With the National Championships only a few weeks away I’d thought I’d let you know how I’m travelling in the build up. So far I’ve had a pretty successful season already as I’ve completed personal bests over the 100m, 200m, 600m and 800m, and have consistently been running under half a second away from my 400m personal best (53.88sec).
I’ve really wanted this track season to be a learning experience, as it’s the first time I’ve competed in any of the open events and I’ve had such a great time. Pacing a sub-2min 800m has definitely been a highlight, fuelling some speculation that I’ll be stepping up to the 2 lap event (which I will not be doing any time soon!) and running at the Sydney Track Classic was also a good experience. It was a bit of a rainy night but the line up was probably one of the best fields I’ve run in - with Monica Hargrove, Maris Magi, and Tamsyn Lewis all in good shape. I got a bit excited and rocketed for the first half of the race, I think I might’ve even run a 300m personal best..! So right now Johnny Atterton and I are working on bringing the last part of my race together, ready in time for Nationals.
I’m becoming a sprinter again this weekend for the NSW Open Champs where I’ll compete in the 200m, and hopefully, weather permitting, I can get another pb! (ed. Anneliese ended up winning a silver medal behind Laura Whaler). Unfortunately I won’t be heading over to Perth for the tour final, as much as I’d love to compete there and see the new track I need to buckle down for these last couple of weeks and get some solid sessions in.
I’m really looking forward to heading down to Melbourne in mid April. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been so I can feel that 400m personal best knocking on the door!
For me 2010 was to be the first building phase towards 2012. Injury prevention coupled with consistent training were the two key factors to ensure a successful year on track. In 2009 I got recommended to see Damien Benson, by fellow athletes Lachlan Renshaw/ Sianne Toemoe. Lachlan had suffered similar Injury issues and had great results with Damien, so I decided to give him a go.
It turns out that my glute med/min on my right side was shortened and not activating upon my foot strike and as a result my muscle firing order was compromised. My lower back and hamstring were taking too much load. Thus, when I began sprinting sessions my hamstring would take a beating. Eventually over time my hamstring fatigued and tore several times over a period of 3 months. Fortunately, due to Damien Benson, Charlie Zammit and Chris Jones and 6 months of countless exercises I managed to rectify the problem and strengthen the muscle in question.
My regular treatment schedule is as follows:
Charlie Zammit – Massage therapist once a week or every 10 days depending on the time of year and intensity of the training cycles.
Chris Jones – Osteopath, once every 10 days or as needed.
Damien Benson – Chiropractor, once every 3-4 weeks.
A new year, a new beginning and a good season, I hoped. The whole winter of 2009 was spent building a foundation for the summer and getting fit in the process. I had a few minor scares along the way with an Achilles tendon issue, sciatica pain, plantar pain, lower back tightness/disc problems BUT all in all I came into summer with a relatively uninterrupted winter.
My first race in 09/10 Season was at Narrabeen over 800m. It would be my first race since my 400 h in Bern, Switzerland 15 months ago. I was scared, excited and ultimately relieved when I finished uninjured. The time (1min.58s) was irrelevant to my upcoming season but on the other hand a good indication that I was fit. It gave me a huge amount of confidence for my first hurdles race.
I raced the 400mH on the 12thof December out at Homebush warm up track. The result was concerning to say the least, I ran 54.0s and felt terrible the last 100m. The time was the slowest I had run for 3 years and I was worried my winter base wasn’t as good as I thought. However, my coach assured me that she had planned for me to be in shape for the Domestic season Feb-April, and not December. Fira explained to me the importance of timing and reminded me that I hadn’t hurdled in 14months. “Give it time” she said.
I had full confidence in Fira, and she had planned the race to check my shape and identify any weaknesses. The race was used a template to plan the whole season and rectify my weaknesses. The weaknesses were obvious. I didn’t have the top end speed I needed and my hurdles endurance wasn’t there. The solution was simple – HARD WORK. I had to work hard on my last 100m, endurance and increase my top end speed. So, I started a hard block over Christmas which included lactic session after lactic session of long hurdles work. My favourite session over that Christmas break of 09/10 was a hurdles endurance session which aimed to replicate the fatigue element of the last 100m of a race. The session is run at race pace and Race stride pattern. The idea is that you start fresh and run hard but relaxed, the rest is long enough to get your breath back but not long enough to get rid of the lactic. By the last 2-3 reps you should be feeling like you do at the end of a race. So the emphasis of the whole session is on the last two reps, they must be quality and technically sound. The session is as follows:
Warm up – 10mins Jog
Stretch
Run drills
3x80 run throughs
3x3h at 16,15,14strides
2H-10H (Start at 1H mark – 315m) all off 6-8mins Recovery, Times: 40-41s
3H-10H (Start at 2H mark – 280m) 34-35s
4H-10H (start at 3H mark – 245m) 29-30s
5H-10H (start at 4H mark – 210m) 25-26s
6H-10H (start at 5H mark – 175m) 21-22s
7H-10H (start at 6H mark – 140m) 16-18s
Warn down- 10min jog and stretch.
