Donna MacFarlane

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Archive for October 28th, 2007

Oct
28

Keep this date free

Posted under Races and Results

The timetable is out.  Round 1 of the women’s steeplechase event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be held in the evening of Friday, August 15.  That is the first day of the athletics program.  The final of the steeplechase will be held two days later, in the evening of Sunday 17th August.  (The entire athletics schedule will be held from August 15-24).  There are no athletics events scheduled in the mornings in Beijing, with the exception of the walks and the marathons.  So far there are 49 ‘A’ qualifiers in the women’s steeplechase, of which I am the 9th. No doubt this number will swell significantly before the Games…I just hope that we will not be required to compete in a second round of competition to advance to the final.  While I have run under the qualifying time needed, I still need to win the Australian Championships in late February to be automatically selected to the team.  If I finish second or third I could still be named on the team, but the decision is then in the hands of the Australian selectors.  The Australian Championships, which double as the Olympic selection trials, will be held in the last weekend in February in Brisbane.

 Donna

Oct
28

Run, run, run

Posted under Races and Results

Training is going really well!  I’m building up my aerobic base and my strength at the moment to prepare for next year’s track season.  It took me a few weeks to get used to running the extra kilometres but I’ve coped well and I feel fit (also pretty tired and grumpy too at times!) I haven’t put on a pair of running spikes since my last race in Stuttgart but I’m in no hurry.  The best part about my current training routine is that I can explore new places to run, but on the downside, I’m usually running alone with just my ABC radio for company (I admit I actually do like listening to the ABC but my ipod has recently broken).  I’m starting week five of training now and my main aim is to stay healthy and injury free for as long as I can.

Donna