When we planned out our competition plan for this year, the Olympic preparation basically fell into two phases. In June I planned to do one 200m (Oslo) plus work on other aspects (hence the 100m in European Cup and 300m in Ostrava). July was going to be the time to get more specific. As I explained in my last post the early part of July was going to contain a lot of races and was going to make up a very important period as I prepare for the Olympics. The first of these races was the European Permit meet in Salamanca, Spain. Originally the 4x400m boys were meant to come to this meet as a last opportunity to qualify for Beijing. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled at the last minute and they could not come. This is tough for the guys as they really are capable of getting a qualifying place. The system conceived by IAAF/IOC is really against small countries like ours getting there in relays. Stuart was going to come with the relay so he still took the flight which was a bonus for me.
When I got to Salamanca I noticed I was entered in the 100m as well. After chatting to Stuart about it we decided to go ahead and double up again. This was partly because the gap between races was nice and short so that I could use the 100m as a warm-up. Another reason was because the 100m field was a good deal stronger than the 200m and was going to give me a real race to test where I was at.
First up was the 100m. I was drawn in lane 5 with Obikwelu the European Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist in lane 4 and the Spanish Champion Angel David Rodriguez in lane 6. Rodriguez got the most awesome start possible (I won’t say anymore in case I get in trouble!!) and was 2-3m clear of me at 30m. Obikwelu also got out ahead of me but I stuck with him the whole way as we reeled in the Spaniard. He held on though to win in 10.14, a new Spanish Record. Obikwelu was second in 10.15 and I was third in 10.23, ahead of Britain’s Christian Malcolm (10.28). Rodriguez, who they call “the bird”, naturally went nuts as did what small crowd had turned up. I was delighted with the way I ran and my time, which is the second fastest time I have ever run over 100m.
Next up was the 200m. There were some problems with the meet that caused everything to get delayed by a half hour. Then when I got to the start I was told that the two people in the lanes outside me (including the Spaniard) had pulled out but that I couldn’t change my lane at that late stage. That meant I was in lane 3 and all the other main protagonists were in lanes 6-8 with 5&6 empty. It was weird being so detached from the rest of the field but I think I handled it reasonably well. I came off the bend half a metre up on Christian Malcolm and ran away from the field, winning in 20.55 by 4 metres. It was a solid win as expected. My time was slightly down, mainly due to the very strong cross wind that had been blowing all day. The official wind reading was +0.8 but there was a big headwind on the bend which messes up your rhythm and blocks your momentum. It was a decent day at the office though and still an A standard which is a good guide always. Most importantly it sets me up nicely for Thessaloniki next week where I will have a much better field, including some guys who might be in that Olympic Final.
People who think that going away to track meets is glamorous only had look at our next day to realise that the opposite is often the case. Our flight was at 4:30pm from Madrid but the meet organisers decided they would ship everyone off at the same time and we left Salamanca at 7:30am with the prospect of a 3 hour but journey and a 6 hour wait at the airport ahead of us. Needless to say, it wasn’t very much fun! I am back in Scotand for a few days before I start my yearly trek to Northern Greece. It’s normally worth the effort though as conditions are usually good and the fields are solid. Olympic year will surely be no exception!
Originally the 4x400m boys were meant to come to this meet as a last opportunity to qualify for Beijing. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled at the last minute and they could not come. This is tough for the guys as they really are capable of getting a qualifying place. The system conceived by IAAF/IOC is really against small countries like ours getting there in relays. Stuart was going to come with the relay so he still took the flight which was a bonus for me.
When I got to Salamanca I noticed I was entered in the 100m as well. After chatting to Stuart about it we decided to go ahead and double up again. This was partly because the gap between races was nice and short so that I could use the 100m as a warm-up. Another reason was because the 100m field was a good deal stronger than the 200m and was going to give me a real race to test where I was at.
First up was the 100m. I was drawn in lane 5 with Obikwelu the European Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist in lane 4 and the Spanish Champion Angel David Rodriguez in lane 6. Rodriguez got the most awesome start possible (I won’t say anymore in case I get in trouble!!) and was 2-3m clear of me at 30m. Obikwelu also got out ahead of me but I stuck with him the whole way as we reeled in the Spaniard. He held on though to win in 10.14, a new Spanish Record. Obikwelu was second in 10.15 and I was third in 10.23, ahead of Britain’s Christian Malcolm (10.28). Rodriguez, who they call “the bird”, naturally went nuts as did what small crowd had turned up. I was delighted with the way I ran and my time, which is the second fastest time I have ever run over 100m.
Next up was the 200m. There were some problems with the meet that caused everything to get delayed by a half hour. Then when I got to the start I was told that the two people in the lanes outside me (including the Spaniard) had pulled out but that I couldn’t change my lane at that late stage. That meant I was in lane 3 and all the other main protagonists were in lanes 6-8 with 5&6 empty. It was weird being so detached from the rest of the field but I think I handled it reasonably well. I came off the bend half a metre up on Christian Malcolm and ran away from the field, winning in 20.55 by 4 metres. It was a solid win as expected. My time was slightly down, mainly due to the very strong cross wind that had been blowing all day. The official wind reading was +0.8 but there was a big headwind on the bend which messes up your rhythm and blocks your momentum. It was a decent day at the office though and still an A standard which is a good guide always. Most importantly it sets me up nicely for Thessaloniki next week where I will have a much better field, including some guys who might be in that Olympic Final.
People who think that going away to track meets is glamorous only had look at our next day to realise that the opposite is often the case. Our flight was at 4:30pm from Madrid but the meet organisers decided they would ship everyone off at the same time and we left Salamanca at 7:30am with the prospect of a 3 hour but journey and a 6 hour wait at the airport ahead of us. Needless to say, it wasn’t very much fun! I am back in Scotand for a few days before I start my yearly trek to Northern Greece. It’s normally worth the effort though as conditions are usually good and the fields are solid. Olympic year will surely be no exception!
Hi Paul,
I’m delighted you are going so well. Best of luck in the Olympics