The challenge over the indoor season for Philippa was that lots of things changed - the move up to the U20 age group saw her to take on new challenges, especially as the hurdles went up in height for the first time in 4 years plus the Shot Put got a kilo heavier.
It's fair to say that the hurdles were the biggest challenge and not so much in the height, more in the spacing. A lot of work went in over the winter on the hurdles and her first race was at the Northern Indoor Open in Sheffield on the 7th December where she clocked 9.27 seconds - not a bad start. The 4k Shot experience had started a little earlier with a 10.18m throw at the Gateshead Indoor Series back in November. Back at the Northern Indoor Open, Philippa threw 10.42m in the Shot to give her a new pb.
As we moved into 2020, the main competition targets for Philippa were the Northern Indoor Championships and the Scottish National Indoor Championships. There was also a Combined Events feel to the competition year with the English National Indoor Champs and the North East Indoor Pentathlon on the agenda.
The English National Indoor CE Champs came first and it wasn't a great day for Philippa as she didn't feel great and as the day went on, she gradually felt worse. She started with a new pb of 9.24 seconds in the 60m Hurdles but then it was 1.39m in the High Jump, 4.86m in the Long Jump followed by a new pb in the Shot of 10.67m. By the time we got to the 800m she was goosed and a 3.11 800 finished off what could have been a much better day, although she still ended up finishing 14th with 2720 points.
The following weekend saw us back in Sheffield again at the Northern Indoor Champs - a much better day for Philippa. First up was the 60m Hurdles and it was a straight final. She had a blistering start but couldn't quite keep the pace up but finished with a great 9.06 second pb and a Silver medal. We then went onto the Shot, where another pb came out at 10.74m for her to finish 5th.
Next on the agenda were the North East Indoor Championships with Long Jump & Shot Put on Saturday and 60m Hurdles on the Sunday. The Long Jump was going to be stressful for me as I coach one of her competitors in the U20W age group. The competition started off well (for me) with Audrey jumping a 5.17m pb and then Philippa whipped out a 5.25m jump to equal the Championship Best. But the competition wasn't over, as Louise Smith created her own CBP with a 5.35m jump - it was a great comp with Philippa finishing 2nd. She then went on to the Shot, which was also a bit stressful for me as I was on retrieve and maybe my toes where a target as she threw a massive 11.40m to give her a new pb and hit the English Schools National standard. It was the Gold medal winning throw and she was delighted with her performance, especially as she doesn't train much for Shot. The Sunday saw Philippa in the 60m Hurdles and she ended up being the only competitor and she ran with the U17M to try and pull her along a bit, but her time was 9.31 seconds.
The last weekend in February was our trip to Glasgow for the Scottish National Indoor Championships. Philippa was competing in the 60m Hurdles and the Shot - a nice evenly spaced pair of events at the Emirates Arena. The hurdles had a semi final and final, with Philippa cruising to 9.31 seconds in the heat to qualify easily for the final. The final was a faster affair and she hit an agonising 9 seconds dead - she was really keen to get something starting with an 8 and it was so close, but after crashing out in Glasgow the year before, achieving a Bronze medal was a great achievement. The afternoon saw her compete in the Shot and it was a very close competition, with her throwing a best of 10.84m to come 4th.
The final indoor competition was the North East Indoor Pentathlon on a weekend that was at the start of the Covid19 shenanigans and it was a nervous comp as I think we all felt it would be the last time we'd be able to see a competition. The day started unusually with the High Jump - her achilles heel event and it was a long haul to get to a best of 1.40m. Too many jumps tired her for the Hurdles, but she hit a 9.19 second time before 4.82m in the Long Jump. The Shot continued to be a strong event with a best throw of 11.05m and she was pretty pleased to have hit over 11m for a second time over the winter. The great thing for the NE Indoor Pentathlon is that it finishes with a 60m race - always a popular choice, with Philippa running 8.05 seconds to complete a winning day with a score of 3325 points.
