a 3 way race for the minor placings. Managed to push my way to a bronze medal in 27.81 seconds.

Overall, I had a good meet, with a couple of unexpected medals. Next up are the Victorian Police and Emergency Services Games on Saturday, followed by the Australian Masters in late April.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2UV52z5

2019 Victorian Country Championships.

This weekend was the 2019 Victorian Country Athletics Championships.  This year I extended myself and entered 7 individual events.  With the 2 relays on offer, that made the total number of events 9 for the 3 days.

On Saturday, my first event was the long jump.  I had been doing a bit of work on this event and have improved in recent weeks.  Anyway, my third attempt was my best jump at 4.47 metres.  My best for 2 years, and 2cm short of my PB.  This scored me a silver medal.

A couple of hours later were the 400m hurdles.  For my second attempt at this event, I ran 1:15.16 and won another silver medal.

Sunday looked like my toughest day for winning medals, with big fields and a lot of talented opposition.  First up was the 100 metres.  Here, I got off to a good start and managed to stay close to the front of the pack.  Finished third with a bronze medal in a season best time of 13.39.

Next was my only other field event, the triple jump.  Because of my niggling foot injury, this is an event that I’ve rarely done this year (not since the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games in October).  I quickly found myself in a battle for bronze and coming from behind.  However, on my third attempt, I managed to sneak into third place by 1cm with an 8.15m jump.  On my 4th and final attempt, I was able to extend that to 8.32 metres, giving me a decisive bronze medal and a triple jump PB.

My last event for Sunday was the 400 metres.  I’ve been in my best ever 400m form this past month with both fitness and tactics on my side, or so and knew I had a lot of competition.  The race went pretty much to plan.  I started fast, then settled to target pace for the back straight.  Despite the headwind here, I didn’t compensate and took the risk of maintaining pace into the wind.  At the 200m mark, it was time to increase speed slightly and work the second bend into the strongest headwinds.  This put me in perfect position for a race for third place.  At the top of the straight, I was level with another runner for third place.  At this point, I went all out and gave it everything, hoping I could maintain pace for the last 85 metres of the race.  This tactic paid off, and I was able to pull ahead slowly, gaining over a second on my opponent in the straight, winning bronze with a time of 1:03.02.

Today was the last day of the meet, and I had 4 events.  First up was the 100m hurdles.  Ran second in a time of 21.62 for another silver medal.

My last individual event was the 200 metres.  As is typical of multi day meets, some of the competitors dropped out of the competition, so the field was smaller than expected.  I got away to a great start and by the time I had reached top speed, it was obvious that I would finish second, barring the unexpected.  I settled back to cruise the rest of the way to the finish line.  I did consider seeing how close I could get to the front runner, but decided it wasn’t worth the risk and kept cruising.  Finished with silver in a time of 27.67.

Now it was time for the relays.  The first was the 4x100m relay.  There were only 2 entries in our age group, but unfortunately, the other entry was forced to scratch from the event, meaning we only had to complete the event as a formality for the gold medal.  Pity, as I was hoping for a good race.

The 4x400m was a different story.  This event was different, because there’s no 50+ age group, we had to run in the 40+ age group.  This ensured a lot of competition.  By now, conditions were hot, with a strong headwind in the back straight.  I ran the first leg.  Here, I used similar tactics to the individual 400m the previous day, though the heat, headwind and fatigue did make this run harder than the previous one.  However, I was still able to finish strongly and leave us in a good position for the rest of the relay as I handed the baton only slightly behind the leader.  The other 3 guys in our team performed very well, and we took the gold medal by about 5 seconds.

This was one of my most successful meets with 9 medals from 9 events, a result I’m very happy with.  From here, it’s a mix of fire brigade and athletics for the next month or so, before focusing on the fire brigade state championships in March.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2CRyf6b

Tuning up for Country ChampsYestaday was round 10 of AV Shield athletics, and the last track meet...

Tuning up for Country Champs

Yestaday was round 10 of AV Shield athletics, and the last track meet before the Victorian Country Championships. I took advice from my coaches and decided not to run the 400 metres. That. Left the 100m hurdles, 100m, long jump and javelin.

Hurdles were first and went well. Improving my technique each time, giving me a PB of 21.36.

