Chile - The Adventure begins!

As I stepped off the train at London Kings Cross on thursday 17th March: nervous, apprehensive and excited a reassuring sign caught my view, and an overwhelming sense of security came over me and I knew that things WILL be good:

After a 19 hour flight, a stop off in Sau Paulo, I finally arrived in Santiago. With my bike bag that thankfully made it safely and in one piece, I caught a taxi to my apartment in Las Condes (the exclusive area of Santiago). My apartment was on the 17th floor and the view was outstanding. Looking to my left I could see all of Santiago and to my right, the snow cover Andes - a perfect where to relax before the first race.

With the race routine out the way (signing in, number collection, race briefing etc), I was all set to race. Race morning came and we had to take a coach to the venue. This obviously caused a few problems with about 60 men trying to fit their race bikes on the coach, but anyway, everything was sorted by our very relaxed coach driver! The course was hilly and technical and a non-wetsuit swim into lake. My swim felt very strong and I was able to relax and power through the 1500m swim to get out the water in a comfortable position to set me up for an exciting race. Once on to the bike and things got very tough. The lack of food and preparation cost me, and I found it very hard work from then on. After the race I was exhausted and knew I had to recover well to ensure a confident performance in Valparasio the following week.

Once in Valparasio, my aim was to recover, to carb load and to get my energies up. So after a lot of research into carb loading, my body type and how many grams of carbs needed to fuel my weight after x amount of hours of training, I was ready to go. The week was very successful. I found a 50m pool to continue my swimming in, one road that had no pot holes in to ride on, and a flat piece of road to run on. As tedious as it may seem, it was incredibly refreshing to be training and feeling good again alongside constant re-fuelling and making my diet paramount over my training. For example, I am 73kg and after 3 hours of training I need approximately 600grams of carbs to sufficiently replenish all my glycogen stores. After a few days I was feeling alive and full of energy and could not believe something so simple was costing me my potential! One of the crucial things I have learnt is that when exercising longer than 90mins at a high intensity, your carbo stores will become severely depleted and the waste product of this are H+ ions, or lactic acid. If your glycogen levels are not topped up to their maximum capacity, then you will start producing lactic acid much earlier and thus, resulting in a decline in your performance.

Next stop was Valparaiso for the second race: A seaside town stuck in the 80's that is still recovering from Pinochet's rule of terror and the damaging effects of the Panama Canal, meant that I was going to have some sort of cultural experience after all! With all bases covered, race day was here. I woke up to a beautiful morning and leisurely rode to race avoiding the many stray dogs that roam around the sea side town trying find food. One of the distinguishing features of Valparasio were the hills. They were enormous and were so steep. I have never experienced hills like this with gradients at least 40%, which go on up for ages. I did attempt to run up, but my effort was in vain and I began walking to find that a struggle also.

The race started and about 60 athletes sprinted into the sea. A choppy and rough swim played into my hands and I came out the water as one of leading guys and was on the lead pack. The tough, hilly course caused no problems for me and I felt great. Riding up the climb with confidence and with ease; I was a different athlete. The descent cost me dearly, but practising my bike skills will solve this issue and I will be a much more competent cyclist very quickly. On to the run for the first time, in a long time - I felt great! Pushing all the way to the line and overtaking numerous amounts of athletes on my 10 km destruction path; I ended the race feeing incredibly confident. The 400m hill each lapped only aided my run and I knew, after the week I have had since my first race, I was back and now is the time that things will start happening.

Travelling to these races have taught me many valuable lessons: expensive as they are, but most valuable and needed. I am leaving Chile more confident, motivated and determined to succeed and it is now a matter of time before this happens.

Preparation for Chile

I am a few hours away from packing and heading down to heathrow to begin my quest for Olympic success. I am racing two Pan American Cups: first race is in Santiago and the second is in Valparassio, Chile. I first started to pay attention to these two races before christmas and instantly saw them as an amazing opportunity and a great way to begin my season.

