November 2010

This month training continued to be hard but I still love every minute of it! We started to do heavier weights which I love because I’m a true gym monkey! My muscles have started to form much to my own and coach’s delight! However, this is rather inconvenient as my clothes are starting to be too small! Though I like the excuse for more clothes shopping!! On Saturdays we changed from the Triangle of Death in the sand to the dreaded steps! This is at another beach where there are 128 steps – we have to run from the top to the bottom several times – and just to make it harder they aren’t all the same size or of the same spacing so you cant get an even rhythm. When we do this session we attract lots of attention with us all yelling at each other then at the end when we are all spaced out down the sides throwing up!! The tourists must think us locals are crazzzzy!!!

I had to fly back to England for exams for my PT qualification. What a shock I got being back in the freeeeezing cold – I was wearing sooo many clothes I looked like a fat man (well woman!!). The first weekend I had Nutrition and Weight Management which was pure theory sat in a little room with no windows – it was like being back at school! At the end of the weekend we had a theory exam which I am still awaiting the results. I also have to complete another assignment and then the module will be complete. The second weekend I had Lifestyle and Fitness Assessments which was a mix of practical and theory – much better! Although as the athlete on the course I had to do all the demos as well as the practices and the assessment on top of my training so I was absolutely shattered by the end! But I am glad to report I passed!

Whilst home I went into school to do some work with the children in Hesketh House and Beech House about having dreams and following them whilst prioritising along the way. I had a lovely time telling them about my story so far and spending time with them. With the Beech House children I did a Q & A session with each class after doing a whole school assembly – this I enjoyed the most answering their very broad range of questions and seeing their little faces so interested in the things I had brought to show them e.g. spikes, blocks, competition kit. On the way out of school in the afternoon my Dad heard a little girl recounting to her Mum what she had done during school. It went like this: “Today this girl came to talk to us and she runs hundreds and hundreds and thousands and thousands of meters. AND she lives on Treasure Island!!!” Haaa!! I love it!!!!! I obviously made an impression!

I also enjoyed spending some time with my family in between. I spent a lovely day with my Mum in Manchester and we went to watch the Nutcracker – we really enjoyed it!

Whilst I was back in England I made the most of having a sand pit (as the one here is closed whilst they repaint the lines on the track – long story!) and did my first long jump sessions since last season. I had a fantastic time and got very excited! I felt much stronger than last season and was jumping well especially as it was my first session back. I’m very happy to say that all the hard base work I put in last year and have continued to develop through seems to be paying off! Next month I have a competition over here which we are not going to focus on greatly but use it as a bench mark to see where I am up to and what needs to be worked on – I can’t wait – bring it on!!!!

October 2010

This month has been a rather boring one so this blog is going to be rather short! At the start I had a flying visit to England for an MRI scan on my jaw as I have an ongoing problem. Now I have to wait until November for the results – fingers crossed they give us a clue of what is actually happening!

This month the training stepped up a gear and proper preseason death has begun! I am now doing two double sessions a week – this is where I train once in the morning and once in the evening. We are currently doing a lot of strength work for our legs and also lots of stamina work = long runs – yuk! On Saturday mornings we go to a beach to train – which sounds very nice but think again! We have to do lots of jumps up and down a rather steep sand dune followed by a section called “The Triangle of Death” which is a combination of doing high knees up the dune, jumping down, bounds, a long sprint and a jog in a continuous cycle. The name says it all! Last Saturday much to the groups amusement, my training partner decided to dunk me in the sea after we had finished – how kind of him!! Despite being in some kind of constant muscle pain at the moment I’m very pleased with the way training is going as I am feeling very fit and enjoying it lots! Although I must say the preseason sports massages hour of intense pain are things I could manage without!!

