A fortnight of quality training and a win for McLaren

Having completed a fortight of hard quality training I'm pleased to say I'm feeling sharper and fitter than I was earlier in the month.  If I have a couple of weeks in between races I like to increase the intensity and volume of my training to move up a level fitness wise before the next race.

I've been to the track on a Monday and a Wednesday both weeks, and feel that I've improved over the course of the sessions, which is nice!  I've also added in a hill session a week, increasing the number of intervals each week.  We are very fortunate to live within a mile jog of Ickworth Park so its easy for me to jog over to the steep hill on the left hand side of the deer park, run some intervals and jog home.  There are a couple of decent hills on the way home so I usually work hard on these to complete the session.

I treated myself to some new kit from Vince's shop Runability prior to commencing the intense training, it certainly made a difference as I felt more comfortable and a lot less scruffy than when I train in my work t-shirts :-)  Vince recommended some gortex innovate 275 shoes as my long runs are mostly off road with short sections of road included.  These have been great; warm dry feet with plenty of grip on muddy tracks and adequate cushioning for the road.

I've stuck to the three swim sessions a week whilst increasing my running and seem to be improving a little.  The warm weather has also enabled me to continue cycling on a Sunday ( as a fair weather cyclist I usually pack my bike away for the winter at the end of October!)

I'm now tapering down for the first of a series of races.  This is the RAF Wednesday League race at UEA next week,  followed by the Eastern Counties XC champs on Sunday. 

On the work front the Sports Injury Clinic at the Bury Natural Health Centre is now open every Saturday from 8am to 1pm.  I'm also working at the Osteopathic Centre for Family and Children in Cambridge from 9am -12pm the first Thursday of every month.     

It was great to see the two McLaren boys on the podium at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.  Had Jenson not had the KERS issue I guess he would have finished second rather than third, but here's hoping he can keep his second place in the championship.  I'm looking forward to the final race of the season in Brazil next weekend, going to have to jump in the car straight after the race at Eastern Counties and head home so I don't miss the start!