Emma Jackson’s blog from her training camp in Portugal.

Day 1 – Saturday 9 April

After a VERY early start (3am!) we arrived in Portugal safe and sound. We were there by mid-morning so we had nearly a full day of sun to look forward to. We were all a bit weary and hungry so once we’d got the hire car and found our villa, it was straight down to Vilamoura marina for lunch and then onto the supermarket for some food.

There are 10 of us out here this year: eight athletes and my coach, Alan Morris, and his wife Iris. We have a fantastic villa, it has a nice large pool and we even have a mini slide that goes into it! We spent all of the first afternoon just chilling out. Then it was off for the first run of the training camp. It's the first time we've ever run on the day that we travelled so we were all a bit surprised when Alan told us we had to go! Luckily it was a very easy jog for 20-25 minutes just to get the stiffness out of our legs and to have a little explore of the area as we are in a different place this year. It didn't stop us moaning, although Alan did come with us (behind us I should say) so we couldn't complain too much.

For a 25 minute jog it was filled with drama, one of the girls in our group (Sammeyjoe) fell over after two minutes and twisted her ankle. Fingers crossed it's not too bad, two minutes into the first run of the training camp is a bad time to hurt yourself. Luckily it wasn't far to get her back and get it iced. THEN, as if that wasn't enough, we caused a car crash! We crossed a road at a zebra crossing and the front car stopped, as did the 2 behind. However, a third car came flying round the corner and smashed into the back of the line of cars. This caused a domino effect and all the cars ended up getting smashed. Once we saw that everyone was okay we decided to just run off as we don't speak Portuguese and had no intention of standing there until the police arrived!

We then got back and got ready to go out. With eight women in the house this was a fairly long process! Luckily our stomachs hurried us along a bit and we eventually made it out for tea. All the cars from the car crash were still there along with the police so we kept our heads down as we went past them. After such a long day it was straight to bed when we got back ready for the real training to start the next day.


Day 2 – Sunday 10 April

The weather is much hotter than it ever has been before at this time of year so we decided to train a little earlier than usual so we were out running by 9am instead of the usual 9:30. None of us minded for today but we'll see if it lasts until the end of the fortnight! Today is still a fairly easy day, we just went out for a long, steady run. The heat wasn't a problem and I think we all felt recovered after the long day yesterday.

We decided to just stay in for the rest of the day. Everyone just did their school/college/uni work or read their books and showed off that they don't have to do school/college/uni work anymore (me and Alan!). We did a core session in the sun as well and lots of stretching.

In the evening, after a lovely meal cooked by Alan and Iris, we decided to venture out for a walk around Quarteira. We checked the way on Google maps... However, Google maps did not make it clear that the way there was via the back alleys. These alleys were definitely only for the locals and we got a lot of dodgy looks and comments (in Portuguese so we’re not sure if these comments were complimentary or not). It was quite funny at first but then it went dark and it was a bit scary. We picked up the pace and headed home!


Day 3 – Monday 11 April

First track session today and it's another scorching hot day. This is where the real hard work starts. We ran down to the track while Alan drove down with our stuff. Kate Holt (who has taken part in 'Future Stars with Kelly') and I did our session together while the rest of the girls warmed up and once we were done they set off for theirs. It was a 1500m session today so it was fairly long reps with shortish recovery which is a tough combination in the heat when you're still getting used to it. Everyone had a good session though and seemed to cope with it okay.

Good news was that Sammeyjoe managed to do her session, her ankle did swell up and the bruising came out yesterday but it was much better today and she only had a slight twinge in it after she’d finished. We were all so relieved that she could run on it okay, it would have been a nightmare for her if she’d spent all two weeks with a sprained ankle!

Once we’d done our session we headed for the marina to get the food straight in. The toasties went down a treat, although we all fancied some Oatcakes (North Staffordshire oatcakes, not that Scottish rubbish – they’re a local Stoke delicacy). We then headed back to the villa for a relaxing afternoon sunbathing and sliding into the pool (with lots of stretching and foam-rollering in there as well).

