Once a runner always a runner...

My wife sometimes tells me I don't share things very often... her way of saying I'm not always a good communicator at times, probably not a good trait for someone who works in coaching and indeed for someone who tries to keep a blog from time to time... all be it not very often these days but thought I'd share a few thoughts...

Firstly one thing I have found with writing a blog is that it often makes you reflect on things that often just flash by before you know it.... I guess that's why people keep a diary or indeed partly why athletes like to keep a training diary even if they don't always appreciate it at the time.  A little while back in fact I was looking through one of my old training diaries (for reasons I forget now) but there was an entry about a club race I did back in 2002 for the then Channel Island athletics club in which I was disappointed to be out kick by an under 20 athlete from the club Windsor Slough Eton and Hounslow. The athlete in question was a fresh faced Mo Farah. It seems he's done this to better runners than me since.

A bit off topic but I'm in the reflective mood for a reason...At 38 years old (whilst perhaps just a number for some), does mean I have been training and competing seriously for arguable 17-18 years... whilst I have been involved in athletics since I started secondary school it was not until 2000/2001 where I felt I decided to focus my efforts more, getting myself a coach for one and also focusing purely on my running and putting other sports, namely football to one side.  Over the last year with injury striking again getting back running never mind competing seemed like it would never happen at times. With an injury that seemed like it would never heal and could not be properly diagnosed I would be lying if I hadn't contemplated retirement, on more than one occasion. During the last year though despite not being in position to attempt or achieve my previously set out goals for 2016 and 2017 I should say a big thank you to Butterfield Bank in Guernsey, they have supported me this past 2 years. Originally with the targeting of gaining Olympic and World Champs selection unfortunately not to be but Butterfield have continued to support me and I hope despite the change of goals I can continue to fly the flag a little while longer.

I am back running and training regularly all be it a little less than some previous years but things are going quite well and I am enjoying my running again and this week I go into what will be my 10th and effectively my last Island Games (if you don't know what the island games are checkout www.iiga.org). The games are an event that despite my focus having been on other things in recent years has always been something I have enjoyed being part of and offers a rare (bi-annual) occasion to be part of a Guernsey team. Scarily however it dawned on me that I have been going to the island games longer than most of the athletes in the athletics team have been born... if i didn't feel old before! It might be my last island games but I'm not quite done with running, now that I am back in action I still want to make the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast but in all likelihood after this i will wind down my competitive ambitions. One thing is for sure though as long as my body is healthy and in one piece (which will be a lot easier when you don't have to push the envelope quite so often) I will always want to go out running. I guess once a runner always a runner! 

Marathon time!

Well after a 3 year wait I can finally say I will be toeing the line in a marathon this weekend in Berlin. It's been a rough few years with a host of set backs but it's great to be finally getting to a marathon start line as there have certainly been many times when I thought it might not happen, plus I am actually in pretty decent shape too.

Essentially I have been back in action since the start of the year, all be it not very fit to begin with. It's taken a little while to get myself into the sort of shape where I feel I can race well and do myself justice, technically I'm still yet to show it in a race but I do feel ready to do that now.  If I'm honest it's been quite a frustrating year on the whole and I have found it hard mentally, more than I imagined I would. I thought once I was back running things would just take care of itself but in truth most of the battle has been dealing with my own expectations. I love running and enjoy the process of training, I will always run as long as my body can cope with it but in all what motivates me most is winning races, competing in big races, achieving fast times and making teams.  I want and still believe I am capable of all those things and in particular making teams is a big goal, making the Olympics. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had doubts about whether my body would hold up to the training. In all honesty last years injury and the aftermath made me a little paranoid about any little injury or symptoms around my sacrum/hip area (for those not in the know I suffered a sacral stress fracture in June 2014). Apparently I am not alone in feeling like this with this sort of injury. Thankfully the body has held up and I will be making that start line, a combination of relief and joy. Only last week I had another little scare.... was this the paranoia again? no this was actually legit, my sacro-iliac joint was a little locked up but thankfully a bit of physio and a couple of easy days and I'm now good to go!

I have actually got in a very good period of consistent training this year despite the psychological minefield.  It may not be directly apparent in the races I have done but recent training in Font Romeu was very good. My training has not been directly comparable to past marathon preparations as changes have been made, I am now working with a different coach for one, Gavin Smith. Gavin has experience working with Renato Canova, who has coached a lot of the good Kenya athletes out in Iten, Kenya.  I have input into things but it has been nice for someone else to drive the schedule. This has allowed me to just get on with things, which with work and family commitments has been most welcome at times!  There be a few changes to how I was previously training, some of this has been Gavin's philosophy and some has been due to trying to manage my body but on the whole I have done some good work and made some good progression in various area's.  I do feel in general my fitness is the best it been since 2012.

Over the last three years I thought I might not experience this again... so I look forward to being part of the race day build up, seeing athletes I have not seen for a little while and soaking up the adrenaline and nerves that come with race morning. Most of all though I look forward to toeing the line in big race again and trying to achieve remaining ambitions.  
   

It's a thin line we tread...

For those who don't already know I have been forced to pull out of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow due to picking up a seemingly out of the blue injury in the form of stress fracture to my sacrum (the sacrum is the bone at the bottom of your back where it meets your hips). A fairly uncommon injury in the general public and whilst not overly common in runners it is something runners on higher mileage can be susceptible to. Contrary to other reports and comments about my fitness I wasn't battling with my fitness or any other injury. All the above were not without there challenges in past year but on my arrival to Font Romeu (a couple of weeks ago now) I was in good place, injury free, seemingly in my best shape for some 2 years and ready to crack on with the training.  Unfortunately though the onset of my symptoms started on only the second day into my trip. Seemingly just a minor muscle tightness in my left hip to begin with over the following 24 hrs this became somewhat more uncomfortable. Even walking was uncomfortable. A visit to nearby Spanish chiropractor (Ront Fomeu whilst in France is right next to the old French/Spanish boarder) gave what was false hope at first. Whilst it appeared to be my SI (sacro iliac) joint was just out of alignment this turned out not to be my problem. The treatment seemed to give some initial relief from my symptoms at first but whilst this would normally start settling down within 48hrs, in my case it didn't. A few days later I was driving down to Perpignan for an MRI Scan...

The hospital in Perpignan is able to provide a fast turn around in terms of performing the actual scan and providing the results, so I was able to get a scan and result all in the same afternoon. Going in for the results was quite a crushing experience though as you can image. Ironically I have been in this positions before in the same hospital. Before the London Olympics I had a bone scare in my hip/femur but then the results were good news on that occasion and training continued as normal and no games dream were ended. This time it was different and when the french doc said those fatal words in his broken English my heart sank. I asked him if he was certain... unfortunately he didn't really understand my English but after a bit of broken communication back and forth is was clear it was not good and there would be no Glasgow Commonwealth Games for me.

The drive home was a pretty quiet one, poor Alex (the physio who'd driven down to Perpignan with me) was probably the most uncomfortable with the situation, not really knowing what to say. Strangely whilst I didn't feel all that bad about things (other that initial reaction to the news) I think the more I had time to think on the drive back to Font Romeu the more the reality started to sink in. Having got myself back into good shape after what has been a rough 12 to 18 months, it was frustrating to say the least to know that I would now be out of action again but that my ambitions to medal at the games couldn't even be attempted. When I got back into the apartment in Font Romeu the others were there about to start dinner, I think they knew they didn't really need to say anything, I just got a few sympathetic looks. It was just as well no one asked how I was though as I'd probably have started blobbing if they had!  

