February 2013

This month I’m very happy to report that I officially feel like I am back on the up after the operation! There is still a lot of hard work to be done but it has begun. I officially started my 400m training – it has been a huge shock to my body! I knew it was going to be harder than training for the shorter sprints but I underestimated it. It takes a totally new level of mental strength and determination to get through the sessions. I am very lucky to have an amazing coach and training group, especially Matt my 400m training partner, to help me get used to the new training. It has highlighted how important it is to have a strong coach and training partners.

This month I have completed a 3 week block of very hard training; including distances I have never run before like 500m!! I was in greater shock to find out I had more than one per session plus several 200m! This has included getting back into racing. I have done three local pre season races. The first competition, I did the 60m just to ease myself back into racing. It felt amazing to be back!! Although it is frustrating to be behind people that I used to be ahead of – but this I have to make positive and use it as motivation. In the second competition I did the 60m again followed by my first 300m. I had never run a competitive 300m before so had little idea of how a race pace 300m was actually going to feel – the last 80m were incredibly long! At the end and for about 30 minutes after I was seeing double! I was beaten into 2nd place by just 0.03 of a second. I was pushing sooo hard but my legs just couldn’t go that bit faster. I took the experience of the 300m and put it to good use in the next competition – I knocked 1 second off my time from the week before and won. I was determined that no one was going to beat me this time!

At the start of the month I had a few days off uni after exams, which were very quickly filled by various jobs that I had been putting off doing during exams. They passed far too quickly! Uni is now back to normal, but this semester I have more lectures which is creating an extra challenge to balance things. Due to my lecture schedule I have what I have now nick-named “Crazy Wednesdays”. I need to have started my training session at 8am at the track, then I go straight to uni for a lecture 10 – 11 then stop off at home to eat. By 2 I’m in the gym for a weights session then back to uni for another lecture from 5 – 7. I must say it is a challenge to stay awake during that lecture!!

Of course as it was February there was Valentine’s Day too. My boyfriend has a tough job being patient with all my training and uni commitments. A prime example was Valentine’s itself. It was on a Thursday, I had uni during the day and training in the evening so I popped over to his in the evening for a brief while. He suggested we went out on Friday to celebrate but as I had a competition on the Saturday I couldn’t so we had to wait until Saturday evening. When we finally got round to celebrating it was lovely to spend some quality time together.

The weather was very cold at the start of the month but I’m happy to say in the last week it has started to warm up. In the sun it’s quite hot but as soon as you go in the shade its cold and the wind is cold too. Of course, the evenings are still cold once the sun has set. I have managed to find a spare couple of hours to make the most of the sun out and about with friends. We had a lovely picnic for one friend’s birthday.

January 2013

Well this month has been a pretty boring one I’m afraid. I spent most of it finishing off the university assignments and revising ready for my exams which were at the end of the month. I only had 5 exams which wasn’t too bad along with 3 assignments to finish off. To help me out during the exam period, my Mum came over for a week to take over running the house and cooking which allowed me to still train. It was great to spend some time with Mum in between exams. Despite Mum’s superpowers, on a couple of training days the revision won and I had to miss a few sessions. I had one very interesting revision session when we had a 4 hour power cut – it involved studying with my torch and by candle light - the candle was also a good source of heat!

Training this month was very much focused around exams, but it has increased from last month and I am back into doing track sessions. It feels great to be back doing “proper” sessions - I can’t wait to get back to competing!! But as I keep being told – one step at a time! I’m glad to say my ankles seem to be holding up – they have been a little bit sore at times as I was warned, but nothing major. I have to wear custom made long compression socks to help prevent pooling of fluid in my ankles.

December 2012

This month I was given the go ahead to increase my training another step! Still only straight lines but now quicker and also much more. I’m now on the track 4 times a week. I was also granted permission to start some weights again. It has been over 14 months since I last did some decent weights. Of course I have had to start from basics and light but I have already improved a lot over these few weeks. After the first squat session back I couldn’t walk properly for 3 days due to my sore muscles. Walking up and down the stairs and getting up and down from the sofa was very interesting. Though it did provide my friends with some entertainment!

University has been very busy again: writing up all the assignments from the field trips – the down side to them! But it’s a great way of getting to see the island. The majority of our assignments are group work so it takes a little extra time and co-ordination to get organised to meet up etc.

