A brief update

After two weeks of relative rest, (we did run every day but in very non-structured way), I flew out to Aguilas in Spain yesterday to join my coach Chris Jones and his Irish squad for a kick up the ass back into training.

It has been grim back in the UK last week and to be honest without a little graft to get fit on the bike I would have been liable to run rather than bike as much as possible.  It’s not the cold I mind it’s the cold rain and the wet roads and slimy leaves.  When you feel tired and the training mounts up going away makes me that little more focused and switched on so it’s like a reset back into phase one of training which starts on the 14^th of December.

I moved house in my break.  During my 9 year triathlon career I have always craved having a permanent training partner but have never come across an opportunity for that to happen.  I did train with Julie Dibens down in Bath for a year but because of the differences in age and lifestyle it wasn’t as solid as I would have liked.  In my swimming days I loved being part of a club environment that also incorporated individual attention and trained with a guy called Eddie Clements at Killerwhales where indeed the best of my swimming times were achieved.  Working, hurting, resting and driving each other forward.  We both won junior European medals that year.

Emma Davis is the best Irish triathlete of the last few years.  we have raced a lot and during Emma’s injury free 2008 she was a force to be reckoned with regularly running in the 36min zone at the end of hard races.  If Emma comes out front pack she has the ability to govern races on the bike as she is technically excellent and can run fast.  We work under the same coach now.  Our talents are very different and as such my competitive nature is kept in check. I think it helps that we race for different nations too.

I am an aerobic machine and need to develop more kick and change of pace whereas Emma is probably more inclined in the opposite direction.  Our programmes will vary because of this physiological difference in our makeup but living and training together provides a solid environment that a routine based program thrives on and I have no doubt that both of us can progress in 2010.  We live down in Surrey now and I swim with Leatherhead.

The camp will be 10 days of solid base block miles especially on the bike, to set up for the first five week cycle of training.  Jen Hewitt an international time trial specialist and Martina McCarthy a 2000 Olympian 400m runner help to add to the value of the specialist areas along with myself, Emma, Aileen and Kerry Spearing.  It will be good, hard graft.

Just some good news to add – I have been granted an award from the Essex Legacy 2012 Trust which identifies and financially assists Essex ambassadors in the years running up to 2012.  It is an amazing help and will be a massive help in making the correct decisions and allowing me to concentrate on racing and not finance as much.

I have also been incredibly privileged to begin a relationship with Alpine Selection a management company that has inside interest in the pursuit of excellence and in London 2012 as they manage Westfield shopping centre in Sheppard’s Bush and the new centre to be built in Stratford.  I hope I will be a great ambassador for them.

Right have to go and get ready for biking…..let’s get the program on track from the off….