With the solid base from winter and the hard work over Christmas under my belt I felt confident that I would have a good season and finish up with a PB. The aim was to run a PB for both the flat 400m and 400m Hurdles and Qualify Delhi commonwealth games if I had an amazing season. Realistically it was possible BUT I was shocked at how much I progressed in terms of times and confidence. I ended up running 3 consecutive PBs for the 400mH and 2 consecutive PBs for the 400m. I lowered my time from 51.98s to 51.17s for the hurdles and 48.94s to 48.64s for the flat 400m.
My 400 hurdles PB was set at Melbourne GP in March and I believe that is where I peaked in 2010. I had a good run at The NSW state titles (51.38s, 1st ) but a disappointing finish to the season where I placed 4th at Nationals in Perth in a time of 51.58s. However, I moved into winter with a strong season behind me and new sense of focus. I was ready to train the house down and build on 2010.
My main goals for 2010/11 season
·Qualify for the World University Games
·Run under 50s for the 400m Hurdles
·Run 47s for the 400m
·Qualify for the World Championships in Daegu
·Win The Australian Open national Championships in Melbourne.
Hi, my name is James Roff, I am a 400m Hurdler and I have been asked to write a blog for runner’s tribe. I thought I would begin by comparing my last two seasons and show everyone what a difference one year can make.
2008/2009
After spending 7 years with my current coach (Fira Dvoskina) I had hit a wall, and the improvement curve was starting to look more like a downhill slide. I was 21 years old and my PB of 52.76s was set 2 years prior at the NSW state champs in 2005. I was frustrated and seriously considering giving up athletics all together, something had to give…. but I didn’t know what to do. Fira then shocked me, and herself I think, by forcing me to move on and join another squad under a different coach. She saw that I was burnt out, unmotivated and in need of a change. It was probably the hardest thing she has had to do, in terms of coaching me, and equally hard on me, but absolutely necessary in order for me to improve. Luckily, I went from a world class coach to an equally world class squad in that of Chris/Jana Rawlinson. Who better to be coached by and train with than Chris and Jana Rawlinson, both of whom are both Commonwealth games gold medalists, Olympic and World Championship representatives, with Jana being one of Australia’s few Dual World champs gold medalists.
So, with the start of 2008, I had a new squad, new coach and new sense of purpose and motivation. I was out prove to myself that I still loved the sport, and to Chris/Jana that I could train harder than anyone they had met. This change was the catalyst for my 07/08 season and a sign of good things to come.
Over the following months, leading into early 2008, I was training consistently and I could feel a PB coming! On January 26th 2008, I was selected to run in the Canberra GP after some excellent persuasive techniques by my new coach, and friend Chris Rawlinson. So when the day came, I had to perform, not only for my coach but for the selectors who had put me in on the promise that I would run well. The pressure for me was exactly what I needed. I ran a seamless 350m, before hitting a lactic wall and fading in the closing stages to finish 3rd behind Brendan Cole (eventual winner) and a New Zealand athlete. The time was 51.98, a new PB and my first time under 52s mark. I was over the moon and more importantly on the way back up the improvement curve. However, the rest of the season was a mixed bag of results culminating in a disappointing 5th place at the national championships in Brisbane.
Australian Domestic season 2007/08
52.45s Sydney GP 3rd
52.48s NSW State Champs 1st
Nationals Heat 53.20s, Final 53.08s 5th.
After a disappointing national champs I worked hard over the next two months to build through a solid transition block. This block would be a springboard for my very first European campaign. I was excited, nervous and overall in positive mind frame about the challenge that lay in front of me.