The crazy weather continued changing all the time. We also had tremendous storms and rain – the heaviest in 70years which caused absolute chaos! The whole island came to a stop and the damage caused was amazing. There is a man who makes and sells coffins and all of them floated away from him and were found half way across the island – some of them at the track as it so happened! The track was flooded very badly up to a couple of feet. But that’s not the worst part - once all the water had drained away it was covered in a thick layer of muddy sludge!! It was unusable so we had to use another track – which isn’t so good but we managed. Now they have managed to clean it up nicely apart from the sand pits – which had just had new sand put in them – they are like mud pits that are solid! The boxing gym was also flooded out and had to close to be totally redecorated.

I have been busying studying hard as I have the next units of my PT exams next month. I have also been on another burst of job hunting as things aren’t working out so well so fingers crossed I get some positive outcomes this time!

September 2010

This month has been another fun and busy month!

Once I said goodbye to my parents at the start of my month my friend from school, Lindsey, came over to visit me. We had a Fantastic time!!!! For the first few days the people I live with were away so we had the house to ourselves! I’m glad to say we managed not to burn down the house – only melt a bowl and sieve!! Whilst Lindsey was here we did a mix of sunbathing, swimming and tourist things too. We spent many hours lying in the sun and playing on a lilo entertaining the whole beach and bar staff as we later discovered! The tourist things we did included a harbour cruise, going round the cathedral in Valletta, walking along the front etc. We also went on a cruise round the 3 islands – it was a fab day although we did go through a storm that lasted about 1 hour. We were part of the crazy few that insisted on staying on the roof wrapped in towels whilst going through it. However, the sun was on our side and when we made it to Comino (the island where you swim) the sun came out and we spent every last minute in the water. I also educated Lindsey to some local culture – eating a local fruit called Bambinella and we also went to a water polo game. On the island water polo is very big (like football in England), it happened to be the final of the knock out so things were even more heated than normal.

Training started back this month but only lightly – a pre preseason! I have been training everyday but not to the extent of death!! It has involved lots of lunges and long jogs. I would here like to congratulate Lindsey for completing all the sessions including having a good bash at the “jumpy things” as she called them despite being a rower and not an athlete!! It was good to be back with the group and back onto the track! We are already looking forward to the season and talking times/distances.

On the 18th it was the big boxing promo night with the main fight being “Super Scott” vs. “Too Cute”. Lindsey and I were on the “door” (or ramp as the case maybe!) sorting tickets and wrist bands etc – I’m glad to say we had a rather large security guard with us too! It was a good night and an interesting intro into the competitive boxing world for me. It was a shame however, that the main fight ended in round 2 due to an accidental head clash – so it was classed as a technical draw. I didn’t even know there could be a draw in boxing!! After they were patched them up we headed out on a good Maltese party – again a lot of fun!! In December there is to be a rematch between Marc and Scott – we are all looking forward to it!

I had my first Maltese petrol experience last week. On the island most of the petrol stations are self service and there are machines where you put in the money and then you have a short time to fill up your car. I went relatively late one night after training put in my last 10euro and no petrol came!!! So I had to drive home and go back the next day to reclaim my petrol! I’m glad to say I had enough petrol to do this! Apparently this is very common and I’m lucky not to have had it happen before!

I often spend my Sundays at a traditional farm house with a pool and lots of land – it’s lovely!!! They grow a huge variety of fruit and veg and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about them. Last week the olives were ready so I went olive picking – it was actually rather pleasant! As I’m the tallest so was in charge of the high up ones and given the rake to rake them down from the top branches. After a couple of hours I defiantly had neck ache from looking up all the time!

This month the start of the rains and storms began. They are very impressive! Added to this is the fact that the island is not designed for rain!! After only 5 minutes all the roads have turned to rivers and the roads by the front have the sea coming up onto them as well! The road that the gym is on is especially bad and you can’t go on it when it rains! In between the rains we still have some sunshine between the clouds so I have made the best of my last few days sunbathing. As the island is so small and affected by so many different weather systems you can get all sorts of weather within hours: the locals say: “All the seasons in one day”.

August 2010

This month has been very much like a holiday for me: being with my family and being on active rest. Active rest is in August when we stop training for the month and just keep up a basic level of fitness so only gym and 30 minute runs three times each per week. This gives us a rest from the track and ensures we are rested ready to start heavy pre-season work.

