I had to have a bit of a chat to myself before I started writing this week. I’ve not had a great week, and I would normally keep those times when I’m not feeling strong and focused to myself. However, I want this to be a very honest and open account of what’s going on, so I guess there’s no point just writing about the good times!
I’ve found it quite a tough week. For whatever reason I’ve felt physically and mentally tired. Each morning I’ve got up thinking “today I’m going to go out and smash it” and I’ve really struggled to find the grit and determination to do it. It’s been frustrating…I think I’ve just got over tired. There’s been so much going on outside of training at the minute, and keeping on top of everything has been a challenge. I know I’ll get my mojo back, but it’s been an emotional week and there’s been a good few tears!
The weather hasn’t helped….it’s bloomin’ cold out on the water at the minute! The winds on Wednesday made life pretty difficult too, and resulted in me going for an involuntary swim after capsizing during training!
Even though I’ve struggled this week, things are still definitely improving. I’m lifting more weight in the gym and I’m feeling strong on the water….I’m just looking forward to what I can do once I’m feeling back to normal!
Earlier in the week I caught up on some information that we’d all been sent through about Rio 2016. It was a little bit surreal looking at the layout of the Olympic village, seeing the times of the opening and closing ceremony and being told the days our races would take place. It made the whole thing very real….and I cried – again!! As a kid I dreamed of representing my country and going to the Olympics, although I always thought it would be on a horse! And here I am, at 41years old, with a real chance of going….in a boat!!! I found it incredibly emotional when that realisation hit. But as my great friend, and 12 times paralympic swimming medallist Marc Woods said when I told him how upset I’d got “Use that emotion Kelda”. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do!
Next week I have every intention of training stronger, harder….and getting faster!