I headed back to England for Christmas and New Year. I had a lovely time: my friend from the Ukraine came over to stay with us for Christmas. I hadn’t seen her for over 10 years – so we had A LOT of catching up to do!! We did all the traditional things for them so they could experience a “proper English Christmas”. We had a fantastic time!! Once they had left it was down to the usual routine of seeing all my various support team back in England and I started studying for my exams too as they were very close to the start of term. It was good to be back and spend some time with family and friends as it had been a while since I had been able to.

The best Christmas present was going to see the surgeon for my post operation check-up and being given the all clear to start back into full training. I will still feel a bit of pain every now and again but it’s nothing to worry about and he also said that my ankles will continue to improve over the next 6 months so that’s good. Bring on the 400m training!!

November 2012

I’m very happy to report that the next chapter of my ankle rehab has begun! I have now started running at last!!! Only in straight lines and not very fast but it’s running!! It felt soo funny the first session back – like I had almost forgotten how to run! But just in case I needed reminding why I had gone through with the whole operation thing (which I didn’t really) it reminded me how good it felt and how much I have missed it!! Now the trick is not to rush things and listen to my ankles. I have been running 4 times a week. There have been some days when my ankles haven’t been so good so I have had to take a couple of days off and went back into the pool. I have been in even closer contact with my physio – emailing him every morning with a report from the day before and on certain days, morning, afternoon and evening text message updates. I now feel that things really are progressing in the right direction. The aim now is to have me back into full training shape for the start of January.

University has actually been much busier than I expected. This month we have had at least one field trip per week. Some have been very interesting, and others not so much! But they do provide a means of seeing parts of the island that I would never normally see. We went on one to Popeye’s Village (yes – the set where they filmed the original Popeye film!) with a group of Italian geographers. They are doing current research about the movement of a particular rock body. This was very interesting; in fact I was so interested they have invited me to go back with them the next time they come to take measurements. I’m looking forward to it already and to see what they have managed to establish since.

The last week I have been sick with a chest infection which slowed me down a bit and meant I had to take a break off training. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise as it gives my ankles a little rest.

October 2012

Uni has begun again – second year here I come! I don’t have as many scheduled lectures as last year but we have more assignments so I guess it balances out. For me it is much better as it’s easier to manipulate writing assignments around training rather than training around lectures! I was ready to start back and I am enjoying things so far – 3months is a very long time for a break! I must remember to get organised next year and book a break away, even if just for a few days.

I’m still working hard on my ankle rehab. Things are progressing just slower than I (my physio and coach too) would like! I am currently on a programme of an easy day followed by a hard day with the weekends as double easy days. On an easy day I just have to do my mobility work, calf stretches and strengthening 3 times a day. On a hard day I have to go to the sand for 30min to do a mixture of walking, high knees and slow jogging, do 18min on the bike and also do a 25min mixture of walking exercises and a tiny bit of slow jogging at the track.

Due to my lectures I am having to get up very early some days to fit everything in: at the moment it’s quite common I leave the house at 7am and don’t get back to 7pm. I have to pack my boot full of different bags for the different activitiesand changes of clothes: it looks like I’m going on holiday! I ll be very glad to get all the hours back in my day once I can stop doing all this rehab.

I am still training hard at my circuits and core sessions. Though I have to admit I am totally fed up of doing them now! There is one helping factor though, unfortunately my training partner is also in rehab for an ankle injury (not the same as mine!) so we can keep each other company. Without her I think I would have gone totally insane. It makes the session seem less tedious if you have someone to talk to and catch up on all the gossip with. Though my coach is a little concerned about the amount of chatting we are doing and warned us that once we start back into full training there won’t be time to gossip heee.

My Mum and Dad came over to visit for a couple of weeks in their half term holidays. I didn’t see much of them due to my dashing around everywhere though I was very grateful for all the jobs they did for me around the house. Especially to my mum for doing all the cooking – so when I got back in I could just focus on studying and not having to cook too. It was also nice to have some company on the long drives to the sand!

