6135pts in Gotzis!!!! NZ Olympic standard achieved:)

I am truly over the moon to tell you I have achieved the NZOC and Athletics NZ qualifying standard setting a new pb of 6135pts!!!! Surpassing the 6050pt standard but painstakingly 15pts off the IAAF A standard which would have secured my nomination for a place in the team. However, I have now moved to number 2 NZ all time in heptathlon and also high jump which is pretty cool! After 2 windy heptathlons it is great to be able to post a legal heptathlon score:)

Welcome to Mecca for multi's

I had a really good start in the hurdles and felt great but I think my time reflected a bit of nerves. It was great to be getting going and I know what I need to do technically to get faster in this event. My high jump (1.91m) as I mentioned was amazing. Even though it was a 7cm improvement (which may not look like much when you get your ruler out it is a massive improvement for any high jumper) my team and I were very confident I was going to jump high. I had jumped a 5cm training pb the week before I left NZ so we knew if I could mentally 'bring it' I would go to the next level. I did and in doing so became the 2nd best all time high jumper in NZ (second to Tania Murray 1.92). Also I am now =4th all time at Gotzis behind and aside some pretty illustrious company on this list :)

Shot put and great to get over 13m - new pb 13.22m:)

Continuing on to the shot put I knew I needed to bring the same intensity and mental approach with technical execution. I threw over 13m for the first time in the 1st round with a cheeky 13.01m. In the second round I went further with 13.22 which was hugely satisfying as in the past I have struggled at times in shot after jumping well. It's been very helpful training with the Olympic champion in this event as well. I ran an ok 200m (25.28) to finish the day with a new day 1 pb total 3680pts.

200m start - last event day 1

On to day 2 and the long jump runway. First round foul. Second round foul. Elena protests because Belarusian athlete walks onto the runway whilst I am jumping twice! Officials give me another second round jump...6.04m (huge sigh of relief!). Third round 6.12m:) Whilst it was not an overly big jump for me it was solid. Under pressure I delivered and again this for me is better than the distance. It's fair to say Elena was a lion and it was awesome to see her work the officials! Another stressful long jump competition which I will not be repeating again and I apologise to Elena and Gus for taking a year off their lives!

Elena and I - few more smiles here than in the long jump!!!

Onto the jav and even though I didn't quite hit it right I threw a pb of 40.66m. At this time we consulted the points book to see what I needed to run to reach not only the NZOC standard of 6050pts but the IAAF A standard of 6150 to secure make sure of my spot. I needed 2.21 for the NZOC mark and 2.14.41 for the A standard.

6th event and pb 40.66m - jawoll!!!!

Having run solo 800's in my last 2 heps it was so good knowing that other girls in my race were going to go out hard and run fast. We had worked out who needed what for a qualifier and how fast their pb's were (thanks Gus). As we expected everyone went out hard and I was able to stick to my plan and run 2.15.41 which is the fastest I have run for a long time. It was a fantastic feeling but my initial reaction was disappointment at being 15pts away from the A - tough girl to please! This was shortly outlived by the pure elation expressed by Elena and Gus and the knowledgeable crowd who showed their admiration for my performance as well. Finally over 6000pts, NZOC qualifier, PB central and a massive expression of what I believed for so long what I was capable of.

Lining up for the 800m - ready to lay it on the line!

I am now back in Macolin where I will stay and prepare for my next heptathlon in Ratingen, Germany June 14/15. I have a few days off to enjoy this huge achievement, recover from my hepta-coma and then I will get back into refining what we need to do to take another step up in Ratingen:)I have been completely overwhelmed by so many messages of support and congratulations. It is awesome and I really appreciate people taking time to get in touch. For those of you who stayed up through the night doing the sums, I hope you have caught up on some sleep.

From Rotovegas to Gotzis - so awesome to have my long time friend Sailee Patel come to support me throughout the weekend from London. Thanks Sailee - you were a star!

