You recently finished a rock solid 7th at the Zatopek:10 in a time of 29.09. Were you happy with this performance?
I was actually pretty disappointed with my run at Zatopek. I was really hoping to smash through that 29 minute mark or run a PB at least. Looking back I know that I made a few tactical mistakes which I’ve learnt from.
Running/competing highlight of 2014?
At the beginning of the year I spent a month living and training at 1600m altitude at a training centre near Wanaka in the South Island called Snow Farm. It’s a really beautiful place with some awesome tracks and it was my first experience of training at altitude so it was good to see the gains that altitude can provide your training. Snow Farm is used a lot by New Zealand and international triathletes, but hopefully we can start getting more distance runners down there and I’ll definitely be going back regularly. Competition wise – it was good to get the New Zealand 10,000m title under my belt.
Are you looking at running a marathon anytime soon?
I definitely won’t be running a marathon until I can get my track and half marathon times down. I still have a lot of work to do to get those down to a decent standard so a marathon will be a good few years away yet. Marathons are definitely the long term goal but I’ll need a few more years of solid training before I make the step up.
Since our last interview have you tweaked your training at all and if so what does a typical week look like now?
I started working with a new coach in December last year and my training has changed a lot. I used to go by a ten day cycle and do a lot of long slow running. I’ve gone back to a seven day cycle and doing more workouts and tempos, similar to the training I was doing before World Juniors in 2010. A typical week would be:
Monday: AM – Easy run PM – Hill reps
Tuesday: AM – Long easy run PM – Cycle
Wednesday: AM – Easy run PM – Tempo run
Thursday: AM – Long steady run PM – Cycle
Friday: (Recovery day) AM – Easy run PM – Easy run
Saturday: AM – Track session PM – Easy run
Sunday: Long hilly run
Do you include much cross training in your work out regime?
I cycle twice a week, mainly mountain biking, but this is usually during a build-up phase and I’ll cut it out closer to races. There are some awesome tracks along the coast where I live so I get some good rides in. I’m also a big seafood eater and love diving, so a bit of freediving works as good active recovery after a Sunday long run.
Do you have a sporting role model or favourite athlete?
My two favourite New Zealand athletes are Jake and Zane Robertson. They’re from Hamilton where I’ve been living the past few years and I’ve known them since I was 14 because we had the same coach as a junior (Don Willoughby). I admire their commitment and work ethic and I’m stoked with how well they are going now. I talk to them every now and then and they’ve given me some good training and racing advice in the past.
Favourite movie of 2014?
22 Jump Street.