September 2012

This month hasn’t been a very exciting one to be honest. It has been full of rehab and not much else! My rehab is progressing as expected (even if slower than I want it to!). I am still doing the sets of exercises I was doing last month but increased the number. I am now doing 5 minutes of work on the bike too every other day. I have also started some work in the sand. When I say work in the sand I mean slow walking – I started with 5 minutes at the start of the month and now I have reached 10 minutes. The last few days of the month I stepped it up to doing 2 minutes of “Nanna Jogging” in the middle of the walk, keeping the total time to 10 minutes. “Nanna Jogging” is very, very slow jogging in which if I was racing a nanna she would win!!! This was how my physio described at what speed I was allowed to go at. The worst part about the sand work is I have to drive up to the other end of the island and back every day which is about a 1hr30min round trip – that’s without school traffic! My car is just eating through the petrol – I always seem to be filling up at the moment! Plus, I can’t stay at the beach and swim etc as that would be too much work in the sand. So my ankles are definitely heading in the right direction but it’s a slow process that needs yet even more patience. It’s very frustrating especially when I see my training group running round – but they are a great support to me.

Preseason training has begun but as you can imagine I am very limited in what I can do as I can’t do any lower body work. I am doing lots of circuits and gym work to focus on building up my upper body. I am also back in the pool 3 times a week trying to build up some CV fitness. I lost a lot with all the time off with my ankles so we have taken things back down to the basics. It isn’t the most exciting training but it has to be done and I’m happy just to be back doing something!

My coach and a couple of members of my training group have been working hard to start organising sports days for the local communities. We did one this month where we closed the main road and had a variety of different activities for both adults and children. I’m happy to say it was a success and we are looking forward to doing more. My training group ran the day with a few experts where needed i.e. for the baseball!

We had some freak storms this month too with really heavy rain. Storms were forecast but no-one expected them to be as severe as they were. It caused a lot of damage to buildings and cars, many cars were washed away and deposited in very strange and awkward places! The track was totally submerged up to the height of the steeple chase barriers and the high jump mats washed to the opposite side. It has been closed most of the month to restore it to how it should be and clean it of all the mud that was left behind. So the training we have been doing has been at a different track at the other end of the island (the opposite end to the beach!) which has added to my fuel consumption!

August 2012

All I can say is thank goodness for the Olympics!!! This operation has just highlighted the point that I am really not good at sitting still –especially with my feet up! I really don’t know how I would have stayed sane during the last few weeks without the Olympics!! A very well timed operation. I must say thanks to all my friends and neighbours who came to visit me and let me go and sit on their sofa for a change of scene! Especially as both my parents were away after my op. As I had both ankles done I was given some crutches but I was very slow on them and couldn’t go very far. So when my Mum took me out I had to hire wheel chairs and motorised scooters. I must admit it was fun whizzing round town although it took a while for me to get good at steering: though by the end I was a pro!

I saw the surgeon a week after the operation and he was very pleased with how the operation went. He did less than he had expected to do and said I’ll be back to my normal self very soon. He reckons I’ll be back into full training by mid-October as long as I do all the rehab. I flew back to Malta with my Mum. Going through the airport I had a wheel chair too which turned out to be really handy as it meant I could skip all the queues which happened to be very big!! Although my chair didn’t have working breaks so at one point I was freewheeling down the ramp into the plane until the guy noticed and looked at me as I was calling him.

Since being back I have been working very hard with my physios on my rehab programme. I have just been doing exercises to get the range of movement back and to start to build up some strength. They are very repetitive and boring but they have to be done so I have been really good at not complaining and just getting on with it. I have been doing up to 4 hours a day. The next step will be walking in the sand. My Dad also flew out for the rest of the month. It was great to have my parents around to help me get around – especially as I haven’t been able to drive the car yet. They did a very good job I must say! It has been very frustrating though as I expected to be more mobile on my return so I had made lots of plans with friends that had to be cancelled as I’m not allowed to go anywhere with uneven ground or stand up for long periods. So I have been restricted to swimming at the waterpolo club with my parents and BBQs. I managed to do 4 BBQs in a row – I was sure I was going to wake up looking like a sausage!!

July 2012

The first couple of weeks this month I spent it enjoying Summer to the full: lots of sunbathing, swimming, relaxing and training too. I am really enjoying the break from uni and having some more time to myself and meet friends etc. I have been managing to train quite a lot this month however, I had a run of very bad luck! We planned for me to do 2 competitions before I flew to England for my operation. But the 1st one they moved as it clashed with another event that was being held at the track and the 2nd one I had tomiss as I had a really bad spasm in my neck and my head was stuck pointing to the side! Its quite amusing now looking back but it was extremely painful and I was SOOOOO frustrated to have to miss the competition!

