I'm going to have to be short because time is not a privilege I have at the moment. My exams began today and it was the first of 6, with the last one being two weeks today. This is such a stressful time of the year as I'm trying to fit as much revision in as possible. It was last week that I realised Maths is not a subject you read a book on then go to an exam to do, you actually have to practise before you step foot into the examination hall. The reason I haven't had any practise was because we were stuck out in Portugal and I only had a small amount of paper to hand so I was stuck to reading notes. "Why didn't you buy paper when you were out there?!" I hear you cry, well I wouldn't be in this situation if you'd told me that at the time. Anyway, opening that past paper made me realise I know squat!! So after my brief panic attack I've been churning out question after question after question trying to get some knowledge. Almost every minute of every day is spent doing this as the four weeks of reading I did over Easter was pretty much a waste of time. It seems to be working so far as I'd say my exam today was a success. I was confident with my answers and I thought a lot of what I was putting down was correct, but then there's a difference between thinking it's right and it actually being right.

With all this studying to do training has become a major juggling act. Things like stretching and going to the gym have taken a back seat so I get more work time. Like I use my study breaks to do 20 mins worth of core work because I can just do that in my room. I've managed to keep the circuits going though as that is stuff I can easily do in my room too. And today, instead of walking 40 mins home from my exam and then doing a run, I walked out the exam, stripped into my running gear I had hidden underneath my jeans and jacket, whacked on the pair of trainers I carried in a bag to the exam and ran home with the bag on my bag. It's little things like that which reduce the amount of wasted time and maximise the work time. Running helps in between revising as it's a stress reliever and just clears the mind to get rid of that stress. Like after my session with Nicholls on Saturday I was in a good mood and went home and did some quality work and learnt almost a years work in half a day, I was so happy!

Speaking of Nicholls, the guy has been moaning recently because I never mentioned him in the recent interviews I did courtesy of Tom Gayle. Now I know a lot of people don't like him which is understandable but he's a lovely guy and a great training partner. He can be a bit opinionated which isn't usually everyone's cup of tea but most of the time he's really funny and brings a big humour factor to the group (the group being himself, Steve and me). He does do his fair share of work during the sessions and is always willing to take reps out, although on Saturday he was happy to sit on me when there was a strong wind. But for those who don't like him we got a speed endurance session tomorrow so the image of me showing him a fresh pair of heels will hopefully put a smile on your face. Now he's had his 5 minutes of fame on Runnerslife he should stop complaining about the lack of references I give him.

This next paragraph is directed towards Gavin C, the guy who left a comment on the last blog. When I first started morning runs it was far from easy getting out of bed in the morning and then heading out of the door on a cold, wet, windy morning. I'm even willing to admit I started and then jacked them for a while because they were too horrible. But believe me, they get a lot easier. It's taken me a few years but my body has adjusted to getting up early and now I quite enjoy them as my morning runs are just a jog. You may find getting up earlier may make you feel more tired than usual during the day (I find myself occasionally having a cheeky nap during some afternoon lectures) but this is something you just have to deal with. There is the odd morning you think "f**k it, I'm going back to sleep" but what helps me is knowing if I'm not running, then someone else out there will be. Like I know while I'm in bed getting that extra bit of sleep, Wilko will be out there getting the miles in and that's when my competitive nature kicks in and I'm out of bed quicker than my finish at the European Cross (that one's for you Wilko). Sorry about replying so late and it was out of order for me to leave it this long but the work got the better of me.

I managed to get a race report in for the BUCS 5000m final but I'm warning you now, it's very much below par. I may not blog for a couple of weeks due to workload but I'll still try to get that training up every week. You're more than welcome to leave comments below and I'll try and reply to them asap. I'll give you a heads up now and say that my next race will be at Watford next Wednesday and I'm going for an 800, should get some decent turnover in the legs before Manchester BMC.

Much love,

Goolab xxx