Meeting people with a certain
attitude ‘my way or the highway’ is the worst if you let them intimidate you,
but allowing it to flow in one ear and out the other allows no time for
over-analysing a situation. Getting criticised for asking too many questions is
ridiculous, as what is the point of doing something if you do not know the
reason behind it. Sometimes we choose the easiest paths in life; Maddy and I
decided that a motorway tunnel was easier than riding over the hills again,
although we were completely unaware it was out of the question for cyclists to
enter the tunnel. A quick chat to the police and we were well on our way back
home….or another detour! Getting lost is far too easy nowadays and so is
popping to MacDonald’s; you really know you have hit an all-time low when you
exceed your daily data allowance in a fast food restaurant. To be fair the
internet is not working in our new house and we do get our daily fix of
fluffies, while checking very important things such as the types of cakes Eli
Thorogood is making on a daily basis via twitter.
Well, we do share our house with
two med students who are very respectable people, as when they are not studying
or working in the hospital they are attending church or completing voluntary
work. Not like the med students I know back in the UK who enjoy going out 5
nights of the week, it is scary shit to think who could be operating on you if
something went wrong. I love how independent you can be when you are away from
home and meeting new people, coaches, training buddies etc. all the time pushes you out of your comfort zone; I have never
understood people, who grew up in Norwich, then go to university in Norwich and
then get a job in Norwich. Where is their ambition to experience life
and the world; going out and getting ‘trashed’ isn’t my idea of fun if I do it
5 times a week every week.
Living with your training partner day in day out is great, having a like minded person to get you up for swimming at 5am is so handy and the singing on the way is just the icing on the cake! And it is fantastic to be out of a certain
bubble of people. At school you were friends with a certain minority while you
always get the ‘sheep’ that are just there and never stand out. People can say
what they want about me from my character to my body shape because I know what I want and having heart surgery earlier this year has made me more determined than ever to
reach my individual goals, not for anybody but myself. In my opinion, there is
nothing worse than someone who says they do something for somebody else when
they obviously do it purely for their own sole benefit.
Reading Chrissie’s autobiography
has been great as it shows the challenges she faced in everyday life to
overcome negativity and criticism during her transition from a ‘FAG’ to a
world-class athlete who any women is yet to match. I might take my time reading
it but banter and a bit of dancing helps burn off the excess raisins I consume
during the day.
This blog is such an anomaly for
me, but maybe it is because I am looking for something more complex in life
like a functional relationship with a burger boy from my regular shift in the
fast-food van, as I cannot seem to even make a decent coffee these days.
Alex
x
