Sat 06 Jan 07, Shield Comp, Round 7

Another hot day today, it was 30 degrees before 9am, another warm windy day, lots of cloud, so a humid day to be had at Coburg. I'm not sure what the overnight temp was but at 10:45pm when I went to bed it was still 28.2 degrees according to the Weather Channel.

Today I had Connor & Declan in tow for a full day of aths, they are fairly self sufficient and they had a bag each with lunch, fruit, museli bars, frozen prima and water and some money for icy poles. Also my uncle who didn't race today due to a tweak in the hammie was bringing his son (9) to the track and then took the three boys to a park for 60-75 minutes. The boys are going home for a day tomorrow morning, so I can go for a long run and so they can see (annoy) their mum for the day.

Premier League was being held in conjunction with the Shield Comp, which did slow our program down a little as it created an extra race for each event but overall there was little inconvenience. Numbers were down a little today, our club and also others. I started my day in the 4th heat of the 1500, I started with the intent/hope of 5:05ish, taking into consideration the wind & heat/humidity. At the 300m I moved into first spot and sat there upto the 800, but after my first lap (78) I decided with today's conditions I would be better off slowing up a bit to allow me to race in other races, so I slowed, now aiming for 5:15. With 250 to go I was passed again and I crossed the line in 3rd in 5:14.

With a cool down & another jog for a warm up I could feel the humidity even more, but I decided I would run a conservate 800 and be the 4th Western A, (which means Div 4 for me :-) I was in the 2:30ish group, starting in lane 2, at the cross over I was in 5th in a 10 person race, with one lap to go I moved into 4th, but I was 10m or more away from the leading three, but with 250 to go I noticed I was gaining, so I kicked and with 150 to go I moved into first spot and held that and beat the winner of my 1500, so we joked we were 1 all. Another cool down jog which resulted in a loosening jog for the 200. By this stage I knew I was in the Div 4 relay (4x400) so I had decided no 3000m for me, so I would jog the 200 (30:09), which I did (finished 5th).

The relays are always a bit of fun, but very good for team harmony and especially today, the Men Div 2 won (we don't normally), the U18 won easily (120m or more) and the Div 4 team won by a long way too. Overall a good day, considering conditions, I wasn't aiming for PBs or even SBs, probably got too much soon but!