Day 1 Mon 13th-
Hi Everybody,Shane here.It was an early start this morning having to get up at 5am to leave for 6 and catch our flight from Shannon at around 9.45am.We somehow managed to secure the poles to the top of Deirdres car only for the boot then not being able to open but we managed.We got on the road and were on schedule to make the airport in plenty of time but had a little scare;we missed the turnoff to the airport as we were yapping between ourselves and tought we would have to go all the way to the Ennis roundabout before we could turn around.I suggested we turn off into the next village up the road and thankfully there was a backroad to the airport,phew!
We checked in and i had to pay 60euro for 3kgs of excess baggage[training equipment] with Ryanair.In order to lighten the bag i gave Clarence a carry on bag and the put the pole vault flexi bar into it.Clarence was later stopped at the security check area as the flexi bar was considered a restraint which could also be used to strangle someone!!:D
We got on the plane and got ready for take off.As soon as we started moving Joelene freaked out and her heart rate went upto 129[we had a heart rate monitor on her for the laugh].Just over 2 hours later we landed to the bright sunny skys of Faro airport.But as soon as we got outside we got a shock as it was quiet windy and cold.
We were picked up by the transfer company and had a 45min drive to our hotel.On the way the skys were looking very dangerous for rain but the closer we got the Monte Gordo the clearer it was.When we arrived it was 18 degrees which wasnt too bad but of course the girls complained it wasn’t warm enough.Our hotel the Dunamar Aparthotel was in an ideal spot just down the road from all the restaurants and shops and right at the start of the 3km straight road to the track.The hotel was spotless and very well laid out.The rooms have 2 single beds,a sofa bed which im sleeping on,bathroom,kitchen and balcony.I must say i did very well picking it as some of the other hotels don’t look the best and all for only 200 euro per person for the week including breakfeast.For good measure there is an outdoor pool,indoor pool,games room and of course a bar which i may visit on the last night.
First thing was first when we got there and that was food.We took a stroll down town and there were restaurants everywhere.We picked one and most of us had a small burger and chips.We were treated to a free glass of some kind of wine shot but only Joelene drank it.They also gave us a plate of appetisers which Clarence picked up and began to eat and said it was potato with garlic.Everyone else then picked them up with Ailbhe saying they wernt bad;about 2 seconds later Joelene spat one out and said there was fish in them which put a quick stop to everybody especially Ailbhe.Our burgers didn’t come in a bun instead with a fried egg on top.It was a bit greasy for Emma but quiet nice but for only 7 euro including a drink it wasn’t bad.
After we got back to the hotel we decided to get taxis to the track incase we got lost cycling.We got there and my jaw dropped,talk about a set up;an indoor training area,Olympic weight gym,2/3 throwing fields,endless distance running trails,perfect gradient hills for over/under speed work and of course a nice outdoor track.Probably the best thing about it is the huge supply of equipment within arms reach.There are probably over 100 hurdlles around the track in trolleys so theres no dragging hurdles a few hundred metres to use them.The equipment room have 2 staff who get you whatever you want;cones,med balls,throwing implements,they have practically everything and plenty of it.
We started our hurdles session and it went ok considering the lads were a bit tired from flying.Ailbhe and Emma worked hard on their first stride from the blocks and also on their trail legs and were going pretty well by the end of the one strider session.The 2 boys on the other hand were just not having a good day and were a bit frustrated by it but we will get it right the next time.For me i loved watching all the other top class international athletes and coaches.There was this one group of scandenavian hurdlers who i could have watched all day.Im going to rob some of their drills and use them tomorrow.
We got back to the hotel around half 7 and the athletes decided to go to the pool but it was a bit cold.After that we got ready and went for dinner.After walking around for a good while we ended up in a restaurant right beside the one we ate in earlier.Emma got stuck sitting next to the fresh fish display which she wasn’t too happy about.I had the steak and when it came out it looked rather nice but about half way into it i realised well done here is not like well done at home,needless to say Joelene had the same problem with her steak and Emma with hers.We decided on the way home we would go mad and get some ice creams which was a bit of a laugh as we got them in a self service ice shop.
When we got back to the hotel around 10 the girls went to find internet with no luck and myself and Jamie had a game of pool which of course i won.After that it was time to hit the hay to get some rest for tomorrow.I cant wait! So thats it from me for today,ltrz.

