Just when you think your have erased the painful memories ....... they go and release a book so you can keep the memory forever !!!!

"All men are not born equal. Some are faster, stronger, more gifted. The Beijing Olympics will showcase some great athletes. Over 10,500 from 200 countries will compete – including Team Ireland, with world-class contenders and national champions, the best that Ireland can produce. Some are potential medallists, now or in 2012. Others will make Olympic finals, break records or produce personal bests. But what has Ireland done to develop these special athletes? What ingredients make up an Olympic athlete – are they born or are they made? And what is life really like for a world-class Irish athlete? "

I know what your thinking ..... Gav didnt make it ..... so why is he in there ? I was puzzled too ..... the only reason I could think of was that im beautiful and beautiful people sell copies ? or probably not ! Mum says im a beautiful and shes never wrong ! right ?

anyway ..... 'Irish Olympians' is a series on RTE Sport that started in June and this book accompanies it. It gives an insight into the lives of Olympians past and present and has contributions from some of my Irish heros, Sonia O Sullivan, John Tracey, Michael Carruth etc Theres also interviews from todays leading Irish athletes such as David Gillick, Gearoid Towey and Eoin Rheinisch ..... and of course 2 of my personal favourites, walkers, Olive Loughnane and Jamie Costin !

You can check the show out on http://www.rte.ie/sport/irelandsolympians/index.html .....

More importantly you can get yourself a copy of the book from www.collinspress.ie ..... read for yourself on the very first page a quote from yours truely ..... that one is worth the 25 euro alone believe me !

I have my copies in the post, 1 for every room in the house..... I am hoping Sonia and her pals will be able teach me were I went wrong so I can learn from it ...... 

ill read it everyday for the next 4 years

I know you have always wondered what I have in common with Soccer player Damien Duff and Rugby star Ronan O'Gara  .........

Yes, somewhere on the Island theres a billboard,

It was around kilometer 100 of the week as I followed the path behind the Bannockburn Heritage Center, a 4x4 was doing a U-turn and I was about to move into a different heart rate zone. About 100m later another car was blocking the way and its driver was getting ready for the confrontation. Obviously my pace drops a little as I sense something is about to go down ..... after some finger pointing and pec flexing the driver gets back into his car and is about to reverse when the 4x4 rams him head on and then mounts the verge, scrapes along the side of the car and takes off ! My heart rate did proceed to move into a higher zone ..... but I was standing still ! A bit of a donut and a hand brake turn around the corner and Mr Flex gave chase ...... that was all I saw but it was the highlight of my run in the rain. For the rest of the run I recited some 'White Men Cant Jump' movie quotes and meandered my way through the forest ..... "go get my other gun, come back, shoot everybody ass".... I think if you had of met me coming through the forest you would of thought I had just escaped from the nut house !

Its been a bit of a run week, usually twice a day, 140k in total with a Vo2 session on the treadmill and 2 harder conditioning runs. With 10hrs in the saddle and 20k in the pool its been a bit draining - not necessarily because of the volume of running but because there were 2 chain gang rides in there and in most of the swim sessions there were efforts...... Fridays swim going twice through 150 dive, 100 dive, 10x50 off 45 ...... I was struggling a bit in that but when one of the Scots who was kicking my ass had to get out and get sick I perked up a bit ! We have a good swim group at the moment and more often than not it gets competitive ..... all good work.

Its now less than 2 weeks to Triathlone and so time to cut out some of the miles, hit the hard sessions hard, sit back and recover. I am staying on in Ireland after the race for a 2 week camp in Limerick and will then race the premium cup race in Poland at the end of July .......

aim high ......

gav

My internet has been on the blink for the last few days so I have been unable to update ..... there was so much I wanted to say too ! Just like when you miss a training session and its best not to try and make up for it, the same goes with bloggin.

So unfortunately my story about being slagged off whilst running track in my compression socks by some of the Falkirk footballers has to be confined to those whom I told in person - what I can say is that you dont find me standing about with my hands in my shorts all morning looking for answers ....... more training less scratching id say.

It will be around next Wednesday when I hit the bottom of the 'Training Well' so thats my next planned rest day and one im looking forward to I think - it also fits in nicely being 10 days out from Athlone. I have had a hard couple of weeks and its beginning to take a toll. The hard running mixed in with the 2 chain gang rides, long ride, over gear ride etc has left my legs screaming out for a rest ..... all of which has seen my pool times plummet a bit ....... ill get them back !

Thats the way of triathlon training - 3 or 4 sessions a day - hitting the swim. a run (or 2)  before only being a heart beat away from explosion, your eyes fixed on the wheel in front hoping a lollipop man comes out of nowhere in this country lane to slow the pack down,  finishing training at 8pm and then expecting to be smacking it out again at 6am the following morning ....... and to make it that little bit harder the Scottish summer has finished and its pissin it down !

My winter rule of  ' I aint ridin under 10 degrees' is having to be amended to 'I dont care if its 17 its like the bloody Costa Del Shire with this wind and rain'  .......... but then you get the 'guilts' and go out anyway, hoping that lollipop man will show up ..... you wake the next morning a bit more tired than the previous morning, decscending a little bit further into the well ......

Descend into the well, fill the bucket back up, descend again ...... repeat

gav

It was the Summer of 1986 and there I was strutting my stuff and taking some names (thats my big bro performing a gluteal stretch on his tractor).

Me Ma had kitted me out in a pair of budgie smugglin red running shorts, some quick transition velcro race shoes and my favourite Velour tacksuit top ...... gottalovethatshit !

My police tricycle was purring, I had got what I came for and I had a bedtime story date to get to..... 'lets hit the road bro...... later chicks !'

Anyway ..... I am back in the Shire having been home last week. It was good to be home again and although I had to stay for longer than intended it didnt work out so bad in terms of training ..... last week having 4 swims, 4 good bikes and 120ks of running. I was getting a little nervous however about my swimming as I had to swim in the public sessions in Enniskillen and so was confined to what I could do (band only and more band only)  ...... getting back into a regular 5k set this morning wasnt pleasant but I know that ill be able to pick it up quickly.

99.9% of the time people only read the diary section of an athletes website so ill let you know that I have updated my Bio page ..... its a bit different, let me know what you think ?? also let me know if there is anywhere selling a Velour bike top 1986 RETRO !

I have a big 2 week block coming up with maybe a race at the end of it before I relax a bit and head for the Prince of Wales Hotel, Athlone ......... woof woof

Last time I checked my little sister was 12 but supposidly now shes at uni ....  and having the girls around for drinks is a regular thing ?? As I left her into town the local radio DJ was telling her, "if your out tonight make sure you boot it up", I was a little confused by that and before I could work it out she had left the car and my wallet was a little lighter than before....

I am back at home, supporting Croatia in the football and trying to get into some sort of training routine ..... which goes something like - run, try and swim, run, repeat until good.

As I was only planning on a 2 night visit I left my bike behind but now it looks like my 1 set of run kit is going to be over worked as I have to stay until Tuesday. I have managed to find a new place to run - a country park called Castle Archdale - supposidly its always been there !? I found some good trails there which means I can stay off the roads. That was my one of my joys of the week (its the simple things!) - another joy which I think we all need in our lifes is '15'

Nana spells it out as - 15 marsmallows, 15 cherries, 15 digestive biscuits, can of condensed milk - mix - fix into a log - roll in coconut - let set in fridge - slice - and EAT***

as the annoying black chick in Big Brother says ....

