In the words of Ronan Keating “Life is a roller coaster, you just gotta ride it” (don’t laugh it is a great song), well running seems to be a very long and sometimes enormously steep one at that. After an amazing experience at the World Champs in August I felt like my bubble burst and I came back down to earth with an almighty bump. The 12 weeks of intense hard training, the build up to race day, the elation of crossing that line and then. ..the little voice says “what do I do now?”
Of course, I was excited to take a break from the training routine, live a ‘normal’ life whatever that is supposed to be. I stayed up late, ate that extra slice of cake that is always winking at you, went shopping and even watched Home and Away each evening at 6pm (not sure if I should mention that but I have anyway). Like any athlete the novelty started to wear thin and I missed the routine and comfort that a training programme brings. So I sat down with Nick and set some new goals, yet there was still something missing and I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
Having been lucky enough to study and graduate from Loughborough University I was also surrounded by some of the best athletes and training facilities in the country. Loughborough is my home now and has been for the last 15 years but training had become very predictable and I don’t mean that in a nasty way. If you have ever experienced the track training nights down at the uni, you will know what a great set up it is. Yet someone said to me “it’s insane to do the same thing and expect a different result”. That was it, I needed to shake things up a little, get out of my comfort zone.
I decided to enlist the help of a new coach and get some advice on an S & C programme. I don’t expect a miracle or to see the benefits straight away. I decided to race the Great Scottish Run and then Portsmouth Great South Run as part of my training, blow a few cobwebs away and see where I was at. I didn’t expect to be flying or at my best but to be fair there were some encouraging signs or so I thought. Yet, I received a few comments about my performances that made me feel low at the time but I’m now using as motivation.
I’m surrounded by a great team coach and husband and I believe in the process. I may be on a low right now but my roller coaster is climbing to that next high…
