https://www.paulhession.co/blogs.html Well I didn’t set the world on fire in my first couple of races of the season but I guess that was part of the plan for this year. Last year I ran 20.46 in late June/early July but failed to get any quicker. This was too early to peak and meant that Barcelona was a disappointment. I didn’t want that happening again so I was adamant that this year I would try my best to peak later at the championships
This, for me, is the 2nd of September in Daegu. That is the latest a championships has ever been for me in my career. Therefore, I went into Rome and Rabat just to test the waters and see where I’m at. My training was still totally geared for later in the year. Of course, time will tell if our approach this year has been the right one, but it’s looking good so far.
Anyway, like I explained in my last blog I took the lane in the Rome Diamond League as a last minute plan but wasn’t expecting too much. This is a great meet at the Olympic Stadium and this year they had their best crowd in a while – 47,000. Most of them were there to watch the big head-to-head duel between Bolt and Powell. They didn’t fail to impress with Bolt pipping Powell in a tight race. My own race was really rusty. I got snagged with the outside lane. This is a lane that I normally like and have run some great races from in the past. However, for a first race I don’t think it helped me as I wasn’t in the racing groove and lost a lot of ground on the bend. I got the shock of my life as the field swept past me after about 70m! I didn’t panic and made some inroads on the home straight to finish 8th in 21.06. This is obviously a slow time for me and I was disappointed at first. However, looking at the big picture, I had to trust our plan. It’s a long way to the Worlds!
After Rome I came back to Scotland and got a few sessions in. I did my first proper speed work out of the blocks and it was good to get some feedback from Stuart. It was a week-long trip and at the end of it I felt I would be able to knock a bit of time off in my next race. For this race I had decided to take up the offer of a lane in the IAAF Challenge race in Rabat, Morocco. This was another pretty decent field (I wasn’t making it easy for myself!) and I just had a feeling that they were going to land me in the outside lane again. And, true to form, they did! The race was almost a carbon copy of Rome in the end. I got eaten up on the bend and then came through strong enough. Initially, I felt that I hadn’t run any better than Rome and I was a bit annoyed. However, when I eventually got the result I had run 20.87 in 7th. This was a nice improvement in a week, especially as I didn’t feel that great, and meant that I was still on track looking towards August/September. The meet itself was great and the organisers managed to get over 30,000 attendance, so there was a big atmosphere. It was too loud if anything, and I had to look behind me to make sure I had heard the starter saying ‘on your marks’! It was a bit of a journey so I went a couple of days before the race. That was fine because the meet hotel was one of the best I’ve ever stayed at and the food was right up my street!
I’m back now in Scotland and this week I’ve been a busy beaver with my studies (hence the delay on this blog!). I had a project due and was behind, as ever, on writing it up. I managed to get it submitted last night and so now I’m free for the summer! To be honest it’s a good feeling to have gotten rid of it, and now I can focus 100% on my athletics for the summer. Did some blocks with Nick and Craig on Wednesday and worked on my bends yesterday. These are the bits that I’ve been rusty on in the first two races so this work should help a lot. Next up for me is the European Team Championships in Turkey on the 18th/19th June. This will be a real test as I have many of Europe’s fastest sprinters this season in my race, including the European Number 1, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway. Looking for another small step in the right direction. Bring it on!
This, for me, is the 2nd of September in Daegu. That is the latest a championships has ever been for me in my career. Therefore, I went into Rome and Rabat just to test the waters and see where I’m at. My training was still totally geared for later in the year. Of course, time will tell if our approach this year has been the right one, but it’s looking good so far.
Anyway, like I explained in my last blog I took the lane in the Rome Diamond League as a last minute plan but wasn’t expecting too much. This is a great meet at the Olympic Stadium and this year they had their best crowd in a while – 47,000. Most of them were there to watch the big head-to-head duel between Bolt and Powell. They didn’t fail to impress with Bolt pipping Powell in a tight race. My own race was really rusty. I got snagged with the outside lane. This is a lane that I normally like and have run some great races from in the past. However, for a first race I don’t think it helped me as I wasn’t in the racing groove and lost a lot of ground on the bend. I got the shock of my life as the field swept past me after about 70m! I didn’t panic and made some inroads on the home straight to finish 8th in 21.06. This is obviously a slow time for me and I was disappointed at first. However, looking at the big picture, I had to trust our plan. It’s a long way to the Worlds!
After Rome I came back to Scotland and got a few sessions in. I did my first proper speed work out of the blocks and it was good to get some feedback from Stuart. It was a week-long trip and at the end of it I felt I would be able to knock a bit of time off in my next race. For this race I had decided to take up the offer of a lane in the IAAF Challenge race in Rabat, Morocco. This was another pretty decent field (I wasn’t making it easy for myself!) and I just had a feeling that they were going to land me in the outside lane again. And, true to form, they did! The race was almost a carbon copy of Rome in the end. I got eaten up on the bend and then came through strong enough. Initially, I felt that I hadn’t run any better than Rome and I was a bit annoyed. However, when I eventually got the result I had run 20.87 in 7th. This was a nice improvement in a week, especially as I didn’t feel that great, and meant that I was still on track looking towards August/September. The meet itself was great and the organisers managed to get over 30,000 attendance, so there was a big atmosphere. It was too loud if anything, and I had to look behind me to make sure I had heard the starter saying ‘on your marks’! It was a bit of a journey so I went a couple of days before the race. That was fine because the meet hotel was one of the best I’ve ever stayed at and the food was right up my street!
I’m back now in Scotland and this week I’ve been a busy beaver with my studies (hence the delay on this blog!). I had a project due and was behind, as ever, on writing it up. I managed to get it submitted last night and so now I’m free for the summer! To be honest it’s a good feeling to have gotten rid of it, and now I can focus 100% on my athletics for the summer. Did some blocks with Nick and Craig on Wednesday and worked on my bends yesterday. These are the bits that I’ve been rusty on in the first two races so this work should help a lot. Next up for me is the European Team Championships in Turkey on the 18th/19th June. This will be a real test as I have many of Europe’s fastest sprinters this season in my race, including the European Number 1, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway. Looking for another small step in the right direction. Bring it on!