Remember I Told You

** warning - the more 15 you eat the more running you will have to do

Did you know that they have 'brains' built into their suspension ??? Where they get the brain or how they get it into the suspension I dont really know, all I was told was that they were there. A 'gravity check' is when someone falls and a 'skid lid' is a helmet ... those who ride without a skid lid would be referred to as an ' organ doner' or 'metal head'.

I went up to Fort William on Saturday to watch the next round of the Mountain Bike World Cup. Myself and Van Morrison hit the road early and enjoyed the Scottish scenery at its finest up through Glencoe whilst banging out some of Vans greatest hits.

I was there as a guest of the Specialized Factory team which is run by my good friend Bobby B ..... so I got to hang out in the paddock and at the feed zone and watch how the team was organised and run. It was interesting to observe how the teams athletes prepared before the race and the type of support they had. As I sat in the paddock the athletes would be warming up on the rollers on their spare bikes whilst the mechanics prepared their race bikes - the managers would be busy preparing for the feed zones and the fans would me mingling around and asking for autographs .... all the while I was taking everything in and chomping down on a Venison burger.

Bobbys team took the overall lead in the mens World Cup standings and their female rider reached her highest placed finish with 4th - so it was a good day. Great also to catch up with the Behan and to watch some live sport ..... gotta love it live.

This morning I woke up and headed out the door just after 8 having had no breakfast but with 2 slices of Ginger cake, 2 bottles of water and £2.60 in my sky rocket. I met 7 of Stirlings finest and we headed for St Andrews on a long ride ....... 195k later I fell back through my front door and demolished a box of cereal. I hadnt planned on such a long ride but the sun was out, there was a group going and  ..... well .... its Sunday .... and I aint got to shit to do ! We had a tail wind for the first 100k and it was cruisey and I was feeling fine as I passed by previous longest ride at 160k (100miles) ..... I struggled a bit with about 5k to go and when I could see my house my mind decided that was it over and so it shut down energy production -  the last 400m were not pretty !

Monday sees the start of me getting back into a routine and getting back into race shape for the rest of the season ... ill let you know how its going

All things are relative, remember that

Gav

photos courtesy of Gordon Thompson and Noel McCluskey

1 moment in time, Triathy ........ courtesy of Gordon Thompson

more photos to come ........

Recently on the shores of Loc Lomond I pranced about a bit whilst trying to look serious for a photo shoot for ImacImages - you can find the shoot in full on imacimages.co.uk - you can even buy some of the prints for your dart board, mum or girlfriend ..... or ...... maybe not !

I have struggled a bit since Athy with my back - not being in great shape and racing on a TT bike for the first time came as a bit of a shock and its struggling to recover. So yesterday I spent my time relaxing and trying to work out which Gladiator I would rather face on 'Hang Tough' - it was a tough call between Enigma, Ice and Tempest - I simply couldnt decide.

I am heading back to the Sports Institute in the morning to see many different men about many different things and then hopefully ill head back to the Shire later on in the week as I start my build up to Triathlone on July 12th.

As they say in down Cavan town,

mind yourself

Forgive me readers for I have sinned, its been 12 days since my last confessions ......

I am going to coin a lot of  phrases in the following ..... you'll probably find its a bit of cock and bull:

I cracked up a bit and so battened down the hatches in the last 2 weeks since the Slovak bolt came out of the blue. Cat got your tongue ? I was asked by a disgruntled reader as I hadnt updated my blog.

My Olympic quest, my labor of love, came close - but no cigar. Lets not beat around the bush, close as we all know isnt close enough.

A little bird told me to go and get some testing done to see where I was at - and as luck would have it I was able to get into the Northern Irish Institute on Wednesday. Ask me no questions and Ill tell you no lies is how I think I better tell you how that went ..... my 12 day take-away diet, 13hr sleeps and lack of training didnt really help in the testing department. Be that as it may, it was something I needed to do as I look to go back to basics.

I am going back to the drawing board as I find myself back at square one.

The testing let me know some bench marks as I look to try and cultivate the talents I have. A new broom sweeps clean and so I am making changes to my support network as I look to go forward. Experience is the best teacher and as you are only as strong as your weakest link I have had to work out which links those are.

Although I am going to have a few more days off I travelled to Athy over the weekend to race in 'Triathy', 'Irelands fastest Triathlon'. It was unlikely that I was going to bring home the bacon after the last few weeks and if you asked me if I would take 2nd place a few days ago I would probably have said yes in between mouthfuls of battered cod. And so I was second - Fraser Cartmell took the victory and with the likes of Richard Stannard and Spencer Smith in the field, I was happy enough with the outcome. The Cartmell and I led on the bike after 20k, but the boy who is as brown as a berry from his time training and racing in the States, sped away on the final 20k of the bike. The course is as flat as a pancake and Fraser being as strong as an ox was faster than a Mexican 2 step on the bike and in the end won by a country mile. The burning question now is how will Ironman World Champ Chris McCorrmack handle the Cartmell heat in UK 70.3 ........  

Irish Standard Distance Champion, a new 'Irish record', another day another dollar ......in the end, the April showers brought some May flowers.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

gav

"2 minutes to the start". 15 seconds later I found myself alone at the pontoon expecting the false start to be brought back. The officials attempted top bring everyone back but at the end they must of just wanted to get out of the rain. They told me just to go.

I swam the first 200 in a rage and as I hit the traffic I started getting grabbed and clung to like a scene from a zombi horror flick. Mr Voice was pissed. He was fed up and tired. A lot of things went through my mind in those moments, with a new voice predominating and telling me .....  "F£$k this" .......

I came out of the water after 1000m well down the field but told myself, if I can come out at the end of 1000m in Hamburg World Champs and get my way back .... I can climb over these mo'fos too. I did and at the swim exit gained renewed hope.

It was about 4k until I reached the leaders. The rain was coming down hard which pleased me. After there was a crash on the first lap I moved to the front and kept myself there in the hope there would be more crashes ! There were ambulances on the course and one dude managed to lodge his head IN the barriers ! The bike too having zombie movie elements ! Everytime I heard someone hit the deck I hoped he would take down everyone but me !

My only chane was to get away on the bike. On every lap there were attacks. I would follow everyone of them. Contribute and drive those without my rivals; slow down and hamper those with my rivals in them. On the last lap of 8 I did get a clear gap ...... my problem though, apart from it being too late was that Ospaly (the strongest runner and eventual winner) was on my wheel. 

Banging your head against the wall hurts. So after 1200 kilo joules of work on the bike I hit the run heavy legged. Mr Voice started his vacation then and I became a zombie covering the metres to the finish.

Aye, so anyway, thats that.

Im off

A tender wrist; my airport routine; doggy style, abusing Mr Pink, some hookers, public toilets, bacterial infections, a stag, 3 nuns, drugs and Conte ....... if I didnt laugh id probably cry and its not even lunch time!

My flatmate is understanding. I was recorded on camera punching him in the back of the head at swim practice and then he listened and watched as I went into a rage yesterday and punched the wall. I think he was relieved to drive me to the train this morning.

