Training: Monday 16th June - Sunday 22nd June.

Without doubt this week's training has been the highest quality, most consistent and satisfying I've ever completed. Some runs were better than others and I've probably had one or two better sessions individually, but when I look back over my week's work I feel I've really worked hard and made some real progress. And not just with my running; every gym session was completed and I managed to include a decent flexibility programme and with the help of my sports psychologist, made some real improvements in dealing with the pain of pushing your body to the limits.
Monday started off with two simple runs; thirty minutes in the morning and forty in the evening. I also completed a tough upper body workout in the gym, which I was particularly pleased with. What made Monday's evening run special was that I really didn't fancy it. I was tired from racing on Sunday, as well as feeling flat after my gym work out. Quite often in the past I've let myself miss out a run when I'm tired, especially when it's not a key run. However I pushed myself out the door and once I got going I really got into my stride and a run I thought was going to be a real drag turned into a real pleasure.
Tuesday began with an easy thirty minute run in the morning, just turning the legs over in preparation for the evening track session. My legs were still feeling jaded from doing seven races in nine days so I knew it wasn't going to be the best session ever, but I got it done. Three sets of 1000 metres, 600 metres and 400 metres, with 200 metres jog recovery in-between reps and 400 metres jog recovery between sets. I got blown away by my group after the first set, as my tired legs found running fast was something the weren't really ready for, but I was actually quite pleased with the session. Being with my new group meant I was running the reps much faster than I would have before, when I was pretty much on my own during such a session. So even though I was coming in a second or two behind the rest, I was still a second or two faster than I would have been had I not switched groups.
Wednesday's morning run was a struggle. My legs were shattered, thirty minutes seemed like hours and all I could think about was how bad doing an hours run in the evening was going to be. I managed to complete a decent core workout in the gym. My core strength is something that has continued to improve each week since I got back from Lanzarote. It is definitely helping me to keep my form when I begin to tire at the end of races and hard training sessions. A couple of hours before my evening run I went to my sports masseur. I've always thought he was good, but on Wednesday he worked some real magic because when I started my hour long evening run all the tiredness and tightness I'd experienced in the morning had gone. I felt like I had a new pair of legs. I was bouncing along like Bambi! I was running pretty fast, (the previous times I've run for the same loop told me so), yet felt like I was hardly even trying. It wasn't down as a hard run and I was stopping myself from pushing too much, yet I ended up with my third quickest time for that course, and I've run that course many, many times.
Thursday started with some sports psychology action. The key focus for the session was how I deal with the pain and discomfort you will always experience when racing and training hard. The idea was to prevent that pain from becoming all-consuming. Stopping it from having a negative effect on my running style and ultimately my times. I simple had to divert my concentration away from the pain when it hits. Harder to do then it sounds! I had to put these new techniques into action during my late morning tempo run. 15 minutes warm up, then two 7 minute 30 second tempo runs, with 3 minutes jog recovery, followed by 15 minutes warm down. My psychologist instructed me to do the session on a grass track rather than just round the park. This was so that at the end of each bend and straight I had a set of markers. At each marker during the final and hardest quarter of each rep I was to concentrate on a different area of my running action, thus diverting my attention from the pain. It worked really really well. I would work my way down my body. I started with a good head and core position, strong fluid arm action, high knees, keeping the leg speed up, getting right up on to my toes. It worked so well I was lapping quicker than when I started. The power of the mind is great, and I can't wait to explore further the possibilities and potential it may contain.
My easy evening run didn't feel so easy, but I got it done, and I'd reached Friday's day of rest without missing or changing any sessions. I was really looking forward to my Saturday morning monster session in Richmond Park. I knew it was going to be long and that I was going to be really tested by the guy I was working with, but I knew it was going to be worth it. A 10-minute tempo run, followed by 5 x 2 minute sprints, with the first minute up a steep incline, finishing with another 10-minute tempo. It was hard and it was fast, but I dug deep and ran arguably one of my best sessions ever. I was so elated with how I'd run I pumped my fist with satisfaction once the final tempo run was completed. If that run hasn't done me the world of good I don't know what will! I finished the day with a mini bit of circuit training and a twenty-minute recovery run.
Then Sunday I pulled myself round ninety minutes of fun with a fresh and very frisky running partner, who was desperate to run faster and further than I wanted to. I was enjoying the experience of having different training partners throughout the week, using them to push and pull me to get the best out of myself. The aim for this week is simple, to match what I've already done. Now I know I can do it, there should be no problem!!