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| Christa Bortignon B.C. dynamo |
Tuesday july 12th. woke at 6 , scurrying around the motel getting everything in order to get to the track by 7:30 Check in at 8:10 and race at 9:00...Oatmeal -check, Protein drink-check...Quick breakfast , shower, makeup for betty, and I am a nervous wreck...Betty didnt sleep last night, ran her race about 50 times before falling into a semi-slumber...Oh Boy the handwriting is on the wall...We arrive at Sac State in perfect time, check in -Betty runs into another friend-Christa from Canada, a 74 year old dynamo from British Columbia who is Canada's national record holder in the sprints and triple jump and who humbled her in the 200m at Hayward earlier this year...She would eventually rake in the medals at this Worlds. How i wonder does a 74 year old woman do the triple jump without fracturing every bone in her body? And she claims it is her favorite event. Exchanging pleasantries Christa tells Betty to not stress--in one ear out the other..After the first of probably 5 pottie breaks, ( we dont seem to be able to pass a toilet without betty wanting to visit it--sort of a pavlov dog type conditioning?-very bizarre) we make it out to the practice field and betty starts to do her thing with several hundred others who she is observing probably wondering if she looks like they do--athletes....Finally after spraying her foot 3 times with ethyl glycol ( numbing agent for her arthritic big toe ) and another pottie break we are at the clerks circle, with several others who are running in the 3 heats . I leave her with a good luck and have fun, neither of which registers I dont think...After hanging back for a few minutes I notice she is finally moving in and getting to know several of the ladies and I am thinking...that will put her at ease when she finally realizes they arent superwomen...or maybe they are? I hang around the clerks circle to take pics -none of which came out because the second camera I brought decided not to work for unknown reasons. Close to the start of the parade of athletes out to the start line, I notice Betty has gone MIA..I rush over to the tent, only to see her exit the pottie just as they are marching out--this would later be discussed as time management and self responsibility being so important so as not to rush oneself--not real sure that advice was appreciated. As a matter of fact I know for a fact it wasn't appreciated--really dirty look. I get near the fence leading to the start of the 200m when 10 minutes prior to the race, the three heats of ladies are marched out in order of their lanes, my video cam capturing all of the action--Betty waves, AH a good sign, not stressed maybe. I rush to the finish line stands to capture the entire race from about 10 rows up. With the start of the first heat there is a group of 4 ladies in Betty's heat who use the gun to start down the backstretch --betty is not among them, I had never suggested to use the starter on the heat prior to get your timing down. Now they are taking their practice start. After the one they are allotted, I see Betty getting into the set position, camera rolling and she explodes out of the blocks--best start I have ever seen her have, and then......she stops..Oh No..a false start, but wait, none of the other ladies are in the blocks? I am to later learn that she decided she needed another practice start, and after she did the starter came over and asked if she was ready, realizing that she had held everyone else up since they were standing behind the blocks ( unlike her) and she was psyched out completely...game over--finally they all get in the blocks the gun sounds and betty is passed by lane 2 within 10m..worst start ever..stood straight up..and 4 of the 6 are ahead of her stagger within 30m..starts to make up some time when she hits full stride and coming down the homestretch team minnow is not exactly breaking records....She makes up a bit and form is great, but not running fast. Times on the board 38 something..slowest time she has ever done, practices have been in the 35s, and those times in her big fat shoes...stress is not your friend. Dave Turnbull Summit Highs track coach always says a relaxed muscle is a fast muscle---later in the week Betty would understand this little ditty in its entirety. We meet after the race in the finish tent, and she is just glad to get it over with, said her feet were in quicksand. i encourage her saying it is the big stage and her stage freight and failure to perform is perfectly normal, that it will only get better with experience.. We would hang around the stadium for a bit watching the following younger age groups run the 200m until the last one -35 year olds finish- was fortunate to see Willie Gault the former NFL , tennessee and olympic track great run a incredible 200m relaxed and backing off with a 20m lead to qualify for finals,.finally after what seems like 8 hours we head back to the motel where both take naps..that evening we were invited out to dinner at a very fine Sacramento restaurant with our friends Fran and Nancy Borcalli and their grandson Dakota . Dakota and I hit it off right away especially since he had just visited the U of Oregon in anticipation of enrolling there after his senior year in high school--he was even more enthused when I mentioned that 'Animal House' the movie had been shot on location there--turns out it is his favorite movie and he was sold for sure...not certain if that is really a good barometer to choose a school of higher learning but it beats the way I did it....since we had no track the following day we could stay out a bit later, and we were given the tour of downtown Sacramento , where the capital building was, and where fran and nancy made their home when they aren't in Bend...a delightful evening and we turned in, full and tired...betty only had to run the 400m on friday evening and all the stress would be relieved..NOT!
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