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SERVICES AND ELECTRIC IRELAND

February/March 2012 www.esb.ie/em

ELECTRIC IRELAND AND LONDON 2012

Electric Ireland is the Official Energy Partner to Ireland’s Olympic Team. Check out Olympic News on ESBnet. Monday January 9th marked 200 days to the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games. To celebrate Electric Ireland’s sponsorship of Ireland’s Olympic Team, Countdown Clocks to London 2012 have been installed in ESB Head Office, Lower Fitzwilliam Street and Electric Ireland Offices, Swift Square, Santry. The Olympic Games are undoubtedly the world’s greatest festival of sport. London 2012 will take place from 27th July to 12th August 2012 and will be the single biggest sporting occasion ever to be held in such close proximity to Ireland.

Interview with David Gillick, Olympic hopeful

Who is David Gillick?

Personal details

• Born - July 1983
• Place of Birth - Dublin
• Residence - Ballinteer, Dublin, Ireland and Loughborough, England
• Athletics Disciplines - 400m
• Club - Dundrum South Dublin
• Height - 6ft 2ins
• Weight - 83 kgs
• Education:
• Our Lady’s National School, Ballinteer
• St. Benildus College, Kilmacud
• Dublin Institute of Technology
• Loughborough University Career Highlights
• 2007 - 400 metres - GOLD European Indoor Championships)
• 2005 - 400 metres - GOLD (European Indoor Championships)
• Irish 400m record holder (Indoor and outdoor)
• First Irish man under 45 seconds
• First Irish man to make a world final
• World Indoor bronze
• Double European Indoor Champion, 2005, 2007
• 2007 World Championship semi finalist
• 2008 Beijing Olympian
• 6th 400m 2009 World Championships

WE MET WITH David in December 2011 to get a sense of his preparations for the Olympics.

David, give us a brief insight into your daily training schedule?

I start at 10am, warm up, jog and drills. Then at 11am session starts, either in the gym or a running session. This can take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. Then it’s a warm down jog and stretching followed by recovery ice bath (after big sessions). Afternoon training consists of mainly conditioning work like core exercises, Pilates, Yoga or rehab/prehab workouts.

What is your diet like?

I view my diet as a massive part of my game. It’s extremely important to make sure I’m refueling my body in order to recover from training that day and also to prepare my body for the following day’s training session. I work closely with my nutritionist, who plans out what foods to eat and when to eat. I eat REAL food! Plenty of vegetables, protein, carb’s such as quinoa, bulgar wheat and sweet potato.

How does your diet change before competitions?

As the volume of training decreases as competitions approach, I basically don’t need as much food to recover. At the same time it is important to make sure I’m fuelled up to compete.

My diet mainly stays the same but I will cut back on the amount of carbohydrate I eat. The idea is to eat light in order to race light. I can recommend some small changes that could make for a healthier lifestyle:

• Eat protein with every meal. Protein doesn’t make you big, carb’s do!
• Eat real foods, stay away from processed products.
• Sugar is the enemy, it will make you eat more and put on weight. Try not to eat sugar and carb’s in the evening in front of TV - that includes popcorn!
• Do not be afraid to eat fat. Good fatty food such as olives, nuts, avocados and cheeses are all great for health. It’s the media that have given fat such a bad name. This year I am eating more fat than ever and I’m the leanest I have ever been!

Typical day

Breakfast; oats and natural yogurt, protein, orange juice and a banana (make a smoothie).

Lunch; Chicken, feta, avocado, quinoa salad.

Dinner; Salmon, sweet potato, vegetables.

David’s Olympic Ambitions

Update us on your hopes for qualification for London 2012?

I’m now back with my old coach in Loughborough, I’m happy, enjoying my training and I believe I’m on track to run to my potential. I’m hitting all my targets in training, and that breeds confidence. I am back in the set up that got me to run my best times in the past.

What sort of challenge do you face in order to make the cut?

I need to run inside 45.30. It means competing earlier this year in order to make the team. I need to make sure I’m running near my best early season, to make sure I run the standard.

Where do you get your drive from to keep striving to get better?

Im very lucky to be doing a sport full time. I love what I do, and I believe I can improve. It’s exciting to go to work everyday knowing that you’re bettering yourself.

2011 was a tough year for you, how do you overcome such hurdles and keep going?

You have to be honest with yourself, and do what makes you happy. You have got to enjoy what you are doing, and that means the environment you put yourself in. If you think you can better yourself and improve, that is a good motivator to put the effort in on a daily basis. In athletics we have a major championship every year, which gives me something to aim for, a goal, a test and you have to prepare for the exam! Sometimes it’s hard to understand why, but there is something, a deep desire to get the best out of yourself. Something that tells you, you’re not finished yet! For more information on the Oympics check out the newsletter