21/02/10
7/02/10 "Eat before you are hungry.
30/1/10
8/01/10
03/01/10
20/12/09
15/12/09
01/12/09 2009 saw a two week end of season break, two weeks of no training what so ever! This was a lot different to the end of 2008, where I had 12 weeks of zero training. I’ve described the reasons why I had this 12 weeks off many a time. To sum it up, it was a rest my body needed for the future. When I started back training again this year, I kept making comparisons to when I started back training at the end of 2008. I’ll always remember my first run back after 12 weeks…I was out of breath after 5 minutes, I felt like an elephant and I thought the world was over! I can’t describe how happy I felt to put my run shoes on after 2 weeks off this year and actually feel pretty good! I felt a little rusty and my muscles needed some reminding of what it felt like to run, but apart from that, I was able to crack on and run for a pretty decent 40 minutes! About half way through my run, as I powered up a hill in the Outwoods, I thought to myself ‘I really do love what I do!’. When you'r thinking that, you know you’ve had enough time off and it’s time to crack on again with training and preparing for next year’s season. I’m waffling on about running… not forgetting the two other major parts of my life…biking and swimming hasn’t felt too bad either since I’ve started back training. I always find that swimming feels strange, even after a few days off, as it’s so technical. Your body position feels strange when you first dive in after a while off, and it takes a while to find your stroke and rhythm again. I’ve been back training for two weeks now and my swimming is starting to fall back into place again. As for biking, I’m enjoying being back on the saddle again! For my first couple of rides back I went on the rollers. My coach, Ben, believes it’s good for technique. So starting back on the rollers seemed a pretty logical thing to do in order to help remind me how to ride properly! I hadn’t been on my bike for four weeks, this is because I backed off the biking in the lead up to The Great South Run. Besides getting back into training, I’ve been keeping myself busy! I’ve had a major group project for University that’s been going on. We had to design a reservation database for a hotel. Microsoft Access is all new to me, so although a challenge, I found it really interesting to learn all about a new programme and what it can do. A couple of weeks ago now, I headed back to Northampton for the Northants Sports Awards. It was a lovely evening and I was honoured and surprised to be named ‘ Northants Sports Personality Of The Year’ as well as ‘Northants Sports Woman Of The Year’. Last week I was down in London at the London Transport Museum for an evening with Boardman bikes. It was great to finally meet Chris Boardman, a man with such passion and someone I am really inspired by. It was also really interesting to have an insight into what goes on behind the scenes of Boardman bikes. I’m always keen to know my sponsors well and understand the company, product, philosophies and the hard work that goes in. I’m really excited for the new Boardman women specific range that ‘s due to come out next year! Last week I also headed back to Bugbrooke to visit my family. It was Dad’s birthday, so it was nice to head back to my parents house and spend the evening celebrating with Dad. We had a good laugh, reminiscing of past family holidays and chatting about all out family achievements this year. My brother, George, is taking part in World Challenge with school. He’s heading out to Ecuador in 2010. As we munched down Mum’s homemade honeycomb ice cream (it’s amazing!) George filled me in about all his plans for the trip. He’s been doing lots of fundraising for it. A few months ago I promised I would give £150 towards the trip if he completed a triathlon. At first I didn’t think he’d do it! But along with Dad, he crossed the line at the Roade Triathlon back in September, proving me wrong! ….So it’s just Mum now who needs to experience the swim, bike, run combo!! I’m on the case! Hope everyone has enough winter layers! Hollie
06/11/09
11/10/09 So I've just finished my second week of my second year at University. Back to the books and back to Business - my mind is slowly getting back to thinking like a Business student again. Not studying from June till the end of September is a long time away from the books, lectures and coursework. The weekend before I started back at Loughborough Uni I headed over to France to race the last French Grand Prix of the year. Before the last race, my French team, Beauvais, were sitting in first place in the Women's league table. We were ranked first pretty comfortably after a very successful year on the Grand prix circuit. However, we still wanted to put our best team out and try and win the final stage. Vicky Holland, Andrea Hewitt, Anja Ditmer, Delphine P-Y Billot and myself made up the team. La Baule, where the final was held, reminded me a lot of Les Sables d'Olonne, where I raced my first ever FGP. I laughed about how nervous I was and how disastrous my swim start was there! I ran into the water and fell flat on my face! Ben still doesn’t let me live this down! Our race wasn't until the afternoon in La Baule so we had the morning to have a leisurely French breakfast and another quick gander around the race course! Nutella and baguette is always a must on a French Grand Prix race day! My swim start was much better than my FGP debut back in June 2007! I got off well and found myself in the front group We managed to form a medium size group on the bike and stay away from the chase packs. Some girls worked well, however, some teams and girls didn't feel like taking their turn - standard behaviour!! Looking back I think I was a bit too generous to my pack and maybe did too much work on the front. However, before the race Ben and I discussed how I should use the race as a hard hit out and not be scared of taking risks. Maybe doing too much work was a risk, but I took it and maybe it was that risk taking that helped us to stay away from the chase groups. I had a good second transition, a rare thing for me, and I was one of the first out. I decided to push the pace from the off. Again, a risky move, especially into a head wind but I gave it my best shot and put myself on the line. I blew up a little bit on the second lap of the 2.5km, but I carried digging in hard and held myself in 5th place till the finish line. I wasn't over the moon with my result, but I gave