However, at the very start I had a biomechanical/strength assessment carried out to test muscle strengths and ratios. It was a very long and hard day but great fun! First my flexibility was tested – a well known weakness of mine! Then we moved onto strength and speed which involved lots of hopping exercises. For the speed we had planned to do a sprint outside on the Astroturf but due to the good old British rain we couldn’t! Next I had to do squat jumps standing on a force plate – which as the name suggests measures the force generated by my legs. Much to Theo’s (the assessor) amusement when I jumped I was incapable of only doing one and bounced out of every jump – this trace is heading to a 2nd year lecture! Last but not least I did weighted squat jumps to establish the relationship between power and velocity with the help of a little beeping gadget! By the end I was absolutely shattered as all the tests had to be at 100% - as you can see by the photo so kindly taken by my Dad when I fell asleep talking to my Mum! The results were very interesting and will be used to help design a specific programme to target the weaknesses/imbalances found.

I spent a few days with my Uncle and partner up near High Force which was lovely as I hadn’t seen them for a long time. They own a restaurant/B&B so I was kept busy working especially because it was carnival weekend. I also have a few friends there who I haven’t seen in a long time so it was good to catch up with them.

In the middle of the month I headed back home to Malta with my parents for their Summer dose of sun!! It has been nice to have them over although I must admit rather strange having to ask permission to do things!

The first few days were spent sorting out “businessy” things like car insurance and tax etc. Much more exciting I got my Maltese ID card – as my parents are not Maltese my number ends in an A for alien – much to everybody’s amusement!! I also spent a morning with my Dad washing and looking after Ella and putting some Tigger decals on her so I’m identifiable!!

The rest of the time has been spent sunbathing and swimming J My brother came over for a week as well which was fab as I hadn’t seen him since Christmas and he hasn’t been to the island for 8 years. I must say he made the most of it by teasing me 24/7 about anything and everything! Much like my adopted bros (my 2 physios!) over here.

Importantly this month I finally managed to get a job in a gym. However, it’s not a “normal” gym – it’s a specialised boxing gym run by Scott Dixon who is a double World and Commonwealth champion. He has given me a few boxing lessons so I now have at least a bit of knowledge about what is going on!! It has been great fun learning to box a bit especially with someone of his skill/experience!! Next month he has a big fight on the island so part of the time I have been out on promotions: we went to the drag racing one evening - definitely an experience!!

July 2010

My ankles continued to cause problems throughout this month L The 1 weeks intense physio which was meant to make them better spread to 3 weeks meaning I could only train from my fingers to my shoulders most of the month. Very frustrating!!! I was very low and must have been a nightmare to live with to say the least! My physios did a grand job of trying to cheer me up on a daily basis being more success on some days than others! They bought me a new kind of strapping which to my great delight came in pink and black. I am known for painting my nails to match my running kit so the physios dared me to paint my toes to match the tape – which of course I did.

Due to the continued injury my target to beat the currently ranked number one Maltese girl never came about as I didn’t compete in the league matches. My coach did let me jog a relay leg in the last match so I didn’t feel too left out! However, my club (Pembroke Athleta) did win the league for the 13th year in a row much to all of our delight! We are sponsored by a local bar – yes a bar, we are clearly not in England! They gave us all t - shirts which we all wore out in the evening as we partied!

At the end of the month I returned home to Bolton which was supposed to be for a couple competitions with my club back here. When I arrived back I had done 1 weeks easy training so after much pleading with my coach he agreed I could compete as long as I didn’t push more than 80% - very hard to do in a race I must say! The first comp was a cup champs but as the women only had 4 members in the team there was no chance we were going to qualify! The second one was much more successful where we finished 2nd: it was a league match so the idea is to get as many points as possible so you end up doing lots of events! I did my own mini pentathlon – long jump, 100m, 200m, high jump and relay! I really enjoyed being back with the team and competing with them!!

