Preparation

There's now just two weeks before I head up to Sheffield for my final stab at Olympic qualification. My training will gradually wind itself down to the stage where I'm like a coiled spring, a caged banshee ready to burst off the blocks with as much zip and vim as I can possibly muster. Lots of fruit and veg, neither to gain weight nor to lose weight, and lots of rest, sleep, and space. The physical work has been done, and now I'll focus on the details and technicalities of my starts, turns, and finishes while at the pool. I feel more powerful in the water than I ever have before, but it will make not a jot of difference unless I can translate that to speed, explosive speed. After a lifetime in the sport I know what works best for me. I'm doing everything I can; no stone stands unturned, no crack remains unfilled. More so than at any meet I've swam in the past I'm going to concentrate on my psychological preparation, whether by visualizing each aspect of my race, or running the race through my mind like a cassette, replaying what might happen and what could go wrong and how I'll deal with each situation. There's no chance of failure.