Hey everyone Emma here... I can’t believe i was up this morning at 5 o clock, was an early start cant believe i could even function at the time Today is our 1st day here and even though it was hot it isn’t really what i expected. The apartment is unreal and we have a balcony with a nice view. Today we had our 1st session of short hurdles, the whole session was basically drills and 1 striders. The track was busy with all different nationalities around the place and people doing so many different events. Our session wasn’t very tough but was a good start off to the week.
When we got home myself and ailbhe were dying to go for a swim, as we’re on holidays and all ha, so we decided to go to the outdoor pool only to find out it was freezing we were sickend but i still convinced ailbhe to jump in and her being ailbhe she did haha but she was out fairly fast again haha!!!
So all in all everything is going good at the moment. .bye for now=) HI TREV:P

Hi guys!!! Ailbhe here! Well the day started off at 5 this morning...earely start! Got our flight and all the usual stuff...except we had the poles with us!
The hotel is fab! We have a big balcony in our room which is nice. We went down town after checking in to get food and just look around. We went to the beach too..its just over the fence from our hotel.
Then we went to the track. Its so cool! We have these special membership card that we have to swipe to get in. Theres so many people from other countries and their all so professional!
When we came back to the hotel we myself and Emma went swimming in the outdoor pool. It was absolutely freezing! Id know though cause I jumped in but Emma just put in her toes! We decided to go to the indoor one then..!!For dinner we headed down the town. There are so many restaurants around the place but we spent about half an hour walking around the place before we went into one! After we went to get some ice cream. It was the best ice-cream shop I’v ever been in in my life.
When we came back we just headed to bed! The weather is nice but its not as hot as I thought it would be..and of course none of us have clothes for cold weather! Thats about everything! =] xO.

Hello,,,Joelene here!!
First day was very good.. Its tough work watching every one else training! Haha. I was wrecked after it!
The flight was disgusting, I hate flying and I taught id have a heart attack. But i survived, just about!! The apartments are unreal but Ailbhe keeps forgetting that that there is no one to clean up after her! The weather is not as nice as we expected but its far better then Ireland! ? We have been a little cold cos we didn’t think to bring warm clothes. Although eating gigantic ice-creams at 9o’clock at nite doesn’t help. Food is fantastic and cheap, with the exception of our expensive and fantastic ice-creams!!
Training bright and early tomorrow “everyone has to have eaten breakfast by half 8” bla bla bla! Haha. Anyway, we will update with stories throughout the week!

Clarence- I didn’t get up this morning because I stayed up all night playing God damn pokemon, later I went to the airport and went to Portugal there we got a taxi to monte gordo and stayed in the hotel to rest, then we got something to eat and two hours later we went to the track, and did a very lazy hurdles training after the training we got something to eat after that me and Jaime decided to go to the outdoor swimming pool, we thought just because the sun was shining it was going to be warm, but it turned out to be cooled as Irish waters.Cya!

Jamie- Aight ppl what’s up wit ye well one thing you didn’t have to get up at 5 this morning to the piss poor Ardfert weather (just a bit later for ye haha)sure you learn something on those mornings which you forget in the following few hours. Trips away are the worst thing in the world. And Sure id did break one tradition and was the first to show up but shane wasn’t going to start with a change and was last haha. After a few minutes sorting out the bags we were off and after another few minutes i was off to sleep.........but that didn’t last long at all coz i had to get out so we could put Joleen’s bag in. Just for that she’s on my hate list haha.
After a very uneventful drive to the airport myself nd Clarence quickly became local celebrities by carrying the pole vault poles into the airport i sware my hand was sore from autographs haha
After a mix up involving 2 albanian monks, a traffic cone , and the entire 1978 new Zealand team (of which youll never know anything).We were off to soon to renamed sunny Portugal (to be renamed to include the words deception ,wind and penguin.
The hotel is grand out sure all mod cons and that the women on the other hand are fair unbelievable the only thing is they stir up the question of where do all of them hide when there not on holidays cause where ever it is i want to be buried there
Ohhh and i know shanes more than likely tlked bout this already but the track is just a set up and a half if i ever win the lotto i promise to build about half of it back in ardfert

Tuesday-
Shane-
Hey everyone.Another early start tomorrow which the gang aren’t enjoying too much.Poor Jamie and Clarence had to walk to the track today with the poles while we cycled on the bandy and slightly dangerous hotel bikes.We hit the track around 10 and it was packed;more Brits and Scands every day.We started a hurdles session but didn’t get too far due to some rain to we switched to the gym.Its quiet hard to control Clarence in the gym as he is a bit of a weights fanatic so i have to try and mind him which he doesn’t really like.Emma is unreal powerful but still cant get through a weights session without picking up some kind of a pain.Ailbhe was comfortable enough but Jamie wasn’t great as he is afraid of doing snatches which is a bit ridiculous but anyway.
We hung around for a few hours to soak up a bit of atmosphere and then did our second session in the indoor track.I started the 2 boys doing their pole vault drills as the girls weren’t back yet but i cant break it down properly for them.Joelene took over when they came along with the help of a British pole vaulter/coach;quickly enough they started seeing improvements.I did a good technical shot session with Emma and shes really beginning to understand the mechanics of the event.I juggled that with a triple jump session with Ailbhe but shes still making all the same mistakes especially the toes pointed down,AHHHHH!She understands what shes doing wrong but cant correct it and there is little more i can do about it at this stage.Before we left we watched this savage circuit session which went on for 2 hours and still wasn’t finished when we were leaving,it was killer.
After we got back to the hotel we rested a bit and then headed for dinner to a restaurant around the corner.I had steak and chips for 7.50 euro,cheap or what.When we goy back to the hotel we chillaxed in the lounge on the internet on my laptop and it ought everyone how to play poker,don’t worry it was only with matches!Were off to Spain tomorrow so we are going to have a nice hard session in the morning,it should be interesting to see who can cope with it.Ltrz!