Having had 24hrs to digest the news I decided it was best to get back home, the thought of being in a training camp environment not able to do anything, even cross train initially, would have sent me stir crazy. Plus I spend enough time away from my family as it is so I was eager to be back with them.

On reflection I've become all to aware that my sport is about balancing those highs and the lows and seemingly there's no season of middle ground, perhaps it would be boring if that were the case!  It's also a thin line tread between being in great shape and picking up that injury where it can feel like the end of world. Whilst on this occasion though it's not quite worked out in my favour I will be back. There are too many things I still want to achieve, furthermore despite all the set backs I still love the sport so won't be going anywhere just yet.

Back in the thick of it

Well after making noises about being a runner again it was about time I update my blog with details about how things have progressed, and how they haven't at times.... I have been racing regularly, finally, a little later than I had originally planed (more on that in a bit) but I have now strung a few races together. In the past, even before my injury hit 2013 I had been fairly selective with my racing however as soon as I knew I was able to race again I just wanted to do so at the first opportunity. Some of my early races were nothing to write home about but they were never going to be about PB's.

As I alluded to though after looking like I was ready to start cracking on with things in January and February time, starting with a training camp in Kenya and with a view to racing off the back of this I unfortunately pick up a new injury. Half way into the camp I picked up an injury to a small muscle in my foot/ankle, a not too uncommon injury when faced with the testing terrain of Iten but a frustrating set back to say the least having been out for so long previously. At first I thought this might just mean a couple of easy days, however over 3 weeks later with no running (I was home by this point) only then was I finally able to start to running again. It took another 3 to 4 weeks of regular treatment and a gradual build up in my running before a full routine was resumed. This didn't stop me racing during this time mind, helping Newham to bronze in the Southern Road relays in March and also a half marathon in Berlin, in what I can only describe as fairly average performance at best. Most importantly though I was able to come out of these relatively unscathed and with the motivation that there was work to be done! 

More recently I have been able to string a few weeks of regular training together in the region of 90miles a week alongside regular work in the gym... the conditioning work has been something I have done much more regularly since my operation last year. The idea being to work even harder on the general conditioning and injury prevention side of things in order to keep my body robust going forward. With a short family break wedged in immediately before the Easter break I then ran a local event in the Guernsey Easter Festival. I raced in the Keith Falla Cross Country, a race with a lot of tradition and history for us Guern's so it was nice to win the race and post a respectable time feeling quite controlled. It was especially nice to run this having been watching this event from the side lines last year, having been only a few weeks post op. Last weekend  I raced in the Great Edinburgh 10mile race, racing a certain Mr Thompson, who was only 2 weeks post London. I was little unsure what I might be capable of going into this but knew I was in better shape than I was for Berlin. Admittedly I was looking to sneak under 50 minutes but when faced with the course - a somewhat testing and undulated route through the city centre I was pleasantly surprised with a 49.54 clocking.

  

So what now... well with little more 12 weeks until Glasgow the marathon work will soon begin, I guess technically the transition has already started but the nature of training will progress more like what I'd associate with marathon specific work, the longer runs/tempo's for example. Racing wise I've still left this open but realistically at this stage it will likely just be one or two low key events which I will use as part of my marathon training. In June though I have a 4 week camp planned in Font Romeu which alongside Iten in Kenya have been like second homes me the past few years. 

I must admit the Great Edinburgh race was just what I needed, but the last few weeks have seen noticeable progress within my fitness generally. Training is now starting to feel like it's some I am using to get prepared for Glasgow, whereas previously is was about just to fit generally! Don't get me wrong there's still work to be done and whereas earlier in the year I could claim to feeling like a runner again, now I can start being actually being a competitive one again.... roll on Glasgow!       

Being a runner again

It's been a while but I've finally pulled my finger out and got a post together.

When I last posted an update at the start of the year I was out in Kenya for a training camp seemingly on the way back from injury, as it turned out that was not the case. Funnily enough I write this update from the same place, thankfully in much better place than I was then.  Back in January I was also starting to build my running back up and despite excuriating treatment (for which I gained the nickname triple M - Mucky Mouth Merrien apparently) things did at least seem to be getting better. Towards the later part of the camp however  things just didn't seem right, whenever I sneezed I was aware of discomfort in my low abdomen and my adductor problem seemed to be getting worse. When I got home I was referrred to a specialist and before I knew it I was booked in for a double sports hernia operation. Apparently I had two of the biggest he'd ever seen.... I'm talking about the hernia's of course :)

The operation took pace back in March and unfortunately getting back into running wasn't as quick as I'd have hoped for, rehab was proving a slow process. Even when I was able to perform what I'd constituted a proper run I was not without uncomfortable symptoms. This has proved the case through most of this year...it turns out these types of injuries when they have persisted for as long as mine had can take a while to shift.

Despite the frustrations of the past year I'm now finally starting to to see significant improvements, my symptoms are minimal now and no longer result in having to cut my runs back as has been the case previously. My running volume is as high as its been all year.  I'm got myself up to sufficient running to make a training trip worth while and despite the lack of sessions I feel surprisingly fit in a general sense. I have been cross training fairly diligently now for the past year alongside the running I could do, and it appears to be have payed off as the transition to more running volume has been easier than I thought it might. Not having been injured and out of action for this length of time at any point in my running career this cross training lark was all a bit new to me, initially! I think having had clear goals beyond the injury though has helped... even my wife has commented on I how I have been 'ok' to live with (compared with previous injuries - even short term sidelines have meant I've not always been a bundle of joy to be around!). Plus if there's one benefit to not being able to run as much it's that you have more time to spend doing the the little extra's that often get sidelined more when the big mileage sets in. Furthermore I've also been at home more than I have done at any point in the last 3-4 years and there's been no better distraction than being around my family.

My first few runs out here in Kenya this time around have felt really good and despite the challenging terrain I've had no real issues with symptoms. Admittedly it's still early days but the past few weeks have felt like a corner has been turned and this is as good as my body has felt for over 12months. I feel like I can now give myself the tag of being a runner again!

Dealing with Injury

Unfortunately I follow my post-Olympic blog entry (admittedly some time ago now) with details of a somewhat frustration period since the games. Having not raced since the Olympics and spending much of my training time cross training rather than running.  Since getting back into things after my break I started to notice some discomfort in my left adductor. First this this was thought to be an adductor strain but after cutting back training for a number of weeks without any improvement in my symptoms I then had an MRI scan which revealed a stress response to my pubis bone… I will let you Google where that is! The upshot of the diagnoses meant 5 weeks of no running, my longest period of no running to date having been fortunate over the years to not suffer with many enforced breaks away from the sport.  I guess I should have been pleased this sort of injury did not happen a few months earlier as it would have almost certainly ended my Olympic dream and whilst of course on reflection I am, like most athletes I am sure this was not my initial reaction. The most difficult and frustrating thing about this was that following the Games in London I found my appetite for training and competition to be quite high but I was not able to put this to good use at least that’s how it felt initially. I remember a friend telling me about athletes and support staff from other sports who had suffered with depression after the Olympics in Beijing, simply from going from such an all-consuming goal and then having nothing to focus on once the games were over. I guess whilst my aspirations in London were somewhat modest in comparison to our many gold medallists I still decided earlier in the year that I would set myself a few short to medium term targets to avoid such things in the aftermath. These of course those have now since changed due to the injury but I have goals none-the-less and it has help keep me sane through can otherwise be monotonous cross training sessions.

