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Meet The Guest

James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson is one of UK's top prospects at the steeplechase winning the silver medal at the Junior Championships last year, he followed that up with a bronze medal at the European Junior XC losing the silver to our own Nick Goolab. A Leeds athlete James studies at Birmingham University and has a bright future ahead of him. James took time to talk to RunnersLife after winning the silver medal at the recent National XC in his home town of Leeds.

 

Personal bests:

1500m - 3:48

3000m - 8:14

5000m - 14:35

3000m Steeplechase - 8:51

 

Questions

How did 2009 go for you?

2009 was a great year for me, my most successful to date. I had a few storming runs and some shockers as well. Particular stand outs are racing for GB for the first time, finishing 2nd in European 3k s/c and the entire Euro XC weekend. We won't go into the shockers; I like to forget about them.

How was running in Jordon World cross for you?

The race itself in Jordan didn't go to plan. I ran quite badly there. I think I got hooked up on going off steady and working through. In the end I ended up working through too quickly and I blew up big time. If you blow up in that kind of race, it really goes! There were guys constantly passing me. Plus the course itself was either up or down with rock hard ground all the way. It was like a road race. I was in agony with a long way to go but I had to finish it with it being my first major champs.

After all that I still learnt a massive amount from the trip. Learning to cope with a poor race and to bounce back after that was a brilliant learning curve. We had a training camp prior to going to Jordan; this was great for getting to know the whole team and getting some last minute training in.

European juniors you won the silver medal, can you talk us through the race from your point of view?

The race itself went according to plan. I knew that it would go would fairly quickly so I sat at the back for the first 1km. I was dead last and then I started to gradually move through. By 1km to go I was in a group of about 6 or 7, this gradually thinned out when the Spaniard (1st place) pushed it on. I had the decision of whether to go with him when he made the move. I decided as I'd already done a bit of work moving through I'd sit in.

After that it was a case of a bit of cat and mouse with the other two. There were three of us coming into the last water jump with two medals up for grabs. I was stuck on the inside hoping for them to leave me a gap to squeeze through. The water jump was a bit different to what everyone was used to, it was a direct line rather than a curve. This meant that they moved out and left me just enough room to fit through. I accelerated into it and I then had the momentum leaving it. I'm not known for my finish usually but on that day it wasn't half bad!

In the end I finished 2nd with third place a few tenths of a second behind. Third on the day was the very same Belgian lad who won the Euro XC from me and Nick. I was over the moon with the race; I got a 7 second PB having been doubtful about being in the team two weeks before. I couldn't ask for anymore.


What was the experience like in that championships outside of the race itself?

The whole trip was a brilliant experience. I know I've said a lot about getting experience and learning but you really do pick up a lot. Prior to the Europeans I had been to the Commonwealth youth games so I had a taste of these type of international track championships.

With an event such as steeplechase it's rare to race heats and then a final. In that respect this competition gave me another shot at this. I didn't fair very well in my first heats and final (BUCS 2009 - I hit a water jump in the heats!) so this was another chance. It didn't go perfectly (see below) but I did what I had to.

The atmosphere within the team was brilliant. Most days we went to the track to watch everybody compete. Somedays we didn't as it was very hot! We looked forward to everybody arriving back to let us know how everyone had done; often with medals as well. It really was an atmosphere that promoted success and that we there was nobody to fear. Everybody on the team was very supportive and reasonable with each other. I was competing on the final day and the support on the back straight was awesome.

You qualified in the last spot before going into the final...was that a plan?

Definitely not! I obviously wanted to qualify with the least amount of effort as everybody else does. However, I was a bit quite negative before the final and I ran a stupid race tactically. For some reason I led a small second group for a while; I'm not the best front runner either. I was by no means comfortable at getting through. A Greek guy pipped me on the line and almost sent me out straight away. I stayed in by a couple of tenths of a second. However, I was miles more confident for the final and the rest, as they say, is history...

How was the recent outing in Dublin (Euro champs XC)?

Dublin was a great race for me. Although I was so close to winning, I still have no regrets and enjoyed every second of the race. To lead the European XC Championships was an awesome feeling. I can say that I took a gamble and it almost came off. If only Goolab didn't appear from nowhere! To dominate the team race as we did was an added bonus. 

You're at Birmingham Uni with Nick, how is that going?

I don't see Nick all that often around campus. We do bump into each other every so often but I think his timetable is more demanding than mine so we don't meet up all that much. The athletes all socialise a lot together so we do see each other sometimes.

University is a great all round experience. Initially I was sceptical about going to Uni as I didn't like the idea of all the debt. I can honestly say that it's the best decision I've ever made. University life is very good and it can be a perfect couple of years for training as well. Choosing an athletics Uni is also a great decision; you meet more athletes from all around the country who are enthusiastic and help to spur you on.