The European summer saw me based in Loughborough University - basically an English version of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). The facilities were amazing and conveniently positioned, with the track, gym and recovery pools all within walking distance. However, all of this seems insignificant when you are training tired, feeling flat and racing worse. I opened with a 50 point 400m flat and an even slower 200m 22.69s. Something wasn’t right, I just felt off… maybe it was my body wasn’t used to running fast in winter, maybe I was unfit, maybe I was still jet lagged. Who knows? Whatever it was I needed a change. So Chris decided to give me 3 days off and then start with some race specific sessions. The sessions would be monitored closely to focus on quality over quantity, with rep times to be in race specific target times.
Over the next two months I travelled all over Europe, trained hard and gained confidence from race to race. I concluded my trip by staying with a good friend and fellow athlete Ramon Huber and his family. It was in Switzerland that I found harmony, consistency within my training, racing and overall mental attitude. This resulted in my second fastest time over the hurdles with a 52.22 in Bern. Finally I was content, but not satisfied of course!
Europe taught me a lot of things but most importantly that life is a learning experience and every athlete needs to experience things to learn more about how they work, train and compete as an athlete. I learnt that I run my best when I’m in a familiar environment, surrounded by a supportive caring people and have a set routine. Switzerland was perfect; I was staying with a Family exactly like mine (Ramon’s family) in a place that reminds me of my second home (New Zealand) and I had a solid routine. I would wake up and train in the morning, cook the Huber’s lunch, stretch and rest and then train again in the afternoon. I had my home away from home!
European Season 2008
England -Bedford International Games 53.45s
Italy - Celli Leguri 53.80s
France: Taree 53.21s, Chambery’ - 53.20s
Switzerland: Jona 53.05s, Bern 52.22s
At the conclusion of my first European campaign I had a much needed break of 3-4 weeks. This was the first time I had missed a winter in 3 years and my body struggled to adapt to the back-to-back seasons. On top of the dual season I moved to Canberra to live and train full time. The experience was amazing, hard work and draining all at the same time. My body began to buckle and the result was a devastating hamstring tear that put me out for the whole 2008/2009 domestic Season. An MRI showed I had torn my right hamstring (biceps femoris tendon), a 7cm tear was visible running from the outside of my knee up in to the midsection of my hamstring. It was my first major injury I had sustained and I struggled to deal with it. So to cope with being out, I needed to be distracted and occupied to replace the feeling and satisfaction from training hard and competing.
In previous years, I had done a bit of hurdling coaching with Cranbrook school, and so while I was injured I made a conscious effort to increase my coaching efforts and took on Jobs at both Cranbrook and Joeys College. I believe that this helped massively in both my mental and physical rehab. After Spending 08/09 season Injured I made sure that I did everything possible to find out why it ( my injury) happened and how I could prevent it from reoccurring. And so, this year more than any other “Prevention over cure” was so, so, so important.
In 2006 Anneliese Rubie was on top of the world. At the age of 14 she had just defended her 400m title at the Australian All-Schools Championships and had improved her personal best to 56.11 seconds.
Fast forward to the start of the 2010 Australian track and field season and Rubie still hadn't improved on her personal best. The most important point however was the fact that she had worked hard over the 2009 Winter and was looking forward to a breakthrough year in 2010.
We were able to speak to Rubie about her breakthrough runs over the past 4 months (which included a scintillating 53.88 second PB at the Australian Junior Championships) and what she expects from her trip over to Canada for the World Junior Championships in July.
Runnerstribe
Thank-you Anneliese for taking this opportunity to speak with RunnersTribe.
Firstly, you have just been selected to represent Australia in both the 400m and 4x400m at the World Junior Championships in Canada in July. The amazing aspect of this is the fact that you were struggling to break 57 seconds over the one lap event only 12 months ago. Take us through the past 12 months that has now seen you run a personal best of 53.88sec and easily win the Australian Junior Championships in Sydney?
Anneliese Rubie
Thanks for chatting with me! A lot has changed in 12 months. The last year for me, has been all about training. I wasn’t focusing too much on competing in 09, I really just wanted to knuckle down and start enjoying the training again. I’d been knocked down a few times in the 07 and 08 season and so my coach and I re-assessed my goals and where I wanted to take my running in the future. I was really just putting in during 2009 what I wanted to get out of 2010. That’s the best feeling; when you know you’ve worked hard, and feel like everything just aligns perfectly on the day, and that’s how I felt at the Junior Champs.