Certainly not being able to race for so long has been difficult, as whilst over the last couple of years I haven’t raced as often as some this has still been my longest period without a race of any kind. I have been hitting the cross training fairly hard though, with two daily sessions involving a mixture of the cross trainer, aqua jogging and also my conditioning work. The idea at the moment is to strengthen my adductor and overall core conditioning to prevent anything re-surfacing. I have started building my running up again, it’s been  quite a slow process but I am getting there and I seem to be making steady progress, I actually had my first pain free run the other day its funny how the little things create such excitment.  My immediate focus at the stage is simply to continue my progress with the rehab and building the running up again. I also think my general core conditioning is probably as strong as it’s been for some time which is encouraging. I have actually put a bit of weight on... perhaps it's muscles or maybe that's just wishful thinking on the skinny distance runners part but having gone from 4 to 5% bodyfat I won't loose too much sleep over it.

So what now, well I still have ambitious goals for 2013, granted the start to my racing maybe delayed a little but I want to run PB’s over a range of distances. I am still somewhat embarrassed by my modest times over the like of 10k and the half marathon and running a faster marathon time remains on the agenda with an autumn option likely.

Anyway Happy New Year folks, hears to working hard in order to achieve those 2013 goals... lets face it nothing worth having was ever easy was it.

Everything and more

As ever another late post, but at least I'm consistent. This is my post-Olympic entry...

Where to start, well first of all it seems apt to mention that one of the reasons that I started my blog up was so that people could follow me in my pursuit of one day becoming an Olympic athlete. Having now achieved that I guess I will need to change the title notes of the blog page. Being part of the 'greatest show on earth', as I've heard it referred to, certainly lived up to all expectations and so much more for me, having been to World Champs and previous Commonwealth Games had given me some championship experience but I don't think any British athlete could have anticipated how fantastic the games experience was going to be. Having been outside of the village up in Loughborough where I was based at a holding camp during the earlier days of the games I was getting information and details of how great it all was and that only fuelled my excitement to be part of it all. Watching the likes of Mo, Jess Ennis and Greg Rutherford winning gold and knowing I would soon get the chance to have my Olympic moment sent goosebumps down my spine.

I must admit though there was a time when I felt like the forgotten member of the athletics team being up in Loughborough, as not only had the games started but whilst the athletics programme was also underway I was the sole Team GB athlete remaining in Loughborough. I guess my fellow team mate and marathon runner Scott Overall may have also felt the same given that he was on his own out in Portugal for the remaining days before the Marathon. It was worth the wait but more on the race itself in a moment.

I guess my true Olympic experience started the day I arrived in London, that was Thursday 9th August, 3 days before the Olympic Marathon. As soon I sent foot in the capital you could sense the Olympic vibe across the city and everyone seemed it great spirits and certainly travelling in my Team GB kit also attracted a fair bit of attention. Given that I had arrived in the village only 3 days before my race I was quite conscious of staying well rested and not getting too invovled or excited by the games itself. However with my race finishing in the city and not the stadium I was quite keen to see the stadium in all its glory with athletics in full swing, so on my first night there I went to stadium to check it out and what a night to go! I witnessed probably the best mens 800m race of all time, with David Rudisha winning in World Record, and the last placed athlete coming home in what would normal pick you up a medal if not a gold in previous Olympics! Oh and some guy called Bolt also won a 200m race that night too.

My remaining days before my race were somewhat uneventful considering I was in the Olympic village in the one of the biggest City's of the World with the biggest sporting event going around me but it did at least give me time to focus mentally and soak up my thoughts and feeling about the race and what I wanted from it. One thing that was nice was a very quick family reunion the night before the race, having not seen my family (skype calls aside) for some 7 weeks. I met my wife and 4 year old son (who's birthday I had missed the week before) in Hyde Park. The night before the race myself & Scott Overall were staying in a hotel nearer to the start of the race. Seeing my excited 4 years olds face again after time away never fails to put a big smile back on my face. Unfortunately I would have to wait until after the games to see my daughter again though, she is only 1 year old (I missed her birthday last month too!) and a hectic London probably wouldn't have been the best place for her and would also have been hell for my wife to juggle two kids at the race, Thomas at least will hopefully be old enough to recall some of the day too. 

The day and race itself will be one I'll never forget, even if I am to go to another Olympics Games it is never likely to provide the such an incredible atmosphere that I experienced in London. I've never seen so many passionate spectators lining a road race, walls, rooftops and flag poles! The noise was quite literally deafening on certain points of the course too, leaving my ears ringing during the race. In the early stages of the race I was conscious to not get too carried away by it all but it certainly gave me a huge lift over the closing stages when things were hurting with the wheels starting falling off with 5km to go. The conditons on the day as anyone who was there or indeed watched the race, were hot, with temparatures supposedily getting up into the high 20's. If someone had offered me those condition in advance however I would have bitten their hand off. I'm not phased by hot conditions in fact I enjoy them but I guess thats because I've performed well in these type of conditions before and if you can judge the race and conditions well there are a lot of places to be had in final quarter of the race. Whilst I'm proud of my performance on the day I can't help but think there was another 10 places or so to be had if I had judged the race slightly better, after-all I went through half way in 66.30 and finished in 2.17.00.

When I returned to Guernsey someone asked me I'd had an 'Olympic moment'... he was refering to that lasting memory that would stick in mind, and whilst essentially I have many, one of the standout moments has to actually be after the race. London Marathon had arranged a venue for friends and family and after the race I headed over there. The response I received when I entered the pub was pretty overwelming and capped off my Olympics. Even my dad had a tear in his eye and I don't even think I have ever seen my dad shed a tear before. 

 

What capped it all off for me was the support and reaction of others, the British public really made the Olympic atmosphere and enhanced some fantastic memories but coming from Guernsey it was incredibly to see so many Guernsey flags lining the route, this made it that bit more special to me  having shared it with them.      

 

One month and counting...

As per usual it's been a while since my last blog post but I have plenty to right about it, it's just been finding the time. Since my selection was announced things have been a bit of a whirl wind, despite a couple of hectic days around the announcement it was probably just as well I was away from most it - I was on holiday with my wife and two children in Lanzarote. Well I say holiday it was just as tiring as my marathon training! We went 'el cheepo' and took a one bedroom self catering apartment in an all inclusive resort. The resort itself was great with good food on offer and yes I did indulge a little! however having an energetic 3 years old who loved the kids disco and late nights and an 8 month year old who decide lye in's weren't for her, things did take's there toll Teresa and myself. It was nice to have time away with the family though and we had fun on beach in the day and most nights took Thomas to the kids disco to showing off his moves... which most of the time involved him running around!... not sure where he gets it from :)  After being away so much of year in Kenya it was nice to just be the four of us for a week but I did come back spent! I actually felt a bit run down, I guess it was to be expected given the usual aftermath effects of the marathon and the a lack of sleep whilst in Lanzarote.
Back at home in Guernsey I was soon back in training routine which was I keen to with Olympics at the forefront of my mind, although the first few weeks of training were somewhat conservative. My coach and I were keen to ensure I that I had fully recovered following the London Marathon & the whole selection situation. Looking back at things now, this was definately the right thing to have done, training is really starting to click into place here in Font Romeu... more on that in a minute.  I must admit since my selection things have been fun in Guernsey for me, a friend of mine from the Education Department and the Guernsey Athletics Club put together a booklet entitled 'From Torteval to London' (Torteval is a small rural parish in Guernsey where I lived and grewed in). The bookley has been aimed at Primary school level essentially encouraging children to work hard to achive their goals and self sport for all its positives, so very flatering that I was the focus. Once the booklet was put together it was destributed out to all primary school children and in particular at an assembly at Forest Primary School, my old school. It was the first time I had been back to the school since I left over 20years ago!  The school has actually been knocked down and rebuilt during that time but one of my old teachers was still there and the response we had from all the kids was incredibly. Someone said to me thats 'that's what the Olympic movement is all about', I couldn't help but think the same thing. The visit was even more special in that Alun (who had put the booklet together) had arranged for Cara Saul to come over... some people may remember that a random facebook page was started to encourage my selection, Cara was the lady behind this. So it was nice to be able to thank her in person for the support she had shown. She is lovely kind hearted women, who whilst admits to not being sporty herself she clear has a passion for watching it and seeing other get involved.

