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Eagle-eyed observers will have noticed that my name is missing from the GB Rowing line-up for this weekend’s Senior Trials at Eton Dorney. There’s nothing to read into this other than it will give me chance to really buckle down and work on producing some really fast racing for the World Cup season.
My racer instincts always take hold whenever there is a timed competition so I was really looking forward to defending last years victory. But, this is 2012 so there is a much bigger picture.
I’ll be watching on Sunday with a mixed feeling of knowing that my Games plan is going to schedule but wanting to be out there on the Olympic water racing against some of the best athletes in the world. That will have to wait until Games time.
The GB Rowing Team has given me a different strategic direction in the build-up to London that focusses on the three World Cup events we have in Serbia, Switzerland and Germany in May and June. I only took part in one World Cup last year before Mark and I won the World Championships, so it will be good for me to have three events to focus on in the lead up to the Olympics.
Winning Gold in London is the ultimate objective for this year and I am confident in the approach that we are taking not only to make this a reality but to do so in the style of reigning Olympic Champions.
We’ve just completed a few weeks of training camp which have gone well. As readers of my column in the Guardian will know, the freezing cold conditions of Italy forced us to change venue from Varese to the slightly less glamorous surroundings of Caversham. It’s weird to be in camp lockdown mode while in the familiar confines of Reading but once we knuckle down to our intense training plan, the location is quickly forgotten.
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the pressures that home athletes are facing at London and how to cope with the workload and weight of expectation. There’s definitely a fine line between making sure training demands are fulfilled and also doing the important media and sponsor work. I think professional athletes are able to find the right balance without either side being adversely affected.
Personally, I really enjoy the media side of my work, as well as sponsor engagements and public speaking; it is something I derive great satisfaction from. I love racing and winning but be able to share my exploits and experiences with the public is an added bonus. The more people can feel part of London 2012 through us athletes the better in my book.
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At last, 2012 is here! To be honest, it’s a welcome relief. Christmas is always a busy time of year. This year, as well as the never ending training schedule, we managed to visit four sets of parents up and down the country, as well as going to Manchester for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
It was fantastic to be invited to SPOTY again, it’s always an amazing event. With so many sports stars in one room you get goose bumps just looking around and imagining what could be happening in August. One of the highlights this year was when Sir Steve Redgrave was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award. It was great to be on stage to see him get this recognition for what he has achieved not just within the sporting arena but with the charity work he does too. And of course, with the most successful British Olympian being a rower it’s always a good thing for our sport!
One of my most memorable Christmas presents was a bit of a surprise. My mother-in-law-to-be gave me a tiger ‘Onesie’. For those of you who don’t know what a Onesie is, I would direct you to the likes of Justin Bieber and Imogen Thomas who wear these jump suit styled outfits with pride! I have to say mine is one better as it has both feet and a hood with ears. It’s fantastic. A suggestion from Mrs P-to-be is that I try and initiate ‘Onesie Wednesdays’ on Twitter. So why not follow me @ZacPurchase and keep an eye out for variations of me in my tiger Onesie all over the world, but only on a Wednesday!
We are back training as a squad now after the Christmas break, and it’s great to catch up with everyone and find out what people have been up to. Although we go away on camp in a few days there is the inspiration that we are finally in Olympic year and we have a very definite and obvious goal to work towards. Nothing will be better then to finish the season standing in the middle of the podium and hear the national anthem being played in front of thousands of British supporters watching the flag being raised. I cannot wait for that race!
I’m writing this whilst sitting on the train back to Reading after spending a gruelling couple of weeks grinding the roads out in Majorca. I know I know, it sounds idyllic; staying in a hotel on the beach opening the curtains in the morning only to find the sky a rusty orange hue and not a cloud in sight…. If only this was the whole story! The reality was not dissimilar, but that’s where the good news started to run out. Each day involved a few hours on the bike, time on the rowing machine and a weights session. Nothing will stand in the way of Olympic glory, not even a fantastic sunrise over the ocean!
I had some great training out there. It was (predictably) tough, but we tackled some of the biggest mountain climbs on the island, and enjoyed pushing the limits of what little we know about cycling. It’s always disheartening when you get overtaken by an effortless old man on a bike, even though you know he is probably a retired pro – they all seem to live out there!
