What it feels like to be back in training...

Training in Seville seems like it was months ago, it's actually been 10 days.  Lots seems to have happened, in reality there hasn't been a huge amount going on.

I'm keeping this short as I'm really quite tired at the moment, my blood tests have shown I've been working on the edge a bit to much, but should be all ok.  My day at the moment is constant muscle fatigue, tightness and struggling to keep my eyes open. Two pieces of good news though - 1) My Granny won £75 on the bingo at the Irish Centre in Leeds on Sunday night - all ended up behind the bar no doubt. 2) My brother Ben has been selected to be a stakeboat boy at the Olympics.  In one of my May posts I explained what a stakeboat boy actually is!

"Some rowing trivia for you - when you line up on the start line you can be easily blown by the wind as you try and hold your position.  Two things help you stay in a straight line and make sure that you all start exactly on the line. 1) The stakeboat boy/girl - my brother Ben is hoping to be one at the Olympics and basically consists of hold the end of the boat while lying on your front on a pontoon. 2) Electronic "Clog" system - "Clogs" (they look like a lunch box) are raised from under the water, when you are held by the stakeboat boy/girl.  Its a small perspex box where you position your boat so that if the wind blows across the boat won't move.  The starting system is all electronic, so when the buzzer and lights go, the clog drops (fast) and releases all six eights like greyhounds at a dog track.  If you click on the link to the footage above, you can see a small splash of water at the front of the boat when the buzzer goes, that's the clog retracting back to its watery grave."

Ben will be experiencing the tension, nerves, excitement and aggression of the Olympic start line several times a day.  He's really pleased to have been selected and, if I'm lucky enough to be on the team, it would be amazing to have him there on the start line.
Right, I'm off to bed.  I've got some more training to do.  Night.