RT
You’ve been quoted as saying that “I can't wait to compete for Australia. It's been a dream of mine for ages and to have it come true, it's still sinking in. I know I've got a lot of work to do over the next few months but I'm ready for it, and I know I've got a good shot over in Canada of getting in the finals and possibly even winning a medal”. What’s changed over the past 12 months for you to have the confidence to go over to Canada and talk about breaking 52 seconds for the 400m and possibly winning a medal?
Anneliese
The biggest change has been the way I’ve been training. I hadn’t really ever had a complete winter training block, so I started doing some really tough sessions in a group with athletes like Lachlan Renshaw and Sianne Tomoe. I think I can really attribute a lot of my results this year to that. Surrounding myself with people of that calibre, and seeing how focused and mature their approach to training was, really changed my attitude to training. I started doing strength and upper body work at Galileo Personal Training, and I found it fairly easy to improve on my core strength because there wasn’t much there to begin with... That’s definitely translated straight into power for the last 100m of my 4’s.
Knowing that I’ve trained differently and are capable of those times, definitely gives me the confidence to line up in the 400m at Canada with a real shot. It really comes down to a matter of actually running the races smarter. All the hard work’s been done in the preparation; I just need to believe in myself, stay relaxed, and hopefully it’ll all be enough to break 53 seconds.
RT
Going back to 2005 you first came to prominence with a win in the U/14 Australian All-Schools (winning the 400m in 57.80sec). A year later you backed it up with a win at the U/15 Australian All-Schools (this time running 56.11sec). At this stage you were riding a wave of success, but three years later you still had a PB of 56.11sec. Along the way you were actually defeated at the 2008 NSW All-School Championships (running a modest 58.55sec). At this stage in your career were you still enjoying athletics? Were you continuously getting injured over this period?
Anneliese
When I won 05 and 06 All Schools I was doing a lot of dance as well as running, which my coach swears is the reason for my running style and balance. I stopped dance in 2007 to concentrate more on the HSC and running, but ironically it backfired and I ended up losing my core strength and flexibility. After this, I wasn’t enjoying myself as much at training, I preferred going out on the weekends instead of competing, and found myself getting sick on and off. I injured my left quad twice during 2008 as well which put me out of training for a few months at a time. It felt like more things were going wrong than right. The 2008 All Schools was really not a good competition for me; I put way too much pressure on myself and ended up being more nervous to compete than I was excited. That’s always a bad sign for me, when I start to dread a race…that’s when I know I need to take a step back and take all the pressure off. I needed that race though, because it was the point that I decided instead of doing the same things and expecting different results, I wanted to do different things, work harder and I wanted better results.
RT
Entering the 2010 season not many people would have picked you breaking 54 seconds in the 400m. What was the biggest single change leading into the 2010 season? Did you always believe that a World Junior qualifying time of 54.80sec was within your grasp entering the season?
Anneliese
I would never have thought 6 months ago I’d be running these times either! I’m so grateful that my coach did though; I probably wouldn’t have a ticket to Canada otherwise! I can’t really pinpoint one single change this year…but it was definitely a culmination of finishing school, the last 11 months or so of training, and my mind set. After HSC I had a week off at schoolies and just relaxed, which I think was such a good decision. It cleared my head so when I got back to the track my whole focus was on training for the Australian Junior Champs, and qualifying for World Juniors. At this point I thought I’d get close to 54.80, but wasn’t sure just how close, and whether I’d get it in time for Nationals.
RT
Looking through your results in 2010 the first time I really thought that you were right in the mix for a spot on the Australian team for Canada was after your 4th placing at the Hunter Track Classic in early February (when you ran 55.21sec behind Tamsyn Lewis). Was this a big race for you in terms of making you believe that you had what it took to mix it with the best in Australia?
Anneliese
This was such a good experience! I don’t think I ran the best 400m there…but it was humbling to even be put in the same race as Tamsyn, and to come 4th felt pretty good. It also gave me a good idea of the pace I’d need to be running if I wanted to go to Canada. The biggest race for me though was in January. It was my first serious 400m since 08 Nationals, it was at a Permit meet in Blacktown, and was the race I finally broke my 56.11 PB. I ran a (hand-timed) 55.0. That was huge for me, breaking my PB after so long. That race is really where all my confidence came from and was a perfect start to a good season…I don’t think I slept very well that night I was that excited.
RT
By the end of February you had lowered your PB down to 54.15sec, and in the process upset a quality 400m athlete in Renee Robson in Sydney. Take us through that particular race, because it was a big breakthrough for you. Did you ever expect to run such a quick time on that particular day?
