Yesterday’s speed work entailed another ‘down ladder’- this time 300m (55 sec), 200m (36 sec), 100m (17 sec), 50m and 25m (last two sprints were untimed). Interestingly, I recall a session of 3 x 300m I did back in 1984 where I averaged 38.9 sec per 300 metres. Those were the days.

I have another running product I’d like to mention – once again, I gain nothing financially from this. I was sent an ‘apparatus’ you wear, similar to the vests professional athletes wear to house high tech gadgetry like heart monitors, GPS trackers etc. However, in this case, the vest has specialised compartments that allow you to carry your phone, keys, credit cards, cash etc.

I have trialled the product and found it to be quite functional. You wear it around your chest and, once you’re running, you forget it’s even on. The phone can be accessed easily if it rings. The product is called Free Train (www.freetrain.com). If, as with me, you’ve struck problems carrying your phone and other stuff in your pockets or in ‘belts’ around your waist, then it might be worth giving Free Train a go.

Today’s video is from the heart of West Virginia. I was a bit worried when this road progressively got more and more ‘remote’, even down to two tyre tracks. But it eventually came out on to a main road. And I always knew where I was from Google Maps. The photos are also from the same region. It was a beautiful area to run in – and, yes, the hills you see here are the very same hills that gave rise to the term ‘hillbilly country’.