Nats

Well, cant say I was rapt with the effort. Although the course didnt look that tough, the hills really got to me.

In the end theres not much I can do about it. The last 5 weeks training has been up and down. I had 2 weeks off with an Achilles problem and then the last 3 weeks have been a struggle to find any rythym.

My times was 6 seconds off what I predicted before hand, yet my place wasnt even close. I guess you cant have your cake and eat it too.

Had some "discussions" with Aths Tas regarding the non existance of uniforms and the poor fitting of the ones that were available. Some interesting comments made by our Team Manager who said that "even the Olympic team have uniforms that dont fit". Is that not the biggest load of frogshit you have ever heard??

When our Team Manager discovered that I didnt have a uniform, he asked what I was planning to wear. When I replied "red Saucony singlet" his response was, "do you think thats appropriate?" I wont publish my response.

Aths Tas have some serious issues that need to be dealt with. Priorities are all wrong for a start. The refuse to pay the "All Schools Levy" which meant that any Tassie All Schools competitor was not eligible for a medal if they placed in the top 3. That being the case, why spend thousands of dollars running the "Tas All Schools Champs" when really its just a waste of time. All the Tassie kids running at Nats were really just there for the hell of it because if they had won (we had one top 3 place getter) they would have got no recognition for it!!! BIZARRE.

The best part is that AT made all the parents pay the All Schools Levy as part of their entry fee yet AT arent a member of the All Schools. So where does this money go????? Hmmmm..... one wonders.

Enough AT bashing for now, Im sure there will be more to come.

Count Down to Nats

A week to go until the mud flies!!!

The last few weeks I have been feeling pretty flat and havent really done a session that I have been happy with. I guess since the Launceston 10 when I started having Achilles problems, training hasnt been as solid as I would have liked. 2 weeks off with the Achilles and then the last 2 weeks of feeling tired and sluggish.

Still, the Nats are a week away and a lot can happen. Hopefully some improvement.

I emailed Aths Tas earlier this week about getting a State Uniform and I am yet to get any response. I requested that one be sent ASAP so that if it didnt fit I could send it back for a different size, but no love has come my way. I guess the Saucony kit might get a run after all.

I fly to Melbourne on Thursday afternoon and then on to Geelong on Friday morning. 3 of us all booked flights seperately for Thursday and all ended up on the same flight!!

My little man Jack turned 2 last weekend and we had a house full of kids with bellies full of sugar!!! Still, it was a good day and my little boy is growing up very quickly.

Dilemmas and Decisions

Got an email from Athletics Tasmania today regarding the National XC Champs. Their dilemma is that they have 7 guys available to run Nats and only need 6 to fill a team. No problem really as Kim Gillard wants to run as an "individual" competitor in order for someone younger to get a guernsey. Awesome, it means that I will get a run as a Tassie representative.

I have now represented Victoria and will soon represent Tasmania.

My dilemmas are as follows.

I wanted to enter as an individual competitor, hence the reason I did not nominate as being available for selection. The reason for this is simple. Saucony have been very good to me and I wanted to wear the Saucony kit at Nats. However, by accepting to run on the State team, I lose the right to wear anything Saucony except for shoes and socks.

What to do????

I guess I could compromise by getting the Tassie uniform and then getting a Saucony logo attached!!!!!! Sneaky but I cant see anywhere that says it cant be done.

My 2nd dilemma is this. My Achilles is now fully recovered thanks to an awesome Massage Therapist with "Magic Hands". After 90 minutes of intense pain (she found knots in the knots) I am pain free. So, to wear spikes or not to wear spikes??

Given that my spikes have a fairly large heal, which I have modified to make higher, I am leaning towards wearing them. I guess a final decision will be made upon seeing the course and the condition its in. After 8 or 9 races prior to ours it should be soft enough to warrant spikes. I definitely cant see it being rock hard so we will wait and see.