it my all! On a more positive note - my team won! We got 1st, 3rd, 5th and 11th in the individual placings! One week back at Uni and then I was boarding another plane to France. This time I headed to the south to Gruissan. I flew out to race in the French Cup, a team time trial. The format is that you race the whole of the sprint distance with your team - with three people from the team having to cross the line together at the end. Again, Beauvais put forward a strong team and again it was a hard race. But the effort was worth it - Beauvais won again!! It was Andrea, Anja and myself who put in a solid 5km to cross the line together. My second week of lectures flew by! It was Friday before I knew it! Last night (Friday) I headed back to my home town, Northampton, to attend the annual Travis Perkins Midland Charity Ball. I had a fantastic evening with a fantastic sponsor of mine. Ian Church, the Midland Director, took a chance by sponsoring me three years ago when I came to him and asked for support from Travis Perkins. Till this day, Ian and the company have stuck by me, becoming one of my premier sponsors. I’m very proud to be linked to the company and I like how my relationship with Ian began and how it has grown. I hope to stay associated with Travis Perkins for many years to come. Today I’m heading to London to spend time with another one of my loyal sponsors! This time I’m heading to The Cycle Show to hang out with Garmin. Garmin took me on board this year and they’re been a really run company to work with. Down to earth, cool and very supportive. I think I’m also due to appear on stage with Nicole Cook at some point too! Exciting stuff! So what’s my plans for the next few weeks! I’m hanging up the bike and swimming costume but racking up the run mileage in preparation for The Great South Run. Well, I told a bit of a lie there…I’m still swimming a bit and doing the odd ride! You can’t keep me out of the pool or off my Boardman! But the main focus for the next couple of weeks is running. The Great South Run is on the 25th October, it’s 10miles, so bit of a different distance to what I’m use to! I’m really excited for the race though, I’m also really enjoying the run focus training. I’ve been doing a bit of training with the runners here at Loughborough. It’s hard work, but I love it! It’s nice to run with some different people. As soon as I cross that line on the 25th October my end of season break begins! A bit later then most other athletes but Ben and I decided to stretch my season out just that little bit longer. Mainly because I started back training quite late last year. My diary is already bursting with things to do in my three weeks off. Trust me, if there’s someone who knows how to maximize their time off – it’s me! Hollie
17/09/09 This summer has been a real roller-coaster, an ultra scary one at that! A few highs but unfortunately many lows. However, since I raced the Paris French Grand Prix the Avil roller-coaster' has just kept climbing up and up. We arrived to the race hotel on the Gold Coast the Wednesday before the race. Training had gone really well in the pre-camp and I'd been having lots of fun too with my roomie Miss.Holland! Vicky is one of my best friends in and out of triathlon, and although from an outsider’s perspective we may seem pretty insane, we do a good job at keeping each other sane!! Approaching the race, I was feeling relaxed, confident (but not overly confident), calm, excited and ready to go break some pain barriers! When I spoke to Ben the day before the race, he asked how I was feeling. I said I felt like I had a job to go and do and I was really ready to go do it! That's how I like to approach each of my races. Ben and I always break down the race into mini tasks. The plan for U23s was to get in the front swim group, put the hammer down on the bike straight away, bike hard for the whole race and then get off and run my heart out! Within that there's also the mini tasks of getting a good start, good transitions, holding good run form, the job list is endless! But that's what works for me and in some strange way it helps me keep my cool. So race day... Vicky and I woke up and the sun was shining down on the Gold Coast. I did my standard race day morning trot and my legs were feeling great! Whilst running I also saw two magpies...not that I'm suppositious or anything! I munched down race brekkie of porridge, honey and banana, did my number tattoos, packed up my last few race day bits and headed off down to the race venue with the U23 girls team. Bang! ...The gun goes and I nailed my beach run in start that I'd practiced and practiced the day before! The swim pace was on - it wasn't until after the race that Vicky told me it was in fact her leading the swim! I thanked her for the hard 1500m! But it was worth it - we gapped on quite a few girls! It was a non-wetsuit swim, which always suits the stronger swimmers. As discussed in the plan, I put the hammer down on the bike in the first lap. Vicky and Jodie both had similar plans to me - we'd discussed before the race that if we were all there we'd work together to push the bike on. Three other athletes from different countries came with us and we formed a group of six. We worked really well as a group. Constantly rolling through and taking equal turns. The time gap from the chase group was growing each lap....30 seconds...50 seconds...1 minute...2 minutes....2 minutes 30! It reminded me of Madrid in 2008 when Fernandes, Ryf, Helen and I broke away on the bike and came off with a two minute and 45 second lead. We started the run sensibly. There were all three of us Brits and Paula Findley, a Canadian. We ran in a close line for two and a half laps. The pace felt comfy and I knew I just needed to keep my cool and stick with the pace. I've never really run in such a tight pack before, it was great race experience. The three of us Brits looked after one an other, handing each other water as we passed the water stations, we'd be careful not to tread on each others heals and we encouraged each other on. It was half way through the third lap where Jodie put in a surge. I knew I had to go with it and didn't hesitate to jump with her. We kept the pace on as we headed into the 4th lap. I was feeling good, ticking over nicely. Yes, it hurt, but it's an awesome feeling when you're running fast and it's hurting like hell! I don't really know how I dropped Jodie...I didn't put in a surge or attack, I just kept ticking over at the pace we'd both surged away at. As I ran