With just 4 weeks to go until my race at the Olympics, I am into the final week of my altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada in Spain. Training is going well and everything is on track.
I made a brief visit home last weekend to compete in the National Senior Championships in Dublin, where I won my first ever national senior track title over 10km. I only confirmed my participation late in the week as I was in the middle of a very big block of training and I wanted to make sure my training was under control and would not be compromised. Any extra fatigue or doubt and I would have stayed in Spain. One I decided to go home and compete, my plan was just a steady effort to hold 4.10 per km over 10km. I flew in Saturday evening and back out Monday afternoon. I also wanted to go through the feel of race day and get technical feedback. Basically it was a 10km tempo effort at my 20km race pace. My heart rates were slightly lower than what I would race at over 20k. I felt good physiologically, but technically a little ropey which is understandable considering I was far from fresh. You can watch the video here from Flotrack Ireland
I had the whole race videoed by my S&C coach John Cleary and looked at it afterwards using Dartfish software. I had felt blocked around my right hip area and that came across on the video. When treated by AAI physio Emma Gallivan after the race, she also noticed my right hip joint capsule was restricted and my right SI joint blocked, which she worked on to mobilise. With Emma and John, we revised a few exercises in my Prehab program to ensure I’m hitting the weak areas. It is best discover these problems now 5 weeks out from the Olympics and take corrective action rather than later.
On Monday morning I had a blood test in the Mater Hospital just to make sure everything was in order particularly my iron status while at altitude. After that I headed out for a 25km session in the Phoenix Park where the weather was horrible and I got soaked right through. I then had lunch and spent a few hours with Clare before flying back to Spain for the final 10 days of my altitude training camp.
Here in Spain I’ve been able to link up with Rob, Brendan, Laura and Olive who are training at a lower altitude in Guadix with Liam O’Reilly there to help. Liam has been out there for 4 weeks providing technical support, drinks for key sessions and massage. I would drive the 60 min journey down to Guadix three times a week for one or two key endurance sessions and one technique session. It’s just about the right balance between living at higher altitude which suits me and having company and support for training.
Also up here in the Sierra Nevada were the Triathlon Ireland elite squad including Aileen Morrison, Conor Murphy, Niamh O’Sullivan and Noel Collins along with their coach Chris Jones and their support team. Cyclists Caroline Ryan and David McCann are also here. It was good to have other Irish athletes out here for company and their support team including their physio and physiologist have been helpful to me also. When you look at how a multi endurance-sport training camp like that can be organised and supported and a few sports like athletics, triathlon, cycling and swimming can all benefit from shared personnel and resources; it makes it more cost effective. It doesn’t take a genius to organise a supported camp like this. Just somebody who can lead, plan and communicate.
It is unfortunate in Olympic year that High Performance training camps previously organised and supported by Athletics Ireland, which included a spring altitude training camp as well as a warm weather training camp, were this year scrapped and not replaced with any other support because they were claimed not to be ‘functional’. Camps like these could not be more functional, where athletes are in a squad environment and have access to physio/massage support, coaching and technical support and much more on a daily basis. Last year at the last altitude training camp with High Performance support where we were in South Africa, Laura Reynolds and Brendan Boyce were brought on board for the first time to train with myself, Rob, Jamie and Olive. Within 12 months they both have Olympic A standards and are going to the Olympics. So convince me that camps like these are not functional? Rant over for now!
I’m back from Spain next week where I will spend 12 days in the Altitude House in Limerick before heading across to London on July 30th. The clock is ticking down.
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