Jamie-Aight again anyone who is actually going to read this after the drivel of yesterday but its my duty to fill you with every mind boggling piece of this camp. Sure how bad apart from Clarence deciding he liked to switch the light on in his sleep and a breakfast that left you wanting it was a good start. Myself and Clarence drew the short straws and had to walk for an hour in the sun with the pole vault poles which started the downhill slide of the morning we attempted to start with a short hurdles session but the rain soon stopped that, we went in to the brilliantly equipped gym and my new found hatred of the gym came up shortly after. To me it seems a small tiny bit/massively stupid to try to hold some thing kinda heavy right over your own head. After relaxing for a couple hours round the track watching a few spectacular athletes and having a look at the facilities we set into a pole vault session where we made some great progress (more than ive made in the past year) with a lot of help from Joleen and a little from the british pole vault coach While his group did one of the most intense circuit sessions ive every seen. When we finished myself and Clarence discovered if you are a fella no taxi will pick you up at all. That night we didn’t have to walk for 45 mins like Monday night to find a place to eat (i forgot to put that down yesterday) We went to one of the closest restaurants followed by ice cream (sweet as). Back at the hotel we had a game of poker for matches in the lobby(none of the girls from yesterday were suddenly struck with the idea to join us unfortunately? ) which the bar-man got very worried about and went off to bed. Tlk2Ya.

Clarence- I had a good time keeping Jamie up all night because I loved sleeping on the wrong side of the bed(must have something to do with the earths magnetic poles) kicking the light switch on. I had a great sleep, we then went to the track(pole vault fail) to have a short hurdles session which didn’t turn out to good, it started to rain and we had a gym session which wasn’t exactly HARDCORE, 70 kg powerclean pssh... I didn’t have a good time since Shane didn’t let bang and drop the padded weights on the padded floor it was an epic fail haha. Before the pole vault we went into the indoor track, it had a few gymnastic equipment which was awesome, I had fun climbing the rope attached to the ceiling, I looked down there was no mat haha. The first jumps in the pole vault were terrible for me and I couldn’t get it right but with the help of Joleen my last 2 vaults were good! So I look forward to my next pole vault session, we called it a day and went to the hotel. The Restaurant we went to was alright soon after that we got ice cream (athlete diet?)

Well everybody...Ailbhe here! This morning we got our bikes! At first we were all not too keen on the idea but once we got going they were fine.
We started off doing a hurdles session outside but had to go inside because of the rain!! When we were finished in the gym the sun had come out again so myself joelene and emma got a bit of lying in the sun time! Then we used our bikes to cycle to get food. When we were on our way back to the track we got caught in the rain and emmas chain fell off her bike. Luckily Joelene turns out to be a bit of a mechanic so she was able to fix it.
We did our second session on the indoor track.
When we got back to the hotel we went swimming. Its still too cold to go swimming outside though! After dinner we played poker in the hotel lobby! I don’t really get it but im trying!! =]xO.

Joelene-Wat a day!! Double session at the track, i had great intentions of tanning myself but it rained on top of us so we went to do some weights!..... The lads look wrecked except for Clarence, he loves weights. Every1 is working really hard and doing really well!
Myself, Emma and Ailbhe went lookin for food for lunch on our new bicycles and got MASSIVE sandwiches with a can of drink for €3... whoop whoop.
I did a bit of a pole vault session, trying to iron out the wrong doings that they had been doing and they both did really well... think they will Def beat their PB’s at their next comp!
We finally found a restaurant that didn’t make Emma ill and it was AMAZING!! We also learned to play poker using matches instead of money, but the bar man looks very nervous after giving us 6 packs of em!! Ha ha. Off to Spain tomorrow!
Joelene x x x x

Emma-Well isn’t she some mog ^^^^^ haha ? . . . Emma ere:P . . today we got our bikes there silver with a coat of rust but there great crack to be driving down the road on. As my chain keeps falling off my bike i have named it bandy brakes-alot:D. We had a fairly early start again today but we were finished early too. We had 2 sessions a short hurdles session and i had a shot session. We stayed around the track for 2 hours in between sessions so me ailbhe and joelene went and got big massive sandwiches for 3 euro while the boys got cereal bars ha. My chain fell of my bike just as we were going back to the track but joelene the handy man was on call to fix it. We came home early and had to pay 4.50 to get a swimming hat if we wanted to swim indoors where the water wasn’t minus 6 :Pwe had a great auld time. We played poker in the lobby its our main hang out ha and that was about it !!:D Emma