Anneliese
It’s funny because the previous weekend I was meant to run in the NSW Junior Champs...instead I learnt all about the new “one false start and you’re out” rule. But I remember driving out to the track that day, I had my pre-race playlist plugged in and felt so pumped, and even though this was one of the last chances I had to qualify for WJ I didn’t feel that much pressure. Lachy Renshaw had run an awesome 600m before me and broke the Australian record so I really wanted to pull out a good race too. I think that was one of the best 400ms I’ve ever run. My goal was to run a 54.6…I was in lane 4, and Robson was lane 3. I went through the 200m in 26.0 (which was a bit slow) but I held her off until 150m to go. Then I felt her coming up on the inside, usually at this stage I’d give up mentally and let them pass but instead I kicked and stayed with her right until 50m to go and just powered past. I’d never felt so strong finishing a 400m!
RT
Leading into the Australian Junior Championships you were all of a sudden a firm favourite for the title. How did you handle the increased expectations to perform at the levels that you had already shown leading into the Championships? You ended up running a PB in the heats of the 400m (53.90sec) and then backed it with a 53.88sec in the final. How were you feeling after backing up in the final with such a quality time?
Anneliese
This was a strange feeling leading up to the race. I knew I could win and, weather permitting, I knew I could run a PB, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself…because at the end of the day, anything can happen. I didn’t really feel the pressure of any expectations, because I tried to think of it as an opportunity to show everybody just how fast I could run. I had two choices, go out in the heat aiming for a PB and back up again in the final or, cruise through the heats saving myself and give it everything in the final. I had a full recovery day in between the heat and final so thought I’d give it a go, and turns out it worked pretty well! After running a PB in the heat I didn’t really care what time I did in the final as long as I won, so it was a bonus to cross the line and see I’d gone just that little bit quicker.
RT
You’re currently coached by John Atterton, who also coaches another athlete who will be going to Canada (Karlie Morton). Have you always been coached by John? When you were struggling to run the times that you knew you could was it nice to have such a great group to support you through the tougher times? Did John always believe that you had a sub 54 second 400m in you for 2010?
Anneliese
I started training with John after moving into a group with Karlie and Tracey Morton when I was about 12 or 13. Training with the Morton girls has been great; we are really close friends and support each other so much. During my bad seasons I couldn’t have asked for a better support crew, because we all go through the same thing, it’s nice to have someone to talk to who’s been there and recovered from it. Johnny A is a very smart man…at the beginning of each season he asked me what my goals were - short and long term, and then asked me if I was willing to put in the effort required to make them come true. At the beginning of 2009 I told him I wanted to go to the World Juniors and I made a commitment to do whatever it took. When the training sessions got painful and I wanted to give up, he’d quote me “whatever it takes,” and I’d stop complaining…well most of the time. So, John has always 100% backed me as a sub 54 second 400m runner, and now believes I’m capable of being a sub 53 second 400m runner too.
RT
Take us through your normal training week? Will your training change over the coming months leading into the World Junior Championships in July?
Anneliese
Okay this is the amended ‘World Junior’ training program. The biggest change would be that I’ve picked up the km’s and core work compared to last year.
Monday: AM- Gym (core and strength)
PM- Grass hills (150m-600m length)
Tuesday: PM- Track session (speed endurance)
Wednesday: AM- 60min run
PM- Gym (core and strength)
Thursday: PM- Track session (speed endurance, or sprints and starts)
Friday: AM- Gym (core and strength)
PM- 30-45min run, or extra core session
Saturday: AM- Grass hills, or 20min threshold run
PM- Core session
Sunday: AM-30-45min run or Time Trials or REST
RT
You’re currently studying at Sydney University – is this correct? If so, how have you found it combining University life with your athletics career? What do you want to do when you finally retire from athletics?
Anneliese
Yep I’m studying a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science. I think the combination of Sydney Uni and athletics is perfect. I’m very looked after by their sport and fitness team, in particular the Sydney University Athletics Club. I’m only studying part-time while I prepare for WJ, but having that extra support there with tutors, mentors and their sport facilities (just to name a few) has helped so much. Their elite athlete program is the best in Australia, so to be a part of that, in itself is an achievement. I’m not really sure what I want to do post-athletics, but something along the lines of a coordinator/event manager for major sporting events, like the Sydney Olympics, would be nice. Holding these sorts of international events in Australia really raises the profile of Australian athletics, so I’d love to act as an ambassador/role model for people to participate in sport and get behind our athletes.
