When I came into this indoor season I wondered if the goal of running 6.70 was maybe going to be beyond me. I was only going to get a week of races which didn’t give me much of a chance to get the feel of competing before it was all over again in a flash. Therefore, I was very relieved by the runs in Tampere and I came into the Scottish Championships with very little pressure. I knew that if I went quicker it would be the icing on a very good week. After travelling back I did a bit of a warm-up the day before and felt decent going into it.
The Scottish Championships have 3 rounds so I used the heat as a bit of a warm-up run in 6.90. I won the semi in 6.76 and felt I might just have enough in the final to dip under 6.70. My training partner, Nick Smith, won the other semi in 6.72 and it was all set up for a good race. In the final I ran well and finished 2nd in 6.69.
Nick ran a real stormer and reinforced the kind of shape we all knew he was in from training. He broke his Scottish Native Record (fastest run by a Scot in Scotland) in 6.64 and was only one-hundredth of his personal best from 2004. It was a massive relief for him after going through a few lean years and adds to the confidence that the whole group is feeling. For me, I was delighted to have gone under 6.70 and time now to shut up shop on the short season and get back to some hard work again!
So it was onto Allan Scott last weekend. Allan had given us many thrills and spills over the last few weeks and we were all looking forward to seeing what he would do at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia. My coach, Stuart, went out with him as part of the British squad. He had quite a gruelling schedule with 3 rounds on one day and started well by winning his morning heat solidly. He continued his good form by winning his semi-final in 7.57 which was the joint-quickest time along with the World Record holder and Olympic Champion, Liu Xiang. At this point my nerves were close to shot! It is so much harder to watch from the sidelines than to be out there doing it yourself.
When you are the one in the spotlight at the big race at least you can control your own destiny, whereas when you are watching you are a little bit helpless! Well in the final Allan started well but hit a few hurdles and didn’t quite run his best race. He finished 6th in 7.65. 6th in the World Indoors was a great achievement but Allan was disappointed as his time from the semi would have won a medal. However, this indoors has been a good experience and gives him confidence as he looks towards trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
After the Scottish Indoors Stuart gave me a couple of days off before I went back to training. I spent a little while in Dublin before heading back to the guys in Scotland. It is often hard to get back into some longer training after a spell of training but after a couple of days I was back in touch with it. Since coming over here I have been training pretty well and have taken up at least where I left off. There is a nice bit of speed in my legs which is helping with some off the sessions. I did a nice session with Allan and Nick on Thursday and tomorrow I am doing something with Brian.
It will no doubt be some long stuff which Brian is quite strong at. His training is going well, as is Paul McKee’s who will be back in Scotland again soon for some more torture! I have also done a couple of days of testing in the gym to see if I have gained in my strength levels since leaving for South Africa in early January. We do some 3-rep tests on various exercises. Each one is up nicely so that is good and shows me that I have put some strength on.
I am here till next week before I go home again for awhile. It is all go and I have now planned my schedule right up to the middle of May. Things are going decent and time is flying by. We won’t feel it now till we head to Portugal at the end of next month and the season will start not long after at the beginning of June. I will decide over the next month or so where I will race early season and once that is decided I know that the races will not be far away!
Therefore, I was very relieved by the runs in Tampere and I came into the Scottish Championships with very little pressure. I knew that if I went quicker it would be the icing on a very good week. After travelling back I did a bit of a warm-up the day before and felt decent going into it.
The Scottish Championships have 3 rounds so I used the heat as a bit of a warm-up run in 6.90. I won the semi in 6.76 and felt I might just have enough in the final to dip under 6.70. My training partner, Nick Smith, won the other semi in 6.72 and it was all set up for a good race. In the final I ran well and finished 2nd in 6.69.
Nick ran a real stormer and reinforced the kind of shape we all knew he was in from training. He broke his Scottish Native Record (fastest run by a Scot in Scotland) in 6.64 and was only one-hundredth of his personal best from 2004. It was a massive relief for him after going through a few lean years and adds to the confidence that the whole group is feeling. For me, I was delighted to have gone under 6.70 and time now to shut up shop on the short season and get back to some hard work again!
So it was onto Allan Scott last weekend. Allan had given us many thrills and spills over the last few weeks and we were all looking forward to seeing what he would do at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia. My coach, Stuart, went out with him as part of the British squad. He had quite a gruelling schedule with 3 rounds on one day and started well by winning his morning heat solidly. He continued his good form by winning his semi-final in 7.57 which was the joint-quickest time along with the World Record holder and Olympic Champion, Liu Xiang. At this point my nerves were close to shot! It is so much harder to watch from the sidelines than to be out there doing it yourself.
When you are the one in the spotlight at the big race at least you can control your own destiny, whereas when you are watching you are a little bit helpless! Well in the final Allan started well but hit a few hurdles and didn’t quite run his best race. He finished 6th in 7.65. 6th in the World Indoors was a great achievement but Allan was disappointed as his time from the semi would have won a medal. However, this indoors has been a good experience and gives him confidence as he looks towards trying to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
After the Scottish Indoors Stuart gave me a couple of days off before I went back to training. I spent a little while in Dublin before heading back to the guys in Scotland. It is often hard to get back into some longer training after a spell of training but after a couple of days I was back in touch with it. Since coming over here I have been training pretty well and have taken up at least where I left off. There is a nice bit of speed in my legs which is helping with some off the sessions. I did a nice session with Allan and Nick on Thursday and tomorrow I am doing something with Brian.
It will no doubt be some long stuff which Brian is quite strong at. His training is going well, as is Paul McKee’s who will be back in Scotland again soon for some more torture! I have also done a couple of days of testing in the gym to see if I have gained in my strength levels since leaving for South Africa in early January. We do some 3-rep tests on various exercises. Each one is up nicely so that is good and shows me that I have put some strength on.
I am here till next week before I go home again for awhile. It is all go and I have now planned my schedule right up to the middle of May. Things are going decent and time is flying by. We won’t feel it now till we head to Portugal at the end of next month and the season will start not long after at the beginning of June. I will decide over the next month or so where I will race early season and once that is decided I know that the races will not be far away!
Hey Paul glad to hear its going well keep up the good work PL – Galway