City Challenge success

After the disappointment in the UK Indoor Championships it was important to learn from my mistakes at that event, keep positive and confident and get a good performance in to boost moral before the end of the indoor season and the training block before the outdoor season. The City Challenge held in Cardiff, two weeks after the Championships, provided that opportunity, and I was pleased to put together my best performance of the indoor season and get the win. I sat in second behind the leader, not going wide as I had done in the UK Indoor Champs, and stayed patient, waiting till 300m to go to counter the move of Harry Harper and make my move in a more relaxed and gradual manner, thus meaning I was able to sustain the move to the end and not blow up. I didn't run quite as fast as at the Birmingham Indoor Games, one hundredth of a second slower in fact with 3.49.03, but felt great at the end and ran the right tactics to get the win which was the aim for the race. What was also very satisfying was my finish, which has been a weakness the last couple of seasons. A lot of work has been put into it over the winter and it was very pleasing to put together such a quick and relaxed final 200m, probably the quickest final 200 I have ever done in a 1500m.

The altitude training trip to Kenya, and the indoor season which has followed, has proved invaluable. I am still relatively inexperienced, this was my first real trip to altitude and first ever indoor season focusing on 1500m. However I have learnt a massive amount which will be incorporated into my training and racing in the future which will surely improve me. I am also still in great shape, and with a few alterations to correct for the mistakes I made in January and February (e.g. my tactics at the UK indoors) I will approach the outdoor season with great confidence.