Ashley Couper?s Commonwealth Games preparations received another boost when she set a new national mile record in her penultimate race before Melbourne.

Couper, who broke the record on an unofficial distance track last month, ran four minutes 35.91 seconds at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, lopping nearly three seconds off her personal best and the old record.

Although only finishing eighth in the event, which featured former US national champions, Couper was delighted with her run and what it means ahead of her big trip Down Under next month.

?I wasn?t looking to win the race, winning races at the moment isn?t going to help me, I want to be racing with faster girls to try and help me,? said Couper, back in Bermuda over the weekend to catch up with family and continue making plans for her upcoming wedding.

?There was some very strong girls in the field and that?s great because it brought out the best in me and gave me a chance to set a new personal best by quite a few seconds.

?That bodes well in giving me confidence for the Commonwealths ? some of the girls from that race are going to the Games ? but also it shows how much quicker I can go when I am in a faster race.?

Although Couper hacked a not unimpressive chunk off her previous best, and previous national record, she still felt she could have gone faster had she been more confident.

?It was a little bit nerve-wracking being there ? this was probably the most competitive field I have competed with,? continued Couper, who had to use all her powers of persuasion to even get into the starting line-up.

?I stayed with the group until about 800 metres and then when they went I didn?t go. Perhaps if I had been more confident I would have done and in the end I still had something left.

?I was pretty maxed out at the finish but I think I can run faster in a field like that if I have more confidence.?

Couper just has the Last Chance Meet in Seattle in two weeks? time in which to race ahead of the Games ? so-called because they are the last chance for US runners to get into the national team ? where she is hoping another strong field can give her a crack at another fast time.

?That?s the last race and it would be better to get a fast time in a good field than win in a mediocre time,? she added.

?But overall everything is cookin? for me at the moment, I am feeling great, running well, getting some awesome times and am injury free. I couldn?t be much happier going into the Games.?