Day 2: Push the tempo

We had a double push session today. On already sore hips! We were up at the track by 9 am to warm up for the first session of the day. It took a while to warm up the body this morning due to soreness from the unusual position we run in when we push. We had eight pushes this morning. The session went pretty well - we definitely all made progress from the day before.

As soon as we're done it's time to recover. I headed up to the cafe to grab some milk and a Nakd bar then into the gym for some mobility. Mobility isn't the most fun of work - stretching, using a roller or ball to work on tight spots (usually painful) but it felt necessary this morning as we had another session later that day and lots of sitting about in the middle.

We had a workshop post-lunch pre-session 2. It was an introduction to the EIS performance lifestyle (PL) service that we will have access to. PL will be able to assist us with transitions and barriers that we will face as athletes. So for example - relocating to Bath and financing this. Finding part-time work, managing your time, balancing training with social etc.

The second part of the workshop was about social media - gulp! I was expecting a workshop of this nature at some point and having heard how equivalent social media workshops have gone and embarrassed and made an example of people it is safe to say I was a little apprehensive what with my copious use of social media. However, I was fine - the PL adviser hadn't actually been able to get into my Facebook because I have decent privacy settings, She also said all our Twitters were totally fine - phew! One job for tonight though is a Facebook cull! So apologies if any of you are no longer my friend from tomorrow - we just have to be careful with a) the people (and their opinions) we associate with and b) who is able to 'share' posts etc.

Then it was time for a quick warm up and push session 2. Another 8 pushes! Unfortunately this is where our luck ran out a little. On the first run Marcus shouted as he jumped on the sled - he'd pulled his hamstring! Cue ice, compression and elevation. He later returned back to the house with a GameReady; a machine that ices and compresses and crutches! We are all hoping he gets a hopeful diagnosis Thursday when he has a scan. The only positive is that at least it happened at a camp. He is able to get instant, top quality treatment and support. Far superior than a bag of peas from the freezer at home!

Poor Marcus getting treatment from GameReady

This evening we are all pretty tired. Once again recovery is the name of the game. I'd had another decent push session, improving again. But now my hips are sore so I spent some more time stretching and working on my sore bits then a cold bath for 10 min.

Counting down the seconds in the cold bath

It's quite a strange existence if I am honest. I am used to working all day then training and having very little time for R+R. But as an athlete it is your responsibility to maximise and optimise recovery so that you can train hard day in day out. I struggle with having spare time; I always feel like I am wasting time if I am not doing anything - this might take some getting used to. Later Maddy cooked fajitas which were delicious :) Tomorrow we have a lighter day; a longer workshop in the morning and then gym and recovery which we are hoping is massage!!

Mads cooking up a feast