Kent schools has been an important race in my diary all season because I have had a lot of feelings about doing well in it. Last year (blog post here) I came 10th and I then went on to the schools inter-counties, where I then missed out on English schools selection. Last year I was able to say 'I have next year,' however this year is my last year of school, so it was my last chance. This gave me an element of pressure that I placed onto myself. I didn't want to dwell on this and I felt my nerves didn't really effect me that much. Anyway, moving on from all this chit chat and I'll explain how the actual race went. Setting off in the morning I knew we were going to be in for some pretty poor weather, after the forecast said 100% chance of rain from 7am to 2pm... I wasn't too amused by this. On arrival the rain was on queue and we all sat in the car with not much motivation to get out, it was pretty miserable. I made a dash to the registration to avoid the rain and then I was straight back in the car. Finally there was a point where I needed to get out, I combined my warm up with walking the course to allow for the minimum time in the rain. By the time I found myself walking to the start line, I was pleased to say that the rain had eased off a little. I whipped my water proof off at the last minute as the whistle went for 2 minutes remaining. Standing on the start line I started to focus in on the race and what I needed to do. Senior and inter girls were running together which made it challenging to know where you are amongst your own age group. The gun went and everyone went off extremely fast, I did try to go with it but I knew it was just too fast and unsustainable, so I just focused on getting into my own rhythm. When we reached the first small uphill, I tried to work my way up the field and I continued to do this throughout the race. After the first 2km lap of two was done, I knew I wasn't where I wanted to be in the field, although I didn't have a clue what place I was in the senior girls race. On the last 2km lap I really just tried pushing on and giving it my best shot. The very wet conditions led to really muddy fields and it felt like the mud was sapping all energy from my legs. Coming into the last 200m of the course, I knew someone was coming up behind me. At this point I didn't know what age group they were in so I really pushed right to the end and I found some mental strength here that I've never really used before... I think because the possibility of english schools selection meant so much to me. I crossed the line in 3rd... I actually couldn't believe it. I had been running around the course just hopeful of top 4 in order to gain automatic selection for english schools. To come away with a medal was just out of my dreams, I couldn't believe it, I really couldn't. The race definitely took its toll, as I struggled to stand up and try and catch my breath at the end... at least I knew I had really pushed it. My two big goals of this year was to be selected for inter counties and english schools, both things I had failed to do last year. To know I will be going to both of these now, honestly makes me so happy. I know I will be buzzing for a while after one of my best ever races but training continues and hard work is still to be done to hit the rest of the xc season with purpose.
I hope all those with school xc champs this week have been successful and any other races or training you have been up to. Love G x
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The Knole run is possibly not a course that I think about with hundreds of positive thoughts but I was actually excited for it this year. Last year I raced in the Knole run and you can read all about it here. Last year I came 17th and I was pleased with this at the time but this year I had higher hopes and was aiming top ten. My week before this race hasn't calmed down that much and with the addition of starting school on Wednesday that added to some tiredness. My Friday night pre race routine was similar to normal with pasta and a banana, however the Saturday morning was slightly different because I had to go to school... arggggg. The race started off fast and I felt I was in a good position going into the first hard hill. I was sat in the top six but the hill was tough, I tried to keep it calm. The race pretty much consists of uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill. I find this tough but I was able to keep in a good position but I felt the last hill was one ask too many and I lost a few places, crossing the line in tenth. My first thought was how had the rest of my team done. There were two Sevenoaks girls just in front which was promising and some were coming in a bit behind, so I was hopeful! Sevenoaks won and I was thrilled, I couldn't have asked for much more. After a tough race, I was delighted! A big bonus was there was some great cake at the end which was exactly the sugar hit I needed. I hope everyone who was racing had good weekends. I feel like I am back into the swing of school again now after starting next week, however the count down to half term has already began. I feel I am at the point now that I am ready to finish school and take my exams.
Love G x As I am writing this title, the idea that I have just written 2018 does scare me a little... anyway on to the more important aspect of this blog post, the actual race. Firstly if you want to check out my blog post from this same race last year - Kent Champs 2017 you can read it here. I had been excited and nervous for Kent champs for a long time now, however I have never felt the way I did on Friday night... I was nervous. First of all, this is a very new experience for me, but I tried switching this anxious energy into something more positive. So, as I settle down for the night on Friday I decide to start reading Kelly Holmes autobiography and this worked a treat, as soon as I stopped reading I was off asleep. In the morning, I was struggling through my porridge I just felt a bit sick eating it... again I think a bit nervous. Soon enough we were in the car and on our way to Brands Hatch. On arrival all my nerves disappeared and I felt actually full of energy and excited to race. After a quick walk of the course which was quick because it was the same course as the year before. The temperatures were pretty low as I was warming up, honestly I could not move my toes... I am not joking!!! Putting my spikes on was quite the mission but once they were on I was ready for business. The gun went and I was off. The course was two small laps and one large lap. The first two laps went by quickly and I was glad to get them over with. The last lap was more challenging, my legs started to hurt but I felt concentrated and was happy with my position in the field currently so didn't want to let it drop. When I got to the bottom of the final hill, I knew I just had to get up this hill quick enough not to get caught up... this was tough (shown by my expression in the photos below). I crossed the line as 4th u20 and I was thrilled, this is possibly my best race to date. I was chuffed to also have got automatic selection for the inter-counties in March, which last year I had missed out on and this was a big goal for me in 2018. I hope everyone who had county champs or any other races or training, that it went well! This is only the first race of the New Year so it has been a nice confidence to get a good start to it, but there is still a lot of work to be done and many more races to come.
Love G x |
HelloI'm Grace, a 18 year old runner, and fitness fanatic. Join me on my crazy journey through life, squeezing in an adventure in every second of spare time I have. Archives
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