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It's totally different from last year because I came in with good shape with no health worries so it was about going out there and running well and enjoying it.
When you get close to race day, there's that anticipation and excitement - it's the same whatever level you're running at because the marathon is like a festival.
In the week before a race, I try to stay away from germ areas. I keep disinfectant wipes in my bag for when I have to use a supermarket trolley or something like that.
I used to say that the newspapers were tomorrow's fish and chip paper, but I didn't really mean it; I could still be hurt by what they said. After Athens, I just didn't care.
In my Olympic history I don't think I have achieved my potential as an athlete. That's what I want when I look back at my career. I want to be able to say I gave it my best shot.
I just want to be in the best shape I can be. Not to stand on that start line and say: 'Oh my God, I have this injury and that injury.' I just want to be able to go out and race.
If you look back at my marathons and ask whether I would swap one of them for my one balls-up, of course I would. But you can't choose. You have to make the best of it on the day.
We, as athletes, have our suspicions about who's cheating, but I'm not convinced that the testing has yet caught up with what people are using or what they are using to disguise it.
I have achieved a lot and I'm grateful for that - I'm just a bit greedy because I want to add the Olympics. It's once every four years - everyone wants it and very few people get it.
I took a lot of bad things after Athens. I just learnt to deal with it. The problem was beforehand I had this feeling where I was trying to please everybody - I wanted everybody to like me.
I deliberately returned slowly to training after Raphael was born and everything, apart from being bitten by a dog while out training in Monaco at the beginning of the year, has gone pretty well.
I deliberately returned slowly to training after Raphael was born and everything, apart from being bitten by a dog whilst out training in Monaco at the beginning of the year, has gone pretty well.
I was glad I did a year abroad, because it helped me as an athlete and as a person. That took me out of my comfort zone. Watching the French athletes train in the Pyrenees made me realise what I had to do to become a top athlete.
I never plan to run at a certain pace. All my career my motto has been 'no limits.' I don't try to run with a set time in mind, sticking to set splits, because what happens if you're ahead of your splits - are you going to slow down?
To represent your country at a home Olympics is something special and I'm over the moon to be selected for Team GB. I was pleased to get the qualifying time in Berlin earlier this year and my sole focus is getting in the right shape for London.
A half marathon is a good way to have a bit of fun and race against those girls and learn a bit more about them.The world half marathon is a world championship at the end of the day and it's important. I've win it twice and it's a quality event.
A half marathon is a good way to have a bit of fun and race against those girls and learn a bit more about them. The world half marathon is a world championship at the end of the day and it's important. I've win it twice and it's a quality event.
I start planning then that's dangerous because then I have a target that I'm blinkered towards and I won't listen to the warning signs quite so much. I'd rather be in shape and then look around and say there's a race next week and jump into that than have it planned.
If I start planning then that's dangerous because then I have a target that I'm blinkered towards and I won't listen to the warning signs quite so much. I'd rather be in shape and then look around and say there's a race next week and jump into that than have it planned.
You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.
I am not driven by any bitterness by what happened in Athens. I learnt a lot of lessons from it and probably came through it a stronger person in the end. There have been a lot of near misses, and that's taught me to keep persevering and that there is a chance it can come right.
Doing the long endurance stuff seems to have given me the strength to sustain the speed. I think my body is just a lot stronger (thanks to the marathon)... By increasing the long runs, I found that does not take anything away from the speed but increases the strength on the track.
It's important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they'll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.
You can't become a winner overnight, or even in a couple of years-it takes time... You will lose races and you will have to accept that, learn from it and believe that you'll win the next one, knowing that you'll probably lose that as well. All the time you have to keep believing that one day you will win.
The cheats always have a way of justifying their behaviour - everyone else is getting away with it, so why shouldn't I? But because they're so reliant on the drugs - and the drugs are not always perfect, you're not guaranteed to peak at a big event - they don't have the confidence to look in the mirror and know that they can go out and give their best. If you're clean and you've prepared well for a race, that's where you have an edge.