Ben St Lawrence Blog: 2010 in Review- Part 1/2

Stay tuned for Part 2 next week

As we came to the end of 2010 and were looking forward to Christmas and the New Year, I was asked to take a look back on my running throughout the year and to discuss some of my travels and races to give other runners an insight into how the year panned out and what it’s like to race a full year around the world. So if you have (quite) a few spare minutes, here is a ‘run’-down of the year that I’ve had and a few of my thoughts along the way.

Part 1: From Falls Creek to Gateshead

The year started for me as it did for a lot of other Aussie distance runners, in the beautiful Falls Creek. The atmosphere, trails, altitude, company and isolation at Falls Creek combine to make it the perfect destination to kick off a year of running. Hitting the trails with a mass of like-minded people not only gets you fit, but also fires you up and reminds you that there are plenty of others out there chasing the same dreams. Despite all the advances in technology over the years, I doubt that we’re doing anything very different to what the pioneers of altitude running may have done back when they trained at Falls half a century ago.  I have personally had fun and learnt a lot each of the three years I’ve been there.

My first race after Falls was the Hunter Track Classic 3000m, a chance to hit the track for the first time since a 2^nd placing at Zatopek 09 and hopefully sharpen up for the 5000m at the Briggs Classic in Hobart shortly afterwards. I ran the race largely on my own and didn’t feel great, a win in 7:55 was reasonable and I hoped it was just what I needed to be ready for Hobart.

With my main goal of 2010 being to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, I saw Hobart as a good chance to post an early A qualifier- so that was the plan going in. I had been training quite well, we had some pacemakers for a few laps and everything seemed in place. Unfortunately I just had one of those slightly-off days and struggled a little to finish 2^nd in 13:38, just ahead of Shelley but a fair way off Collis. I put that bad result down to doing a lot of hard work through January and not freshening up enough, but I needed that hard work to get where I wanted to be later in the season.

After some more good training in Sydney with Coach Sean Williams, my next race was the 5000m at the Melbourne Track Classic. I desperately wanted the A qualifier of <13:29 and was rewarded with a 13:26- the second fastest 5000m time of my life. I was 4^th in the race, but first Australian in what would normally be the Australian Championship for 5000m. The race was won by the Englishman Andy Baddeley, who I barely knew at the time but who I was to go on and share plenty of tough training sessions with in the US and Europe later in the year.

Next up was a quick trip across the Tasman for the 5000m at the International Track Meet in Christchurch, where I won in 13:48 with a 54 second last lap. I wanted to test my finishing speed at this race as this is an attribute that essentially decides the results of so many races, I was happy with my kick in this race- but would I be able to produce something similar off a faster pace? Second in this race was another Englishman, Mark Draper, who would also be a frequent training partner and good mate in the months to come. One of the best things about travelling and training in sport is the people you meet along the way, I also think that sharing extreme physical challenges in both training and racing makes the bonds a lot stronger than just sharing a beer with someone down at the pub.

The Australian Championships in Perth in April were the major focus of my whole domestic season, and I knew that with a top 2 placing in the 5000m I would book my ticket to Delhi. With this additional importance came increased pressure and I was definitely more nervous for this race than most others. With Dave McNeil and Collis both in the race and both also having the A qualifier, I knew it would be a tough one. I thought that only the top two would be selected automatically for Delhi, and I was ready to fight tooth and nail to get my spot. After a slow first 3k, Collis really injected some pace and reeled off a couple of 60 second laps, I managed to hang on for these, but drifted back on the penultimate lap. I was flat out, running as hard as I could and I could see up ahead that Collis was too, but he wasn’t getting any further away. I maintained my pace on the last lap and was lucky to pass a tiring Collis in the home straight to win my first ever Australian Championship. My last five laps averaged less than 61 seconds each. Crossing the line in first place, knowing that this would book me a ticket to Delhi made all the hard work worth it- I was absolutely elated.