In the 100 metres, I had a good start, then backed off at the 30m mark as I approached top speed. Once at speed, I opened up all the way to the finish. Time was a season best 13.45.

Now I could relax, with only the 2 field events left. Long jump was a reasonable 4.06, and javelin was 16.22m.

A good day overall. Today, I’m with the fire brigade running team for a competition.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2CzHJTq

Doing Parkrun in track season.Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to bring the benefits of...

Doing Parkrun in track season.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to bring the benefits of exercise to more autistics in my community. And I’m not alone with these thoughts, with others also interested in doing the same (more information when the time is right).

Anyway, one thing that makes things easier is that I’m an exception in being a sprinter. Distance running seems to suit more autistics. This is good because there’s more inexpensive and frequent opportunities for distance runs.

At the top of my list would be Parkrun. For those not familiar with Parkrun, it’s a weekly free timed 5k run (or walk if you prefer) that’s run by volunteers in many places around the world. Parkrun has been used in other parts of the world as a venue for autistic and intellectually disabled people to exercise in a controlled public setting.

To achieve these goals locally, I want to form a closer relationship with the Parkrun. I have run it a couple of times, but now that I’m in peak season, running 5km is not appropriate for this stage in my training and competition cycle. But there was another option. Parkrun relies on volunteers to operate, and as luck would have it, there was a vacancy for this week’s Parkrun.

I arrived early, found the other volunteers, received my vest and some instructions. I was assigned to be the marshal on the last turn before the finish. My job was to make sure the runners were aware of other park users and walkers, as well as encourage them . This was a lot of fun.

My experience as a volunteer was as positive as those I’ve had as a runner. I’m a big fan of Parkrun, because it caters to as many people as possible, from casual walkers to state and national champions, and all abilities. Prams and pets are also welcome, making it a very inclusive event. The people are friendly and supportive as well. If you haven’t done a Parkrun, do yourself a favour and give it a go.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2CtJeme

First time volunteering at Parkrun

Taking video selfie with the drone. Had to use manual control,...

Taking video selfie with the drone. Had to use manual control, due to conditions.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2HjW7ov

Just acquired another tool for photos and videos. Found a...

Just acquired another tool for photos and videos. Found a reasonably priced drone online and bought it.

While awaiting delivery, I familiarised myself with the relevant aviation regulations for flying remotely piloted aircraft, and downloaded CASA’s excellent “Can I Fly There?” app.

The drone arrived yesterday, and I charged it up and was ready to fly. Only problem is a small scrub fire broke out just before I planned to fly, which effectively grounded me from flying, due to the potential of firefighting aircraft operations.

Today, after track training, I had the all clear, but had to make a last minute venue change to avoid people. After a couple of learning issues (you could call that cockpit trouble ;) ), I had the drone flying and taking both stills and video.

The drone has features that might be useful for training and promotions, but I need a calmer day to use them. Conditions today were marginal, with stronger wind than I would have liked.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2RRo1fz

Just acquired another tool for photos and videos. Found a reasonably priced drone online and bought...

Cleared another hurdle... or 10!

Another good week at the track.  This week’s Athletics Victoria Shield round (round 9) was a twilight meet locally, due to state and national multi event championships being on all weekend, which I wasn’t able to enter, due to a conflict with fire brigade competitions, where I am the hardest person to replace, due to my specialist skills on the ladder.

Anyway, with the evening timeslot, I decided not to enter any field events.  I also entered the 400m hurdles, because I saw this event as an opportunity to score good points for the club at the upcoming country championships.  Other events entered were a couple of old favourites, the 100 and 200 metres..

In preparation for the long hurdles, I did some training on Tuesday with 3 flights setup along 150 metres of the track, to get used to the longer hurdle running.  However, leading up to the event, preparation wasn’t ideal.  Thursday night’s track session was followed by a hard fire brigade session, which saw the team run 3 hose and ladder 5s in quick succession, some of them saw me getting up in among the best times I’ve ever run.  That was followed with a couple of hose and reel sixes, where I had to fill in as pole and assist.  Again, thee were good runs.  Today started a bit better, with a relatively light yoga session, which freed a few things up.  So by the time I got to the track, I was well and truly in “Day 2 mode”.

