Right, here we are.  Indoor season (in the north hemisphere at least!) and I've come through the winter uninjured, and with reasonable mileage under my belt.  I'm really enjoying my training with my coach Jon Tilt (World Masters M55 400m Champion, World Masters M55 400mH Champion, and World Masters M55 4x400m Champion), and I've allowed myself to start layering on a bit of speed to take me into the indoor races.  And (without film evidence to back it up) I do believe that the new gait is better embedded and well on the way to being subconscious.

So, three and a half years after starting the gait change journey (has it REALLY been that long?!) I now find it completely natural to land under the hips.  I do constantly do a round-check of my proprioceptive cues, and usually everything below the waist is in order!!  However, I know that I still need to work on my core, as I often catch my back bent, and my arms pulled up and crossing my chest.  A quick "Keith's Game Changer" drill (well, the second part of it - whilst on the move) sorts it out, but it's annoying that it keeps happening.  I did hear the great coach Rod Lock shout, exasperatingly, at one of his athletes (it wasn't the Great British international Alex Teuten by the way) "how hard is it to keep your arms at 90 degrees!!!", and I replay that sound bite to myself when I catch my arms up at my chest.  Unfortunately, I catch them up there all to often.

Anyway, back to the track races.  I don't quite remember the point at which, in January, the motivation to enter a few indoor races kicked in.  I'm not a great fan of indoor tracks - only 200m and banked.  The 800m is 4 laps, and without any sense of sarcasm in my words, on the 2nd and 3rd lap I sort of lose track of where I am.  Outdoors is easy.  If you haven't heard the bell yet: you're on the first lap!  Indoors, that second and third lap blend into one, and it takes conscious thought to gauge how much energy there is left for the remainder of the race.  I know that practice would help, but when the closest indoor track is 101 miles away in north London (including a semi circumnavigation of the dreaded M25), it's not going to happen often.

I actually think that the motivation to do some indoor races came from missing most of the t&f season last summer, as well as the desire to see the inside of more indoor arenas than just that Lee Valley centre in North London.  Also, the prospect of a couple of days out with mates is also appealing.

So with that motivation in one back pocket, and the training in the other, I went to the Welsh Masters' indoor t&f championships in Cardiff late Jan with Jim Bennet, and the Sheffield Masters' and Open Grand Prix early Feb, with Jon Tilt and Del & Jackie Warn (huge thanks to Del for taking on the 8 hours of driving that day!)

The result?  Well, Cardiff threw up a bit of a shock!  I guess it was my first properly competitive, properly prepared 800m race since March 2018, and it was a slightly tactical heat with a few elbows (the most enjoyable form of 800m racing!), but a 2:12.10 was alarmingly slow.  The only saving grace was that I finished with absolutely no lactic, so I knew there would be better to come.

Sheffield was a different kettle of fish.  I was in a heat with some younger masters, and it was much more of a time trial.  Friend Peter Watkeys of Basingstoke and Mid Hants AC pulled the group round, and there was no need for wide bends or overtaking maneuvers, so I ended up with a very pleasing 2:08.56 - less than a second away from my indoor personal best.  Thanks to Jon Tilt for this footage (missing the last 50m, but good close up footage for each of the 4 "fly-bys"!)




That's all for now.  Thanks to the OYF Running Group on facebook for the inspiration to get back to this blog.