After mixing the dregs from 3 different cereal boxes and wetting it with some rice milk (not the best) I arrived with a tender wrist and without a wingman via a train and bus and waited for the plane. I followed my routine - some Paco Rabanne (my current choice) sampled, a coffee and then a nervous trip to the toilet ...... having survived (i am a public toilet freak on route to races .... thats the bacterial infections bit of the intro) I made my way to find a seat and watch the planes come in.

Snoop Dogg was sippin on Gin and Juice and spittin it in my ears doggy style when I observed Mr Pinks abuse ...... an overloaded baggage cart and the driver driving out of control saw Mr Pink on the tarmac !!! I jumped up and tried to get the handlers attention from 500m by hitting the window and muttering what Snoop was informing me ....

'Thats right Snoop, everywhere I look and everywhere I go they are always trying to steal my flow'. 

Whats that Snoop ? ..... 'yeah, the only reason he is still alive is cause I havent sent the word "

Not in the best of moods after that, the Scottish Womens Rugby team inucrred my silent rath as they started passing a ball around departures (thats the hookers bit)..... 'oh please' Mr Voice said, Snoop said something else a bit more degrading about women that could probably be applied to the team with their short spikey hairstyles ....

Boarding was delayed by a Stag ..... although that made me smile a bit. He stumbled off the incoming flight escourted by security dressed only in a pair of superman boxers, flip flops and a 'see you jimmy' Scottish wig.

Taking my seat at the emergency exit I was joined by 2 real Nuns ..... I smiled a second time as a 'Nun on the run' boarded with her comedy wooden cross around her neck and a party of hens .... the two real nuns werent all that impressed as they sucked down some merry mints ...... they were less impressed by me as I said to them  jokingly - 'I hope youve read the emergency card, cause with the week ive, if we are going down, we're going down !'.

I settled back, turned off Snoop and read about how Conte helped pump Dwaine Chambers and how you juice up and take 2 strikes from the random testers before laying low for a while and actually training where you are supposed to be training.

So to London and Snoop came back on. I got harrassed by a lady trying to give me a credit card in the Ryanair que. Minutes later I took my earphones out again as I was harrassed for a second time .... "sorry, Ive already been done" I said ..... "oh ...... not by me you havent" she said with a smile, before toddling off.

Earphones back in and Snoop made me realise that maybe I had just been flirted with ..... mind you, what he said next would probably have seen me arrested for harrassment ......

Snoop ! a bit of respect for women maybe !?

Another weekend, another race ...... Whats that Snoop?

yeah your right

"its a dogg, its a dogg, its a doggy dog world"

CRAZY HORSE

Little Big Man, Conquering Bear, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Brave Bird, Hump,Hollow Horn and Eagle Wings...... all great native American warriors.

It was planned that I would go to Czech Republic as 'Conquering Bear' but instead I will be going as 'Brave Bird'. Its been a difficult couple of days since Lisbon and since my world got 'slovaked'. I havent really wanted to be around people and have felt a bit like 'Hollow Horn' and to others around me have acted like 'Sitting Bull'.

I woke on monday morning and the sun was shining so I headed out with Mr Pink and got lost in the glens. Stopping for lunch in a random village, I found myself with a mixed bag of emotions ...... going from stamping on the pedals in a rage, to free wheeling hoping the descent would never end. 

It would be different if it was the Hungarian or Croat who took me out, I would have been able to accept that I think. At the same time I have to admire the Slovakian - coming from no-where to being in a position to sprint for a medal at a European Champs.

I have been keeping myself to myself in training. Sleeping in, training how I feel and using the longer days to get some work in. Last nights chain gang was fast again - I averaged 342 watts for the 30kms at an average heart rate of 159; with the average speed up at 44k per hour. Although I am struggling for motivation in the pool I am feeling good and will go to Brno in good shape.

So for one last time in this campaign Ill be packing up on Thursday night and catching the red eye to London. Its mission impossible for me in Brno and my initial reaction was to pack it in like the others. But Mr Voice has had a word and we have taken inspiration from everyone who has been in contact. Mr Voice has bagged himself some fancy dress and will go to Brno as Crazy Horse.

As Crazy Horse led his people to the battle at Big Horn against that Custer bloke, he rallied his men with his famous cry

"This is a good day to fight ....this is a good day to die ...... strong hearts, brave hearts to the front ! Weak hearts and cowards to the rear !

Crazy horse .... he could not be broken

Crazy horse .... the great spirit has spoken, Hoka hey

It seems my web waffle has attracted quite a few readers (I got some emails over the weekend from people in Ireland, Uk, USA and even Croatia!) so I thought I would post sooner rather than later and let you know the score.

I was 28th in the European Champs in Lisbon on Saturday. Good enough to see off the Croation challenge for Beijing and good enough to stay ahead of the Hungarian, Liptak. 

I had arrived on Wednesday night and was a little annoyed that Ireland had booked us into a hotel in the city and a 25min taxi/train away from the venue - everyone else had managed to book into the race hotels on site and so just had to roll out of bed to train on the course rather than make 2 trips a day and spend over 90mins in a taxi. But anyway, I forgot about it after about 5mins of cursing and didnt think about it for the rest of the week or let if affect my prep. Apart from one or 2 incidents when I was cursing aloud again before the start I was in my wetsuit on time (just) and got a quick warm up before being called on to the pontoon.

Onto the pontoon I had a secret smile when I saw no one standing next to Britains Richard Stannard - probably the best swimmer in Europe..... I took my position beside him and hitched a ride to the first bouy ...... 'tickets please' is what he should have printed on his wetsuit ..... It was the most pleasurable 5mins of the entire race and maybe the the most pleasure I have had in a long time ! ...... until someone got a bit jealous, smacked me from behind and took my position on his feet - still, I had missed all the fights and was cruising.

The bike was technical and fast - I lost my water bottle on the first lap on a cobble section and could find no one willing to give me a few 'sups' of theirs ..... if anyone asked me for some water Id say no too (and Mr Voice would pipe up 'Ha, thats him F£$ked!'). It was hot and I was feeling drained ..... I did get some extra water on the last lap but it was probably too late .....

The run was again technical and with the wind picking up at the same rate as my dehydration, it was a struggle. How I longed to be back on Stannards feet in the cool water ! As I crossed the line I was initially relieved as I had cancelled out the Croatian challenge for Beijing and had done enough to maintain Irelands position ahead of Hungary ........ But then it hit me ......

There had been a breakaway on the bike and in that pack there was a Slovak - 20th in Greece, 44th and minutes behind in Spain a couple of weeks earlier - he wasnt on our radar or anyone elses. It was a remarkable turn around in fitness and increase in form in a short period of time. He needs to bottle that and sell it. Not only did he bike well but he was strong enough to hold it together for the run, not even the World number 1 Javier Gomez could run him down .... as he held out for 6th. He took his chance and has reaped the reward.

I had made it to the alter and was about to kiss the bride before she was whisked away. I was in a bit of shock when I realised and I am still trying to get my head around it. His dream result had become my worst nightmare. The sound of the air con was the only sound in my hotel room as I lay there wide awake for the 8 lonely hours before my flight home. My battle with Hungary and Croatia is over. The Hungarian I have noticed has been taken off next weeks start list. He, like my Croatian friend, dust in the wind.

