Here's How A Pro 10k Runner Trains For The Olympics
People ask you if you're a runner and they go "Oh,
have you been to the Olympics?" It's it's always like the go-to question.
And I used to have to say, "oh no, but you know, I've done other things."
So now it's, it's nice to actually be able to say, yeah, yeah.
So I've made it and it's a lot of sacrifice. And I think, um,
people forget, you know, like when you're on the start line, it's just you,
but it's not just you, you know,
there's a whole like support team back at home. I've been through so much,
like I was kicking myself for, you know, I think I was 17. And I just thought, oh,
maybe I'm a bit too young for like this event. And I just,
I come third at the Olympic Trials in the 800. Um, so, but you know, I was close,
but not close enough. So when I was watching it,
I just remember thinking I don't want to, you know, I don't want to miss out on this.
I'd love, I'd love to give it a go. Um, and then obviously 2016
didn't go well.
I tore my hamstring and you know, I think the Olympics is so hard because it's only every
four years, or in this case five. And, um,
it comes around so rarely that it's hard to be in the right shape. Um,
but to actually say that I'm an Olympian now, it just feels, yeah,
it feels amazing.
Originally, you know, I did the 800. And I didn't, like two minutes of running,
I found it was, I was just getting too nervous before races about, you know,
if I was in the wrong position,
because you do all that training for two minutes of running, I just,
I really struggled to get my head around it.
So that's why I really like dedicating myself to the 1500.
I just thought it sat a little bit longer. And then when I was doing the 1500,
I just,
I found myself wanting to do more mileage in the winter. It's one of those things
that I just, I really enjoyed the cross country. And I,
I really enjoyed like the road races in the winter.
And I just found that I was getting drawn more to the 5K type
sessions. So I just wanted to give that a go.
And I really enjoyed just being out on the track for that little bit longer.
Again, you know,
you can kind of work the race in a different way. In the 1500,
you kind of have to be on it all the time.
And you have to think on the spot a lot more than a five,
because it's so much more time. And then the 10 K I kind of just got into,
because of all the winter work.
Like I wanted to do a half marathon and that was kind of what I wanted to do in
the winter. Um, and then I thought if I've done all this work, like,
I wonder what 10K shape I'm in.
So I kind of just started the year thinking I would give one a go if I got the
Olympic time out the way which I did,
and then to miss it by a second in the 10 K I just, I thought, oh,
I should give it a go again because you know, I've got so close.
It would be unfair not to do it again. And yeah.
To get the time and qualify, it's literally the second time I've done the 10K on
the track. And, um, I just didn't expect- that was a really big shock for me.
I just didn't expect that to go so well.
So I think I'll probably have to focus a bit more on the 10 K in the next couple
of years.
If it's a session day, yeah I'll shake out at like 12,
do a session in the afternoon and then probably get in the gym straight away.
I'll probably double, I say four times a week in the winter,
it might creep up to say five, but yeah, in the summer,
anywhere from three to four days a week,
I would try and do a shakeout or double.
And I normally do my sessions say Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday,
and the other days are just running and Sunday will be like my longest run of the
week probably. Um, it just depends with races.
Sometimes that changes in the summer.
You can't quite do as many miles on the weekend, but yeah,
in the winter I'd kind of do, say, 16, 18 miles. Um,
18 is absolute maximum for me in the long run. Um,
but in summer that comes down to about 12. Um,
it's just not a priority for me to just get the mileage as high. So yeah.
It tends to change. So in the winter about 90 mile weeks and in the summer
probably anywhere from 60. the mileage definitely drops,
but the intensity just goes up. So it's kind of really different phases.
My track sessions. I love wearing
the Rocket X that's like my favourite probably like speedy issue. I just,
I love that. I loved the way that after a hard track session,
the next day I'm tired, but I'm not completely ruined.
I feel like I have that padding. Um, I can get up on my toe and yeah,
I just, I love that shoe.
And especially because sometimes I warm up in the same shoes that I train in.
If I run from my house to the track, it's three miles.
So I normally wear the same shoe. And it's one of those on the way back,
I feel like I'm still getting a response, which is lovely for a warm down.
my favourite sessions probably from when I was doing 5,000 metre training.
