Well our first full day is nearly at an end now, and its been pretty hectic to say the least! After an early breakfast we set off for the track en masse and got there around 9am. The track itself is... well... unfinished. So unfinished, in fact, that it'll take a minor miracle to get everything sorted out by Sunday. Lane 4 currently has a hole in it and the high jump equipment was only being delivered as we got there. The most interesting event promises to be my Triple Jump, where at present i'd have to hop over two motorbikes, step over a wheelbarrow and jump into a pit that, not only isn't ready, but doesn't look like its going to be either....
The training itself was tough in extremely hot conditions. All athletes were weighed on Tuesday night in order to assess the amount of weight lost during each session, and whilst i was fairly impressive with 2kg lost (despite drinking around 2 litres of water DURING the session), Kev Loundes lost a massive 3kg, which equates to roughly half a stone in old money. Forget Atkins Diets et al, if you wanna lose weight fast try doing a training session over here! In total today i've gained and lost the equivalent of almost a stone today, which says a lot about the challenging conditions we're all facing.
A few of us also took the opportunity to try out some of the technological aids brought by the management team in the form of cooling devices. Shaun and I looked pretty fetching in our bright blue cooling vests which, despite making us look like overweight slimy Teletubbies (Shaun more so than myself, might I add) actually did a really good job. I certainly hoe to incorporate one into my pre-comp routine. The Orkney athletes looked relatively impressed by our attire, although given their climate is worse than ours i may have mistook the look of impression with one of "help me, i'm melting!".
I can't begin to describe the heat over here, except to say next time you open the oven door to check on food (men take note here) then take that feeling and imagine living in it 24/7! The fact that i ended up getting shivers this afternoon was mainly due to severe overheating, and having shoved 7 litres (no exaggeration) down me this afternoon i'm beginning to feel a little more human. One of the more disturbing aspects of our trip is the cursed "wee charts" which we use to assess dehydration levels. Any cries of "yes, i've done a number 2" from athletes are no longer met with disgust but rather a pat on the back. This worries me greatly....
The half marathon runnners have now had a chance to look over the course today too and it seems to be fairly flat, which i'm sure will make their lives really easy on Sunday. Gail is feeling pretty good about her form having spoken to her before and there seems to be a quiet sense of optimism throughout the team - without this period of acclimatisation we'd be in serious trouble next week though...
Thats more than enough for today, more drivel to come tomorrow.
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