I flew back a week before my operation was scheduled so I could compete for Bolton Harriers in the BAL Cup qualifying match. This competition is always good fun as there is a big team spirit and its very short as not all the events are included. I ran my first ever 400m (well 2 actually as I ran the individual and relay!). I really enjoyed it although I have a lot of learning to do regarding how to pace one!! But considering I haven’t done any work for them yet and that I had no one to pace off in the race I was happy. I also did a promotional photo shoot for Total Fitness whilst I was back. I had never done a gym shoot before so it took a while to get into it but I soon got into the swing of it! We had a really good laugh and took some fun photos too – check out my website to see some of them.

Friday 27th was one of the most important days of my life so far – the day of my ankle operation (and the day of the London 2012 opening ceremony!) As I hadn’t been able to have my pre ops done I had to be at hospital for 6:30am even though I was on the afternoon list which was a bit of a shock to the system! I had to have my own room too as I hadn’t had the tests – at first I was disappointed but it turned out to be perfect. It was opposite the nurses station so they all used to come in and talk to me and it was where the other people in the ward had to walk past whilst doing their mobility work so they all stopped to talk to me too. The surgeon moved me on his lists to be first in the afternoon so I would be back home for the opening ceremony – it was a good plan but it didn’t work. After my operation they couldn’t wake me up!! I only had to stay awake for 1 hour to be allowed home but I just couldn’t!! So I had to stay in over night – but as I was in my own room the nurses let me keep my TV on – if only I had managed to stay awake for more than 30sec at a time!! They eventually sent me home the following afternoon. The photos show the before and after!

June 2012

This month has been focused around my uni exams. I don’t think I have ever spent so many hours in 1 day studying – I developed the technique of studying during various training sessions! Thank goodness I had my brother with me – as it meant I didn’t have to spend anytime cooking. During exam periods it is the hardest time to balance my uni and training commitments. I put a lot of work into my studying and it’s important to me to get good grades but my training is always my main priority. It’s hard to sometimes take defeat and miss a session due to revision. I did quite a good job of always managing some form of training – even if not the planned session. I only missed 4 sessions which I thought was quite good. So now I wait for the results with fingers crossed!

After the exams I had a few group assignments that had to be done. They had only been given to us a couple of weeks before exams so we decided to leave them till after the majority of our exams. I had everybody round to my place and we worked none stop from 10 – 5 and we did managed to get them all done. So once those were handed in I was free for the summer!

We have already dived straight into Summer – enjoying the usual swimming and sunbathing. I must say it’s much harder to revise out here compared to England at this time of year as you just want to be at the beach! We had the Isle of MTV concert this month which was amazing! It’s a free concert that is held every year on the island – normally I miss it because I’m in England for the championships but due to my ankles I was still here. It is held outdoor just outside of the centre. Nearly the whole island goes!

Training continued to go well after exams. However, I have had a slight strain at the back of one of my knees so I had to take things a bit easier for a few days. But I’ll soon be back thanks to my physios! Though it has meant that I’m now fashioning a white stripe up the back of my leg where the tape has been!

I got the results from the scans on my ankles and they were as expected. So I have booked my flights back to the UK ready for the operation at the end of July. They are going to operate by key holesurgery on both of my ankles to clear out the scar tissue.

May 2012

I started this month with a quick trip back to the UK to have the scan on my ankles. Before scanning them they had to inject a special fluid that could be seen in an MRI. This was done under xray, initially using an x-ray dye, to ensure they were in the exact spot and then once they had the exact location they injected the MRI dye. It was extremely interesting. I have to admit that the best part was the ride in the wheel chair across the hospital from the x-ray to the MRI scanner – I’m sure the porter thought I was crazy!

Training has continued to increase this month. It’s great to be able to do some speed work and be back on the track – though we are still having to be careful and monitor things so as not to aggravate my ankles any further. I even managed to do a competition! Considering how much training I have missed I performed well. I managed to beat both my targets that my coach set = 1 smiley coach and 1 smiley athlete!

My brother came out half way through the month to stay for a few weeks. It’s taken a bit adjusting to having him around and not having the place to myself. One of the first things he did when he arrived was buy me a little BBQ as he said I couldn’t live in the Med and not have one! Though he did have a battle on his hands putting it together – it took him ages and some bending of the mental to get it to all fit together!