Shortly after Perth, I boarded a plane to the US for an intensive 3 week training camp at Mt Laguna, near San Diego in California- organised by my manager Nic Bideau with Gary Henry overseeing our training. Like Falls, this was to be an essential block of training to keep us going through a stint on the European Circuit, as well as getting me ready for a 10km road race in NYC. I joined a great group of guys from around the world and had some of the best training of my life up in the mountains. Even through freak blizzards we worked well as a group and put in some solid work. Normally having to work full-time, I find that my running usually improves when I get away and can focus solely on training and recovery.

I raced well in The Healthy Kidney 10k, with a 7^th place finish and a road PB of 28:36, I really felt the benefit of the altitude training and loved the experience of being hosted by the New York Road Runners in the Big Apple. Being put up in a nice Hotel in downtown Manhattan, having Central Park as a racing and training venue- that really is living the dream for me! After a couple of days catching up with old friends in NYC, I boarded a flight to London for my first ever European campaign.

Nic’s set-up in Teddington (40 min out of London) is very conducive to running well, with days structured around a morning session, plenty of time for recovery and strength work- with a second run in the early evening. It is also a beautiful place to train- with Bushy Park, Home Park (Hampton Court Palace), Richmond Park and the River Thames all within easy running distance, as well as the track at St Mary’s University.

My first race in Europe was a 3000m at The Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic. I was 10^th in 7:49, which was a 6 sec PB but not as fast as I had hoped to run. I went too fast early in the race and paid for it towards the end. The overall experience of the meet was awesome. Bernard Lagat was in my race, and I had a good chance to chat to him afterwards. My roommate was Boaz Lalang, who went on to win the 800m in Delhi and I was lucky enough to go for a jog with (now) 800m WR holder David Rudisha as well as meet Usain Bolt. Rubbing shoulders with the best!

My next race was a 5000m at Montrieul- just outside Paris. Bobby Curtis and I made the trip on the Eurostar with high hopes of bettering our equal PBs of 13:25. This was the goal race of the trip and I was hoping for a big result between 13:10 and 13:20. Unfortunately I had to withdraw from the race with a back problem at 2k, which was bitterly disappointing. Bobby ran well to post a new PB of 13:17 in average conditions- coming very close to winning. After some Physio and Chiro work, Bobby and I hit the Champs Elysee for dinner, and I tried not to let my disappointment dampen his high spirits.

After a week of Osteo and rest, I was doubtful that I’d be able to race the 1500m at the British Milers Club meet in Watford (UK) that I had planned on running. I decided to make the trip with Lara Tamsett and Mitch Kealey anyway (with Sonia O’Sullivan at the wheel). Once there I thought I may as well warm up and see how the back felt. After a few strides I still seemed to be able to run OK so made the call to line up for my first 1500m race in 3 years! I ended up 3^rd in 3:39, which was an 11 sec PB. This was just what I needed to help erase the lingering negativity from the DNF in France and is an example of how some of your best results can come when you least expect them.

I fell ill overnight, thought it was just the effects of the race so forced myself through a 90 min run the next morning which buried me and I ended up in bed sick for a week. This really knocked me around and when combined with the taper for the 5000m in France and my back injury- meant that I had barely trained in over two weeks. Luckily I had a couple of weeks to bounce back for my last two races in Europe, which were to be a 5000m in Sollentuna (Sweden) and a 3000m two days later in Cork (Ireland). Despite the poor preparation, I was able to win a tactical 5000m in Sweden in 13:39, with a 26 sec last 200m and then also won the 3000m in Ireland in 8:02 with a 54 sec last 400m. While these certainly weren’t Diamond League races, it felt great to taste victory on the circuit. The benefit of having months (or even years) of consistent training behind me was that I didn’t lose too much fitness with a couple of weeks off.

