Busy week working the press

Since the news of myself being named in the English Team for the Commonwealth Games I've been busy doing alot of press work this week and I feel like all the days have rolled into one.

I went on BBC Radio Devon breakfast show with my good friend Mr Gordon Sparks who was thrilled for me getting on the team. I love going onto his breakfast show as we don't really take things too serious and we have very good banter and always have a giggle. I had to be up at 6am in the morning to be on the show for 7am I am not a very good morning person at all, if I could I would stay in bed all day!!! On the show they where asking people to phone in with a poem consisting of four line about Plymouth so I wrote one myself so I thought I would share it with you............
Plymouth City holds a special place in my heart
Which is why us sporting Heros never do part
The swimmers, the divers, and an athlete too
Are off to Dehli to fly the Plymouth flag just for you!!!
I'm a women of many talents!! Haha

Following the breakfast show I then went onto the Countywide show and had another chat on the radio about how pleased I was to be included in the team and how I found it coming back after five years out. The talk on this show was about G.C.S.E's seen as it was result day and they where talking about how people offer their children rewards for good grades!! I never had that when I was at school and I didn't have good grades either, the question was asked "if I had been offered rewards would I have done better?!" I replied I don't think so I just wasn't that focused at all when I was at school, I was the child that always got in trouble ;)

Next stop was BBC Spotlight interview for local news. So I took a visit to the track with Mia to film me doing some drills and have my interview whilst walking around the track. The interview went really well and I was very pleased with the outcome. Whilst filming me doing my drills who was copying me in the lane next to me??!! Mia!! She was a little star a champion in the making for sure she stole my limelight, she looked so cute watching it back on the news, the presenters even said it looks like kathereine has an athlete in the making with Mia.......wonder how much I would get on her if I went to the bookies and put money down on her making the Olympics?! Ha

Commonwealth Games Here I Come

OK well it goes like this............I knew on Tuesday that I was going to Delhi and I had to keep it a secret until today when the Team was announced. I don't know how I managed to keep my mouth shut, this is a first for me!!! haha. However, I was allowed to tell my family so that made it a little easier for me.

So it's official I am going to the Commonwealth Game in Delhi to represent England in the 100mtrs and 4x1 relay. I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to compete in the 100mtr as I was chasing the qualifying time race after race and was coming into form with PB after PB. I am grateful that the selectors have seen that I am coming into form and I know that by the time it gets to the Games I will be in better shape and ready to run fast and lay down a marker.

I am amazed at the amount of support and well wishes I have received during my season, even from people I have never even met and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all very much. I will do my best in Delhi to make everyone proud and I cant wait to go out there and do the business. I am very glad that I decided to give my athletic carrer another shot after five years out it goes to show that with alittle hard work and dedication anything is possible

PB Machine!!!

Since I last wrote following the South West Inter Counties I have had a great week............my training sessions where going great I was running Pb's in training in my block sessions and everything started to feel like it was all coming together. I was pleased with the way things where going and how my body felt. One day in the week my mum phoned me to ask why I hadn't told her I had been given a lane at the Crystal Palace Diamond league??!!! To which I replied I hadn't that's why!!! My mum had check the Internet and I was down on the start list, me I was a Little confused.com but after sending an email it was confirmed that I was to compete. This was as a result of a lane becoming available and me posting a PB the previous weekend.

I was pleased to again be given the chance to run in such high quality competition and knew that it was going to be a busy weekend as I was also competing on the Sunday in the Bedford International Games this time over both the 100 n 200mtrs!

Well Crystal Palace for me was great and again I managed to produce another PB this time of 11.46 this was my 3rd PB in three races and it's wasn't one of best runs as I kinda fell asleep between 40-60mtrs so imagine how quick I can go with the perfect race!! Following Crystal Palace I was collected by my parents to travel to Bedford. My parents and Mia left Plymouth at 10.30am on the Saturday, they stopped off at a service station to watch my race and then hit the road again and eventually got to me at 6.30pm!!!! It took them 8hours to make the journey, that's support for me! Bless them they follow me everywhere they can and it's always great to have them with me when I'm racing.

