David Weir: ‘Gym training can be like torture’
Sleep I love sleep and if I haven’t got a reason to get up, I’ll stay in bed. If I’ve got a big race like the London Marathon, I’ll sleep for only about six hours and never right through. The night before an event I used to get no sleep at all, but as you get older you sort those things out. I always sleep well after a big race as my body is in bits.
Eat I never eat breakfast – just coffee – and bananas are the only thing I can stomach on a race morning. I’ll have a light lunch – maybe poached eggs on toast – then in the evening something home-cooked like shepherd’s pie or pasta. I don’t mind salads, but they’re a bit boring. Devoting too much mental energy to nutrition started to affect my training so now my ethos is, “If you eat the right stuff in moderation with some bad stuff in between, it doesn’t really matter.”
Work I train for only 12 hours a week, but what I do is very intense. I spend an hour Monday to Friday doing distance work in Richmond Park. Then after an afternoon break and collecting the kids from school, I’m at the gym by 6pm doing speed work on a resistant static roller. There are 10 of us in there with the windows shut and the coaches screaming; it’s like torture. If I’m having a tough session, I’ll shout or scream.
Family I see my kids every day and every other weekend. I do the school run morning and afternoon, which fits in with my training schedule. I’ve got four children: Lenny, one; Tilly, five; Mason, six, with my ex, Emily; and I have a 15-year-old daughter, Ronie, from another relationship. They all love the big races. I try to make sure that my lifestyle doesn’t impact on my relationship. If I’ve got training camp in Portugal for a week, my girlfriend Alice will come and join me for the last few days.
Fun In an ideal world without competitions to think about, I’d be on a beach, chilling out. I used to struggle to switch off, but now I could quite easily sit on a sun lounger for a week. Since I stopped doing track events, I’m much more sociable. I’ve just got more time for people; more time for my kids, my friends and my girlfriend.
• David Weir defends his London Marathon title on 22 April.
