Each to their own...

Wade Van Niekerk

Adam Peaty

Maddie Hinch

Usain Bolt

Mo Farah

Nick Skelton

Jason Kenny

Laura Trott

Michael Phelps

Simone Biles

Max Whitlock 

Andy Murray

Alistair Brownlee

These are just some of the dozens and dozens of names that roll off the tongue when you think of the brilliant performances that we have been fortunate enough to have witnessed in Rio these last two weeks in the Olympic Games.

They are all champions of their sport, Gold medalists, and now household names. Some of them already had been for a number of years, others have become heroes overnight. A few of them will probably be back to defend their titles in Tokyo in four years time, for others this is the pinnacle or their swan song.

What each and every one of those athletes - and the rest, there are far to many to name them all - are a part of though, is yet another exceptional Olympic legacy. For Team GB, the representatives have lifted a nation. Throughout 2016 we have been a country which has been divided, split almost down the middle by a political mine field. What these Games have done these past two weeks though has been quite incredible. For once, the news has been full of positive, uplifting news. It has allowed us to banish the negativity, for a fortnight at least. The overpaid, underperforming footballers have been overshadowed and hopefully shamed somewhat by the stars that are shining bright out in Rio.

It is a fact of sport though, that not everyone can be victorious. Anyone that witnessed Adam Gemili missing out on a bronze medal in the men's 200m sprint by 0.003 of a second, or Lutalo Muhammad's agonising last second defeat in the men's taikwendo final and his heartbreaking interview in the aftermath, will understand the fine margin between success and missing out on that elusive Gold medal.

I hope that those that found themselves unsuccessful this time are able to use the failure as a fuel for future success, and are able to find positives to take away from the Games too. They deserve to because of all the effort and dedication that they have already shown to get to the level they are at.

Not everyone can be an Olympian of course, just like not everyone can win a race, or complete a marathon in under 4 or 5 hours. Success means different things to different people, we shouldn't judge ourselves against others, but against ourselves and where we are, where we have come from and where we aspire to get to. We have to make the most of our own abilities, and of our own opportunities that we are afforded. Hopefully these Games can inspire more people to take up sports and to become the best that they can be.

My blog is my own little way of recording my personal progress, of logging where I am at each week, of stating my targets, of monitoring my success and failures. It is my way of summarising what I have done, of analysing any improvements that I have made, or that I need to make. It is also where I like to collect my thoughts and to give my personal perspective on matters concerning the sport that I love.

Not everybody likes that, or gets it, and I understand that - each to their own - but I would like to think that people can at least respect it.

I found this on a running group that I follow on Facebook (the irony of moaning about people writing about their boring running hobby on a social media page for runners wasn't lost on me...) and it made me chuckle, but I thought I would reply - not that they will be reading anyway though of course...

I enjoy writing, I always have, and I'm not about to stop just because it bores the odd person here and there. My advice if you don't like it, don't read it - please just scroll on when it pops up on your timeline!

This week's training included a steady 12 miler on Monday, followed by another easy 10k on Tuesday. I had to move my usual speed session to Wednesday this week due to work commitments on the Tuesday evening meaning I didn't have time to do a proper session. 

Instead on the Wednesday I managed 8 x 1000m off a 90 second jog recovery around the cycle track at Cottam Sports Arena, as the track was out of bounds. I didn't really get any serious speed up, averaging 3:10 per kilometre, but at least it was a session to tick over with until next week. It also acted as a good tough run the day before my Thursday tempo session, with this week being the second week in a row that I have had to double up with back to back sessions. Thursday's session actually went quite well as I managed to hold 5:30 pace for the full 9 miles of my tempo, a sign that possibly my endurance is improving and I am getting more used to running on tired legs.

Friday was a recovery run of 8 miles. I changed my long run day to Saturday this week in order to give myself an extra 24 hours recovery from it before a mid-week race planned for next week, despite some atrocious conditions of howling wind and rain I managed to complete my planned 18 miles at a healthy average pace of 6:22. Sunday was an easy day with just 7 miles at 6:44 pace.

Total mileage for the week: 77

Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:20

Total mileage this month (August): 214

Total mileage so far 2016: 2149

Average miles per day 2016: 9.26