It's going to be a big weekend.

**Grizzly** · 26th May 12, 01:17 AM

Yes good luck to all our Xmarks athletes . Have a great weekend and look forward to hearing about your trials, tribulations and successes in due course. Rip it up guys and gals.

**azwildcat96** · 26th May 12, 10:41 PM

Originally Posted by Alan H

I was thinking in the shower last night, that you were probably going to be throwing at Costa Mesa, but I did NOT know that your wife was going to give it a shot. That's **EXCELLENT**! Tear it up, both of you!

She tore it up today. 2 silvers, one gold, and 3rd overall.
My turn tomorrow...hope I don't get schooled again by the rest of the masters guys.

**GoodGirlGonePlaid** · 27th May 12, 10:49 PM

@Azwildcat- OMG, was C your wife?! She's awesome!!!! Gah, should have known by the bacon socks. Beth, Sonya (not there Sat) and I all have them too.

but yeah, great job to C! I hope you had a good day on Sunday! The weather was perfect. Oh, check this out: http://m.ocregister.com/video/v/1658153010001/video/

I came in 3rd in caber. That's my favorite event. Aaaaaand thats when my two girlfriends, my mom, our friend, and my daughter were by the field cheering. Im not gonna lie, "Go Mommy!!!" carries a lot of weight!

That's the only placement I'll admit to. It wasn't my best day;( I threw pretty crappy. It was a VERY tough week, leading up to the games. I've got to blame something, heehee
Good seeing Sydnie and Bob too!!!
Oh, PR in HWFD.

**GoodGirlGonePlaid** · 27th May 12, 10:51 PM

And I'm soooo curious to hear about kinetikat's debut!!!!!

**azwildcat96** · 28th May 12, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by GoodGirlGonePlaid

@Azwildcat- OMG, was C your wife?! She's awesome!!!! Gah, should have known by the bacon socks. Beth, Sonya (not there Sat) and I all have them too.

but yeah, great job to C! I hope you had a good day on Sunday! The weather was perfect. Oh, check this out: http://m.ocregister.com/video/v/1658153010001/video/

I came in 3rd in caber. That's my favorite event. Aaaaaand thats when my two girlfriends, my mom, our friend, and my daughter were by the field cheering. Im not gonna lie, "Go Mommy!!!" carries a lot of weight!

That's the only placement I'll admit to. It wasn't my best day;( I threw pretty crappy. It was a VERY tough week, leading up to the games. I've got to blame something, heehee
Good seeing Sydnie and Bob too!!!
Oh, PR in HWFD.

Yes, that was her in the bacon socks, and I was the guy wandering around with her taking pictures and video of her throws. After I wore my bacon socks to a few games, she wanted her own. I wore a pair in Long Beach when Beth and Sonya wore theirs too...I think we all got a lot of comments that day. My favorite response to the questions was "No my last name isn't bacon, yes I really do love bacon, but I'm only wearing these because I couldn't find a pair that said haggis."

She hit 4 PR's too (both stones, heavy hammer and sheaf)...I'm so proud of her!

I had a great day on Sunday, although I came in dead last in my class. Just an off day, and a bunch of really experienced Masters throwers. I'll be back to try again in San Diego!

**azwildcat96** · 28th May 12, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by GoodGirlGonePlaid

And I'm soooo curious to hear about kinetikat's debut!!!!!

Me too...Kinetikat, how did you do?

**azwildcat96** · 28th May 12, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by GoodGirlGonePlaid

Oh, check this out: http://m.ocregister.com/video/v/1658153010001/video/

Check this out too...http://www.ocregister.com/articles/s...ion.html?pic=2

You made the paper!

**planemaker** · 29th May 12, 02:51 AM

Good going everyone!

**Kinetikat** · 29th May 12, 10:23 AM

Well, my first Games weekend came and went... interesting times!

OK, pared to the bone, here's my first two Games scores:

I waived my claim to any prize monies, and they let me throw my own stones and weights.

I did WOB using my 14lb weight 'cos I hadn't trained at all for WOB and wanted to get a feel for it this weekend. Hoping to use the 28lb maybe later in the season.

I scratched for caber at both Games because they had nothing that I could remotely use - I started a try at Blair Atholl, with a caber that they assured me, at 16' long and 6" wide, was considerably lighter than the guys' one, and couldn't even get it off the ground. Bit of a bummer, but what can you do when they don't have the gear? Got a nice round of sympathy applause for that, though would prefer to have got a nice 14', 5" caber instead!

BLACKFORD

8lb shot put: 22'3"
16lb shot put: 15'1"
14lb WFD: 27'
16lb hammer: 32' (PR)
14lb WOB: 13' (PR)

BLAIR ATHOLL:

8lb shot put: 24'11" (PR)
14lb WFD: 30'4" (PR)
16lb hammer: 31' and a nasty bruise on my right wrist bone where the end of the handle clonked me as I wound up for my first go. Barely managed two winds, let alone three. The hammer handles are nothing like as whippy as my electric-conduit plastic one, it's about as responsive as trying to wind a flaming broom-handle. And the extra 2lbs of weight made more difference than I expected. I've grown to love my hammer practice, but hammer in these two Games was a horrible experience and knocked my confidence as well as my wrist!

Oh, for an 8lb hammer!
14lb WOB: 13'

Surprised myself by loving WOB, though admittedly I was throwing a much lighter weight. Jason Young was throwing at Blair
Atholl and offered to give me some coaching on several events when I see him at the Ardrossan Games.

It was all kind of different to how I expected - I think being there as a solo artiste with no family or friends apart from one child made a big difference. Quite a few of the guys had family AND friends dotted round the perimeter fence, and came and went every now and then to have a beer or a burger. I was pretty much stuck on the field all the live long day in the baking sun (specially at Atholl, where they seemed to have decided that Heavies are so hard they don't need shelter or shade in 30 degree humid heat), munching my bananas and having occasional very short conversations that ran along the lines of, "Who's that guy over there?" "Stuart Robb." or "Can I borrow some hammer tacky?" "It's John's... John, can she borrow some tacky? Here." The athletes were mostly polite, and also mostly ignored me as much as possible, though how much of that was because I was a woman, and how much was because I'm a noob, I have no idea. The Sinclair brothers were really nice (thanks for the WD40, Craig!), and even gave me a lift back down the field in Craig's car with my big bag of weights at Blair Atholl at the end of the afternoon.
I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle for acceptance in what's basically a big lad's sports club. I tried to be polite and open and listen to what everyone told me. When I spoke to John Robertson, the Heavies convener at Blair Atholl, to check if it was OK for me to compete, he said the guys had told him that I was fine at Blackford, that I didn't slow things up or get in the way. I guess that's as much of a ringing endorsement as I can hope for at this stage!

On a happier note, it was lovely to be hailed from the fence by Jock Scott and Arnot! Very, very nice to finally meet other X-Markers in the flesh and also to see some genuinely friendly faces.

Onwards!