See http://www.paulhession.co/blogs/new-beginnings.html or below

14 Nov 2011 - New Beginnings

It’s been a hectic time since I got home from holidays. After the disappointment of the Worlds I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I really needed a dramatic change. It was the first time I had seriously considered leaving Stuart, and even thinking about it was a weird one. Anyway, I had a long chat with Stuart in Daegu and again after holidays and we came to the conclusion that a move was the best option. Stuart’s input and advice has been critical and I’m so grateful that he was so good and open, even if it ultimately meant I would be going away. He really does want what’s best for me and that is so refreshing in today’s world. I weighed up all options and decided that what really wanted to do was to come home to Ireland. The Ireland nowadays is very different to the Ireland I left, from a coaching point of view, six years ago. I now think there are serious options to stay at home, and the success of athletes like Derval O’Rourke is testament to that. It’s a long story and very hard to deal with in a blog but I eventually made the decision to train with coach John Coghlan in Dublin. It’s a group of 10 quality and focused athletes, including Steven Colvert and Brian Murphy.

Anyway, it’s all been busy busy since I moved home. I had to find a place to live and organise all the annoying stuff that comes with moving. They say that moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do and maybe they are not far wrong. It’s just amazing how much stuff any one person can end up owning! It included a trip over on the ferry, using my car as a glorified courier service. I’m starting to feel on top of things now though, and I’m settling down into a nice little routine.

I’ve been back training a month so I have gotten a feel for the differences the new training will give me. It’s pretty tough with long sessions but that’s cool…what else have I got to do?! I’m already seeing the improvements I reckon and if I can stay healthy (one of the biggest challenges when changing coach in my opinion) then things should hopefully go very well. The change of scenery has been good, giving me a freshness and a nice pep in my step. At the moment, we are training Monday to Friday in Santry and Saturday mornings in the Phoenix Park for some hill runs. It’s a nice balance, with long days on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mixed in with (slightly!) easier days on the other days. It’s all about survival at the minute, but winter training wouldn’t be winter training without plenty of pain and suffering. No pain, no gain I guess!

I’m still doing my History BA despite my move. The Open University in Scotland have allowed me to transfer, so that will be good for keeping me busy during the winter. Granted, I’ve been so busy anyway with organising everything that I haven’t needed too many distractions! I’ve also managed to assemble a good team around me such as massage therapist and physio. I plan on using any opportunity that is given to get me to London in tip-top shape, so being back in Ireland is probably not a bad thing from that point of view.

Now it’s time to relax and get some rest ahead of tomorrow’s session. Today was tough with a lot of drills and runs, followed by weights. So I’m tired...but I wouldn’t have it any other way!