July 21st update:
I just came home from provincial championships. I did the 110mh and 4x100 relay.
I mentioned last post that I ran a 15.68, an absolutely pedestrian time. I knew the next time I would run would be good; I was at the bottom and all I could do is bounce back. Most of the meets I did poorly did not have a solid schedule which led to a disharmonious warm up. I believe the last 2 meets were delayed by 2 hours (after my warm up). I knew the championship would maintain their schedule, and they did.
We were running at 9:30am. I woke up before 7am and headed down the residence center for a quick, light breakfast. I had 2 cups of orange juice and a cheese bagel. I got out to the track before 8 and just watched a teammate compete. It was morning and it was already 25+ degree Celsius! It was extremely, extremely hot! I waited until 8:15 to start my warm up. 2 slow jobs around the turf, the normal. I then did at least 10 minutes of static stretching. I was still a bit tight after the stretching but I knew as I got warmer, I would feel better. Then it was some dynamic mobility stuff; I took my time and did some sit ups, lunges in between. My core was very warm and I felt very fast. At this time, I was already much, much warmer than the last few times I raced. Then the coolest feeling of the preparation came.
I remember reading that Aries Merritt liked to listen to fast-paced music before he started hurdling. I do the same thing. I like listening to music that gets me ready to race. However during the warm up, I wasn’t motivated to run. I didn’t want motivation so I didn’t really care. But what was really cool, was how the “fast” music felt. After my basic warm up, the music sounded slower to me. The sound moved very very slow. The fast music is usually very fast to me, and I am ready to hurdle/sprint after listening to it. But right before a very important race of mine, the music came out slow. It was cool. I felt like my nervous system was very fine tuned, and it was more mature and prepared than I am normally.
I then did some mobility over hurdle work. After a few sets I went over to do jogging trail leg over the hurdle. It felt good; I could really feel the power of coming off the hurdle fast. At this point I knew I was ready for a fast time - a PB. It was 9:10-ish, I had to head over to the Athlete Control Center. I wonder if you have do this in other countries. Ange mentioned in this thread that it would be good doing sprints over the hurdle then spend 10 minutes calming the nervous before the race. I couldn’t do that, I had to wait inside the tent.
I was wearing my warm ups and a t-shirt. I pulled them down to my knee and started slapping my hamstrings. It was very stimulating. Coach said that my performances collapse during meets maybe because I have performance anxiety. He timed my touchdowns in practice, they were splits like these : 2.3 - 1.1 - 1.1 - 1.1 - 1.1 … I was consistent. Although they were moved in, this still indicated I was better than a 15.68. He told me to just treat the meet just like practice. I took the advice to heart. I usually think going into meets is like going into war - it’s all serious business. I did accept sometime during this weekend that it’s just a really fun time, and you get to race against others to bring out your best. There’s no competition except yourself. While we were in the tent, we were just joking around. We were talking about how hot it was, how our shoes could possibly melt. We laughed many times. Inside the tent there were at least 3 guys who had beaten me before, and they did not look as tense as I was before. “It’s all fun and games.” - Usain Bolt
We got called onto the track at 9:25. Their timing was excellent. I loved how they did not rush to get the meet over. I set my blocks like I did during practice. Then I did a start over the hurdle. The second hurdle was not knocked down and I did not want to stop suddenly so I went over the second one. The official gave me a yellow card because I jeopardized our safety and if I did it again, I would get disqualified. That would be really crappy if I got dq’ed for that lol. I did one more over 2 hurdles. My lead arm felt really smooth. I really liked that feeling. I felt better than I did during practice. I was more calm. I was happier.
The track got closed and we all stood behind our blocks. When they said on your marks, I looked over the barriers, visualizing the tunnel vision. I made sure the blocks weren’t too comfortable nor too uncomfortable. I waited for the set mark and got up. My hips were high to generate that going down the hill speed. Although I tried holding my breath until the first hurdle in practice, it didn’t go too well. I doubt I did it during the race. I heard the gun and went off. I couldn’t see anyone beside me. I remember during hurdle 5 I remember to keep my trail arm behind the hip. But that thought probably lasted for less than half a second. I did not think during this meet. It was a championship meet. I thought very hard during practices, during practice meets. I let go of my mind and gave my body complete control. It was moving much faster than I did before. I crossed the finish line without thinking another thing. It was a very smooth race. I was glad I finally got a time that reflected my potential.
The final was set at 1:30pm. I went back to my suite and showered. I took my time and even read a book. If I were me at any other time before the race, I would be listening to hardcore, battlefield music. But I decided to read a book (It was Ian Banks’ Wasp Factory). I left at 11:00, because I was hungry. I bought a slice of pizza, nothing heavy, at the concession. It was $4.50… 3 times as expensive than any other store. I was hungry at the time and I wasn’t going to sacrifice my performance for the weight of my wallet. I timed the warm up again and started with a lap of light jog again. It got stupid hot now (probably hot enough to melt my shoes now). It was definitely above 34 degree Celsius. These temperatures were insane. I took longer to do my warmup. I got tired very easily. I skipped the knee lift/static stretch drills I did before. I know I don’t have to do a full warm up again. I did the hurdle mobility stuff again. I was gased out very easily. Drank a lot of water. Then did some trail leg over hurdle run throughs again. I went into the tent, still had 20 minutes left. I dill some leg mobility inside… until I ripped the ‘caution’ tape. I sat down and made sure nobody was suspicious.
I slapped my legs again and I didn’t talk as much as I did before. I was in more of a preparation mode. They called us out again. I was in lane 5. I learned of my heat time of 14.45, second Q. First was 14.44. I honestly did not feel any pressure other than to run my potential. I did 2 sprints over the hurdle. I was breathing very hard after, we had 2 minutes before starting. I was like 'oh crap, screwed up the warm up" I took a few deep breaths and waited for the “Track is closed, please stand behind your blocks.” The next command was on your marks. I looked down the straight again. I was gonna be at the finish line is 14 seconds. I made sure my hips were high again and my shoulders were over my hand. They said get set really quick. “I was in my head thinking, why did they call it so fast.” Then I heard the sound and floored it. I wasn’t worried about the other people. I was first over the hurdle, and was first until somewhere around the 6th hurdle. I think my takeoff or touchdown went a little awkward and for a second I almost stopped running. But then in as little time as it took me to think that, I went 100% again. I could see the other runners near my eyes. I got the off the hurdle and dashed straight to the line. It was a clear win for #1, and 2, 3, 4 was hard to judge with the naked eye. I was happy though, it was an aggressive race. I’d be mad if they ran bad, but they didn’t. We congratulated each others. The youngest of the youth group won it in 14.2x. A very fast time. My time was 14.57. 2nd was 14.53, then 14.54. I missed the provincial team by 0.03. Looking at the photo finish, I realized I didn’t lean enough. Oh well, it was a great race!
I will be heading to youth nationals in my own provincial in 3 weeks. Hopefully I’ll record a even faster time! I want to race a 39" from now until then. It would make breaking the BCHS meet record much easier if I ran a 14.7 or lower this summer. I will continue to update and again, thanks for all the help from the people that contributed in this thread!
