A day in the life
4.30AM: Early to rise…
Swimmers always have an early start. I get up at 4.30am, because I travel quite a distance — just over 32 miles — from Portaferry, Co Down, to my pool in Belfast. I might grab a slice of toast or something before I head out, and then we’re on the road.
6AM: Making a splash…
I do six swims a week, all early mornings. I usually try and get as many metres in as possible, somewhere around the seven kilometre mark in each session, depending on the intensity. I’m in Italy at a training camp at the moment, so we’re up to two sessions a day. As the Olympics come closer, we’ll start to taper that down.
9AM: Class act…
After training, I’ll grab a bread roll or sandwich in the car before school. My final year in Strathearn School is starting this September. It’s not too bad juggling things, but I was away at the European Seniors this year and missed one of my exams! Hopefully the results will be alright. We’ll know soon enough!
1PM: Lunch bells…
My diet’s not too strict. What I’ll have for breakfast and lunch varies greatly — usually a baked potato or a panini, something like that. I don’t have to be too careful — within reason!
3.30PM: Hit the gym…
I’ll do a gym session after school, probably twice a week. I’ll try to fit in a couple of hours study as well, but time is tight with the car journey back from Belfast. Sometimes it’s less than an hour, which isn’t ideal, but I guess I’m lucky that I can keep up. I try to keep a balance, but obviously at certain times, like qualifying for the Olympics, the balance gets skewed a little.
6PM: Free time… what free time?
I like to chill out with friends, but there’s not a lot of downtime for me.
Do I see swimming as a very solitary sport? No, definitely not. Unfortunately, my team is smaller this year, so there’s a bit less banter in the air, but my coach Bobby is very entertaining and if I’m having a hard session, he’ll help push me on.
I can see where people get the idea that it is solitary — it’s only you in the water, or on the blocks. It’s not a team event like football or cricket. But competitions are great fun. Everyone supports each other and you can chill out together afterwards.
8.30PM: Dreaming of success...
I got to bed early because I’m up early, simple as that. I just really love what I do. My main goal was to qualify for London and go for the experience. The top swimmers in the world will be there, people like Ryan Lochte and Rebecca Adlington, and I count myself lucky to stand up next to them. I’d really, really love to perform lifetime bests, and where those take me I’m not entirely sure. I’m going to relax, have fun, and enjoy it.
7.30AM: Alarm bells…
It’s up early this morning for a 45-minute run, finishing at 2,550m altitude, before we have breakfast. As I talk to you, I’m on a high-altitude training camp with Triathlon Ireland in Sierra Nevada. It’s harder to work up here because there’s less oxygen in the air.
The idea is that, over a period of about three weeks, our bodies will adapt to the conditions, building more oxygen-carrying red blood cells. That will help us to go longer and faster when we’re back down again. We’re going to use it as a good endurance base, and then concentrate on building a bit of speed in the run-in to London.
11AM: Making waves…
Time for a swim. We’re in the water for an hour and 50 minutes. There’s a lot of mileage in what I do, but that’s the triathlon. I’m going to put my best effort into London, but where that will get me I don’t know. Everyone will be in peak condition on the day.
If you want to go by statistics, then I’m aiming for a Top 15 finish. I could squeeze out a Top 10 if everything goes my way. I’ve medalled at two World Series, so nothing is impossible, but sometimes the media would like to hang a medal around your neck and write that you’re going for gold. That’s not always the case.
1.30PM: A bite of lunch...
Normally at home, I’d have a wrap with some chicken and spinach, and maybe an apple, with a few snacks through the day. Here, it’s all made for you because we’re staying at a centre. There’ll be a buffet, with a choice of meats and salads and that, so we’ll take a bit of everything!
4PM: On the bike...
After a rest, we’re on the bikes this afternoon for a cycle down into Grenada, and a two-hour climb back up into the mountains. Yesterday, there was a gym session too.
7PM: Dinner and downtime...
Eating and sleeping are my two favourite hobbies! If I’m at home, at the weekend, I might go out for dinner. I don’t have to be too super-careful about what I eat — with the volume of training, there’s no real danger of getting fat. If I have a wee naughty treat every now and then, I’m not going to get too worried about it.
When I’m at home, I might go to the cinema as well. The last movie I saw was Avengers Assemble. That was good. It’s just an excuse to have popcorn and Coke, of course!
There’s a lot of variables in triathlon — how your swim goes, what the heat is like, whether there’s a crash, where packs form and where the strong bike riders end up. Anything can happen on the day, but that’s what I love about my event.
The triathlon is crazy. It suits me down to the ground!
7.30AM: Up and at it…
I don’t eat a big breakfast. Porridge with some blueberries, or a few Weetabix with some muesli, something like that — because I’m out training soon afterwards. I’ll normally do a short routine of easy stretching too, just to loosen me up a bit before I leave the house.
