Steven Hooker of Australia prepares during the men's pole vault qualification round during day one - WCH Daegu 2011 (© Getty Images)
Back home in Perth, Steve Hooker writes, in his latest IAAF Diary, that the same old things are a little bit different, for a little while, at least.
“It’s a strange feeling for a little which after you come home. You’re in a place that’s familiar, but it doesn’t feel all that familiar yet.
“It takes a couple of weeks to get back into regular routines, but I’m just about back there now.
“Like most people, I’ve got my own little rituals that make me feel like I’m home again. One is being in my own kitchen. I’ve got a coffee machine, which I obviously can’t take with me when I travel, so it’s good to get back to making a coffee for myself and whoever else is staying at the start of the day.
“Subiaco, where I live, is one of the nice parts of Perth, and many of the things I want or need to do each day are within walking distance. One of my mates is (Olympic freestyle sprint swimmer) Eamon Sullivan. He’s got a cafe just down the road and I often go there.
“Eamon’s a good cook – he was on Celebrity MasterChef Australia and he won it – but he doesn’t work there. He’s got the matter of the London Olympics to occupy his time until next year. He owns the business and employs a couple of people to run the place, but he has a bit of input into the food.
“The weather here normally starts to get consistent around this time of year. Not quite yet, it feels a bit like the tail-end of winter. We had a lovely sunny day yesterday, but it’s grey and overcast today. So it’s not yet that consistency you associate with Perth, but it’s not far away.
“I got back into training at the start of October. I’d had three or four weeks ‘pre-training’ while I was in Europe after worlds, so that made it a lot easier when I resumed.
“Often training overseas is difficult, even when you’re at a good training base. You’re not totally familiar with the set-up and where everything is. Then you add in the travel and competition.
“Training at home is easier. Here, I’ve got everything I need within a short distance. I spend a minimal amount of time in the car.
“I’m in reasonable shape already. My immediate goal is to get ready to jump for the start of the domestic competition season. I’m able to do all parts of my program – I can work on running, work on jumping – which is something I missed last preparation. It’s all going smoothly, especially compared to the same time last year.
“I’ll be based in Perth pretty well the whole time through to January. The jumps group has got one training camp in Brisbane, so we’ll be across there with Mitch Watt. Otherwise it’s all here.
“Steve Lewis is coming out to do a block of training here. Otherwise, it’s just Alex (Parnov’s) group – me, Alana Boyd, Liz Parnov, Amanda Bisk and Vicki Parnov.
“Until next time,”
Steve