Q&A: Early season catch-up

How are you feeling two months into the Paralympic season?

I’m not too bad. I’m feeling quite fresh even though we’re in heavy training. I’ve done four week’s worth of training and done almost a three second pb today in the 200m IM which is good.

You know you're building on a good foundation to be stepping up towards something next year which will be a really, really good year.

It was short course racing which is something I haven’t done for a while but it’s still good to swim so fast.

Do you enjoy this point of the season?

I do and I don’t. I enjoy it because you know you’re building on a good foundation to be stepping up towards something next year which will be a really, really good year.

You know without the work you’re putting in early season, you won’t get there next year. You’ve got that side of thing to enjoy.

But at the same time, you’re doing all this work and you feel constantly tired because you’re training just so heavily. So there’s ups and downs, same with everything in life.

What are your thoughts on your performance at the IPC Swimming European Championships this summer?

I think overall I was pleased with my performance. I had a long week and raced a lot of races and came away with quite a few medals which I was really pleased about.

But it was quite nice to see some of my other competitors within Europe and see how they’re moving on and see what they’re doing.

It was at a good place a year out from London to have a look and see what I can do a year out. Now I know what I need to work on in that year and hopefully put myself in great shape for next year.

What will you be working on in training in the coming months?

A mixture of everything to be honest. There’s a lot of focus on technique but that’s the same for every swimmer. Everyone is trying new ideas to give them the edge. You’ve just got to keep up with the ideas. Everyone is different and it’s about what suits you.

Will you be going to any training camps or competing again soon?

The British team are going to Durban in January but I’m not going. I decided to stay behind and work with my coach John Stout. He’s not able to make it out there and I decided I wanted to work with my coach so close to the trials.

The rest of the 2011, I’ve got long course regionals next weekend, Arena League the weekend after, then Welsh Winter Champs the weekend after that.

Almost every weekend competition because I take part in able-bodied.