Tim Bayley Olympic Dream Update

Since my last blog entry a lot has happened. I have now run three races over here and have had mixed results so far. The first race in London was an 800m and was never going to be great for me in hindsight- I was still a little jet lagged and needed to get one race under my belt to feel ready to race at my best. I ended up finishing 7th in a time of 1:49.84s which was a seasons best so I was relatively satisfied with the result. True to England the weather was wet and windy which didn't help my cause!

The next morning I flew out to Marakkesh in Morocco to prepare for my second race- another 800m. The race was actually in Casablanca three hours away by car, but the flight was much cheaper to Marakkesh. Marakkesh is an amazing place and if any of you ever have the opportunity to visit I would highly recommend it. The Mosque is extremely old and the architecture magnificent. The market there called the suke (probably misspelled) is also really entertaining with stools selling anything and everything you can imagine as well as lost of authentic Moroccan products. There are also Cobra snake charmers and monkeys wearing diapers wondering around. The weather was very comparable to the East bay.

Three days after arriving I raced in Casablanca. The race went out very fast and after 200m I found myself at the back (11th) but after 600m proceeded to move through the field and finished 6th in a time of 1:48.6s so a further seasons best and decent improvement.

After a great trip I flew back to England and spent one day at home before travelling up to Birmingham to try my hand over 1500m (metric mile) I went out harder that I ever had before over this distance and made a move for the finish with 350m remaining. I then proceeded to fall apart with 200m to go and finished 4th in 3:44.3s which was a disappointing time but I was very pleased with the commitment that I made to try to run fast.

We have now made the decision that I will compete over 800m at the Olympic trials instead of 1500m. I now have two more races coming up in both Manchester (2nd July) and London (3rd July) both over 800m before putting in some final preparations for the trials. I feel positive that I can step my game up over these next two races and at the trials and believe that it is there to be won if I can get it right and run to my full potential.

I am also really excited for Priscilla to arrive on the 5th July and this will give me a huge boost before the trials. I miss her so much and feel stronger and more confident when we are together.

I hope that everyone is doing well back in the sunny East Bay....see you all in 19 days or so!