Anyway, warmed up for the hurdles and did a few practice runs over the first 2 flights to prepare.  And it was time to race.  My plan was to go around steady, with a view to finishing the race.  Time was secondary.  Started steady, but not too hard, as I knew I wasn’t going to use a lot of speed.  First couple of hurdles went well.  Had some issues getting my stride pattern right for the 3 hurdles along the back straight, where there was a stiff headwind at the time, but things improved into the bend.  Despite feeling some fatigue, the last few hurdles went smoothly, and I finished strong.  Time was 1:21.05, which I’m sure will be faster, next time I run the 400m hurdles.

As the 200 metres followed within 30 minutes, there was no need for further warmups.  Instead, recovery was needed.  I rested while waiting for the 200m to start.  Still felt a bit fatigued from the hurdles when the 200m started, but got out steady.  Found myself in another tight contest in the home straight, which I won, finishing strong in a time of 27.91.  With a -1.8m/S headwind and still recovering from the 400m hurdles, I was happy with that time.

My final event was the 100 metres.  I was probably a bit over cautious because of my recent hamstring strain, resulting in a slow start and less than optimal acceleration.  Once up to top speed, I opened up and finished the race well.  Time was 13.67 with practically no wind (-0.2).  Next time, I know I will be able to go all out. My hamstring showed no sign at all of trouble.

So overall, a good day, breaking some new ground with the long hurdles, and again good fitness showing through.  Looking forward to the country championships in 2 weeks time.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2RltThH

Starting the New Year with Strength.

Track season resumed today with a non shield meet.  I had originally entered the 100m hurdles, 100m sprint, long jump, javelin and 400m.  However, due to a minor hamstring strain, I decided to skip the hurdles as a precaution, and to better suit an online virtual decathlon challenge, I swapped the javelin for shot put.

First up, the 100 metres was the high risk event.  I knew I had to hold back a bit to avoid re injuring my hamstring.  I kept most of the race below 90%, but still managed 14.05 into a stiff 3m/S headwind.

Despite a slight reduction of speed in the long jump, improved take off power allowed me to exceed 4.10 metres on all 3 jumps, with the best jump being 4.27m.

Shot put followed soon after.  I haven’t had much luck with shot put this year, but today I was in excellent form, beating my old PB with my second put, then exceeding that in the third round to set a new PB of 6.99 metres - 60cm better than previous.

With no high jump offered, I did the GVR “high jump” hill climb event up a nearby hill to warm up for the 400 metres.

The 400 metres was my last event.  With success at recent training near PB times, I was confident of a good result.  Like the 100m, I had to limit my acceleration to around 90%.  Once up to cruising speed, I maintained speed for the first 200 metres, which left me in a good position.  Opened up on the second bend, with a good race for second place with my coach.  The close race pushed both of us to our limits for the entire home straight.  I won the race for the minor placing in my heat, and set a new PB of 1:01.64, beating the old one by 0.84 seconds.

Today was a very good day.  Other than my residual injury, I was in great form, much better than before Christmas.  The biggest change in that time is I started a highly sport (for sprints, and figured good for ladder climbing) weight based strength routine.  This seems to be working.

My next challenges are to attempt the 400m hurdles next week, with a view to competing in that event for points in the country championships in 3 weeks time.  Also, at the championships, my goal is to break the 60 second mark for 400 metres.

- Tony via Tumblr http://bit.ly/2SyC72F

My second long jump attempt on 15/12/2018.

My second long jump attempt on 15/12/2018.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2SL7h6s

My heat in the AV Shield 400 metres run 15/12/2018

My heat in the AV Shield 400 metres run 15/12/2018

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2PFNuUm

My heat of the 100 metres on December 15, 2018.

My heat of the 100 metres on December 15, 2018.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2UN0wmB

Non Shield Meet and Starting Strength Work.

Yesterday was a non Shield meet, using the same Program 1 events as last week, so I entered the same events - 200m, 100m and discus.  Conditions were warm with only a light headwind for most of the time, though the wind did get quite variable at times.

First event was the 200 metres.  Despite feeling as good as last week, the time was a slow 27.92.  Not quite sure why.  I finished quite strong, so fatigue doesn’t seem to be the issue.