Currently I am in Font Romeu one of two familar UKA altitude training locations, I have been to in the past. I have blogged about Font Romeu before as I've been a few times now so I won't bore you with the same details but what I will say is this is the best weather I have experienced here in all my visits. Sorry to anyone back in the UK reading this as might sound like I am rubbing it in as I'm hearing bad things about the weather in the UK at the moment. For me though it seems the camp has been timed perfectly in order to avoid a UK non-event in during of a summer! hopefully that improves for the Olympics. I am in a good place right now with my training here, feeling I have turned things around well following a bad cold I was struggling to shake off not long before I left Guernsey.  Training these first couple of weeks here have gone as well as I could have hoped for and with another couple to go I feel in a great position to be able to push on and have myself in great shape for Games. As ever it's been tough being away from home again for so long, with the holding camp and my time in the village I will be away from home for 7 weeks in all, my longest time apart from the family since our kids were born. Only the a few days after I left home my daughter walked for the first time, fortunately I have skype and have been able to watch her walking on video... although it's never the same missing out on that contact time with them. My son Thomas doesn't seem too bother though as his grand parents (Teresa parents) are over in Guernsey visiting so he soon forget I wasn't about! 

With literally a month to go now, I can't help get a little excited by the prospect of the games, although I must admit when people were asking me a few week backs I been fairly laid back things... I think some people thought it odd that I wasn't excited but I don't think I can stay excited for weeks on end and not expected to feel exhausted in the process. As things start to draw closer though I feel the natural excitement building, prior to departing Font Romeu I went through the Team GB experience at Loughborough more commonly know as kitting out. I won't reveal too much about this as there are still athletes yet to experience this but the BOA seem to have made a real effort to provide a pretty memorable experience.

A month to go!
     

I’m going to be an Olympian!

Wow what a week, the last few days have literally been a roller coaster of emotions, it's a good job we are on holiday as it’s definitely needed! Some of you will have watched the Virgin London marathon and seen that I missed out on the qualifying time set by UKA. It was something of a bitter sweet day as I should have perhaps been pleased to finish first British runner and to come home in a new personal best time however that was not the target. It's Olympic year and there was only one prize I was interested in.

Needless to say when the marathon teams were announced the following day I was not surprised when I was not one of the names included even if part of me had held out some hope. So to have now have been picked really is the stuff dreams are made of. For the selectors to have picked me and to given me the opportunity to pull on the GB vest at an Olympics is the biggest honour and privilege that can be bestowed upon me. Being a home Olympics will make this all the more special.I have run thousands of miles preparing for this over the past 10 years so I will be immensely proud to take to the streets of London and represent my country, I have to keep pinching myself.

Whilst I realise that not everyone was in favour of my selection, the overall consensus has been hugely positive. I am also confident that on another day in better conditions I would have achieved a sub 2.12 last week in London. I'd like to thank the selectors for taking the various circumstances into consideration and giving me the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage on earth. I fully intend to prove my place in Team GB and put in a creditable performance.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me, the amount of messages I have received supporting my selection has been somewhat overwhelming. Long distance running is a very individual pursuit but never in a million years did I dream of receiving so much support. Thank you.

Without making this sound any more like an of Oscar speech I want to single out my wife (although she rarely reads my blogs and usually it's only to correct my grammar and spelling!) as the build-up to this has been tougher on her than anyone else. Without her I wouldn't have achieved my dream.

Next stop London!

Paris Half Marathon & overdue update

As per usual an update is long overdue! Firstly I will start with a race update from the half marathon I ran a couple of weeks ago...

I ran in the Paris Half Marathon Sunday 4th March, which fitted in well with my next trip to Kenya, I literally travelled out to Paris from Guernsey the day before the race, back to London straight after the race and then on to Kenya the following morning, I've clocked up some good air miles recently. I must admit when I arrived at race hotel in Paris I stood out a bit on the start list, as I was the only non-Kenyan or non-Ethiopian athlete, there was not even a french men on the elite list, well not unless you count my my french surname! It didn't bother though, I just wanted the opportunity to race as this was the only weekend were a raced fitted into my schedule and there are actually few good half marathon opportunities this early into March.

The race itself was a bit caged early on, with a slow first km (approx 3.10) and to be honest it didn't really get going until 5km, when the field was suddenly strung out due to quicker km of around 2.40. From about the 6km point I was on my own for the rest of the race, going through 10km in 30.00, feeling good though and at that point confident I could hold that pace and run something around 63.15. The course however was a little more up and down that I had expected, don't get me wrong its not the hilliest course in the world but there were a few long drags which meant a few km splits of around 3.15's rather than 3.00. After a few of those my 63min clocking unfortunately slipped away. I passed one Kenyan guy with 4km to go I ran out road with a further 3 or 4 guys starting to come back to me over the last couple of km's. I finish in 16th place in a time of 64.10. I was a little disappointed with the time but overall, given the course and recent heavy marathon training prior to the race it was strong enough and at least faster than marathon target pace for London. Perhaps in the future when marathon plans aren't the priority I find myself in a position to attack and nail a fast half marathon.

The Paris half was the start of 5 weeks away from home, something which clearly bothers me more than it bothers my 3 year old son Thomas. I usually bring him back a present each time I'm away from home for long periods, so this time I told him I would bring back some lego, he loves lego! In-fact I would go as far to say it's an unhealthy obsession for him at the moment, he will often spend hours building the stuff. Having told him I would bring some back, this was all that he was interested in talking about when I've called home, I have probably spoken to him 5 or 6 times since I've been away now and the first question ever time is always 'daddy have you got my lego yet!' I think it's also been driving my wife crazy as he has been asking Teresa about it every 5 minutes too. Little does he know we bought it before I left and that it's hidden in the bottom of the wardrobe. I also stupidly asked him a question of what he loves more daddy or lego, not even a pause! He said lego before I'd finished the sentence. I guess I shouldn't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer! I don't think my daugher is missing me either, however she is only 7 months old so I won't hold that against her.

Other than missing the family, things have been going well out here, it's only been 3 weeks since I was here last and that made a big difference, with adaption time seeming to be a bit quicker this time around. I was also sleeping in my altitude tent when home to help maintain the benefits built up previous visits so I'm sure both these approaches have helped. Training and preparations for the marathon have been slightly different this time around compared with my previous marathons, with the idea being to extend the quality training at and around marathon pace. This has lead to the introduction of new training sessions, whilst still maintaining some of the work I have done in the past but I have been pleased with how these new sessions have gone.

Outside of training much of my time tends to be spent resting or asleep, so much so that the other athletes on the camp have commented that they only seem to see me at meal times. One of the major benefits of preparing on a camp like this is the extra rest that you are able to get and this can make a big difference to your recovery, which at altitude is event more important given your body is working harder even at rest. When not asleep I've been watching episodes of one my favourite TV programmes... 'The Inbetweeners', I love the fact that so many of the foreign athletes here are also into this programme. It seems that rude teenage humour is fairly easy to interpret.

Watch out Lance, the Kenyan's are coming!

