800m

"I'll teach me", is the phrase that comes to mind :)

I was upset enough about what I felt was a poor performance in the mile on Sunday, that instead of awarding myself ice cream and the rest of the day off, I took myself out for a punishment run. Abby and a friend visiting us from England were doing some of the Boulder 360, which is a 20-mile (or so) "citizens" bike ride on some gorgeous trails round the city. My original plan was to ride with them; I decided to run.

With Kyle hovering so close to the 5-minute mile mark and me nowhere near it, I figured a sacrifice to the Gods of running was necessary.

So I donned my ceremonial robes (new blue Nike vest, yellow Nike Mayfly shoes that weigh less than pair of socks), successfully negotiated the opening ritual (three cups of tea, two miles steady, then dynamic warm-up followed by strides)...

It may be the heat, or it may just be me, but all this week my running has felt like slogging through syrup -- with the glorious exception of my Tuesday night six-miler, which was one of those runs where I just kept getting faster and faster: I was flying.

What was the best advice your father ever gave you?

Seb Coe: "He told me 'nothing good in track in field happens quickly'. He was conscious that you have to be specific about training, that you shouldn't do things that did not add value. He could never see the value, if you were running 800m with two laps close to 51 seconds each, that you should do otherwise. Long, slow, steady, distance was never going to get you there."

Former Olympic champion and world record holder Seb Coe talks about his father's coaching in an interview in the Daily Telegraph's "My School Sport" series. Thanks to coach Gabino Toledo for the alert.