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You get into such a routine of trying so hard each day and racing between 180 and 220 km., and as soon as you stop, it's weird, but you start to seize up. So it's easier if you keep the body ticking over. You just feel better for it come race day.

Once we get into the groove, we're kind of like long-distance runners - that adrenalin kicks in for me and I just keep running - and I don't stop!

Some of the routines come back very easily. We do it off the top of our heads.

I still run every other day. Longer at weekends. I probably do 35 miles a week.

These days, I am the most boring, methodical runner. I always do the same three- to five-mile loop near my home every evening. I hardly ever miss a day. On the weekends, I might go longer or add in weights.

Every time I go out and race it's a goal to go out and run faster than I've done before.

If I am training on a holiday, most likely nobody else is - and that gives me the edge. If I'm supposed to run for 20 minutes and I get back and it's only been 19:34, I'm going to jog in a circle for 26 more seconds. I'm never going to cut it short.

You imagine running 120 miles a week, week in, week out, for the past four or five years. It takes a little bit out of you.

Experience has taught me how important it is to just keep going, focusing on running fast and relaxed. Eventually it passes and the flow returns. It's part of racing.

I change my training probably every two months. The only thing that stays consistent is that I've become a pretty psychotic runner.