Wednesday-
Shane-
I was a bit tired this morning but we have only one session today so it wont be too bad.We got to the track a little earlier than yesterday to get a lane.There was no messing around and we got stuck into a long hurdles session as soon as we had our warm up done.Jamie didn’t finish it as he had a fall on the way to the track on his bike which had a baby seat on the back and damaged his knee.Emma worked the hardest and pushed herself right to the limit which i like to see.Of course Clarence looked good even though he is not a long hurdler.The stamina from it will benefit his short hurdles.Ailbhe was always was good but never seems to push herself to the level i like to see[Emma today].Afterwards we did a 30min warm down session which they enjoyed as it was nice and relaxed.While we were training there was 2 russian female sprinters training near us.One of them had the most savage start i had ever seen.Im learning more and more everyday and will be trying out alot of it on ye athletes when i get back.
We cycled back to the track and on the way my chain fell off but did anyone stop to help me,NO!Il get them back.We changed quickly enough and got a taxi to the ferry to go to Ayamonte Spain.When we got there the shops were closed for Siesta so the boys and i went to the zoo which was free;it was alright.We got a bit lost then but found our way back and browsed around the shops.We then went to a shopping centre where the girls went a bit mad shopping.Our ferry was due to leave at 7.30pm and we tought it was 6.15pm when we were leaving the shopping centre but it turned out to be 7.15pm as there is an hour difference between Spain and Portugal,Oops.Because we missed the ferry we just got a taxi back which was quiet cheap.When we got back we got ready and went for dinner in the same restaurant as it was nice and also cheap.Its probably cheaper to eat out here than cook.I am now sitting in the lobby writing this and playing cards again listening to Emma taking the piss out of the foreigners with a pavee accent;they don’t have a clue what shes on about.We played poker for 2 euro each on the third gsme because Jamie won the two practice games but i won when it counted,ha ha!So thats it for today,Ltrz!

Ailbhe-
Jamie got a bit of a shock this morning when he realised that his bike had a baby seat on the back of it! Cycled to the track, did a long hurdles training session(it rained a couple of times!!) cycled back to the hotel and got ready to go to Spain!! We got a taxi to a ferry which took us to spain. When we got there we went to get food cause all the clothes shops were closed until half four! To waist time we decided to get hot chocolate. When we were finished we hit the shops. Then we got a taxi to a shopping centre at the other side of town. There was an unreal clothes shop there so all the girls got loads of clothes! As we were about to head back to catch the half 6 ferry to Portugal joelene saw on here receipt that the time was 7.15. none of us had realised that there had been a time change when we came across on the ferry!! We tried but failed to get a taxi and after5 minutes of walking fast we realised that we wernt going to make it. Thyen i realised that i lost my fone! we went back to where we had hot chocolate and the man behind the counter had it! We had to get a taxi home, it wasn’t that long of a drive so it was ok! We went to get food in the shop, came back to the hotel, got changed and went for dinner.
Now im typing this and everybody else is playing poker! Today was a very funny day! =]xO.

Today we only had 1 traning session because we were going to spain to do some shopping. Our session was tough enough an i had to do 5 150’s before i ever even thought about going to spain. Even though it was warm today there was thunder and it rained once or twice but were used to that. When we did finaly get to spain we found out the shops were closed until half 4 so we went for hot chocolate for about an hour. ? we got some new clothes though when the shops finally opened!! After a while joelene realised that there was a time difference of an hour between spain and Portugal and we ended up missing the ferry home to Portugal. But after a long walk and a search for Ailbhes lost phone we got some taxis back to the hotel. We went food shopping came back to the hotel and then went for some dinner. Today was funny out ha HAPPY DAYS!!:P Emma

Joelene-Wednesday... ha ha ha, Jamie got his bike today with a baby seat attached, you should have seen his face, priceless!! To make it even funnier, he had no back breaks so an abrupt stop sent him over the handle-bars. Dont worry, i patched him up!! A few scratches and bruises.
Training wasn’t too bad, a bit tough but they all coped.
Went to Spain today; a ten min boat ride with a one hour time difference, which we didn’t realise til out return boat had left!! Got loads of shopping done tho so €20 in a taxi was worth it.!
Laters ? Joelene! X x x

Jamie-Wednesday.... Aight lads i cant believe youre still trying this i thought youd have to give up with the crap i was writing before but sure today started with a shock my bike decided to tell me i had children and because i argued with it, it decided to throw me over the handlebars. That left the score 2 mangled knees and lost sunglasses to the bike and a broken basket to me (ill admit i lost that one). The only other thing i can say about the bikes is that it is impossible to cruise for women when they think youve got baggage ?
Sure at training i wasn’t able to do much but ill make up for that tomorrow, and i was able to watch a few Scandinavian pole vaulters and got chatting(sign laungage and lots of pointing) with them in the hope i might be able to borrow a pole, (chances).Anyhow i must beat shane at poker again so Tlk2Ya

Thursday-
Hey Emma here .... the early starts are getting a bit easier now like so this morning wasn’t too bad. We went to the track and had our hurdles session before the rain came and later i had a shot session. The aches and pains are starting to appear now in all these muscles ALL over my body haha, so i’m booked in for a massage tomorrow ha. When we came home we got ready to head out and went looking for the stupid dutch resturaunt that shane keeps going on about and once again we didn’t find it. So me ailbhe and joelene went for Chinese it was fab :D. Now once again were sitting in the lobby playing poker its like a bad case of déjà vu every night :P all 4 now laters ? x x

Hello everybody...!!! well we had two sessions again today. We tried to do a bit of rope climbing when we were finished but Clarence was the only person who seemed to be able to manage it! It rained a lot! Came home and went to dinner! Oh I lost my phone again but guess what...I found it!! Not much more to the day. Im dying to go down to the beach to go swimming but with the weather we have at the moment that doesn’t look very likely! Were playing poker again...well everybody else is! HI MOM!!!(‘’,) Bye till tomorrow! Ailbhe =]xO.

