It's been a long time since I wrote a post. I do apologise, I'll use training as my excuse but ill do my best to post more regularly now the season has begun. I last wrote a post when I was out in Kenya back in January. Time has flown by and I can't believe we are almost at May already!



I raced a couple of times indoor on my return from Kenya and was fairly happy to run 2.03.07 in the second and final race I did indoor. I was in heavy training at the time including my first block of Olympic lifting so I certainly wasn't fresh and I just didn't have that third gear I usually have in the last 200m. I was however tempted to put some speed work in and do European Indoors (now that I had the qualifying time) but I talked it through with Terrence and we agreed it was important that I focused on the outdoor season and pushed on with the strength work I need to make me run faster.

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Since then I have been working hard on the track and in the gym, interrupted only by some snow in March. I was therefore counting down the days till I left for a 5 week training camp in San Diego with my training group. I have been out here for a month now (since the end of March). I struggled with Kenya but I am certainly not struggling out here! If I could ship out some family/friends and my dog I could stay here forever.

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I'm sharing an apartment with Morgan Uceny (1500m Olympic finalist 2012) so I have been able to learn from her in various respects so that has been helpful. We have been training at the USA Olympic Training Centre in Chula Vista. The facility has everything you could need. Trails to run on, track, grass, a huge gym, ice baths, treatment rooms. It's really been the perfect location for a pre season camp.



Training has been going well out here. Its sometimes easy to forget that it is still only April and its a long till World Trials in July. Im therefore still doing a fair amount of volume with a couple of speed sessions in there too. It's amazing what a difference some warm weather makes. It's just a lot easier to run fast. When I left the UK it was still snowing so I sincerely hope things have improved when I return next week. Hope you are listening weather man.



I opened up my 2013 outdoor season last weekend at the Mt Sac Relays. This is the first time I have opened up so early (4 weeks earlier than I opened last year) but Terrence and I felt it would be good to get some experience of trying out different things before I get into the bigger, more important races in a few months time.

I ran 2.02.63 which was ok but I ran bad tactically. Terrence had told me to go out sub 60 for the first lap and stay in the top 4. I did nothing like this and was at the back of the field for the whole first lap and went through in 61. I'm pretty sure this is a mental thing and I just need to commit more in the first lap. Sitting in and kicking in the last 200m is something I have done since I was young and I have generally got away with it which I guess is why I keep doing it but I am not going to get away with doing it against the top girls in the world. My second lap was also a 61 which shows I am in much better shape than a 2.02 as I ran even splits and didn't slow at all. My time was however my fastest season opener ever and a Commonwealth Games qualifying standard for Glasgow next year.



I'm writing this on the plane from Philadelphia back to San Diego. I've been in Philadelphia this weekend at the Penn Relays as part of a GB team in the 4x800m. I've known about this meet for a couple of months now but I did not realise how BIG a deal it is! There is a mixture of high school, university and USA vs. the World races with crowds of apparently 110,000 over the 3 days. The crowd was unbelievable beaten only in numbers and noise by the crowd in the Olympic Stadium and Brussels Diamond League (where Aries Merritt broke the world record in the race before mine).

The warm up area is the infield of the track which adds to the atmosphere as people are cheering from both the infield and the stadium. You pretty much have to give it your all and perform well because everyone is watching! It's a bit chaotic getting all the teams organised and onto the track but they do a great job and I would love to return to the meet. It's a great, fun early season thing. My highlights of the weekend were Sanya Richards-Ross (Olympic 400m champion) saying to me 'Ive seen you around before'. I was pretty speechless! My other highlight was the fact Seb Coe was there and spent a lot of time chatting with us and was genuinely interested in how we were running etc.



My team was (in order we ran) Marilyn Okoro, Jemma Simpson, Me, Tara Bird. Terrence had said this was a great opportunity for me to go out hard because I would either have people to chase or I would be being chased. I got the baton in fourth with the USA A team, Kenya and Canada a couple of seconds in front and the USA B team close behind me. I went out hard and had to remind myself it was a 4x800 and not a 4x400. But this was good. I caught the Canadian girl fairly quickly and was catching the other 2 teams. My split was 58.6 (theirs 60) and I tired a bit on the second lap but it was really important I experienced going through faster. Now I need to do this in an individual race where I will have others to fight with and pull me through that 2nd lap faster.  I feel with some specific speed endurance work a 58/60 is definitely possible = 1.58. Sounds easy doesn't it!

We finished 4th in 8.13.46 and broke the British Record by 6.5 seconds. Although its an event which isn't run very often it's still nice to have our names in the records books. It was also really nice to be part of a team. I love 4x400 and wish I could do more of them. I'd say I still prefer 4x400s but it was still fun.

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I am racing again on Sunday in San Diego. It's a great field with a lot of the top Americans girls in it so a good opportunity to go out hard and aim to run fast. I fly home in 8 days time and will not race for a couple of weeks before I race at the Loughborough International on 19th May.



I have loved my time out here but of course there are a few things I'm looking forward to going home to! Family, friends, my dog, Edinburgh and having a car mostly! But I will really miss the sunshine. I keep telling the Americans I train with that honestly, it does get better than it was when we left. May is usually good so it better be this year!



Not much else I can think of to tell you. If you have any questions or anything you can find me on twitter @LynseySharp or my Facebook page 'Lynsey Sharp (Athlete)'

I promise to update you after my race this weekend!

 

 

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