Retirement

Last week I officially announced my retirement. I've had mixed emotions, it was always going to be a tough decision to make but there was also a feeling of relief. Sport at a professional level must come to an end whether that decision is in you hands, due to injury or simply because of selection. As well as my personal retirement from Modern Pentathlon I have had the opportunity to speak to other sportsmen in different fields about their experiences, this was interesting and it gave me some more valuable presenting experience.
I have been playing mixed roles the last few days, swapping from being the interviewer to being the interviewee. During a week long BBC journalism course where I was being trained to ask the  questions I had to keep nipping out to answer them, seeing both sides of the industry really must be the quickest way to learn. The downside to my multi role week has been the lack of spare time, maybe it's just been a good introduction to the real world. After working five intense days my brain certainly had been truly exercised, unfortunately my body hadn't. I can't remember the last time I had a week with no exercise, I am retired from Pentathlon but not from sport. Thankfully the weather was on my side, a few hours riding my bike over Dartmoor really was the perfect setting for some quality thinking and reflection.

Dry January?

It was brought to my attention earlier this week that there is a national campaign for a dry January; disappointingly this only seems to apply to the consumption of alcohol and not the weather. There is a longstanding British tradition of making compulsory new year resolutions but why do we do it? Is it simply the peer pressure? I've resisted announcing any specific resolutions as I feel there are so many things I need to work towards the list would be too long. Perhaps that is just a get out clause and one that I've been quite grateful for so far as thanks to the ridiculously wet start to the year my first goal is proving difficult to achieve. It seems like more than nine months ago I first started riding a road bike and I managed to exceed my target of covering six thousand miles. Having reached that distance relatively comfortably, it seems natural to try and better that this year;  I do have an extra three months available. Alas I've not started strongly: if the roads are not submerged by flood water then they are covered in debris and far more appropriate for mountain bikes.
I can empathise with anyone who has new fitness goals for their resolutions. I am always a strong advocate of getting outside to exercise as this not only saves on gym membership but the feel good factor from fresh air and daylight is superb. I also find having a specific target helps whether that is to complete a certain event or try a new sport - mine is to return to full running fitness. Last week I took part in the Plym Valley Parkrun, a sociable 5k free event and the buzz I got from it really has given me that drive to recover from my injury.

Good intentions (29.12.13)

Happy New Year, and welcome back to reality. It might just be me but the days and meals have all blurred into one over the last week or so. Do not get me wrong, I love the fact that everyday feels like the weekend and there is copious amounts of delicious food on offer - having said that I am not sure my body would appreciate this for long periods of time. Every year I promise myself that I will not eat too much and every year I fail... unfortunately this one was no different. It was, however, very different in another aspect; this was sadly my first Christmas with no grandparents yet on the positive side it was my first as an aunt, even if my niece at eight months old is too young to appreciate all the fuss that was made of her she certainly brought joy to all the family.
Outside of my family there was also another significant alteration to one of my holiday traditions; every year the majority of my close friends return to West Devon for the annual catch up, this hasn't changed, it was the number of people that did. Over the past twelve to fourteen months several of my friends have started to grow their own families. It was wonderful to see so many babies although from a selfish point of view it does limit any rendezvous to a short daytime window and most certainly rules out any evening drinks, maybe that part was a god send in disguise.

Dancing Christmas (TT column 22.12.13)

There are specific events that really do signify certain times of the year. I am sure you will have individual experiences that conjure emotions associated with this festive period. As I mentioned, I have well and truly embraced Christmas; but in case I hadn't two trips to Olympia Horse Show were guaranteed to put me into the spirit. There were tinsel covered ponies, Dickensian dressed dancers, Christmas carols to join in with and even Father Christmas on a sleigh; although he had swapped his reindeers for horses for the night. This horse show is not quite your run of the mill event, as well as the Christmas entertainment there are hundreds of shopping opportunities for those needing present ideas, plenty of food and drink on offer all topped off with world class riders and their horses. Oh - and how could I forget the talented dogs and their owners racing around the dog agility. Britain currently boasts the world number one and two in show jumping and a world record holder in dressage so the performances were sure to be show stopping. For me though the high point had to be the dancing, of the horse variety. Having ridden all of my life I know how much work goes into getting a horse to understand you and that is purely for jumping, but to teach a horse to dance is another matter. The Spanish riding school with their Andalusian horses put on a magnificent display as did Britain's with Charlotte Dujardin breaking another world record in the process.