In the 100 metres, I had a good run, only 0.07 seconds slower than last week, despite not having the huge tailwind of last week.  I was fairly happy with this result.

My discus form was all over the place this week, but one throw was still reasonable at around 18.5 metres.

Due to my dodgy proprioception, I need to constantly review my technique.  In the past, video has proven to be a very useful tool to get feedback, both directly, as well as with the informed opinion of a coach watching the video.  Hopefully I can organise some video recordings in the near future.

Today, I started work on the strength/power deficiencies I identified last week.  I’ve started a new gym routine to develop leg power, especially in the glutes, to help with both my ladder climbing and acceleration.  With 5 weeks to the next fire brigade competition and 7 weeks to the country championships, there is time for this work to have some impact for the latter half of the season.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2QFg2lj

A Weekend of SportHad a big sporting weekend the past couple of days, with an athletics meet on...

A Weekend of Sport

Had a big sporting weekend the past couple of days, with an athletics meet on Saturday and the first fire brigade competition for the season on Sunday.

Saturday was very warm, with a strong, gusty northerly wind, which was a tailwind for the sprints. I had entered 3 events - 200m, 100m and discus.

First was the 200 metres. Got a good start and bend. Finished well with a time of 27.43, my best so far for the season.

After an hour or more wait, it was time for the 100 metres. Despite the assistance of a 2.9 m/S wind, my time was only 13.50, which seemed a bit slow for the conditions.

The discus followed immediately after the 100m. Was in good form, with a best throw of 18.87m.

On Sunday, I arrived early at the fire brigade track, mainly to get a good parking spot. :). However, this time there was a combined senior/junior program, which meant a lot more waiting than normal. My first event was a couple of hours later.

First up was the ladder race. Got through the heat with an 8.55 second run. Was a bit slower in the final with a time of 8.74. like the 100 metres on the previous day, this seemed a bit slow. My starts were good, but the climb felt sluggish.

After a 4-5 hour wait for the marehalls, which I didn’t run in, then some junior events, it was time for the pumper 4s. Ran first branch and had a reasonable run. If I recall, we placed second.

Next was the hose and ladder 8s. This year so far, I’m the only member of the team capable of running ladder positions, so that was my role in this event. The run went smoothly, with a good run down the track, arriving in perfect time, just as the ladder was raised. The climb was again sluggish, but the hydrant man managed to time the water perfectly, with it arriving just as I reached the top. We finished second with a time in the high 25s.

Then it was back to the pumper and ladder event. Made it to the top in good time, but there was a delay with the water. Think we scored third place.

With the pumpers out of the way, the rest of the day was a busy sequence of reel events. The next one was the hose and reel 8s. I ran second assist, helping bring the second hose back to the hydrant. We came second with a 36 second time.

The sixes followed the 8s. As I was one of the 2 extras that made up the 8 in the previous event, I was now freed to catch the reel. This involves waiting on the track just past the target disc, and taking the reel off the last remaining pole as it comes through. Once I have it, it’s a case of controlling the speed to best benefit the overall run. I can’t recall the place we got in this event.

The next event was the champion 4s. I didn’t run in this event, but the team did score second place.

The last event was the Y8. We were the only team to run this event. The run went well until the last second, when I didn’t quite make it to the top ofvthe ladder before the water came. Had to wait for it to be turned off, before I could proceed to finish the run.

Anyway, we finished 3rd overall for the day, which wasn’t bad for the limited (by recent bad weather) training that we’ve had.

For me, the big take away was the lack of speed, especially the climbing of the ladder. I need to do some work on this. I’ve decided on a two pronged approach. First, some strength work in the gym to help with power, while working on technique.

Next week it’s back to athletics.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2Q6cFV3

Our 4x100m final at the State Relay Championships. Video...

Our 4x100m final at the State Relay Championships. Video courtesy AthsVic TV.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2AlvPvn

2018 Vic Relays: Men 50+ 4x400m Final

2018 Vic Relays: Men 50+ 4x400m Final:

Video of our 4x400m relay.  Courtesy AthsVic TV.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2zq1bS6

State Relays 2018 - Taking One for the Team

Yesterday was the annual State Track Relay Championships in Melbourne, which I have attended for the past couple of years.  In the lead up, I put my name down to run in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400m teams.  Being 50, I was now eligible to be in the M50+ teams.