Aight Jamie here again wat the craic sure we were training today it was head wrecking. We decided that id do a triple jump drills session which after a bit of a struggle to get it into my head went alright enough sure i think i actually know what im supposed to be doing now haha. For the second session we were at pole vault. I don’t know what went wrong but i just didn’t trust myself and the 130 pole and the 145 is too big for me so im a bit stuck at the minute. After training we went to dinner at the dutch which it turns out we were looking for the wrong place its actually called ed and willem but its not as good as shane built it up to be sure after you can guess what we did .............Yep poker again well we did have a few games of pool before and yes i did kick shane off the pitch at table football (supposedly he unbeaten).sure thats it really im sure youre all riveted by this captivating story so ill be back tomoz.

Shane-
I woke up feeling at bit tireder than normal before but trugened on.We started with a short hurdles session today and everybody is progressing nicely.In the afternoon Ailbhe did triple jump and is learning to break everything down alot better.The same is true for Emma in the shot.She is throwing over 10m with a 4kg indoor shot which is very big for some reason so is hard to grip.Clarence and Jamie did pole vault and Clarence was flying over 3metres but Jamie was having a little confidence problem with his pole.After training we relaxed at the hotel for a while and afterwards once again went to find the dutch restaurant.We couldn’t find it so the girls went for Chinese but the boys and i found it shortly afterwards.It wasn’t what i expected but the food was fast,nice and cheap.We inevitably ended up in the lobby again playing poker and writing these blogs.So il leave ya off and talk 2u ltrz.

Hello all... Joelene Here again.. God these early mornings are killing me, i am constantly tired and am not too sure why. Well i skipped the morning session to catch up on a bit of studydone... ? Exams in three weeks. I met the lads at the track to get a pole vault session under way. After correcting and adjusting a few minor problems and boosting a bit of confidence, Clarance began to be a little bit more confident and cleared a few hights. He must be careful not to become too confident tho cos he tends to focus too mush on the more advanced stuff when he is clearly overly advanced already!! Jamie had a bad day today but to be honest i think it was lack of confidence on his pole and due to the fact that some English fella taught him how to bend his pole prematurely!! The Girls seemed to have good sessions bit emma was a little sore in her leg and back so is seeing the physio tomorrow!! We finally escaped the boys and had a girly dinner in a Chinese restaurant (the restaurant had NO toilet, emma was not impressed). Anyway, we played poker AGAIN...... YAWN!! Ha ha! Anyway, nearly Friday already!! Joelene

Clarence- well today i had a pretty good short hurdles session got a good time in 40 metres the rain was holding back, so we had a pole vault session which was better than yesterday major self esteem boost!! Until Joleen made a nasty comment about having bad core strength... so i will do 1000 or 10000 proper sit ups a night, Sean bluffed a poker game before the actual game for money and robed 30 euro off us... not even funny
Friday..well today we woke up and the rain was just pouring down! We got a taxi to the track and did our warm ups indoors but after a while it cleared up and we were able to do a long hurdles session outside! Went and got lunch and i had a triple jump session in the evening. We had no bikes to cycle home on so myself joelene and emma started to walk. We were planning to go to a shop but as we were walking we saw a lidl! So we did our shopping there. We had a big massive bag then walking down the town- in the rain of course!! I asked a police man where the taxi rank was because the other two were too scared!! Only messing!! Eventually after about half an hour we found it and got back to the hotel. Joelene cooked fajetias (fa-he-tas)!! I helped her cook the chicken while emma was in the shower. They were actually unreal! Now we have a kitchen full of food that has to be eaten by Sunday!! Oh and we forgot to get water so after dinner emma and i went to buy water. Thats about it...i suppose well end up playin poker later on!!! I BEAT SHANE IN SNAP,,, WAT A SORE LOSER!!!! Bye for now... .Ailbhe =]xO.

