I am writing from Stellenbosch, South Africa. We arrived here last week and have another 2 weeks to go. Training has been going very well so far. The main reason that we came out here is to work in weather that is conducive to decent training. At home it is very difficult to train to a high standard due to the wet and cold conditions and the lack of any indoor facilities whatsoever. As a sprinter, especially, it is hard to get good speed and speed endurance sessions done. So we decided to come to South Africa for 3 weeks as it is summer out here and it is a really great place to train.
Last Tuesday myself, Stuart, Nick Smith and Paul McKee came out, while Brian Doyle joined us on Friday night. So far I have done all my track sessions with Paul McKee. On the first day we just did an easy recovery session to get over the journey while the next day we did a weights session followed by easy strides. By Friday we were well recovered so myself and Paul were able to do a quality speed endurance session. It was good to be able to train without having about ten layers on and the track frozen over!
We have kept our normal schedule out here of one main session a day so it is track followed by weights followed by track and so on. Our second track session of the week was a tough high quality strength endurance session. Paul was a big help to me and dragged me around to some good 300s. We rounded off the week with another speed endurance session yesterday which also went pretty well. I think myself and Paul are a good help to each other with each of us having our strengths and weaknesses.
Stellenbosch is a very popular destination with European athletes with the Swedish, Belgian and Dutch national teams all here at the moment. It is great to get to train with so many of the best European athletes also on the track at the same time. I can really see why they come here and I am already thinking of when I can come back again next year! Firstly the weather is very dependable as it is summer over here The temperature normally rests in the high 20s and it has been really good so far except the last couple of days, which have been quite cloudy and more chilly (probably only 20 degrees!). Secondly, Stellenbosch University has some great facilities with an excellent track and a decent gym. It also has good support structures like physios, masseurs and recovery baths all on-site. Stellenbosch is also easy to get to as it is only a half hour drive from Cape Town, which is easily accessible from Europe.
Finally, a big reason to come here for training is that it is just a really nice part of the world. Stellenbosch itself is a nice relaxing town with a really good vibe about it. There is plenty to do with plenty of little cafes and restaurants in which you can pass the time quite easily and watch the world go by. We are in the famous Winelands region of South Africa which is very picturesque with loads of wine estates dotted around the countryside.
Today was our first of two rest days during our trip so we went into Cape Town for a look. We had a quick look around the Waterfront area which is a pretty cool part of town with plenty of street-performers and a nice atmosphere. The main plan was to go to the top of Table Mountain on the cable cars but when we drove up it was too cloudy to see anything so we will leave that for another day. However, we still managed to get a great view from where the cable cars depart. We took a short drive and ended up in a lovely seaside town just outside Cape Town called Camp’s Bay where we had lunch. We’re now back in our apartment in Stellenbosch where I am writing this diary.
Tomorrow it is back to the weights room for another solid week of training. Generally out here Stuart has upped the pace of my training. I have put in a lot of hard training weeks over the last few months so now it is time to get in touch with a little bit of speed. It’s still going to be very tough as our speed endurance sessions can be really intensive but it is nice to be let loose just a little bit!
At home it is very difficult to train to a high standard due to the wet and cold conditions and the lack of any indoor facilities whatsoever. As a sprinter, especially, it is hard to get good speed and speed endurance sessions done. So we decided to come to South Africa for 3 weeks as it is summer out here and it is a really great place to train.
Last Tuesday myself, Stuart, Nick Smith and Paul McKee came out, while Brian Doyle joined us on Friday night. So far I have done all my track sessions with Paul McKee. On the first day we just did an easy recovery session to get over the journey while the next day we did a weights session followed by easy strides. By Friday we were well recovered so myself and Paul were able to do a quality speed endurance session. It was good to be able to train without having about ten layers on and the track frozen over!
We have kept our normal schedule out here of one main session a day so it is track followed by weights followed by track and so on. Our second track session of the week was a tough high quality strength endurance session. Paul was a big help to me and dragged me around to some good 300s. We rounded off the week with another speed endurance session yesterday which also went pretty well. I think myself and Paul are a good help to each other with each of us having our strengths and weaknesses.
Stellenbosch is a very popular destination with European athletes with the Swedish, Belgian and Dutch national teams all here at the moment. It is great to get to train with so many of the best European athletes also on the track at the same time. I can really see why they come here and I am already thinking of when I can come back again next year! Firstly the weather is very dependable as it is summer over here The temperature normally rests in the high 20s and it has been really good so far except the last couple of days, which have been quite cloudy and more chilly (probably only 20 degrees!). Secondly, Stellenbosch University has some great facilities with an excellent track and a decent gym. It also has good support structures like physios, masseurs and recovery baths all on-site. Stellenbosch is also easy to get to as it is only a half hour drive from Cape Town, which is easily accessible from Europe.
Finally, a big reason to come here for training is that it is just a really nice part of the world. Stellenbosch itself is a nice relaxing town with a really good vibe about it. There is plenty to do with plenty of little cafes and restaurants in which you can pass the time quite easily and watch the world go by. We are in the famous Winelands region of South Africa which is very picturesque with loads of wine estates dotted around the countryside.
Today was our first of two rest days during our trip so we went into Cape Town for a look. We had a quick look around the Waterfront area which is a pretty cool part of town with plenty of street-performers and a nice atmosphere. The main plan was to go to the top of Table Mountain on the cable cars but when we drove up it was too cloudy to see anything so we will leave that for another day. However, we still managed to get a great view from where the cable cars depart. We took a short drive and ended up in a lovely seaside town just outside Cape Town called Camp’s Bay where we had lunch. We’re now back in our apartment in Stellenbosch where I am writing this diary.
Tomorrow it is back to the weights room for another solid week of training. Generally out here Stuart has upped the pace of my training. I have put in a lot of hard training weeks over the last few months so now it is time to get in touch with a little bit of speed. It’s still going to be very tough as our speed endurance sessions can be really intensive but it is nice to be let loose just a little bit!
