January 2009
Well what a month I am currently packing my bags as I must go to Moscow!
Moscow should be rather exciting as I have never been there and it is said to be -20`C so I better remember those Thermals!
The month started of really good for me as I had a lush curry on new year’s eve and allowed myself a couple of pints! Coming from the North East you get strange looks if you order any other alcoholic drink. I have been brought up to enjoy a nice pint and that is my only real vice, and as it was new year, I thought I would allow myself a treat!
As always new years day is like any other day - I go training! I regard myself as being very fortunate to do what I do because I really love my sport of Athletics and have a great passion towards it. There is such a good intrinsic feeling when you push your body to the boundaries and manage to achieve your goals (although I never exceed them as I set them so high!).
On the 4th of January I entered the 60m sprint at Lee Valley. Being a Long Jumper I need to be fast on the runway so in my training I do lots of sprinting. As a result I tend to do a few sprint competitions every year. My best 100m is 10.6 and 200m is 21.5. These times are competitive within the domestic leagues but if I was to compete on the European commercial circuit I would get smoked!
The competition was due to start at 2:00pm but I did not run till 4:00pm as there were 160 entrants in the senior men alone! Although I heard people complaining I thought it was great to see so many people participating in the sport it certainly shows athletics is alive and kicking in North London.
I was nervous when the starter called us to our marks but I was just telling my self to keep focused and get out fast. High end athletics is won and lost in the brain and if you lapse concentration for a millisecond you lose! I managed to react really well and get out fast, which for a guy who is 6`6 and built like a tooth pick is surprising and crossed the line in second place in 6.84 a new pb. I was proper chuffed I know I will never beat the likes of Dwain Chambers but to run a pb showed I was in good shape and as I said, I love the feeling of pushing my body to the limits and beyond.
I flew to South Africa on the 10th January, where I was staying in Potchefstroom for 2 weeks warm weather training. Its great being able to get away from the stresses of every day life and focus on my athletics. The temperature was above 30`c every day which really suits the power athletes like myself. When its cold your muscles cant move as fast so it inhibits your performance.
I was staying in a apartment away from the rest of the British athletes as I could not make the dates that they had set, therefore my group stayed else where in cheaper accommodation as we paid for it ourselves. In hindsight, it turned out better this way as I did not realise that my new coach Frank was Jamie Oliver in disguise and cooked some great meals every night!
Unfortunately when I got to South Africa my feet swelled up and i got bruises on the back of my Achillies from my feet rubbing, as a result of this I had to stay in my trainers for most of the training sessions and was not able to sprint flat out in my spikes with my training partner Greg Rutherford that was frustrating to say the least! However I managed to find an upside and really got down to business with my long jump technique, I found that despite wearing trainers I could do the biomechanics and learnt a few tips from my new coach Frank, I now have to put them into practice!
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