Ignore the demons

Now seems as poignant a time as any to write this post.

I know I come across as being confident in my abilities and reassuring to a lot of people  but in truth I'm not.

What really brought this home today was my run lactate test at Blizard Physio with Dave Tune.

I suspected I had got fitter since my last test but wanted to know how much fitter.

In truth the numbers are amazing.

In my previous lactate the paces which triggered the different responses in my body are compared against the same levels from todays test in the table below.

Running Speed	Running Pace (Old)	Running Pace (New)	Blood Lactate (mmols)
Recovery run (zone 1)	11.00min/mile	8:15/mile	2.9
Threshold pace (zone 2)	9.30min/mile	7:20/mile	4.0
Tempo pace (zone 3)	8.40min/mile	7:00/mile	4.7
Interval pace (zone 4)	7.45min/mile	6:30/mile	8.4

My heart rate zones have only changed very marginally. So much so that it really isn't worth dwelling on.

What is worth dwelling on is the demons in my head. It transpires that it is these demons which are holding me back.

Why you ask? Well fundamentally I don't know how to put myself in the hurt locker to train effectively. But surely it's just a case of working harder. Well yes it is but if you lack confidence in your ability like I do then when it starts hurting you back off. 

There are many reasons for this state of mind but I firmly believe that the reason is that I was never encouraged to run at school as I was always near the back of my year group. This occurred throughout school so I assume that this is why I lack confidence in what I am capable of.

Between this lack of encouragement and my the bullying I suffered during childhood, it is hardly surprising that I lack confidence in my running ability and this is the reason I believe I don't truly know what I am capable of.

So it's a case of #HTFU and learn to suffer over the coming weeks before I pull on my GB trisuit. This is as much a mental battle as it is physical. Take Tuesday at track for instance I felt like I was going to vomit in one rep but my HR was only 177bpm which is only just in the right zone. But something in my head said that the pain I was feeling in my legs and lungs was worse than it actually was. 

Today I ran constantly for 3 minutes at 186bpm, now that hurt but once I had recovered there were no nasty after effects. I just need to knuckle down and learn to ignore the physical pain ad the mental demons.

Dave has given me a plan for the next four weeks which concentrates more on running so that I can give a true representation of myself in Cologne. This will be challenging but equally exciting. I really do not know what I am capable of when it comes to running but I am looking forward to finding out over the coming months.

I cannot recommend enough getting a lactate test done if you really want to improve, as it gives you the right heart rates to train at effectively. As usual Dave made me feel really relaxed and his consummate professionalism was second to none. He really cares about the people he tests and wants them to improve. This isn't just about making cashola for him its about changing peoples lives and making them be the "best they can be". I would thoroughly recommend people using the services of Blizard Physio as I have always found them knowledgable, helpful but most importantly friendly.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

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