Athletes rarely have any time off – winter brings the indoor events and in the summer the competitions move outdoors. Almost every year there is a major international competition whether it is a World Indoor or Outdoor Championships, European Championships or Olympics, not to mention the national competitions. Here Jenny talks us through a typical day both on and off the racetrack.
Non-race days
Jenny says: “Come the summer I try to be as lean as possible and my peak weight is 47 kilos because it is all about power-to-weight ratio, and I weigh myself every day.”
On a non-race day Jenny gets up at around 8am and heads out of the door by 8.30am for a morning run of between 4 to 7 miles, depending on what her husband and coach Trevor Painter has set out in her training schedule.
Once back from her run Jenny does a 45-minute stretching programme. Then comes breakfast, which is usually cereal, yoghurt and fruit juice.
The rest of the morning is spent answering emails, making phone calls, or talking to her sponsors such as Asics or to the people at SPAR about public appearances or media events.
Lunch is likely to be a toastie – a panini with tuna, ham or cheese – which is easy and quick to prepare as Jenny is the first to admit that she is not the greatest cook in the world!
In the afternoon she will take a short nap if she does not have to make the two-hour round trip into Manchester for an hour’s massage or physiotherapy session.
Then it is back out at 5.30pm for her evening track training session which she does at Wigan Harriers, getting home for around 9.30pm.
The evening meal is prepared by husband Trevor, who loves to shop and to cook. The evening meal is usually based around carbohydrates and protein, with Trevor cooking up dishes such as pasta with chicken, salmon and noodles, or meatballs and pasta, with a mix of vegetables such as green beans, broccoli, or carrots.
Jenny does her bit though by laying the table and doing the washing-up afterwards.
Race days
For a race day, Jenny’s routine is very different and she admits that her “control freak” side comes out.
She says: “I like to keep everything nice and tidy. When I leave the house for a competition I have to leave everything nice and tidy – that way if the competition goes well I can come home and enjoy the tidy house and if it does not go well then I can go home and it is my neat, tidy refuge.
“I like to do a timetable of the day, when my down time is, when my lunch is, and so on, and that helps me get through a competition day so that I arrive at the race having conserved my energy and feeling fresh.
“Before a race I have breakfast early and then get my kit sorted out in the hotel room. Everything has to be in the right pile, kit for hot weather, kit for if it gets cold. I even have to have my laces folded a certain way!
“I get down to the track quite early, usually about an hour and a half before my event. I have a very set regime. Before the race I will have a little jog for 10 minutes or so to check everything is OK and that allows me enough time to fit in a visit to the physiotherapist or masseuse if I can feel anything isn’t quite right.
“After the jog I do 30 minutes of stretching, 20 minutes of running drills, and 10 minutes doing race strides.
“We are called up 35 to 40 minutes before the event and we might be in a small room or some sort of cordoned-off area. You can see athletes getting very stressed, walking around and pacing, or others might be very relaxed and chilled, saving their energy.
"It took me a long time to learn how to relax before a race and not waste energy walking around. It is good to have nerves but at the same time you need to control them and not let them take you over.
“After the race I get back to the hotel as quickly as possible, refuel and get some fluids on board, and I might have a massage. Then I just rest.
“The trick is to be able to switch off – otherwise worrying about the next event can exhaust you, especially if the race is late at night and you have had all day to worry about things. Which is why I always pack a couple of Desperate Housewives DVDs when I travel. I watch them on my laptop and that helps me relax!”