Tom James' Blog by Tom_James

So I missed South Africa, which is probably the best camp in the calendar and one we’re not supposed to talk about in case people think we’re on an extravagant holiday. To be honest ‘holiday’ is the last word you’re usually thinking of when you go away to somewhere like this. There’s the usual feeling of excitement and anticipation when you get on the plane, but as soon as you land, the feeling of fear sinks in and you realise you’re trapped here for two weeks with a lot of pain ahead. Fortunately then I stayed at home in Henley on Thames training on my own, again, and feeling a bit sorry for myself for having had another setback. Parts of this Olympiad have been very frustrating, with long periods of ‘getting through’ sessions in the gym on my own, having been injured for some reason or other and then trying to find the right motivation to get back up to speed and fix the problem.

It’s getting a little tiring now and I’m just hoping this is the last big thing I’ll have to deal with before the Games. However, it’s not been all doom and gloom. I’ve been able to travel home more often and see my parents and family. When you’re training full-time in the squad then you have to train wherever the squad is and whenever the squad does. You get a day off maybe once a month and as you don’t know when that day will be until the week before, you can’t plan anything. Fortunately, when you’re on your own and training by yourself you can train where and whenever you like. The other big benefit is that you have all the physios, doctors and medical staff all to yourself.

About 5 minutes from where I live is Bisham Abbey, which houses the EIS – the English Institute of Sport. Within the EIS there are the country’s sporting medical brains, helping various athletes from different sports recover or improve their performance leading up to the Games. When the rowing team is away, then the place gets quite empty. This has been great for me because I get personal strength and conditioning, physiology, medical treatment, sports psychologists etc, all to myself. It’s like going in for an MOT, but McLaren F1 runs the garage. Now that I’m back in a boat and getting some good training in, I’m feeling more confident about the months ahead.

One of the problems with injury is that it keeps you from your normal routine, which in turn increases the chances of your body getting injured again. It’s amazing what your body can tolerate, both in terms of a physical load, but also the volume of training. However, this only comes about after the load is gradually built up over time. When this routine is then broken, you can’t just start where you left off, or you'll get injured. Unfortunately that’s the nature of being in a squad – there’s one program, which everyone follows and if you’re not on board with it from day one, then you’re unlikely to catch up without a few problems along the way.