I don’t have much else to report as I spent every other spare minute I had with my head in my books either finishing assignments or studying ready for my exams next month.

April 2012

The most important event this month was my 21st birthday!!! I can’t believe I’m 21 already – and I’m now meant to be a fully grown up adult! I actually turned 21 whilst on a plane back to Malta! I had a lovely relaxed day with my parents and Grad who were over in Malta for a holiday. I had a birthday party later in the week at a beach bar where I used to work. It had the usual pre party dilemmas including no music and the writing being wrong on the cake but in the end everything came together and it was a great night. The only thing was there was a huge thunderstorm just as the party was due to start so some people didn’t make it due to the flooded roads – the only bad weather we had for 2 weeks! Typical!

Whilst my family were over with me I had a couple of relaxed weeks which was good. But I did have to spend a fair bit of time catching up on my missed uni work – this gave my dad the ideal opportunity to do all the odd jobs around my apartment! It was my physio’s wedding whilst they were here too and as my parents know his parents they were also invited. It was our first Maltese wedding – it was very different from a typical English wedding but great fun!

Once uni started back I have been very busy as usual. With geography we have been on a number of fieldworks which are great fun and a source of entertainment – I hadn’t laughed so much in along time. Some of them have been more like outdoor pursuit trips with ladders, climbing over rocks and under trees. However, they come with the assignments which take up a lot of time to collect the relevant information. And of course keep me inside at my laptop rather than being outdoors enjoying the start of the Summer sun! In contrast we had a psychology trip to the cinema to watch “We Need to Talk About Kevin” followed by a debate.

Training has been going very well this month Since the surgeon telling me I can start some track work as I can’t do much more damage I have gradually increased. I am currently doing track work every other day and on the days between I’m in the pool or the gym. It’s great to be back on the track – I was getting very down and frustrated not being able to run. I’m balancing the amount of pain that I can train with: this means some days it’ll be bad and I have to change the planned track session to a pool session as these involve no impact. It’s a bit like being on a mini roller coaster – one day up and the next down. Training more at the track means I have been able to work more with my group properly since changing coach – it makes such a difference having a supportive network of training partners and of course we are always up for a laugh.

My coach is good friends with an Italian coach, who was the national sprint coach for the Beijing Olympics, and the group paid for him to come over for a week to work with us. It was great to work with him and gain another set of eyes to watch and coach us. We focused a lot on technique on running and the specific leg movement which I had never done before.I learnt a lot and am continuing to work on it with Mario. My Italian vocab increased from 2 words to maybe 10 at the most –I think it’s something I’m going to have to spend a bit of time learning the basics. It was a challenge for Mario switching between all 3 languages and training himself!

Regarding my ankle I have received a date for the scan at the start of next month. So I’ll travel back for a couple of days to get it done and then wait for the results. . . .

March 2012

Training has continued to progress very slowly – we have gradually increased the amount of running I’m doing. I’m now up to doing alternate strides on the track and grass.
We couldn’t find anyone on the island to do the required work on my ankles so I flew back to England for 2 weeks to see an ankle and foot specialist. After a couple of consultations he and his team decided that I need another set of MRI scans of a better quality and using dye so scar tissue will show as he thinks the scar tissue is the problem. If the scans show what he expects then I will have to fly back again for them to perform key hole surgery on both of my ankles – but they will do both at the same time! Initially I took the news badly as I am running out of patience and just want to get back into full training. It gets more frustrating as the season approaches. However, after a few days for it to sink in and talking to everyone in my support team I feel a lot better – we have an action plan of what is going to be done. In the meantime while waiting for the scan date I can increase training as I can’t do any more considerable damage: so I’m looking forward to that!
My trip back to England was very well timed as it was also my Nan’s 90th birthday so we had a big family meal for her. I was a total surprise for her as she thought I was in Malta she kept asking everybody if they knew I was coming (including my parents!). It was a lovely evening and great to see all the family together. It was also one of my best friend’s 21st party whilst I was back too: another bonus! Whilst I was back my friends that were around did a great job of cheering me up and getting me refocused.
I finally received my exam results at the end of the month. I’m happy to say I did very well so I can knuckle down and focus on the next ones!
This month was of course also marked by a good party time for St Paddies day! It was especially good as 2 of my uni mates are Irish – so we celebrated in traditional style!

