This week I resumed training again after a long break away with injuries.

From now until the end of July next year I will be training six days a week in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The winter period that will run through until January will be a very high volume phase of cardiovascular and strength endurance specific training.

As sprinters, we try and fill in the winter months with as much physical work as possible.

It means that our bodies are able to deal with the high intensity rounds of international competition in the summer.

Unlike the pre-competition training that we complete in the spring, the winter training consists of much longer sprints and far less speed-work.

My average week of running will include hill runs, 100 metre endurance sprints with heart-rate monitoring over a total distance 5km, and long hurdles sessions.

This will all be split up with three days a week of weight and circuit training to condition the body for the high-speed sprinting that we build into the programme in the spring months.

Whilst this period is a little on the exhausting side, every day feels worth the effort when you look back at the years before, when competition has gone well in the summer.

My training partners and I will be out on the hills and track every morning this winter trying to put ourselves in the best possible position to take on the Commonwealth and Europe next summer.

This will be the beginning of my sixth year in the sport, training 11 months of the year, six days a week, with around 16 competitive events a year.

With the five years of training and international competition under my belt I’m in a much better place to know the level of commitment I will need during the training programmes.

But, as always, let’s hope the hard work pays off come the summer.