Again it's been a while since my last post, infact I only seem to be posting from Kenya these days! as you've probably gathered I'm back here again as part of my spring Marathon preparations. Having been weighing up my options in terms of my marathon choice my decision I guess was a fairly straight forward one in the end... I will be running the Virgin London Marathon this April in my pursuit of the Olympic qualifying time. Whilst I have been in Kenya London Marathon have been out here too, they announced details of the full elite field here in Iten too, as ever the field is about as strong as you will see anywhere in the World and promises to be an exciting race both from a domestic and international perspective. From a British view point pretty much everyone who is looking to achieve the Olympic time will also be running in London too. Here's a link to the elite field....

http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/news-and-media/news-and-media/press-release-20-01-12-olympics-goal-mutai-defends/

Between my two Kenya trips there's been plenty going on, xmas new year was a fairly quiet one with the family, well as much as it can be an excitable 3 years old Thomas, we had a scaletrix set...sorry I mean Thomas did, this present was well recieved allround though though :) After new year I raced my first cross race for 12months in the form of the Hampshire County Champs, its been 4 years since my last outing at the event and another rare opportunity to pull on a Guernsey Race. I had a good race with John Beattie, as we had both decide to race seeing as we were bothing after a race that weekend. We had a pretty close race but I managed to draw clear within the last 600m or so to win by a handful of seconds. There a link to part of the race on Channel TV (not sure it will work in all regions though)....

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_sportnews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=497808

Following the race I had a good week of training at home before then picking up a cold unfortunately, it meant I arrived in Kenya a little under the weather, not ideal given we are 8000feet above sea level and with some very dusty trails to contend with this time around. The cold is now thankfully over with and training is starting to tick along nicely up here. The weather has been much better than November, no rain in sight!... ironically a few people were complaining about the dust but hey I will take that over muddy sticky trials any day! although I have said I might bring with me some B&Q dust masks to run with next time I come :)

Kenya as a training venue never fails to inspire me and our long run this morning inparticular was no different, whilst we had to contend with running through some thick smoke from a small bush fire (if you call the crop fields of Kenya the bush!) having run the long run in one direction, some 22miles plus miles it meant we got to see some fairly remote parts of around Iten. Thankfully we had drinks providing on the run and a lift back afterwards, note before a much need stop a small kenyan shack for a bottle of coke! On our drive back we saw something rather noval a Kenya peleton, at the time we thought this was just a training ride but turns out this was actually a race. A lot of them had single speed bikes that looked like something out of the 1970's, many were also had running shoes rather than cycling shoes.

Watch out Lance, the Kenyan's are coming!

Anyhow with 12 weeks to go until London the training as they say start here.. ok technically I have be preparing in the general sense since a took a break after the World Champs last year, but these next 12 weeks is when the real work take places.

OK there's Wet and there's this!

Last time I blogged I was nearer the end of my trip in Kenya and about to travel home, this I did but not without a bit of drama to make this interesting...

Usually we leave Lorna's Centre about 2 hours before our flight as the drive is only 45minutes to the airport, the airport is even smaller than Guernsey airport so you are usually safe arriving 45-60minutes before. On the day of travel though, Willy (Songok) who looks after us while we are there, came and said we would be leaving earlier due to flooding on the road between the centre and the airport (there is only one tarmac road the rest of dirt roads) in order to allow for any possible delays. We had been told that we should be able to get through the flooded area, which was also being blocked off my some of the Kenyan Matatu (Kenyan mini bus/taxi) drivers. This way apparently a way for them to make a quick buck as they were charging people to carry them (and their belongs) across the flooded section of road, where they were able to pick up another Matatu! When we arrived at the flood it was carnage...


Whilst it was all pretty amusing initially the novelty soon wore off, particularly when a number of the locals saw we were in a 4x4 vehicle and starting climbing onto the roof. I can only presume they thought they would be able to get across the flooded road without getting wet but I must admit for a minute it didn't feel particularly safe!


After trying initially to get across the road things proved unsuccessful and so our driver decided we would take the detour via the various dirt roads in order to bypass the flood and then rejoin the main road further on. Literally no sooner did we back up and turn off onto an already muddy and flooded dirt road it started lashing it down with rain! The dirt road were proving a challenge even for our 4x4 and there were a few times I thought we were going to slide into a few Kenyans walking between villages.


We had only driven a mile or so before we came across our first major obstacle, which was a broken down car blocking the road we were on. Our driver decided to try and get into the adjacent field in order to drive. Unfortunately we became stuck and despite our drivers best efforts it didn't appear we would be getting out anytime soon as the wheels had dug themselves a nice deep grove into the mud. A Kenyan guy in our vehicle managed to find some rocks which were thrown in by the front wheels in an attempt to find traction but it didn't seem to help. Fortunately by this point a local man had joined us and he basically dug us a pathway for our driver to able to negioate his way out, although not before we had all got thoroughly socked in attempt to help push our vehicle out.


Despite being on edge for much of the next 2hours we did at least make it through to the main road eventually, through some pretty hurrendously muddy and flooded sections. The usual 45min journey from the centre to Eldoret Airport took us 3hours and we arrived only 20mins or so before our flight but we made it at least!


On a lighter note, early in the day myself, Hannah England and Luke Gunn had met up with Tom Payn, a british marathon runner who bases himself Iten. Tom whilst renting a room elsewhere spends much of his time with a training camp called Run-Fast and he invited us into visit the camp. We met Edwin Kipyego who is one of probably the camps star athlete and one to watch out for, his 10k PB is already 28.12 and 61.23 for the half marathon and so I've been told has only been training serious for a couple of years.


We were invited into his accommodation for a cup of chi (kenyan tea) or at least Edwin's version of it, as he had added a sachet of hot chocolate to the original flask, however having not had anything particular sweet for the past few weeks it was a bit of treat to satisfy my sweet tooth!
(myself and Edwin outside his one room accommodation which sleeps two people, a room no bigger and 10 feet by 10, includes 2 bunk beds, a sofa, a tv and a sink, its compared to most Kenyan homes this is luxury)

The camp was situated slightly off the main dirt roads, near to Iten town centre and meant we had to walk through a few back streets (which were basically muddy paths) to get there and we passed lots of Kenyan kids en route. They apparantly have all of December off school. Myself Hannah (England) and Luke (Gunn) couldn't resist a picture with them.

Update from a wet Kenya

Hi folks

I’ve been Kenya a couple of weeks now, in fact my trip is nearly at an end! but my altitude camp has gone really well for me. A couple of weeks before I got hear I had to pull out of the Great South Run due to illness but I now feel I have found my feet again and I’ve put in some good 100mile weeks, alongside all the little things too. The added benefit of being on a training camp is having the time to utilize recovery with daytime naps the order of the day… I do manage to squeeze a few in at home but logistically it’s always more challenging, out here its part of the daily routine.

This now my third time in Kenya, I also came out in January and March earlier this year before the Virgin London Marathon, so I feel quite at home. Things have been a little different this time around though as there’s been a substantial amount of rain, somewhat unusual for Kenya in November. There main rainy season is usually April & May and whilst there is supposedly a short rainy period in November, this has been anything but short. Previously we there has been rain it’s mostly been over night and not that regularly but since we’ve arrived there has been rain most days and some heavy down pours during the day too. I don’t feel it has affected my training all that much in terms of quality but we have had to adapt the surface, the trails are all ground/clay based so as soon as you get any persistent rain they become very stick and sometimes just not run-able. The only option for running when its been really muddy has been the solitary tarmac road which goes through Iten, so this has lead to a few out and back on the bad days. Whilst the rain has not been a big issue for us, with perhaps the exception of the crazy drivers when we have taken to the road, no pavement here! For the people locals it is a little more serious, as the heavy rain is delaying the harvesting of crops and this for many is there only source of food or income.