From a over a 300 point advantage I am now 199 points behind with 1 more race to come. With the top 20 getting points and approx 200 points to win, my battle too is drawing to a close. Technically I still have a chance but for the first time in 2 years I am not in control.

I will go to the race in Czech Republic and do my best.

This is elite sport. Suck it up ......

I rode this week with the cyclists around the Shire - 2 chain gangs and 2x3hr spins - I was feeling pretty smashed towards the end of the week so it was good to join the group rides, get some saddle time and back off from the intensity.

Although I enjoy riding with the groups, because of my position in terms of the season I am always a bit cautious - I descend like a bit of a jessie, take it easy on the corners and still am afraid of the rain ! I am constatnly thinking about the races to come, avoiding colds, falls etc......... athlete hypochondriasis might be the term I propose.

The weekend drivers certainly dont like the groups though and neither does the 5.30 rush .....Its a good idea to look up the cycle groups in your area and get out with them ...... just remember to bring your concentration

My 5.20am alarm this morning switched on the auto-pilot. I rolled out, top, trackies, crocs, 1 sock (there was a glitch in the auto-pilot) beanie and jacket on, 2 slices of toast in, couple of slurps of juice down. I stare out the window, my flatmate stares at his cereal bowl. We dont speak. Out to the car and to the pool. I curse silently as my trunks are still a bit damp. We get to pool deck. Still theres no chat.

About 35mins after rising, my pupils are at last alive, my voice box kicks in, I yawn and stretch towards the roof. Some good mornings, how ye goin, 'could have stayed in bed this morning', 'im all over you this morning', (something about your mum was the retourt)........ the banter is poor, its 5.57am.

Its 5.59am, with my wetsuit on theres 60secs until I hit the water ...... 200m timed. 

There is a warm up - it will begin just after 6.02am. 50m down and my muscles are in a bit of shock; my heart is pissed that it had no warning; my mind is awol. Even my wetsuit seems a bit put out by the fact he wasnt consulted.

The wakey wakey 200 is an unpleasant way to begin work.

Hit it early, hit it hard

gav

Is there anything more embarrassing than stumbling off the back of a treadmill because your eye wandered to chick on the stepper !!?  I guess that would be embarrassing - its never happened to me ..... and definately didnt happen to me this morning .... it didnt ....... I swear ! (just like that my season and life could have been ended ... COULD have if it actually happened)

Last week I had a bit more IMS done on my piriformis (or as they would say on 'craggy island' -'arse') and had my stability and core routine altered to take in the improvements I have made in that area ....... its the little things. It was an indifferent week in terms of training - I got the work done but never felt great - my calfs were tight all week from the race in Spain and I had a bit of a dodgy stomach (which I assume I also brought back from Spain).

We experimented a little at the end of the week - the session was 400swim, 4mins bike, 300swim, 3mins bike, 200swim, 2mins bike. The turbo was set up beside the pool and there were no breaks ....... so as soon as you finished the bike you dived straight back into the water. It only took around 20mins but it was a tough one - we found that although the swim speed didnt fall off too much the watts on the bike did ....... it was short and sweet but enough to induce a lot of neuromuscluar fatigue and showed me some areas that I can work on.

23mins to go until I win a £3.90 extremely dubious cycling top on ebay ......

I have just posted on www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk ....... im bloggin it up this avo before the chain gang tonight.

I have been pretty smacked since returning from Spain - getting happy slapped by 'son of chan' in the middle of departures did me more harm than good - airport shiatsu once, maybe never again.

I rolled into bed at 12 on sunday night and rolled out at 6am for swimming ........ if I hadnt of swum with the squad I might have missed the swim that day. I struggled through 3.5k and then a 90min spin and a jog in the evening - eventhough I got past by a granny on a shopmobility buggy (supergran was flying!) on the ride I needed to exercise the badness out of my body so that I could get back into it this morning. For me its best to keep moving when I am tired as I feel less larthargic and I think it helps my recovery.

Thats all for now, ill check in again before the weeks end.

 Ill leave you with Irish legend John Traceys training principles before LA in '84. Its been on the back of my door since 07

"Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself and be humble"

Gav

As Van would sing "these are the days"

2 weeks 2 races. Edinburgh, London, Athens, Crete, Paris, Madrid and Santiago.2 Hotel rooms, 2 single beds, my coach and I, a couple of DVD players, a tempermental bike pump and race kit that I am superstitious to wash.

From 28 degrees and sun burn in Greece to 9 degrees and rain in Spain. I was 9th in Greece and lost my ticket to Beijing, but in Pontevedra snatched it back. Its been a rollercoaster of emotion so far; my mind giving me a few hours a day off to try and sleep.

In Spain I raced in the hardest conditions I have ever had to face. Officially the water was 14degrees but unofficially it was 11 and therefore under the ITU regulations of 14 - it was Gomez' hometown and they were not about to let the weather spoil the party. Fair enough.

I struggled in the swim. My muscles went into shut down with the cold and my mind just wanted it to end. I missed the first pack in transition and with my Olympic rivals on my wheel once again I sat up instead of going after it - its a strange feeling this year as I am racing 5 guys instead of the rest of the field - For me I was in the lead group, there were not 10 guys up the road or 20 others around about me. There is only me and them. We watch each other; our coaches feel the same nervous tension in the days before; our families and friends look for our names on the results sheet; our federations willing us to be the one.

There was double points on offer in Pontevedra with only the top 20 to score. I stayed upright on the bike and got some blood into my feet by about 7k on the run. At 8k I was not in the points. At 9k I was on the verge and at the finish I was 20th.

On the 13th of April there were 6 guys in contention for one the last spots on the Chinese pontoon. In Greece 2 fell away. On a cold day in Spain 1 more. I think there are 3 left.

I am not happy about going to a European Cup and ending in 20th. Racing conservatively and not naturally. Its not easy wakening up in the middle of the night from a nightmare of puncturing. Its not easy when your spending more money than your making. Spending an extra 5hours in an airport in Paris becuase you missed your connection by 1 minute (after having spent 10mins trying to get through the 100th security check) is frustrating. Sometimes its a case of laughing to prevent you from crying. Laughing as some of the women ran the first few hundred meters of the run with their bike hlemets still on (it was so cold their fingers didnt work ...... chicks eh!). Laughing as the Polish tell their coach they arent starting because of the water temperature and so he takes a mental and makes them smack out a 1500m timetrial as we warm up in the pool 2hrs before the race.

But with all thats going on I know that these are the days. These are the days I will look back on and remember. I will remember laughing at Gordon as he fell asleep during an Airport Shiatsu as I was being dominated my Jackie Chan's son next to him. I will remember the relief of realising I was 20th and not 21st. The brief smile that I had when I knew the others wouldnt score.

These are the days. Its April 21st and I think there are now 3 of us left. I am one of them. This is my Olympic journey.

I am off again in the morning to a random hotel to watch some movies for a couple of days. The hotel is in the Spanish city of Pontevedra in Galicia ........ its the home town race of some dude called Gomez who supposidly has a huge heart.

