This year was my third British Champs but my first Olympic Trials meet. Despite it being the Olympic trials, I felt a lot less nervous than the previous two years I competed at the British Champs. Whilst I felt more nervous than my other races this year, in comparison to other years, I was very calm. I had some nerves in my system, but they weren’t negative or self doubting as they have been previously. In pother years, the champs have been a bit of intimidating shock. It tended to be the only race of the year where I would compete against the best girls in the country. However, this year, I had raced against most of the girls at all my previous races. This meant, the champs felt like just another race, and I felt I had earned my spot on that start line. My main aim was to run strong. I ran a poor race last year and didn’t have the strength to hold on to the others in the field, and I DNF’d the previous year due to collapsing in the heat. This year, I wanted to cross the finish line knowing I had done myself justice and ran a strong race, and I believe I did this. I didn’t get overtaken at all throughout the race and made sure I was able to pick people off, something I haven’t done in previous years. The race itself felt quite tough. It was surprisingly windy up the home straight and the temperature was pretty hot. Being the first race of the year where it has been hot and the race has taken place in the middle of the afternoon was a bit of a shock to the system. Despite this, I was pleased to clock 16:01 (which was my PB just 6 weeks ago) and finish 7th in tough conditions. I definitely feel there is a PB inside of these legs!
One thing I definitely came away from the race feeling was inspired. Watching the likes of Jess Judd consolidate her position on Team GB for a second event was amazing to see. Having admired Jess from such a young age, and to see her achieving her dreams now, inspires me to keep working hard for as long as I need to, despite what setbacks I may face. Being in a race with people who are going to the Olympics makes you realise that the dream could one day be the reality if you keep working hard for it, you just never know. Now both champs races are out the way, it’s back to work to try and get that PB down over the rest of the season.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Hannah IrwinI love to run and I love to write, so I write about running! Archives
March 2023
Categories |