One of the rides, the biggest ride of the ‘holiday’, is a 5 hour ride with a total vertical climb of 1850m. 685 of these meters are up a small bump called Sa Calobra. It’s a devastating climb spread over 9km taking about 30 minutes at maximum power. I was fairly nervous beforehand as I had been paired up with Ken W, the team manager from USA cycling.
Although 18 years my senior he is still a keen competitive cyclist and living on the island knew the route inside out. Fearing the worst I set out at a tentative pace, but thankfully by the time we reached the climb his few extra years, and my few less kilos came to fruition and to my relief I didn’t have to completely destroy myself to keep up with him!
The best thing about cycling up hill is that what goes up must come down! The decent was fantastic; we averaged well over 45kmph for the last quarter of the ride. More than made up for the slow struggle to the top in the first place!
The coming few weeks are looking busy in my diary as I catch up on thing I have missed whilst on camp. I’m in Cheltenham on Wednesday for the Gloucestershire Echo and Citizen Sports Awards. I have been nominated for the Professional Sports Person of the Year, and am also speaking! Going to be an exciting night! On Friday night, I will be attending the Bucks Sports Awards which promises to be another enjoyable evening. Again, I will be speaking and it will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the power of sport in the local community.
Among other things on Saturday we have a test on the rowing machine, but this pales into insignificance when I think about the evenings challenge; I’m the guest speaker at my rowing club, Marlow. There is nothing more terrifying than speaking in front of a group of friends and colleagues, but I hope that the wine will be flowing by the time I have to stand up and people won’t notice any nerves! It’s a particularly special year this year as the clubhouse and boat storage facilities recently burnt down causing catastrophic damage to both building and boats alike. There has been a massive push to raise as much money as possible to get people back on the river again and although the clubhouse has suffered, nothing gets in the way of rowers wanting to get on the water! You can read more about the fire and ways to donate/support the club in its regeneration efforts here.
It seems as if there has hardly been a break since Mark and I became a World Championship double for the second time in the Bled World Championships at the beginning of September. Yet, here we are at the start of what will be one of the most exhilarating and anticipating years of our career, as London 2012 preparations are well and truly underway for the GB Rowing Team.
It’s been a turbulent year for me personally but I was firmly focussed on winning big in Bled, so to beat the Kiwis in such a thrilling final was a big result – my third World Championship title in total and a key indication that, on our day, Mark and I are still unbeatable as a crew.
That will be at the forefront of my mind as we embark on the London journey. They like using that word ‘journey’ a lot in TV reality shows, but it is what makes a story – and this year has been a captivating tale for my own journey to London. I don’t mind telling you that I hope the next chapters will make for a smoother ride.
We are back in training and have shaken off the inevitable rustiness of our on-water craft to get back into a solid routine. For us rowers, the three-week summer break is akin to any normal person’s Christmas weight-gain, but we are very much in New Year trim now!
I spent my Summer travelling back from Slovenia with my fiancée Fliss, driving one of the fantastic vehicles on loan to me by BMW North Oxford. We stopped off in France for the final week, where we met up with some family but also toured the amazing Laurent Perrier vineyard to make some important champagne bookings for our wedding, which will take place after London next year.
Since we’ve been back, I have carried out a number of appearances and media interviews thanks to the efforts of my management team. We were up at Leisure Industry Week in Birmingham with our friends at Red Bull UK, while I was also fortunate enough to join a panel at a Sport Relief event at Twickenham last week, joining Mark Foster for a fun Apprentice-style competition with the very lovely marketing people. I am still hoping to fulfil my desire to get on a Celebrity version of The Apprentice if Lord Sugar ever wants to give me a call.
Last Friday was all about the BT Olympic Gold Ball where Fliss and I had the pleasure of BMW’s company for the night. It was an enjoyable night with great entertainment from Sir Tom Jones, amongst others. The following morning, Mark and I were subject to a rude awakening when we joined GQ for a nude photo shoot as part of their nude Olympian issue. You’ll have to wait until March next year for the results of that but needless to say it was quite a liberating experience!
There’ll be more news from me as training continues with the harsh winter mornings making us work even harder for our Olympic dream but somehow the thought of winning Gold in front of a cheering home crowd makes it all worthwhile.
