My computer is alive again!

It has been a couple of days since I last posted and I know I had promised to post daily. I had a bit of a power problem. The adaptor I brought with me didn't work so my computer completely ran out of life and died the first day here in Murcia. They do have a computer in the hotel lobby that I can use but I had to keep feeding it with euros, and watching the timer tick down was too much pressure for me ... haha, and I just couldn't think straight.


Anyway, today I was on a mission to find a US to Europe adaptor plug for my laptop. I walked a lot today and wandered into every single shop I could find, stopping on the way to sit and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Well about 2 hours later I was given directions to a hardware store, and it was literally 150 meters from my hotel ... just brilliant. I got my adaptor ... and it cost me a whopping 0.95 cents. The best euro I have spent so far. So now I am back live with you all, and this will probably be the longest post I write, since my usual post is about a paragraph and gets straight to the point ... no fooling around.


Training:

Yesterday was my first day in Murcia so I went out for a 60min run at around 10:15am. My race is at 11:30am and I want to get a little used to the late morning heat and humidity. It was hot but the run wasn't bad. Just ran around by the hotel. There is a bike track pretty much all around the town here that you can run on and not have to worry about traffic ... so that was fine. Later that evening I did my core session and then saw the team physio for a stretch out. Very spoiled here.


Today I was on the track at around 11:30am so right about the time when I will be due to take the olympic stadium for my heat of the 3000m steeplechase in just about a week. With just a week to go today was my last hard session before I start to get the legs fresh. I did 18mins running, drills and strides; 4 by 1000m with 2:00 minutes recovery - splits: 3:08; 3:07: 3:06 and 3:06. finished with 3 miles running. A very strong wind on the first bend and back straight. I thought Ireland was bad for wind, but I actually think this was more windy, and the wind was roasting, not at all refreshing like Ireland. Happy with the effort.


I was very flattered this morning when I logged onto Bryant Univesity website and saw on the home page a lovely article about my qualifying for the European Championships. Bryant is just a wonderful place to work, and I am delighted to share my experience with the whole community there. I have worked at Bryant now for a few years, and I love coaching the XC/Track and Field programs there. I have tremendous support from Bryant, including the president, the athletic director, athletic administration, my fellow coaching staff, as well as the entire Bryant academic community. I hope you all enjoy reading about my experiences.


I have decided to add at the end of each post a fact about Murcia.

Murcia Facts:
Murcia is twinned with 6 different cities/towns around the world, and Miami, USA is one of them. Also Murcia has 3 universities - two public universities: the University of Murcia, founded in 1912 and the UPCT, Polytechnic University of Cartagena and one private university: the UCAM, Saint Anthony Catholic University.