its been a while since my last update and so much has happened. after the race in helgelo where i beat dayron robles i travelled around running in various other races against the best hurdlers in the world all trying to get myself in peak condition for the looming european champs in barcelona. i felt in great shape in the weeks leading upto the champs and had a nervous excitement in me that i tried to keep relaxed about. team GB headed to a training camp for 10 days before the champs in portugal, its a great facility, very relaxed with great weather and great food. my training out there was extremely limited, i felt in peak shape so we didnt want to push anything too hard and risk injury so just kept things ticking over. 10 days later and we are in barcelona getting ready for the race, by now my training was very easy, nothing but short sharp runs over 2-3 hurdles and lifting 2 to 3 reps of 70% max. i won my heat in a very easy 13.48, i felt like i only ran at 70% as i wanted to save energy for the semi and the final the following day, i felt very confident after my heat that i could run a personal best and challenge for the gold. the next evening and im ready for my semi final, i get a great start and at the 6th hurdle im winning, 1 tiny lapse of concentration and i smash a hurdle and wobble almost into the next lane, i maintain my composure and still finish in 2nd in a poor 13.50, i still knew deep inside that i could win the gold but i had to make sure i have a clean race and make no mistakes. the final was an hour and 10 minutes after the heat, just time to eat a protein bar, get a quick check up from the physio and back into the call room. the moments leading upto the final i felt very calm and relaxed, on the start line i was focussed, all i had to do was believe in myself. the gun went and i reacted well, it was between myself and  a guy from the czech republic, he was marginally ahead at the 5th hurdle but i pulled back slightly which caused him to tense up and hit hurdles, i took the lead and found an extra gear and powered to the line. the feeling as i crossed the line was pure elation, finally things had come together and the time id ran 13.28 into a headwind was onlt 1 100th of a second off my personal best. as i went on my lap of honour with the union jack round me it was a truly amazing feeling, all my doubters proved wrong in 13 and a bit seconds just made the victory sweeter. later that evening i was crowned european champion and given my medal, again an unforgetable moment! its been hectic ever since getting back, we were part of the most succesful british team ever so the hype around the medallists has been crazy. after landing i had interviews with tv, radio and newspapers, bbc tv even turned up at my mums house to interview her! its just about calming down now but still a complete whirlwind. the best thing for me is being introduced on the start line to races as the european champion, gives me a great sense of satisfaction and pride. ive raced a few times since then, mostly good runs with some good times, but my personal best is still yet to go and thats what im working on! i have a few races left then onto delhi for the commonwealth games, hopefully by the end of the year ill be a european and commonwealth champion, sounds much better than the european and commonwealth bronze medallist i am from 4 years ago. thanks to phd for the supplements, you guys definately had a hand in my success.

its been a very good start to my season so far. i started with my 13.46 in jamaica which was a decent opening race, technically it was poor but thats what made it good as the time was quick. since then i ran in an exhibition race in manchester, basically they lay out a 200 meter track in the middle of manchester city centre and invite some of the worlds best athletes to race over various distances. i firstly competed in the 110 hurdles against a good field, 2 olympic finalists, 1 of which has won 2 olympic silver and various world championship medals, his name is Terrence Trammell for the USA. i won the race in 13.37 to terrences 13.39, a good result!! then i competed in the 200 meter hurdles, an event iv never done in my life. the british recors was held by colin jackson at 22.63 and the world record was 22.52 by an italian guy. i won the race over some very good competition in a new world record time of 22.30!!! i went into the race with no expectations so to break the world record was completely unexpected and it still sounds weird to say im a world record holder.
i then competed in hengelo a week later against world record holder and olympic champion over the 110 hurdles, Dayron Robles. i ran a good race and managed to win beating dayron in the process, the conditiond were terrible, rainy, winday and cold so to run 13,34 was a good time for me. hopefully be pb of 13.27 will be broken very soon. my next race is rome on the 10th of june so fingers crossed for that one.

Hey everyone, its been a while since my 1st update so i thought id let you know how things have been since my injury plagued visit to south Africa. The trip really put my training back and when i got home it didnt get much better. After numerous scans and physio work didnt seem to knock it on the head it was time for the doctors needles to try. I had around 10 injections, in and around the ankle joint and into the achilles (a risky procedure but one that seemed to work the best). Somehow during this time i managed to prolapse a disc in my back for the 2nd time this year, this meant i was flat on my back but it seemed the rest did my back and achiiles some good. so……eventually back to training.
Around the end of march each year i head to LA for 6 weeks training, i went there pain free and managed some excellent quality work while i was out there. Im a massive fan of LA, one day id actually like to live there as the way of life is so much easier than back at home. Its pretty much got everything you could possibly want so when we have time off i love to get out and enjoy what it has to offer. One day we went to 6 flags theme park, im a major wimp when it comes to rides as i cant bare heights but i was dragged on all the biggest rides and absoultely loved it!! I think i shortened my life somewhat with how scared i was but i think it was worth it!
The training out there was really tough, my coach works us extra hard for 3-4 weeks then towards the end of the trip start to taper down with more quality work than quantity. Lloyd Cowan (my coach) always enters us for a 4×400 relay to see where we are in training, bare in mind i run 110 meters 400 meters may aswell be 5 miles!! i was pleased as i ran 46.4 which shows me im stronger than ever over that distance. My weights work went well aswell, i have a cleans personal best of 120kg for a single rep but i managed 115kg for 3 reps which ive never done before. As training was going well, lloyd decided i should run the 110hurdles at a small race in San Diego. The race was more of a time trial as my personal best was almost 2 seconds quicker than anyones in the race, but i fell foul of the new false start rule and as a consequence i was disqualified, what a complete muppet!! lloyd killed me for that one!!
So the next week Lloyd suggested we fly to Jamaica for a meet over there. Its always a very strong field so i knew i had to run well to even be in contention, i finished 3rd in 13.46 and hit 2 hurdles very hard which threw off my momentum, so all things considered i was happy with the time and placing. Im now back in the UK, i race a small meet in nottingham this weekend then on the 16th may i run a 110 hurdles and a 200 hurdles at a street race in Manchester which will be live on BBC. After that ill be out on the European circuit, ill update you on how things go.
thanks for reading.
Andy

id like to start by saying a big thankyou to phd supplements for looking after me and all my supplement needs!!

Ive literally just landed and got home from a 12 hour flight back from cape town. ive been out in stellenbosch for the last 3 weeks training or kind of training as i picked up a slight problem with my plantaris muscle in my foot which basically makes my achilles tendon feel tight and feels like its about to snap, not ideal for running the 110 meter hurdles. i managed a week out there before the problem arose but the other 2 weeks have been spent in the pool and gym doing what i can. Im still hoping to compete in the indoor season and still possible compete for Great Britain in Doha in the world indoor champs in march but im just going to have to see how things go. Apart from the rehab sessions we took time out to do a little sightseeing like visiting Table mountain and going to a cheetah park where we stroked an adult cheetah, with the sightseeing over it was time to go to the go kart track……boys will be boys!! I’ll update more on the injury soon and let you guys know if i manage to compete and how things are going.
All the best
andy