With just two days of racing to go, our semi final tomorrow will be between Portugal, Denmark, China, Greece, Great Britain (that’s us!) and Poland. It kicks off, local time, at about 11:15 which is 10:15 in the UK. Is a fairly important race for a number of reasons. The three crews who cross the line first from each semi final will not only qualify for the A-Final on Sunday, but will also qualify their boats to race at the Olympics less than a year away in London. It means that the fighting for those top three places will be absolutely savage.
The racing tomorrow (and Sunday for that matter!) can be watched a number of ways…
- BBC Red Button – Live coverage both days
- BBC 2 Grandstand – Highlights program at 14:00 Saturday and 15:45 Sunday (UK time)
- World Rowing Live Race Viewer (Video) - Here
- World Rowing Live Race Tracker (Commentary and GPS) – Here
- Radio 5 Live – Here
Sure there are other options, so If you know I have missed any, tweet me (@ZacPurchase) or drop me an email (moc.e1337429552sahcr1337429552upcaz1337429552@lare1337429552neg1337429552) or visit the Facebook page.
We have sorted out our holiday this year! Finally, after lots of thinking, many discussions, and one or two ideas unceremoniously binned, we have decided that the most relaxing way of spending the 3 weeks holiday I get a year is driving 3000 miles round Western Europe!
To be honest the maddest bit is that Fliss (wife to be) is starting off this mammoth trip driving from our home in South Oxfordshire to work in London, then after a full day at work, driving through the night in plenty of time to see our semi final in Bled. This in itself is a 1000 mile slog covering the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia. I think she is off her rocker, but its cheaper, easier and more convenient the hopping on a plane! You can follow her journey on Twitter: @MrsPurchaseToBe, be prepared for an amusing few tweets with a slightly dry humerus edge to them!!
After racing is finished, I take control of the route. We are heading across the north of Italy, calling in to Venice, Milan and Turin. I’m really looking forward to the Alps in summer. I know they look dramatic covered in snow, but with the sun out and the windy road less treacherous, I will have plenty of time to enjoy the view!
When we eventually end up in France we head further West to the Dordogne for a while before eventually making it to Reims to taste some champagne. The ulterior motive is that if (or when!) we find some fizz we really like, we will buy it on bulk and serve it at our wedding next year! Nothing like having an excuse to sample natures finest liquid!
Anyway, will keep busy rowing in the meantime, and have something to look forwards afterwards!
The draw for our first race was released earlier. It looks like we have France, Argentenia, the home Slovenian crew and Cuba to race against. None of this really matters of course. You are either good enough or you’re not. That’s what I love about racing; if at the end of the day, you have done everything you can to go as fast as possible between A and B, yet someone still beats you, you’re not fast enough. No points for style, or finesse, or cleanliness of boat (although I’m sure the coaches would appreciate that last one!). Just plain simple, harsh and sometimes brutal speed.
Yes, all the crews will keep an eye on each other, and use that as motivation to maximise their race speed, but there is only so much you can pull out of a bag during the race. The hard work has been done on lakes far from here, sweat has been poured into floors all over the world in preparation for this week’s racing and now it’s time to put things into place. The first race for us will be interesting because we can see how well our preparation has been. Not having raced the World Cup series I think will be an advantage; no one will know how fast we can really go.
The team is really upbeat at the moment; we have some great athletes in some fast crews and when the finals start next Thursday I think we can expect many medals for Great Britain. Start learning the words to the National Anthem, people – you may well need them more then you think!
To quote the President in Armageddon; “God speed, and good luck to you. “
Tomorrow we leave our training camp on Lake Varese in the beautiful foothills of the Italian Alps to get to another stunning natural lake in Bled, Slovenia. In order to accomplish this trek, we are getting a bus (8am) from the hotel to the airport, flying to North to Frankfurt, changing planes and flying back South again to Ljubiana before being bussed to the hotel at the other end arriving at about 5pm. The boats are going by road which is only a 5 hour drive. I know which I would prefer!!