RT
At the end of your career what would you like to be remembered for? Is there a magical barrier that you would one day like to break in the 400m? Do you think that you will always be running the 400m, or do you see yourself also moving up to the 800m one day (where you now own a PB of 2.10)?
Anneliese
47.60 is the current world record, and if I got within whispering distance of that, I don’t think there’d be any stopping me. So that’s probably my ‘magical barrier’. The dream for most athletes is to be the best in the world, and I’m definitely not an exception…whether I get there running a 400m or 800m doesn’t really matter. But I love running 4’s, I don’t know, there’s something about them, I think it’s the last bend coming into the home straight, as much as I hate it, when you’re doing it well, it’s hard not to love.
RT
Well thanks again for taking the time to have a quick chat with Runnerstribe.com. We wish you all the very best in 2010 and beyond. Good luck, and hopefully we will be seeing you line up in the final of the 400m over in Canada!
I had a great introduction to my racing season with a win in the women’s feature sprint race at the famous Bay Sheffield in SA. The Bay Sheffield is always a great event to be apart of. Having a win in my home town in front of family and friends was amazing.
It’s great to be able to race in some sprints. Although I specialize in the 400m I have always loved to sprint. Thankfully now that my body is behaving itself I am now able to venture back into the 200m and some short sprint races in the pro events.
During the last couple of months of training to my delight I have been able to endure not only some speed training but also some sprint racing. I am currently looking forward to racing next week in the 200m in Canberra. Not only am I looking to run some fast, competitive times in this event but just by doing some fast racing it will be fantastic for my 400m event.
Training is continuing to go well. With few interruptions during my winter training I am set to start off my 2010 athletic season. It is certainly set to be a big one. With many races starting next week until end of April there will not be too much rest. But this is the time where we athletes get to show off all our hard work and dedications to the previous months of grueling training which we undergo 6 day’s of the week. This is the fun part of the season….we finally get to race and achieve the goals in which we have set ourselves.
My major athletic goal for 2010 is to qualify for the individual 400m event for the Commonwealth games team. There is still much work to be done to achieve this but this is certainly a realistic goal for myself.
Looking back the 2009 season was amazing for myself and full of surprises. Most of my goals were achieved and I represented Australia in the women’s 4x400m team. How did this happen?? The 2009 season has just proved to me what I have always believed in. No matter how bad things can get and how hopeless they can seem. If you want something bad enough and you stay fiercely focused on what you want, work hard at it everyday, you will achieve!
Aside from the track side of my athletics I am still working towards the modeling dreams I have for my sport. I am constantly scouring for modeling events that I can involve myself in. In 2009 I was involved in a couple of body/figure competitions, I managed some New Balance modeling jobs and with all of this managed to get some great contacts for future work but also some sponsorships.
I am delighted to now be sponsored by New Balance. I am very proud to be sponsored by these guys but also being sponsored by them will certainly contribute to my season being an even better one.
At some point in our career we all face setbacks. Unfortunately my setback hit at the beginning of prime competition.
Firstly, I had a knee injury which forced the decision not to compete at the State All-Schools in October. Following this I had a bad flu which caused troubles breathing during heavy training, and inturn I had to review my asthma medication, with a final decision to increase the dosage.
As a result my training had to be modified and I was not in top form, and certainly would not be at my peak ready to compete at the Australian All-Schools in Hobart.
My coach and I talked it over and decided that I should redirect my training and focus on the main picture, being the National Championships in March as well as the NSW state titles in February.
I believe this was a wise, and the best decision, although it has been a mental challenge, to re-direct my focus, and to sit back and watch my fellow colleagues compete, but in the end I believe it has made me a stronger person.
I am now back to base training (speed endurance). I feel that I am back on track! I have been able to overcome the setbacks that have prevented me from competing at both All-School competitions.
I am now very much looking forward to getting back into general competition, which includes the upcoming Schools Knockout competition this month.
Until my next journal update I will leave you with the following - Remember to never give up on the big goal and always stay focused on the path.
Zoe Riikonen
Note: Zoe has been named as part of the shadow squad for the upcoming World Junior Championships which will take place in Canada in 2010. Congratulations!
'Rien Ne Sert De Courir' : 'There's no point in running,' is the title of the recently released biography of Marie-Jose Pérec, arguably one of the greatest athletes to ever live. Throughout a turbulent career Pérec managed to win two successive Olympic 400m gold medals as well as the 200m/400m double at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and two world championship gold medals.
