DAVID MATTHEWS will test the benefits of four months' hard training when he opens his campaign over 800 metres in the GV Ryan/BLE Games in the Morton Stadium, Santry on Sunday.
"You have to open up some way," Matthews said yesterday when he returned from a run in preparation for his first real test of the year.
Early in January Matthews went to Australia where he trained for three months with the powerful Kenyans. He was back home for only a few days before departing for the Canaries with his UCD squad.
He returned to Ireland for just eight hours before going off again, this time to Atlanta with BLE's elite panel. "I think I spent oily five days in Ireland in the first four months of the year," Matthews said. "I had four months of really top quality training. No injuries or even any little niggles.
The Irish camp was the best BLE organised I was ever on. This is the new age with the younger officials and we all gelled well together, athletes and team management. It was great to get out to Atlanta and see it, including the stadium.
"It was well organised including medical back up and I would certainly go again to a similar camp. It was good to have the medics that you have worked with out there. BLE are now one step ahead of the posse.
But with all the training in the bank thoughts now turn to the real purpose for all those miles racing. Matthews had an outing in the Australian championships, and two weeks ago the Penn relays were the final touch to the Atlanta training camp.
"I ran three minutes for 1,200 and one minute 50 for 800 in Franklin Field in the relays. But when I had finished that 800 metres I thought I could go another 800 in around the same time. Strength is not my problem but I do not have much speed yet."
The early part of the season has been marked out, beginning with Lille on May 25th followed by Bratislava four days later. Seville will be the next stop in early June before the national championships on June 15th and 16th in Santry with the Europa Cup bringing him up to the end of June. By that time the necessary speed should be there.
To help achieve his aim of making the Olympic final at 800 metres Matthews has deferred his final Commerce examinations although he has moved back to the Belfield campus at UCD. "I feel guilty with all the studying that is going on at the moment but next year I intend finishing off my degree regardless of how Atlanta goes.
