Turning 23: Two Steps Forward
There hasn't been a new blog post in a while (oops!), so this will be more like a quick season recap rather than just a weekend catch-up post. This kind of works perfectly since my indoor season is almost over. It always seems like track season takes so long to start, but once I start racing the weeks fly by and I'm left wondering where all that time went.
Track and Field: My Indoor Season So Far
My 60m dash this year has been pretty average. I've been canoodling in the 7.6~ range. I got pretty close to my PR (7.49) a few weeks ago at Harvard with a time of 7.53. Usually I'd be panicking by now, but this year I'm not too concerned about it. No new 60 PR means I'm most likely going to miss out on the World Indoor Championships this year, but that just means I can start my outdoor season preparation a little earlier.
I have been concerned about my 200 race. Back when I used to be a 400 runner, the 200 used to be my favorite race. I didn't run the 100 enough to really feel like I got anything out of it, and the 400 was always so painful it was impossible to really enjoy. The 200 was the perfect in-between - short enough not to feel pain, yet long enough for me to really get going (my end has always been stronger than my beginning).
This season I feel like I've re-connected with the 200. I run it pretty much every week, and every week it gets a little bit easier. I love feeling (and seeing) and seeing the improvements in my race, and I'm excited to see how that transfers to my outdoor races.
This year I've been working on the smaller details of my race: not tightening up, swinging my arms, relaxing my face. I feel like it's all culminating into a smoother, easier, and all-around faster run.
This past week I saw it all come together at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. I shaved about 0.2 seconds off my old time to get to my new PR of 24.19 (in the 200). I was in the same heat as my Ghanaian teammate, Flings, who was also staying with me for the weekend.
It was a great race. The meet had been running behind schedule earlier, so everyone had delayed their warm-ups. We didn't think they'd find a way to get caught up with some longer races before us, but somehow they found a way. I ended up not getting any real long strides in because of this, but luckily this didn't affect my race much.
I was really happy to have Flings in my heat, even though she should have been seeded faster. When I get a lower lane assignment in the 200, I feel like I push harder in order to break the stagger and pass those in the higher lanes. I think it especially helped knowing that Flings runs a fast 60, so if I wanted to be anywhere near her in the race I'd have to really get out.
I didn't get the 23 I've been chasing all season, but I'm happy about the progress I've made both in my time and in learning how to run my race. All in all, the PR was a highlight of my birthday weekend.
The Birthday Semi-Main Event: Deadpool
I originally planned on going to watch Deadpool alone on Saturday, but was thinking of just seeing it later because of the extreme sub-zero temperature. I've been excited for Deadpool's release since the first teaser was released, so I really debated if it was worth braving the weather or not. Coincidentally, my friends also planned to see it, so I decided not to be a loner (or a coward) and just join them. I have absolutely no regrets. It was AMAZING! I'm glad I was able to spend time with friends and be super entertained. This was definitely another major highlight number of my birthday weekend.
#Deadpool was everything I imagined it to be and more. Thanks to @DelGales @Eauxsi and @s_angelic for making my bday great! 😆
— Gemma Acheampong (@fearthefall) February 14, 2016
How was your Valentine's Day weekend? Get up to anything fun (like watching Deadpool)?