the last half of the final lap I just kept telling myself 'It's never over until the finishing line, it's never over until the finish line'. I'd dropped Jodie, but who was to say she wasn't planning to pick it up again and come back at me! It wasn't until the last 50m where I ran to the crowd to grab a GB flag that I knew I'd be crossing the line as the new World U23 Champion! I cannot describe the feeling as I broke that banner - I'd done it!, I'd done my job!, I was World Champ! I think what made my result special was the fact that before I'd arrived in Aus, the past few weeks had not gone like clock work and were far from peachy perfect. I'd gone through some tough mental and physical times, having to take some real down time in training to let my body recover from we not think was a bit of chronic fatigue. Although it was tough only training one or two hours a day, I trusted Ben and believed that we were doing the right thing. If anyone knows how I work, it's Ben. And patience lead to perfect peaking. Ben could not have got me to that start line in Australia in any better shape. I was fine tuned and good to go. Patience really is a virtue and I will always remember that. I'm a person who always soaks up every ounce of experience, learning from everything I can. This summer, both Ben and I have learnt so much more about me and how I work. We now know things that we shouldn't do again, yet we also know things we should definitely repeat! After the race a few people went to me 'So what are you going to reward yourself with? Ice cream, chocolate, cake?' I don't think they were expecting me to tell them that I actually had a big slice a cake the night before my race!! Food is never a reward for me - I always munch down what I want! I had my line up...shopping, sun bathing, shopping, a lie in, a little bit of partying, shopping! Actually, come to think of it, I was shopping before the race too - I just had to get Ugg boots! It was just nice to let my hair down! Also, Miss Holland and I didn't have to put a curfew on our night time nattering! I was done racing but there was a still a few races to go for Team GB! It was great to go and cheer everyone else on over the weekend! We did so well - 5 medals! It's the most medals we've ever won at a World Champs and before me and Jodie ran ourselves onto the podium, we'd never won a Women's U23 World Champs medal before. I had such an amazing time on the Gold Coast! I can't really put it into words how much fun I had - no words could do it any justice! Thank you to everyone involved with the British Triathlon World Champs Team - without you guys, none of us would have got to that start line! So next up for me... I have just over a week at home before I go board another plane! On Friday 25th I'm off to La Baule to race in the final French Grand Prix! My team, Beauvais, is currently at the top of the Women's rankings, so the final is going to be pretty exciting! Blimey – I’ve written you quite an essay there! You can tell it’s time for me to go back to uni, I’m itching to get stuck back in my Business Studies. Apologies for any spelling and grammar errors…but who cares when you’re U23 World Champ! ;-) Thanks for rooting for me! Hollie
08/09/09
31/08/09
18/08/09
11/08/09
20/07/09 My time in St.Moritz has flown by! I've had a pretty amazing time out here. Not only have I got a solid block of training under my belt, but I've had the time to do a bit of exploring and have a had a few adventures along the way. From BBQ-ing in the forest to catching the cable to 3300m, from day tripping to Italy, to tasting the delicious St.Moritz cuisine. It's been fantastic! I'm heading to London this weekend to compete in The London Triathlon. I'll be putting on my Junior hat for one last time and will race in the Junior race! Ben wanted me to have a shorter hit out after a hard block at altitude, so we decided that I'd be better off doing a sprint distance rather than an Olympic. After this year I'm no longer a Junior - so it's nice to do one last Junior race! Last time I raced as a Junior was at the Junior World Champs in Hamburg 2007! That seems like such a long time ago now... So I'm excited to head to London for the weekend. I love the whole set up at The London Triathlon and am looking forward to getting involved with it all! See you in London! Hollie
20/07/09
Tim and I arrived at the track the other morning and thought we wouldn't be able to do our track session! It looked like a track competition was on due to the number of people on the track...but we were wrong..it was just handfuls upon handfuls of athletes training away! Here in St.Moritz there are athletes from all over the world! And all different types of athletes too, race walkers, marathon runners, jumpers and sprinters. We've also seen a number of pro-cyclysits, along with their teams, whilst we're out riding in the mountains! It must be the place to be if so many athletes come here to train! What's special about St.Moritz is that it's one of the only places where you can train on the flat and still be up at altitude. Most other well know training places at altitude are surrounded by hills and you will struggle to find decent flat. But St.Moritz is also great because it's surrounded by hundreds of hills too - we get the best of both worlds! Last Monday my friends and I went on an adventure for the day. We started our morning with a two-hour trek, which included a walk on a glacier! It was breath taking! We then drove over the border to Italy. We stopped for lunch and had a shop around, finishing with some gorgeous ice cream before heading back to camp! On Tuesday we were invited to dinner at one of Alistair’s friends - he knows quite a few runners out here! Also there was some of the Italian Mountain Running team. It was great to meet some new people and learn about their different types of training! The weather here is so changeable.. in two days I went from running around the track in crop-top and shorts to running in the snow with three layers on! I suppose it prepares us for all conditions! The snow left us with some beautiful views too. Training has been going well. The place where I feel the altitude the most is in the pool. As soon as you push off the wall after a tumble turn, you can't wait to take your first breath! There's no 'no breathing in the red zones of the pool' at altitude! My old swim coach would go crazy if he saw me swimming up here!!! I quite like to forget I am at altitude though and just try and train as l normally would. I think if