Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Wow what a fantastic past couple of weeks!

Two weeks ago my British men's team, Shaftesbury Barnet, travelled up north to Manchester for our second competion in the Premier Division! The last time I was at this track was when I first broke the county and northern decathlon record for under 20! I have good memories here!
Manchester was surprisingly warm and even had sun!!! I lined up first with 400m hurdles, I worked hard and executed my race, was a solo effort but won and ran a new personal best of 50.04. Frustratingly close to dipping under the 50 second barrier! I was very happy with this performance but I knew that in under 90minutes later I would be lining up in the 400m flat, so a speedy lunch and some light warm up got me prepared. From lane one feeling a little tired I ran a good 250 and really turned the gas on and felt so strong down the home straight! I won this with another personal best of 46.89 ranking number one Under 23 in the UK ! Very happy with how well my body recovered and am now very exited heading into next weeks under23 trials!

I understand that it was the first time ever in the BAL Premier Division that the same person won both A string races (400 & 400mH). It earned me man of the match and a special mention in Athletics Weekly.

After training hard on the following Monday and Tuesday, the rest of the week was all about doing the bare minimum, stretching, warm up, Physio and getting myself physically and mentally ready for the up and coming weekend!

Going into the under 23 trials at Bedford, I was very excited but also there was a sense of the unknown going into the competition. I was ranked number 2 in GB for U23, but still very aware that realistically it was between 4 of us fighting for 3 spots!

My heat was on the Saturday and for those of you that know Bedford it tends to be a windy, and it didn't disappoint! The wind was probably the worst conditions I have had to race in. I was drawn with Niall Flannery in the first heat. My stride pattern, which has been so consistent and something my coach and I have worked very hard, suffered coming around the top bend which meant I had to cut my strides down to 15 instead of my usual 14 much earlier! I was second fastest qualifier leading into the final only being bettered by Niall! The experience made the difference.
Niall Flannery and me in the final, final hurdle

On Sunday morning I woke up really looking forward to the final, opening up and committing hard through the first 250m knowing that I had to be right in with Jack and Niall for me to have a chance! I imagined how my race would go and I executed it perfectly, having all my main competitions outside of me meant I could track them and make my move down the home straight, where I am very strong. This is exactly what happened. I crossed the line in first place, with a new personal best of 49.87!! The feeling was unbelievable! I knew I could do it and delivered!  It was amazing to be able to retain my title from last year and break the Sussex County 46 year old record.
You can view the race on http://www.vincosport.com/videos/3766-euro-trials-u23m-400mh-final/

Winning 100% guaranteed my place on the under 23 European team to Finland and my first senior international!

It was great to see how happy coach was, as we have both worked so hard this winter and to be able to deliver when it counted is fantastic!

Also was amazing to be able to give my dad a great fathers day present to remember again!
A huge thanks to my sponsors and my Physio Greg at Optimum Muscle Care, for getting my body fit and ready every week! Huge thank you to everyone who supports me and thank you for the kind messages on Facebook and Twitter!

Eventhough this weekend has been fantastic I still have a whole season left where I am looking at medaling at the Under 23 European Champs and running considerably quicker in my hurdles and flat 400s!! My next competition will be in France then Russia which will be a great experience Watch this space!