Hot on the heels of our news update earlier in the week, Michael Jamieson has sent his own account of how things are going in his final weeks of preparations for the Olympics...
The summer competition schedule is well under way! I’m in Canet, France currently (meant to be) competing in the second leg of the Mare Nostrum circuit. This racing series comprises of three legs; Barcelona, Canet & Monaco. There are worse venues I know, and that is probably why this is one of the few occasions in the season, out with the major competition of the year, that there is a very international field present.
I had a great meet in Barcelona, finishing 1st in the 200m Breaststroke and 2nd in the 100m Breaststroke, both ‘in-season’ personal bests. ‘In-season’ or ‘unrested’ is a term swimmers use to categorise racing in heavy training volume. This is a good indication of whether a personal best time is just around the corner, and for me, a confidence boost going into the final weeks of preparation.
I was excited to continue the momentum gained from Barcelona into the meet in Canet but unfortunately have been hit by an illness bug causing me to withdraw from my events. It’s frustrating as I’m in good form and would have been looking to win or podium in my events again, whilst posting a couple more in-season personal bests! There is always a risk of illness in an environment with so many athletes eating together, sleeping in the same hotels etc and myself, along with a few members of the South African and Norwegian team, have fallen foul of this. I haven’t had so much as a cold in the last couple of years so I can’t really have any complaints!
The next few weeks see us travel to Mallorca for a short training camp before the National Championships mid-June, acting as the second Olympic trials. There are five of us travelling to Mallorca, two of which will be tapering for the second trials as they still have an opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games.
I have some exciting dates in the coming few weeks – training in the sun in Mallorca and the official kit day in Loughborough at the end of June where we will be measured up for the official Team GB kit for the Games and given some freebies from the official sponsors and partners of the Games!
The kit day will also mark the last week of the intense training volume, after which, the preparation is done and the window to have any training improvements and adaptations, will be closed. From then on, the goal will be to rest and the focus switches from the daily physical challenges of training to the psychological aspects of keeping perspective, having high levels of confidence and putting faith in the work that has gone before :)
A fantastic Guest Post, thank you Michael. It's great to have terms like 'in-season' personal bests explained so clearly and to hear of your encouraging performances at Barcelona. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, so you can get the best from the sunshine in Mallorca and your final weeks of intense training.
Next month the Games will finally be here!
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