Linz here I come

So its now Tuesday January 29th and I'm about to go pack for my next race.

Since arriving back from Orlando via Glasgow, I have managed to put in 1 1/2 practice sessions. Reason? Well for those who don't know I injured my left foot the second day I got down to Orlando in November. The medical set up in Orlando is not like what I'm used to. (Not much to write home about). More about that in another blog.

So I have been with the medical team here in London figuring out what to do. Its funny because the title of all of my email correspondence with the medical team has been 'My Left Foot and I don't mean the movie'



I saw them when I was back over Xmas but it has stayed pretty much the same. Today after treatment yesterday (that I won't go into)I was able to practice and test out the foot. Its funny because for the whole time I have been able to run, walking has been the problem. Yes I know very STRANGE.

So enough of that. I'm off to Linz in the morning to run my first 60m indoors this year.

I will keep you posted.

Jx

Glasgow January 26th 2008

"Everything depends upon execution; having just a vision is no solution."
– Stephen Sondheim





I think the quote above is the best way to describe my race yesterday.

I was back up in Glasgow for my first indoor meet of the season. The first race of a new season is always special. Practice up until this point has merely been a series of potential performance indicators. A race tells the complete story. I finished second which is not bad but not the position I wanted to finish.

My new coach Brooks Johnson was also in Glasgow along with one of my training partners David Oliver (winner of the 60m Hurdles). In our pre race discussion Brooks had given us cues for the race. A cue is a particular thing to focus on during the race. Yesterday I did not achieve the cue which resulted in my not winning the race. Pretty simple really when I say it out loud. (But something that definitely will be worked on in my next race)

Positives from the race

1. I owned my start which is something I have been working really hard on since I changed my lead leg in November. (Lead leg is the leg that you use to push off the blocks). Yesterday in competition it felt very natural.
2. I was strong coming off the top bend which enabled me to hold onto second place.

Negatives from the race

1. I did not achieve my cue.
2. My arms were flapping over the last 5m.


Result:
200 METRES Women OFFICIAL RESULTS



1 USA Shareese WOODS 23.76 0.251 SB 5

2 GBR Joice MADUAKA 24.04 0.256 SB 4

3 COM Aleen BAILEY JAM 24.16 0.208 SB 3

4 SWE Moa HJELMER 24.50 0.231 PB 2

5 GER Cathleen TSCHIRCH 24.60 0.268 SB 1

Overall my 4 points helped the GBR team in winnnig the match overall. We beat the USA by 1 point.

Overall standings:

1. Great Britain & Northern Ireland, 54 points

=2. United States of America, 53 points

=2. Germany, 53 points

4. Commonwealth select, 46 points

5. Sweden, 43 points

Operation get to Glasgow

The flight over was a night flight which was great because I slept all the way. We landed a little late into London Gatwick. I was some what panicked because I had another flight to catch to Glasgow from the other terminal. I managed to drag my bags across on the monorail, only to be told at check in that I was only allowed to check one bag and that there would be a charge for my second bag. (No surprise there really)

I arrive in Glasgow and only one of my bags has travel with me. Good old British Airways had left my bag at Gatwick. (Yes the bag that they made me pay the fee on) One word springs to mind REFUND. I had my spikes in my back pack which after all is the most important thing I nee. So I remained calm as I went through the process of filling out forms with the staff at Glasgow airport. (This behaviour surprised the other athletes that were in the airport with me. I think they expected me to kick up a fuss). I was told my bag would arrive some 5 hours later.

My main focus for the next 72 hours was to get back into GMT as soon as possible. My plan was to stay up as late as possible so as not to suffer from jet lag. How many movies will I watch between now and 11 PM? (Oh movies in my bag which I don’t have scrap that). The hotel has the usual first meet of the season feel about it. The staff of WGT (The travel company that works all the UK meets) were doing their usual. Brown envelope with useful info inside i.e. the meal time schedule. Bus schedule for athletes going to the track for practice and useful contact phone numbers of the meet staff etc. Oh and most importantly meal tickets. I was starving airplane and airport food is not good for the staple diet of an athlete.

My room mate for this meet was Jackie Edwards (long jumper from the Bahamas). It will be great to see her as the last time was at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart last September. Even though we talk most days by Skype, email and telephone it was good to hang out.

Homeward bound

A large part of this year will be centerd around travel. Travel to Orlando, from Orlando. Travel to track meets. Travel to the next track meet. I think you get my drift? I try to be the most patient person I can be during these times. I set the whole day aside be it a 10 hour flight or a short hop to France on the Eurostar. After all how much control do I really have? I leave everything to the God's of the travel world and trust me they can be so mean when their ready.

