……….is the WORST title I have ever produced for anything. Ever. Gooooooo me. It’s so bad it’s good, right?? Nah. Shit. I can’t stop looking at it. Ha. Ahhhhhhh. Shite. Only I can change it too. And I choose not to. How annoying is that?!

Anyway.

Those of you with eyes and an adventurous spirit will no doubt have noticed that I have a (fairly) new addition to the side bar on the right. VO2 Max Coaching it says. See it? You flippin’ should do, it’s a big orange bastard after all. It looks like that one, down there, but if you click on it it’ll take you to some magical places….

I’ve been working with Martin now for, umm, about 3 months or so. I’ve been injured or ill for most of those months (don’t look into that too much…..it’s pure coincidence); a result of my yoghurt body failing me. I won’t pull any punches. It’s been a difficult transition and certainly not as easy to adjust as I thought it would be.

I did it for all the right reasons; personal to me. I wanted to take the guess work out of my training. To improve (obviously). To realise the most out of what ability I may, or may not, have. Something that I was confident that I could do on my own…..but in three times the time that it would take someone of Martin’s experience to find.

When I first chatted to Martin when broaching the idea of him agreeing to coach me (it’s a two way process for sure; you’ve got to both want it) he mentioned a well known fell runner who described himself as ‘uncoachable’. I can understand that. Giving up control of your fitness when you’re a competitive runner, particularly a fell runner, is the thing I’ve struggled with the most. By a long way.

My mindset up until May/June was that every. single. race. was the most important race on the calendar. I don’t think I ever once structured anything around a certain race or event to give myself the best chance of the best outcome. I’d just ‘race myself fit’ and take any wins/good results as proof that I was getting good, then pile in spectacularly on the one big race that I’d been eyeing up since the previous year. Apres moi la deluge.

So let’s see how this gaff turns out huh? Patience with myself is only a good thing. My desktop background* says “Trust the fucking process” and so I shall. I’ve got some big goals in the next few years, which I’ll reveal……once I’ve done them! One of them is pretty damned large! But things take time. A time to break down, and a time to build up….a time to seek, and a time to lose (Ecclesiastes 3)….you get the idea.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot. I’ve left Ambleside AC. Dear. Blessed. Ambleside AC. My home for 6+ years now. They are an awesome club. I’ll bottle up my old race vest and take a long nose suck of their wafty odour for luck each time I step out my front door. But. Alas. New pastures mean, umm, new…pastures. I’ve crossed the Raise and jumped onto the Keswick AC panzerwagon to see where that ship takes me.

*By the way you can get more inspirational quotes from here……(back there).