Tuesday 25 May 2004

"Today is our first full day in Cyprus after our flight over yesterday.

The day commenced with a briefing session to go over the plans for today.  We are fitting a lot into this camp so it is important that the team are fully briefed and understand what we will be doing, so we get the most out of every session.   The BBC started following us today filming a "ROAD TO ATHENS" programme for Grandstand.   This will become a substantial feature so we imagine it will give a good insight into our preperations out here.

The training started with a "weigh-in" not only of the athletes but also of their drinks bottles, this is so we can accurately measure fluid intake and hydration status.  Blood samples were also taken as were urine samples, these were then analysed by the BOA physiology team at the camp.

We undertook three difficult sessions today.  The first was a gruelling 6Km run up a mountain track.  This was followed by a lifting session in the weights room. The afternoon saw a 1 1/2 hour judo session; using the facility that will be used at the Olympic holding camp.

Everyone is fit and healthy and remain in good spirits.  Further update tomorrow from the morning track session and afternoon bike ride!"

 

Sophie shows off her new hair colour!

 

Wednesday 26th May 2004

"A bright and hot day forecast, we met straight after breakfast for the now well-rehearsed blood and urine monitoring, prior to making our way to PEYIA stadium for a running session. The temperature at the track was a stifling 36C, almost up to the levels that are forecast for Athens in August!

An Interval session of 8 x 400m; followed by 8 x 60m sprints. Everyone enjoyed it (??????). A long cool down and back to the hotel for lunch.

 

The afternoon and the eagerly awaited bike tour, a repeat of the tour we took last year, with that experience everyone was up for it and it proved very competitive (even when the guys were choosing their bikes!) Some 3 hours and 30k later, we had done a circular route around some stunning scenery.

 

Back to the hotel, for more monitoring and testing following the days activities".

 

Winston takes a well earned break

 

Thursday 27th May 2004

"The testing continues!

Today sees the start of the "Sweat Tests" these provide valuable data on hydration strategies and how well individuals cope with the heat. Samples of sweat were collected from everyone after a 5km run.

Sweat patch testing can be used to assess sweat rate and sweat composition. Measuring sweat rate will highlight those athletes that are susceptible to high fluid losses during exercise. Sweat composition analysis will measure sodium. This will highlight the athletes that are particularly ‘salty sweaters’. These athletes in particular would benefit from drinking the new Powerade drink due to it’s high electrolyte content.

 

Also today blood sampling took place. Looking at the plasma osmolality requires a blood sample to be taken from the ear. This measure gives us a slightly more direct measure of dehydration.

 

The afternoon session was Judo. We have been visited by a number of British people staying in the hotel to wish us luck at the games.

Again the BBC and Cyprus TV were filming and have acknowledged the professionalism of the athletes and staff during our camp.

Everyone is training hard and are looking forward to our visit to Athens at the weekend to experience the flight form Cyprus to Athens (as they will do at the holding camp) and also to see first hand Athens in its state of Olympic preparation.

 

Further updates to come!"

 

 

Friday 28th May 2004

“Good Afternoon from Sunny Cyprus!

During our track session this morning it reached a staggering 41c trackside!

Our hydration strategies are really being tested to the limit today.  We started with an early hill run to try and beat the heat and finish off the testing we needed to do.

This was followed by an upper body endurance circuit at the track (see pictures).

The guys have been given the afternoon off today to recover, but the monitoring and testing continues to see how each individual is adapting to the climate.

We fly out early to Athens tomorrow, only staying 24 hours before returning to the UK but we will try and get around the city to see the progress so far.”

 

Kate takes some punches from Rachel

Winston does an upper body workout

The squad send us proof that they are having to acclimatise to intense heat!

Saturday 29th/Sunday 30th May 2004

"Right on to Athens, we arrived to a bright sunny start - only to tour from the airport to our hotel (adjacent to the site of the Olympic Village) passing closed roads, roads that weren't on the map, into districts the taxi drivers did not want to go!

But the most overwhelming thing was that everyone we spoke to said "YES ATHENS WILL BE READY!"

It was a good experience to see the situation first hand. We visited the judo venue, which is completed, and reassuringly we were met by armed police and security advising us that the venue is in a state of "lockdown" except to senior accredited officials. Apparently BJA passes were not acceptable!

On the Sunday morning Udo, Gary and Mac visited the central Olympic park and took Winston along for the ride! This was because he knew the way to our proposed training site whilst in Athens (?)

A good mornings work concluded (training venue secured) we headed back to the hotel to pack after a very successful time in Cyprus and Athens.

We gained valuable information from all the players during the testing sessions, on how they adapt and cope with the heat. They also have experienced the flights from Cyprus to Athens and have familiarised themselves with the Athens area, all valuable stuff when preparing for the "Greatest show on Earth”!

We left in a torrential thunderstorm........................"