Leinster championships.

Today was the second day of the Leinster championships in Santry. Before you could go to the Leinster you had to win a medal in the West Leinster. I came second in the discus and fourth in the shot put in the West Leinster so I was only able to compete today in the discus. I wasn't too disappointed with that because it meant that I had more time to focus on getting ready for the discus and meant that I only had to fit in time to throw the discus rasher than the discus and the shot put.

I arrived at Santry early to see if I could get a chance to practice in the circle before the competition started but I didn’t so I was just waiting around for most of the morning. I watched the shot put that I would have been in if I had won a medal and it was no surprise when I seen the winners on the podium. I have competed against all three of them outside of school athletics at either county level or leinster level and they are amazing throwers and I knew when I saw them that even if I did get through they would have bet me without a doubt.

I was number 8 :)
Finally when the hammer throw for all the different age groups was over there was only one more competition before me so it was time to get ready. Once I had found Mr. L and got my number it was time to start warming up.

When I got up this morning I wasn’t too nervous but I have to say that I was more nervous than I had ever been about any competition that I have ever done for athletics and I have done a lot of competitions. So before the competition started when I was warming up and all of the other athletes for my age group started to come over I got more and more nervous and it didn’t help that I knew who I was throwing against and that I knew that they were really good. When I had looked in the programme that morning and seen the names of girls that have bet me before I got nervous but when I saw that they were there I got even more nervous.
The programme.



Finally when we could practice in the circle after there being a problem with the net I wasn’t feeling very confident at all when my spin wasn’t going right and that was without a discus in my hand. I had planned a strategy  before the competition so I was going to stick with that. Once the competition started and I got my first throw I did feel a bit better when I threw 23.37 meters a new PB (personal best) that was with a standing throw so I was very happy and felt more relaxed and not as nervous.

I was relaxed until everybody else started to throw and they were throwing up to 24 meters and one girls even threw 37 meters. I think that from that throw everybody knew who was going to win the competition. I continued with my two other throws with my second one being worst than my first with my spin. It was then when I had to think what was I going to do now a standing throw or the spin. With some guidance form Mr L I decided that I would go ahead and try the spin again and see if I could get the discus out there to still have a chance in the competition. But I had a sector foul and I have to say it was a pretty good throw but I released too late and it went outside the sector.

The top six in the competition went on to get another two throws but I wasn’t in the top six. I was disappointed I was hoping to come in the top six and I would have been delighted with that. But in the end three people had to miss out on the tops six and today I was one of those three. I wasn’t happy that I dint get another two throws but I was very pleased with myself that I got a new PB. When you get a new PB well for me anyway the place that you come doesn’t really matter and there is always next year anyway and I still have the Leinster outside to compete in so I have to put in a lot of training so I can get in the top six in them.

It was a good day and we found out that St. Wolstans won another trophy for the best overall minor girls school for the Leinster championships from Wednesday. A huge thanks has to be given to Mr L and Ms O’C for all of the time that they have put into helping everybody with training and getting ready for Santry. And thanks Mr L for giving me some advice today when I was competing.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A prisoner of my own mind

A while ago I wrote about a bump in the road that saw me take a step backwards…. That bump is still very much on the road and I am simply coasting along hoping the end is in sight somewhere. But when the end comes I have to ask, how long will it last for? How long will the good times last before we hit another bump? I don’t want this anymore, I no longer want the label I have attached to me, I don’t want borderline personality disorder. When I was first diagnosed I resisted my diagnoses, last year when I got unwell again and found myself re-entering the mental health services and engaging with the community mental health team I had to use every ounce of energy to truly accept my diagnosis and in many ways empower the label and allow it to help me understand myself. That label, which had a positive purpose no longer holds the same status, now it is simply something I do not want, something which has taken over my mind and body, it is something that I need gone, I need it to disappe...
Read more

An unexpected week

Last week I went back to work and to say I was scared would be an understatement! On Sunday night I prepared myself as much as I could for what I anticipated to be one of the worst weeks I would experience in work. I expected to be riddled with anxiety to the point where I wouldn’t be able to go to work- I was not. I expected to feel pure panic as I drove to work each day, bordering on a full-blown panic attack- I did not. I expected to cry, each day over something minor, something small, something that wouldn’t have mattered- I did not. I expected to obsess over everything; put more rituals in place to ensure everything was perfect-I did not. I expected to hide the fact that I had been in hospital for my mental health, I expected to allow the shame I was feeling to take control, I expected to shy away from my colleagues during the week, I expected to fight this battle on my own, but I did not. It was a hard week in many ways, it was the first week back, I was sc...
Read more

Day 14- Two weeks post-op

Image
It's hard to believe it has only been two weeks since my corrective double jaw surgery, it feels like it happened months ago! I was hoping that my two week update would be as positive as my first week update but I’m afraid its not. For about the past week I have been dealing with a lot of pain on my right side particularly at the site of surgery on my lower jaw. Having met with my surgeon last Friday he prescribed another course of antibiotics, as he was concerned there could be a slight infection due to the pain I have been experiencing, much to my dismay the pain in my right side is only worsening. It’s nothing I am very concerned about; I mean it’s only two weeks since the surgery so it is more than likely as a result of you now my jaw being broken! But nevertheless it is something, which I am monitoring and keeping a close eye on, should it continue to worsen over the next couple of days I phone call to the surgeon, might be in store. Swelling has improved a lot sinc...
Read more