Hello, I’m back. If this is your first time reading one of my blogs, thank you for taking a look. I have not posted since the triathlon season finished as I have mainly been training which is not so interesting to read about. Anyway, I have 3 blogs lined up for the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for some exciting updates. This one is going to be focused on my recent competitions and my training as I know that’s what you all love hearing about… As most of you will know, at the end of the 2017 triathlon season I had planned to focus on improving my running before I officially start winter training. I also targeted the Aztec West Fast 5k series at the end of November where I was planning on going sub 16. Sadly this didn’t happen for two main reasons. Firstly, I picked up a nasty injury in my knee, which I tried to push through and even increased the time spent foam rolling and stretching but to no avail. Every time I returned to running, the pain kicked in within about 5 minutes. So I decided to visit *Sarah Fellows who fixed me and I was back running at 100% within 4 weeks. The second reason I couldn’t race is because the event series got cancelled due to ‘legal issues’. Now, I’m no lawyer but I struggle to find an issue with a few hundred people running (very fast) in a circle! Regardless I was back on form but without a race, what was I to do? …. Parkrun of course. *Sarah is a physiotherapist at Dyer St Chiropractic Clinic in Cirencester. She has helped me huge amounts with my running in terms of form, efficiency and reduced chance of injury and she is always the first person I go to for information. If you are currently injured or want to understand more about how to run with a technique that’s suited to you, I would definitely recommend visiting Sarah. You won’t regret it! Saturday the 16th December. It was a calm frosty morning and boy did I feel fresh. I hadn’t had any races for a while so was ready to go for it not to mention it was 100th Parkrun event and my 50th at Chippenham. After doing a long and vigorous warmup, I got to the start line and none other than Daniel Giles was there. This was perfect (Dan can run sub 17 comfortably and would give me something to chase) – However I had told everyone I wanted to win as it was my 100th! The race set off fast and we were on the perfect pace. It was going very well until the 4km point where I can see Dan pulling up just in front of me, I accelerate alongside and he claims to have a stitch (I don’t believe him) but I was still on pace so I push on with him very close behind spurring me on. We reach the final 200m which happened to be rather icy and slippery but I manage to put in a final burst of speed and cross the line in 16:57. I am now one of just five people to have ever run sub 17 at Chippenham Parkrun. What a good day. Oh and I was first finisher. Dan still claims he had a stitch but I think he let me win! If you can cast your mind back to the week before the Parkrun it was the Wiltshire Cross Country Championships which I had entered. But yet again a problem arose but this one was rather different …snow! It would’ve made the drive to the event rather treacherous so Dad, Ollie and I decided to give it a miss and spend all day playing in the snow. But well done to Will Crudgington for finishing 1st u20. Now for the fun bit. On the 23rd and 25th (Christmas day) of December, Isaac, Jacob, Ollie and I decided it would be a funny idea to run Parkrun in fancy dress. We also felt it was fairly fitting to go as Nativity characters. So Swindon and Chippenham Parkrun both witnessed The Virgin Mary (carrying Jesus), The Angel Gabriel, a Shepherd and a King. We had many photos taken and many cheers as we ran and it was probably the most fun I’ve had while running. To end 2017 on a high Dad and I returned to the Forest of Dean to race ‘The Immortal Sinner’. Some readers will remember that I raced the 7 mile and 7 hills event in 2016 finishing in 5th place in 55:45. Well this time I was racing the same route but twice! During the race briefing, the event director decided to inform us that these were the worst conditions he had ever seen the course, with mud and floods, which filled us all with great confidence !! Looking around on the start line there were only about 3 people wearing vests (myself included) which is always an indicator of how fast someone thinks they are(!). Off we went and I was in about 10th place at the start of the first hill, by the time we got to the top I was in 3rd place. I then comfortably held this position up until the 7 mile turn around point where one of the runners ahead of me stopped. Which meant I could either stop now and finish 2nd in the 7 mile race or continue