Saturday 26th November I had a long speed session planned involving some 2km tempos but on while I was out on short run on Friday, I could start to feel a problem with my Achilles which was slightly worrying. So I marshalled parkrun (I’m in the process of becoming a race director) and spent the rest of the day resting. The Achilles were not feeling good at all. Sunday 27th November Day 3 of bad Achilles, I knew I had a big cross country race planned on the following Wednesday so I wanted to make sure I didn’t inflame the injury any more than it already was. I joined the flying monks for their morning swim and then went out for an easy cycle hoping I could stretch out my legs a little. It didn’t go well, there was pain and it was becoming very uncomfortable. I returned home after an unsuccessful session and spent a lot of time covering my sore Achilles with frozen peas. Wednesday 30th November I went out for a run the previous evening to check how everything (especially the Achilles) were feeling and it was good! There were no aches or pains anywhere which boosted my confidence before the upcoming race. The event was being held in Lilleshall just north of Birmingham which meant a 2 ½ hour journey on the minibus starting at 7am with temperatures of roughly 6 degrees. I spent the whole drive wiggling my toes to stop them from going numb. Two other students and I would be representing Cirencester College at this race. After parking and walking to the changing rooms it was around 10am, the ground was still frozen solid and my toes and fingers were starting to go numb. We walked a lap of the four lap course and got changed ready for the big race. It was the south west regional champs, all I had to do was run 7.3km of cross country and finish in the top 8 to qualify for the nationals, easy right? The race started a little bit late which meant more time standing around in the cold. There were roughly 30 boys on the start line, most of which in leggings, long sleeve tops and gloves. I however was in shorts and a vest (with calf guards to hold my Achilles together) and I hoped I would warm up quickly. The race started and it was a hectic, by the first kilometre I had overtaken 4 people that had sprinted off in front of me, leaving me in 10 position. I knew it was a long race and there was plenty of time to make up some ground. By the time we had completed one lap I had managed to overtake another competitor, just one more and I would be in a spot for qualification. Now 2 ½ km in and half way up the only incline there was a lad sat on the side of the path shaking, I shouted at him as I ran past and tried to get him to continue but (luckily) he didn’t. Running past the college teacher (and running legend) Dave Bell, he confirmed my position and said there was a clear gap between me and 9th so I didn’t have to push so much. This was reassuring news but I continued on through the now thawed, wet and muddy trail overtaking another runner with two laps to go. By now the gap between me and 9th had reached roughly 30 seconds so I knew that as long as I didn’t stop, I wouldn’t have to worry about forcing the pace. Until my shoe lace came undone, I ignored it and carried on to finish in 7th position, only around 10 seconds behind 6th. The two other runner from Cirencester college came 14th and 15th, good positions respective of their running experience. It was a great race and the conditions were brilliant, it was just the mud that put me off. I completed the 7.3km in 27 minutes and 35 seconds with a 5km split of 18:30. After finishing I also realised that fellow triathlete Reece Ashfield was racing, someone I had raced against in Nottingham back in May and is also going to race at the European sprints next year. Saturday 3rd December Parkrun day. Dad purposefully dropped me off some distance away from the parkrun start so I could complete the necessary warmup set by the coach. It was a little chilly but the ground was dry and very firm. I wasn’t going for a specific position today, just aiming for a low 18minutes finish but on the start line I found myself looking around and ‘sussing out’ any other competition which was shown with one other runner that I hadn’t seen before who looked fairly fast and I had seen completing a vigorous warm up. The hooter went and we were off, I set the pace from the front, nothing too fast, fairly comfortable for me. I was in a pack with two other runners, one being the unknown individual, the other a Chippenham regular that I was confident I could beat. Our first mile clocked in at around 6 minutes, this was easy compared to the 5.15 Otto and I had manged 3 weeks earlier, and I continued to push that pace all the way around. With 1km to go, I decided to start opening up my legs a little and put some pressure on the two other lads, one of which dropped off very quickly. It was now just James and I, I knew what he was capable of but he was going for a PB which is very easy motivation to go faster. I looked at my watch with 400m to go and decided to ‘unleash the beast’ putting in a 78 second 400m (only 25 seconds slower than Mo Farah’s final 400) which finished me in 1st position and a time of 18:09. It was a good race, although now I can feel how tired my legs are after racing twice in 4 days. Also well done to my younger brother achieving a 33 second PB which finished him in 10th position. Pedal Potential http://www.pedalpotential.co.uk/ I have now finalised the deal with Pedal Potential and they will be supporting me throughout the 2017 season but focusing on the European sprint champs in June. I have heard great things about the business from various different athletes (including my coach, Katie Synge) and I am very glad to be working with them. The Pedal Potential logo will join South West Swim and Performance Cycles on my Team GB tri-suit which I am in the process of ordering and should receive not long after Christmas. Thank you for reading, please check out my twitter and Instagram which are both linked below: https://twitter.com/lukecampbell246 www.instagram.com/lukecampbell246/ #bigthingsarecoming
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Luke CampbellHere will be a monthly review as well as occasional race updates Archives
April 2019
Categories |