So I normally do like 500 metre reps. So let's say 6
500 meter reps. And that used to be at like 15 pace. But yeah,
it's been a while since I've probably done much 1500 metre training,
it's kind of moved to the 5 and 10K, but yeah,
in like the summer I've just done a ridiculous amount of 1200 metre reps.
So over the years I've had like a difficult, you know,
relationship with nutrition. I think it's when,
especially when I moved to university, I found that I put on a bit of weight.
I think I, you know, I was socialising a little bit more,
you're staying up a bit later, cooking for yourself, which, um,
is difficult anyway, you know, like when you move away from home,
it's really tricky. Um, but I think when you're a runner as well,
trying to fit it in around training. It was, it was a struggle.
So I think after that, I just,
I started to get a bit of like an unhealthy obsession with food and trying to
work out how much I could eat a day. Um,
so I've kind of been through loads of different, you know, like crazes really,
where I was vegetarian for like, I think about four years, um,
then pescatarian, because I realised I love fish. Um,
and now fully back to, you know, eating whatever I want. And, um,
I think that's the thing. And in the winter,
it's more about just getting fuel in. If you're running a lot of miles,
you're doing a lot of sessions.
I think I've tried to rewire myself to think it's not bad if I'm hungry,
just eat. Um, and that's, it's just healthier for me, you know,
like I just feel like I have a healthier obsession now with the food now,
as long as I'm eating, um, like the right things to have a snack or, you know,
cake or anything like that around that, it doesn't matter.
Bruce is, Bruce is a really good distraction.
We fit in our walk sometimes of, you know,
like I'll take him out for a four mile run. Um, and yeah,
he absolutely loves it, but yeah, he's not, he's not very good in sessions.
So he, like,
we've taken him for hill sessions before and it was just a disaster and he just
gets in the way, he thinks it's a game. He thinks you're chasing him. But yeah,
he's a great training partner and he's just a little bit, yeah, a little bit mad.
Doing a PhD is really nice. I think for me,
because it's a different distraction,
it is perfect when things might not be going as well with running. Um, or,
you know, if you start getting like niggles or injuries, to have something else to focus on
and have a different outlet is lovely. Obviously when it goes really well,
it's, it's difficult because you're away, but my supervisors are really,
really good and they know, you know, everything that I'm balancing.
So I think it's just about being honest and saying about your workload that
actually I can't come into the lab. I can't do quite as much.
I think it was just before Christmas, um,
that we were lulled into false sense of security.
So in September we went to Cornwall and we thought everything was getting better
and then straight away, um, we went back into lockdown, I think,
sort of October. Um, so we decided to make our garage into a gym.
So Rob's brother's an electrician. Um, so he helped and, you know,
like sorted it all. And we kind of just thought, if this happens again,
we're in a really good position. Um, and it just makes it so much easier,
you know, that you don't have to travel.
And sometimes it's really hard for me to do the gym. I just, I,
I love running and I find that I just want to run more,
but obviously that strength stuff is, is really important too.
And having it like literally in my house is, is ideal because it makes me like,
do it cause otherwise I just wouldn't bother.
The piece of advice I wish I knew earlier was to enjoy it.
I think you start running because you want to,
it's one of those things that you want to do well at it. And you know, you,
you want to just have that fed in, uh, you know,
you could have a terrible day at work or you can just be, you know,
like emotionally a bit drained and actually going for a run.
And it might seem like the furthest thing you want to do,
but once you're out there running you feel so much better. Um,
and that's why I started running because I just loved it.
I love socialising with friends.
I love training and pushing myself as hard as I could. Um,
and I think sometimes on your journey, you kind of forget why you started.
You forget that there is a reason that you put this much,
like mileage in or you run when the weather's awful because you enjoy it.
And I think sometimes when races go really well,
and then you have a dip in performance,
it's easy to just get really disheartened and hate it.
So for me, it's yeah.
Try and enjoy it and remember why you started and that the tough times don't
last, but you know, like the things you gained from running,
like I managed to have traveled all over the world and made friends in loads of
different countries. And I think that's really important to me and it's like,
why I do it. And you know, if you have a good reason for doing it,
when it goes badly,
it's not the end of the world because you know that you're in a better place
anyway, just from starting.