It has not been all bad weather though, as we did manage to get on the Iten Track a couple of times. This is always an impressive spectacle on ‘session day’, that being a Tuesday morning, as you will always find large number and various Kenyan training groups in full swing (assuming its dry day). We were even witness to something other than distance running on one occasion with some crazy high jump techniques going on.

My sessions have gone surprisingly whilst here actually, as after picking up a stomach bug at home a few weeks ago I must admit to did struggle with my training somewhat in the aftermath. It been nice to train in group again though and having been on previous UKA/London Marathon training camps I know that these trips work well for me and it has been just what I needed to get my fitness back and set the wheels in motion for the next few months of training.
Its certainly tough training here though as you won’t find too many flat runs but I’m sure that is one part of what makes so many successful athletes here. I did have an unscheduled day off the other day however, feeling dizzy and generally under the weather, fortunately it turned out to be just a 24hour thing… or as I've since heard it call here ‘a little malaria’. Whenever a Kenyan person gets sick, whatever shape or form it takes it is usually referred to as malaria, it seems this is just a word for someone who is ill! Whilst of course genuine malaria is a serious issue here and across many areas of Africa it seems to me that the Kenyan’s version of man-flu is this ‘small malaria’, don’t let the reference foul you. When I was here in January one of the Kenya guys who works at the centre was off ill with malaria, only to be back at work the next day!

Just a few more days here now and then off to Preston to catch up with a Sports Psychologist and then on to Loughborough for some physiological testing to measure how well the camp has really gone.

Planning for success

It’s between a while since my last blog even by standards but plenty to update you on, despite my lack of racing…

I took my usual break after the World Champs as planned, actually that’s a little bit of lie as I actually started running a few days earlier than planned. I usually get out on my push bike just to do something in the second week to fend of the boredom but unfortunately my bike was out of action so went out for a few easy runs instead. Nothing major just 20 to 30mins of easy jogging on a daily basis but it at least kept the cabin fever at bay.

I have since been building things up again training wise and despite not feeling particular fit I ran the National Road Relays for my UK club Newham & Essex Beagles only a few weeks after starting back. I have only competed for Newham a small number of times over the last 2 years, mainly due to events clashing with other racing plans but I enjoying doing something as part of a team when the chance arises. On previous outings for Newham in UK competitions I have always been on a winning team, but with a slightly weaker team (partly down to me not being in shape) and coming up again a strong Aldershot team we had to settle for 3rd spot on this occasion. I ran 4th leg for the team and whilst my time was somewhat short of what I would expect to run I came away thinking I can now kick on the training. Unfortunately no sooner did I touch down back in Guernsey airport that night after the relays did I come down with a stomach bug, this let to no running for following week and when I did start back again things took a good few days before I started to feel a bit more like myself again. For those reasons I decided against running the Great South Run which I was down to do originally and decide I would be better just getting myself back to full health.

Since the Daegu Champs I have a lot of time to analysis my past season and also look ahead to the next 12months and most importantly how I will tackle it. One of the main things I have done is sit down and think about how I can improve things and find those little difference, the one percenters which will all add up to an overall better performance. I have always set myself targets and within that the little processes which will get me there. A book which first encouraged me to start thinking like this was ‘Gold Minds’ by Brian Miller, a book which my old coach recommended to me. The book is a few years old now but the principles are still useful, although recently it’s been useful to fine tune things following a meeting I had with a guy called Tim Newenham. Tim runs a company called Javelin Consultancy and the Guernsey Sports Commission have been using him to help develop a support programme for athletes in Guernsey. Tim helped me fine tune my goal settings a little more which helped identify a slightly clearer path to achieving success. I still have one or two things I need to finish off in terms of my full season plan, namely the marathon I will run in the spring, but I plan to decide this over the next couple of weeks.

I am now a couple of weeks on from the road relays and I’m actually out in Kenya at the minute on a UK Athletics & London Marathon funded altitude training camp. I will be here for just over 3 weeks with the plan to use the altitude and extra time away from my usual environment to focus on things like rest and recovery a bit more. I have to admit I have found the past 8 weeks challenging at home with our little girl Jessica (who is only 13 weeks old) still not sleeping through the night yet. I do find it hard to be away from the family these days but the training camps and the altitude exposure in particular are something I see as a an essential ingredient if I’m going achieve my targets. Our boy Thomas is a really good sleeper at night fortunately so all being well Jessica will follow suit, I joked with my wife that it she could get her sleeping through the night for when I return that would be sit nicely with me :) I won’t repeat what she said to me!

I leave you with something which made me laugh following a conversation with my son on the phone the other night (sorry I have become one of those parents who talk about their children all the time). He has been given the part of father Christmas in his nursery nativity play and he has to sing the song quoted below, however he when he sang it back to me he replaced the final word (the word out) with the word ‘off’, hopefully he gets it right on the day!

Father Christmas got stuck in the chimney,
So he began to shout,
If you boys & girls want your toys,
You better pull me out.

You can see our concerns at his mistake!

I will try to post up regular while out in Kenya, with what Kenya & the camp in general has been like but in the meantime if anyone has any questions please feel free to leave comment or questions in the comment box below.

Down but not out

For those of you who have seen the result, you will probably already know that I finished 22nd place in the Marathon at the World Champs in Deagu, unfortunately narrowly missing out on a top 20 finish and subsequently missing out on achieving an Olympic A standard that I was after. It's been a rough couple of days having got so close and initally it left me feeling particularly frustrated with myself being that I was only 18seconds outside that 20th spot. I only found out how close that 20th spot was after the race which only compounded my frustrations with myself. My thinking being that had I known I was in touching distance that I was sure I could have found that little something extra required over the closing stages. Whether I would have is another matter, I will never know but even having that conversation with myself immediately following the race left me double guess myself as to whether I had exhausted every possible ounce of energy in the race.

In terms of how the race unfolded I came very close to executing the race plan I had set out to run, for all but those two places! I started conservatively with the aim of running a more even paced race than my fellow competitors with the believe that many people would get it wrong and start to fast. In general most of the field did exactly this. Whilst conditions on the day were not as bad as expected temparatures were still 25c and around 60% humidity. I think because the weather was cloudy and there was a breeze many people under estimated the conditions. At half way myself and Dave Webb were 51st and 52nd place, well down the field but only gaining in places until the finish. At 35k I got a shout out from the sides to say I was 33 place and in front of me I could see half a dozen people coming back to me, 3 of whom were the three spanish athletes who had beaten me last year in Barcelona (where I finished 8th, in Daegu I was the 6th European finisher). During that last 7km I figured I had passed approx 7 or 8 runners, hence assuming I had worked myself up to around 25th place, however I may have miss counted and also not allowed for drop outs, which evidently was the case as I crossed the line in 22nd place. Whilst I fell short of my target the performance itself is probably one I should be more proud of but because of what was at stake one I can't help but be disappointed by the result. Had the race just simply been a World Championships for me and not a chance to gain Olympic Qualification I think I would have probably taken much more positive from the race but it was difficult to see past that at the time.

Moving forward now though I have to run the Olympic A Standard time (which is to run under 2hr 12mins for the marathon) and I have already starting looking at how will go about doing that. My thoughts and disappointment of last Sunday have not completely left my head just yet but my appetite to succeed remains as strong as ever so I will do everything I can to ensure I achieve my goals.

