Round Up

It's been a mixed bag post holiday. Three races have brought indifferent performances.

7th July: Strathclyde Parkrun, 15:24, 1st place

15th July: Scottish Athletics Mens League Division 2 Match 3, Gramgemouth- 5000m, 15:17.94

18th July: Linwood Open Graded Meeting, 800m, 2:04.96, 7th in heat 1 (9 finishers).

On the face of it, these are okay. However, I feel I can and should be producing a lot better. The only consolation I can take is with the 11^th hour nature of the 800m. Up until Tuesday (17^th), I was preparing for the Cairn Table Hill Race in Muirkirk, East Ayrshire. It was postponed due to a weather warning (yes, a weather warning in July). I opted for a 1500m at Linwood but, on arrival and seeing the rain bouncing off the ground and making a swimming pool of the road leading to the car park where I parked, I switched to an 800m which were due to be run earlier. A 60 second first lap was followed by a laboured second lap in 64 seconds. It’s fair to say I got caught cold.

Above: holding the Hugh Wilson Memorial trophy. Despite the smile, I've been less than happy with recent performances.

I feel a lot of frustration that I’ve plateaued and athletes I worked so hard to catch are opening that gap on me again. I look at what I was running last year and feel frustrated at being a bit behind where I was. I still have my short, medium and long terms targets which I planned on holiday but need to up my game if I’m going to come anywhere near achieving them. To this end, I’m gambling a bit and have taken a day off work on Tuesday to travel to Stretford to run a 3000m at the Trafford AC Open Meeting. The quality of race justifies the trip. I’m focusing hard. I really need a kick start. By hook or by crook I’ll be working to make sure Tuesday is it.