When I haven’t been training I have spent my time catching up with friends and having my annual MOT! This involves trips to the physio, podiatrist, dentist, hospital, hair cut trainer shopping etc etc. The trip to the podiatrist (the lady that makes the inner soles to go in my shoes) was very useful, as she managed to tell me what order all my injuries had occurred in and why. Now my innersoles have been sent off to Canada to be altered slightly to try and stabilise things out. At the start of next month I go to have biomechanics tests done to test muscle strength and help with injury prevention – I’m really looking forward to it and think it will be very useful!!

June 2010

June for me has been very busy filled with many highs and some lows. This month has been my main focus for competition performance as it had all the championship events in it.

My ankles have continued to cause me problems so I have continued my intense physio treatment of 3 times a week – it’s a good job I get on with my physios!! The fact I have been in pain for the entire month has hindered my training and competition performance for sure, however I was determined just to work through the pain for the 3 weeks of championship competition knowing I had a weeks rest at the end.

The first weekend was the Maltese Championships. I did 3 events: long jump 100m and 200m though I only knew about the 200m 24hours beforehand so I had done no training for it whatsoever!!! So on the first day I turned up very nervous to run the 200m: I managed to come second with a PB of 25.7s but with an awful bend! My coach asked me if I forgot to run?!?! Then it was to the long jump where I had a disaster of a competition so we are forgetting that! Though I was very happy as my training partner jumped a new national record of 6.22m! On the Saturday I turned up for the 100m very determined that I had to win and prove a point. I managed with a PB of 12.57s – I am now Maltese 100m champion! Then I had the delight to being drugs tested for the first time! What fun – NOT! Ha

So with lots of confidence in my sprinting I set off to England ready to compete. The first weekend it was the Northern Championships in Manchester at Sports City. On the Saturday was the long jump which was yet again a disaster so now I’m not going to jump any more this season and start again in the preseason. Then I had to go straight over to the 100m where I had an awful start and came 6th (it was a straight final) with a time of 12.7s – very annoying because if I had ran the time I had the week before I would have medalled. On the Sunday was the 200m in the semi I ran an average race with a time of 25.8s but most importantly I qualified for the final. In the final I had a poor lane draw of lane 8 but I came out of the blocks well and ran a good bend. The race was very quick but unfortunately the electronic timing system broke so we didn’t get accurate times GRRR!

In the few days before the next comp I was busy catching up with appointments and such things. But I did find time to go back into school to help with the sports day which was a lovely afternoon. I also found time to meet with one of my best friends from school that I haven’t seen since my leaving party in October! We had a lovely day chatting and catching up with all the gossip. I also had the experience of driving the people carrier as my parents had put me on the insurance – it’s like driving a bus! But I must say being high above everyone else was quite fun!! Though I was very glad to get back into Ella.

So the next weekend was the England Champs down in Bedford so off Mum and I set on a train down on the Friday (after a training session and physio of course!). We stayed in a lovely little B&B very close to the centre. On Fri night we set off in search of an Italian restaurant so I could get some decent pasta: we found a little one not too far from the B&B. But the menu was very limited so I asked the manager if I could just have a big plate of plain tomato pasta and I explained why at which he told me he used to do sports to a relatively high level so he knew exactly what I meant. When my plate arrived he had gone into the kitchen himself and made me my own dish that wasn’t on the menu!

On Saturday the weather was freezing and very windy – it appeared to be the only place in England that didn’t have glorious sunshine! But that didn’t bother me – I was SOOO nervous about my race!! It was the 100m in which I ran a huge PB of 12.33s out of lane 1 however it was windy so on records it doesn’t show! I came 5th in my semi which meant I missed the final but put me 10th out of 16 so I was very happy! In the evening we returned to the same restaurant with my Dad as he had arrived by this point and as promised the night before if I equalled my best the manager would again cook me my own dish – so appeared spag bol – my fav!!

On the Sunday it was the 200m. I was given the outer lane but this didn’t bother me as I knew I had run well from this lane the week before. I again had an awesome bend and ran another huge PB of 25.34s – with a legal wind! I missed qualification to the final by 0.03s – I was well annoyed!! But looking back I don’t think my ankles would have lasted another race! I had a lovely time and ran 2 PBs so I was very happy to say the least!!

