Fri 13 Feb 09
It was almost 22.00 when I arrived at Lulsgate on Thursday, and we were back there shortly after 06.00 on Fri 13 - but thankfully it wasn't too unlucky for us. There was nothing unlucky about taking almost 7 mins (6.53) to get round the 2K Cross Country track, just a lack of fitness! ... but I have clocked up a load of flying hours in the last few days and played soccer on Wednesday evening, so there was a lot of stiffness in legs and the rest of my body.

The XC track has been lined with ropes, which is good, but it is a bit longer than we used to think it was - there is a turn that is a few yards later, it must add a few seconds.


Sat 14 Feb 09
It was my first opportunity to run along the beach today, and it isn't as fast as it has been in March. I'm not sure whether that's completely luck of the tide, I suspect those few weeks earlier in the year might make a difference - although I can't be bothered to work out whether there is any science to support that idea.

I decided another lap of the XC course was about as much as I wanted to do in the afternoon, and improved to 6.40 - still slow.


Sun 15 Feb 09
We figured that we could fit in two long runs on this trip, so I kept to a fairly cautious 14 miles today, that seemed a doddle while I was running, but I certainly knew about it in the afternoon. Still I was reasonably pleased that I hadn't struggled too much. The track over to Vilamoura has become a lot more rutted in some places, but the loop round the houses in Vilamoura has been tidied up and is somewhat quicker. It's always mentally easier the second time round the lap, as you've got an idea of how the hill goes.

Mon 16 Feb 09
The beach was still hard work in the morning, I can't see it's going to change much now, I'm hoping Friday will be easier - hoping rather than expecting.

Sunday was clearly still in my legs as I struggled round the XC track in 6.50, I had planned to keep to just one fast lap, but I was so shocked by how long it took me that I had another go, and got ropund in 6.37, much much better given that it was my second lap.

Tue 17 Feb 09
I decided it was time to try out the real track, as opposed to the XC track, and settled on 3 * 800m, which I more or less managed at 70s, but three efforts was much more than enough for me. I limped (at least metaphorically) back to the hotel very worn out.

Wed 18 Feb 09
I had learnt from experience of the XC track, and managed 6.33 on my first lap. The second lap was effectively my last attempt, as I need to take things easy on Friday so that I can get a long run in on Saturday. I was 8 seconds up by half way and finished in 6.18. I think the ropes had added a few seconds so it would have been 6.15 on the old course - which is good enough for me.

It seemed I had turned the training corner, reasonable sessions on both tracks, and little doubt in my mind that I would get round 17 miles on Saturday morning, a run where the pace would be less of an issue anyway.

Thu 19 Feb 09
I managed 3*1K in more or less 2.55, certainly comfortably under 3 mins. I suppose I should be doing 5 efforts, but it's just so much of an improvement from a week ago that I'm very pleased. There was a Dutch group training on the track, one of whom had run in the European U23 XC in Brussels, he was working through 10*400m in 63/4 - allegedly not a track man, that seems pretty quick to me.

Fri 20 Feb 09
I had planned to take Friday reasonably easy, but I have managed to pick up an annoying shoulder injury, that slows me down a little bit, but can be quite painful if my arm moves in the wrong direction. This makes it difficult to get to sleep and just makes me feel miserable sometimes.

So there was time to go to the Nike Village and watch Eurosport - but sports wear is generally cheaper in sterling at the moment, and a week of winter Eurosports serves as a reminder that it's not worth buying Eurosport for the amount of athletics it screens. I did buy a double walled (insulated) water bottle with a lid over the top, for cycling down to Taunton, although I'm not sure when!

Sat 21 Feb 09
I survived 17 miles without too much drama, my hamstrings were a bit tight, but that's from track work not too many miles. The internet had stopped yesterday, now it's working again I can see a visit birmingham advertisement behind a soccer manager on the BBC - don't think that will scare the Russian oil man.