Three Races, Five Days.

I spent 5 days last week in England to run the Watford gold standard BMC meet and England athletics U23 championships in Bedford. Watford was my first race back after taking 4 weeks off from 800m racing and I was really excited to get back on the track and race over my favourite distance. 

A girl can never have too many shoes...even trainers and spikes.

I admit I did have high expectations of myself going into the BMC race on the 18th June- after all the last time I raced on this track I ran a big PB and Commonwealth Games qualifying time. I was eager to repeat the performance, the weather was good and I felt nothing could go wrong. Unfortunately the race didn't go quite how I imagined it would. Reflecting back now it was another stepping stone to Glasgow and every race develops me as an athlete so I have to be happy with that. 
Excuse me while I get a bit philosophical... 
Athletes are often disappointed with performances, we are a very hard bunch to please. I feel it is really important to manage expectations and to go into every race with an open mind that anything can happen. No one is perfect and we all can't run well all the time. If I have a not so good race I try to move on as quickly as possible...easier said than done.

It was brilliant to have my mum and brother in Watford watching and hanging out with us. We became regular customers in our favourite spot 'Fred and Ginger' (http://fredandgingercoffee.co.uk) in Kings Langley for amazing breakfasts, lunches and coffees. My mum rarely travels with me and she pointed out that she sees how it can be difficult to find athlete friendly food when away from home with no cooking facilities. I can usually find something that suits me wherever I go but I have to admit I have had many dodgy pre race meals in. If only there was a Fred and Ginger cafe everywhere I went. I generally find that most restaurants are accommodating for my weird dietary requests but if in doubt head to Nandos!! Really can't beat chicken and vegetables.
The day after the race and after a wee recovery run the whole family headed into London for a few hours. When away racing there is little time to sight see and time is generally spent lounging about hotel rooms and doing very little. So it was lovely to get out for a few hours and walk around which really does no harm.

The heats for the England athletics U23 championships were held on Saturday 21st of June. After my disappointment on Wednesday I wasn't particularly confident but excited to race and take in the atmosphere. This was my first British age group championships since 2011 and it is amazing to be back at a championship which I usually perform well at. 

Getting my gear ready pre race.

I thankfully got though my heat safely and didn't have to push too hard or waste much energy. The winning times for both heats were slightly quicker than I anticipated but it was good to put two races in quick succession together for commonwealth preparation. The heat was crucial as I feel that it helped me get over a flat feeling that admittedly I experienced on Wednesday, but on reflection, this was to be expected when I hadn't raced in over four weeks. The conditions on both days were perfect PB weather with Sunday being ideal as the wind and temperature dropped slightly from the Saturday.

Pre race routine...I can't actually fly or levitate. 

Before the final my dad/coach reminded me that the Bedford track is always good to me. Whenever I competed here in the past I have usually run well, this gave me the confidence that I maybe lacked slightly after my previous few races. Now for some stats; Over the past 5 years I have had 3 golds, 1 silver and a bronze at Bedford. Including 3 personal bests, two championship bests and a stadium record. I don't think there is another stadium that has been anywhere near as kind to me.

I felt tactically my race was sound, Hanna Tarver went off hard but I did believe she would come back to me in the last 100m and that is what happened, all be it with some luck. Huge well done to all the girls Georgia Bell, Alexandra Bell, Rachel McClay, Hanna Tarver and the lovely Jade Williams. There were 4 PB's in the final and even a few in the heats. I did what I set out to do and running under 2.03 again gave me a confidence boost that I think I needed in the run up to the Commonwealth Games. 

On the podium with Georgia Bell and Alexandra Bell.

Won in style...the look on my face says maybe not in style.

Some lovely words by the Athletics weekly reporter.

The win was celebrated with a Krispy Kreme donut (caramel iced ring for the foodies out there) and my brother's class coffee cake! Can't beat it really. 

It was back down to the track on Monday morning at 9.30am for a day of filming and photography with some amazing people. The mysterious project will be revealed shortly and I am excited to announce my involvement. It really is wonderful to be getting so much support in the lead up to the commonwealths and on Wednesday I attended a breakfast held by Queen's University Belfast Sport. All the Queen's Commonwealth Games athletes were invited and it was great to catch up with friends. 

A privilege and pleasure to be interviewed by Eve Muirhead.

In the spotlight with plenty of cameras and media.

Sadly I will not be competing in the Sainsbury's British Championships this weekend as I have a cold. A big disappointment for me as it would have been my first outdoor senior Championships and I was in confident mood after my win last week. But I will be resting up and back racing in the next two weeks. 

All for now,
Katie x