ASC CROSS COUNTRY

19th and 20th May 2010



Wednesday was a frosty Canberra morning, one of those days when the grass crunched under your feet, then the sun streamed down, its rays melting away the frost and warming the air to a beautiful, almost perfect Autumn's day.

Today I worked on my assignments for school, the exposition on 'Who Built Burgmann' and then answering the questions on the worksheet on the Great Pyramid. It is so much easier for me to use my computer and I think I am becoming quite a reasonable touch typist.

My bones are still extremely painful and it runs from my ankle right up my leg into my buttocks and spine and it makes me feel really uncomfortable and rather ill also. Both my scars have also been sore all the time even with a lovely warm beanie to cover my head. These things are minor though compared to what other people in our world are probably suffering from.

We went to the shops in the later part of the day when the sun was at its highest point and I proudly went to the bank and had another cheque made out to the Sydney Children's Hospital Brain Tumour Fund. We also went to some businesses and changed our address ready for our move next Friday.

In the afernoon I went to physiotherapy but it was not for me, it was an appointment for Nalani and Jarrett to loosen their muscles before they had to run in the ASC Cross Country Event. They do stretches every single night to help keep their muscles in good condition and to hopefully prevent injuries.

For some reason I was so exhausted at night time that I drifted off to sleep whilst watching MasterChef. I woke and I was in bed and I was in dreadful pain all down my right side again so Mum gave me some more panadol and a humungous, warm hug. I woke several more times during the night with more aches and pains, yet again this is something I have become accustomed to.

Canberra was covered in a sheet of white fog and in the foggy, thick morning of today I woke up with pain all down my leg on the right side as it was freezing cold. Today was the ASC Cross Country that Nalani and Jarrett were competing in at Weston Park. Fortunately the veil of thick fog lifted to a terrific day for running. When we arrived at Weston Park Nalani and Jarrett did a walk through of the course and both commented on how hilly the course was and that the finish was on an up hill rise. They would both be doing two laps of the two kilometre course so we would be able to see them come through for their second lap, the venue was not ideal for spectators which was disappointing. Jarrett's race was first and he had had discussions with his coach during the week and they had decided that as he had run the school cross country and the ACT Cross Country race at Lyneham he was going to cruise this race so that in eleven days when it is the ACT Schools Championships he would be at his best form. At the start line Jarrett looked really small in build to many of the other boys who looked more like men, but Dianne reminded us that good things come in small packages and I think that is true about Jarrett. The gun went off and Jarrett took off like a bolt of lightning and led the race with a boy called Riley from Radford. When they came in for the first two kilometres Jarrett and Riley were very close, Jarrett was cruising and he had a huge smile on his face like he was really enjoying himself, he was not even puffing a bit like when he goes for his long runs with the squad on a Sunday. We waited at the finish line for the race to finish and Riley came across first, out of breath and exhausted but he had run well. Jarrett came in second not puffing at all and looked like he had just been for a jog around the block and he was smiling, he felt good. Both the boys beat the third place person by an easy eight hundred metres. Poor Lachie who Jarrett enjoys running against and has always been in the ACT Team with injured himself and it was disappointing to see that happen to him, he is like Jarrett extremely dedicated to his running. Jarrett kept waiting for him to come in so that he could check to make sure he was alright, runners seem to have a bond and they really care about each other.

Then it was time for Nalani's race, she lined up at the start line looking very much the part and very determined. The gun went off and she had an excellent start although she said that there was some elbowing going on. She came around in the first two kilometres and was in the top twenty, that is where she needed to be if she wanted to go through to the ACT Schools Championships with Jarrett. We again waited anxiously at the finish line and Nalani had a huge finish even overtaking a girl up the hill at the finish to come 13th, she had made it into the ACT Schools Championships also. She is running so well and I am so proud of her. Now on 31st May we will be going to Stromlo to see both of them run in the ACT Schools Championships, at this race people are selected to be in the ACT Team for Nationals. Nalani and Jarrett both received a special ribbon from Mr Prowse for being competitors for Burgmann and then I received a wonderful surprise he also gave me a ribbon for being there supporting them. He also gave me a label and it said 'Dainere - Legend' he thinks I am pretty special for not giving up and trying to keep participating in my sport. There was a presentation and Jarrett received a beautiful red ribbon for coming second, the ribbons were given out by Lisa Corrigan the 1500m Olympian. As I watched Nalani and Jarrett I thought to myself that I would like to set a goal of perhaps being there alongside both of them next year.

My application for disability classification is moving ahead and in about three months time I should know whether I have that classification, they think I definitely qualify for a T32 or T33 this qualification will allow me to compete up to a State level at the present time, how exciting would that be. Of course now I just have to be able to stand, walk and run, even though I am unable to do this right now I am going to believe that anything is possible and I will run again.

In the afternoon I was totally exhausted it had been such a huge day and I just wanted to rest and I looked at my knee and ankle and they were both grossly swollen and all I had done was sit in my wheelchair to watch however to get to the start and finish lines we had to go over some bumpy ground so obviously it had stirred things up again, what a nuisance but you can't just stop doing things and wrap yourself in cotton wool.

Tass, 'my number one salesman' called to let us know that Canberra Weekly are going to contact us as they are interested in doing a story about me for the magazine. It is so wonderful that people are still wanting to share my story and through that we can let more people know about my book and how together we can be a strong force and raise that awareness and funds.

Tomorrow night we are going to the Athletics ACT Awards night, Jarrett has been nominated for an award, he really deserves to receive one because he is a dedicated runner, has achieved so much, is humble and always shows such good sportsmanship. I will let you know how he does, even if he does not win the award, he is my champion.