Little Athletics State Championships

The past week has been pretty busy for me due to racing and school commitments and I’ve found it difficult to find time to write. Last weekend I competed in the Little Athletics Queensland (LAQ) State Championships, here in Cairns.  I was nominated to race in the 800m and 1500m and to be completely honest I had no motivation to race in either event.

I arrived at the track on a wet and miserable Saturday morning for my first event, the 1500m, and all I could think about was missing out on my bike ride that morning. I completely missed my warm up due to that fact that I was called to marshalling early, and then having to wait there, because my race was delayed by ten minutes. By the time I got to the start line I had convinced myself to give it my all and as the gun sounded that’s what I tried to do. The first kilometre was on track, running it in approximately 2minutes 52seconds, but after that as I slowly lost contact with the leaders, my determination perished and I began to run at a jogging place. I finished the race in fourth place in a time of 4:44 which is twenty-one seconds slower than my personal best. I labelled it a horrible race, but I can’t have asked for anymore because it was my own fault.

Sunday morning proved to be a little better…weather-wise because I was able to ride to the track to make sure that I got at least the slightest warm up. Today I was determined to prove to everyone that I was better than what I was the day before and I took the race somewhat more seriously. This unfortunately made me anxious and walked up to the start line feeling as though my heart rate was over my maximum of 204BPM. I knew that today I was capable of standing on the podium after the race and I wanted to show my coach Jill that that was what I could do. I ran the race hard from the gun and I was sitting in third place, just good enough for a bronze medal. I knew that this would make me proud. As I came into the last 150 metres I could not feel one part of my body due to the immense lactic acids build up. This slowed me down and I ended up finishing in fourth, again, except this I knew that it was a good race and it was something that I could be proud of.

Unfortunately I didn't receive the medal I so desperately wanted but I can’t complain. The first day was my own fault and I know that if I didn't give up, I could have been in with a shot and in the 800m, I know for sure that I couldn't have asked for anything more of myself. It was a half-successful championship and this slight disappointment makes me even more determined to succeed in my up and coming triathlon on the Gold Coast and the local cycling and running events.

Finishing off my 1500m