Once it had gone a bit cooler, around 5.30pm, we went out for session number two. Just a longish, steady run to get this morning’s session out of our legs so that we are ready for tomorrow. No major dramas today!


Day 4 – Tuesday 12 April

Lesley Bryant (OCWK massage therapist) arrived today so I took all the girls to meet her and Tom (Lesley's business partner). We had a lovely chat and a catch up! A few of us have booked in on Thursday so I'll let you know how that goes!

We also did out first gym session out here which was... interesting! The gym used to be ‘inside’ the track but they’ve closed that now and built a public gym next door. We had such a palaver getting in because they needed our passports for ID so we had to go back to the villa and get them and then fill in pages of paperwork (it seems that Portugal is getting on the Health and Safety bandwagon). When we finally got in there it was full of Portuguese posers so trying to do our session around them was really quite stressful! There was also a rule that to use any piece of machinery you MUST have a towel, there was even a man in there just to check if you had your towel. Unfortunately, we didn’t know this and only had one towel between all eight of us so it was quite late by the time we got back to the villa.

It is still so lovely and warm in the evening so we dined alfresco on rice and chicken, expertly cooked on the BBQ by Alan and Iris. We had a lovely evening talking and laughing (mainly at Sammeyjoe), nice and relaxed ready for tomorrow's track session.


Day 5 – Wednesday 13 April

Track session again today. It’s very hot so training was tough but we all got through it and had a good session. It was an 800m session today, a really key session for me. The track was really busy so I felt like all eyes were on me as I came powering down the home straight but I was really pleased with how it went. All of the girls were really supportive and got me through it and it went the best it has ever gone so I hope that bodes well for the coming season.

We all felt a bit drained afterwards from being out on the track so long in the blazing hot sun. We didn't waste any time in getting straight down to the marina for some food, toasties as per usual!

Despite all being shattered from the hard session this morning, we somehow found the energy to have a game of rounders in the garden. It wasn’t exactly a smooth-running game as we spent most of the time on the golf course getting the ball back! It was lots of fun though, no idea who won; we just gave up when we got too hot and bothered!

We went for our evening run along the beach. It was lovely running along the promenade, much nicer than running around Stoke! The only trouble was that there was a lovely sea breeze running out but it was like a sauna when we turned around. We did a core session when we got back and after all that I can safely say that we were all done for!

We went out for a meal in the evening. I think the restaurant was more for locals than tourists, no-one seemed to understand us anyway! However, we had a fantastic meal and it was much cheaper than the restaurants in the marina! We all collapsed into bed when we got back, another good day of training done!


Day 6 – Thursday 14 April

Another scorcher today, not a cloud in the sky. The tempo run this morning really got me sweating! Some of the younger girls are getting a bit tired today, they’re not used to this double-day training. It’s a lot more than they’re used to. Even I’m getting a bit tired and I'm doing the same as usual! Because of this we had a day out of the sun. We all descended on Lesley and Tom in the Old Village and had our legs sorted out.

I have regular massage and I’m hard (I like to think so anyway) so I only grimaced slightly when Lesley was digging her elbows into my glutes. However, Lucy put me to shame; she had Tom getting all the knots out of her calves and she nearly fell asleep! She is so laid back, she’s horizontal! The other girls did not cope quite as well, there was quite a bit of squealing and squeaking from Shellie, Aimee and Kate. I have to say though, none of them were anywhere near as bad as one of the male sprinters who was in there at the same time, he was swearing and trying to clamber off the bed when he was having his calves done! Sprinters!

When we got back to the villa, Alan and Iris surprised us with lilos that they had bought for us! After a few lilo races we were off for our evening run. Just me and Kate (Holt) tonight, Alan was nice and let the others have a bit of a rest. Legs were a bit tired from the massage but it was nice and steady and hopefully they should be in top form for a speedy track session tomorrow.