Did you choose that University for athletics in particular?

The university's reputation for athletics was a big factor in choosing to study here. I had been to stay a couple of times before; therefore I knew that I liked the setup. A couple of people from my club were already here, this meant that I had the chance to come and stay a couple of times whilst still in 6th form. Half of my group from home were planning on coming here too, so it made it an easy decision for me in the end.

When applying to come here I met with Bud and talked through things such as a scholarship and the support that would be at hand. The scholarships available in the UK are nowhere near what they are in America. My scholarship has been very beneficial and it's really helped me to improve whilst here. I try to make the most of all that different aspects of it, from psychological support to strength and conditioning. Psychological support has been a key part in my improvement whilst here. I was a bit sceptical at first. It helps you to develop a firm routine and changes the way that you look at training and racing. I would recommend it to everybody. You don't have to have a problem to benefit from it. Sorry, I sound like a salesman!

What are you studying?

I'm studying Sport and Exercise sciences. I'm in my second year of my degree now.

You recently competed in the BUCS for Birmingham, how did you and the team get on?

As a team we finished 2nd to St Marys. I finished in 8th place.

My race was solid. I was neither happy nor unhappy with it. At the start of the week I was doubtful about running; so even to be racing was a bonus. I had a sore foot the previous week and this meant that I had to make do with aqua jogging and spinning. I set off too hard and this resulted in a real bad patch mid race. I fought back pretty well and managed to finish high up still. I think Nick's run makes mine look much worse because of how close we were at the Euro's.

Any particular aims for the year?

One of the main aims over the next 6 months is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. My PB is 12 seconds slower than the steeplechase qualifying time so if I have a good year this is hopefully within reach. I took 20 seconds off of my time in the last year so hopefully I can take another chunk off. I raced at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008 and I learnt so much from this. It was a great experience there and to be able to experience it at a senior level would be great.  


Easy Running

Some of the uni lads give me stick about never running fast; this is due to a good chunk of my week being easy running. I think the pace would probably be about 6:30-7 min/mile, it's all based on how I feel really. I value these as a very important part of my training. I think that they help me to recover and get the base work in for races. I do virtually all of my runs with the other Leeds based athletes at Uni, along with the other freshers and second years.


Steady Running

Every Monday I'm down for a steady run, this often becomes an easier run due to feeling tired from a hard week. Early on in the winter (Sept/Oct) all runs are a bit quicker and they include a lot of steady type work. Pace wise I wouldn't have a clue what these would be. I often wear a heart rate monitor; this helps me to gauge how hard it is. A lot of sessions include tempo/threshold work; especially in early winter training.  

 

Interval Work

I usually do two or three sessions a week. We vary the emphasis of the session all the time. The type of session varies a lot depending on what stage of training we are in. In early Sept/October I tend to do a lot of threshold work. This gradually changes to more long rep type work in November. Closer to the main peaking races I throw in some track sessions to get me that bit quicker. These sessions are always in a group, either with the main uni group or some of the guys from home, who are at uni with me also. I do have some favourite sessions in the winter, 12 x 400 is a good confidence booster for me. This is nice because we get to do a bit of track work still.

The surface is often dependent upon the time of year. I've grown up with doing a lot of my training on the grass and I try to do this as often as possible whilst at uni. In winter my timetable still allows me to get on grass when I need to. I'll be racing over the cross so it helps to be able to train on it consistently.

Some of the hardest sessions for me are in the summer. Doing chase training is always horrible. Usually because I'm on my own or only with one other person. I think I did a session last year which was something like 3 x 1k, 3 x 400 then 1 x 1k. All over barriers. That was a particularly nasty one! Another horrible session, not including barriers, is 15 x 40 seconds (20 recov!). The recovery makes this session so tough.


Can you give a typical week in full training and race week?

A typical week for me is:

Monday - 60 mins easy/steady & weights

Tuesday - 35 mins easy in AM & Group session on grass in the afternoon.

Wednesday - 70 mins easy & circuits.

Thursday - 35 mins easy in AM & session/threshold run in eve.

Friday - Rest/Short run depending upon how tired I feel. Drills occasionally.

Saturday - Group session in AM & 35 mins easy in eve.

Sunday - 2 hours. Making sure I feel tired in the last 30 mins.

 

A typical rest week would be something like:

Sunday - 90 mins max.

Monday - 60 mins easy.

Tuesday - 35 mins easy in AM & controlled Group session on grass in afternoon.

Wednesday - 60 mins easy.

Thursday - 1 hour including 8 x 200m strides.

Friday - Rest/Short run.

Saturday - Race. Long warm down. 

 

Mileage

What is your mileage are you doing in training phases?