I headed back to Malta on the Tuesday but not without another story! This time going through security I got stopped and my bags searched and then swabbed for drugs! And yes my flight was delayed again but not by soo much! Plus I had 3 seats to myself on the plane so I took full advantage of this and spread out!

As agreed with my physios and coach I then had a weeks rest from doing any leg work and with intensive physio everyday to try and get my ankles back to form. But now I’m sat at the end of the week and they have not recovered! So now my physios are busy thinking what we can do next but I have to start training again tomorrow for 1 month as I have the Maltese Clubs League and I need to beat the girl ranked number 1 to prove a point! Bring it on!!!

May 2010

Excluding my weekend with the stars of the athletic world (check out my feature blog!) it must be said this month has been a quiet one for me!

At the start of the month I managed to strain the ligaments in my ankle whilst long jump training. This was appalling timing as it was the week of the workshop and next month I have the main three weeks of competition of the season so I couldn’t afford any time off training. So this meant adapting training so it contains less impact work but so I can still train through and be close to competition fitness by June – a challenge! This has meant going to the physio three times a week for treatment and after much negotiating we agreed that he would maintain the injury through the comps if I promise to rest for a week after they are over. So I have learnt the new skill of strapping my ankle and am now a lot poorer after buying lots and lots of strapping!!

This month we started doing a couple of sessions on Power Plates – which are gym machines with basically a plate that you stand on (or sit or whatever!) that vibrates. The theory is that it greatly increases the muscle contraction rate so making the exercise you carry out more effective. At the first session we all went thinking it would be a laugh and a fun session but when the muscles were burning and we were shaking we realised we had been greatly mistaken!! We have now fallen in love with them and go every other week. The great thing is they also have a massage function!!

The weather you will be all glad to hear has not been as it normally is!! In fact as I’m writing this I’m sat inside watching the rain pouring down and the thunder is rumbling! Yes rain in Malta at the end of May! It’s highly unfair when I hear in England it has been nice and sunny! This has slowed the sun tan development for sure! However, when the sun is out I have adopted the habit of studying and sunbathing at the same time on the roof!!

My Dream Weekend!

Back in September I came second in the National Street Athletics 60m race on a specially laid track in Manchester town square and as part of my prize I won mentorship from Linford Christie and Darren Campbell, some Nike sponsorship and a winner’s day occasion.

At the start of May I was informed that the winner’s day was to be a workshop with Tyson Gay and Debbie Ferguson McKenzie in Manchester and then the following day we would have the opportunity to race on the 200m straight track laid on Deansgate, Manchester. At first I was afraid I would be unable to attend as I couldn’t afford the flights back but here my Granddad stepped in and paid for my flights – a big thank you to him!

So on Thursday 13th May I set off to Manchester in a very excited mood to say the least! That flight was the longest flight ever – it felt like it lasted for HOURS!!! When I eventually arrived I went straight to my local athletics club (Bolton United Harriers) to catch up with my English team mates as I hadn’t seen them since before I moved to Malta in October. I woke up very early on the Friday morning ready to go and mix with my heroes. But first I had to head to the physio to strap my ankle as I had (and still have!) a small injury – I didn’t even make it out of my PJs! Then back home it was to pack for the rest of the day and the Saturday.

My Mum and I (unfortunately my Dad had to be at work!) jumped on a train into Manchester and headed to the Malmaison Hotel where I was to stay the night. I had never been to such a posh hotel! Yes I admit it – as soon as I went into my room I jumped onto the bed!! As I was the only winner from the North I had to wait for the coach from London with all the other winners to arrive. I have never known time pass so slowly!! When they finally arrived and checked in we crowded onto a mini bus and headed to Sports City where the workshop was to be held.

We were put in a room trackside to sit and wait. To while away the time Linford and Darren presented us (well threw at us!) our second delivery of Nike kit – or at least part of it as the trainers and spikes hadn’t made it! Then we all sat and chatted away excitedly whiling away the time. Whilst peering out of the window to see who could spot Tyson first we started to see other track stars: much to our surprise there were going to be more people than just Tyson and Debbie.

