Putt Putt: Brussels 2010

Well hellooo! 

There is so much to talk about on this beautiful day, a bella hardly knows where to start. Ever have a morning where your happy feelings wake you up?. It's a beautiful and totatlly inconvenient occurance, because I love REM that much (who are we kidding?). Anyhoo, I really hope you have.

Ok the first thing my subconscious was buzzing about was last nights race. Third place in 12.68. Nothing spectacular, we know my standards. But something happened in the race I haven’t felt one single time all year. For the first time it felt like I was going to bite the dust!!. AKA scrape the skin off my chin post hurdle five.

I didn’t. This is a good thing.

But basically it’s a sensation that a hurdler lives for. There is only so much room between each hurdle, so when a hurdler breaks into a faster rhythm it often feels like the hurdle comes up before she is ready for it.

Your eyes see it coming but with the increased speed there is only so much time for your body to react to the impending barrier. You pray your training and tenacity have prepared you to make it in time, even though it feels like you won’t.

All skilled hurdlers live in this realm. And being able to embrace this sensation, expect it, create it; well it's what the good ones do best. But it’s hard to get there, though when you do, you can thrive there for a while.

Side note: If you don’t hurdle I can only explain one way for you to get this sensation. Go to the top of the steepest hill in your neighbourhood and sprint down it as fast as u can. DO NOT stop until it bottoms out. A few things to remember: you are not allowed to coast or slow down for comfort. In fact as fast as you are going, you have to force yourself to accelerate and go even faster.

*Please somebody do this and let me know how it goes. JK please don’t.!*

So anyhoo back to me--I felt this!. Now it didn’t last that long, but I felt this!! Ok I just said that. But can you sense my excitement?!!.

I then went to hit another gear, because you NEVER get comfortable with the one you’re in. (Stick jumping 101-check the credits, yo). Well instead of reacting like the 2011 Porsche 911 we all I know I am inside. I was more akin to my mom’s first car a 1989 ford escort, which the whole family called “Putt-Putt”.

Yeaah. Not my smoothest transition.

I got a bit sloppy but rallied to get my race back on track, without hitting the deck. I haven’t felt my top gear all season and I wasn’t sure it would rear is beautiful ferocious head with two races to go. It has. It was just a quickie resurfacing, but it’s there. And that’s all  this stick jumper needed to know.


Big up to the last woman standing, Priscilla for clinching the overall Diamond League title.

Grateful for the little things,

Perdita