Great Practice This Week on the Track!

I don't know if some of you know, but West Jessamine High School has allowed us to use their track for practice.  (Thanks, West Jessamine!)  Dad and I try to get out there once a week in addition to our once-a-week road time.  Riding on the track is different than being on the road.  It is more difficult because of the monotony of left turns!  There is no variation in terrain; thus, I have had to learn to pace myself.  I can't push up the hills and then ride down--it's all arms!  Also, staying in track lanes is hard when you are used to riding on the road.  It feels like I go from a 24-foot wide road to a two-inch wide track lane!

If you look at my calendar, you will see that I am planning to go to the Arizona Desert Challenge Games.  (They are in Minnesota--just kidding.)  At this track event, I plan to be nationally classified, which opens opportunities for me to compete in other events such as the National Junior Disability Championships (NJDC) in Madison, Wisconsin, in July!

When we first read the website, we thought that to register for the Desert Challenge Games you had to turn in a qualifying time.  I thought that in order to get an official time, I would have to compete in a high school track meet, which soon became complicated because I am home-schooled.  We tried to find a way for me to compete even if I was just racing by myself, but nothing seemed to be going right.  I asked the Lord why there was so much friction, but I did not get a clear answer. Shortly thereafter, Dad contacted someone out in Arizona.  It turned out that we had it all mixed up. If you make a qualifying time at this event you can qualify for other events.  It was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.  I did not have to make a qualifying time in such a short amount of time!

This week the Lord blessed me in a mighty way.  Dad timed me just to see how I was doing.  I pushed the 5,000m and the 1,500m, and I was able to keep a good pace and stay in my lane most of the time.  We were ecstatic when we saw the stopwatch.  I was within the standards for me to be able to go to NJDC!

I was featured in the National Wheelcats 360 newsletter for March.  Check out the link here: http://nebula.wsimg.com/5129da468322a78f1c908bc602628117?AccessKeyId=213057A2F4699C75ACE6&disposition=0&alloworigin=1The Wheelcats have been great.  In the races that I mentioned in my last blog post, the other wheelchair participants were all Wheelcats members.  They do more than the racing.  Please check out their site for more information about their sports opportunities.  (http://www.nationalwheelcats.org/360-newsletter.html)