you are constantly reminding yourself that you're at altitude, you'll expect things to be harder and you'll start to think you're more tired then usual! It's best to bumble along as normal! I'm sleeping like a baby up here though - which is great! I have a hard week this week and I'm looking forward to it! We're pushing on to take a few more steps up the ladder! It's just under five weeks until the World Championship Series in Hyde Park. I think the event and the build up to it will be fantastic. Marie Curie Cancer Care is the charity running alongside the age group event and I'm excited to get involved with them in the lead up. Marie Curie is an important charity for me to get involved with and support after all the help they gave my Nan and Granddad as my Granddad was suffering with cancer. The work they did was so invaluable to the whole family and I will support the charity in whatever way I can to show my thanks and appreciation. I hope the well know charity attracts more people to give a triathlon a go too! I can't stress how fun a triathlon race is. It's not only fun on race day but the training leading up to the event is enjoyable too. With triathlon, each day you train brings something different. You can mix up the three individual sports and do a different two every day. If you struggle for time, you can still get by if you can only swim, bike or run once. I always encourage those people who work that training for triathlon around a full time job is doable. I managed to train for triathlon and qualify for the Beijing Olympics around being at school from 9am - 3.30pm, therefore I can empathize with people who have to work but want to and need to train. You can also train on your way to work - if you are able to run there or bike there... it all counts as training! Most gyms are open early too, and if they have a pool, the best thing to do is to get up early and go for a swim before your day begins. Hope all is well down at sea level! Hollie
14/07/09
6/7/09
17/6/09 Well this is an exciting blog..it's my first one wrote from my hew house! I'm sitting on the floor, surrounded by cardboard boxes, munching away at my bowl of porridge. The house is furniture-less at the moment, the first few bits start arriving today - hence why I am here, I have to wait in for the morning! After years of hard work, that has enabled me to purchase my house, and many stressful weeks of sorting out the purchase, it's finally nice to have the keys and begin moving in! I owe a big thank you to my parents who helped me out so much with finalizing the purchase, I also want to thank Lane Financial Services. a business ran by a close family friend, who have helped me all along the way too. I am so excited to have my own place and to start making my mark on it! The property is in Loughborough, in a fantastic location, very close to the university. I look to set myself up here for a number of years so buying a house here seemed like a pretty good plan! Training has been going really well. Once I got back from Madrid I got stuck right into it! I raced a 5km on the track last Saturday night and ran a p.b of 16.25. What's quite exciting is that I ran a 17.43 in March, a 16.53 in April and have now dropped it again by another 30 seconds, things are definitely moving in the right direction. What's also pretty exciting is that I ran the Junior European Athletics qualifying time, the time was 16.40 - so I was 15 seconds inside it! I love being competitive in the running world too, but you need to be if you want to compete at the top in triathlon! My first year of University is now complete - subject to me passing all my exams!! I had my last exam on Monday. I can't believe how quick my first year has gone, time has really flown by! I was packing up some bits from my room in halls and can clearly picture the day I moved in. My parents dropping me off, Dad setting up all my electronics, Mum making up my bed! So much has happened since then! I was out and about somewhere yesterday when I saw a poster saying 'life is like an ice cream - enjoy it before it melts', I couldn't agree with that more. Looking back at how quick time flies by, we can't afford to waste time and we can't afford to not to be happy. I can look back at my first year of uni and say I really did enjoy it and made the most out of it! I've made so many great new friends, developed a new found passion for Business studies and have set my self up in one of the best places in the world to train. I can't wait for many more years in Loughborough in my new home! The next few weeks I will be in Loughborough preparing for the Senior European Championship - I'm really excited to head out to Holland to race! It will be nice not having any Uni work too! Hollie
1/6/09 I cannot put into the words how I felt when I had to stop during my race in Madrid. I think it's the words 'had to' that hit me hard. When something uncontrollable stops you doing what you love most - racing. So here's what happened... I didn't have the best of swims, I don't know why..but it's something that my coach, Ben, and I will closely review. It needs to be worked on. It's not good enough to come out near last and we won't except that anymore. Out onto the bike, I felt strong. I rode the first lap solid, as planned, and caught up a number of people. I was feeling good and knew if I dedicated myself and dug in for a few laps of hard riding, I could get up to that lead group. Things were going well, until up the hill on the second lap, when I could hear the rim of my back tire on the road surface - a complete flat. I didn't panic though, as I always say, the race is never over until the finish line. I stopped at the next available wheel stop and changed my wheel over quickly. Then the next technical error happened, my deralliuer dropped! Again, I didn't give up, I stopped at the next wheel stop and tried to sort it out. An official tried to take my timing chip off me, I snatched it back and said 'No! - I'm finishing this race!'