Well Emma here whats the storay??!:P it was raning this morning before we went to the track so we didn’t cycle ... we got to the track and it had cleared up so we did a long hurdles session my 2nd session was a shot session .... after we tried getting a taxi and after a few minutes we saw a lidl sign and were delited with ourselves ha .....after we got our shopping we didn’t no where we were so we went for a wander around and ended up not getting a taxi for half an hour ... before we got the taxi me and joelene had a good laugh at ailbhe trying to buy noodles ...ha gas ..... we got home and joelene and ailbhe cooked unreal fajitas wile i was in the shower .... after dinner me and ailbhe went to buy water and ailbhe bought chocolate the big FATTIE ha .....me and ailbhe are in the lobby now (where wud u b goin...go waaay or ill bate tinkerbell of your head)lol..... Thats about it...i suppose well end up playin poker later on!!! Bye for now....Emma=]xO

Shane-Hey again.Its Friday so our week is coming to an end which i am not looking forward to as i love it here;i would stay forever[obviously id have to move Josephine,Wilson and podge over too].Mary can you fly a different group over to me every week?Ha Ha.I was a bit tired again this morning but its worth it.The weather was pretty crap this morning so we were resigned to a day training inside but it cleared up after a short while.Jamie was in for a massage this morning to sort out his calf and the same with Emma;she had a huge knot in her calf.We did a long hurdles session,Clarence[140mH in 16.5] was flying,Ailbhe,Emma and Jamie pretty good.Afterwards we did some medicine ball which i joined in for the crack as im feeling a bit more confident in my own fitness due to all the cycling.For the second session Emma did shot and is consistently over ten considering she has got a lot leaner.Ailbhes triple jump was again good but looked tired today.Clarence swapped with Jamie today and wasn’t having a good pole vault day so i decided to teach him triple jump[i tought him shot yesterday and he threw over 11m with a 5kg].Needless to say hes also brilliant at triple jump getting over 11.5metres in 10 minutes.Before we left i booked Ailbhe in for a massage tomorrow which she is not looking forward to.Speaking of Ailbhe id Deirdres reading shes getting very cheeky!![Only messing].I had to confiscate 2 kinder bueno bars off her earlier,ha ha.After training the boys and i went and did a small bit of shopping in Villa Real.I got a real Madrid jersey for 15 euros,nice.When we got back to the hotel Jamie nearly burned the apartment down trying to heat a towel in the microwave,thank god i have a good sense of smell.We cooked and ate in the apartment and then just chillaxed in the room watching tv.So where are we now?Of course in the lobby writing blogs and playing poker...,nope were playing who am i for a bit of a change.C ya 2m and hopefully there will be more pics.Ltrz.

Friday-Hello y’all... ha. Skipped the morning session again to study but feeling a little fluish so i didn’t get much done!! I got a taxi to meet the lads for lunch but the driver had zero English and could only bring me to the track so I had to walk the rest of the way (admittedly its only a 2min walk but i am rigid in my lazy ways) We got a sandwich and drink for €3 again,,, Ireland is so expensive. Jamie seemed more confident on the pole today but to be honest the pole is just the wrong size for him. Clarance wasn’t doing so well today and gave up with annoyance!! We cant alway have a good session!! We decided to walk home and buy food for dinner when Ailbhe (the genius) found a Lidl!! Whoopp Whoopp, we got the makings of chicken Fajitas! Trying to get home was a nightmar, a man was hissing at me tring to get me to buy one of his dead birds,,, i was freaked out!! Then myself and emma were trying to tell Ailbhe that she only needed to buy 2 packets of noodles from outside the window (she taught we said buy two bottles of vodka) ha ha... typical Ailbhe! We had dinner at home (it was lovely, i should have been a chef) Anyway, we are currently in the lobby playing ‘Who am i’ its my turn, better go... c ya. Joelene

Clarence- today we had a 140 m hurdles session which was fun! And very hard... 6 sets best time 16.50, got a new PR in 40m hurdles: 5.54, pole vault was boring and it turned out terrible, and also Jamie nearly burned the apartment down *slow clap* by put a towel in the microwave. While me and Jamie were waiting for our clothes to be washed we played extreme ping pong and discovered it’s a game played by athletes! I was sweating!!!

Jamie- Aight everyone not to much goin on sure our week is nearly at an end so i decided to liven things up by trying to burn down the apartment twas a laff sure. I must say i think massage is about to become a regular thing it had to be one of the best things here haha
Sure went out to the lads after and tried to set into the long hurdles session but they seem to be wrought with problems with me damaging my calf again (i might have to get that looked at once im back in Tralee). That ruled me out for triple jump so i decided to start overcoming this mental thing that started on pole vault yesterday and got a bit better with the 145 pole but its still a bit long for me. Myself and shane decided to capitalise on our success of yesterday and went to the dutch again lookin forward to maybe doing a bit of triple jump tomoz if not i might do my running drills with the pole to get more confident. Sure nyhow ill be back .Tlk2Ya

SATURDAY-
CLARENCE- today we did a sprint session of 30m and 60m, my best time in the 60m was a hand time of 6.78 (7.1) the pole vault session wasn’t good again but it was mainly because of an injury in my shin.I also learned basic shot and triple jump throwing over 11m and jumping nearly 12m.

Hi guys...Ailbhe here! Well today we had a sprints session. After, i had to go to the physio. She couldn’t tell what was wrong with me so she just iced my leg and used a few machines on it. In the afternoon i had a triple jump session.
For dinner we went to the dutch..! eventually! When we were finished myself and emma walked down town to get bonjela in a chemist for her mouth. We just hung out in the lobby for the rest of the night! =]xO.

