I usually sprint for 20 to 30 metres - occasionally 50 to 60 metres maximum. But no footballer ever sprints a complete 100 metres during a game.
Darren Campbell, the British Olympic sprinter, was my sprint coach at Middlesbrough - yet the best advice he gave me was to slow down. That might sound strange but he said: 'You have too much speed - you don't always need to run at 100 per cent.' I was used to running flat out every time, but he told me, 'You know how quick you are, slow down.'
A couple of years ago, I had my DNA sequencing done, and it is all anonymous. When the results came back, my musculature type said, 'most likely to be a sprinter.'
I idolised former sprint and hurdling champion Colin Jackson.
I try to push myself a little every day. For me, it's doing 10 more seconds of whatever I'm working on. So if I'm on the treadmill sprinting my butt off or doing a grueling core workout, I think to myself, 'You can do 10 more seconds, and you'll be that much mentally stronger.' After a while, those 10 seconds add up!
There are a few moments in every game when I will have to sprint and use my explosiveness to win.
When you ride fast and then rest for a bit, it causes a spike in your heart rate and helps your body deal with lactic acid. But you don't need to make it too complicated. Yorkshire is perfect because the hills work as intervals - you ride up them hard and then recover before the next one. Or you can just sprint to the next tree or lamppost.
I don't have a sprinter's body.
I am a sprinter, and I love to go fast. It's very difficult for me to be patient and follow a race strategy or conserve energy.
The 200 meters is my baby. To me, it's the perfect distance. It's still a true sprint, but it unravels more. You get to enjoy the race a little bit more than the 100.
