September 27th, 2011
by tamsyn
Hi all,
Well running on the European circuit again was nothing new except it was a little strange hearing my name being called out these days. Having married in May I have taken my husband, Grahams name of Manou. I have to tell you after 32 years as a proud Lewis it is weird hearing your name being called out differently. Now i have two names which announcers can struggle with. Tamsyn Manou (said like Ma-nu)! However as I again adapted to life on the circuit as an 800m runner I am quickly adapting to my new name.
Graham and I were married on May 14th in the Yarra Valley. We had an amazing weekend of fun starting with a session of clay target shooting under the tutelage of Olympic legends Russell and Lauryn Mark. Having been clay target shooting on a few occasions before with the Marks I knew it would be a fun activity to get the wedding weekend underway. Even thou it was pouring with rain the day at the Melbourne Gun club was a lot of fun. Trophies were handed out to the best and worst shot, with Graham and I receiving our own set of nerf guns!!
I began the Saturday with a half hour fartlek run! We were staying at Yering Gorge cottages which if you are going to the Yarra Valley you definitely have to stay here. The setting is so peaceful and as an athlete the run down to the front gate was a fun way to start the day. They even have a rare white kangaroo amongst all the kangaroos that said hello to me on my run that morning. Nothing compares to the Aussie land, in all my travels I still love our countryside and native animals the most! Once back from my run I met all my bridal party and we started to get ready. Well they did, I was distracted by making a play list for the BBQ the next day. Ah gotta love 80’s music!! At close to midday I was still downloading music covered in mud from my morning run when it was brought to my attention that I probably should shower and prepare for my wedding!
The whole day was so much fun. When it was time to get into Wandaa (the wedding car of course) with Mum and Dad the emotion of it all really hit me. I was doing ok until my Dad first saw me in my dress. I love my parents so much and driving with them to my wedding was a very special moment in my life. Oh and yes our wedding cars were Kombis. A blue and white one called Wandaa and a red and black one called Neville.
Graham and I had such an amazing time at our wedding. From the chapel where we said ‘I do’; to the reception where my great mate Jim Wilson was mc and my dad’s speech involved a toys ‘r’ us bag full of amusing presents for certain guests; to the after party where we danced and celebrated to the wee hours of sunday morning and finally the recovery BBQ on Sunday. We had the most wonderful day and weekend with all of our loved ones. And now I am happy to be Mrs Tamsyn Manou. I have posted a few photos below for you to enjoy.
Photos thanks to Tertius Pickard (best photographer in the business!!), New Idea and my lovely family/friends for the candid shots!
February 27th, 2011
by tamsyn
Still cant believe how fast time goes by. March is almost upon us which means for us Aussie athletes that the business season of our domestic calendar is well and truly creeping up on us. This Thursday, March 3rd, is one of the main events the Melbourne Track Classic. And this year Maurie Plant and Athletics Australia have done really well in bringing out a plethora of international stars to mix it with our domestic ones. The mens 1500 will be a great chance for our local star Jeff Riseley who looks to be in really good form if his finishing kick in Hobart is anything to go by, to renew his battle with Olympic Champion from Kenya Asebl Kiprop and the silver medallist from New Zealand Nick Willis. Throw in US mile record holder Alan Webb, Kiprop’s compatriot Gilbert Kipchoge and Aussie Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mark Fountain making his long awaited return this season from chronic injuries and this race is shaping to be a nail biter. The men’s 5000m sees Collis Birmingham and the returning Craig Mottram taking on Double World Champion from the US Bernard Lagat and his team mates including the world class Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky. Also look out for World 800m record holder from Kenya David Rudisha who is returning to Melbourne again this year to have a hit out over the one lap against our World Champ bronze medal relay boys John Steffenson, Ben Offerins and Sean Wroe. In the field the mens shot put is the one to look forward to with the big men looking to get well over 20 metres. Melbourne boy Dale Stevenson fresh from a pb of over 20m is looking to push the US giant Reese Hoffa who is sure to excite the crowd when he goes over 21 metres! World Champs Bronze medallist Mitchell Watt who took most of last year off thru injury has shown his versatility this season placing in the mens 100m in Brisbane and after jumping over 8 metres in his come back jump last week it would be foolish to guess what he is capable of however I tip he will leave 8 metres well behind again! In the womens events Discus World Champion Dani Samuels will be one to watch as will the womens 200m which sees Olympic medallist Sally Pearson taking on US stars Miki Barber and Monica Hargrove who willl all be looking to break 23 seconds if Melbourne winds are favourable. It is going to be a great night of athletics and is a chance for the public and athletes to say goodbye to Olympic Park before Track and Field is next year moved to Albert park. It is going to be sad to see the Olympic Park era end. There have been many amazing performances at this stadium and it will be a really emotional night saying goodbye after all the history that this stadium has held since its original use as a warm up area in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. I think most people of Melbourne have a favourite memory attached to Olympic Park wether it’s their own school athletics memory or like mine watching Catherine Freeman break 50 seconds for the first time in 1996.
On a personal note this season has started well. The Hunter Track meet in Newcastle is fast becoming one of my favourites as our Australian team marathoner Scott Westcott whom organises it does such a great job. After a tough year last season, my coach Justin and I made the difficult decision of staying home all winter to do the hard yards on the training track to get fit and strong again so I can tackle my goal of making a 4th Olympics and an individual final there. To start the season off against the girls with a 52.15 over 400m was very satisfying. Its nice to know that hard work does pay off. I am always grateful to everything my coach and training partners do for me and last winter was no exception. I did one session a week and still do with national 800m champion Katherine Katsanevakis and thru those sessions I gained the confidence to return to 800m last weekend in Hobart after a 2 and 1/2 year lay off. I really enjoyed being back out there again and am looking forward to competing on thursday night in the 800m against an up and coming Aussie field and Olympic Finalist Kenia Sinclair from Jamaica. In Hobart after such a long break from the event my coach gave me conservative tactics so I will be looking forward to hearing the race plan for Thursday and hoping to see improvements in time as I go along this season.
Hope to see you all there Thursday,
Tamsyn x
