Lauren Steadman - Blog

Auckland Paratriathlon World Championships....

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:57:09 +0000

On the 19th of September I flew to NewZealand with my aunt and uncle to train solidly for 5 weeks prior to the championships. Training was tough, as I got coached by Sam Warriner a renowned triathlete in NewZealand; after the first few sessions I began to feel more confident in my running, and started to gain a few bike handling skills. My bike sponsored by Cycles UK, completed 200km whilst I was training out there, more than I have ever ridden in my life. NewZealand was an awesome place to prepare myself, with Rotorua having unlimited roads to ride, endless forests to run through, and a 50m pool to have a splash in! Once in Auckland, time went faster and before I knew it, the Aquathlon had come round. Unfortunately the para aquathlon swim distance got shortened to 300m from 1000m, however I still managed a 30second lead over my competitors, then my 5K run went really well and I came 2nd behind world champion Faye McCllend. This was a good marker to show how my training had gone, the plan was too now relax and rest my legs ready for the big day on Monday! Everything was going perfect until Saturday night when I got food poisoning, it meant Sunday was spent recovering in bed and I managed to eat some toast prior to the triathlon- but it wasn’t much. However, I hadn’t travelled all that way too not race so I put the race face on and challenged the rest of world. My swim went well, 4.26 this time 40 seconds ahead of everyone else, all my transitions were awesome, however on the bike I felt fatigued, I had no energy to use, I was just going brought the motions… But continued and once I crossed the line, I had come 5th; I was slightly disappointed as if I had been 100% well, I might have achieved better, but I went home smiling! Thanks to Cycles UK for sponsoring me with a bike to race at the World Championships… It was greatly appreciated.

Video

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:46:33 +0100

Races....

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:24:50 +0100

First race was my 400m Freestyle. It went really well, I hit my Personal Best in the morning heat and qualified into the final in 7^th Place. The race was tough but having a home crowd behind you made all the difference. Walking out to 17,000 people cheering you on is priceless! The evening of the 400m final I came 6^th so I was pleased to have moved up another position and felt that 6^th in world was a bad evenings work! I was super happy even though it was a really tough race!

50m Freestyle was always going to be a tough race to qualify for the final, and sadly I missed out on the final.

My next main focus was the 100m Freestyle. This race I had many personal goals I wanted to achieve; firstly I wanted to make the final, something I didn’t achieve in Beijing! Next was to beat the time of 1.06 minutes as I wanted to hit 1.05 really badly! And the morning of the 100m strangely I felt content and a few little nerves but I think my body knew what it had to do! I remember turning and thinking I can do this and when I touched and saw I’d come 4^th and managed to sneak under the 1.06 barrier it felt like I’d won the goal! I can remember looking up and seeing my parents and it was just such an awesome feeling! But then I had to focus and get ready to come back in the evening for the final! Again walking out in front on 17,000 people was awesome, I made sure I’d waved and smiled! The race was everything and more than what I wanted… I would have loved to have gone under the 66 seconds again.. but I enjoyed making the 100m freestyle final- and couldn’t have given any more!

Travelling Down to London

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:53:37 +0100

The journey down to London was exciting as we were catching a train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, and we had the first 3 FIRST CLASS carriages to ourselves… luxury! The time sailed by on the train we got to head up to the drivers area and see him control the train- which was cool to watch. Once at Euston we jumped onto a bus which transported us the village and like usual it was raining in London! But as we finally turned the corner and saw the stadium it was a fantastic feeling! It really sunk in then that I was going to the Paralympic Games 2012!

Holding Camp

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:52:57 +0100

The journey up to Manchester was exciting as this was where I final holding camp and preparations would take place leading into the Paralympic Games. The atmosphere was exciting and training went perfectly, we had lots of down time to relax and recover from training. We collected final kit and did any last minute media training. Otherwise we watched movies, played games, made videos and enjoyed the fact that hard phase of training was over and we were finally tapering into the games.

London DofE award...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:26:26 +0100

Last Tuesday i traveled up to London to meet a close friend Emily to collect her Duke of Edinburgh award. The award was presented by Prince Edward at St James Palace, and the palace was amazing to be inside, both the pictures and the decouration of the rooms were unbelievable. After collecting her award we ventured into London and looked around the V&A museum, had coffee’s at a little Italian cafe, browsed around Harrods in Knightsbridge and did a little shopping in the area. It was a lovely day and i’d like to say well done to Emily for her hard work, the award was well deserved! :)

Park Community School

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:21:25 +0100

Yesterday i visited Park Community School in Havant. Where i gave an assembly to Year 7 and 8 pupil’s about the Paralympic’s and some of my experiences. The watched intently as i delivered a power point and asked some challenging questions at the end! I was lovely to have been invited along and i hope they took some inspiration from the presentation and use it when competing in Sport themselves.

Manchester Female Relay Camp

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:18:37 +0100

From the 20th-22nd of June i ventured up to Manchester along with some other girls on the GB Paralympic team spend a few days together and work as a team. It was a brilliant few days, we trained hard in and out the pool and i swam some good hard sessions. We also had dinner in the evening at a nice Italian and a Japanese restaurant; in the Japanese restaurant it was my first time experiencing a chef cooking the food in front of my eyes and displaying loads of cool tricks he could do the the food and utensils!