However, in the middle of last week, I was contacted by the centre manager, asking if I could run in the 4 x 1500m relay as well, due to someone else not being available. 

Arrived at the track in Box Hill (a suburb of Melbourne, for those unfamiliar), in plenty of time for the 4 x 1500m, which was the first event.  Since returning from Western Australia a few weeks ago, I’ve been a bit run down, and also had a heavy cold, from which I had almost recovered.  Running the longer events has been difficult, and my performances at the local meet last week were lacklustre.

So in cool and showery conditions, I lined up at the start line as the first runner for the 4 x 1500m.  Got away well and settled into a steady pace.  Despite recent difficulties, I cruised through the first 1000 metres in just under 4 minutes, right on target.  Not long after that point, I hit the wall and had to push really hard to complete the last lap.  Finished my leg and handed over the baton 6:08 after I began, which was a good result, given recent performances.  I was completely spent and had to spend the next several minutes sitting under a shelter near where I finished.  Meanwhile, my teammates completed the relay, and we ended up 5th.  While 1500 metres is really not my distance, I am glad to have had the experience of running this relay.

My next event was around 5 hours later - the 4 x 400m relay.  Now we were getting into territory where a medal win was possible.  This time, I ran the second leg.  I took the baton in third place, but quickly gained second place while accelerating to cruising speed.  Knowing I had someone fairly close behind me, I kept the pressure on the whole way around, with a strong run around the track to the next baton change, where I handed the baton over in second place.  Our final two runners were able to keep us in second place between them, resulting in a silver medal for the team.  Later, we looked up the record books and discovered that we missed the Bendigo residential record (meaning the fastest time by a Bendigo based team running anywhere) by about 1 second.

Finally it was time for the 4 x 100m relay, where I could really open up and have fun.  We had a good team, and on paper, we were capable of breaking the residential record for this event.  Most importantly, 2 of us were among the top sprinters over 50 in our region, with the others being capable all rounders.

Again, I ran the second leg.  This time, we were already in the lead when I took the baton, early in the changeover zone.  Quickly accelerated to top speed, significantly extending our lead.  After around 125 metres, I handed the baton to our third runner in a smooth change.  The remainder of the team extended our lead further, with the 4th runner being the fastest of all 4 of us.  We easily won by around 6 seconds, and in addition, we broke the Bendigo residential record by around 1.5 seconds.

So, a very successful day at the state relays, and it looks like my performances are finally returning to normal.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2THwXT2

AP&ES Track and Field Competition Day 2Yesterday was a long day and I didn’t get around to...

AP&ES Track and Field Competition Day 2

Yesterday was a long day and I didn’t get around to posting the update, but here it is, finally!

The day was a busy one, with 5 individual events and 3 relays.

First up was the 110m hurdles. In a way, this was part familiar and part strange. Familiar in that the distance was 110 metres, same as I had run last summer twice. However, the oddities were firstly that the distance spec was wrong for me - I should now only run 100 metres with the hurdles closer together (one of the perks of getting old!). The other odd thing is the height was only 76 cm instead of 91cm, because they were Little Athletics hurdles.

Anyway, I started the race with my ugly but effective technique, but soon I found I could run a smooth 5 stride technique, and covered the rest of the race faster. Finished with silver with a time of 24.73.

Next up was triple jump. Got into a tight competition with another guy, but couldn’t quite beat his best jump. Silver with a 7.47m jump.

Towards the middle of the day came the event I wasn’t looking forward to, because it’s longer than my normal distances - the 800 metres. I made a last minute decision to enter it almost 3 weeks ago after studying past results and figuring that I actually had a chance in it.

Anyway, the race got under way, and a number of guys raced off ahead and then cut into lane 1 hard when we were permitted to, after the first bend. I started more cautiously, and slowly eased myself into lane 1, because that was the shortest distance to the finish, and it gave me time to select a place in the pack.

By the end of the first lap, I had passed a couple of runners, and took on a couple more over the next 200 metres. With 200m to go, I only had two in front of me, and I was feeling good. The heavy tactics of this race kept me mentally occupied, and I didn’t notice fatigue.

