Ryan Gregson's Blog by Ryan_Gregson

I've been up at altitude at Falls Creek for 3 weeks now and have another week to go. I was originally planning to leave after 3 weeks because I'm usually bored shitless but boredom hasn't set in yet so I have decided to stay another week. 

I really enjoy training at Falls Creek but I think I'm starting to enjoy it even more as I get older. When I was younger I probably tended to miss home a little more and felt like I was missing out on what everyone was doing back there. Nowadays I enjoy the peace and quiet up here and even though we all work hard, I find it fairly relaxing.

This trip I've had a really good group of guys to talk dribble with all day and it really makes the training  camp a more enjoyable experience. Having a few of the younger guys like Brett Robinson and Kevin Batt here really helps as they are close friends of mine.  A few of the imports like Andy Vernon and Paul Robinson are great value also because it's always fun to gang up on the Pommy's and the Irish.

The biggest feature here would have to be Ireland's favourite son, Dave Campbell. Dave seems to have a life story for every occasion and has certainly had a good crack over the years. Dave has ran 1:45 for 800m but has struggled with injuries of late. A positive is that when he can't do full training he acts as our group physiotherapist. Dave still has a couple of years left to go in his degree but one day I truly think he will be a world class physio. Dave has been learning the tricks of the trade from Gerard Hartmann and Ger Keane (the physio team I see in Limerick). Having the chance to learn and take guidance from these guys, who I consider to be the best in the business,  will give Dave the best experience on offer for when he has  finished  his running  career and is ready to move on.

I've been watching the cricket every day up here and it's been great to see the Aussies absolutely flogging the Indians.  It's also bad in a way because the last test match was over in only 2 and a 1/2 days! Other than that I've been watching the NFL playoffs and am now starting to get into the Australian Open. I'm not the biggest fan of tennis but I enjoy the 2nd week because there is always a giant killer in the men's draw. It started with Thomas Johannson in 2002 and then in recent years we've seen Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all conquering the heavyweights to get a birth in the final. Who will it be this year?

Ryan Gregson