My mileage in a standard week is consistently at 80-85. In race weeks it tapers off to about 65. I seem to race pretty well off of high mileage so it doesn't decrease that much, all that often. 

Last track season I kept my mileage pretty high for the majority of it as I wanted to be in a good position to increase it again for the winter. This meant sticking to about 65 for the bulk of the season then dropping it off in about june/july. It resulted in a good base early on in the season for the 5k type races. I'll probably keep this kind of plan for the next couple of years to help to increase mileage each winter.

What is your longest run of the week?

2 hours on a Sunday. This has gradually progressed each year and I value this as an important part of the week. I'd like to move up to marathons later in my career and these runs will prove vital in changing to that stage of training. 

What's your opinion on mileage in general?

I think that in order to be a successful senior you have to be able to do consistently high volume training. If this means running 100 miles then I will endeavour to do so.

I do all my runs to a specified time rather than distance. Therefore I rarely know how many miles I have done until the end of the week when I add them up. I've grown up with this method to my training and I don't have any problems with getting obsessive with this type of thing anyway. I do see myself running regularly over 100 miles in the future as I think that I'd suit this type of training.

 

Strength Work

I've been doing weights and circuits for a long time now. I started circuits when I was just starting running seriously. I included weights a year after that; so at about 14. My weights plan has gradually changed over the years to suit my stage of training and my weaknesses. Initially the plan was developed by Phil with the help of an athlete from Loughborough who had their program to hand. I now work with an S&C coach from the uni. This helps to make my plan that bit more specific.

The base of the program has always included squats and lunges. These are the most important exercises that I have always done. The other exercises used to be upper body work such as bench press and dumb bell work. This isn't really included any more as my upper body was more than strong enough after that. I still think this was important initially, however it's gradually become less so. The usual number of sets and reps is 3 sets of 12 reps. This is standard across all exercises with an emphasis on endurance vs strength.

The benefits of weights are often overlooked by a lot of runners. The usual phobia of getting too big from weights is a common reason. I also think that a lot of guys try weights and get sore from them initially. This then impacts and hampers their tues/thurs session and this is 'more important' to them. For the first few weeks you'll be very sore but this is just part of hard training. Weights also help to improve core stability and balance.

Circuits in Leeds have been based on the Birmingham athletics club circuits for a number of years. These include a core stability section at the start then onto more conventional circuit type exercises; such as press ups, plank etc. The time at each 'station' changes regularly but it's roughly 30 seconds with a 15 second recovery.

 

Massage

I get massage either every week or every other week. This could be one of the reasons why I'm pretty robust; I've had very few injuries thus far. I've been having massage/physio for a good few years now. Obviously when I was younger I didn't need massage all that often as training is much easier. Plus I wasn't as serious and therefore couldn't afford to shell out that much money as often. There are a couple of masseurs at uni and I see a physio regularly when I'm at home in Leeds.

 

Diet

My diet is pretty good generally. When I go back home it's pretty bad as all the bad foods that I like are there! At uni I live with other runners and we try to make sure that are main meals are pretty balanced. We rarely eat fast food as we're not all that bothered by it, plus it's generally more expensive. My main weaknesses are sweets and chocolate; something that Goolab likes to tell the whole world about! I've always had a bad reputation for it since I was much younger.

 

Group Training

I've always trained in a group and this has been essential to my development. I used to be in the middle of the group when it was just guys my age. Now I'm more to the fore of the group, yet I still have seniors to work with. The group at home, coached by Phil Townsend, all work hard together and it's rarely competitive. Athletes in the group include; Simon Deakin, Luke Cragg, Steve Lisgo to name a select few!

At Birmingham we have a very similar set up. There are always guys to run with and we try to accommodate each other in our training. On session days we regularly have 20-30 guys training who all like to work together. Bud Baldaro is instrumental in organising and looking after us whilst we are here. He really helps us to settle into life at uni as well. I think I wouldn't be alone in saying that Bud is at the heart of the group and really helps to keep us all enthusiastic. He is more than happy to help us out even if he doesn't coach us. He's been a great help in my progression over the last year.

 

Rest / Recovery

I try to take a break at the end of each season. Definitely after track season. I have one week completely off and then another week of easy running of roughly 45 mins per day. After XC I try to take at least one week off/easy. This sometimes proves difficult due to when races fall. These breaks help me to switch off from running for a while and relax/go on holiday. 

 

Wilko

 

Comments On "James Wilkinson Interview"

Interesting he talks about the distance athlete's fear of getting too big from weights, yet he works in sets of 12 - classic hypertrophy seeking lifting session that a lot of bodybuilders would follow.

Al Posted on March 8th, 2010

Agreed. amazing guy... every aspiring athlete should look to this guy.

Ralf L Posted on March 5th, 2010

just an all round, nice guy

dot cotton Posted on March 4th, 2010