2012 Has Started......

I am finally home after my kick start to my 2012 season and it all took place at the NIA in Birmingham at the Birmingham Games.

I can't believe how long it has been since I have actually raced, I am sure it is 10 months since my last competitive race, I did an open meet back in December but for me that wasn't competitive I just went there to see how my body was doing knowing that I wouldn't have to push myself at all, but this weekend was a test for sure!!!
I have mixed emotions about how this weekend went for me I know that I am in great shape but for me as an athlete it takes me a few races to get back race fit and back in the competitive mode again and this weekend proved that!! It was as though I have to teach myself and learn how to compete again!!

The 60meters for me where a disappointment, I use to be a very good starter and have been working alot on my starts and drive phase and am now back to how I use to be but the back end of my racing let me down this weekend I was up there at 40m but then my transition into my top end running went to pot and my shoulders came up around my ears and a monkey jumped on my back, and the only person who was making it hard for me was myself!! I had a easy run in the heats and semi but the final it all went wrong just tightened up and wasn't going anywhere. The positives I can take from this is I know I am in shape to run quick I just need to relax at the back end of my race and I will be fine!! I finished 5th in the final!!! Bad times!!!

Next up was the 200meters and I really enjoy running the 2s indoors and always have. I had a real comfortable run in the heat and won it in a relaxed run of 25.29 and didn't even get out of first gear. In the final I finished second in 24.51 which I am happy with as it wasn't run as well as I should have, I was in lane 6 and I hate not having anyone to chase down, I didn't drive the first bend like I would normally and on the start of the 2nd bend I didn't work the bank but on the plus side I worked the last bend well which I always do and took myself from 4th to 2nd!! So many positives to take from this race I came off the track knowing that I didn't work hard at all throughout the race and had plenty more left in my legs, I know what I have to do to get it right and am now looking forward to the next 200m next weekend at the UK Trials where I will not be leaving anything in the tank or making any mistakes through the race I want a low 23 if it kills me!!

So this week will be a few technical issues addressed and then heading to Sheffield where I will defiantly be running the 2s and will make a decision in the week if I shall do the 60s as well.....

Time Flys......

I can't believe that on Sunday I am going to be another year older!!! In my head I am going to be 21 all over again when in reality I am going to be 32 but I still feel like a 21 year old anyway so it doesn't matter. I am looking forward to having breakfast in bed which will be made for me by Mia and my partner as apparently Peppa Pig does that for Mummy Pig so Mia would like to do it for me bless her. She keeps asking me how many sleeps till my birthday she gets so excited, I wish I was like that birthdays are great when you are young and now for me its just like another day but I shall get to spend it with my family and finish it off with a nice Hill session!!! No rest for the wicked I got plans for 2012

A week later I will finally be starting my 2012 campaign and kicking off my Indoor season with the first stop being Birmingham for one of my favorite events the Birmingham Games, I always enjoy this competition and perform well so I have decided to make this one my opener and compete over the 60m and 200m and then the following weekend after its the long old treck to Sheffield for the UK Trials  where again I shall be competing over 60m and 200m.

Its been wierd this week in training as I have had a few block session and when you get these you know that the season is fast approaching and its count down to race day and I cant wait Ive had itchy feet to race since the begin of January but for once I have been patient. I look forward to see what I can produce Indoors even if it is going to be a short indoor season for me, at the moment I am just looking at it as a guide to where I am at and look at what needs to be worked upon so that I am ready for the UK Outdoor Trials in June where everyone will be going all guns blazing to see who can make Team GB Olympic Team what every I achieve indoors is a bounus and you never know what can happen on the day and on that start line........

January ahead........

So its January and the Indoor season is fast approaching and for some it has already started or it is about too. I have normally run by now but this Indoor season I have decided to try something different and hold back on opening up until the Birmingham Games which take place the first weekend in February and the week before the UK Trials. I do like to get a few races under my belt early as it takes a few to get my legs going again but I am in good shape at the moment and want to get the sessions in as the most important thing about this year is the Olympics so the foundations need to be laid down now in order for me to be ready when it counts most and that's in June when we have our UK Olympic Trials!!


