Today I had to concede
defeat to illness, thus putting me out of this weekends UK Senior
Indoors and World Indoor Trials. I had desperately wanted to run at
these championships for a few reasons. Firstly, two years ago I came
4th as an 18 year old, which is probably my career
highlight to date. It was a great occasion and my old coach, Tony was
so pleased, which was rewarding. Secondly, last year I went up to
Sheffield, as I had booked a hotel and trains which were
non-refundable, only to be unable to compete yet again because of
illness. Finally, I’ve found myself in the best shape I’ve been
in for a considerable amount of time. My 3.54 from last weekend may
not sound ground breaking to many of you, but considering I only ran
3.51 when I was in 1.48 shape then I was quite excited about
competing. Furthermore, Craig set me a horrible session on Tuesday,
which led to the inability of walking and a serious case of dry
heaving. Winrow smiled on sadistically. It all seemed to come
together. However, on Wednesday night I could feel the onset of yet
another cold. Probably due to the explicit change in temperature
(it's been very cold) and the hammering the immune system takes every
time you race. Indoor Cough, as ive titled it is also a nightmare.
After pretty much every indoor race you get this horrible dry cough
lasting from a few days to potentially weeks. Leading me onto my
opinions regarding racing with a cold. I've tried it twice indoors,
and its been ridiculously bad twice. As an u15 I ran with a cold over
800m, ran shockingly and was sick outside and couldn't stop
spluttering all the way home. Years later I ran over 3000m as a 17
year old and failed to finish the race. I believe the only track race
I’ve dropped out of. So, to attempt two high quality 800's at a
senior national standard would be naïve and rather painful.
All this has led me to
think a little about how fickle your health can be. I was thinking
about how heartbreaking it would be if you got a cold during an
Olympic games. You can't, not run, because it's often a once in a
lifetime opportunity. Everyone around you will be expecting your best
effort, which may be limited if you have a bout of aids. So, if the
day ever comes where im near to going to a major championship, no one
will see me for weeks. Ill be indoors avoiding everything. When
leaving the house I will wear a facial mask to prevent foreign bodies
entering my system. Then known my luck ill get injured instead.
I'd like to wish all of
Craig's athletes who are competing at the World Indoor Trials the
best of luck. And...to finish off...If Tiesto was an indoor
specialist he would be world class over 60m Hurdles.
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