You've got to focus and understand that what you've done in training is the best that you could possibly do. Once you've done that you can really settle down and let your body take over.
You've got to put a lot of hard work in and it's not just in the swimming pool. You've got to look after yourself, you've got to sleep well and you've got to recover between the sessions, whether that's resting or getting the right food inside you. I always try to get the best out of myself and strive for perfection.
I started at a 'learn to swim' scheme when I was about five-years-old. I did it to learn water safety, but it was fun and I loved the water. I went to a club, moved up through the ranks and got better and better before taking part in my first national championships.
Dedication and time management are two of the biggest things. I hate being late for anything. If anything, I prefer to be ten minutes early rather than thirty seconds late. I'm also very dedicated and I want to do my best in everything I do. I believe swimming has helped transfer that into my life as well.
I set goals, but they're mostly very personal goals. I never try and set a goal where 'I want to win this,' or 'I want to do this,' where other people can affect what I do. If I want to swim a new best time, I sit down and work out the best way of doing that. Whether I can shave a few tenths of a second off a turn or the start, my goal is putting them all together in a race. That's the way I set my goals.
Swimming has given me a lot. It's given me a respect for people and different cultures around the world when I've been competing abroad. I've learnt many life skills and met so many friends around the world that I might not have had otherwise. I'm focused and driven and I guess swimming has made me that way.
I've got a strength and conditioning coach, a weights coach, but I've also got a nutritionist, a physiotherapist and a masseur available to me if I need it. It's quite a good network. I've also got sports scientists who record the technical information, so that, after the race, we can analyse the video and check comparisons between, not only me and the other competitors, but me and my best performance. I couldn't do it without these guys, but I'm the one who gets all the credit.
I try to relax and enjoy it. I don't really get nervous, I get excited! I love training, but my main excitement comes from when I'm racing and the better the standard of people I'm racing, the more excited I get and the more 'up for it' I get.
If there was a birthday party or a gathering and I was at training and couldn't make it, then I guess I might have missed out on a few things, but I wouldn't see them as sacrifices because I love what I do so much. I feel I've made the right choices in the way I've lived my life.
'Sacrifice' seems like such a strong word to me because I wouldn't say I've sacrificed anything. If I didn't enjoy what I do, I wouldn't do it. I might have missed out on a few things when I was younger and growing up.
Education is fantastic. In my case I had to split my university course so it took a few more years. I really want to excel at everything I do, so I sat down and spoke with both my swimming coach and my tutor and we worked out a good plan to get the best out of both my swimming and my education.
Get down to your local swimming pool or your local swimming club, join up and see what it's like. I can guarantee that you're going to meet some great friends. Just being involved in water makes me happy and I'd like to see that transferred across to other people.