At 150n to go, I could see the guy in front of me starting to slow down, so I increased speed a little more, to get close to him on the bend. As soon as we got into the home straight, I took a step to the side and went for the sprint finish, leaving him behind, and now I was starting to feel in the front runner. Finished the heat second in a time around 2:54, but as the other guy was in a younger age group, I got the gold in mine. Second place in my age group was around 34 seconds behind me.

After the 800m, I had a bite to eat, then it was a long wait for discus. However, as we were about to start the discus, we were called to the 200m start, to run that event first. Ran the 200 into a stiff headwind on the bend, getting silver in a time of 29.43.

Meanwhile, back to the discus, I wasn’t able to reproduce the form of last week, and was only able to throw 15 metres, instead of 19. That left the throws the only discipline that I didn’t win a medal in.

The day finished with 3 relays. I teamed up with Police members from Western Australia and New South Wales to form a team.

In the 4x100m relay, we came in third of the over 160 (total age) teams for bronze. I ran a strong third leg here.

In the 4x200m, I again ran the third leg, which was the most technical, with the transition from set lanes to running in Lane 1. This time, we easily won the gold from a Northern Territory team.

The final relay was the Swedish relay, which has legs of 100m, 200m, 300m, and 400m. They were run in a different order - 100, 300, 200, 400m. I suggested rearranging the team order, to put a faster short sprinter (who won the 100m) in the first leg, and have the guy who would have been there run the 400m leg, because that was a stronger distance for him. If the two of us left, the other guy was a longer distance runner, so he got the 300m leg, leaving me with 200 metres to run.

This combination worked well, with the first two legs putting us in a good position. I ran a fairly fast 200m leg, before passing on to the last runner for his 400m. He ran a strong leg, and again, we got the gold.

After the final medal presentations (with a bit of light hearted fun), my tally was 4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze, 10 medals from 14 events. All in all, a very successful meet.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2AD4sOY

AP&ES Track and Field Competition Day 1Today was day 1 of competition at the Games. I had 6...

AP&ES Track and Field Competition Day 1

Today was day 1 of competition at the Games. I had 6 events that would take up the whole day, namely high jump, shot put, 400 metres, long jump, 100 metres and javelin.

Arrived at the track at 8:30 to check in and get my race number. With the initial check in out of the way, i had time to settle down and watch the 5000 metre events, which started at 9.

After a quick warmup, it was time for the high jump. As a precaution, I opted to wear my normal runners, rather than spikes to lessen the impact on my injured foot. I hoped that, combined with the softer grass surface would avoid aggravating my foot. As it turned out, this did work well.

Anyway, I elected to start jumping at 1.20 metres, which is my highest “safe” height. As expected, I cleared it first jump, same for 1.25m. at 1.30m, I missed clearing the bar by a mm or two, and narrowly missed equalling my PB. Still, this was enough for bronze.

Next was supposed to be shot put, but this was running behind time, and I ended up running the 400m first. After getting some blocks organised (I was the only one who chose to use them), I was ready. Started well, then settled back into cruising pace. By this time, I had already made up the stagger on half of my competition. In the back straight, the headwind forced me to make a minor speed adjustment, so I could go harder in the final bend and home straight. Finished first in a time of 1:06.80, 17.3 seconds in front of second place! With the tough windy conditions, I was happy with that time.

Back to the shot put, I threw 5.95 on the first throw and a bit shorter on my second, with a no throw third. This was a fair bit short of recent throws with the 6kg shot.

Long jump was next. I got in a 3.87m first jump, then put a good 4.10m jump for my second attempt, before going off to the 100m. I came back for a third jump but the sprint had changed my run up so much that the jump was a foul. Finished with the silver medal

In the 100m, we had a full field of 8. Again, I was the only one to use blocks. But this time, had a bad start, but still ran a season best time of 13.34, narrowly missing out on bronze.

Final event for the day was javelin, where I threw a season best 17.65. not yet sure of placings.

So far, a successful trip. Day 2 is set to be a busy one as well.

- Tony via Tumblr https://ift.tt/2Jnh2Ew