Wednesday, June 30

Life Of P

In Desperate Need of Race Day
I haven't raced since June 12 in NYC and in track life that was a long time ago. So needless to say I can't wait for July 8 to get here already so I can line up. The next Diamond League stop will be in Lausanne, Switzerland.

All this training for me becomes mundane after two weeks. I love to train, but more than anything I like to take what we've been working on and test it out against the ladies.


"What's a Bogey?"
After a week in Atlanta I travelled to Toronto for a few charity events. Golf is kinda hot right now and I tried it out for the first time at the Joe Carter and Friends Charity Golf Tournament.











I had a blast. Not on the green though. After the ninth I had all I could take of the game. And relegated myself to golf cart chauffeur. A job I am much better equipped for, since I gave us whiplash and side swiped every other cart we passed. "Watch it!".

Golf is cool and Im going to try to get better at it, but Im all about power and speed and Im learning you don't have to muscle every shot. :( Which in that case, it sucks to be me.



It was a pleasure to be among so many elite athletes supporting a great cause. I got some really valuable life after elite sport big bro advice from Charles Barkley. And indeed a big thanks to Joe Carter for having me!

Friday, June 18

Feelin Hot Hot Hot

8am Workouts..."Come Again?!"
I have never in life worked out at 8am, so naturally I was opposed to this. When it was first proposed I screwed up my face. "Snarf". (Just so you know this was inside a climate controlled weight room on my first day back to ATL this week).

So intent was I on preserving my extra hours of sleep, I rolled up at the track the next day at 10:30am. No 8am start time for moi. Nope, can't go for that, nope can't go. Though I saw that many had. Hmm...what is going on here.

What (most) Canadians Want
Big mistake. Because your girl was feeling hot hot hot. "Don't you have island blood?", my training mates were beginning to question this internet rumour.

Indeed I do. In fact anybody from St. Lucia?!.

But I retorted that I am also Canadian to the core and as a result I really dig ice. Personally j'adore mukluks and will do anything for a Klondike. You see in my world frost bite will forever trump heat stroke.


Marietta Heat Warrants Action
Well needless to say the day after that guess who was the first one at the track?. And with a newly acquired blue cooler--on wheels, a huge Nike parasol, sport sunblock and a plastic misting fan from the dollar store.


It's over 90F with 100% humidity, not conditions to play with. See that blue cooler, yup its a wheelie and chalked full of liquid fuel. I rolled up to practice with it, I heard some giggles. But those same gigglers will soon be sipping hot tea in narrow plastic "mugs".

It turns out the heat is way less oppressive that early in the day, so now I'm all over it. I have changed my bedtime to make sure I get a full nights rest. I'm up by 6am to make sure I eat breakfast and still have time for my pre-workout routine.

It's definitely a tough adjustment and everyone who knows me knows I LOVE MY SLEEP!. But this change means the quality of training is higher and the risk from the heat is lessened.

12 Hurdle Triumph
One of the toughest technical training sessions for a 100m stick jumper is all out runs over twelve. We only have ten hurdles in competition so to add two more in training is not a workout for the faint of heart. It is also a very strategically placed workout that can't be attempted without the proper fitness and timing or else you'll have problems.

If you want me you can find me under my umbrella ella ella eh...(I had to). But watch yourself because anytime coach has reached in to hand me the video camera or a teamamte seeks refuge under my mini personal oasis, I've always almost cost them a retina. Wish I was joking.

So despite the heat today, I managed to tackle that taxing session for the first time this year. And when it was over my body felt like it had given birth to multiples. But no matter because I was so happy to have conquered the day!.

Take a peek....
P


Tuesday, June 15

Holy Jalapenos
I'm back in ATL and let me tell you it is HOT here, heat wave advisory kinda heat. I haven't been in town for five weeks so this was a brutal introduction. It took me three hours to warm up, do a few sled pulls, and starts over three hurdles. In less hellish conditions gimme 90 minutes and I'll knock it all out and be out.

But so oppressive was this heat at 10am that I had to find the one tree and park myself underneath it for minutes at a time after each pass. While doing my hurdle starts in the blocks, I'd have to totally abandon ship before I got commands because the track was burning my fingers. As much as I complain about York U, I really miss the dungeon right now.

Nationals Toronto 2010
Toronto is hosting Canadian National Championships again this year. I'm so excited as always because it gives my peeps the chance to see me run. And this will probably be the last time I get to compete at champs so close to home ever in my career. Since the next two years Calgary is hosting and then I believe New Brunswick will play host. And at some point I gotta have some chilrens.


Smaller Cheering Section
Last year was a big deal in that it was my season back after injury and my fam came and held me down. This year may be a bit less crazy since some of my family will be in St. Lucia during nationals. But I'm sure I'll hear my mothers frantic cheering from Gros-islet, the tiny village where she was raised. If you're in T.O July 28-31 do come out and support the event.