Currently I am now enjoying a break from training, no running and more time at home... which is proving just as much of a challange as the marathon as our little girl Jessica is proving difficult to settle in the evenings. Whilst she is now 5 weeks old my wife was almost a single parent pre-South Korea so it's been a bit of shock to the system for me! I no can longer be excused due to preparing for a World Champs and there's nothing like a bit of real life reality to ground you again and remind you it's not just about running... at least not all the time :)

Its a girl!

This is a little bit late as per normal but now I'm In the holding camp in Ulsan ahead of the World champs I have a bit more time to write and post this up...

Firstly baby news! on Thursday 4th September we had a baby girl, Jessica Yves who weighed in at 6lb 15 0z, the middle name(pronounced Eve) uses the male spelling as we wanted to use my late grandpa's middle name in his memory, he passed away last December. Other than lack of sleep mother and baby are doing fine and my wife has been a bit of a star taking the brunt of the baby duties so I could get the rest I needed from training. Our son Thomas celebrated his 3rd birthday the other week too, so with a cluster of kids running around house for his party and people popping in to see Jessica there's been plenty going on.

In terms of training I am now into my easing back period here in Ulsan, but prior to that the last few weeks have gone really well, certainly as well as my preparation for the London marathon earlier this year, if not better. I've also managed to get some good acclimatisation prior to the holding camp, with a few sessions in a greenhouse, made available to me thanks to the local vinery the Clematis Nursary. Unfortunately the treadmill I was initially using packed up though, due to getting too hot apparently. It was 36c and 100% humidity on one occasion mind! The greenhouse sessions went well though and i felt pretty comfortable in the that environment, certainly more so than Fae the BBC Guernsey reporter who joined me for part of one my sessions the other week, I think she lasted about 5mins :)

As I say I'm now out in Ulsan in South Korea after a fairly long journey out here, taking the best part of 24hours. Certainly staying awake during the last few hours was a challenge and slept well that first night! the jelag doesn't seem to affecting me too badly either but I understand most people have taken a good 4 or 5 days to get used to the hour time different. I will try to update again here with a bit more info about Ulsan and my final prepations, although that will only be if I can get a new battery charger for my laptop as I left my at home! If I can source another I get another update up here in a few days.

Camping out at home

I'm now back home after my month in the Pyrenees, ironically c0ming home to better weather than I left in Font Romeu. The weather for the last few days was not the best, all most constaint rain for the last two days, not what you usually expect for the South of France in July! but training went well so can't complain. The 4 weeks of training was arguably my best period of training at altitude and the last week was particular good with a solid track session and a very good 25km tempo run, the latter so much so that the person who accompanied me on a push bike couldn't keep up :)



Now I am home I feel a little bit more at ease, as Teresa has not given birth yet, so this means I will definately be here for our new arrival. As the doctor has suggested the due be a little sooner than first thought, Teresa only had to be a few days early and I would have still been in France. The due date is basically this weekend and I'm told that they never let it go more than 2 weeks overdue and I am home now for 3 weeks before I leave for the holding camp in Alsan.


As mentioned in a previous post I would normally be at altitude closer to the race but came home sooner to be around for the birth, however in order to maintain the benefits I have gained from my trip at altitude I am sleeping in my altitude tent. Which has cosily fitted into our conservatory at home, much to my wife disappointment :) The only probably with using the altitude system that I have is that because it's an old system the generator needs to be inside the tent, rather than outside, which is the case with the more modern versions. This makes means getting used to the noise and also the temparature (as the generator increases the temparature by 10 degrees C inside). As those of you with conservatories probably know these places tend to warm at the best of times so I'm not going to getting cold at night to say the least! BBC Guernsey came around to my house yesterday for an interview and seemed particularly interested in the tent that's inside the house. They are not the only one amused by the tent, my son Thomas loves come in there too.


Anyway just a brief update for now, next time I post something I should be a dad again so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly with that...I'm not sure who's more terrified about the actual birth, Teresa or myself! Our first, Thomas was delivered by C-section so the thought of a natural birth seems a little bit more scary. Running marathons seem a much easier prospect to get my head round than child birth.

Living and training above the clouds

Well I’ve been in training in the Pyrenees now for just over 2 weeks and generally speaking things have been going really well. The weather has been a bit changable at times with glorious sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20's to electronical storms and heavy rain. Yours truely made the wrong choice the other day, driving up to La Calme, the one of the highest point in the area (also referred to as the plateau) just as an electrical storm was passing overhead, not a cleaver choice in hindsight!

From my first few days here my running and fitness has felt good and my first full week here gave me just over 120miles for the week, my key sessions have been good too. I had a good track session last week with 5k runner Ryan Mcleod, Ryan and I have the same coach (John Nuttall) and so we were able to work it that Ryan had his last big volume track session alongside a typical one for me during marathon training. I have also spent a bit more time in the gym over the last 2 weeks, whilst I have been doing my typical weights and core sessions each week I have also been spending 2 to 3 additional sessions per week doing my calf/achilles exercises and doing the hurdle drills that I must admit I don’t always manage to fit in every week back home. The additional calf/achilles exercises or as it’s been renamed calf club! Is an array of exercises to strengthen my calfs, the soleus muscle and achilles tendon which I have been doing with the physio here and athlete Chris Thompson. I am prone to achilles niggles on my right side due to my running mechanics, nothing that has ever stopped me running but the sort of thing that if not given a bit of attention can lead to secondary injuries if you’re not too careful so it’s been good to make time for this. Although I have broken the first rule about calf club, that nobody talks and about calf club :)


Recovering after a run at Lac de Matemale, near Les Angles.

The great thing about being on a training camp of this nature is that you not only have more time to recovery from a sometimes hectic home life but the environment in general is ideal. There are many other athletes here all equally focused, with athletes from both the UK and also from USA this time and UK Athletics have some of their best staff out here too who are second to none, certainly from the perspective of being a non-lottery funded athlete like myself this is as good it gets.

The only minor interruption I have had these past couple of days has been a toe infection of all things! I picked this up on Monday, after training as normal I didn’t sleep a wink that night due to the infection being so uncomfortable. Fortunately the UKA doctor John Rogers had arrived that same day and I am now on a course of antibiotics to sort it out. It only meant two days of not running, two I would have preferred not to miss but on the second day I was able to put my energies into some cross training. Motivated by the Tour de France I took to the bike for a spot of hill work. I used the road that leads to the plateau, the road is just short of 5km of continuous climbing with a different of around 1000feet from the bottom to top. The road is ideal for hills sessions by bike or by foot as is fairly quite road. It took me 15mins to reach the top on a near all out effort, my quads are not designed for cycle that’s for sure! and following some further shorter 3mins reptitions I have to admit that my enthusiasm for cycling was somewhat lessened that but it served it's purpose of getting my heart rate up. I am pleased to say that after that little interruption though I’m now back running as normal and ready to crack on with training.



Pictures courtsey of http://design.ryanmcleod.net

Getting the balance right

Getting the balance Right.

Even by my standards this blog is a long time in coming, considering my last blog wasn’t since early May. I am finally back on it terms of blogging and I should have a bit more time to post more regularly given that I am now out in Font Romeu for a training camp.

Firstly racing… last Sunday I ran my first race since the London Marathon, which took the form of the half marathon in the Natwest Island Games in the Isle of Wight, competing for Guernsey for the first time since last October. The course used was a fairly challenging one, with a number of decent sized hills in each of the two bigger laps but given that I was aiming to use the race as part of my marathon preparations for the World Champs (later this summer) it workout quite well. I ran 68.36 which considering the challenge circuit this equated to about marathon pace effort for me. As well as individual gold, I also picked up team gold along with my Guernsey team mates Mike Wilesmith and Steve Dawes, who placed 4th and 5th respectively. A great run by Mike who is very new to the running, unfortunately my fellow training partner (in Guernsey) Steve was suffering with a virus and was unable to run to form.

