This has been my first year moving away from home, under a new coach and in a whole new environment!
First of all I have hugely enjoyed my first year training in Bath, I truly feel I am now in the best, most professional environment.
It has been my first year under the watch full eyes of my coach James Hillier. We have both learn't huge amounts about each other on and off the track, and are both so excited for the 2015 season!
This year has been very mixed for me, after a fantastic 2013 season where I broke through into the GB senior team, I was looking forward to building on last year!
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| Commonwelth Games, Glasgow |
After chasing a few early races around Europe I ended up running 49.51 in Belgium my 3rd quickest time and fastest time outside of a championships, to secure my Commonwealth selection.
Back from running in Belguim, we went into training for a couple of weeks where I was banging out some of my best sessions on the track, my body was feeling great and I felt confident going into my next race in Geneva. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be. On the 13th of June which of course happens to be a Friday, on the way to the airport I was involved in a serious car crash which left me shaken and luckily not badly injured. After being taken to the hospital in an ambulance, I had my neck and wrist scanned. It was such a relief to hear that I had not sustained serious injuries apart from a few knocks and bumps, whip lash and a small broken bone in my hand. It really makes you reflect, take a step back and appreciate how lucky I was. It could have been much worse! That was the end of my car!
This accident came at a cost after having to back off from training for a week and slowly working my way back. It left me with 10 days to prepare for the British trials! This is a hugely important competition where the top 2 get automatic selection for the European Championships if they have the standard.
I felt ready to race, but after missing a couple of important races leading up to the trials, I felt slightly under par, especially for such an important and big competition.
In the heat, I felt tired and a little bit out of racing touch and disappointingly finished 2nd in my heat. This meant that in the final I was shafted into lane eight. Saturday night, the day before the final, I have never felt so low and disappointed, purely because I have never raced well in lane eight and found myself in the unknown. But you know what, this is track and field, things happen, and they don’t always go the way you planned. After having a chat with my parents and girlfriend, I relaxed thinking that the pressure was off, to go out there and enjoy the final. That is exactly what I did! From lane eight, I came 3rd in my first senior national championships! Even though I was disappointed not to be in the top 2, I proved to myself that from lane eight I can still race and perform. After the final, I felt a huge sense of excitement because I felt I was back! I spoke to my Agent, Dave and discussed my options race wise.
I had a couple of races lined up with good fields, but wasn’t finding any sort of break with the weather! Being a hurdler, with stride patterns, it is so hard to run quick on wind swept tracks, especially down the back straight! I am still learning how to compete in adverse conditions.
Even though I was putting a brave face on and trying not to let the conditions affect me, I was getting impatient and frustrated, especially when I was trying to run a good time for the Europeans. This does NOT work! I run my best when I am enjoying racing and feeling relaxed, not chasing times!
I was also getting frustrated because I just couldn’t seem to find my correct race rhythm. We had been working on a lot of technical stuff with my hurdling and this affected my timing between hurdles but I know in the long run it will all pay off!
I felt very excited going to Glasgow for my country in my first Commonwealth Games. Training had been good leading up to the games, working closely with Malcolm Arnold and his group away from the Commonwealth buzz!
I was settled and prepared for the games, the opening ceremony was incredible, the whole team atmosphere was electric! Everyone couldn’t wait to compete and perform for their country! I have so many great memories of the games, but my performance was not one of them!
Unfortunately they decided to get rid of the heats, which was disappointing especially as I get better round by round!
So all the sudden, there was this pressure to do well in the semi-final. Once again, there was a stiff head wind down the back straight on a cold Glaswegian morning. I basically got my race wrong, working too hard down the back straight into the wind and didn’t have my signature strong finish. Walking off the track I can’t even describe the disappointment.
This disappointment did not last long as I got the call from my coach 30 minutes after stepping off the track saying that I had the Europeans to prepare for! At that time I had such mixed emotions but was so thankful to be given a chance to redeem myself! I had a second chance to race and perform!
I didn’t end up staying to the end of the games, I felt it was important to get myself back into my training environment in Bath in preparation for the European Championships in Zurich.
It was great to get back, catch up with James and get myself prepared! We only had a week to get ready and focused on the Europeans. I had shaken off the disappointment of Glasgow and had some great sessions on the track. I finally felt relaxed and back to my normal self. I don’t know why but for some reason it just clicked! I felt the best I had done all year!Going to Zurich, I was so excited and so honoured putting on the Great Britain vest again!
In my heat I qualified for the semi-final with 49.87 coming 3rd, moving really really well. I felt so strong and had a huge smile on my face! I was so excited to get back on the track for my semi-final, I felt ready and knew what I had to do! The semi-final was a very strange day, we were delayed in the call room for an hour, which made it hard to stay focused and warm. This was due due to a storm hitting Zurich, and guess what - high winds!!
This didn’t affect the way I executed my race but due to my stride pattern on a super quick track, I felt on top of the hurdles, having to run a controlled first 200 meters, which left me slightly off the pace. I finished like a train, and came 4th in my semi running a seasons best of 49.47 which I was pleased with, but just wanted more. It is always disappointing when you know you could run quicker and just missing out on the final. I loved racing and felt back to where I wanted to be. I didn’t want to stop racing. I am in great shape and have finally found my race rhythm but unfortunately have just run out of season!
See the heat race on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOuedPaR9bA
I am looking forward to the 2015. I am stronger and faster since running in 2013. After having a few extra sessions with Malcolm in Zurich trying something new and going through it with James on my return, we have a long hard winter ahead preparing for a fantastic 2015 summer season!
It has been a real learning curve for me this year, and even though I had some of the lowest points of my career so far, I have always picked myself up, stayed positive and sometimes it has been very hard, I have never stopped believing! I still have got alot to learn and need to be patient. I will be back to my very very best next year! That's a promise!
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my career so far and this season, Huge thanks to my Coach James Hillier, and Malcolm Arnold for taking care of me in Glasgow and Zurich. My medical team around me have done a exceptional job keeping me in check. Greg Funnel at Optimum Muscle Care once again has been incredible this year, treating me when I’m home. My physios in Bath, Ben McDonald and James Davies, putting up with me everyday!
Huge thanks to my sponsors, Ian Wilson, Nike for keeping me looking fresh all year, British Athletics and the National Lottery!
But most of all, thank you so much to my family. Without you staying close and believing in me through everything, I honestly would have struggled more this year! I sometimes have been a nightmare and very hard to be around as Emma knows all to well! Thank you for putting up with me!
As my 2014 season comes to a close, I wish to thank all my supporters out there, and I promise 2015 will be fantastic!!