My training up to these races has been very structure. I have changed my approach to last season, and really focused on quality sessions over copious amounts of miles. Also, I have started to treat "rest" with much more respect than I ever have. I am giving my body enough time to recover from hard sessions in the pool, on my bike and running. The improvements I have made have been incredibly encouraging and as I have been easing down; my form is started to shine through.

One of the key changes I have made to my training is focusing more on the mental side of the sport. I have been working on keeping a "quiet mind" while I train and to put enjoyment as priority. I believe that by training for the sheer love of training and enjoying the opportunity that I have to be a full time athlete, I believe, will make me into a very successful triathlete.

I am incredibly fortunate to be sponsored by Specialized and Total Fitness Bath for my race bike and kit. It is a massive help to have them as part of my team in my development as a triathlete.

The flight to Chile will be 19 hours with a stop off for a few hours in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I actually dont mind these long flights. You get a wide selection of movies, music and TV and can really relax and fall asleep. To help me get over the fatigue of the flight I will be wearing an pair of compression socks. These sock are very useful in maintaining blood flow through my legs for the whole journey. The aim is to prevent any cramps or tightness and therefore, I can walk off the flight relatively fresh. Also, I will be taking some Cherry Active capsules. These capsules are really high in anti-oxidants and are made from the skins of Montmorency Cherries. By taking these during my flight it will help keep my energy up and prevent any muscles soreness that I may aquire due to sitting down for a long period of time.

However, the main purpose for using these capsules are that they contain naturally-occurring melatonin, which is a powerful compound, well-documented to help support your body’s circadian rhythms and natural sleep cycles. Quality sleep is an important factor in an athlete’s recovery as this is when your body’s complex repair processes are most active. By providing myself with the opportunity of some "quality sleep" on the long flight, I will feel very prepared leading into my race.

Cherry Active - Triathlete's World

A big thank you to Cherry Active for using my image for their advert in Triathlete's World this month.

About me!!

"I have been involved in competitive sports all my life. The journey began when I was 6 years old and started to learn how to swim. From this young age I was involved in a whole variety of sports, but it was rugby and swimming that were the prominent two. It was not till I was 14 that I was faced with the cross roads of what sport I would focus on. Rugby was becoming more and more demanding and the time required in the swimming pool was increasing.

Swimming won my attention, and I began to excel very quickly and qualified for a catalogue of events each year at the British Swimming National Championships. The demands of swimming training had a positive effect on my cross country running, which I would do as "fun" at school. The aerobic base I created propelled me to the English Schools Cross Country Finals.

However, the turning point came when I was faced with my A levels. Studying started to become my main focus and inevitably, swimming came in second best. Before I went to university I decided to have a change in direction. I always loved running and really felt the enthusiasm to give athletics a go. For some reason I was drawn towards the 400m, and in my first year qualified for the National Under 23 Championships.

I went on to study Biomedical Sciences at Sheffield University and continued with the athletics

In my final year at Sheffield University a friend suggested that I should give triathlon a go as I have the background with the swimming and the running and cycling will come naturally: the seed was planted!

From that day, I began researching places to train and Loughborough came through as the place for me. I heard back that I was not successful from Medical School, which was a shock and still there was a part of me that wanted that place. I focused on masters course at Loughborough; applied, and was excepted on the Human Sciences Master of Research course. Once on the course, I moved to Loughborough and got involved in triathlon and have not looked back since.

Things have gone from strength to strength and the opportunities that have been presented to me have been life changing. Everyday presents its own unique challenge and the excitement of the prospect of improving is too addictive to miss.

I started triathlon 3 years a go and I have been an Elite Triathlete ever since. I race all round the world with the goal to improve my world ranking and, ultimately, become the best in world. Triathlon has shown me many ups and downs and it has taught me patience, perseverance and determination. At the moment, I am focusing on qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It is a childhood dream to win the elusive gold medal and I am prepared to do all that I can to make it a reality."