Well, that's another track season over with after my last competitive track event at Crystal Palace on Sunday August 15th in the UKA London Disability Athletics Challenge. I competed in the T54 100m and 200m and won a silver in both,quite a satisfying result after my cold of the previous week which hampered my training schedule. My coach, Ken Day has really helped me to improve my performance. He is excellent at motivating his athletes and brings out the best in them. I feel really confident that with a good winter season of hard training I can get even better next year as 2012 gets ever closer. Its been a good steady season and I've won two gold,two silver, and three bronze medals against the best racers in the world. A new racing chair is what I'd like for Christmas, then watch me go!
I rewarded myself with a weeks holiday in Ibiza with my son Timmy, and husband Norman. It was great to be able to relax in the hot sunshine and I was delighted to discover that the beaches had wooden walkways that led straight to the sea, allowing me to get out of my chair and straight into the beautifully warm,clear sea. It was lovely just wallowing there with not a care in the world(apart from Tim's water gun!) It was also really nice to not have to cook and eat a diet that I wouldn't normally eat, and in bigger portions! Don't worry, Ken will soon have any excess weight burnt right off! John Campbell will also make sure I sweat in the gym. I love it really, it's part of the buzz of being an elite athlete. However, it was nice to just spend a lazy week with my family in a beautiful location.
I really would love to do the Great North Run this year because my husband is from South Shields where the run ends and he always encourages me to enter. It just seems that ilness always seems to happen at the wrong time. If I can steer clear this year I'll try to do a late entry. We'll see. Watch this space.
Ann I am immensely proud of you girlfriend- Evelyn Nyarega Bourne
ReplyDeleteAnne I can sympathise with your situation more than you realise. My father contracted polio at the age of 6yrs. He was the most beautiful child and as with you they had no treatment for his illness. He ended up 85% disabled but would never let this get him down. He was unable to use calipers as they were just too heavy for him, so he slid on his bum for years, until he forced himself to walk on his legs. His walk was very difficult, but he was immensely proud that he was able to walk. Eventually he had to wear calipers (which constantly broke) as his knees bent backwards and the Drs warned him that he would fall badly and never be able to walk again if he did not wear the calipers. He was sports mad so played cricket, for example, sitting on the field rather than running around. His mother used to be terrified as to what he was going to get up to next as he was determined to do as many "normal" things as possible, while not being normal at all. He eventually became runner up in the South African Bowels championships, which was a tremendous achievement as they don't give any help to disabled people. He also had 2 beautiful children, myself being one, when he was as terrified as you were, that they could be born defective.
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of him and of people such as yourself who have such positive outlooks and will not allow yourselves to be broken by all the setbacks of life. Maybe it is a tribute to you both that as you describe yourself it was my father's "bloody mindedness" that got him through. Thank you for your wonderful, inspiring book, "In my dreams I dance." Terry Lowry