A special person

A really special special athlete that will do whatever it takes to make it to the Olympic Games in London. An example of how financial diffcultly can put on a massive strain on your dream and how, regardless of what kind of adversity there is, there is still a belief that it can happen!

Claire Kelly, Australia Beach Women's Volleyball Team. Trying to travel the world to get enough ranking points to make the Olympic Games... sounds a very similar predicament!

http://losthatsportsblog.com/2011/06/claire-kellys-unique-plan-to-make-it-to-the-london-olympic-games/

Enjoy!!

Work and my first triathlon (sort of!!)

I am two days away from what feels like my first triathlon. I feel I have done the full circle: starting brand new to the sport 3 years ago; becoming obsessive with training and pushing myself to the point where I was severely over trained and believing the notion " the more I do, the better I will be;" to competing in every race possible to fulfil a childhood dream of competing against the best athletes in the world, while getting myself into massive amount of debt; then finally ending up where I started again: fresh, full of energy and incredibly motivated to be the best triathlete I can possibly be. However, the start of this circular journey is not the same as how it started, so many things have happened in my life in such a small amount of time, but patience and timing have been the key to starting fresh again. I feel so excited about competing in the elite wave in London on sunday morning and racing against some very good athletes. I am in very good shape at the moment and although I have not raced since April, my belief in my ability is just as strong as it always has been.

This whirlwind season has provided me with the opportunity to work on many different aspects of myself that I would not have been able to work on if I had not been through these experiences. The importance of listening to my body when it is in pain, tired and run down is paramount to consistent training and progression in the sport. This skill has been particularly important in getting the balance right between work and racing. I have had to eat some humble pie and realise I can not go on living on a few quid a day, scrapping by on a dream that at times seems impossible. Without any financial support, it very hard to be a professional athlete. I want to be a professional athlete, travel the world collecting ranking points and race the best guys out there, but for this to happen I have to be patient and keep motivated.

I am currently working as a barman in a 4 star hotel on the Loughborough University Campus. It is a really good job and very chilled. Most bar jobs can be stressful, but with this it is quite the opposite. I work approximately 20 hours a week and try and do another 20 hours of training on top of this. To make it through a week successfully I have to listen to how I am feeling, know when to push myself in training and know when to back off. Quietening my mind is essential to keep my energies up. I have constant debates with myself, for example, "I should be out on my bike," "I should be doing those track reps" etc, but I keep telling myself that this is the situation I am in and above all, I must flow with it.

I am very confident that turning professional is only a matter of time for me, but at the moment I will just have to ride the wave. With London Triathlon this weekend and, thanks to a very good friend of mine, I have the opportunity to race London Hyde Park on the Olympic Course the following weekend. Who knows what magic might happen....!!!

Back on Track

It has been quite a while since I lasted posted on my blog site. A lot of things have happened over the past few months that have been life changing. I believe it has made me into a much stronger person and it can only help improve me as an athlete. During this period, I have been focusing on my running. I have always wanted to concentrate on this discipline, but in the past other external forces have been present and I have not stuck at it. However, things have changed and I am loving the "miles" in the running. Running has provided me with the feeling of freedom and excitement that I lost and I feel, for the first time, I am finally turning into a very good runner.

I have been inspired by a lot of people, most notably, the runner legend Emil Zatopek. He was a Czech athlete that achieved the impossible goal of winning gold in the 5km, 10km and the marathon at the Helsinki Olympic Games. Zatopek was the first athlete to highlight the benefits of interval running and proved his doubters wrong by breaking the 10000m world record 3 times and becoming the first athlete to run a sub 29mins. Also, I have been reading "Born to Run." This is a story about the Tarahumara who are regarded as the greatest undiscovered endurance athletes that have every lived. The book focuses on how these men and women have developed a perpetual talent for endurance running and how their love for running is their ultimate characteristic.

The reading I have done has led to me to notice one important trait that every successful athlete appears to have: Their resounding love and passion for what they do. Nothing is an effort, but pure enjoyment; there are no complaints, just constant laughter. It appears the recipe for success is as simple as the cliché line of "just simple enjoyment" for what they do. Anyway, for the first time in my life this is how I feel towards my training. I have always believed that I have had this feeling, but now I really feel that it is part of me. I feel lighter, things feel effortless, and I am not dictated by times and amounts of reps I have to do; just on how my body is feeling. I used to get really agitated when I pushed myself in training, albeit in all 3 disciplines, and mentally I struggled. But now that feeling of taming the "beast" known as exhaustion is some what exhilarating. Pushing, pushing and feeling the improvements happening is incredibly addictive. Obviously, there comes a point where enough is enough, but when I am in that moment it is truly magical.

With this new found love, I have started to get my motivation back and started racing again. I was invited to join Leicester Roadhogs Running Club after my performance at the Glooston 10km where I was 3rd. This 10km was savage with 2 laps, which included twice up a hill that was about 500m and very steep. This performance got me a start at the Hungarton 7mile mid week race. This race is notoriously known as Leicestershire hilliest road race, so was in for a treat when the race started. The first 3 and a half miles was up hill, constant climbing with out much respite for the legs. Once the first half of the race was completed, the second phase was more undulating so could get into my running better. I was around 6th at halfway, but felt strong. I opened up my stride and dug deep and finished a very respectable 4th. I felt amazing when I ran and loved every minute of it, even the laboured first 3 miles! Next stop was the British 10km in London. I was expecting a very fast race, but it turned into more of a tactical affair. A beautiful race round London encompassing all the attractions London has to offer, from running over Tower Bridge to sprinting past Downing Street. I came a creditable 13th in a very strong field and felt strong all the way to the Line.

The next stop now is speed work. I am very strong at the moment, but need to activate my fast twitch to push myself on to the next level. Time will be spent hurting myself on the track and preparing my body run at speeds that it is not used to. I am doing the London Triathlon at the end of July and I see it as my come back race... Cant wait