Training Log Archive: Kris

Feeling better than yesterday despite a visit from doping control which meant that I drank a lot of water just before bed and was up a lot during the night to go to the loo. Thankfully this time it was over fairly quickly, so I wasn't in bed too late.

C • Water 3

Throat still a bit scratchy but feeling better. 4 relaxed threshold 'miles' (~1700 m) with 60 s recovery around the golf course paths. Nice loop, but windy and uphill on the return made it quite slow at times. Nothing special, but getting faster each time and felt ok.

5.49, 5.46, 5.29, 5.25

Feeling knackered, scratchy throat and constantly hungry so want to make sure I recover this week.

Met the hawks for a warm up prior to intervals but didn't feel up to it. I didn't get in until 11 last night and feeling a bit tired.

Easy with Phil, Jamie and some of the girls after not much sleep. Legs a bit smashed to start with, but the torrential rain soon meant I forgot about them..

My left Achilles is a bit sore, not while running, but just when you press on it. I first noticed it on Thursday doing strides in spikes. This worried me, not because I thought it was a serious injury, but because I didn't know how it would react to 10 km in spikes on the weekend. Those who remember my only other GB athletics vest will recall that I ignored some niggles going in and pulled out 2 km into a 10 km with a calf injury. After that experience I seriously wondered if I would ever get a GB vest again, and this soreness made me worry that was all going to happen again. That was my biggest worry going in. As it happens, I didn't feel it during the race and it feels no worse now. If anything, it feels better, but that might just be because I'm not worried about it any more.

C • Heel wedge? 2

Slept well and feeling good in the legs. Nervous excitement starting to build..

C • Competent 26

European Cross Country Championships - 12th.

The course was twisty with lots of little banks making it very different from any cross country I'd run before. The ground was soaking wet but sandy, so it was more solid underfoot than it looked. I guessed that people would probably overcook it with all the little accelerations, so my game plan was to start cautious, save energy and try to work my way through.

The start was quick but I sat near the back as planned; tracking Dewi and Charlie which gave me confidence that I wasn't going to be left behind. The first couple of laps were a bit manic, people everywhere, but I gradually moved through as best I could. By around halfway I'd passed Charlie, Nick and Ross and was in a scoring position with Marc and Dewi in sight up ahead. This was a huge boost because I never really thought that I'd be anywhere near scoring for the team (top 3 from the nation). I caught those two and we were in a group for a bit until Marc pushed on with a lap to go, taking an Irish guy and an Italian with him. I didn't have the legs to follow this move but I got in front of Dewi in the last kilometer to finish 12th and second scorer. Our packing, 9th, 12th and 13th, meant that we snuck the silver medal just ahead of Italy, Spain and Belgium - unreal to think I have a European championships medal!

Way better than I expected going in - the course suited me and I got the tactics spot on. The whole experience was awesome; really nice people in the team, amazing atmosphere, accommodation in a safari park (watching rhinos and zebras while eating breakfast) - I'll definitely bank a few memories from this weekend.

Laps (1500m, 1300m last lap):
4.23 (41), 4.15 (28), 4.14 (18), 4.13 (12), 4.17 (10), 4.20 (13), 3.49 (12)

Easy running on the course and then a couple of strides.

Long travel day - flight delayed from Edinburgh which meant I missed my onwards flight to Amsterdam (with the team) and had to wait 5 hours in Heathrow for the next one.