100 days to go!

100 days to go

This week marks 100 days until the Beijing Paralympics, and preparations are well under way.



Team Camp in Canberra

Immediately after trials I took a few days off to recover, before getting together with my coach to plan m program until Beijing. Then the entire Olympic and Paralympic swim teams converged on the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for our first staging camp. This was the first time the entire Paralympic team of athletes, coaches and support staff had been together, so the purpose of the camp was really to get to know each other and to ‘gel’ as a team, as well as to meet the team coaches who will be working with us in Beijing. The week was peppered with all the usual ‘get to know you’ icebreakers, as well as serious subjects such as sports psychology and nutrition. By far the most fun we had was preparing for our team skit night with our coaching group of five swimmers. The task was to take 20 photos around Canberra. Seeing as how the Olympic torch was coming through, our group made a pretend torch with cellophane and took turns running it past all the landmarks from Parliament House and the war memorial to the Chinese embassy. Before we attended the dawn service at the war memorial we were fortunate enough to have a speech by former defence force chief General Peter Cosgrove on Anzac day eve. He sought to give us an Anzac hero we could identify with through the story of ‘Diver’ Derek, a WWI digger who displayed true mateship and was viewed as leader by all his colleagues. Diver refused to take the easy option, and refused to give in. Even when he was finally sent home from the war and given awards to recognise his contribution, he wanted to get back amidst his mates on the battle field and 'get the job done.' He suggested we might start a war cry ‘Go diver’ to cheer each other on.



Marayke versus Leisel Jones: Australia's top breaststrokers go head to head.

I found myself on the blocks beside world record holder and Olympian Leisel Jones when we joined with the Olympians to compete in Grand Prix 1,a short course competition at the end of the camp. It was the 50m breaststroke and, predictably, she was finished by the time I turned around at the halfway point. We joked we should have got her not to use her legs so it was a more fair race. But it was a real buzz all the same. The team spirit of our team compared to the Olympic team made me so proud. Every time a Paralympian raced there were cheers from teammates, and then deafening silence when Olympians stood on the blocks. I know which team I’d rather be in! Last thing before heading to the airport we got our immunisations (ouch I hate needles) and my arm was sore for the next week.



Training hard

I came back from Canberra super motivated to train. But the past fortnight hasn’t exactly gone the way I wanted. I have accidentally burnt my leg and been out of the water on doctors’ orders. How did I burn my leg, you may ask? The truth is I don’t know. Because I am paraplegic I cannot feel my legs, so I have to be super careful not to burn, cut or scrape them. On this occasion I was cleaning my fish tank with cold water when I looked down and noticed blisters. It should take roughly three weeks to heal. I refuse to let this burn stop me training and being fit for Beijing, so I have switched my focus to cross training out of the pool. Six days a week I ride my handcycle (a bike I pedal with my arms) from my house in Maroochydore over to Alexandra Headlands Hill to Mooloolaba and back – twice. It is a round trip of 20-30km taking up to three hours. At night I do weights training at home or use my handcrank for a further one hour of exercise. So all in all I am still getting fitter and stronger. In amongst it all I was invited to be guest speaker for the Apex state conference at Mudjimba, where the Apexians kindly donated $1000 to my charity, Sporting Dreams. Meanwhile my Mum and my sister have finally booked to come and watch me in Beijing. We had to order their opening ceremony tickets before I even knew if I was on the team (no pressure on me!)



Moving up in the world rankings

The latest swimming world rankings have also come out. I am now ranked fourth in the world for the 150m Individual Medley and third in the 50m breaststroke (unfortunately this event is not being held in Beijing).



Signing my Games contract

The simple act of signing my name was all it took to make it official. The large contract came in the mail and my boyfriend, Alex, was happy to witness my signature. In 100 days 4000 athletes from 150 countries will take place in the 13th Paralympic Games from September 6-17. The Games will consist of 20 sports and athletes will use the same venues as the Olympics, which finish two weeks earlier. Until then I will train twice a day six days a week so I have 84 more training sessions to do. That’s 84 more chances to put together the race of a life time.