. I had it in my mind to get back on my bike and just ride as hard as I could for the rest of the bike, I'd then jump of and give the run off my life, it may not have given me a good position but it would have shown my guts, determination and my form. But I jumped back on and the bike was a no go - I stopped one more time to try and sort it, but by this time it was too late..the leaders came through and lapped me, which meant I had to stop. Mortified doesn't even describe how I felt. I was raring to race, eager to go, I was ready to go out there and put all my weeks and months efforts into a race, push my body to it's limit and get that racing high again. Again, I can't put into words how hungry I am to race after my disappointment at the Olympics. My Dad, who came out to watch me along with my nan, found me quickly in the athletes area. He was just who I needed to see. You can't beat having your family there in times of de-stress and upset. Next to quickly find me was Ben, he was the next person who I really wanted to see and speak too. Ben always says the right things, he's honest, and never says anything if he doesn't mean it or believe it. He also understands me, and knows how disappointed I was, he also knew I would have given it my all to get back going again and knew I would have never have given up if I didn't have to. He reminded me of how well things have been going, how we didn't need to panic and how I don't need to go prove myself to anyone. Our discussion made me realize I can take this experience and use it to me stronger. It's made me even more eager to race, even more eager to train and push onto another level and to not let me dwell on what happened as a negative. Tears lasted for 10minutes.. and then I was back up on the hilly bike course, with my run shoes on, ready to do a 10km flat out run time trial! I didn't get to the run in the race but it didn't stop me from having a good run hit out.... and boy did I give it to myself! It was much harder then any 10km I've ever done in a triathlon! So I got my anger out and a good run out - the day was not a waste! Life is full of ups and downs.and sport is one of the scariest roller coasters you can ride in life. I believe everything happens for a reason and we have to learn from our ups and our downs. If we don't look to learn from our experiences, we never more on, we never develop and we never learn about our true selves. Thank you for all the messages of support, Hollie
29/5/09 Apologies fro the lack of news from me, my site has been down for maintenance for a while now, which means a few missed blog opportunities. By the time you read this blog, it will hopefully be up on my new site! I been a busy bee since I last blogged back in April! So I've now finished lectures for my first year at University - scary stuff! But the first years not done and dusted till I've done (and passed!) my exams. I have four coming up in the next fortnight. They're quite nicely spread out and if anyone has been following me on 'Twitter' you'll see how much time I've been spending revising in the library in between training. Lets hope the hard work pays of, just like in triathlon. So with 22 plus hours of training a week, 14 hours of lectures and 16 hours of revision - time has been pretty sparse! But I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it! And I always find time for a quick coffee catch ups or a girlie meal out! I've really been enjoying training! I've been getting some great bike sessions out on the road, swimming solid sessions in the pool and now Loughborough track is finished, I've been hitting the track for some speedy running! And now I'm here in Madrid writing this blog, ready to get out there and race again! It's strange to think it was exactly a year ago that I gained selection for the Olympics! So many great memories lie in madrid. Hollie
20/4/09 As you may have noticed on my website front page, there has been a few changes to my sponsors. A few new comers and a few that I've had to unfortunately say goodbye to for many a reason. Another new sponsor on board is Garmin. I've already had chance to work with them - doing a funky water photo shoot with slow motion filming! It was a bit of a different experience too doing the shoot at Loughborough pool at Midnight...it was the only time they could book the whole pool out! I love the Garmin products and have always used them so I'm really excited about joining the Garmin team - thanks for taking me on board! This year my drink sponsor will be Taut. Taut is the perfect drink for me - it's 100% free from any artificial additives, colourings and flavorings, which is just what I'm into. It tastes great too, so it's the best of both worlds! And what's also great is the fact Taut are also a sponsor of British Triathlon. Being a girl, I love the fact that the yellow and black of the Taut bottles will match my Boardman bike! The Adidas race shoes this year are also black and yellow! Only I could get excited about being all matching!!! Powerbar are also supplying me with gels and bars which is brilliant - I'm always using them before, during and after training! Many thanks to Science In Sport for everything they did for me last year. I've also come to the decision lately to say thank you and goodbye to the 49Club. The 49Club was a club set up in my village by a good family friend, Ronney Tulley. Each member, 49 of them, would kindly donate £5 each month into a fund entitled 'Help Hollie Hold Gold'. On the last Saturday of each month the member who's number matched the bonus ball in the National Lottery draw would win £100. The remainder of the money in the fund was to be used for any sporting equipment I needed to purchase or to be put towards anything that I needed within triathlon. The help and support from the club has been invaluable. I've been able to purchase such valuable equipment, like turbo trainers, bike boxes and swim equipment. I've come to the decision though that because my Lottery Funding has increased this year, it is unfair for me to continue receiving financial support from the 49Club. I again would like to take this opportunity to thank every member of the club, I know each one is a great supporter of mine. Ronney and I have decided that any remaining money in the account will be saved until London 2012 for the 49Club - hopefully to come and cheer me on around Hyde Park!! Life is a roller-coaster. Life in sport is an even more thrilling roller-coast, and that's how it works with sponsors too. Life would be boring if everything always ran smoothly and things stayed the same! Here's to life being unpredictable and exciting! Hollie