Ill update you on how it goes on Monday ....... in the mean time you can check out the new page on the website -'news central' - click on the news paper and get up to date with all the news from across the web.

I have a new blog on Planet-X aswell - www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk - ill be updating that from time to time .......

So there you are, you cant say im not keeping you in the loop

if in doubt you have probably swum 2 lenghts less

gav

Not what I hoped for at the weekend. To be honest, Im not really up for chatting about it. I was 9th and lost some points to my rivals. Whats done is done and I am now focused on this coming Saturday.

Im sitting in my corner after round 1; I have taken a few blows and on the score card Im behind on points. My cuts man has cleaned me up though, I have spat in the bucket and am getting my gum shield ready ....... my vision is good and the hot chick is walking around the ring with her sign signalling that round 2 is next ....... when the bells goes Ill get back up and walk forward ...... its what I have been taught to do.

Its always a bit weird coming home after a race when others know your a bit disappointed with the result. Theres a different tone in their voices; they want to talk about but arent sure you do. Theres egg shells.

Thats what its been like since I crossed the line I guess....... even the disabled chap in Heathrow knew I wasnt in the best of moods as I snatced my helmet back ..... .... I had done my best to hold it in as I hate airport toilets but this 'King Richard the Third' was coming and I needed to find a throne asap. What a relief.

There was a knock at the door as I must have been spotted going in. I took a few moments to compose myself, grabbed my trolley bag and went out. I got the dirty looks not because I nearly fell over him or because I had left my scent but because I had used the disabled toilet and wasnt disabled (or had one of those parking stickers). I scurried off before he had a chance to give me a row.

So there I was, a few pounds lighter, chilling out and watching 'full metal jacket' on my DVD when out of the corner of my eye I recognised something flash past ....... it was my cycling helmet ....... and someone was wearing it and was rolling off into the distance.

I dont need to tell you who it was or where I had left it !

I quickly gathered my things and set off into a jog to catch up with willy wheels. 'Ho! excuse me ..... I think you have my helmet '. He spun around and gave me the row he wanted to give me when I bust out of the toilet a few minutes earlier. I stood there and took it and snatched back my helmet.

Moral of this story ...... always wear a helmet (or keep it fastened to your trolley bag) - it could save your life, save you from getting a lecture or better still save you the embarrassment of chasing a dude on wheels through the airport who I think had some bog roll in his spokes .....

(thanks to all of you who had texted or emailed before the weekend wishing me luck)

Operation 'Godspeed' is upon us. I am off via Heathrow tomorrow to Crete ...... I dont pray often, in fact I dont pray at all but I am thinking about lighting a candle for the safe passage of Mr Pink to Greece.

Crete is the first round of the European Cup in 2008 and my first race of the year .... first race of 4 in a rollercoaster 6 week block.

Earlier today I celebrated my 'date de naissance' with a can of creamed rice and a slice of battenburg ....... theres not much 'rock and roll' in this triathlete business and im not much of birthday person ! Any sort of party would probably have passed me by as my mind is pre-occupied with what is to come in the next 6 weeks ...... its been that way for a long time now. I had my race wheels on this morning for a spin and had Mr Voice in my head. I am feeling pretty good, looking a bit unhealthy (or as polite people have said ... 'lean') and am looking forward to getting my season started.

After the ride I bathed Mr Pink out the back and chatted my elderly neighbour (Thomas or MR.T to you). I told him about what was going down and that I was off in the morning. He nodded as I spoke and fumbled around for his smokes ..... I dont think he knew what I was really bangin on about ..... but hes got the wisdom about him ! As he lit up and began to walk away, he left me with

"aye son, you'll be back in no time eh ... aye ..well, I hope you do your job well, god speed son, god speed .... "

Some people say money cannot buy us happiness ........ well maybe those people just dont know where to shop !!

www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk

Planet X (and 'on one') have a new website .............. go find some happiness !

A week today Ill bag it up and head for Crete. So far my prep is going well and I have only spat the dummie once (thats good for me) - that was this day last week on my road rep session when on the 9th rep I started f'in this that and her - I think my rant used up any energy I had left and so the last rep didnt go so well ...... Ill try to control myself when I do the same session today.

There was a lot on at the weekend and its official that:

Chris Hoy is the best Scottish athlete ever ...... unless track cycling is easy ?

I make a crackin banana cake

Track cycling isnt easy - in 1 race you have to be able to count 200 laps - I saw the start, went and made some cake, cut a slice of said cake, sat back down and watched the finish. Cake was good.

I make the best banana cake in my street

Bekele is the best cross country runner ever ...... I watched him in Edinburgh on Sunday. I stood at the start line and watchd them go off. By the time I had taken a slice of banana cake out of my rucksack (one i prepared earlier), unwrapped it and brought it up to my mouth, Bekele and all the other tribes-men had come round for a second lap. Cake wasgood. So was Bekele.

I make the best banana cake in all the Shire

From Stable Crawford, David McNamee, won Stirling Aquathon on Sunday morning. I allowed him some banana cake during the week.

I make the best banana cake in all the land

From Stable Crawford, Cat Morrison (www.catmorrison.com) and Fraser Cartmell (www.frasercartmell.com) were both top 10 in California 70.3, both will go to 70.3 World Champs. Catriona Morrison had some of my banana cake shortly before she left. 1 slice of cake went missing last week, I suspect it was Cartmell.

I am all out of cake ........ thats ok, Im off on a 3hr 'brick' session ....... after I log 15hrs of training I am allowed to make more cake. Ill have my cake and eat it ....... Wednesday night.

Moolooaba World Cup, California 70.3, Stirling Aquathon, Edinburgh World Cross Country Champs ........ the clocks are changing this weekend and so the racing begins .......

After 3 weeks, 4 races and 1 xbox game complete, I arrived home in Stirling on Easter Monday. The final week was solid again. After an easy day on Monday and a 5k road race on Wednesday it was mostly upper aerobic volume until I left, running off the bike most days. I finished second in the road race to a guy named 'Jesus', I couldnt really argue with that. He took off from the start and never looked back; light and nimble he looked like he could walk on water .....

I almost walked on water Tuesday morning ...... I was wearing for the first time my new V1:Velocity wetsuit from 2xu. On Gavins rating scale (junk / its alright / pretty good / thats the shit) it comes in as 'the shit'.

So what you gonna do ?

There I am, fit and hungry in the V1, ready to go ......... what have you brought ? Think about it. What you got ?!

Seriously.

I know you can see the 'concave water entrapment zones', my 'propulsion panel' and 'velocity strakes, overlap technology and floating zip'. Theres no point in doing all those swim sets and then using the excuse "I dont have one of those roll bar thingys you have ".  I dont want to hear your excuses ! The best you can do is match me.

Seriously, What you gonna do ?

(If you are there beside me in the same suit you should watch out though cause you just might get one of those forearm entrapment zones right in the kisser ....... what you gonna do then ?)

http://2xu.com/swim/mw1273c.html

I just made it back Shireside and as is usual when I arrive back im playing catch up ...... getting through the mail, paying the bills, unpacking and planning. When I do get on top ill update you. Until then heres some moments in time from the last duathlon.........

(James left earlier than I did so to say thanks for his help I sneaked a present into his bike bag ...... theres nothing tastier than a skinned cat ...)