Cardiff International Meet

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:14:06 +0100

On the 15-18th of June i traveled up to Cardiff and competed over 3 days in 100, 50, 400m fr, 200IM, 100 and 50 fly. The races were extremely painful however i hit the times my coach had predicted i would hit- so overall it was a good weekend of racing even if the weather wasn’t at its best! Some other swimmers from Portsmouth Northsea also competed so well done to them! :)

St Georges School

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:11:45 +0100

On the 14th June, i hopped across to the Isle of White and met the Children of St Georges School, i delivered 3 assembly’s to Key Stage 3,4 and 5, and the children were extremely well behaved and i got asked some really good questions regarding my lifestyle as an athlete. Thank you for inviting me to visit!

Bourn Primary School...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:14:54 +0100

Monday afternoon, i ventured to Bourn Primary School on the outskirts of Cambridge. I spoke to three different classes and answered some brilliant questions! They have been following the Olympics and Paralympics closely and were excited to learn about my experiences of the Paralympic Games. I hope they all have a fantastic summer and i hope to return one day!

Fulbridge Primary School...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:10:13 +0100

Last Monday, i visited Fulbridge School in Peterborough and gave a presentation to the children. They were really well behaved and i enjoyed every minute with them. After giving a small presentation and answering some very well thought questions, the children participated in some Paralympic Sports, seated volleyball, blind basketball and single arm tennis. They looked like they were having loads of fun and i would like to thank the school for inviting me to come and visit.

One Performance Outcome... Car Sponsorship

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:54:05 +0100

Last Saturday, I ventured home to meet up with Richard Leech, Managing Partner of One Performance Outcome, to collect a brand new Citroen C1! One Performance Outcome have sponsored me with a new car for a year to help with travelling across the country to numerous Competitions and the small journey to training daily. I would like to thank One Performance Outcome for the fantastic opportunity to work with them and how grateful i am to have been given the chance of sponsorship. Thank you!

Palma de Mallorca....

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:24:15 +0100

After attending the ASSE Awards evening I travelled home to prepare myself for a training camp in Mallorca for 2 weeks with British Swimming. I was coached by Louise Graham Head Coach from Preston, the 2 weeks consisted of a heavy gym programme and lots of speed work in the pool. We enjoyed a relaxing mid weekend, where we had a great team meal at a local Pizzeria, the on the Sunday we walked around the marina and went on the beach. On the following Wednesday we got visited by British Gas, and interviews were conducted followed by a evening of entertainment, where we had 8 teams, who all had 80 tasks to complete in 45 minutes, I was in team 7 and we respectively came second by 5 points! Good team effort!

Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellance Awards....

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:22:00 +0100

On Saturday 12^th of May myself and my boyfriend Gareth attended the graduation ceremony for my Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence, where I had also been nominated for Disability Apprentice of Year. The evening was brilliant and it was great to see everyone receive their certificates. I missed out on Apprenticeship of year however the award was won by Tom Baxter a fellow swim competitor and a reward well earnt by himself- congratulations to Tom!

HSBC Presentation

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:21:16 +0100

On the 8^th of May I ventured to Canary Wharf in London to deliver a presentation with HBSC about my lifestyle as an athlete and my selection for the Paralympics, it was a fantastic opportunity to be given and I enjoyed sharing my experiences, dreams and training with all those who attended the event. Other speakers included Brett Taylor and Rose McArthur.

Selection for Paralympic Games 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:20:43 +0100

Following the two trails the list of selected athletes for the games was released on Tuesday 10^th April. It was with all the excitement in world that I saw my name on the list, I felt relieved and honoured to have been given the provisional chance to represent my country at the biggest games yet! Whilst I was excited I also realised the commitment and training that was to come. We will be confirmed as official athletes on the 6th June

Paralympic Trials

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:19:00 +0100

The first Paralympic trials we held in early March at the Olympic pool in Stratford, it was a tough 7 day competition, and I swam in the 100m,50m,400m freestyle and the 100m back and 200m IM, all my swims were respectable however just outside my personal bests; I had hoped to have swum faster and gained a qualifying time, however took the experience of racing and what could be improved leading into my second trials. Unfortunately, 2 weeks before the second trials I gained a hand injury whilst training and ended up in A&E, and this followed by a week out of training and returning home to recover. I was pretty useless without my only hand! I have learnt to look after my only hand better since the accident! However I faced the second trials held in Sheffield with confidence and gave my best efforts in the same events as the first trials and succeeded in producing personal bests in some of my events; unfortunately I narrowly missed the qualification time for the games.

Porchester College

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:18:21 +0100

On the 23^rdof March I visited Porchester Secondary School and delivered a presentation to the pupils explaining about the commitments of an elite athlete and answering any questions they had as they were soon to sit an examination in Physical Education. It was a pleasure to visit the school and wish them all good luck in their exams.

Medina College

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:17:53 +0100

On the 21^st of March I jumped on the Hovercraft and headed over to the isle of white to visit Medina College where I helped children design flags that included themselves creating flags that represented themselves taking part in sport or ideas that involve team work. We then planted the flags within the school and took photo’s. During my time at Medina College I also spoke with Year 11 girls and explained the hardship of combining an athlete lifestyle with a normal social life and hopefully provided inspiration to everyone at Medina College. It was a fantastic day and I would be delighted to return.