My First Day

pm: LSAC v BUAC v Army (+ guests) 1500m @ Loughborough: 4.06, finishing mid-field + 5mi easy warm down
8mi

My body is adjusting to the altitude (or lack of) as I woke up at 0500 this morning and couldn’t wrestle myself back to sleep. On Monday night it was similar but I managed to steal a few extra hours by getting up late; today I had to catch the 0747 train to Headingley to start work experience. I was planning on doing an easy 30 mins at lunchtime but I felt very sluggish just walking around so I thought better of it. It was an enjoyable first day as I was introduced to the workings of a professional sports club and goodness me it is complex; the number of staff and departments is staggering. Although I enjoyed it, the fact that walking from the press box to the office felt like I was scaling Everest was probably a good indicator that I should have waited until Monday to start this role. I was allowed to leave 2 hours before the 5pm finish time because of racing this evening and boy was I glad for it. I got home and had a quick nap to try and get a bit more energy but I noticed little difference on awakening. My Mum got home from work, we had a bite to eat and then set off down the M1. I was very relaxed going into the race and trying everything to keep the pressure off myself. George and my Dad had told me to run a 1500 but said to be prepared that I may run poorly. In hindsight, I think I may have been TOO prepared to run poorly and consequently, I did. I ran 4.06 finishing mid-field which undoubtedly was a poor run. The first thing I wrote in my training diary was 'Poor run, as expected after 3 days back at sea-level.' How much of this was psychological? I had convinced myself that a poor run would be acceptable since the session of 6 x 2 mins on Saturday, and perhaps even before then. One has to be honest though, how can a 'poor' run EVER be acceptable? It is, by definition, unsatisfactory. I am not going to sit here and say I am in fantastic 1500m shape, but I think I am in somewhere between 3.58 and 4.02 shape. Some of you may say 'you've been to altitude for 3 weeks, how are you not fitter?' Well, I am fit, but not very 1500m fit. I think if I was to race a 10k now, I'd run really well, but I am just lacking that track sharpness at the moment. The long and the short of it is that I underperformed today for a number of reasons but the one that was in my direct control, my mental focus, has to be better managed. Without ever being explicitly negative pre-race, I successfully lowered my expectations via negative reinforcement to a point where underperformance was deemed acceptable. The race: I felt terrible today, especially warming up. I jogged, did drills, strides & 45 secs hard and all of it was a real effort. I took extra time between drills as I felt so heavy legged at the end of each one. When the gun went I tried to run conservatively in a choppy, slightly windy race where I never felt at ease. My body felt weirdly tingly at about halfway and I probably tightened up a bit. I was 3.00 at the bell and I really had to dig deep to re-pass Booker with 50m left after initially deciding I wouldn’t bother! I don’t feel at all disheartened as the job was to turn the legs over and the job has been done. My only disappointment is my inability to pick it up on the last lap though having spoken to Phil he said I can’t expect to if I am just a bit off it. I did a long warm down and felt better the more I did and I wasn’t tired at all. My chest was bit tight and I was coughing a lot but I am usually like this post-track race. I genuinely think I could have run another 1500 at the same pace given a 15 minute or so recovery. Bizarrely, I am incredibly positive after this race as I have highlighted something that I let talk me out of running well and I won’t let it happen again. Fulham's defeat in the closing stages of the Europa League final was a huge disappointment on the journey home but it was nice to catch with my Mum about my trip away and what she's been up to as well. I got home at 2315 and wasn't in bed until nearly 1am as I was wide-awake and there was no way I could sleep.