As much as I love horses dancing the highlight of my week was the Strictly final, the only problem being I am not sure how to fill my Saturday nights from now on.


     

Surprised myself (TT column 16.12.13)

I am not usually one to gloat but then I am also not often one to finish tasks with such ample time to spare. It is such an exception that I feel I must share this recent accomplishment; I have finished my Christmas shopping. I expect I’ve now jinxed myself and missed out a vitally important present as well as annoying anyone who still has much of their shopping left to do. I always crave the festive period although it takes me an unusually long time to become fully absorbed into the Christmas spirit, I can’t put my finger on what has influenced this change unless it has been the copious amounts of mulled wine I seemed to have consumed recently or the regular cycle rides through tastefully decorated villages, whichever the culprit I am embracing it.

This time of year is apparently not so welcoming to cyclists. The daylight hours are short, the temperatures cooler (and not to forget the slippery roads that I recently discovered, the painful way) but there is also plenty of debris on the lanes. I suffered the consequences with a puncture last week, fortunately for my father I was not within rescuing distance from home on this occasion. Even though I am in theory adequately prepared with the correct equipment it is still hit and miss, so I owe a lot of gratitude to the kind gentleman who stopped to help me with my repair, chivalry is not dead. After a recent government survey the news that cycling is an increasingly popular sport does not surprise me. There is still a long way to go with encouraging more women to participate but the advantage of the men to women ratio does come in handy when technical problems occur.

Inspired (TT column 09.12.13)

As a sportsperson inspiration is vital. Whether it helps you get out of bed at the crack of dawn to spend a few hours slogging up and down a swimming pool or to head out for a run in the rain during the long cold winter months; somewhere in the back of your mind I am sure that there will be something or someone who has given you reason to find that drive. After London 2012 the tag line "inspire a generation" was arguably overused and a year on national sporting institutions have been reviewing the legacy left by those performances we witnessed at the home Olympics.
Athletes are expected to inspire people, young and old, although it is normally presumed that they themselves will have had someone inspire them along their journey. It is a question I have been asked by many children during school visits or had to fill in for competition profiles and something I still have to stop and think about. This is not because I struggle to find inspiration but I do struggle to name just one and the dilemma of whether it should it be a sporting hero, a family member or maybe a coach or teacher.
I am sure that all of us will have done something to inspire people throughout our lives but we may struggle to do so to the same degree as the late Nelson Mandela. I cannot begin to comprehend the lengths that the former South African president went to for his country, he was and still is an inspiration to not only his fellow countrymen but everyday people like you and me across the world. Rest in peace.
   

Record still stands (TT column 01.12.13)

This past week there has been plenty of sporting action to watch, especially rugby. We’ve had the rugby league World Cup, the autumn internationals and a very important local derby. If you live in the north then the rugby league World Cup final on Saturday afternoon might have raised your heart rate but being a Westcountry girl watching Bath and Exeter Chiefs fight it out at the Recreation ground did far more to get my adrenaline flowing. According to the statisticians it has been over thirty years since Exeter were victorious over Bath, as close as this encounter seemed the score on the board said it all as Bath extended their unbeaten record. This fixture posed a slight moral dilemma for me; I was fortunate enough to be a guest at the match yet I was being hosted by a Bath supporter. I began with good intentions but such was my excitement at the Chiefs first (and second) try I could not contain my emotions, thankfully one can get away with this in rugby union and said host saw the funny side.

Trust is a major factor in life and it can be just as important in sport. Whether you need to trust your team mate, your horse or your equipment it can make the difference between winning and loosing. On a less drastic measure I lost some trust last Sunday. This was probably the result of me becoming too confident and trusting not only my skills but also my equipment, that being my road bicycle. It probably doesn’t come as a big surprise that I fell off again, but the circumstances were new. Now it is winter and the roads are greasy I need to understand that corners require a little more respect, I have the bruises to remind me that for at least a few weeks.