It's funny that people are already inquiring about getting their "Perdita Tees", since the blue and orange ones my peeps rocked last year was a hit. Not sure what the design is this year, but if you are coming out and want to show who you're cheering for, get at me.




Sunday, June 13

NYC: Whoop Whoop!

On this a festive occasion I've decided to fancy up the blog. Give it some life. You likey?. Of course you do. But if not, dunno what to tell you.

So you guessed it, the festive occasion is indeed my season's best! And not any SB but the second best time in the world this year. Check the credits, yo!.

Anyhoo, this is a distinction I haven't had the pleasure of dawning in some time. And of course I know it's hardly a global title or anything ginormous like that. And perhaps the girl with the fastest time in the world has a way way better blog layout than moi....But you know your girl: every small accomplishment is celebrated to the fullest. So new blogs for all!!


I'm happy about dipping into 12.5x territory this early in the season, that's officially some serious hauling tail. More than anything I'm happy with how I competed and managed to be in tune with parts of my race as it unfolded. I wasn't happy with my first half but managed to ignore my position and just work on executing the remaining hurdles as best I could. *It is easy in a hurdle race to panic, press or get into another lady's rhythm.
*hurdle nerd speak

I'm back in Atlanta and with no more around the world trips planned, I get to train solid for a few weeks. I'm craving getting back to the drawing board and getting some finesse back to my racing. My old coach Gdub always said to be pleased with progress but never satisfied.

Word.

Thanks for the texts, calls and wall posts everyone. And as always I'm so blessed to have the inner circle I do, who make me feel great regardless.

I posted some links below, caution while viewing my interview post race with Flotrack, as I'm clearly high on life.

Wow.

Smile,
P

**LINKS**
Peep race video here and the official results here.

Flotrack.org interview track side: Nothing but P

Tuesday, June 8

Enea Cup-Poland

On Sunday I raced in Bydgoszcz, Poland and it was my first time ever in the country. I always get excited about going to a new place. So far I've added two new countries to places I've been this season, Korea was the first.

I raced on Friday night in Oslo and travelled all day Saturday to Bydgoszcz, it wasn't the easiest town to get to. The race was the next day and I was happy to not feel too run down during warm up.


I came away with the win but when all the ladies saw the jumbotron results we were confused. The race felt a lot faster than what it was telling us.

But turns out the wind was a very strong -1.8m/s. So in that regard my 12.99 isn't too bad.




I'm looking forward to racing a tough field this weekend in NYC as the Diamond League comes to North America. And hoping to finally execute a race I can be technically happy about.

Till next time,
Perdita

Friday, June 4

Remember Me?!/Oslo

The 411
I haven't reported or kept up with the blog. Excuse me, had a lot going on for a while. So the blog wasn't priority one. But guess what?! It is now! (she smiles).

Got Excuses?
I finally sold my house (for dirt cheap, did I tell u?) and finally completely relocated to Atlanta. Huge stress reliever. In fact I hope the married couple who stole, I mean bought it from me are enjoying it. Tee hee*. Along with my lawn mower, hoses, automatic sprinklers, blinds, curtains. I'm sure I left one of my kidneys in the fridge for them. Realtor really wanted to"sweeten the deal" eh.

Anyhoo young couple please enjoy!. Courtesy of RCREB, or Really Cheap Real Estate Bargains by P!.

Further, I got over a slew of back to back colds, that reeked havoc on my early spring training. Want more excuses?. Because I have pity party specials for days...check the credits.

Oslo
Anyhoo about Oslo: Season's Best baby!!
Its funny how the small victories for me are the ones I celebrate hard now.
[See below pic]
Oslo podium, Lolo's absolutely brilliant idea to get the crowd to do the wave! The announcer helped us get the party started. "Wessst Siide!"...or North was it?.

Anyhoo years on tour will do that to you. Make you delirious over seemingly minor leaps of progress. Which in track life is actually a major one.

Oh did I mention I fell off the podium tonight? Yaaah. Not a good look. Think I was anxious after they said my name, and u know how excitable I get about stuff. Right. Well I totally missed the mark and teetered off the back.


But so what...

Because I ran 12.72! Booya. Hardly super super fast, and technically sloppy, but still progress and faster than I've run here in like ever. And my first time on the podium at this meet, and it being one of the oldest and most prestigious, that means a lot to moi.

Next goal for me is to drop in the the 12.6x range soon, and start being consistently faster than that in July and August.

It's 2am here and I travel early morning to Poland for a race on Sunday in Bydgoszcz, so I need to go to bed. Happy to share another step forward. :)

Please enjoy more Oslo pics and race video link below.

Be well,
P