Tuesday was a very big day in the #OldDogNewTricks adventure house! With my first track races (400m and 800m) taking place in Nuneaton at the West Midlands Masters Track & Field Championships on Sunday 9 June, the nerves are starting to kick in.

Whenever I get anxious about anything, I find one of the best ways to feel more confident is to prepare as best I can.

I started training for these events on 1 January 2019. In the grand scheme of things, 5 months may not be very long to prepare for the demands of the 400m and 800m. However, it is long enough to have a good go at the distances! 5 months in and the training is beginning to pay off, and I’m realising that, given another 5 months, I’ll probably have a much better feel for my potential at these (and other) distances. In other words, I’m not going to stop training for the track once my track adventures are over 🙂 .

With less than two weeks until my first races, my current worries are around the starting blocks (setting them up and getting out of them) and running on a track in spikes.

With the aim of being as prepared as I can be, I went along to CrossFit Causeway at lunchtime on Tuesday of this week to get some experience with the blocks.

During a 45-minute intensive lunchtime session,  Richard Lappin (a member of my ‘adventure support crew‘) showed me how to adjust the blocks. He then put me through my ‘block paces’ by getting me to practise ‘falling’ out of the blocks. I had to learn how to get out of the blocks while resisting the urge to stand up (this is much tougher than it sounds). By the end of the session I was feeling a lot more confident about the blocks – and I still have a bit of time to fine-tune.

On Tuesday evening I headed over to Antrim to join Ballymena & Antrim Athletics Club for a training session on the track. This would be my chance to get some experience of running in spikes – and I have to say I was a little bit nervous about going along.

I needn’t have been nervous at all: I had a lovely warm welcome and learned a great deal from the session. I was very well looked after by the coach (Pauline) and athletes (thanks in particular to Emma, Katie, Sophie and Rhonda). It was my very first time running on a track and I completely loved it. In fact, I loved it so much that I’m going to join the club. I’m pretty certain that my running will improve no end by training with other runners – and I’m pretty certain that I’m going to really enjoy getting to know the other athletes. I talk in full detail about my blocks and track experience in today’s video-blog (and I get a bit of a major insight too 🙂 ):

Right. I am just going outside and may be some time. (By the way, if you’re new to my blog, you can find more out about my #OldDogNewTricks project here.)

JT