Our achievements and Team Guernsey in general seem to have been received well back at home, It was also nice for us and for athletics to win gold given that they were the first gold medals won by Guernsey at these multi sport games. Also I always say when interviewed by Guernsey media that its nice to pull on a Guernsey vest (given that I rarely get the chance these days) and this was no different. With the course being a multiple lap race (as opposed to one big circuit) we were also able to great support as even from fellow Guernsey athletes and supporters alike.

Unfortunately I wasn’t unable to hang around for too long at the Games due to a planned training camp out in Font Romeu, where I am currently located. I would have loved to have stayed for the full week long event in the Isle of Wight and would have like to have enjoyed the team camaraderie that comes with it, but with so much going on for me this summer it just wasn’t possible.

As some of you maybe aware my wife and I are due to have our second baby soon, with the due date being the 5th Aug, I want to be there for the birth but I am also aware that if I am to achieve my goal of competing at the Olympics in London next year I need to be able to prepare as best as possible. The World Championship Marathon on the 4th September provides me with the first opportunity to qualify, as by finishing inside the top 20 places this will count as achieving the Olympics A Standard Qualification. So this will quite literally be my most important race of my running career. Teresa has been very supportive and understanding these past 12-18months to say the least… infact it’s usually the first thing people say to me… ‘you have a very understanding wife!’, the second thing they usual joke is that how on earth were you home long enough to get her pregnant…but I don’t like to brag :) In terms of training at altitude I usually aim to spend 3 to 4 weeks there to get the desired benefits but then return to sea-level approx 2 to 3 weeks before my race so to maintain the benefits (they usually only last up to around 4-5 weeks but with the peak benefits being around 2-3 weeks after). However in this instance I have gone earlier and will be back at sea-level 5 weeks before the race (one week before the due date, if baby arrives as planned!) so I will then use my altitude tent for additional 2 weeks or so on returning home to maintain the fitness benefits gained from the training camp. My only potential problem of course being that babies don’t always come when you want them too! We said we would cross that bridge if it arises, which well take the form of early return home, but hopefully you can at least see the dilemma I was faced with. I guess my the compromise in this instance (which I would like to point out was more of a compromise between myself as a father to be and one as an elite athlete) was that I have gone to my altitude training camp slightly earlier in the instance keeping my fingers crossed that I will not regret the decision should the baby come early that the due date!

As for Font Romeu the training continues and the first few days have gone really well, I feel at the moment that my previous altitude camps have help me in terms of feeling more comfortable with the altitude from day one. I have still taken things a bit easier in terms of the intensity I have been training at but the pace of my first few runs have been good with my heart rates remaining low (usually the first few days of altitude you can experience elevated heart rates due to your body having to work harder due to less available oxygen). I feel settled as much as I can be away from home and all being well I will have a good few weeks of hard training ahead of me and be home in time to experience the imminent arrival!

Virgin London Marathon Result

It’s been two weeks since the race but it’s still fresh in the mind and now in a position to post this up after just getting back from our family holiday. Here’s my latest blog update…Results wise I finished 14th overall in a time of 2.14.27, which was a PB by over 2 minutes (previous PB was 2.16.48, which I ran in London last year) although I was actually a little disappointed with the time. I was looking to get under the Olympic & World Champs A Standard of 2.12 and whilst clearly that was still my ideal outcome I made the choice over the race weekend to start with the 2.13 pace group. Partly I felt that the 2.11 group might be a little too quick at this stage and I didn’t want to damage my changes of running in the region of 2.12-2.13 which would have been a good stepping stone to running something faster in the future. I feel on reflection I made the right choice as many of the 2.11 group seemed to struggle and whilst my finish time was not what I was after there were lots of plus points to take away.

In terms of how the race unfolded, the group I set out with included Stephen Shay (USA) one of the mexican athletes (there were a number Mexicans running, I believe they may have been using this as a trial race) and fellow Brits Dave Webb, Tom Payne and Martin Williams and of course our pacemaker (Max King, a former American steeplechaser, with a marathon best of 2.15). We set off on schedule with myself, Shay and Dave Webb tucking in behind the pacemaker then Martin, the Mexican and Tom Payne in behind us. Generally the pace was spot on throughout although there were a few fluctuations in pace even though the actual mile splits were pretty much bang on (2.13 pace is basically 5.05 per mile). The personal drinks stations (which are every 5k) were a bit busy for our group as unfortunately myself and the three other Brits in the group all happened to choose the same drinks table, which is done the night before the race. This really was a case of sods law because when you deliver your drinks to the organisors the day before everyone can choose the table you would like to be on (there's a choice of tables 1 of 4) and as luck would have it we all choose table 2 and so of the 6 people who had drinks on this table 4 of us all happened to arrive at the table at the same time. Fortunately it didn't seem to effect anything and we filtered through without any major issues. Some time around 8 to 10 miles the group shrunk to just myself, Shay, Webb and our Mexican friend and we reached half way together in 66.37. At this stage I felt really comfortable and was growing in confidence, it was around this stage we started to catch people too, the first person being the Australian Colis Birmingham who was making his marathon debut. Not long after this I saw my wife and friends who were watching at the 14 mile mark, feeling good I gave them a quick thumbs up as I passed (not something I normally do during a race). It wasn't until around 16 to 17 miles that I noticed that I starting to work a little more but looking at my 5k splits this was the quickest split the weather may have also been a bit of factor too as by this time it was starting to quite warm. It was also around this point that the group caught and passed one of the other british athletes, Phil Wicks. The group by this point was just myself, Webb and the mexican however over the next couple of miles this just became myself and Max (our pacemaker).

The only hitch around this time occurred at the 30k mark when I managed to miss the 30k drinks station, annoying because it was here I had attached a carb gel to my sports bottle, luckily I had attached another at the next 5k station as back up but I was ready for the gel at 30k mark. Shortly after the this we hit the 20mile mark, pretty much still bang on 2.13 pace at this point but from here I was on my own. From here unfortunately the pace dropped off a little bit, possibly more than I should have allowed, however I didn’t really check my mile splits at this stages and just focused on keeping myself inj one piece and ticking off people as they came back to me during the last few miles. Also by now the temperature got pretty warm by now.

Around 22 I passed Tomas Abya and a little further along the road I passed Chema Martinez (silver medalist at last years Euro champs), passing people in the closing stages whilst you still feeling quite strong gives you a lot of inner strength and when I passed the remaining british runner Andrew Lemoncello I felt for the first time in marathon I was able to enjoy the last half mile! The crowd support over the last 800m was just awesome too and it was a great feeling to be the first British finisher with and to get that kind of crowd reaction provided perhaps a small taste of what could be next August if I can achieve my goals. Since the marathon the legs seem to have recovered fairly well. I didn’t run a step for the first 7 days after the race. We went on a family holiday the day after the race and it was nice to be able to take it easy (well as much as you can do with active 2 year old!).. Now I just need to work out how I can fit in an altitude trip before the World Championships as well as ahead a 10 day holding camp and also be around to attend the birth of our second child which is due the first week of August. The Marathon in Daegu in on 4th September. In the meantime I have an MRI scan on my knee in couple of weeks, it’s something which has been around since returning from my first training camp at the start of February. I’ve been able to train on it without too many problems so hopefully nothing to be worried about. As for now I’ve doing some easy runs this week, just once a day of between 20 to 40minutes and other than feeling a bit of a slouch I think I’m ready to get back on the horse and start putting some proper training in again, so next stop Daegu.