Overall, another winter of ups and downs, but a lot more positives especially with a Silver medal at Northern's and Bronze medal at Scottish National's as well as three NE Gold medals too. Top marks to the Geoff for his fantastic input into preparing her for competition and for keeping the show on the road. Thanks also go to Sport Newcastle and the Chloe & Liam Together Forever Trust who have both given grants to Philippa for the 2020 season. If we get a summer season, lets see what it brings.........................
It's fair to say that the hurdles were the biggest challenge and not so much in the height, more in the spacing. A lot of work went in over the winter on the hurdles and her first race was at the Northern Indoor Open in Sheffield on the 7th December where she clocked 9.27 seconds - not a bad start. The 4k Shot experience had started a little earlier with a 10.18m throw at the Gateshead Indoor Series back in November. Back at the Northern Indoor Open, Philippa threw 10.42m in the Shot to give her a new pb.
The following weekend saw us back in Sheffield again at the Northern Indoor Champs - a much better day for Philippa. First up was the 60m Hurdles and it was a straight final. She had a blistering start but couldn't quite keep the pace up but finished with a great 9.06 second pb and a Silver medal. We then went onto the Shot, where another pb came out at 10.74m for her to finish 5th.Next on the agenda were the North East Indoor Championships with Long Jump & Shot Put on Saturday and 60m Hurdles on the Sunday. The Long Jump was going to be stressful for me as I coach one of her competitors in the U20W age group. The competition started off well (for me) with Audrey jumping a 5.17m pb and then Philippa whipped out a 5.25m jump to equal the Championship Best. But the competition wasn't over, as Louise Smith created her own CBP with a 5.35m jump - it was a great comp with Philippa finishing 2nd. She then went on to the Shot, which was also a bit stressful for me as I was on retrieve and maybe my toes where a target as she threw a massive 11.40m to give her a new pb and hit the English Schools National standard. It was the Gold medal winning throw and she was delighted with her performance, especially as she doesn't train much for Shot. The Sunday saw Philippa in the 60m Hurdles and she ended up being the only competitor and she ran with the U17M to try and pull her along a bit, but her time was 9.31 seconds.
The last weekend in February was our trip to Glasgow for the Scottish National Indoor Championships. Philippa was competing in the 60m Hurdles and the Shot - a nice evenly spaced pair of events at the Emirates Arena. The hurdles had a semi final and final, with Philippa cruising to 9.31 seconds in the heat to qualify easily for the final. The final was a faster affair and she hit an agonising 9 seconds dead - she was really keen to get something starting with an 8 and it was so close, but after crashing out in Glasgow the year before, achieving a Bronze medal was a great achievement. The afternoon saw her compete in the Shot and it was a very close competition, with her throwing a best of 10.84m to come 4th.
The final indoor competition was the North East Indoor Pentathlon on a weekend that was at the start of the Covid19 shenanigans and it was a nervous comp as I think we all felt it would be the last time we'd be able to see a competition. The day started unusually with the High Jump - her achilles heel event and it was a long haul to get to a best of 1.40m. Too many jumps tired her for the Hurdles, but she hit a 9.19 second time before 4.82m in the Long Jump. The Shot continued to be a strong event with a best throw of 11.05m and she was pretty pleased to have hit over 11m for a second time over the winter. The great thing for the NE Indoor Pentathlon is that it finishes with a 60m race - always a popular choice, with Philippa running 8.05 seconds to complete a winning day with a score of 3325 points.
Overall, another winter of ups and downs, but a lot more positives especially with a Silver medal at Northern's and Bronze medal at Scottish National's as well as three NE Gold medals too. Top marks to the Geoff for his fantastic input into preparing her for competition and for keeping the show on the road. Thanks also go to Sport Newcastle and the Chloe & Liam Together Forever Trust who have both given grants to Philippa for the 2020 season. If we get a summer season, lets see what it brings.........................
Comments
Post a Comment