...time to step it up!

My first steeplechase of the season, at the Birmingham diamond league was a little disappointing, however, I did manage to get 4th and most importantly run under the A standard for the World Championship. It was drizzling rain and wasn't great for steepling, but with my current fitness level, I thought I could still set a PB.

The race went out perfectly in 3:10, however I didn't! I found myself lagging in the first 1km. It could have possibly been the transition from altitude or maybe just nerves from my first steeple of the season. Once I got into my running I really felt great. I managed to run a fast last 1km which was an encouraging sign that I have a lot of strength.

The next day I returned to Font Romeu. The warm weather we had for the 3 weeks prior to Birmingham disappeared, however, Hannah England joined me in my apartment which was something I was looking forward to. We lived together when we attended Florida State University. Even though our training this time of year is very different, we always like to be at each others sessions and do our core/strength/pre-hab exercises together.

The track in Font Romeu sits quite high and is a little exposed, so it can get quite blustery. As if 6000ft isn’t hard enough! They don’t mind bikes on the track, so I had Barry Fudge block the wind for me on my sessions.

Last Tuesday I left Font Romeu to run in the Spitzen Leichtathletik Meeting in luzern. Our main goal (my coach and I) for the race was to "compete" and place as high as possible.

The race was paced to 3:06 for the first 1km. I sat in at around 4th position for most of the race until I moved up in the last 1km. Just like Birmingham, my finish was very strong. However the leader managed to gap me which was something I need to focus on preventing. Especially if I want to make the final in Daegu.

My time of 9:35.46 was again under the World & Olympic A standard and I was awarded with a nice 1/2 Carat diamond for winning!
The next morning US steepler Delilah DeCrescenzo and I decided to go and explore the mountains of Luzren. Note to self; don't take to many turns without leaving a paper trail! Our 80minute run included a nice 40 minute brisk walk back to the hotel! However we did get to see Luzern and its beautiful trails : )
I returned to Norfolk on Friday night and have been enjoying some good ole countryside running. My coach and I decided to get some quality sessions over the next few weeks at sea-level before heading out to the training camp in Ulsan on August 14^th.

On Tuesday, Tim & Pauline Ash with City of Norwich Athletics Club, drove over to help time and support me while I ran a hard track workout. Lynnsport is renowned for being extremely windy. Even on a still day, Lynnsport will be windy! Thankfully Ruth Senior and Iona Lake came to help with wind blocking duties!

 I will be running the 1500m at AAA's this weekend, and then hope to run a fast time in the steeple at the London Diamond league the following Saturday. I am hoping for a performance that will attract some sponsors. I have been unable to pick up a kit sponsor for the past 2 seasons...time to step it up!

Font Romeu: Week 2

This is my second week in Font Romeu and my training has been going great. The weather has been fantastic, although we did get a random shower of pea size hail on Wednesday afternoon! 

After easing into training last week, I knew this week would be pretty tough, especially when you run with Paula Radcliffe on your recovery run! Tuesday, I hit the track for a standard 10 x 400 session. I did this session when I was here in April, so it was great be able to compare the two workouts. Previously, I had 1500m runner Stacey Smith pulling me round, but it was just me this time! The session went well and I was even up on my previous times!

Yesterday morning was my "big track session" of the week, and with the help of John Nuttall on the bike, it went great. The track is quite high in altitude here and also a little exposed to the wind, so it was good to have John in front of me to keep the pace even. Usually Sean, my husband (and coach) paces my workouts. The hardest task at running longer track workouts at altitude is consistency. Each lap gets tougher, so it really helps having someone there keeping you on pace. 

This mornings’ long run was just that, A LONG RUN! It seems twice as long when at the end of a big week;  3 workout and 85 miles! Rest day tomorrow! I really look forward to my recovery days. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, my coach planned that well! So it looks like tomorrow will be a movie day : )

Our resident physio here in Font Romeu is Duncan Mason, client director at Athlete Matters in Manchester (athletematters.com). Duncan has been working with Jemma Simpson and I each day on our core, we are known as "The Core Club"! We have discovered muscles we never knew we had and weaknesses we have now conquered. We will miss Duncan when he leaves to go back to the UK on Wednesday. He has done a great job of keeping me healthy. Thanks Duncan!

Recently, people have been trickling into camp as each day passes. Lee Merrien, Chris Thompson and Ryan Mcleod have joined us. Jackie Areson and Galen Rupp of the Oregon Project arrived a few days later and few athletes from the Oregon Track Club are due to arrive anytime, so I should have plenty of people to train and explore the trails with. I am also looking forward to Hannah England and Helen Clitheroe coming out on July 11th.

Next week, I will be getting ready for my first steeplechase of the season at the Birmingham diamond league! I’m excited and ready to race!

Core

Since arriving in Font Romeu, I've been trying do all of the little things right, core has been a focus along with my daily power naps!