Becoming a full-time athlete has had its ups and downs

HOW good is cruise control?

Each week for the past few months I have been travelling to Auckland to train with my coach, but, one thing which has made the 200km trip manageable has been my old friend cruise control.

You can do so much with it on. You can take a break from pressing on the accelerator, essentially driving from the steering wheel, or even make it easier to reach across, momentarily, and grab something from the passenger's seat. However, in my case, it was something else.

Never in my life did I think it would be possible to - whilst feeling the effects of six trainings in two days - watch Game of Thrones with the sound going through the car's speakers, eat Burger Fuel fries, and, drive. All made safe thanks to cruise control. The fact that I drive with hand controls is by-the-by all thanks to that little feature which comes on at a press of a button.

If only I had learnt all of these tricks two months ago.

After having spent two months supplementing my before-work training at the Whangarei swimming pool, by travelling to Auckland, I would have loved to have known these tricks at the start.

However, all tricks aside, this weekend marks my final weekend in Whangarei for the next three weeks as I compete at the world championships in Montreal, Canada.

It is fair to say this year has been very different for me training wise.

Having gone from being a student to a full-time athlete, for about two months, the transition into training and working full-time has had its ups and downs.

However, we have finally come to the point where the hard work should pay off.

This will be my first international race since the Paralympics, a thought of which I am looking forward to. So, wish me luck, I might need it, and I shall see and hear from you all in about three weeks' time.

Au revoir.