hi adam

sounds like  you are getting serious - good on you!

first the breathing.

it is normal that when your heart is beating strongly you might hear things that you would not normally hear, but i am not sure what you hear is a good thing. definitely have it checked out. the extra pressure in your blood vessels in your head may be affecting your hearing and not in a good way. you may need to get a referral to a ear/nose/throat specialist. follow rit's advice about the other tests.

once all that is out of the way, you need to get organised with your training so that you are getting the most out of it.

if you were my student this is what i would be getting you to do after i knew you were medically ok (note that a lot of this info is already in out resources somewhere - check it out!)...

if you want to text your fitness, the beep test is fine (your results are quite good view here for more), but it is just that - a test. do it every few months if you must but not every week. i would be very surprised  if it was not making you flat (which is exactly opposite to the effect you want it to have)

monitor your fitness by taking your resting pulse daily (before you get out of bed in the morning) - you might want to keep a record of it in a training diary. over time, this figure should come down as you get fitter, however, it can go up indicating that you are either overtraining or might be getting ill. use this as a signal to ease up.  this method has the added avantage of not getting tired!

speaking of easing up, just remember that recovery is a key part of training. scheduling recovery time into a training plan is absolutely vital. you should have at least one or two days of either total rest or very light recovery work (maybe stretching, a walk/jog, or light swim, or light skills work)

generally, i think you need to make your training more specific and you need to time it so that you peak at the times you need to play your best - (eg finals or big tournaments). as a general rule, as you get closer to the peak, training should be shorter but more intense and with more recovery.

it also depends on what days you are doing what as to what you should do (i can't beleive i just said that!) eg your 140 m sprints

• are you doing nothing else for the day or is that just part of other training?
• you say you might do more once you recover - for how long? it takes at least an hour for your anearobic system to recover fully
• you would be better off, doing just the sprints for the day once per week but do 12 - 15 reps. time your run and record. as the time drop off becomes less over the set over time, you may want to increase the reps to 15 -18.
• this is  extemely strenuous so don't do this the day before you play your main match - give yourself a light day on that day. i would not do your ghosting drills with this on consecutive days either.

just remember, improving yhour skills also makes you fitter (you do less running) so at least one solo session a week is absolutely vital.

last time i looked there were only seven days in a week, so by the time you put your match and some match practice into your schedule you may be doing too much and not reaping the benefits of all the work.

if you are really keen find a good book on periodisation (tudor bompa's is the bible but you may want something a little more accessible) and follow up on some of the themes i have mentioned here. if you are serious, keep a training diary so that you can monitor your progress

provide more info if necessary.

best of luck

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adam - I would get the GP to check out your blood pressure just as a precaution. If your blood pressure is OK I would be then looking at a stress test.

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