At last we were allowed onto the track and were introduced to the array of athletic legends before us: Tyson Gay and Debbie Ferguson McKenzie as expected, plus Kim Collins, Shawn Crawford, Felix Sanchez and Terrence Trammell. We were in awe of them and even more excited if this was physically possible!! After a mass warm up we were spilt into smaller groups and rotated round in three groups doing sessions with the athletes focusing on their specialities.

First I was with Tyson and Linford. After the initial thoughts of “OMG! This is really him and he’s stood next to me – what do I say?!?!?” the questions soon started to flow. We discussed in depth preparations made on a race day. Then we did the plyos Tyson does in his warm up before a comp and he focused on us all telling us how to improve our technique – though I must add he was impressed with my technique! Much to my surprise Tyson was very shy and timid but opened up a bit more as we spent more time with him and he cracked a few jokes and smiles with us. After what seemed like no time at all we were to move on to the next session.

Next I had hurdles with Terrence Trammell and Felix Sanchez. First we did walk over drills that flat sprinters do as well as specialist hurdlers. Much to everybody’s amusement I volunteered to go first and promptly knocked over the first hurdle but with no shame I laughed and carried on with my head high! These first drills I did with Felix and the girls but then the boys who were with Terrence on the higher hurdles started to jump over them (not hurdle!) so I moved over to their group and much to everyone’s surprise I jumped them first time – much better than the boys who were scared! Then it became a game between me and Terrence: he would challenge me to do a harder drill and I’d manage so he’d think of a harder one and challenge me again – it was great fun!! At first I did the demos for him for the boys but in the end it was just me and Terrence as the boys gave up and left us to it to play our “game”!!

Then we moved on again to Debbie Ferguson McKenzie, Kim Collins and Shawn Crawford to focus on sprint technique. We talked about the importance of posture, arms and the angle of our feet amongst other things: then we tried to apply what we had talked about and they coached us accordingly. Then I “complained” that we hadn’t done any block start work so then Shawn went in search of blocks whilst announcing loudly “The girl wants to do blocks – go find her some!!” This was much to the organiser’s horror as they had planned what each session was meant to contain and blocks were not included! But who argues with an athletic legend?!!? Or more importantly – a Bolton School girl!! So then we did blocks: we had good fun trying different techniques to see which was most effective. I asked them if there was any way to strengthen your fingers as blocks put a lot of pressure through your fingers. Shawn told me to suck it up and not to be so soft! But Kim told me he does press ups with his hands in the block position and gave us a quick demo. So up for another challenge I tried too and much to everybody’s amazement I managed a good set of deep press ups!

Time had now flown away so the scheduled Q & A session and photos didn’t happen. However, with a smile on my face and spikes in hand with my “Sharpie” pen I went to each of them and got them to sign my spikes and of course a photo too! My spikes have now become my babies!! At the end Darren and Linford told us how they had been given a lollipop for their first athletics payment and they gave us a tenner! It was very kind of them however I must admit I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t a lollipop! We were then transported back to the hotel to get ready for our meal.

At the meal we were spilt up onto four tables each with a successful athlete: I had the honour of sitting next to Iwan Thomas. Katharine Merry was hosting the evening and instead of the traditional Q & A sessions, between courses each table shared what they had been discussing – of course topics to be shared were chosen carefully! The topics discussed ranged from eating habits and whether it’s quicker to run in a straight line or with a curve to more trivial topics like our favourite beaches and embarrassing stories - most getting at Linford! I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and of course the food – especially the steak!!

After a big breakfast on Saturday we all met in the hotel lobby ready to race. We were all of a buzz from the day before plus with the opportunity to race on a raised straight track down Deansgate amongst all the shops! But first Linford and I had to strap my ankle which was a giggle to say the least! The concentration on his face was amazing! We all traipsed through Manchester centre to get to the track, getting many strange looks along the way. We warmed up and were divided into our races. We pinned on our huge numbers – which was a task on its own when you are wearing a crop top! – and stuck on our lane numbers to our legs.

