One step back, two steps forwards.

After a second tough week of training (endurance the first week, speed the second) I'm getting pretty tired and, dare I say it, starting to lose the faith. Fortunately a rest day on Friday (with a little bit of yoga to sooth the soul) and a change of approach today seems to have inspired me again. Started the morning with the third yoga session of the week, then headed to the track.

My main concern was that despite all the endurance work I'd put in over the winter, when I switched to speed I found that whilst the basic speed is there, the ability to maintain it over a few sets is not. Tuesday's 200 session was fine for the first 2, but the last 2 were tough, Thursday's 300s were the same.
So today I opted for a 400, 300, 200 session - full speed and, on Tony's recomendation, full recovery (about 15 mins). The weather was bright, but cold and a slight wind on the back straight. The track was full off top athletes, Euan Thomas making a comeback, Rob Tobin, Emma Duck, Rob Lewis (to name a few) so no place to hide :)
Did the 400 in 56, the 300 in 42 and the 200 in 26 (all rounded down). All bang on target.
The important thing was to prove to myself that the basic speed is still there and is repeatable.
Nex week is the British indoors, I have the 400 heats at 1.40 and the final at 5pm, so plenty of time to recover in between. Gut feel says a 54/55 in the heat will be enough to get through (although I'll have to be careful as the final is graded based on heat times). Ultimate target is sub 54 in the final. I think today's times show that is achievable. So I'm happy again.