9AM: On the water…
I’m basing myself in London for two weeks before the Games, so we’ve been out on the Olympic course a fair few times now. It’s spectacular. They’re filtering the water, so it’s crystal clear. And 13 tonnes of it are being pumped down every second…
Before getting going, we’ll generally take a look at the course, the gate positions and so on. I’ll talk with my coach about the things we’re going to work on, the goals we’re going to set. I’ll get changed, do a warm-up, and then a 60-minute slot on the white water.
How do I get back to the beginning of the course? There’s an actual conveyor belt — kind of like an airport escalator without the steps. You just paddle onto it, and go again!
11.30AM: Rest and recovery…
After training, I’ll do a 15-20 minute warm-down, getting the heart rate back to normal. There’ll be a recovery drink as well, to replace sugars and carbohydrates so I can recover in time to maximise the next session. USN Ireland sponsors all of that for me. They’re brilliant.
1PM: Keeping shape…
Men’s kayak isn’t a weight-restricted sport, but the boats are hand-cut to suit your weight. I’m 75kg, and I need to keep that constant. It’s not a rule, but the boats react differently depending on how heavy you are, so I do have to be careful about what I put in.
This is the first season in a couple of years I’ve had no illness or injury. The Institute of Sport has played a major role in keeping me free of injury, so physically I’m in really top condition. Would I go for a guilty treat? I haven’t had a pint in a good long time. I might have a couple of drinks at Christmas or the end of season, but they’re really the only times.
3PM: Back on the water…
In the afternoon, it’s back to the water, typically for a race simulation using the full-length of the course. I’ll do a high-intensity pre-warm-up, go and meet the coach, talk through the course, plan our racing lines, and then we’ll hit the runs for an hour.
All of these sessions are videoed on the bank, so you go back afterwards and go through them in detail on a laptop. Seeing yourself from the outside can really help improve performance.
8PM: Dinner and a movie…
There’s not an awful lot of downtime in this game. I’ll try not to eat too late, and maybe chill out with a DVD or book afterwards. If there’s a full rest day planned, you might go into London, get your head out of the canoeing space for a few hours. That’s always healthy.
11PM: Lights out…
I’ll hit the sack at 10.30pm or 11pm. I know some of the other athletes go to bed at 8.30pm, but if I did that, I’d be staring at the ceiling for hours!
8AM: Making plans...
At the moment, there isn’t really a typical day for me. I’m travelling. I have my training plan all mapped out, mixing the meets I’m doing with preparation for the Olympics.
When do I get up? Unfortunately, international competitions like the Worlds and the Olympics will have a qualifying start time of around 9am. That means I have to be up by 5am to eat, get to the track, warm up and make the call room…
11AM: Getting race ready...
I got into the pole vault through my older brother. He vaulted in high school, and I thought it looked like fun. It kind of clicked. Pole vaulting isn’t something you can just pluck out of the air, it can be pretty awkward. But it started to grow on me…
1PM: A light lunch…
A typical lunch would include my favourite go to salad: spinach with beetroot, goat cheese, grapefruit and balsamic vinegar. Along with that I’d have some kind of protein, beef, chicken or salmon… whatever I have to hand, really.
4PM: Focusing the mind...
The mental aspect is key to any sport, but especially pole vault. Much as people don’t want to admit it, you’re telling your body to do something that it probably doesn’t want to do at the subconscious level! Other factors, like the weather conditions, having rain or wind in your face, can play a big role. Having the ability to vault is really just the beginning.
A typical dinner might be something like roasted sweet potatoes with green beans and chicken. I also snack constantly; three meals would not keep me fuelled for the whole day!
7PM: Smiling on Skype...
Do I end up talking to a lot to family and friends by Skype? Yeah, but you get used to it. My brother and his wife had their first-born baby a couple of days ago, so I had a Skype session with them and got to see the baby.
8PM: R n’ R...
It’s not that lonely in a team atmosphere. I’ve got my coach, my training partners, and I keep myself pretty busy. I like my TV shows too, and usually someone has some movies or something else downloaded, so I can mooch off them! You just have to stay on top of things.
9PM:
Bedtime differs for me depending on my training/competition schedule. If I don’t have to be up too early, I might go to bed between 11pm and midnight. As competition time approaches, however, I make sure to progressively go to bed earlier and earlier…
It’s tough trying to go to bed at 8pm, but it’s better than being all out of sorts for the comp!
I’m going to compete to the best of my ability in London.
I’m definitely capable of entering the final, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park.
It’s going to be a fight.
7AM: Wake up, and weigh in…
Over the next few weeks a typical day for me will be all about training, thinking about the weight and getting my fitness right.
We’re heading to a training camp in Assisi, Italy, and London is the next step. We won’t worry about the opposition until we get the draw.