Aight Jamie here started with a sprint session today but after two or three the calf/shin injury escapade that im sure has you all riveted waiting for the next update. Yep that one anyway caused me to have to sit the sprints out so i went away with a 4kg med ball and a wall and struggled away till i had 500 done yep bet that sounds impressive, Well it did till i was told im supposed to be doing bout 1000 a day haha that will actually be the day. Sure after lunch we set into another pole vault session where everything was going all right apart from my ass which refuses to pull up with me (yep i think im actually recognised as “The Fat Ass” but what harm ill work away at it tomorrow which is about the same time ill be tlking to you

Only 2 days left :[! Today was our last proper training day.All the lads are feeling a few pains now.I think we may have done too many hurdles session too early in the week;i will know better for next year.We did a sprints session today and Clarences start is now savage when he gets it right.Emma and Ailbhes has improved no ends also with Emma running a faster time than Ailbhe for the first time even if it was only by 0.01 of a second.Jamie didn’t finish the session as he was minding his slight injury to his calf.Afterwards we did a core and med ball session.As usual we went to our e2 sandwich shop for lunch.For the second session all the lads did their usual field events but looked under pressure due to the hard week.
For dinner we finally took the girls to the dutch after a week of argueing about it.We spent the evening in the lobby laughing at the English girls walking[or trying to walk] around the place half cut[the legal drinking age here is 16];Emma was ready to smack a few of em,ha ha.I fell asleep as soon as i hit the hay but the girls were supposedly kept up by the English crowd running up and down the halls.Well thats it for today i suppose....Shane

Hey Emma here... today we had our 1st sprints session which was a change from hurdles. After lunch i had a shot session once again. I was happy with both sessions and can feel myself improving. We had dinner in the ducth today and most of us were happy with it except for poor joelene with her spagettii bolonase!! After dinner me and ailbhe went in search of a chemist so i could get bonjela!! Well thats about it for now =) emma

SUNDAY-
CLARENCE- my left shin was in pain again today and i started off with a terrible pole vault session where I couldn’t even clear a height of 2.60m, so i took a rest and visualised myself clearing it with perfect technique and guess what, it worked! And eventually cleared 3.20! I still suck at pole vault but not as much anymore haha, later Shane wanted to get my best time in 60m hurdles, I got a hand time of 8.45(8.75) which would of killed the guy that won the nationals, and of course I cant do long hurdles and I think I would of got a time of nearly a minute in 300m hurdles lol, when the day was nearly over Shane showed me how to throw a javelin and after 20 minutes I threw over 30 metres.I can now do Long jump,high jump,triple jump,pole vault,shot,javelin,sprints and hurdles.

...Well today was our last day on the track!! Its after getting so much quiter now than it was at the start of the week. Today we were doing a competition training session-basically practicing exactly what we’d do at a comp. I started off with triple jump then short hurdles and then long hurdles. Nothing i did was great but i think my legs are just suffering from exaustion at this stage! I got my picture with a famous triple jumper Jadel Gregorio so that was good!
The weather today was so nice! When we were finished our second session myself, joelene and emma decided to soak up some sun...not a very smart idea when you don’t have much sun cream on!! I have bad sunburn on the back of my legs now-and realy bad lines!
It was really sad leaving the track! Its so nice to run and train on! But hopefully we might be able to come back next year..(hint hint)!!!haha!
When we got back to the hotel we all went to the outside swimming pool! It was so nice to be able to jump into the water and not be cold! After the girls went down town to do some final shopping!
For dinner we went to the dutch! Then we found an irish bar! I stayed until about 12 but then i went back to the hotel. I was so tired and my sunburn was killing me! I woke up at four in the morning whan i got foam shoved in my face by either Jolene or emma. Then when i went and did it to them they covered my hair in it so i was washing my hair at like half four in the morning! Ailbhe =]xO.

Shane-Today was our last day in the track,i was genuinely sad and i think so was everybody else.We had a competition training session today to mimic a real competition.Everybody did well especiall Emma and Clarence.Emma was consistently over 10m in the shot and ran 9.8 in the 60m hurdles.Clarence cleared 3.20m in the pole vault,ran 8.7 in the 60m hurdles and threw over 30m in the javelin.During our mid day break we watched irish junior 400m record holder bang out 36second 300s one after the other,amazing!The girls decided because the sun was blazing they would get a tan on their last day but they got more than they bargained for and are now a bit sore.When we got back to the hotel we hit the pool for the first time.Even though the pool was cold Ailbhe and Joelene bombed in.I cant swim properly so i eased my way in gradually and damn was it cold.Everybody by the pool tought we were mad but soon realised we were irish.As it was our last night we decided to have a night out.We went for a drink in Bar42 followed by a steak dinner in the dutch and of course dessert as it was well deserved.Afterwards we went in search of karoke and found an irish bar called McGintys passed the casino.We got stuck in straight away playing the wi sport as there was one in the bar along with a pool table,ping pong and table soccer[An athletes bar if there ever was one].Joelene and i had a few drinks and we all chatted to the owner Michael McGinty from Achill Island.The bulk of the night consisted of singing karoke to a Portuguese audience,well at least we tought.At the end of the night a couple from mayo congratulated us on our singing and we were mortified as we were only crowing.I sand seven drunken nights along with some others but the highlight of the night was joelene and Emma singing paranoid android by radiohead[not really a karoke song].To finish the night off Michael shouted us a baby Guinness which i was made drink;i can still taste it.We will definetly be back next year and would recommend Mcgintys to everybody.On the way back to the hotel we had a few races,played in the playground,went to the beach and was frightened by a homeless person and sang to John Shields in his hotel,ha ha.We only had 4 hours sleep until we had to get up again.A great week ended by a great night.