However, unfortunately Pérec is better known for her antics. Her eccentric nature and traits of paranoia combined to make her a notoriously difficult woman to communicate with or control.
'So who is Mary Jo? Born on May 9th 1968 in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, she moved to Paris when she was 16. A precocious talent, Pérec won her first world championship gold in 1991 at the 400 meters in Tokyo, aged 23. She then went on to become the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic gold medal in twenty-four years when she won the 400m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
1992 Barcelona Olympic 400m
Although she won the 1995 Gothenburg World Championship 400m, the coming of age of Marie-Jose Pérec as an athlete was really in 1996 when she won the 200m/400m double at the Atlanta Olympics, the first person to ever accomplish this feat. Not only was it an amazing double but the 400m win was an Olympic record of 48.25 seconds.
1996 Atlanta Olympic 400m
The 200m was just the icing on the cake
1996 Atlanta Olympic 200m
Controversy and drama
If 1996 marked the high point of Pérec’s career, the following four years leading into Sydney marked the slide to the definitive low point. Pérec struggled with illness and injury during the majority of these years and eventually quit her American coach, John Smith, to train with German Wolfgang Meier, a man with a dark drug cloud permanently hanging over his head from the East German drug era.
Set to meet Australia's Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympic 400 meters final Pérec left the Olympic village and the country just before the commencement of the games. She complained that she had been harassed by a man at her hotel and by the Australian press (although there is quite strong evidence that this never occurred) since her arrival in Sydney. Whilst flying home to France, she and her boyfriend Anthuan Maybank sought refuge in Singapore where they had a run-in with Singapore authorities over the alleged assault of a cameraman by Maybank.
So marks the end of the career of a true eccentric who despite all her idiosyncrasies, still won the hearts of the French public and the awe of spectators all over the world.
Pérec now works as a television commentator for major championship events.
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Hi RT,
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I’m becoming a sprinter again this weekend for the NSW Open Champs where I’ll compete in the 200m, and hopefully, weather permitting, I can get another pb! (ed. Anneliese ended up winning a silver medal behind Laura Whaler). Unfortunately I won’t be heading over to Perth for the tour final, as much as I’d love to compete there and see the new track I need to buckle down for these last couple of weeks and get some solid sessions in.
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For me 2010 was to be the first building phase towards 2012. Injury prevention coupled with consistent training were the two key factors to ensure a successful year on track. In 2009 I got recommended to see Damien Benson, by fellow athletes 
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I had full confidence in Fira, and she had planned the race to check my shape and identify any weaknesses. The race was used a template to plan the whole season and rectify my weaknesses. The weaknesses were obvious. I didn’t have the top end speed I needed and my hurdles endurance wasn’t there. The solution was simple – HARD WORK. I had to work hard on my last 100m, endurance and increase my top end speed. So, I started a hard block over Christmas which included lactic session after lactic session of long hurdles work. My favourite session over that Christmas break of 09/10 was a hurdles endurance session which aimed to replicate the fatigue element of the last 100m of a race. The session is run at race pace and Race stride pattern. The idea is that you start fresh and run hard but relaxed, the rest is long enough to get your breath back but not long enough to get rid of the lactic. By the last 2-3 reps you should be feeling like you do at the end of a race. So the emphasis of the whole session is on the last two reps, they must be quality and technically sound. The session is as follows:.jpg)
With the solid base from winter and the hard work over Christmas under my belt I felt confident that I would have a good season and finish up with a PB. The aim was to run a PB for both the flat 400m and 400m Hurdles and Qualify Delhi commonwealth games if I had an amazing season. Realistically it was possible BUT I was shocked at how much I progressed in terms of times and confidence. I ended up running 3 consecutive PBs for the 400mH and 2 consecutive PBs for the 400m. I lowered my time from 51.98s to 51.17s for the hurdles and 48.94s to 48.64s for the flat 400m..jpg)
The European summer saw me based in 
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In 2006 Anneliese Rubie was on top of the world. At the age of 14 she had just defended her 400m title at the Australian All-Schools Championships and had improved her personal best to 56.11 seconds.
RT
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At some point in our career we all face setbacks. Unfortunately my setback hit at the beginning of prime competition. 
I am now back to base training (speed endurance). I feel that I am back on track! I have been able to overcome the setbacks that have prevented me from competing at both All-School competitions. 
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