While I didn’t achieve the fast times that I’d hoped for, partly due to circumstances beyond my control, I was content with my first Euro-trip and learned a lot to take with me next time. I had fun along the way, saw some sights and met some cool people. The trip had gained me a 10k road PB, a 3000m PB and a 1500 PB, as well as two tactical wins. I flew home to Sydney the day after my race in Ireland.

Despite having just come off a track season in Europe, we decided that a good solid month of longer work would help me get ready for Delhi, so the City 2 Surf would fit in nicely- approximately a month after landing back in Sydney. It’s good to break-up a long year and have short-term goals to focus on, without losing sight of the bigger picture, which for me was always Delhi.

I have been a huge fan of the C2S since first running it as an 8 year old, and I really wanted to have a good crack at it this year. I’d come 4^th then 2^nd the previous two years, so wanted the win this time around. A few weekends in the Blue Mountains as well as some solid sessions back with Sean’s squad had me in good shape, and on race day I was ready to roll. The guys ran well, with Shelley putting in a series of savage surges shortly after Heartbreak Hill, leaving us all feeling the pinch at the 10km mark. I had a couple of rough patches during the race, but started to feel strong on the long downhill into Bondi. It’s not often that 3 guys are together with 1 km to go, making for an exhilarating finish. Jeff didn’t quite have the change of pace with about 800m to go and I was able to counter Shelley’s move in the home straight to edge ahead and take the win by a second. This will undoubtedly go down as a career highlight for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything that day! Having family and friends there to share the experience with was awesome.

While I was out celebrating the win, I found out that I had been selected to represent ‘Asia Pacific’ in the Continental Cup (formerly known as the World Cup) to be held in Split (Croatia) in approximately three weeks time. I now had to try to recover from the C2S, sharpen up a bit, fly to the other side of the world and be ready to take on the best runners from ‘Africa’, ‘Europe’ and ‘the Americas’ over 3000m, while still getting the work done for Delhi.

It turned out that I wasn’t quite ready for a fast track race, finishing 8^th in the field of 11 with a time of 7:58. Bernard Lagat won in 7:54 with a 2:24 final km to edge out Moses Kipsiro, who would go on to win the 5/10 double in Delhi. Tariku Bekele was 4^th. I was in 6^th with 150 to go but faded in the final straight. I ran my last km in 2:27, which is still quite fast, but not good enough. A good mate Adrian Blincoe (NZ) was 6^th, beating me by a small margin as he did in Melbourne earlier in the year.

As the race was really only one hard km, I did a 20 min threshold/tempo run afterwards to get more of a training effect. This type of thing can help to sustain fitness during a racing tour. I had another race only 5 days later in Milan so needed to keep the momentum going for Delhi. We were looked after well in Split, staying at Le Meridien with its own private beach- pity we couldn’t have stayed an extra day or two!

The race in Milan went really well and I slashed another 7 seconds from my 3000m PB and 3 seconds from the NSW record, with a time of 7:42. Andy Baddeley just edged me out, and he has a New Balance shoe named after him now, so ‘The Saint’ may be released one day if I can get a little faster. This was a stacked field and I felt that I wasn’t out of my league (other than the lone Ethiopian who ran a world leading 7:28). I can also claim to have beaten the current Olympic 1500m Champ, as Asbel Kiprop faded badly.

We headed back to Teddington to put in the final push to be ready for Delhi. The routine was in place and the training went well. As is always the case with me, some sessions were great and others were mediocre- but on average I felt that I was in or close to the best shape of my life, which is exactly where I wanted to be. We had a 2 mile road race in Gateshead as part of The Great North City Games, Eng vs AUS on the 18^th of September. It was a fun event, but fell right at a point where we needed to be training hard for Delhi, so we had to ‘train through’. I was fairly happy with an 8:36 for two miles under the circumstances. I was fourth behind Mottram, Thompson and Baddeley with Collis in 5^th. 


                                  Stay tuned for Part 2 next week