And so I start the journey home to race in Glasgow this weekend. On paper the plan seems simple enough with me leaving Orlando travelling to London and picking up a connecting flight to Glasgow. Hmmmmmm, what could possibly test my patience? Well let’s see. Luggage allowance maybe? I’m going from an international flight to a domestic, using two different airlines 64KG limit to 20KG. I will keep you posted.


I had a great training session at practice last night. It was a great indicator of what I should expect in Glasgow this weekend. To top it off, I ended up in the ice bath. Not one of my favourite things but oh so necessary.



In this picture with me is my training partner Lauren McNary

WWW. What Ever Next ?

Technology has come a long way. Last night I watched the USA v The World track meet online via a streaming feed from the USA Track and Fields website. Yeah I said USA v the World, even though it was 4 people per event.




I was able to have a running commentary with my good friend Jackie Edwards in California using Skype and my training partner, James Beckford, in his apartment in Orlando using AIM. All this was happening while I was surfing the net answering emails and filling out a form. Yep, Joice can multi task.

Now Jackie, James and I have watched many track meets before but this method of streaming was a first for me. The running conversation all the way through with each other made the experience all the better. Because the commentary for the actually meet was in a word interesting!

It makes me appreciate the wonders of the World Wide Web and all the facets I have yet to discover.

Oh, and Jackie taking time out during the 2-mile race was so lame. She used the excuse that she was cooking.


I think the next event is Boston on 26th Jan

Pillars of strength

Noun 1. pillar of strength - a person who can be relied on to give a great deal of support and comfort



I don’t know how many you’re supposed to have. But, I have three very important people in my life who give me strength, encouragement and are always up for a good laugh.

They have all come into my life at different times. The thing that is common about each is that they have never left. With them there is no shame or reason to lie about what is going on in the land of Joice and the number one thing is that they are ALWAYS there for me, no matter what time of the day. (I say this being in Orlando. I have pushed the boundaries with phone calls and emails at ungodly hours.)
I will never reveal the names of these people. They know who they are and people close to me might guess. But here’s a little info? about each person

My Heart
This is my name for the first person. She is my heart. Without her I don’t know what I would do. She guides me daily and, in some ways, raised me. I don’t seek her approval but I do know that I never do anything without getting her opinion first.
She is such the opposite of me and that is why I think this relationship works. I’m the fire cracker of the friendship. She is the sensible side of my brain. But, every now and then I get her to do things so out of character. From changing her hairstyle that she has had like forever, to buying something that she clearly does not need but it would be so great to have.

She’s such a peaceful soul that has been through a lot and with this in mind I love her even more. She ALWAYS has time for me.

Mr No Sleep
This is my name for the second person. He, as my nickname for him states, never sleeps. This is great for me because he’s always on call. We talk about everything on a daily basis. We feed off each other’s humour. I’m sure if I was not around he would get so much more work done. But as of yet he has not complained.

Don’t get me wrong, humour is not the only thing that binds us. He has a wealth of advice. But most of all, I have noticed over the past couple of years he has told me it’s ok to make the decisions I have made. He has talked me down when I have been at breaking points. But most of all, he has humoured me taking me for 4-hour walks in Osaka shopping for clothes that were never going to fit me. (I’m a little bigger than your average Japanese girl). He recognises that Joice sometimes just needs to escape.

Ms Calm
This young lady I have never seen loose her temper or act out. Drama follows most of my friends but not this person. Because of this I love her dearly. She lives on the other side of the world when I’m in London. Now I’m in Orlando there is still a time difference that we have to negotiate.

I have never in my life seen her loose it but there was one time when she did. By coincidence she broke down in tears thinking she was stranded without my contact details in Twickenham or was it Teddington? (I don’t remember. Begins with a T). Unbeknown to her the stranger that came to her rescue (and I do mean stranger) was my cousin. Don’t ask!!!!

Introduction

First of all, I would like to welcome you and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

For those who don't know me I'm a Professional Athlete from London, England. The Beijing Olympics will be my 3rd Olympic Games. I have had the great honour of representing Great Britain at both Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. The only thing is I felt like a tourist both times. The games went on around me I did not feel like I was taking part. That is why in August 2007 I approached coach Brooks Johnson in the warm up area at the World Championship (Osaka) asking him to coach me. What’s so good about that you might ask? Well let me tell you. Brooks is based in Orlando, Florida and Joice lived in London, England.

Big step and you’re crazy were a few of the comments made when I told friends and family that I was packing up, quitting my job and moving to Orlando to be coached by Brooks. Why Brooks? Because he is a straight talking, knowledgeable guy in the world of track and field. He also did not hesitate in answering me that evening in Osaka. “Yes Joice, I will coach you. Be in Orlando first week of October or as soon after.”

So here I am in Orlando going to Disney World of Sport daily for practice. It’s a far cry from cold nights a Crystal Palace after work.

So with that brief introduction and letting you all know just what I have given up to achieve this dream and not be a tourist for the 3rd time round. Once again I welcome you.