and see what happens over the 14 mile race. Of course I decided to carry on and ended up crossing the finishing line in 1st place without overtaking the guy in front - how does that work?! Turns out he was about 400m away from the finish and the final marshal sent him the wrong way!!!! His Strava showed he continued to run up another hill before turning back around and crossing the finish line in a respectable 2nd place! Officially I won the race but the other guy was so comfortably ahead of me, I figured he deserved the 1st place trophy so I went home with 2nd place and an extra t-shirt for being a good sport. I finished in 1:47.49 with a half way split of 56:20 meaning my second lap was in just over 51 minutes. I have no idea how I managed to pull that one out the bag but to repeat what I said last year, “this was, without a doubt, my favourite running race of the year.” I am aware that this has been a fairly long blog and for that I am sorry but I still have one last race to talk about so bear with me. Saturday 6th January 2018 and it’s the Gloucestershire Cross Country Championships. Isaac, Ollie and I decided to race because we heard it was a challenging course and we knew there was going to be a good turnout from team Cirencester AC. Ollie was competing in the u15 age category but also running alongside the u17s. I think it’s fair to say Isaac and I were the best supporters throughout that race, cheering him to 1st place u15 and 5th u17. We watched the female race wide eyed as Zoe Wassell of Loughborough University finished 1st roughly 2 minutes ahead of the next runner. Zoe and I have been training and racing together since the start of secondary school and it’s great to see how well she has progressed since being at university. It was now time for the big boys race, although Isaac and I are both u20 we were racing vs the men. We were two of the youngest competitors and we found ourselves right at the front of the start line. The race starts and we were in 10th place feeling fairly comfortably, I was wearing my 4 year old track spikes with 12mm spikes which means there would be no slipping from me today! The first kilometre of the race was all downhill which meant everyone went off way too fast. Team mate David Bell was leading the race at this point alongside a member of Cheltenham Harriers. I was feeling pretty comfortable running side by side with Isaac. With 1 of 4 laps completed, Isaac and I made it into positions 4/5 and we were rather shocked by this move. We continued to hold this until we overtook the runner ahead of us. Yes that’s right! We were now in 3rd and 4th place at the half way point. We got overtaken when George Watson of Cheltenham Harriers did the most amazing change of pace that I have ever seen which ultimately secured him 3rd place. I then managed to break away from Isaac and finished 4th with Isaac not far behind. This meant that Isaac and I finished off the podium in the u20 race. We clapped in the remaining runners and then received our medals. Three runners and three medals, it was definitely a cheery ride home! Unfortunately due to us not residing in Gloucestershire, we are unable to represent Gloucestershire in the inter-counties race. Finally a quick side note- I am very excited to tell you all that I am now officially supported by LPSEVENTS. They are a company based in Wiltshire that organise swim/cycle/run and triathlon events throughout the year. I am very grateful for their support so far and I look forward to working with them throughout 2018. More exciting news- I am now a member of the Zoot Athlos Racing Team which contains elite athletes including Will Crudgington, Harry Palmer, Brian Glynn and of course Kirk Latham! I am very happy to have joined this team and look forward to training and racing with all of the members. #currentlytakingideasforanewhashtag Of course a big thanks is due to my current sponsors who have supported me throughout the whole of 2017! Don't worry, I have a whole blog planned to talk all about this! Pedal Potential South West Swim Performance Cycles Cirencester Athletics Club The Flying Monk Triathlon Club To keep up to date with everything I else I am getting up to throughout the season, check out my social media pages- Facebook page- Luke Campbell Triathlon Strava- Luke Campbell Triathlon Twitter- @lukecampbell246 Instagram- @lukecampbell246
1 Comment
Linda
1/18/2018 02:55:58 pm
Well done Luke! Yes I am interested to read your BLOGS. Well done for being such a sport and I hope someone returns the favour if it ever happens to you.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Luke CampbellHere will be a monthly review as well as occasional race updates Archives
April 2019
Categories |