It is the eve of the 400m final and we are all eagerly awaiting Gillick’s race tomorrow. He has drawn lane 3, with Jonathan Borlee on his inside and France’s Leslie Djhone on his outside. Race starts at 21:25 CET, 20:25 Irish time. Will you be watching?
Like the article suggests I’ve been to hell and back. Injured for the entire outdoor season of ‘09 and missing most of the winter, the indoors were a nightmare, 50.6, this was never part of the plan.
But like everything that goes wrong, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Well here I am on the 7th floor of the Princess hotel in Barcelona writing this blog. If someone told me at the AAI Nationals Indoors that Gordon, you will be in Barcelona and in the Top 20 in Europe by the end of July, I probably would have laughed first and then kindly asked them to leave.
The preparations for getting here could not have gone any better. All my injuries and ailments cleared up back in March thanks to Paul Opperman who has being working with me since last summer to get me back in shape. It’s one thing having the belief in yourself that you can get back to your best, but having people around you that never doubt your ability is an entirely different story. I’m very lucky that Paul, as a 400m runner himself, has had nearly as many and possibly more injures than myself. He understands better than most that it’s about managing these problems and dealing with them whilst still racing and competing at your best that will lead to success.
The other side of the training is of course the training group I am in. This year I returned to the training group in Tullamore Harriers, which is home to a diverse group from 14 yrs old to 40. We have Ger Hennessy (Indoor Silver Medalist O40) who is always ready to take you on and if you mess up in the blocks, he’ll get you or Darragh Mac Namara, a promsing 16 year old, who is part of our 400m squad just to name a few. There is about 20 in the group and while there no big egos to contend with there is thankfully no shortage of personalities. Everyone is an equal, there is no special treatment for anyone just get in, get it done and get out.
GK
Yes, it has been way too long since anyone has updated the page but a lot has happened since our last post and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to begin our posts again from Barcelona, home to the 2010 European Championships. We arrived on Saturday night and were welcomed, surprisingly, in Spain by Lusie Hoffmann, a beautiful German lady who was very cheery at 11 o’ clock at night and guided us to our cars for the short journey to the hotel. When we arrived just on the dot at midnight Patsy McGonagle, the team manager, was there to greet us. The 7th floor is my home for the week and the view is awesome! As this is the only thing I’ll see besides the track for the week it’s pretty important.
It’s impossible to do anything before you race. Lance Armstrong had a quote “if you don’t have to stand sit, If you don’t have to sit lie done, conserve everything”. For me I like to talk so I like to be on my own not saying much before I run, it conserves all the energy both physically and mentally. I can then unleash it on the track and leave everything out there when I’m finished.
The story so far:
I’m through the heats and into the semi-finals. I have drawn lane one in the third semi-final. Fine, I wouldn’t care if they made me run on the grass. It’s time to man up and run like hell. I came here with two goals in mind, 1. Make it to the semi finals and 2. Run to the best of my ability twice.
David Gillick is also, needless to say, through to the semi-final stage and while I wish him the best of luck as well, it is time for me to focus on my race.
ROCK ON!!
GK