LS
Some of the very fierce critics of SFH that are on this list will no doudt
suggest her story is bogus in one way or another.
But if it is even remotely close to how she has experienced the last few
weeks, I think she should be congratulated on a very open and insightful
account of some crucial weeks in the life of a top leve athlete.
Regards,
Wilmar Kortleever
Louis LeBlanc schreef:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have to admit, I'm not exactly in the mood to write
> about my running over the past couple weeks. It's
> been very frustrating, but Louis, the webmaster
> of my website thought it would be a good idea to let
> those who care know what's going on these days.
>
> The 10 days or so before Worlds, training was
> wonderful. I felt absolutely great. I arrived in
> Edmonton in a good frame of mind and in super shape.
>
> What more could I ask. I woke up the morning of the
> first round, went for a short run, and felt a little
> sluggish and heavy, just as I felt earlier in
> Eugene. During the warm up for the race, again,
> pretty sluggish, and in the race itself, I felt lousy,
> I mean really bad. I had been spiked in the race
> right on my kneecap, and it was tightening up on me.
>
> I spent that night wondering whether I would be able
> to compete the next day as my knee was not able to
> bend very well, and wondering whether I should
> compete due to the way I felt. We all just decided to
> see how I felt the next day. The next morning, I
> could barely move my leg. It was really
> stiff. I saw the team doctor and received some
> treatment and pain reliever.
> By race time, it was feeling pretty good, and in my
> warm up, I felt less sluggish. I was ready to give it
> a shot. I think I was a little more nervous for this
> race just because of the events of the previous 24
> hours, but I wasn't out of control by any means. I
> was just a little unsure of myself. As the race
> progressed, I felt pretty good actually, and was just
> making a move to the front when someone fell around me
> and I almost went down. It knocked me off a few
> strides and I tried to catch back up, but
> realized that my legs had no turnover and I was
> tightening up. I knew this was not going to be good.
> I was asking for one of those crash and burn last
> laps and I did not want to go through another Sydney.
> I was panicking a bit and I thought the wise route was
> to pull up. My coach and manager thought
> based on how I looked at that point, it was the right
> thing to do.
>
> Louis has told me that I'm receiving some criticism by
> some about what I said after the race to the media,
> that I was saving myself for Zurich. I can
> promise you that in no way did I mean that the way
> some have interpreted it. I should have been more
> clear. I simply meant that I thought is was wise to
> avoid one of those crash and burn races like you saw
> me run in Sydney so that I could have a chance to be
> able to compete in a couple more races during the
> remainder of the season. Those last 400m were going
> to be a nightmare. That was something I did not want
> to go through again.
>
> A few days after Worlds, I experienced more bad news.
> I was practicing with Sarah Schwald, one of my
> training partners and experienced some problems. I
> had to stop in the middle of what was really a routine
> workout. I really don't remember any of it, but
> according to Sarah, I was delirious and looking
> terrible. I went to the doctor the next day and was
> diagnosed with what he thought was probably
> hypoglycemia. All concerned thought it was best I
> skip Zurich and see how things went in the upcoming
> days. I'm still uncertain whether I'm hypoglycemic or
> was just experiencing it's symptoms. Anyway,
> it's symptoms are the same as I was experiencing in
> Edmonton, and Eugene earlier this year as well as a
> couple of practices and races in past years.
> Maybe this discovery will help me in the future. I've
> been told I need to adjust my diet, concentrating on
> protein and smaller but more frequent meals,
> and avoiding sugars and carbos as much as I can.
>
> Yesterday, I left for Europe since my recent practices
> have been better. I don't feel incredible, but I feel
> pretty good. I plan on running in Brussels
> and the Goodwill Games and Grand Prix Final in
> Australia. I'm just going to take it one race at a
> time from here on out. Mark is not traveling with me
> on this trip, but We're meeting in LA on my return
> from Australia, then going on a vacation.
>
> Thanks to all for the support. I wish things could go
> a little easier sometimes.
>
> All my best!
> Suzy
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
> http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