Since 'the Giz' escaped on monday its been myself and Master Cotton doing the cooking ......

He taught us both so much. On his first morning here I brought him to Vegetarian heaven - the Aguilas farmers market - I have never seen someone so excited by extra large peppers, sweet potatoes and parnsip. He was brought back down to earth however on his first ride as we passed through a small town and saw 3 young boys 'slaying' a pig in their back yard, much to their mothers delight ! I even felt a bit sick for a few minutes and I love the meat .....

So it was chick pea this, butter bean that, add some lentils, stir that salsa and pass the soya milk for much of his stay. Not only though could he wip together a cracking roast veg platter, the boy could also fix muscles with his bare hands.

Every day he would make me curse that little bit more. The pain, and then some. It was all worth it. I would come in off the race track like a rusty car rental and climb off his table 'brand new' ...... everynight a 'happy ending' to a hard day.

This crack comando therapist was sent here to sort me out and he did a great job. He has now escaped home to the Bray underground. Today, still wanted by myself and so many others, he survives as a massure of fortune. So if you have a problem, and if you can find him (www.sportstherapy.ie or 138 Rathdown Park, Greystones, Co.Wicklow), maybe you should hire ......... Darren Kelly

How do you picture ????

I like to picture St Patrick with an old school 2 euro head band in a pair of Saucony Fast Twitch racers ..... chasing those snakes and running away from the Spanairds. In my mind he obviously has a green singlet but a red Saucony one will do.

After, and only after the job is done, he will get the beers in ....... in my mind he wont finish the job today but on May 17th ........

However you like to picture it ...... Happy St Patricks Day

Fuente Alamo duathlon yesterday - 2nd. It was slightly longer this time - 7k/30k/3.5 - and it was all goin well until 20k into the bike - I led the first run and was making time on the bike when my seat post started to slip, I had to ease off as anytime i put major pressure down it slipped further and further - only I hadnt cleaned last weeks number off I think it would have gone right down ..... so I was caught at 20k and spent the remainder of the ride largely out of the saddle. On the run my hamstrings were not feeling great and it took me a while to get into it ...... 2nd though was a good enough result. The winner im told is a former 3.40 1500m dude so he has plently of speed for that final 3k.

After the race, 'the Giz' suggested we eat in town - he had found an English bar to watch the Ireland-England rugby earlier than evening. I went to prize giving and then we went there for some food. Thats were we met Shane. I first encountered him in the toilets ....

"alwite geez, due know you have a plaster stuck to your jam roll "

"what did you put it there for" I asked

"oi didnt put it dare did I ...... wots your name? " "oim Shane" he said as he came back out of the loo.

"how many miles you do today then?"

around 7 running and 20 cycling I told him

"bloody ell, more than ive dun in me car mate" "you win ? how much did you make then?"

enough to buy the guys dinner I told him .... "ooh lav ley" he said

"so this ur job ? how much you have in the bank then?" Before I could make up an answer he hit me with ..... "wot u make of that black geezer then" - I was a bit confused at this stage and just wanted to get out ...

"Chambers mate, wot u think of that bulldog then .... they are all at aint they"

"this is how I feel wite, you get caught by the law or summit, you serve ur time and so you should get a second chance, be that drink drive, GBH or what eva" (i felt he was about to tell me something I didnt really want to know and I really just wanted to get to my table alive)

I made it out of the toilets and chatted him as I made my way to where the boys were sitting. 'so how come your here in fuente alamo then ?' I asked

"oi crossed the sink 8 years ago din I; in construction, got myself an old farm house, play a bit of golf in the afternoon, im 38 and single, more ass than a toilet seat, no mortgage; Fuente Alamo is where it all kicks off at night in these parts mate ..... you coming out later, or shud i say tomorrow morning, Spanish time, know what i mean ?.....  maybe ill catch up with you after youve got yourself a shower and youve changed out of those tights ...." (I had my 2xu compression tights on after the race and you could see them under my board shorts)

'ok'  i said  'maybe, ill see you later'

Phew, I made it to the table and the boys and I had some food before heading back to Aguilas. Steph (the barmaid originally from Maidstone) had just brought over the bill when I heard ...

"you not like your lettuce then" (shane)

'hey, hows it going, no Ive just finished ... you can have it if you fancy it ...."

"only lettuce youll find me eating is in a Big Mac mate ! ..............oi dont believe we have met ...... whats your name geezer ?" He introduced himself at the end of the table to James and Darren.

"you boys up for a big night then ? "

being polite we asked where was good to go in town

"oh for just an Ayrton Senna you get loads of places mate ...... as I said to this fella earlier, you come down after you got cleaned up and hes changed out of them tights ..." there was a bit of a giggle at my expense around the table

"mind you, didnt do Robin Hood any harm did it eh"

Steph came back with our change. "sorry steph love am i in your way ......" "oooo thats got to hurt aint it" he said in her direction as she left the table. James looked at bit confused at what exactly he meant by that ????

"as i was saying, come on out, loads of little Spanish things walking about, if you into that sort of thing, you know, dark skin ....... big bowjangles .... "

'whatever do you mean - bowjangles ?" James enquired

"ooh you know, Bojangles .... tits mate .... thats a world known word innit"

'been around the world have you?" James asked

"oive seen a few things yeah, know what i mean "

"alwite geezers ill see you later"

yeah, catch you later on ......

"Gavin, is it just mild turrets you have ?" (that was a serious question even before he began working).

There are over 600 muscles in the body - his elbows know them all - he is ........

Its been a different week than I am used to at this time of year. There hasnt been any miles for the sake of miles but there has been a lot of cereal for the sake of cereal ...... 

It was a tough start to this week. After Saturdays Duathlon I was straight back into some power work on Sundays ride and had a 20k run that evening in the field of dreams - a bit faster than my normal long run pace. Monday mornings 4k in the pool was followed up by a 2.5hr interval ride (cheek bone cramp) and a 12k run off. Tuesday, myself and Cotton hit 7k in the pool, rode 2hrs and ran an hour before the sun went down. Wednesday was our brick day (I dont really know why its called a 'brick'?) with 2 bricks - 1 in the morning and 1 in the evening. The mornings training was a steady state chain gang 55k and a 8k run off - and then in the avo I took Mr pink to the track where we did 20mins of intervals before 4x 200 fast on 60 into 1k ..... It was my first outing on the track this year and I was hitting the k's in 2.56 which I wasnt too displeased with.

I wasnt as tired as I thought I would be come thursday morning so we through in a threshold swim set ...... I was tired then ..... I guess in terms of actual volume the numbers arent so high each day but everyday had something testing.

All the while I was being held together by Darren 'the giz' Kelly - having a therapist here has been great so far - I am getting worked on daily and he is also getting in some good training - all in all pretty good - apart from the other night when I wished he and his knuckles would just p$ss off to his room ! I think I could be heard shouting in a few blocks down ...

Tomorrow is another duathlon, 7k/30k/3.5,

gottawanttorace

gav

Its been a rollercoaster since thursday ...... I went over on my ankle wednesday night and was told then I needed a bone scan on my ankle - that spanish physio went on to the black list. Luckily I was joined by Magic Hands Kelly on friday and was sorted in time to race the next duathlon in Caravaca (thats translated as Cow Face in english). I had one of those days when my body didnt show up no matter how angry Voicey was getting. I was dead and buried by 2.5k into the first run ! not so good ..... 'get it sorted' Voicey said ...... and keeps saying. It had been a hard week and I was a bit empty come race day, it wasnt enjoyable. Sunday was a new day though and the programme has no time for mincers.

