As i'm writing this the England defence is leaking like a rusty bucket. It would seem that selling Gareth Barry is the best pay day villa could have hoped for!! It always amazes me how pro footballers can claim to be lacking fitness? What else do they do with their time? I reckon a few more wolves players in the team would see a massive improvement....haha.

Anyways onto the blog. Well the time has finally arrived to begin the winter build up. I started back training yesterday with an easy 5 miler, and didnt feel too bad. Although during my rest week last week I did do a few 15 mile + bike rides, so I guess I kept the heart ticking over. Ran bang on 7 minute miling for the run, so will hopefully use this as the bench mark for the next few days and gradually increase the run length each day.

The coaching situation is now sorted. I can finally reveal that Lindsay Dunn has agreed to take up the challenge of kicking me back into shape. After a thorough process and long conversations Lindsay will now be in charge of setting my training. His approach and ideas really stood out to me as well as being someone who is easy to talk to and very knowledgable. Any one who has advised Brendan Foster, Charlie Spedding, plus a host of other internationals must know their stuff. Its a big weight off the mind and shoulders now, knowing that the winters plan can be drawn up and mapped out.

Looking forward to watching the world champs now. Will be interesting to see how certain battles end. I hope the african domination can be thwarted in the long distance events. My tip is watch out for the American lads in the 5km (Tegenkamp, Solinksy, Jager). These guys are flying at the moment and one of them could sneak a top 5 finish I reckon... or can mo get close to the record? We will see.

So with the hard training fast approaching I thought I would put up a few inspirational quotes. Ive always been a fan of these things as I think that in times where you need a kick up the arse they can help.

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to". (George H.  Allen)

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat". (Theodore Roosevelt)

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising up every time we fall". - (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

 “Champions aren´t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision.”  (Ali)

Keep in touch. Best wishes. Phil