I have been a bit unfortunate and had a bit of a set back with my wrist which I damaged last year and am going to have a CT scan next week to see if I can have my plate and pins removed as they are causing a few problems for me plus I need to have my cartilage checked to see if it is still in tacked as I am having some discomfort like before so I have now had to stop using my arm so much and give it a rest, so certain weightlifting is out of the question at the moment so I have been putting other things in place to replicate what I am missing. I am enjoying this though as it brings in something different to my training so I am not getting bored of doing the same thing over and over again. I am now becoming a master at resistance training and I have the legs to prove it!!! I am also now doing alot more running both on the track and on the hills, plus jogging for distance!!!! Its got to be done!!!

I am looking forward to the next few weeks going into competition and the fine tuning that will take place I cant wait to get competitive again, its been a long time coming and I have everything crossed that this year will go smoothly with none of the usual hiccups that I tend to come up against along the way! I am in a good place in life at the moment and feeling ready for whats ahead in 2012............BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year...... 2012 is Finally Here

I can not believe that the last time I blogged was back in November!!! what has happened since then and where has the time gone?!! It's now 2012 and the year for the London Olympics can you feel the excitement?! cause I CAN!!!!!!!!!!!

So I have been really quiet on the blogging front and I am sorry for that, my new years resolution is to blog more haha. Before I get started on the year that is now 2012 and my plans for this season I guess I best fill you in on what has been happening sine November so here goes............

First up on the list is Bobsleigh.......
I finally got to experience my first ever time on ice as a brake women and what being part of Bobsleigh is all about and it really is an eye opener. You don't appreciate the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in Bobsleigh you think you get there push the Bob for a bit, jump in and enjoy the ride. Its far from that I can tell you, there is so much prep that goes into getting that Bob on the ice and down the track and a lot of loading of the Bob on and off the vans and onto the track itself but the ride down is a thrill of adrenaline I don't think you will ever find anywhere else it is amazing!! If I was asked to describe it I would have to say its like being in a tumble dryer blindfolded (not that I know what it feels like to do that I must add, haha) I hope there is plenty more times to feel that again soon.
I did enjoy my time in Winterburg and was grateful to have had Gareth and Mia out with me however there was no snow or much for them to do so by the end of our time there Gareth had had enough of boardgames and the psp!!!

Secondly was my dads 60th on the 15th of December so I decided to through him a surprise party on the Saturday. His birthday fell on a Thursday and that would be a coaching night for my dad and training for me so I cancelled the training night and we took my dad out for a nice meal which was lovely. I always write a little message in his cards just to say thank you and how much I appreciate him in my life as he has been my driving force and backing always, he became a little emotional and so did I, I do love you though Dad and Thank you!
The Saturday was even better he had no clue what was going on, I spent Saturday sorting the room with my brother John putting up pictures of my dad growing up, balloons and banners. He thought he was going to a friends Christmas works party with my mum so he was surpised to walk in and see family and friends to celebrate his birthday and he had a fab night which I am happy about as he truly does deserve it

Thirdly was Christmas. Now I have Mia in my life Christmas has a completely different meaning to me now as its all about her and seeing her face when she wakes up and sees that Santa has been. The thing with Mia is that she is very grateful whatever she receives and this year I brought her a Wii and she has played it every day since!! At least it keeps her fit!! but it does get tiring when both me and my partner are competitive we spent nearly four hours one night challenging each other not one of us like to lose and Mia is just the same so you can imagine what it is like in our household haha


And finally the New Year was seen in at a family fancy dress party at my aunties Guest house. I went as Bat women, my partner Gareth went as Captain America and Mia was Super girl we where a family of Marvel superheros and it was fab seeing the New Year in with loved one playing a few games, dancing the night away and a few cheeky drinks



Whats in store for 2012?.........Well its all about making the Olympic Games, so its hard training until my legs and body are ready to run my socks off!!!

Weight, Weight and More Weight!!!

