After a hectic few months of travelling around to training camps and races in various parts of the world, it's been lovely to finally unpack my bags and stay settled in the one place for a few weeks. I have finally been able to get my body clock back to normal and to resume my typical training routine.
The last three weeks have been nothing but hard graft. The Olympic Trials take place at the end of this month (Sunday 26 June) so I've got back into some consistent training with the hope of peaking at the right time.
During this hard training block, I actually stepped down in distance to race over the 1500m which was certainly a shock to the system. It meant running a much faster pace than I have in training all year but I loved every 4 minutes and 9 seconds of it – exactly. It was also another personal best (PB) time which surprised me a little due to the fact I've been in such a heavy training block so was racing on some very tired little legs. I feel there are definitely a good few seconds to knock off with some fresh legs underneath me.
As a distance runner, when you are in good, strong shape over the 5,000m you are more than likely in PB shape for most other distances. I have really enjoyed making the most of my fitness as it's been a long and stressful process to get to this point.
After training the majority of this year alone, I was extremely fortunate to join a group of athletes based in Wythenshaw, Manchester for a particularly hard session last weekend. It made such a huge difference having a group of boys to chase! I don't particularly mind training alone, it gives me time to really think and focus on the job at hand. However, I have to admit that over the longer sessions training alone can become a bit of a slog. Having loads of athletes around you even if they are only doing bits and pieces of the training session with you can have a really big impact. I find it much easier mentally to get through the tough slog-it-out type sessions when I can focus on the athletes in front of me rather than how many laps are left. Jumping on the pain train and hanging on is sometimes what I need in order to push myself to the limits.
After a week of summer sunshine, the weather has quickly taken a turn for the worst. In the past I would have moaned and groaned about heading out for a run in torrential rain storms but this time around, I have no concerns about getting drenched. I'm still spending a lot of time on the cross trainer in order to avoid picking up any major injuries and so I savour every minute I get to spend outside rather than staring at the wall for 40 minutes.
I've actually just bought a second hand cross trainer which has been brilliant. It means that I no longer have to travel to and from the gym and have no excuses to avoid supplementing my training when it's literally 10 steps from my bed. The only problem I have is that the cross trainer is huge...so huge that we can't actually move it! It's currently sitting just inside the front door and is too wide to fit through the door frames of any other room. It's definitely become a talking point when the drug testers come to visit. My boyfriend's dog, Cooper, isn’t too happy about the situation either as it's replaced where his basket sits in the hallway. He lies on the stairs most evenings, watching me on the cross trainer and I can tell he's wondering what in the world I'm doing and why this monstrosity is taking over his house.
I have one final week of tough training before things start to ease down in preparation for the trials. It will be good to back off a little and to remember what having a pair of fresh legs feels like. It's been a long time since I had a rest day so I'll be relishing every minute.
The hard work is almost done and then it's crunch time.
