Lisbon Half Marathon Day 2, 2015

This morning Jenny, Justin, Mickey and I had a look around the shopping mall near the hotel. I bought a kettle because there isn't one in the room and I have been gagging for a brew. We had a bit of a mooch around, Jenny climbed on a kids ride - she's a good laugh and doesn't act like a 70 year old!
At noon we had the press conference, luckily I ended up sat at the back with Mickey, Justin and Jenny so I could pass the time on my phone. The press conference for the March race seems to go on a lot longer than the October edition.  There is one middle age guy who speaks at both events and he goes on and on and on and on! He pauses every few words and sounds like he is reading a shopping list, a very long shopping list, probably a 45 minute long shopping list. The press conference was so boring Mickey fell asleep.
After lunch we went to the track for training, we were loaded on to two minibuses our driver made us all jump when he lowered the ramp and halfway down it just dropped to the ground with a mighty crash. I volunteered to try and use it first to see if it still worked but it worked fine and everybody was soon on board and heading to the track. The driver was a bit daredevil, we went to the wrong entrance first of all and that seemed to piss him off because his driving went mad. He was a pedal stamper, he was always either stamping on the accelerator or the break. We were being thrown around the back when all of a sudden we swerved, a coach had pulled out and almost hit us. I'm not sure  what the Portuguese driving test is like but I get the I impression all you do is turn up and show them you can go and stop and them you walk away with your license!
In training Jenny asked me to do a 10km steady, I set off slow and did a few drills in the first mile, by half way I worked out I was actually heading for a PB. I wasn't pushing particularly fast so I decided to up the pace slightly, by 7.5 km I had done the sums in my head and I realised I was on for a huge PB. Obviously it wouldn't actually count as a PB because it wasn't in a race but I wanted to know how fast I could go so I upped the pace again, by no means was I going all out but I completed the 10km in a time much faster than my PB. I felt strong and loved the push, it made me remember why I love this sport. Winter training was absolutely awful this year so I really needed a boost. On the way back to the hotel I spotted some really good street art which I am going to go and have a look at tomorrow between training and driving the race route if I get time. 

Lisbon Half Marathon 2015 day 1

  After an awful winters training things finally turned a corner a few weeks back so I decided to make the trip to Lisbon to race on the super fast course.

In the last couple of days before travelling I had the normal panic about if I was fit enough to mix  be here, if I'd done enough training and if I was even good enough to be invited. I always check my welds again and again to see if they show any signs of failing, I check my tyres are still in good nick and I check my bearings. The welds were good, tyres passable and the bearings... well the bearings were goosed! They were so bad that I couldn't get my axel to turn once when I gave it a flick, panic!! Last time I changed my bearings I managed to break the new ones whilst putting them in. I rushed down to the local cycling shop to get some new once and then set about changing them. After watching a couple of YouTube videos on how to change bearings I managed to do it in 30 seconds or so.  Absolutely no idea how I managed to spend 2 hours doing it last time! I've always said I was a bit special! I needed to check the new bearings were running well so I went out on my 10 mile loop, wow! I felt like I was floating. I can't believe I hadn't noticed they needed changing, what a tit!
I also needed to drop the dog off at the mothers, take my chair in bits, box the chair, get my haircut and sort out insurance for dad driving my car to the airport an for my chair during the trip. I seem to have inherited a tendancy to leave things until the last minute like my dad does. It really annoys me when he does it but I do it too, something I need to work on.
Today me and dad set off at 6:30 am to get to the airport on time. When we got to the airport we both commented on how easy it was this time to find the car park and  get into the the terminal. The reason it was so much easier and better sign posted was because we were at the wrong bloody terminal. We had to trek the best part of a mile pushing my box which weighs a ton, dodging kamikaze old ladies diving in front of me on route. Once at the right terminal I checked in and took my box, wheels and luggage to the over sized area. I said goodbye to dad and got his usual "give'um hell lad" instead of good luck. Bless him. I met up with the other northern wheelchair racers in the Costa and had a coffee and a good old chin wag.
  I was surprised that Mark Conway and Bret Crossley weren't going to be racing, I have never been to Portugal without these too and I had been thinking of one liners to give Bret about his habit of crashing! Jade Jones, Callum Hall, Simon Lawson and Mickey Bushell were the other athletes. Callum is fairly new to the sport and he's improving really quickly, I only met him once before but he's a good laugh. I've known of Mickey for a few years now but not really had chance to talk to him until today, cracking lad! I know Jade and Simon quite well now and I like and respect both of them! I wish I had their talent!
When we landed in Portugal the airport porter who helps the disabled passengers came and patted me on the back, it was the same guy from the last time I came in October,  he asked if I remembered him! What a nice guy he is, really jolly and genuinely interested in what wheelchair racing is all about. I did feel pretty famous being recognised in a foreign country!  Paulo met us at the airport with a van for all the luggage and a fancy minibus with leather seats for us. We are staying in a different hotel this year, it is the one in which we had the press conference last year, very nice! Well very nice except we have no kettle in the room?!?! Do they not know the English can't function without tea?
After a couple of hours Dave Weir CBE and our coach Jenny Archer MBE arrived, they had driven here! It was great to see Jenny because I haven't had chance to see her recently. I went to shake Dave's hand and missed and gave him the campest handshake in history, how embarrassing!  I am rooming with Justin Levene again which I would have chosen to do if I had the choice, he's the athlete I think I have the most in common with. Shelly Woods,  John Smith and Mo Jomni are flying out on Saturday,  there are more British athletes in the race than there are Portuguese!
The food this evening was great, I had sea bass with rice followed by a huge heap of fruit. Whilst we were all sat around the table Mo Farah arrived and he had a good chat with Dave.  I still get a bit star struck by Mo even though I have met him a few times now!
Going to cut this one short as it is getting late. I shall blog again tomorrow.