Mayers putting setback behind

Reigning Commonwealth 100 metres Female Champion, Vincentian Natasha Mayers, is using her setback in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Track and Field Seniors in Puerto Rico, last week, as a valuable lesson as to the way she goes about preparing for races.{{more}}

Mayers, after qualifying for the CAC 100 m finals, chose not to compete, for fear of ruining her immediate Track and Field future.

Mayer said that she arrived in Puerto Rico less than twenty-three hours prior to her heat, on Friday, July 15.

“I still had to wait six hours to be picked up at the airport, and after I was picked up, I rode three hours on the bus to the village,” Mayers explained to SEARCHLIGHT via email.

“It would have taken an extra day to unwind from the flight and bus ride,” she added.

Mayers said that even though she had loosened up before her heat, she was still tight in her right hamstring.

In her heat, Mayers clocked 11.78 seconds to place third, which put her into the finals as the eighth qualifier.

However, Mayers did not take the track when the race was called.

“After consulting the team for the trip (Michael Ollivierre and Alrick Wright), I knew I was tight, and they agreed that I should not risk injury by starting the finals. I was so tight that would have surely strained my hamstring,” the 32-year-old Mayers added.

“I know now to pay attention to my flight and run dates, as I need at least two days to adjust after a flight, 23 hours just does not work for me,” Mayers, who is based in California, USA, stated.

“I escaped the ordeal without getting hurt so, that is a good thing,” Mayers, who reached the semi-finals of the 100 m in the 2001 World Championships, held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, said.

Mayers said pulling out of the CAC finals saved her from potentially damaging the rest of her 2011 season.

Mayers has her eyes set on the bigger stage, the World Championships, set for Daegu, South Korea, next month, where she will also compete in the 100 m.

Looking ahead, Mayers revealed, “I have pumped my training up for the next three weeks to go to the World Championships”.

“I am feeling good about the rest of this season. I am going to run a meet every week here in California to really get ready,” Mayers ended. (RT)