Flying the nest

This month has been a big month of reflection for me following on from a successful warm weather training camp back in April.

Tenerife passed by like a blur. It was such a great 10 days of training. I said in my last blog post "If I can come away saying ”I gave it every ounce of effort I could”, have a smile on my face and my knee is acting right, then I will be able to call the trip a massive success." Well, I can certainly report that the trip WAS indeed a massive success. I applied myself to the max both physically and mentally to every session. I think Team Glyn would all agree I had the BIGGEST smile on my face every day at the track! And I am pleased to say that I had no knee pain during (or following) the camp. To say that I am feeling thankful is an understatement. This was my first warm weather camp ever, and I certainly feel like I benefit from the experience and that I have set some solid foundations to build on over the upcoming season.

The goals that I had set myself for WWT were not only met, but succeeded. My goal of a sub 30s 200m was smashed, running a 28.3 in training on one occasion.

Since my return home, we have started building towards running longer distances. I had a ladder session two weeks ago of 150m, 200m, 250m, 200m, 150m - and that 250m felt FAR! My mind gets so carried away with "A 400m isn't that far. I've done it plenty of times before", but I can now see I still have a lot to build on before I tackle a 400m. We are working hard on building up the volume of my sessions, which is a welcomed challenge.

Lactic acid hurts a lot more than I remember. My body doesn't really know how to deal with lactic, after barley feeling it for a good few years, so my bigger sessions have been a real shock to the system. Most track sessions leave me on the floor, writhing in pain, feeling very grumpy and sorry for myself. To think while I was bed-bound with my knee in a brace I was saying "I just wish I could feel lactic again." Well, I got my wish. Can you be thankful and full of regret at the same time?

Another huge positive that came out of the warm weather training camp is that Coach Glyn and I have decided that I am ready to join the group full time and move to Loughborough! I'm finally going to have a training group again!

When I was living in the States I was rarely fit enough to be taking part in the group sessions, and since my return home back in December 2018, the majority of my rehab and training I have been doing alone, so you can imagine how excited I am to finally be in a position where I am going to be able to train effectively and competitively in a group again. We are trying to get the move to Loughborough underway as soon as possible. I am currently in the process of house hunting and making all the arrangements.

I suppose I've saved the best bit of news until last. I WILL BE RACING IN JUNE! I am opening my season with a 200m in mid-June. Thinking about racing truly takes my breath away, and I can honestly say I can't wait to be back on that start-line, feeling all the nerves, stress and excitement that comes with it.

I am feeling nothing but gratitude about what's to come in the next few weeks. My whole life is about to shift up a gear, and I'm feeling very optimistic about what is to come. Going forward into the coming weeks, my goals are simply set on becoming race ready and getting myself moved over to Loughborough. There is a lot to do, but I'm certainly not shying away from the challenge.