29/06/05: Selection races
Another tough and trying weekend of make or break racing. For me it went well,
but for Jenny it turned out to be a repeat of last year's bitter disappointment.
Since the difficult time we had in the 2004 season, it has
been hard to deal with selection race pressure. As an athlete with aspirations
for top international results it is important to invest every bit of energy
into preparing for WOC itself - selection races in themselves are not the goal
for the season. It is hard to deal with when your aspirations come crumbling
down at this early hurdle and you don't even get a shot at your target.
The weekend got off to a bad start when I passed on a post-Jukola cold to Jenny
before the races had even begun. Jenny ran a solid race in the sprint only to
later (several hours later..!) discover that she had skipped a control, an uncharacteristic
mistake that several runners experienced - most noticed and went back for it.
My race was mediocre and I was no match for Matt Speake's impressively quick
time.
Jenny had always planned to miss the long distance, and took the chance to spend
time recovering from her cold. It was a tough, bushy, physical race, as expected
- I went into it with the philosophy that I would not try to fight the terrain.
I saved my energy on the steep climbs and in the thick undergrowth but ran hard
whenever there was an opportunity for path running. I knew I had put in a good
performance but was bowled over by my result. A lot of people suffered from
big mistakes early in the course - never easy to come back from. Still, Simonas
Krepsta put us all to shame with his impressive run later in the day.
The middle distance was Last Chance Saloon for Jenny, on an extremely low visibility,
intricate slope - perhaps the most challenging middle distance race I have ever
run. She made some mistakes, feeling the weight of pressure on her, but coped
with them to finish 4th. Not great by her standards, but I certainly thought
that this would be enough. My race was poor at the start. I dropped over three
minutes in the first kilometre to be caught by Jamie. This felt bad but I thought
I would at least do my best to finish ahead of him. We ran together for a few
legs and eventually I got lucky - Jamie missed a control and I managed to get
away. In this terrain big mistakes were waiting at every turn and we both lost
time over the rest of the course but Jamie dealt with it well to take a narrow
victory.
Now the
selections have been made and I have been given the Long and Middle. I'm
happy to be running these races and I think that the team will be strong but
I'm deeply disappointed not to be in the relay team. One day I will be there
but for now, well done to Matt Speake, but commiserations to Dan, who was forced
to pull out of the test races due to back problems. Congratulations to all those
who made the team, especially the rookies Ewan and Mhairi.
Jenny did not make the team, nor is she reserve. She found out from another
athlete by text message on Monday morning. She later learned from an email that
was only circulated to the team that the GB places will not be filled in the
women's middle distance at WOC. After three fully funded training camps to Japan
a GB result will be thrown down the drain at WOC. I'm no stato, but I wonder
when the last time GB did not take a full team to WOC - certainly not since
lottery funding. For Jenny it feels as though they would rather have an empty
place than take her to run in her chosen discipline. She has still not had any
contact with a squad coach or any feedback on this selection. She is however,
grateful to members of the team who have shown their support.
For now, Jenny is struggling to come to terms with this and its implications for the future of her international orienteering career. I am preparing for WOC. Next week we will leave for Switzerland and the Post Finance Sprint and Swiss 5. We'll also be there at JWOC cheering on the GB juniors - good luck to them!