When I posted 2 months ago I talked about wanting to stay fit and healthy in 2014 - so far that's going pretty well.
I've just finished my 2013/4 XC season, and without a doubt it's been my best cross-country season ever. Over the last 6 months I've done every race I'd planned to do, and I've NEVER managed this before. For a few consecutive years I've had tonsilitis or bronchitis, and invariably picked up ankle injuries from the rough terrain. This season I've avoided colds and coughs and whilst I did have a minor ankle sprain from stumbling on a tree root during a race, it only put me out of training for a few days and didn't interfere with my racing plans.
Main achievements:
- 3rd at County Champs
- 33rd at Midlands Champs
- 63rd at National Champs
At the start of the season I was trying to race myself back to fitness after missing months of training with a knee injury (cycling-related), and I decided I wanted to race well at those 3 races. Now I'm at the end of the season I'm very happy to have had good races when it mattered most to me. My coach, Phil Nichol, has done a fantastic job of building up my training whilst allowing me to race reasonably well throughout the season, before tapering down for the Midlands and the Nationals.
This year I've trained differently to any other year, combining shorter track reps with tempo sessions, long runs and slightly longer interval sessions. I've really enjoyed the Winter training and I think it's actually been the first year I've looked forward to every session - though with tempo sessions I think I've mostly been looking forward to the end of the session! It's a big change from previous years when I've felt like a lot of Winter training has been one log slog - perhaps the shorter training is part of the reason I've stayed illness and injury free, as my body hasn't taken quite such a battering!
So, Winter 2013/4 = SUCCESS!
However, this isn't a totally smug post. I had also been targeting a few Spring Duathlons with the aim of qualifying for the World Duathlon Champs, and due to a recurring knee injury brought on my cycling, I've struggled to get the training in. I've managed a bike ride of over 40 minutes only once in the last 10 months and that was followed by a week of knee pain. Of course I then tried to do this again a week later and the problem recurred, so I made possibly the MOST sensible decision of my sporting career and called a halt to cycle training and any hopes of representing GB at duathlon this year.
Last year I ignored a cycling injury till I could neither run, cycle, swim or walk. The year before I ignored a different cycling injury till I was in hospital.
This year I've learnt from my mistakes and I'm going to make the most of being able to run (and walk) and focus on having a fab track season.
Right now I'm in the middle of my end of season break. While I am sad not to be racing at this weekend's duathlon, I am enjoying giving my body time to recover from 6 months of hard, tiring XC racing. All that mud and rain does get a bit much after a while, but I'm sure I'll be super excited to get stuck back in by the time October comes around. I know I'll definitely miss the XC atmosphere - for team spirit there's nothing else like it in running and I've loved lining up with my Telford AC team mates throughout the season. I've made some new friends in the Midlands and we've developed some healthy rivalries with the Wolverhampton and Tipton Ladies.
On reflection my main achievements aren't just the positions I've finished but the things I've gained as a person on the way to achieving those results and the experiences I've had.
Main Achievements:
- Racing an entire XC season without illness or injury
- Not missing a week's training for 6 months
- Getting my long run up to 13 miles (though this was a 1 off!)
- Discovering the training that works for me as an athlete
- Building friendships and rivalries with fellow runners
- Enjoying it all!
Sounds to me like a very successful season! Even with not qualifying for the dualthlon! You are being smart, and that will pay off in the long run :) Enjoy your break!
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