13/4/09 Nothing better to start the day with a lie in followed by a huge bowl of porridge on my 19th birthday! No early morning swimming on camp today - so it was a 7.30am wake up! We left the barracks at 9am for our long sunday steady ride. The girls and boys split up for this, with the girls led by Adrian Timis. Adrian has a cycling CV as long as the eye can see! He's just started to dosome cycling work with British Triathlon, I reckon he's going to be a great tool! We've had typical April weather all week - drip, drip drop with the April showers! But it didn't stop us having a great ride. It's pretty hilly around Aldershot so it was nice to get out in the hills and get a lumpy ride in. I really enjoyed having a good old natter with Adrian too and hearing some of his stories. And of course, Kerry's chat is always great on rides! We always have a good giggle on the saddle! We finished the ride back on the closed road circuit at Elmore, doing some more cornering practice. Lunch was roast dinner, can't say it was anywhere near as good as my Mum's! But nothing beats your Mum's Sunday roast! It's a shame I didn't get to see my family on my birthday but they're coming up to Loughborough tomorrow evening for some belated birthday celebrations! At 3.30pm we jumped in the pool for our afternoon swim. Glen Cook led the swim, giving us a pretty challenging set. But there's nothing like smashing a hard set out on your birthday and thinking about all the yummy birthday cake you can eat afterwards whilst you're doing it! Straight from the pool Kerry and I shoved on our trainers and headed out on a long steady run on the canal, admiring the Aldershot nature as we did so! The day couldn't have ended more perfectly. A delicious dinner followed by not one but two surprise birthday cakes from the team! The carrot cake was delicious! The fact that it was my birthday and that I trained for six hours too obviously meant I could have more then one slice! I can't believe it was exactly a year ago that I was out in Japan and had raced and podiumed in my first World Cup - so much has happened in a year! Let's hope my 19th year is just as exciting! Happy Easter! Hollie
5/4/09 This Tuesday I'm heading down to Aldershot to join in with the British Triathlon Development Squad Easter camp. I'm really looking forward to it, I think it's going to be a little bit different from the norm! Staying in army barracks will be a first for me - it will really feel like camp! We're also doing some open water work down there, I reckon that will be a little bit differentto swimming in the waves in Australia - out comes the wetsuit!! Many of my good friends are on the camp too, it will be great to train with Kerry Lang again after our very successful camp in Spain last summer! I've had a really nice week back in Loughborough. The University is on Easter break at the minute so that means I've had no lectures! It also means the campus is pretty dead - but I don't mind a little peace and quiet some times! With no lectures, I've also had the time to dedicate some time to one of the big loves in my life... shopping! I've taken a couple of trips to Leicester to the Highcross shopping centre. The spring weather has got me all excited and I splurged out on summer clothes! - lets hope the weather stays as lovely as it has been the past week! After my Spain camp I feel like I've taken another couple of steps up the fitness ladder. Everything is ticking over just right. The start of the World Cup Season last weekend has got me all fired up for racing season! I loved last year so much and I can't wait to get out there again this year! I hope everyone is enjoying this sunny british weather as much as me! ....I hope I haven't jinxed it now! Take care, Hollie
27/3/09 Sunshine, hilly rides, runs in the heat, long swim sets, olives, delicious fruit, sea food.....these are a few of my favourite things! I've been having a lovely time in Antequera, Spain. It's the same area that I came to with some of the GB guys last June. Everything in Spain happens a little bit later, which means early morning swims here start at 9am! I have to admit, it's quite nice having a break from a normal 5am wake up! We've been tallying up the kilometers too, which reminds me of my Northampton Swimming Club days. I do love a good long swim set where you're ticking over nicely. The riding's been great. The first day we went on a bit of an adventure and ended up in the clouds! Tough hills but beautiful views. The villa we're staying in is surrounded by fields and fields of olive groves which makes great running. We also found a pretty big forest too with rolling mountain bike trails, also perfect for a long run in the sun! Back to Loughborough on Sunday! Hollie
18/3/09 For the past few weeks I've been a real busy bee! Training is in full swing and so is university. But the cogs are turning over perfectly in the world of Hollie Avil. It's when everything is in full swing that I function best! When I did my A levels last summer I still kept up a 20 hour training week - not because I was made too (in fact Ben was great and giving me time off if I needed it), but because that's how Hollie Avil works at her best! I've had a great block of training over the past few weeks and I feel I've made a big step up again on the fitness ladder. Things are coming into place nicely. I've been having real fun with my training too! For the past three Saturdays I've been heading down to the Milton Keynes Bowl and have been taking part in some of the closed circuit bike races. I took part in the 40km races to gain more experience of riding in groups, practicing tactics and improving my bike racing skills. I felt I learnt a great deal and really enjoyed them too! It's also great being able to crack out some good run sessions in the spring weather! I'm still enjoying my degree, in fact I'm enjoying the second semester even more. I think it's the different modules that I'm now doing. All though difficult, I'm finding Business Modeling really interesting and all though confusing, I'm really getting stuck into my Accounting module! I'm off to Spain on Friday for nine days of training. I'm heading out with a small group from the university and the Brownlee boys are joining us too. I'm looking forward to a change of scene, some long hilly rides and tough run sessions in the olive groves! Tapas, paella and some time in the sunshine is sure to be on the cards too! I'll be sure to update you with my spanish travels! Take care, Hollie
