WEEK 6
Date: September 4
Pressure mounts as the big day looms large
In just two weeks time the waiting will be over and I will have found out
whether or not all the hard work has paid off.
Inevitably, nervousness is beginning to creep in as the big day
draws ever closer, but this is generally a good sign for me. I have found that, in
order to perform at my very best, to get that little bit extra which could make
the difference, I need pressure.
There will, of course, be pressure at the Games - and lots of it. For now, I am relishing the prospect. That sentiment may well have changed by the time I get into the starting gate and the
electronic countdown "beeps" have begun!
I'm itching to get on with it. The Olympic Games has been a long-
term goal and the focus of all my training for so long that I'm sure it will feel strange when it is all over in a matter of days.
At the
moment we have an abundance of time on our hands, particularly since the
training volume has been greatly reduced. It's a bit of a novelty for us to
have so much spare time, a real contrast to the winter training camps, where
it was a matter of eating, training and sleeping, with little time for
anything else.
In order to stop boredom setting in, or prevent over-analysis of my current form and all things surrounding it, we are all trying to keep our minds active here at the holding camp. Surprisingly,
this can be a difficult thing to do. (In spite of the fact that, as anyone
who knows Craig, Jason or myself would agree, we are easily amused).
We visited a local primary school, to meet a class of five
year-olds. Great fun. The highlight was watching their blank little faces staring back at Martin, our coach, as he described what we all did with words such as "cadence",
"velocity" and "aerodynamics". Nice and simple!
I have been keeping in touch with friends and family back home via e-mail
and I am most grateful for all their kind words of support and
encouragement. Keep the messages and "amusing" attachments coming folks,
it's helping to remind me that there is a world outside the velodrome!
This week marked the first training session in Melbourne at which I've felt that everything has gone really
well. Up until then, things were not quite going as we had hoped.
Times have been slower than we would have expected for an indoor, Olympic-standard
track, but the primary reason for this is the low temperature. Even in
Manchester we can usually rely on a steady 20 degrees at most times of the
year, but it has been closer to 12 degrees here.
Also, the track has only just been built and we are one of the first few
people to have used the facility.
It normally takes a couple of years for a
track to "bed in" and allow the wood to dry out, making it ride faster.
These factors have combined to make the going a bit tough, but we have
managed to persuade the velodrome owners to put the heating on, which has
made a difference. Still, at least we know there is a reason for
under-performing, which has settled our nerves a bit!
Well, that's about it from me. I hope you have enjoyed reading my diary as
much as I did writing it. All I ask of you now is to keep those fingers and toes
crossed for the team on September 17. Here's hoping all goes to plan and that we do justice to all the hard work we've put it.
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Read Chris's diary for WEEK 1 ...
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