Only a week to go and my boys need firing up, so we go on a road trip. We decide to take the boys to Loughborough to the Hi-Pac centre. It's where I used to train and is state-of-the-art; at the end of the day 400m is 400m but I hope if the boys see the great set up at Loughborough it will kick start their minds into the job at hand.
We have a treat in store as well today, we will be joined by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, a young athlete who has already a world bronze medal to his name to inspire the boys and teach them block starts.
I decide to set the boys a tough session to show Harry how good they are; I set up a practice 4x400m relay but to my disappointment the guys do not run that well - with the exception of Sonic and Nat - to be honest those two have been good all the time and in my eyes are already in the squad.
I'm somewhat concerned with all the others as they do not seem to grasp the enormity of the race ahead and are not committing to the one lap - they need to run harder, I'm not seeing enough determination or desire.
We finish the session with some nasty ice baths, my boys need to act and train like professionals so the ice baths will help flush out the toxins and lactic acid build-up in their muscles. We finish the day with a a fun high jump competition which results in them all jumping on me and having a play scrap - I've become really fond of the guys and find it tricky sometimes being the tough coach and their friend...
Will we all still be friends in week's time after the big race? Only time will tell. Come on my boys you can do it!
