What do you do when you’re a committed athlete, training and racing regularly, seeing improvements and hitting targets, when boom! You’re hit with an injury or illness that sidelines you for the foreseeable, or you suffer a string of bad performances that don’t seem to correlate with your strong training results.

If you’re injured, the first step is to see one of our expert physiotherapists, who work hard to get you back training as soon as possible alongside the right treatment for you.

If you’re ill, rest and recovery are key.

If it’s a bad race result, it pays to take some time to reflect on your training, to see if there are any areas where you can improve on to ensure your next performance displays your true potential.

But how do you deal with the mental side of injury, illness or poor performances? Can you prevent it happening again, and is there a way of ensuring your return to competition is a strong and confident one?

We put these questions to our elite Team Blizard athlete, Rotherham’s Fiona Davies, who is sadly all too familiar with this scenario, having suffered with numerous chest infections, some of which have put her in hospital, and is now frustratingly suffering with a glute issue.

She is well known, however, for bouncing back incredibly fast from every one of her setbacks, including below-par races, often returning to competition in a fitter and faster condition than ever before.

Fiona said her secrets for success - and how she returns to competition as fit and quick as she possibly can be - are fairly simple, but highly effective.

She explained: “I keep a detailed training diary. I have done for years, and use them as a constant reference. I make notes of training sessions, rep times, the weather, the course, the conditions, and race details.

“If I've had a particularly good or bad training run, rather than forget about it, I analyse it, and learn from it. With the exception of the course profile and weather conditions, which are external factors, all other reasons for a bad performance lie with the individual.

“This can be due to being tired from over-training, lost fitness due to having time off, or, commonly, unsuitable food or drink before the run. If you can master all these in training, you will generally never have a bad race again!

“Basically what I'm saying is, get to know yourself well by using a training diary, and use what you learn to become a better racer.”

Fiona put that advice into action herself just last week, when she ran a super fast 18:17 on the track at the Barnsley AC Winter Series meeting, despite struggling with the glute issue for five weeks. Fortunately, she is in good hands with Blizard Physiotherapy’s elite team package, which allows her free treatment with Jenny if ever injury threatens to curtail her training.

One thing is for sure, though - Fiona won’t be out for long, and, when she makes her full comeback from her current issue, she will be a force to be reckoned with at races across the region, flying the Team Blizard flag with pride!

Remember, you too can put these simple tips into practice, and fly the Team Blizard flag at your next race, by getting yourself a proper training diary from the Blizard shop, as well as the fabulous Team Blizard racing kit, featuring stylish red vest tops and snazzy grey or black shorts to help you stand out, be counted, and ensure your racing comeback is as impressive as Fiona’s!

We'll be revealing some exciting news about some new additions to the Team Blizard racing kit tomorrow, so watch this space!