BBC Sport: Olympics blog

Bore da guys, welcome to my first postcard from the Far East.

The excitement of an Olympic Games is finally starting to build for me as the British swim team arrived in our pre-Beijing training camp in the Japanese city of Osaka over the weekend.

Seeing the whole team in our Olympic kit on the plane over here has sparked the buzz for me - but the adrenaline really starts pumping when you check into the Olympic village and see the athletes from the other nations.

I can't wait for that.

After months and months of gruelling training - where I swim on average 80km a week - the purpose for that intense preparation is now in touching distance.

As the Olympics draw closer, the volume of my training decreases as rest now becomes equally as important as hard-work because the last thing any athlete wants to suffer now is burn-out.

I'm now swimming about 55-60kms a week as I fine tune my preparations as I hope to better my bronze at the Athens Games four years ago.

I've done all of my base-work and this close to a major event I can only mess up my chances, rather than aid them so I'm not going to over-do it so I'll be in bed sleeping as much as I'll be in the pool here in Japan.

Luckily I'm a very chilled-out guy so it's not hard for me to stay relaxed but this is when I need absolute focus as the Olympics is the pinnacle for any top athelete.

And the fact I'm competing in the 10k open water swim as well as the 1,500m freestyle - the event where I won bronze in 2004 - is an added reason for clarity.

The 10k has aided me in this important Olympic year, it has given me a new lease of life, freshened my approach to training and is a new challenge so I've no danger of becoming stale.

I'm always wary of slipping into a comfort zone and while I don't think I did, this fresh challenge and moving my training base from Cardiff to British swimming's HQ in Loughbrough ensures I will not switch onto auto pilot.

Top-class swimming moves on at such a fierce pace, athletes must continually keep stepping up their game otherwise they risk getting left behind - and I can ensure you I want to improve on my bronze.

I'd like to thank my 606 friends for their sack-full of questions and interest in my preparations for this year's Olympics.

Here's a few that I've answered this week.

comment by tjs_87: When I race I feel sick and everything hurts which I never used to experience before I quit, even when I used to do 1500m races. I am training everyday with another sports team so I know it's not just due to a complete lack of fitness. I was wondering if you ever experience this and if so how do you deal with it?

When you push your body to its physical limit, somethimes it makes you sick. I've been sick a few times in training and it's all science as lactic acid builds up in your body and heart-rate is racing. Being sick is sometimes part of stepping up your fitness. You've got to do it so your training is the same intensity as you'd experience in a race.

comment by Droitrob: Having read about the funding now being aimed at the swimmers and the gearing up to 2012, what would you say to someone who comes along and asks you about the British failure to win a sack full of medals?

Britain is competing against the whole of the world. In the grand scheme of things we're a very small nation, up against much more populated countries who have massive funding, great coaches and amazing athletes.

Swimming is a massive sport and a tough environment so getting to the final is an incredible achievement. I know the British public want medals and we'll try our best to win them but for every winner there is a lot of nearly-men who have come very close. I can assure you British swimmers are training hard and will give it everything.

comment by lairdtim: What would have meant the most to you - an Olympic gold or Cardiff City winning the FA Cup? (No sitting on the fence please!)

I've been a City fan since I was a kid but I've got to be selfish and say a gold medal. I've watched the Olympic since I was young and the prestige of the event is massive. The bronze I won in Athens in 2004 means the world to me and that day was the best day of my life. The rings, the flame, the glory - winning gold would mean everything to me and although I would've liked Cardiff to win the cup, the self-satisfaction I'd gain from winning gold in Beijing just tips the balance.

comment by HamchesterUnited: I just have one quick question about the "Water Cube" in Beijing. Have you seen the ceiling? Do you think this will be a problem for the Backstroke swimmers?

I haven't seen the ceiling but the back-stroke guys are well practised outdoors where there's no ceiling so I'm sure they could cope. I know the atmsophere inside will be electric and it'll be a pleasure to swim inside the cube.

comment by medina14: Do you feel that the open water swimming has altered your stroke mechanics? I have noticed some differences from the Athens bronze performances. I know swimming open water can have a drastic effect on pool technique and I do feel that these differences have decreased the technical "smoothness" of the stroke you had?

My stroke hasn't changed; the stroke rhythm, tempo and technique hasn't changed. All of my training is done in the pool and my training hasn't altered at all as I train for the 1,500m. For the 10k I don't prepare for it, I just turn up on the day.

comment by kingslandroar: Do you iPod pre race? And if so which of the great Welsh bands do you like?

Yeah I'm always listening to my iPod. I just updated it before I left home with some fast dance stuff to get me pumped up like Chemical Brothers etc. I listened to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' to pump myself up before the 2004 Athens Olympic final. The lyrics really got me going and I'll probably listen to that again in Beijing. I love indie music so there's some Stereophonics, Oasis etc on my iPod too.