Dutch delight

Sorry for being a bit late with my June blog post but this month has been hectic, challenging and amazing. So let me explain why.

I am now the European champion for my classification over 100m and 200m following the IPC Euros in Holland. I was particularly pleased with my performance over the 200m as this is the first title I have won over that distance and it has given my confidence a real boost. I also won my races at the Spanish and German Opens, with a new personal best over 100m which means I am less than 0.1seconds away from the world record.

Before one of the races at the Euros my coach came bouncing along the track to tell me that my training partner Richard Whitehead had just broken the world record in his race. So the friendly rivalry between training partners was increased a bit and I figured I should put on a good performance to keep our coach in his good mood.

With all this international travel I have been staying in a variety of accommodation. Spain was a youth hostel and in Holland I had the top mattress on the wobbliest set of bunk beds there has ever been. It was great to come home, get back to my house and a comfy bed.

Channel 4 is the broadcaster for the Paralympics and they have been recording some of my training sessions. As a result of a mix-up in diaries I came into training one day and asked who the camera crew of 25 were in to film. Turns out they were there for me. Things were complicated a bit further when I realised that my guide runner Mikhail was not able to make training that day. Fortunately, a 400m runner called Chris Clark agreed to a quick lesson in being a guide runner and helped out with the filming.

The plan for July is to work on my speed endurance. This involves lots of repetitions of races with short rest intervals. These sessions are not fun but are a vital part of my preparation. Each week there is something else that reminds me that the Paralympics are getting closer. My family received their tickets last week and in mid-July I am scheduled to pick up the Team GB kit for the Paralympics. I have one more race at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix but everything is focused around being ready for London.

I have just had my last weekend off until after the Paralympics and I went back to see my family in the Borders. It was great catching up with them before the final sprint of preparations.

I want to end this post by saying a public congratulations to my brother James who has been selected for the Paralympics as part of the GB Swim Team. It is fantastic that he has made the team and his big sister is very proud of him.

Keep up to date on what Libby is doing at www.facebook.com/espcteamlibby.