First Week as a pro (3 min read)

After 2 years of planning and working towards becoming an elite athlete it has finally happened. I'm 1 of 9 athletes who have been accepted onto the RAF Sports Federation elite athlete scheme.

I have been given 2 years to train full time, with the ultimate aim of reaching the Commonwealth Games in 2022 in Birmingham. The aim would be to qualify for the marathon as I now have the time to train and recover in order to be competitive over the distance against other top runners. 

I will now be able to train twice a day and sit around 75-85 miles a week as these seems optimal for me. Any more and I risk injury. I also ensure there are 2 or 3 hard sessions in the week that are specific to the marathon build up. Having 2 easy days between sessions and at least one rest day per week allows for some good quality work needed for adaptation. To support the running I can now concentrate on S&C, sleep, stretches, yoga, massage, nutrition and work closely with my coach Dan Robinson. Any cross-training such as cycling or swimming is put in when required. Having less work stress and commitments has already had a big psychological affect and can allow me to better focus my mental energy. 

New Massage Table

I have never experienced altitude training and this may have the potential to unlock more progress and to lower my marathon time. I will do some testing an an altitude chamber to determine what my physiological responses would be and to establish what height would be the best for me to live and train at. This is likely to be next year when there are more confirmed races and I can plan the altitude camps in a marathon build up. By doing what the other full time athletes do on a daily basis, I will hopefully improve. I've been trying to get into the mindset of professional athletes and will look to invest in myself through the right equipment, nutrition, training camps and events.

The short term goal is to lower my time at Wrexham Marathon on 4 Oct. This should be a fast race on a lapped course for a select number of runners who can run under 2.40. 

I haven't set many further goals or plans for training and racing as things are still uncertain. But at some point over the next 2 years,  I plan to visit Font Romeu, Boulder and perhaps Kenya.

Other ideas include racing abroad later in the year, but for now I will just aim to get into a professional routine and keep an eye out for some races to get back to race fitness.