4/2/09 It's strange to think that two weeks ago I was training in 35 degree heat, one layer of training gear on, swimming in the sea and chilling out on the beach in my spare time. It's been a bit of a contrast the past few days with the snow falling down on good old england! I took a picture whilst I was in Aus of my view whilst revising. I was sitting in a small cafe on the beach side. I compared it to the view out of my bedroom window, whilst I was reading at my desk, two days ago - playing fields covered in thick snow and snow flakes tumbling down! I rode early out on the road on Sunday so I dodged the start of the snow fall, but when I came out of swimming at mid-day the flakes had started falling and before I knew it the University Campus was covered! To be honest, I don't mind the snow, I quite like it! I think part of being a brit is putting up and getting on with the english weather, and part of being a british athlete is training in the british weather. That's why I didn't stay too long in Australia. I think it makes you stronger mentally as well as physically. I do love a bit of warm weather training though, learning to cope with heat and humidity is pretty important too, as I learnt last year. Training has been going well since I've been back in the UK. I've been careful to wrap up warm. Two pairs of running tights and at least three tops has been standard training gear for the past week or so! Now I'm getting fitter I've started training with the guys in the Triathlon squad here a little bit more. It's great because I'm always getting pushed. I'm still working hard on my running technique, Ben and I feel like I've improved technically from my season last year and from when I first started back training - but there's still a lot of work to do. Things like changing technique certainly don't happen over night! We've been doing a lot filming over the past weeks and it's really interesting to watch it back and see what has and hasn't changed. I've finished all my exams now, they finished last thursday. I can never tell if exams go well or not. All I know is that I gave it my best shot - so I'll see what my results say in a couple of weeks time. My second semester starts on Monday with a whole new bunch of modules, so I'm pretty excited about that. If there's one thing I learnt from last semester, it's that I could maybe do with doing a bit more reading outside of lectures, just so I make sure I understand things fully. So I'm staying put in Loughborough for the next few months, keeping things consistent. It really won't be along till the race season starts. I really can't wait to race again this year - still lots more training and hard work to put under my belt though before I get out on the circuit. The World Champion Series race in London has got me pretty excited - I reckon that will be great! I'm off to the TCR road-show at Sandown Park this weekend, so if you see me about please come and say hey! Take care, Hollie
23/1/09 I said to myself that one of my aims for 2009 would be about conquering and getting over my fears. Coming out to Aus has been a great start for my new years resolution... For starters, I have to admit, I've never been the most confident when it comes to open water, especially when it's open water with waves! I'll always remember my first French Grand Prix at LesSables d-Olones, it was the first time I was faced with a sea swim. The sea was pretty rough! I practiced the day before with Ben and lost a pair of goggles in the process! I have pictures of just before the race where my face is as white as a ghost - I was not looking forward to running into the sea for the 750m swim! I think the swim took us around 20minutes, which shows how wavy it was. Ben still laughs at me for running into the water and falling flat on my face at the start - I can laugh at it now, but I was not laughing when it happened!!! Since being in Aus, I've turned a bit of a corner, I no longer panic when I hear Ben say 'We're going swimming in the sea'! We did a great session in the surf with Craig Walton last week, he taught us all about the rip, how to swim under the waves and how to catch a wave. I think spending time in the surf out here has given me a real boost of confidence in the open water. A big fear for me was being able to run, swim and bike again after having to do three months of nothing! It was hard for me going from the fittest I'd ever been in Korea, pre-beijing, to doing absolutely no training and then to come back in November and find myself getting out of breath after 5 minutes of running!! But I sit here now and think to myself that I don't regret having my break one bit. Yes - it took a lot of persuasion from Ben and other members of my support team , and I'm sure I put on some right sulks about it, but I know I did it for all the right reasons. Reasons that will make me come back stronger, stronger for many years to come. What is three months of rest in a potentially 20 year career in sport? It's the rest in the bank now that will enable me to keep on going. People will ask why I did it, because most triathletes don't ever have that long off, but I'm not 'most triathletes', I'm Hollie. Several people who know me will laugh at this one! I have a fear of animals and if you ask me why I will always tell you 'it's because I never know what they're thinking'. Well since I've been in Aus, I've made a new best friend! Buttons, Liz's gorgeous dog, and I get along great!! She sensed that I was leaving today as she saw me packing and wouldn't leave my side! I fly out of Australia today, pretty sad to be leaving. I've had a fantastic three weeks out here!! As you know for the first part I trained with the Youth Olympic Team, doing some great group training, and then I moved on to stay with Liz Blatchford. For the ten days I spent with Liz I joined in with her training group, which is made up of Emma Snowsill, Felicity Abraham and Liz. We did some great long rides in the hills and early morning runs on the coast! The girls all swim with a swim squad in Miami, so I joined in with them too. The squad is made up of swimmers, surfer life savers and triathletes, a real mix! But it was a tough squad - just what I needed to put some swimming fitness in the bank! As well as training, I had some great fun on the Gold Coast, from making home made ice cream with Liz to having surf lessons with Glen, Liz's fiances, surf shop - Go Ride A Wave! If I'm being honest - I think I should stick to making ice cream rather then surfing!! I managed to stand up once - but fell off in a matter of seconds! It was great fun though! Cooking skills rather then surf skills run in my family!!! So it's back to the UK! I'll spend a couple of days back home in Bugbrooke before heading back up the M1 to Loughborough!! I've a couple more exams next week before starting my second semester. It'll be a fair few months until I get out the bikini, flip flops and shorts, but hey, there's no place like home.