Shadow has been given temporary leave as Marmaduke Cotton has come back to buddie me in training - today we started what I think will turn out to be a very solid few days ....... if i make it through to thursday morning alive ill let you know all about it then ........

only when your cheek bones cramp (face not tail) are the intervals hard enough

gav

Todays new word from my phrase book, which is located in the room where all good reads are kept,  is 'sabroso' which means tasty ...... mmmmm sabroso. I have already managed to use it a few times and the day is only half done. At the checkout this morning I mentioned it a couple of times whilst nodding as the chick put through my groceries ...... mmmm sabroso. She found it funny once but then thought I was strange.

Yes thats right, I have been alone for nearly a week and am starting to go a bit cuckoo. Yesterday was easier in terms of training but up until then its been a tough introduction. The race at the weekend (which I won and wont bore you with the details, I went hard, the pack caught me, games, I went hard again) and then some intensity each day since. In terms of volume Im stepping down a bit but now the intensity is up and so too my rest and recovery.

Saturday was the duathlon and an 2k easy wash in the pool / Sunday, 2hr ride and 20k run / Monday intervals on the bike 3hrs, 5k swim, 60min run&drills / Tuesday 4k speed swim, 2hr ride with intervals, negative split run / wednesday mornings run was 10k in 38mins with another run in the avo ......... too much stretching and not enough xbox.

I get some company this weekend with Darren Kelly coming as my therapist (not mental but physical) and theres another duathlon on saturday.

Ok, I think thats the lot,

Todos los semanas, todos los dias,

Senor G

Pre start at San Pedro Duathlon     

You know behind the glasses I was serious !

I think my shirt says, Ive come to do business but also to have fun !??? ........... formal yet informal, think about it

C'mon, you know it makes sense and you know theres a touch of  cool about it ......

there is !

I dont care what you say !

 I could hardly believe my luck as I had the back 2 rows of the plane to myself  ....... or so I thought. I sat down and made myself comfortable. Just before I had the chance to give out about David Millar in my cycle magazine there was a racket coming from the front ....... it was 'Sams Benidorm Butterflies' ...... 11 of them .... and yes I didnt have the back 2 rows ! 

Complete with pink cowboy hats and t-shirts with their names on (i kinda liked the hats?) they stomped towards me like a small herd of pink elephants. I didnt even have time to pretend I was asleep before I was asked could Kathy have my seat as she needed to be on the outside (it wasnt for the leg room), I didnt put up a fight.

So Sam was getting married. Happy days. "lets get some some bevy in" ...... it was sort of entertaining ? 11 middle aged women on a hen weekend to Benidorm. Vodka shots at noon and some song about how there was 11 of them and all they needed were some balls ???? 11 players in a football team I presumed. Some craic.

I did manage to get some sleep - 10% sleeping, 90% just closing my eyes ....... I 'woke' just as we landed - I knew we had landed as they all clapped (I never get that) and cheered. As sweaty Kathy squeezed out of her seat she told me "theres moisture in places where I never thought there would be again" .... stuff came out of my nose as I choked on the last of my water !

So Im back in Spain, my 3rd home. Back to the sun, tortillas, big fruit and veg, spanish time keeping, siesta and my field of dreams .......

Shadow is the only one here with me at the moment and at the moment we are getting on just fine .......

Its been a difficult week so far. I arrived back on Monday, got needled on Tuesday and then picked up a bug on Wednesday. I was keeping things aerobic anyway as its been a planned recovery week but I was getting dizzy in the swims and dry wretching on most of my runs. Not pleasant. My only joy in the week being the tingling sensation created by the mint shower gel.

So what do you do on a Saturday avo when you havent exercised much or eaten many soilds in 3 days ? You run in a National Cross Country of course ! I convinced myself I could get round and I wanted to run as my club were in line for a medal in the team event. Maybe hindsight should have rocked up earlier but he never showed.

It was my first time running in a National Cross Country and from when I arrived until 30min before the start I was looking forward to it. I began my warm up 30mins prior to the off and made my way around the lap. After a couple of minutes my stomach started to grumble and complain. Half way around the lap I found a toilet for a bit of a sit down. It was one of those 'Dr Who' toilets that you put in money and the door slides open. I was chilling out in there when I had a bit of an urge to get sick so I assumed the sick position and started calling the dinosaurs - at which point the door started to slide open ! As I looked to my right another runner was standing waiting to get in and get a seat. It was a strange moment as he looked at me trying to get sick and I looked at him doing that twitch you do when your close to embarrassing yourself in public. So if you do find yourself in a 'space loo' I would suggest splashing the cash and putting in a 20p - it just gives you more time to get things out.

So anyway, that done, I felt a bit better and headed to the start.

I started at a steady pace and felt easy after the first lap - I think I was in 19th or so - at the start of the second lap of 4k I thought Id start moving through but my stomach had other ideas. He and my energy system had decided that they preferred the slower pace and any attempts to get out of the comfort zone would result in a shut down. They won the argument and I struggled for the remainder of the 12k, dropping places by the dozen. I crossed the line and sneaked off to call some more dinosaurs.

It wasnt much fun in the end. Being sick has set me back a bit and as they say, a set back, is a set back. I have a few more days in the Shire before heading back to some sun and attempting to catch back up in Spain ....... and it seems I will have a lot of catching up to do if the newly published Irish squad 'development' times are anything to go by. Irelands new 'baseline' standard for 3k running is 8.38 - if your U-23 the run time is 6 seconds faster than that looked for by GB talent programmes - at 8.48 ?????? 

Mr Voice is telling me I can make the times ....... thanks for your support Voicey

RTE Drivetime Sport did a piece on Triathlone - you can listen to in online - www.rte.ie/radio1/drivetimesport/ - it was Tuesdays edition and is towards the end of the broadcast. I am told that there will be a longer interview with myself on Saturday nights Drivetime.

Hat and gloves, turbo, early swims, forest runs and day time tv .... im back in the Shire. The block in Spain went well and now im having an easier week in terms of intensity at home.

I was happy enough with the work done in Spain, I felt I was swimming and biking fine and my run was being maintained and managed. The lack of outdoor miles since the introduction of the 10degree rule hasnt hurt my biking at all and my new training techniques for the bike seem to be paying off.

I am only back for a short while before heading off again to Spain. Last night I had an interesting appointment with the physio where I had some IMS treatment - IMS (intra muscular stimulation) is a higly advance form of acupuncture - ill admit it wasnt fun - the physio sticks a needle deep into an injured muscle (and moves it around)which causes a sort of cramping sensation - its sort of like a dental root canal but for muscles not fangs - as I jumped off the table for the 30th time she would say 'think you can do 1 more?' my head was screaming NO YOU IDIOT but my heart said yes - I have had this niggle for a while now so was sucking up whatever punishment was needed for relief.

'maybe 1 more?'