8AM: A walk before breakfast…
I was 19 in Beijing. I’m a man now; I have my own kid (Martin, 2). So hopefully I can do my family proud. I can get my head around it.
The rings are the same, after all. There’s four corners and four ropes. You just have to go in and do the exact same as you do in every ring.
Has having a kid changed my approach to boxing? No, not really. I’m dedicated to my sport.
It will probably even help more. It drives me on to win and make a name for myself, so my son can have a good life, you know?
11AM: Time to train…
I know I’ll be targeted. Until I had three recent fights out in France, I hadn’t boxed in a while. But those fights have kept me ticking over. I’ll be hungrier. They’ll be watching my style in London, but I will be too. I’ll let them mess up their own game.
I’ll stick to the basic stuff and go in and perform.
One fight at a time, one minute at a time, that’s the way we look at it.
Having been there before, I know what to expect. I’ve been in the Olympic Village, seen the superstars. I remember poor Darren Southerland, who was my roommate in Beijing.
We were heading out of the canteen, and we spotted Rafael Nadal. I said ‘Darren, don’t disturb the man while he’s eating!’ But he went straight over for a picture. And he got it!
I do think about Darren, of course. It [his suicide] was very sad. But after Beijing, he said: ‘Your Olympics will be in 2012. You’ll do it, trust me.’ So hopefully he’s looking down on me.
1PM: Food, glorious food…
“Boxing is a weight/calorie sport,” says Olympics Head Coach, Billy Walsh. “So the boys will be eating pretty healthy stuff — cereals, fruit yoghurts in the morning, juices, and a light lunch in the afternoon.
“The main meal is in the evening. Menus are put together by our nutritionist, and there are recovery shakes to keep vitamin mix up during the day…”
4PM: Get the gloves on, for sparring and bag training…
Will this be my last Olympics? I don’t know! There are ideas about turning pro, alright, but we’ll have to see what happens after London. I thought about it after 2008, but I was just too young. I’ve done so much since then. I can punch a lot harder. I think I’m maybe five times a better boxer than I was, and my movement is good. So we’ll see. I could be hungrier for more!
8PM: Quiz nights…
“Training camps can be boring,” says Billy Walsh. “There’s a lot of downtime and recovery time. We organise quizzes, events, stuff to keep the minds stimulated.
“There’s great banter and spirit amongst the team. They’re all from different counties as well, so when the GAA season kicks off there’s plenty of slagging going on…”
I know there’ll be a lot of hype in London, but I’ll just focus on my boxing and go and look back through the papers afterwards.
It would be easy to get caught up in it all, but us boxers are just like any other businessmen. We’re going to London with a job to do.
Am I expecting a big Irish crowd? Probably. But they’re not going to help me if I’m getting punched, are they?
9.30AM: Into the air...
As we speak, I’m in Dublin Airport, heading to Helsinki for the European Championships. So a typical day for me very much depends on the time of year. I love to travel, which helps!
11AM: On the right track...
Back home, I might train from 11am to 2pm. In summer, things get less routine-based. I do a lot of travelling and racing. In winter, it gets a bit more monotonous.
We put in seriously long days; right into the spring, you could be at the track for five hours at a stretch.
Sprinting is completely different to distance running. Distance runners would do an awful lot of long runs, whereas my longest rep in training is less than 400m.
We train at a much higher intensity, with lots of weight training and an emphasis on explosive power.
Right now, I’m easing off on the volume, getting the speed back.
3PM:
I get a lot of massage treatments, so I might have one of those in the afternoon, or a weights session. In London, my aim is to make the semi-final like I did in Beijing.
Once you’re in the semi-final anything can happen. There are a lot of guys who can run fast, and if they all do that on the day it’s going to be one hell of a meet, so we’ll see.
5PM: R n’ R...
One of the big challenges of becoming an athlete is handling your own company. That’s something you have to learn over the years. It might sound like a fantastic life, but there are hours that you have to while away, and that’s a skill in itself.
I can be a bit of a thinker, for example, so I need to keep that part of me exercised. Like most athletes, I’ll travel with a laptop and an iPod, and outside of training, I do like a good film or TV series. At the moment I’m watching a Danish show called The Killing.
I’m an avid reader too.
I’m on a break from medical studies at the moment, and I’ve just completed a BA in History through distance learning. I took it up to give me some focus in my downtime. That’s just finished.
I wasn’t doing it for career development or anything, so I tried to keep it varied.
8PM: Dreaming of success...
August is a bit of a cliff edge. Personally I have to see how it goes. I’m 29. I don’t know what I’m doing after the Olympics.
I have to complete my medical degree very soon if I’m going to complete it at all. That’s in my mind.
But it’s very hard to make plans beyond that one particular race I’m so focused on in August.
And it’s over in 20 seconds!
* All athletes in conversation with Pól Ó Conghaile.
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