James Roff: What A Difference A Year Makes Blog - Part 1

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 26^th 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 3^rd 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 5^th place at the national championships in Brisbane.

Australian Domestic season 2007/08

52.45s Sydney GP 3^rd

52.48s NSW State Champs 1^st

Nationals Heat 53.20s, Final 53.08s 5^th.

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.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 - COMING SOON TO RT