So I had previously said that I was going out to start my Bobsleigh Season on the 13th of November but due to some unforeseen circumstances this opportunity got postponed. It was ok though as it meant that I was able to stay home and get some more hard training under my belt in the gym and on the track.
It had been a long time before I was able to get back in the weights room and start some heavy lifting again due to my wrist, but now I am back and enjoying banging out the weights and its nice to see that even though I had to stay off the weights for a long time I am nearly back to were I use to be back in 2010 and ive only be back on it for a few months!! The thing with me is when I get on the weights my body weight goes up dramatically and I feel like 'Chunky Wanna Bun!!' I hate stepping on the scales and looking down and thinking S*** what happened there and then go into the ok now im going to starve myself for a week so I can lose the weight!!!......Katherine it aint gonna happen now is it!!! Not doing weights since Febuary this year has meant I had dropped a few jean sizes and been the lighest ever!! I was so excited looking at the scale being under 10stone, but now I have to kiss goodbye to that, it was nice for a while but I need Power in my legs and Power = Weights so its a sacrifse I will have to make through gritted teeth haha

Anyway back to Bobsleigh, well I shall be heading out to Winterburg on Sunday to join up with the GB girls on the European Cuiruit, its already started for them but I am going to go out and see what its all about and lucky for me I will have my daughter Mia and my Partner coming out with me too so that will be nice. Then its, return home in December get myself back on the track and then get ready to put my sprint spikes back on again and my racing kit and start my indoor athletics campaign........

This weekend seems to have been the most tiring and jammed packed weekend ever.

Friday I was A key speaker at a conference in Plymouth for teacher on Citizenship, PHSEE and and Healthy Schools event talking about how sport and healthy lifestyle has made an impact on my life and talk about my story so far and I had know trouble talking haha those who know me would know that! I was amazed while I was there to learn that Primary Schools now weigh in children to check their weight!! Parents can refuse for their child to be weighed and I did say that I wouldn't allow my child to be weighed to determine if she is healthy or not, surely doing this can have an adverse effect on some children. It's bad enough anyway with the so called perfect body image plastered on magazines etc and now they are doing this in schools surely it's not right!! We will end up with more kids with eating disorders. There must be another way of determining if a child is healthy or not why can't they put together some kind of fitness testing!! That's enough moaning from me now 

On a brighter note on Sunday I was invited to start the first ever Plymouth 10k event and it was an honor to be able to do it and such a fantastic turn out with clear sky's to boot. I enjoyed counting down and setting the runners off and glad to be a spectator!! Haha The finish was great with three elite runners racing for the finish line and the English came out on top against the welsh it was also nice to meet some people I talk typo via twitter nice to put a face to a nice or should I say tweet!

So tomorrow is the start of a new week and time for me to get some last minute training in and get my game face on for the start of my Bobsleigh career as on the 13th I shall be leaving the UK and heading out to Austria to slide with the girls  BRING IT ON 

Count Down Begins.....

So the clock is ticking and the count down has begun to the start of my new career in Bobsleigh! On the 13th of this month I will make my first trip away with the GB Team to the European Cup in Austria and this will be my first ever slide on ice and when I will finally find out what I have let myself in for and what Extreme Sports is all about and I can't wait!!!

I'm looking forward to getting out there and doing my first slide with the girls and be part of the team and on the circuit. I'm not going to lie am I scared? Yeah course I am wouldn't you be? Haha but I enjoy these kind of things, the challenge of walking into the unknown and not knowing what to expect, I thrive on a challenge and enjoy the feeling of nerves as you just use it to your advantage! So bring it on!!!!

Before I go I still have things to do at home, on Sunday I have to get up early as I am officially starting the Plymouth 10k. I can't believe the number of tweets I received on Twitter asking me if I was running it!! ME?! I don't think so, I would give most things a go but the thought of having to run that far is torture, my body is not designed for that kind of running I would need a medical team handy and a taxi to take me to the finish line, either that or ride in the back of an ambulance!! Haha.
I take my hat off to everyone taking part I think your all MAD and I wish you all the best of luck and I will be staying round to cheer you on.