Sydney

I have never been happier with a 58-meter day.

Last night in Sydney, I threw 58.48m to win my second competition of the (early) season. Five out of my six throws went 57-58 meters, and I should have fouled my sixth one that flew sideways for 55m. I had more intensity, confidence, fun, and connection than I have in a competition for a whole year.

This week, I worked on getting my left foot down quickly and holding my upper body closed and strong, while leaving my right arm back as far as possible. In watching practice video from recently and competition video from years past in the days leading up to the competition, I suddenly realized that I’d been basically walking down the runway for a long, long time, and that I needed to pick up the pace and be tough for once! Remember how I mentioned that I’d been pain-free last weekend in Perth? I used the confidence I gained from that experience to actually put energy into my block leg; I carried speed down the runway last night, stuck my left leg out strong, and wasn’t worried about collapsing under the ache in my left hip! I can’t tell you how liberated I feel!

While I’m not satisfied with the distances I threw here in Australia (I don’t think it’s acceptable for me to throw less than 61 meters in competition), I am extremely happy to have learned a few things and to have put the past season behind me a little bit more than I already had through successful practices. I felt like there was a little bit of strength and power missing from my throws last night, and I’m looking forward to working on the same technical cues I did this week when I get home. It’s nice to have a little gauge of how training is going in the form of competition distances!

This has been a fun experiment.

I’m heading home to San Diego today! I can’t wait to see my friends and my apartment; it will be nice to be home after the longest Sunday ever!