Right, I'll bring you the good news as promised in the last blog. When I say good news, it means a lot to me personally, but you may not be as excited by this as I was. I can tell you that it made Steve quite happy.

A week and a half before BUCS I did a sub-max test at the uni. At first glance, my scholarship mentor and the sports scientist who did the test, Alex McGregor, said it was a good test. After number crunching, using all the formulae etc he came up with a detailed little report on the whole thing. I'm sure you're dying to know where my various zones are, so we'll get them out of the way first. Off the top of my head:

Easy pace- 6:01 per mile

Steady State 1- 5:19 per mile

Steady State 2- 5:08 per mile

Anaerobic threshold (tempo pace)- 5:00 per mile

These numbers were based on a treadmill at a 1% gradient (I think) so if I was to do a tempo on the road the pace would probably be slower. The important numbers and the numbers which mean the most are the heart rates for these zones. Now I don't actually know these because I forgot to ask for them but when I get them I'll let you know. The main reason I forgot to ask about the heart rates was because Alex was telling me the significance of this test.

The uni have data from two other tests that I've previously done with them, and the comparisons were very interesting. My anaerobic threshold pretty much lies at the same heart rate in each test. But the point at which lactic occurs in my legs has changed, A LOT! Every test I've done the point at which lactic begins has got closer and closer to my anaerobic threshold. The first test I did was just after the Euro Cross trial in 2008, and there lactic started to appear at around 16 km/h. In just under a year and a half the point at which lactic starts has moved to 18 km/h. What this shows is that I'm able to run very close to my anaerobic threshold and not feel a thing. So my threshold is at 5:00 per mile, well I can run at 5:06/5:07 pace and not feel anything. So basically what they're telling me is that I can run almost at tempo for a long time and have no worries. I'm very pleased with these results as I haven't done any tempo work for over a year and the numbers are saying I'm still making big progressions. The fact that I can run so close to tempo and feel relaxed shows just how successful my base building phase has been. I think Mr Sharp deserves a pat on the back.

After the National is when I'll start doing my tempo work. If I do these right then hopefully the pace of the anaerobic threshold should shift, meaning the point at which lactic becomes intolerable is delayed until a faster pace. One thing I found when going onto the track is that I have no lactic tolerance as throughout my whole time running I've never done any proper tempo work. So after a lap I normally find my legs are screaming with lactic. Hopefully the introduction of tempo work this season will make things a bit easier to cope with. I really need to get those heart rates though otherwise I won't be able to do the sessions properly.

After the National there will be another addition to my training. When Linsday Dunn was in town doing his talk he mentioned there's no harm in doing a few hill sprints of 5-6s after a run. It's a good way to develop some speed before going onto the track and it won't tire you as it's not enough time to develop lactic. Turns out Steve agrees with what his mentor says and he wants me doing them a couple of times a week after runs. I'll probably go to Selly Oak park to do them as there's a good hill there and it's right next to my house.

If you haven't seen already I've done an update of the profile by putting my training and a pre-race National report up. Hope you enjoy!   

Thanks for the read,

Goolab xxx