National Long Jump Champ and a good weekend of Athletics...

It was great to compete at the New Zealand National Track and Field Champs held over the weekend at Waitakere, Auckland. Nationals is always a great occasion for kiwi athletes and particularly important in an Olympic year. It was our plan to train through Nationals under a big training load so whilst we weren't really sure how my tired legs would perform we still wanted to compete well.

Track 10 of the year with one of favourite little people, Taya:)

It wasn't my best performance by any means but I managed to win the long jump title which was one of our main aims of the weekend. A National title means a lot to any athlete and it was really nice to be able to defend mine into a head wind. I threw the same distance I did in the shot put as I did at Victorian Champs which was solid. My javelin was not my best and combined with a nasty wind was not such a good day at the office but good training! I rounded out the weekend with a 4x400m relay which is always a bit of fun:)

On the javelin runway
Photo courtesy of HB Photography

Athletics in New Zealand is a sport with a small community who are passionate about track and field. This was just one reason why I really enjoyed Nationals this year. It was a great catch up with other athletes, former athletes, coaches, officials and track and field enthusiasts. It is rather heartening to have lots of people supporting me and wishing me well in my preparation for my next heptathlon:)

In my downtime over the weekend I did a bit of commentary and a few interviews for Athletics NZ which was fun!
I interviewed Jacko Gill after he came within 1cm of his NZ Record
Photo courtesy of Macspeedfoto

Big guy, big performance and a media circus
Photo courtesy of Macspeedfoto

Back to the grind and loving it...training up a heptathlon storm:)

It's been great to be back into full training in preparation for my next heptathlon in a two months. It's fair to say my team are smashing me at training but I'm grateful for this as it's definitely what I need to get me to where we want!

It's a great feeling around the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health at the moment. For many the results of the next few months will determine people's Olympic fate. As a result, athletes are certainly leaving no stone unturned. You can feel the buzz in the gym and on the track which as an athlete you totally feed off. I get a real kick out of people pushing their limits. It's great to see and totally inspiring.

I will be competing this weekend in the National Track and Field Championships at Waitakere Stadium. I'm really looking forward to the weekend as for me Nationals is always exciting. As my training is all geared towards Europe I am also interested to see what I can produce. Entry is free and it will be a fantastic opportunity to see our athletes before everyone heads off to continue their preparation for London! For more details check out www.athletics.org.nz

Last chance for Sileni offer...Perfect excuse to drink wine:)

I've had great support of my Sileni Wine Estates fundraiser towards my Road to London. Every bit counts and I so appreciate everyones support. This offer closes on March 25th. So, if you like wine, like a bargin and are keen to help me out...get your order in:) Thanks to everyone who has ordered wine to date and to those who have forwarded this link on.

Back into heptathlon training and Valerie Adams-WORLD INDOOR CHAMP!



Walking through customs into Auckland I love the sound of the tuis calling, a good old kiwi accent and the feeling that I'm back in my homeland:) After a successful trip to Aussie I returned to NZ last week and resumed training. I had a short break after my heptathlon to recover from the season and get over my hepta-coma. I was excited to get back into it and start a big block of training before I head to Europe. My training over the next couple of weeks will be in a preparation phase...so this means lots of running, getting stronger in the gym and working on some key technical aspects of my events:) Going from a focus of being fresh for competition we have shifted to a state of pretty much hammering the body! But it is exactly what I need to bounce me over the standard and prepare for more points fests!

I had a shoot with the talented photographer, Xavier Wallach and this was one of the cool pics he took.
Check out www.xavierwallach.com for some of his other work

Came home and found new HPSNZ Athlete Lounge and power nap zone - amazing!!!!
Will be a great place to relax in between sessions.

Huge congratulations to Val on her success over the weekend at the World Indoor Champs in Istanbul! To have all global titles in her hands going into London is fantastic and a huge boost to her preparation heading into the greatest show later in the year. Felicitations ma soeur et a bientot:)

20.54m WOW!!! Val Adams - World Indoor Champ, 2012

On the road to London with Sileni Wine Estates...

For specific details and order form please email sarahcowley@gmail.com