HEY!! Emma here.. today was our last day on the track so we had a mini competition.. i started of with shot then short hurdles then long hurdles. There was alot less people on the track today and only the very serious athletes were still around (hence why we were there =P)the long hurdles we did at the end of the day proved to be the ultimate test and i think we did well considering the week we had. Afterwards me ailbhe and joelene went sunbathing on the track and got roasted as none of us decided to wear suncream ha not the best idea. We were pure sad leaving the track but sure we’ll be back next year with our tonned tummys isn’t that right ailbhe :P ha. When we got back to the hotel we decided to go for a swim because we thought the water would be warm...we were wrong!!! After ailbhe and joelene jumped in one by one the rest of us jumped in the to water.. it was sooo cold it actually took your breath when you got in!! We went for dinner in the dutch and after went to an irish bar called McGinty’s !!! an unreal place ha was a mad night of playing the wii and doing karaoke!!:D we got told by a couple from mayo that our best song was one Shane picked out for us to sing that we had never even heard of before called paranoid android haha!! The way back to the hotel was funny out singing fields of athenry to john shields and running away from a homeless guy on the beach!! Was a mad night and really enjoyed it !! emma :D

Monday-I cant believe its been a week since we got here! It passed so quickly! We had to get up this morning at half 7 to pack bags(‘’.) when that was done it was breakfast one final look in the apartment to check we had everything and down to the lobby to wait for our ride to the airport.
When the taxi arrived to the hotel there were no roof racks to take the poles! We had to wait around for an hour until another van was able to come and take them. The next problem was the weight of our bags! Myself and emma were both more than a kilo overweight but somehow we got away with it!
Now im on the plane writing this! I think were still over Portugal somewhere! Well thats it from me. I had a brilliant week! Thanks to shane and Jolene for bringing us and everybody else who organised it! It was so worth it! Ailbhe =]xO.

Shane-Its all over,im distraught!!!! Our bus was to collect us at 9.50am this morning but they sent the wrong bus and we couldn’t get the poles on.The driver told us to get a taxi that would take them and claim it back off the transfer company,i was having none of it.After about an hour of trying different things they finally sent a bigger bus but stupidly transported us in the small bus and the poles in the other which i found odd.We got to the airport with not alot of time to spare.After an anxious wait to see how much the girls bags were over weight we went to get something to eat only to discover it was like the most expensive airport in the world.I bought a drink,crisps and muffin for e7! A burger,chips and a drink was nearly e14!We got on the plane after a small delay and got in the air a little later than sechedule.The flight was horrible[Ryanair] but i always hate the return leg of a flight.When we got to the airport Clarences dad John collected us and got us home safe and sound.
Overall the week was fantastic and we will definetly do it again next year possibly with a bigger group[we may have to sacrifice Scotland though].Clarence has shown that he is a top class athlete,Ailbhe is steadily improving after her year out last season and should be mixing it with the big girls during the year,Emma has taken some huge steps in her return to being a top class athlete and Jamie made significant improvements especially in the pole vault and his understanding of events.I myself learned an aweful lot from event drills to core sessions and much more.I hope the four lads have seen what is necessary to get the best out of them selves and make it to the top and that their new found attitude will rub off on everybody else.Thats it for this year.I hope everybody enjoyed our blogs.the pictures will probably take a week to put them all up.I cant wait for next year,tune back in then.LTRZ!! WHAT A WEEK!

Emma...NOO it cant be over already!!:(
Omg what an early start i think we got about 3 hours sleep before we had to get up and pack!! When the bus came to collect us at about 9.45 they realised ther was no roof rack to carry the poles and we had to wait for ages for another bus to come to take them. I slept most the drive and when we got to the airport we were starving. The food cost an absolute fortune it was a joke so i just got a roll. The flight was terrible i dunno why but was very bumpy and was just horrible. When we got off the plane we had a long drive home. Overall, the week was brilliant i loved every bit of it even all the traning ha!! We laughed so much and still and had such a good time and yet learned so much new stuff and improved so much. I hope that we continue to improve throughout the year and get to go back again next year!! Still can’t believe its all over though ?? but thanks to everyone who made it possible for us to go and especially shane and joelene.. greatly appreciated!! anyway that’s all for now.. until next year :D byee!!!:D xxx