'ok'

'oh that was a deep 1, you could see the whole muscle spasm, I think maybe just one more' (she was enjoying herself i think)

'hit me'

'ok last one'

'F$%k no more !!!'

'see you again monday morning ok ?'

ok.

Triathlone 2008 launched this week. Check it out www.triathlone.com  Later this week (im told wednesday and saturday) listen out for my RTE Radio 1 interview ...... words of wisdom I assure you !

ITU World Cup Promo ..... excited ?

Oh oh we're half way the-re, oh oh, livin on a prayer, im feeling crap, I need some food, oh oh, living on a prayer, take my wheel, ill do the work (that was eanna, although he didnt know it), we'll make it swear, oh oh, livin on a prayer ....... 2hrs 30 done and 2.30 to go this morning I went through a bad patch and was a bit Bon Jovi when it came to taking my turn into the wind. I woke a bit tight and tired after yesterdays race but finished up fine after a can of the black doctor at the petrol station.

On Saturday night I was third in Torre Pacheco Duathlon. Sort of happy with it, sort of not, you know how it is. I felt good on both runs but a little heavy legged on the bike after the weeks training - the level in the race was higher than a few weeks ago in Aguilas -the Italiens and a a few of the Spanish squad rocked up (they too are in Aguilas at the moment) - and it was one of the Italiens who stole the show - I knew he would be good on the bike so I kept the pace high in the first run hoping to get a gap on him onto the bike. He caught the group quite early and just simply kept going !! It took us a bit by surprise and no one was willing to give chase (I should have but then I would have dragged everyone up with me ..... I was trying to do as little as possible after being caught doing too much in the first duathlon ......the Italien wasnt in my dream and messed things up a little !). So after he got a gap the group started to play around - in the end he pumped us royally, getting 90 seconds on us into the final 2.5k run. Game over. He averaged  46kph with us at 44 so we werent exactally hanging around. It was a hard second run and I was outsprinted in the last 100m by one of the Spaniards. 

Cigana (thats the wrong spelling no doubt) was the name of the winner - afterwards I was chatting the Italien coach and he informed me that he rode for Marco Pantani before Pantani and his team fell apart ....... I mentioned we had a 5hr ride in the morning if any of them wanted to come - they were doing 3hrs ..... however I think Cigana might have been doing the same route as us !??

All in all I was happy enough considering my bad start to the week (cold etc) - its been a good block of work and im now looking forward to a lighter week of  recovery and adaptation.

Its been one of those weeks so far. After 3 good weeks of work the end has been in sight for a while. I struggled over last weekend with a touch of the cold so I had to take it easy for two days - 1 day off and 1 day of 80% volume - a few of the group came down with one thing or another - who the root who was the root of the disease is still up for debate !

So after 2 days I was a bit frustrated and feeling like I hadnt trained at all ..... in the real world I had missed 1 session but in my little world I had become slow and heavy.

The weather wasnt good early in the week either ........ it was overcast (!??). Yeah, I was having one of those weeks.

Its now 60days until my first important race of the year and less than 24hrs until a race of lesser importance ..... Torre Pacheco Duathlon .......  

We are going to go through a K for warm up ...... 400 swim, 300 pull, 200 drill, 100 k

You done ?

Ok, here it is:

6x100 on the 1.20 / 200 easy on 3 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 50 hard on 50 / 50 easy on 45 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 200 hard on 3

4x100 on the 1.15 / 200 easy on 3 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 50 hard on 50 / 50 easy on 45 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 200 hard on 3

2x100 on the 1.10 / 200 easy on 3 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 50 hard on 50 / 50 easy on 45 / 100 medium on 1.30 / 200 hard

you got that ?

Its all straight through.

we go on the red top, 15 seconds ........

(that was this evenings swim set. Although we had a long ride and some efforts earlier in the day it went well. Holding 2.13s for the last 200 each time through)

Going into the last 200 it went something like "the looser will bring shame not only on himself but on his family" ..... Who was shamed is still being argued as it was a tight finish !

Whats the point in eating a king prawn ? You know the ones in the shell, head n all ......

You start out with enthusiasm, its going quite well but you feel theres a few people watching you; your frustration isnt helping the matter; you try, relax, try again; you grab a drink and the prawn escapes your clutches; you then question if you chose the correct prawn on the plate ?  you end up with sticky fingers and after all is said and done your still hungry !!!!

Maybe, if you dont learn how to pick the prawns apart, you will stay hungry for a long time ........ ?

That was sort of how my day went. It was the Aguilas Sprint Duathlon ..... I was 4th. The first 5k went fine, I varied the pace and came into transition in the lead. I knew from before who the best guy was and it was us 2 who initially battled it out in the early bike k´s. At about 6k we were caught by a group and then the fun began. The good runner jumped and so it was left to me to chase him down ...... I would slowly close him down and when I did another 1 or 2 would jump. A quick discussion in Spanish and it was obvious it was me who would have to chase again.It happend about 5 or so times in 10k until 2 broke away and gained about 30seconds ...... once again the others sitting on me and then trying to jump me ...... it was sort of fun - for them ! 30 seconds over 2.5k is pretty much game over on a flat course - last year I came in the same distance down but caught the guy on the line but this year it wasnt to be.

In the end the guy who won probably wasnt the strongest out there but he was the lucky one who seized his moment and is now the local hero until the next time ...I took the Spanaird with the best pedigree on the second run but was left huffing and puffing a bit in 4th.

All in all a good work-out to end the week. The average watts for the draft legal 20k was 340watts with a max output of 1010 watts ...... so it was a good workout on the bike before running off it.

The young gun McNamee took the U-23 race and was looking strong on the second run ...... little by little. The Hurricane, well, shes the Hurricane and so will be expected to get the ice creams in later .......

Week 1, done and done

The sun is still out and ´Carnival´ is coming. It kicks off with a sprint duathlon on Sunday and then most nights theres some sort of parade in town. Next friday theres an egg fight in the town square and theres even a parade for the transvestites ....... ill maybe give that one a miss ....... but you never know

Its been a steady week so far. An introduction on tuesday; 5k swim/100k bike/15k run on wednesday; pretty much the same yesterday and today is today ..... an easier swim but a longer run.

A small group of Irish athletes joins the group on monday which will be good and theres 1 or 2 other randoms on the scene too !

Irish athlete, Emma Davis, whos preparing for the first round of World Cups down under, has a new website www.emmadavistri.com ..... check her out !

Hola sunshine !

Im back in Spain, back in the sun and back out on the road ......... loving those apples. I am here for my first camp of the year and it couldnt have come at a better time. Things are going well in training but I needed a change of scenery.

Its going to be a busy time in Aguilas this time around - at the moment Im here with fellow Planet X´er Catriona Morrison (www.catmorrison.com) and fellow number 5 Glencoe Roader David McNamee - top Scottish U-23 athlete, my Stirling flatmate and Im told former ´boys brigade chess champ´ ?? At the weekend we will be joined by some of the Irish team and then by the end of next week the Italien, Swedish and British Womens team.

Today was an introductory day after yesterdays travel - 4k in the pool, 2hrs bike and a 50min run - done and done. Mr Pink and I will have got past that shy stage by the end of the week and we will hope to bond further at the weekends Duathlon. Its been only 2hrs, but im already in love  x x x