Getting Ready To Go To Oz, 10th April 2008
In Mark’s first blog entry, he tells us about his final week of training before heading out to Oz…
Wow! What a great weekend. I was all set to compete one last time in the Royal Navy Masters competition before heading out to Australia, but it was looking like the snow was going to stop me in my tracks. Fortunately we made it to the competition and boy was it worth it! I swam five personal bests and won the overall age group title. The day was just what I needed and my confidence is really high.
Training this week is all about fine tuning – long warm-ups, some sprint sessions (so my muscles don’t go to sleep!), practice starts and turns and then a good warm down. All the hard work is done and now I need to get some rest to boost my energy levels ready for three hard days of competition.
I can’t wait to get to Perth. By all accounts the World Masters is an amazing event. I’m excited about meeting fellow swimmers from all over the world and swimming in an enormous Olympic pool. After the competition, we’ve got some time to do the tourist bit; a trip up the Swan River, a visit to a vineyard (apparently the red wines are very good) and a visit to Rottnest Island to see the quokkas (a type of wallaby).
Eating wise, I’m still loving salads for lunch, this week including Glutafin pasta to boost the carbohydrate levels. Had some Glutafin Shortbread (my favourite!) on the way back from the competition on Sunday as a treat. My fellow swimmer Gerry, nearly polished off the whole packet – he doesn’t have coeliac disease but thought they were pretty tasty! Generally, I’m finding managing the coeliac diet a piece of cake (pardon the pun!). Getting my glucose levels right with my diabetic control is more of a challenge, especially with training and work. So far so good though and regular blood sugar monitoring helps.
As for managing my coeliac condition in Oz, from the research I've done on the net, it seems Australia is one of the best places in the world to be a coeliac. Gluten-free products are available in all supermarkets and even in small stores in the outback. It looks like eating out, unlike in the UK, should be ok too, with some restaurants even offering gluten-free menus. I'll report back when I'm out there. In any case, Glutafin’s sending me out with boxes of my favourite crackers and biscuits (especially that shortbread!) so I won’t go hungry!
All in all, I’m really looking forward to the trip. Physically I’m in the best shape I've ever been – and I include my teenage years in that! Mentally, I’m feeling on top of the world thanks to great swims last weekend. I'll report next from Perth on how I’m preparing for my races, which start on 19th April.
Read Mark’s next blog on 18th April.