When it came to my race it turned out Felix was going to be the starter for us, which again added to my already high level of excitement. To add to this level even more he saw my signed spikes on my feet and asked me if he could sign them too (he had gone early the day before). I couldn’t believe Felix Sanchez had just ASKED to sign MY feet!!! We decided I should race first and he would sign them afterwards. My race wasn’t so good to my disappointment and I only managed 19.15s for 150m (this is slow!). However, when talking the race over with Linford afterwards he told me it was because I was just far too excited but as long as I had had a good time that was what the race was all about – not times! I’m glad to say that both my parents and Granddad were able to come and watch me run this special race – it meant a lot to me!

After the race I went to get Felix to sign my spikes which involved me breaking the organisation and security again! However, the same applied - who messes with an Olympian?!?! After thanking everybody for the once in a life time opportunity I headed back home and back to reality – my taster as a professional athlete was over!

On the Sunday the big names were to race so I headed back into Manchester with my parents to go and watch, now with my added personal interest in the athletes I had spent time with the day before. Many of them recognised me in the crowd and came over to talk to me and of course I wished them all my luck. It was impressive and extremely inspiring to see some of the best athletes in the world competing live. The highlight of the day had to be watching Tyson break the world record of Tommie Smith for the straight 200m. I would like to point out that he broke that record running in my footsteps!!!

Before flying back to Malta on the Monday night I spent the morning in school catching up with my old school teachers and discussing how much I had managed to achieve in roughly 12 months! The afternoon was filled with a very tough 3 ½ hour gym session – a big hit back to reality for sure!

I headed to the airport unsure whether I would actually make it back or not due to the volcanic ash cloud. In the end we were delayed four hours but made it back. The flight wasn’t without stardom either: Garry Neville was on board and I spent a good half an hour chatting to him going through Malta airport. Much to our amusement going through boarder control a pushy lady pushed right into him and moved him out the way – she clearly had no idea who he was!

It is for definite that it has been the best weekend of my life so far!! I found it extremely inspiring spending time with my heroes and it has further fuelled my dreams and aspirations of becoming a professional athlete.

April 2010

Well this is my first blog so let me give you a bit of background. I finished my A Levels at Bolton School last year and moved to Malta to train full time as an athlete, focusing on the long jump and sprints.

This month has been very eventful! At the start my parents came over as it was my birthday. How grown up I felt picking them up from the airport in my new car – I hope my driving didn’t scare them too much! Whilst they were here I got a lot of practical jobs done that I had been putting off. This also included sitting down and deciding more about my future: in the end after talking around in lots of circles I decided that I would stay over here for the time being and over the next year train up to be a personal trainer (I am already a gym instructor). So now I have to start studying again – what a shock to the system! Then later on I’ll look to study for a degree at distance with Open University or maybe even with the uni here but that means I have to reconsider the course I wanted to do.

The day before my birthday the training group “egged me!!!” a day early so I wouldn’t expect it – “maa” what a shock I got!! Ha! I also had my first day of work in a new job, working in a sports bar – nothing special but it pays for Ella’s petrol (Ella is my car by the way!) In the middle of the month we had a friendly international competition – my first international. I didn’t perform as I hoped managing to jump 6 no jumps – yes 6!!! The 100m was slightly better however, as the week before I had false started and I was so sure not this time that I got left in the blocks and was chasing but I still came 4th. The relay was great fun and we got a bronze despite us not doing one baton practice! The competition was of course followed by a long hard party time!!!

I also had my first encounter with the Maltese police!!! A week after my parents left I managed to bash wing mirrors with a police car – yes a police car!! They came after me with lights and sirens – the shame!! When we inspected each others cars mine only had a small buff in the paint work whilst their mirror and motor unit were hanging out of the socket – I’m sure it was only just hanging on in the first place!! After a lot of formalities, reports and trips to the station a friend came with me and spoke to the police and offered to fix the mirror himself - he did and all charges and planned court appearances were dropped! And yes I still claim it wasn’t my fault!!!