February 2012

I started the month with my last few uni exams. Which I’m happy to say seem to have gone well – now I just wait for the results!
Training has continued in the same manor: circuits with a bit of jogging, pool and bike. My gym work is improving and I’m starting to get back the strength I had before I stopped. However, the sessions are very repetitive and it takes a lot of hard work to stay motivated through – Mario and the group are key to this! The group has started to work with a reflexologist – very interesting I must say.
I made friends with a guy this month that fly’s birds of prey. I drove up to the coast one afternoon and I stopped as I saw lots of birds of prey on the ground. I got talking to them (the people that is - not the birds!) they were very interesting. It turns out that there is a group of them that each have their own bird and they meet once a week to fly them. I made particular friends with one of them and he said he will teach me more about the birds and how to fly them – so keep your eyes open for more in that department!

January 2012

This month has been another tough one to say the least! I had more scans done on my ankle and it showed no improvement. So we consulted an Italian and an English surgeon and they agreed that I need some invasive treatment on my ankles. But to do this we have to find someone on the island or I’ll have to fly back to the UK. However, they did also say I can start some jogging. So I have been doing 5min jogging at a time combined with circuits 3 times a week plus some more pool and bike sessions. It’s good to be back doing some kind of decent training but it’s nothing like being back on the track! I had a photo session with my new training group which was great fun and a good chance for me to get to know them better.
To top it all off I had my uni exams. These were an experience in themselves – nothing like Bolton School exams! I didn’t even know that the 1st exam had started! Also if the exam starts late we don’t get the time added on the end i.e. so if the exam is meant to start at 9:00 and finish at 11:00 but doesn’t start till 9:15 it will still finish at 11!
My brother also got married this month but unfortunately I couldn’t make it due to my exams.

December 2011

My ankles have continued to cause me problems this month. As there has been very little improvement we decided to get some scans done at the start of the month. It turns out I have a ruptured ligament and some inflamed bone so I have had to rest this month. To help protect it and help the healing I have to tape it every day and 2 times a day contrast bath it in hot and ice cold water. It has been hard not being able to train – training becomes addictive to people who are used to it everyday. I have only been allowed to do basic circuits 3 times a week which involve no ankle work and become very repetitive.
I put all my focus into my uni work to try and keep me distracted! I have been very busy especially with a number of geography fieldwork assignments.
I was glad to be home during Christmas and around my family and friends. They did a good job of trying to cheer me up. My Nan was at our house for Christmas too which was lovely: though she was very shocked when I set about doing a circuit on Christmas day! I had a quiet New Year with just a few family friends round - as my ankles and high heels don’t go well together. I also managed to get an allergic reaction to the tape I was using to strap it.
Whilst I was back I had a meeting with the English side of the support team to fill them in with the progress. It was very successful and I was given a good talking to about being patient.

November 2011

This month has been a hard one to say the least. I made the HUGE decision to change coach: I can honestly say it’s the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I felt I had to move on to help me progress my career to where I want it to be. This was particularly hard as I have known my old coach for 10 years and after all it was because of him I moved to Malta in the first place. It was also hard because I was very close to the people in the group and I was afraid of losing their friendships. I was very lucky to have lots of friends, family and mentor around me to help me through this hard time. I’m now training with another local coach called Mario. I have now been working with him for 3 weeks and I am much happier. I have a support team in place that is working together well to help provide me with the best training and support possible. So although, it is still a bit hard right now at times I am sure it is definitely the right decision. I’m greatly looking forward to starting the new chapter in my athletics and hopefully reaching new, higher levels.

Unfortunately I managed to pick up ankle problems at the end of last month so my training has been disrupted further. But with my new strengthened support team in place I am working my way through an intense rehab programme. I am doing a lot of work running in the swimming pool to keep up my fitness. I actually really enjoy these sessions however, I must say sometimes the pool is very cold when they decide not to heat it and the wind doesn’t help! This means I’m back at the physio again everyday getting my dose of brotherly teasing.

Malta had its census this month too which was interesting for me as it is part of the Geography syllabus. We had extra feature lectures with the organisers from the Government and a visiting lecturer from England. I have now settled well into uni but as I expected I’m now extremely busy and don’t have much time to relax.

