Season in Review

So the domestic season has come to a close. 2011 was a better year than 2010, 09 and 08 so i can't complain... but i will. A little inconsistent and my better races or at least when I felt best came at the wrong time. 


Still going sub 9 for chase, getting within 1 second of my 1500 and 2 seconds of my 3k pbs is again ok but would have preferred to be breaking them. After all I am not getting any younger and the youngsters are starting to show me up!


My last race I reported on was the World trials in Birmingham. In the week after I felt extremely drained and had to take a couple of days off to recover. Maybe a virus, maybe just overcooking it was however not the best feeling!

In August I competed in the remaining British leagues and UK challenge final. The third league meet in Manchester saw me doubling up in the B events for the 3k Steeplechase (9:21) and the 3k flat (8:20), which was within 2 seconds of my PB. Not too bad considering the the hour recovery between the two races. Maximum points in both of these races which helped the City of Manchester record a victory in that particular meet, the endurance team (800 to 3k including chase) only dropped 4 points that day (3rd A in the 3k) which was a stark contrast to previous meets.

In the UK challenge final the following week I tried putting myself in a position to run a fast time. However going through the first 4 laps in 8:35 pace following Stokes, Gunn, Wilkinson et al. I suffered for the last few laps and my pace dropped and finished with a 9:15. Again extremely frustraiting! 

Over the bank holiday weekend was the final BAL in Newham, this time I was doubling up in both the Steeplechase and 5k, the killer double! Again I was able to win the B steeplechase in a controlled 9:14 ( which proved to myself that I could run a much quicker time in a evenly paced race), the 5k an hour later was a little more tough than the 3k two weeks previously. I felt comfortable through the first 3k however the last 2k including a sudden change of pace indicated the effort I had put in earlier took its toll. The time of 14:59 was not too bad considering, but next year i would hope to finally update my 5k PB! However again the team again won the meet and league overall which will mean a European trip next year to pitch ourselves against the best in Europe! 

One of the big things i am taking away from this track season is the fact that I have been able to compete the whole season without breaking down. Being able to stay healthy and fit will allow me to push on over the winter and as long as I am sensible, I should come out next year stronger again.

I am currently having a brief end of season break. However I will return to racing as early as the end of September in the Northern 6 stage road relays.

As odd as it is to say, Bring on the Winter!

Bailey

Stop weighing me down!

My last blog was in the middle of May, since then a lot has happened, but i'm going to keep it as short as possible! I have taken part in several races, made some major changes to my diet and started to finally feel like the athlete of old! So i'll list the races and the out comes from said races:

Trafford 3k 17th of May: Was taken through the first 4 laps in 65 pace (4:20) by Simon Horsfield with Matt Clowes also pushing things along. However after Simon dropped out the wheels fell off and I ended with a 8:28. ok considering first race but not happy with the fading.

Sports city 1500: Was hoping to go close to my PB in the first race but not to plan at all in this race. Bad start left me at the back of the field. Was chopping and weaving for the first 800 so no steady running and with 400 to go had nothing left. 3:55 not the result I wanted at all!

Cardiff BAL 3k SC: Windy cardiff meant a very tactical race. First k must have been about 3:10-20, then a slight pick up in pace. I took on the race with 900 to go and was tracked by Ben Ngay, kept on winding it up but then had bad few hurdles and water jump and Ben took me and went away. Finished with a 9:10 which was ok considering the slow start.

Watford BMC 3k SC: Hoping for a bit better result seeing that this race would be paced. Put myself at the back of the leading group and felt ok up until 2k and then the wheels fell off. Last lap was painful to run, and as I was told even more painful to watch. 9:14, not good.

After this event on the Monday John and I had a good talk about things that were different from times of old. We cam to two conclusions weight and core. Now I am not exactly overweight but my weight at the time was 10st 12lbs which was a good 5lbs heavier than what i was at my best. So we set a target of 10st 7lbs to reach before the end of the season. The other target was to spend a bit more time on the core to help with the hurdling and to sort my posture out a bit.

In the following weeks I changed my diet to remove any excess fats as well as reducing portion size. I managed to lose 3 lbs in the first 2 weeks and then gradually knocked off the remaining couple in the following 3 weeks. I also set about working on my core at least once ever 2 days with just simple workouts focusing on main areas.

Barnet BAL 3k SC: The next race was the BAL, I was feeling in good shape and was hoping for a fairly quick race and a sub 9 time. The first k was taken out in 2:56 by the cardiff runner and he led until 2k where the next k was 3:06. Glen Watts and I then pushed the pace with Glen nipping in front, the last lap was a 64 second burn up and, again, a bad last water jump cost me. However the time of 8:57 was encouraging and there was enough in the tank to think an even paced race would produce more!

I had to miss the Solihull BMC the week after due to a cold, I was planning on racing a 5k and to finally get rid of my 14:48 PB, not this time.

Trafford BMC 1500: A week before the trials I wanted a tune up, was originally placed in the E race but was able to get into the D after asking. Felt good from the start of this race, 1st lap 60, second lap 61, and I then moved into around 3rd place. 2:33 though 1k then a lad from Ireland took it on, I tracked him and over the next 200 we really wound up the pace and pulled away from the field. I tried to go with 120 to go but he kicked again so I tried to keep the form and finished with a 3:49. I feel there is a bit more to come in a slightly quicker race so we will see if I get the opportunity this year. Race is here (thanks to Athleticos)

So the trials are upon us, I have eased down nicely for this, hoping for a fairly quick race and sub 8:50 timing. Could be a fairly open race but we shall see!

I shall report back after!

Bailey