12/1/09 For the first few days out here my body seemed to not want to sleep past 5.30am! I’ would wake up, look outside, think it’s around 7am then turn to look at my clock and see that it’s still only 5am! It gets light here so early! So instead of trying to get back to sleep, I would get up and do an hours worth of revision before the days training would begin. With my Uni exams coming up, keeping on top the revision is important whilst I’m out here! Most mornings we’ve been heading to the local pool – the local pool which has two 50m outdoor pools beside each other! What us Brits would call a luxury! It’s been so nice to be able to swim outside. As well as the pool we’ve also been swimming in the sea and in a near by lake. We’ve been doing a lot of group swim practice, practicing swimming on hips, sighting and getting use to being bashed about! This type of training has been invaluable to me as confidence in the open water is something that I need to work on and continue improving. Doing some work in the surf has really helped my confidence too, learning to love the waves rather than be scared of them! I think a couple of surf lessons are in store for me next week when I move to Liz’s and my exams are out the way!! Mark Niemz, my Strength and Conditioning coach, has travelled to the Gold Coast as part of the Youth Olympic Trip too, so I’ve been able to keep up my strength and conditioning since being here. The AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) have allowed us to use their Canoe centre gym, which is just across the road from our apartments, which has been a great help. Strength and Conditioning is just as important as any other part of my training to me. As well as group swimming we’ve been doing a lot of group riding practice too. We’ve been training at a place called Nerang where there’s an outdoor velodrome with a closed road criterion circuit around it. I feel like I’m really benefiting from all the group work we’ve been doing on the bike. Helping me become more and more confident and aware when riding in a group. Yesterday we did a great session there, we did a number of races but all of them were different with different aims and tactics. I like it when I’m able to mix it up with the guys!!! And it’s great to be doing some hard stuff on the bike again! I’m now at Liz’s house and about to crack open the revision books before going riding in the sunshine! I’m loving The Gold Coast for sure!!! Hollie
3/1/09 You know how quick the months are flying by when you forget what month you're in! I met for lunch with one of my close traithlon friends, Vicky Holland, today and went to her 'I can't believe it's December and I haven't see you in over two months!!' - She had to correct me that we'd in fact entered into 2009!! I'm lucky enough to be starting my 2009in Australia! We've just left Heathrow airpot and are en-route to Brisbane. Im heading out to the Gold Coast with the Youth Olympic Triathlon Team, I won't be competing in the race but I will help them train and prepare before they fly to Syndey in just over a week to compete in the Youth Olympic Festival! When they fly to Syndey, I will then be kindly put up by Liz Blatchford and will train with her for 10 days! I kept my training up over Christmas and had a good block between Chritsmas and New year - so I wouldn't be itiching to train for the 24 hours of sitting still on the flight! I had a lovely Chritmas over in irealnd, it was great to see all my Mum's side of the family. We also saw a lot of out close freinds out there too, including my Godmother, Caroline, who I have not see since she came to watch me at the Junior World Champoniships in Lausanne in 2006! That seems so long a go! I'd like to thank Fitness First in Stepaside Dublin, for providing me with access to their Gym and facilities over the Christmas period, enabling me to train! And my uncle, Aruthur, for arranging it! I had a pretty quiet New Year, I spend the first part of the evening with a few of my friends from back home and then I'm headed back to Bugbrooke to see the New Year in my my family and close family friends! I'm really looking forward to my few weeks down under! It will be great to be able to do some open water swimming in the surf, an area I need to practice one, and having the chance to get some long miles in the sunshine on the bike! Those being only two examples of several benefits and goals I will achieve from my time away, For those of you thinking, 'What about University!?!?'... Most of my luggage allowance consists of 2kg textbooks! I will be revising out in Aus for my semester one exams. I will also be taking two of my module exams out there, thanks to Lougbourough University and British Triathlon being able to make that doable. I won't miss any lectures as I'm away in exam period, so no falling behind whilst I'm training hard down under! I will be sure to keep you updated! Wishing everyone a healthy and exciting 2009, Hollie |
