How my day went at #NPD2013
I woke up at 8am to attend my first Parkrun 5km in Hackney Marshes which with the intermittent rain and mountains of mud plus potholes was certainly interesting! I didn't know what time I did but a lady that came in behind me said that she'd run a 35 minute so I was faster than that! So as I waited for the time to come through and started the celebration of #NPD2013 I was interested to see where I'd come and whether I was faster or still stuck my average timings! When I hit the Olympic Park I loved the tangible interest and excitement from all walks and wheels of life! So many stands offering info and helping with access requirements. As I started my initial meander down the paths I noticed the healthy food cartels (not a McDonalds in sight!) and the many sports plying for attention. On the far left of the event was the first stand that got my attention though! Recumbent bikes to try! As I waited and watched many other people try them out and see how they differed to a normal bike I could see the curiosity lighting up their faces. 'This', I thought myself 'is legacy'. When I jumped on the recumbent and started swinging my way around the course I could hear the moans coming from the otherwise able-bodied user trying his hand at handcycling! I don't think he's going to judge it as easy again - no matter how many hours he spends doing weights! I wanted to have gears though and really push through the hills. Instead I elongated my course to keep out of the way and felt proud that I was keeping up with the people using their legs! Once I had got off and found out where I could train fortnightly I headed off to see how the other sports were getting. Stopping by the wheelchair basketball court and loving the way people who are otherwise able bodied were struggling to move the chairs and use the balls! Bringing it home that being disabled isn't easy, it's just different. Continuing my journey I found the sports stands and started the self-assigned task of speaking to every single one of them. Collecting information for NUS and looking at what opportunities existed for me to take part in. My favourite was the swimming and the snow sport stands! Swimming are interested in whether I can classify and if I can then learning how to swim properly! It seems being able to swim all 4 strokes (with tweaking and coaching) is an asset that I wasn't aware I owned! Although as I only taught myself butterfly 12 days ago and am already setting off to swim two lengths per swim session minimum, I have the enthusiasm at least! Snow sport have told me that if I want to take part I'll need to do it before I sign for GB because otherwise it's unnecessary risk that could hurt my #RoadtoRio. Everyone has a hobby that they come back to later in life though right? After this I waited in line to get the autographs of the paralympic athletes and got to meet a few of the people that up to now have been tiny people on screen or names on my twitter feed! Then I went to the track area where Mel Nicholls was hanging out! After a period of watching the races unfold before me and the interest, and exclamations at the hardness, of wheelchair racing. I went over and sat in awe like a proper fangirl. I have her colour coded autograph and realised that the athletes really are human just like me! So following asking her for advice, it's always good to ask the best for the best advice right?, I went down to the chairs. It seemed that the guy that had approached me earlier was either getting bored or just didn't actually know much about them. However as the only wheelchair user hanging around I got queried and happily imparted the basics that have been drummed into me so far! Then got the chance to see how I fit into them and am quite proud to say I fitted the 12.5inch version! After all this excitement I went towards the Copper Box to watch the GB team take on Spain in Wheelchair Basketball. I was ecstatic when I got inside and realised it was the womens team!! So for two hours I cheered, I danced, I clapped and I relished the feeling of being surrounded by people equally as excited to be watching GB play in the Copper Box again! However my guilty thought of the day came as I was leaving because it was then I allowed myself to be selfish. So I sat soaking the atmosphere and thinking that one day I could be the person the crowds are cheering on to a great finish! Seen as my finish time for the 5km came through as 30:27s which means I will make waves in the future!