We have had a really good camp, putting together the final bits and bobs that make our boat go fast. If you add to that the number of films I have watched (11) litres of Coca-Cola I have drunk (6) and balls of ice cream consumed (15) and you get the idea of how much we have done our best to make it good fun! Its always good going fast, but its even better to go fast and be relaxed and stress free at the same time. Did I mention that i have a slightly sweet tooth?!
On a similar note, I have been talking to a lady called Charlotte on twitter (@GoFreeCakes) about her new recipes. She was looking for volunteers to taste new healthy cakes and I just couldn’t resist offering my hungry, post weigh-in stomach to help out. I will do anything for food, particularly cake! Looking forward to getting home to find some waiting for me!
You might have guessed that at this time of year my mind thinks about one thing, and one thing only. Food makes my world go round at the best of times: I love cooking, experimenting with different flavours, making things from scratch and generally messing about in the kitchen. The best bit however (well most of the time, when it works!) has to be eating the results of my endeavours. I have missed my kitchen at home, and am looking forwards to getting back to put on all the weight I have had to loose for racing! I think I’m going to try and make Squid Ink and Crab Ravioli to get me back into the swing of things.
Any other suggestions welcome! I’ll let you know how I get on, but before that, we have a World Championships to contend with!
Ciao!
Today we have the BBC here with us in not-quite-as-sunny-as-normal Varese filming what they technically call ‘preview pieces’. For us that means we get filmed on the water and asked a few questions so they have something to show between races when it comes to the finals. Its quite good fun, the usual crowd are here and we know them quite well by now! Going to go for my interview (with Mark of course!) at 3pm. Will let you know how it goes via twitter. Hope the sun comes out before then though… Fingers crossed!
I got the following information from the BBC website about when and where you can find the World Championships on their various media platforms. I’ll update this with other broadcasters as and when I get the info, so check back soon!
“John Inverdale presents coverage of the World Rowing Championships in Slovenia with special guest and five-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave. Britain will field boats in all the Olympic classes and three of the four Paralympic classes. The 68-strong team will aim to defend four world titles and arrive full of confidence having won 10 medal, including four golds, at last month’s Lucerne World Cup.”
Finals streamed live on bbc.co.uk/sport and on BBC Red Button and covered on 5 live Sports extra
- Thursday 1 September; approx 0930-1245,
- Friday 2 September; approx 0930-1245,
- Saturday 3 September; approx 1100-1245,
- Sunday 4 September; approx 1100-1245.
Highlights
- BBC One, 1400-1630, Saturday 3 September,
- BBC Two, 1545-1700, Sunday 4 September.
Of course, the World Rowing website will also be showing the racing in their usual way, with both GPS coverage, live audio commentary and streaming of the finals on their website here.
Wow! Less then 2 weeks until our first race at the 2011 World Championships! I can’t believe that we are so close to the good fun, pointy end of the season. The thing we have been training hard and relentlessly for this year is nearly upon us. Now that is exciting!
I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the international race circuit. Its been a while since our disappointing racing in Munich at the start of the season, but we have bounced back strongly. Of course you never really know until you get there, but as far as I’m concerned, we are going really well.
Its been an interesting few weeks past. I had a really busy few months with various invites to a number of events ranging from the Royal Box at Wimbledon (yes a while ago now!) to presenting the prizes at Goring and Streatly Regatta. Both great fun and met some really great people.
Of course, all this extra curricular ‘fun’ goes hand in hand with the never ending toil that is a normal training day. When we go on training camp, its like our own little world. The days all seem to merge together. We get up, eat, train, eat, train, eat, sleep, train, eat and sleep. Every day. Monotonous but necessary. Our training camp in Germany was fantastic. We had good weather, I worked really hard on my tan, and we only went to McDonalds every other day. They are of course a Tier One Olympic Sponsor, and we were only conducting International Quality Control! Now we are in Varese, Northen Italy, starting to put the finishing touches to our heavy training, and enjoying the speed work. Unfortunately no McDonalds, however the Italians are renowned for three things; Pasta, Pizza and Ice Cream. There is a fantastic home made ice cream shop a short meander from the hotel. Its a challenge staying away!
Will keep you the blog updated a little more frequently in the next few weeks, I promise!Particularly in the lead up to the Worlds. Fingers crossed if I keep the diet going, and the tanning consistent, the training will look after itself!
Ciao!
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