Sunday 28 August 2016 08:49, UK
Dodgy food, foul jumps, personal bests, sleep deprivation, world records and gold medals.
The IPC European Championships in Gresseto for Olivia Breen was five days she will not forget too quickly.
The Sky Academy Sports Scholar was sixth in the 100m and 200m finals, she just missed out on a long jump medal and rounded off the week with 4x100m relay glory in a world's best time.
Here are Olivia's thoughts on a lively week in Italy and why she's never going to give up....
It was a challenging week with mixed emotions and mixed results. It started off with a disappointing 200m heat result as I ran a time similar to those I ran in 2013. Fortunately, I qualified for the final and I ran a time close to my PB but still about 0.75 seconds slower than I've been doing in training.
I have learned a few more coping strategies which will help me. Just before my 200m final, my long jump coach Julie Dodoo arrived with my parents and some friends and seeing them and feeling their support really helped.
I felt more rested and like myself for the long jump competition on the Monday night. I really enjoy this event because it takes quite a while and you develop a little community with your competitors.
I think I enjoyed it more than my supporters as my first two jumps were no jumps. It was very important to jump a legal jump for the third jump or I would not have made it through to the next round. I was relaxed but my coaches were really nervous!
Fortunately it was a good jump - not far from my PB - which put me third. My next two jumps were not great and I lost my third-place spot. My final jump was probably the best one, but my foot was only just on the board so I lost about 10-12cm before the plasticine and it measured 4.34m.
Fourth was disappointing. If my position on the board had been better I could have won a medal. It was a good learning experience and with each jump competition I feel I'm gaining confidence and awareness.
I really feel there is a big jump inside me which I am achieving in training but I have yet to achieve it in competition. It was also great having the support and smiling faces of Ellie and Sophy from Sky.
That night we went for dinner in Grosseto which is a beautiful medieval town. Julie, Ellie and Sophy left on Tuesday and I had the day off. I went with Mum and Dad to the beach at Castiglione Della Pescaia - a lovely coastal town near the team hotel. It was great to feel the sea air and escape the competitive environment for a few hours.
On Wednesday, it was the 100m final. Unfortunately, I ate something which didn't agree with me at lunchtime and I started feeling ill. The GB doctor gave me something to settle my stomach but I didn't feel that well all afternoon.
The 100m final was always going to be tough one against some tough opponents but I hoped that I could really focus on running my own race and doing my very best.
I had a really good start and transition phase but hit a headwind at around 50-60m which really affected me and I felt my cerebral palsy kick in. I just didn't have the energy to keep running at the same speed.
I ended up in sixth and running a similar time to what I was running in 2013 and half a second slower than my PB. I was absolutely devastated as I know the result didn't reflect what I'm capable of or the hard work we've put in over the winter.
I just felt so sad and as though I had let people down. I now realise that running when you are not well and not sleeping will never produce the result you are looking for.
I was selected to run the first leg of the 4x100m relay on the last day and I felt nervous. The Polish team were not allowed to run so it was down to Russia and GB. I had a solid start and a really good change over.
GB's lead over Russia increased with each leg and we ended up winning gold and retaking our world record in a time of 51.63s to add another gold to GB's haul of medals and world records during the week.
It was really good to end the competition on a high and bring home a gold, even though I had really hoped to win a medal in an individual event. I learned a lot in Italy and I also had a great deal of support from my coaches, team-mates, friends, family and, of course, Sky which I really appreciate.
I'm now planning to have some sleep and reflect on the week of competition. It's a new week and my final bid for selection to Rio and all the time I will remember my hashtag - Never Give Up!
WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS
23-26 JUNE: Lucy Garner, National Road Cycling Champs, Stockton-on-Tees
24-26 JUNE: Holly Bradshaw, Jessica Judd at British Championships, Birmingham
25-26 JUNE: Quillan Isidore, British BMX Round 7 & 8, Burgess Park