The Bedford International Games was again another good competition for me I was second in the 100m with 11.47 just outside my PB set the day before so I showed consistency and have finally broken the 11.5 barrier! Next event for me was the 200m which turned out to be very eventful some of you may not know but I am an Insulin Dependent Diabetic so for me when competing it is important to keep my blood levels at a good reading so I check my bloods every time before the call room this time when I did it I showed I was having a hypo (very low blood sugar) this as a result means that all my glycogen stores are depleted (energy) . Then my name was called over the speaker to come straight to call room, when I got there I had to explain to the officials what has just happened and one of the lovely guys gave me a red bull and his banana to bring my levels back up!! Walking out on the track I told my mum I has just had a hypo and she told me not to run as I'll have nothing left in my legs but for me they had done all that travelling I was going to run so I did!!! On the blocks I thought to myself what the hell are you doing???!!! But it was too late the gun had gone so I reacted I had the best bend of my life and on the home straight I was struggling I had nothing in my legs at all but I kept going I crossed the line in 2nd place and I even managed another PB this time of 23.56. How I did it I'll never know, it was hard work if I hadn't had a hypo I would have gone alot quicker for sure but I'll just have to save it for another day :) I had to be pleased with what I had achieved.

So what's next?!........well tomorrow is when the meeting takes place and the team for the Commonwealth Games is named and I am keeping everything crossed that I have done enough and showed that I am coming into form and I will be named.
So fingers crossed I'll be sharing some good news with you

South West Inter Counties

Today was the first time I've raced since I ran in Gateshead where I set a personal best of 11.51 although I was pleased with a pb I wasn't happy with the lack of drive phase in my start. Since then I have spent alot of time trying to fix this and today i finally got it right :)

I competed for Devon today at the inter counties, my first event of the day was the 100m and I finally got out of the blocks and stayed down for once, and it felt good. It was my most relaxed run ever and I won by about 30 meters. I thought I was proberly near to my pb but when I looked back at the clock I had run a personal best of 11.48 and I felt like I was holding back. I'm not very good at racing against the clock I need the competition but today I did good and I was very pleased with my performance.

My second event of the day was the shot putt a bit random for a sprinter I know but I do it for a bit of fun I've never trained for it but in my first throw I managed another pb of 11m28 I finished 2nd in this event I stopped after my third throw as I had to concentrate on the 200m.

In my 200m again I had another good performance I didn't manage to make it three personal bests but I won and ran 23.77 this is quicker than I ran at the trials and again I was about 30meters ahead of second place. I felt really strong and for the first time this year I ram a perfect bend and off the curve onto the straight.

All in all I think I had a good day at the track and have walked away full of confidence I can go alot quicker. I know I'm coming into form and am in pb shape! So I am now looking forward to racing next weekend and hopefully I can go from strength to strength and post some more personal best :)

Now I'm going to have a nice relaxing evening with Mia and get an early night as I have to be up early in the morning to join my friend Mr Gordon Sparks at BBC Radio Devon breakfast show at 8.30am for a chat so be sure to listen in

Home Sweet Home

Well that's it European Championships complete!!

A great team effort from Team GB and 19 medals brought home, 6 Gold, 7 Silver, and 6 Bronze and one of the silver medals went to my good friend and training partner Mr Mark Lewis Francies! To say I was over the moon for him was understatement and trust me he was over the moon too! It's always great to see someone in your group do so well and after a period of time out makes the achievements even more sweeter. It certainly rubs off and makes me want to achieve greatness on my return to athletics but at the same time I have to be patient as my time will come I'm sure of that!!

I had such an amazing time the atmosphere was electric and I had front seats! I learnt alot whilst I was away it's always good to watch how every ones preparation differs know one prepares the same and you always learn new drills or different aspects of warm up! I took plenty of mental notes whilst at the training track and in the warm up track at competition.

I didn't get to run in the relay and of course I was disappointed and upset if I wasn't then there would have been something wrong me! But these things only make me stronger, I look at it as it wasn't my time to run these things happen for a reason and mine is that I need to make the commonwealths for the individual spot and the relays so I can now take my dissappointed and put it to good use on the track and post the qualifying time so they have to pick me and I have to run!!

So Now I am back home in Plymouth with my beautiful baby girl and as soon as I was back I was back to training getting myself prepared to race this Sunday. It's not a massive competition for me but I'm representing Devon at the South West Inter Counties. I enjoying doing these meetings as it's my routes it's where I cone from and where I started out! I'm doing both the 100 and 200 plus check this out........the SHOT!!!! I am Devon Champion and all haha. So for me I am looking to go there and run fast and who knows try and break the records, not that I know what they are but anything is possible and I know I am in great shape at the moment and ready to run FAST!!!!!!!!