September 2011

This month has been much busier than the last – though that isn’t saying much!!
I packaged my parents back off to England and swapped them for some family friends and my athletics mentor. I felt like I was running a hotel!! I had a very busy couple of weeks with my mentor but very beneficial. I have decided to move up the distances and concentrate on the 400m and 200m; moving away from the 100m (however, I’ll still run some indoor 60ms and outdoor 100ms this year). So the time he spent with me was all about the step up in event and level. We started some 400m training which I must say gave my body a bit of a shock but I’m doing better than I expected. I am enjoying the training very much and am greatly looking forward to getting stuck in fully. I’m currently on the base phase which will build me up some endurance. I’m busy learning how to pace myself – I’m sure I‘ll get there!! I’m too used to short sprint training!! I ran a 5km race too for something a bit different and of course to help me with my endurance. I must say it wasn’t the best experience I have had – it was an extremely hilly course which no one thought to tell me until afterwards!! Though I was the 5th woman home so that was an achievement for me!! And of course the free t-shirt and medal are always an added bonus!!! Haaa! We also did some psychology work which was very tough but good: I learnt a lot and have started putting the action plans into use. My mentor also took on the role of tutor for testing me ready for my PT exams – he was very good at it I must say!
In this period I also got my letter of acceptance to university!! I’m greatly looking forward to starting in October: I will be studying Geography and Psychology. I hope I manage to balance my studying and training!! The Uni is within 20min walking distance from home so that is very useful – I’m sure I’ll be powerwalking it some days!!
I then had 3 days in between everybody leaving the flat and me flying back for my PT exams. I spent those 3 days with my head firmly in my text books! The first 3 days back home I spent on a course which had a theory exam too. We were only a small group which was good and I enjoyed the weekend lots. Fingers crossed I passed the exam!
The week was crammed packed as ever when I’m back in England – I hardly spent any time at home! On the Wednesday I had some biomechanical tests done which took most of the day. I went with my mentor this time which I found very beneficial and again another day I learnt a lot! At points they were chatting in technical speak and everything they said went over my head and they had to dumb it down for me to understand hee. We did a variety of tests, some of which I did last year too, this allows us to compare the results and tailor my training programmes accordingly. We plan to carry out a series of tests throughout the year which will again help tailor the training programmes as well as provide check mark points. I apologise for the fact I forgot to take any photos!!
I had my photo shoot whilst I was home too. I had a fab time!! It took us just under 5hours!!! It involved lots of clothes changes so I could get promo shots for all the sponsors and of my doing varying things. Including blocks, which was interesting as they weren’t actually touching the floor – by the time we had taken these shots my arms and shoulders felt like they had done a full workout!! The final photos will be on my website in due time which is currently under construction.
Whilst I was home I also had a huge unexpected surprise. When I was 10 we had a Ukraine waterpolo player to come and stay with us for 6 weeks and we became very close: much like sisters. We have managed to keep in contact on and off but hadn’t seen each other since then. The day before I was due to fly home my Dad got a phone call saying that she was playing in Manchester that very moment. At the time I was having a powernap!! So Dad came running to wake me to tell me she was in Manchester so we jumped into the car and drove to MAC. We arrived just in time to see the game: unfortunately they lost. After the game we spoke to her dad first (who is the coach) and he went to get her (she didn’t know we had come). When I saw her I ran to her and gave her a massive hug and she swung me round whilst saying “Little sister you grew big!!” It was like we had never been apart. It was fantastic!!!! At the moment we are planning to see if she can spend Christmas with us before her visa expires – fingers crossed we manage to sort something out!!
This month has been a fantastically busy one and inspiring for me. Doing all the work on my training has made me even hungrier to achieve my dream of becoming a world class athlete. I know the next few months will be hard with starting uni and the change in training but I’m not one to be scared – Bring on the challenge!!!

August 2011

I think this is going to be my shortest blog yet – I don’t have a lot to report on!! August brings a change to my routine. It is my training rest period. Which means in the first 2 weeks I did no training at all just lots of relaxing! My training is replaced by sunbathing and swimming in the sea – well swimming is a bit of an active description! Then in the next 2 weeks I just did a couple of runs and gym sessions a week just to turn my body over.
Mum and Dad came to stay with me for the month and get their annual dose of total chill and beaching! We didn’t do a lot at all – it was great just to chill! Though I had to revise lots ready for my exams next month: but doing it on a beach is much easier than doing it at a desk!