Whilst I have done the standard I am by no means secured of a place in the team. To do this I need to surpass the A standard and there is an article in the NZ Herald which is explains my situation http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10809286

Huge congrats to my training partner Scotty for his pb and 14th place in the deca! Awesome work hommie:)

Thanks to Gus for his awesome work over the weekend too - great to have you at the Mecca

So bring on Ratingen and another fantastic opportunity for a points fest! I am looking to competing with Becky Wardell as we both aim for an A standard. We are great friends and I believe we can both be in London:) Thank you for your tremendous support - keep it coming as we knock off these 15points and take another step up and a step closer to realising my Olympic dream!

One week til Gotzis heptathlon and check out where I'm training....

Great video of where I'm based in Macolin thanks to Scotty Mclaren for the laughs and tour of the facilities. 1 week to go until action time and looking forward to it! You can follow Scott on twitter @scottontour

First few days in glorious Macolin...Suisse heptathlon training base

Arriving back in Europe for what is my greatest adventure to date was quite a surreal but exciting feeling. It was so awesome to arrive and set up camp in Macolin with the added bonus of seeing one of my great friends Val - fair to say bit of excitement all round!

View from dining hall in Macolin - photo certainly doesn't do this magnificent vista justice! Swiss Alps straight ahead:)

I've been feeling pretty good off the plane and I would like to thanks Chris Lethbridge and Sonia Francis at Emirates NZ for contributing to this! After a day off following the flight it was really nice to get moving. Yesterday was one session I'll remember, hopefully for the rest of my days...Macolin is at 1000m and it was snowing overnight. In the morning it continued to snow. I had a javelin session outside and it was one of the most magic feelings throwing javs with snowflakes dropping around me! I was like an excited kid the night before Christmas and it was a pretty special session. A part from the fact that I threw a pb it was one of those moments when I really realised how lucky I am to be doing what I do:)

Track 12 of the year - Macolin at 1000m. Pretty amazing!

Track 13 - second training track in Macolin and training partner Scotty getting some big air time!

Lou and I playing in the snow - hard to see the snow I know!

Final week in NZ completing heptathlon preparation at home:)

Last week was my final week in New Zealand and it was really important that I finished off my preparation with a high quality training week. I had a great week setting some new training pb's which was a satisfying feeling knowing I'm leaving NZ in top shape. It was great to have Angus and also Bec in Auckland for a training camp before we all hopped on the plane over the weekend.


Staying healthy is priority and Raewyn Hing @ IQ Pilates is one of little gems who helps me achieve this.
Raewyn is an important member of my team and a big thanks to IQ Pilates for their amazing support!

One of last sessions at home - cranking out some med ball hip drive action with #gusbus

Lucky to have these two on my team - Mikey and Gus
Great loaders!

It is very exciting to be writing this post from Switzerland where I will be based for the next few months. As I sit here I 'm looking straight out to the Swiss Alps...it's hard to describe how beautiful it is! We have an awesome crew here and I'm very excited about what we can achieve over the coming months. It's an amazing journey to be on and I'm looking forward to business time in the next few weeks:)

Keeping to the heptathlon training plan and last week in NZ!

With any plan there is a cost. For me living my dream means I spend a significant time away from family, friends and our beautiful homeland. Time with family and friends is pretty special to me as I don't get to see them as often as I would like. However, with the aid of the computer screen and skype home is never far away when you are on the other side of the world. This year we  have a great kiwi crew at our base in Switzerland which is always nice to have familiar faces round you. As this is my last week in NZ for a while I think this is certainly at the back of my mind. At the front of mind is the job at hand and making sure I continue with our plan to a points fest in the coming weeks!

Can't beat NZ and having One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park over the fence!

I had another very good week of training last week. My coach Elena was in Japan for a bit of the week with the NZ Men's 4x100 relay team so my strength coach Mike was a champion and looked after all my sessions for the week. I had another time trial race to finish off the week which was good to get out on the gun, race and run fast.


Warming down on the bikes at the HPSNZ gym with Mike and my brother Rich
Thanks to Rachel McGuigan for the photo

Treats from ASICS. The new London range...can't wait to be racing in these in Europe
Thanks to Asics www.asics.co.nz
Thanks also to my Podiatrist Justin Chong @Big Foot Podiatry for working his magic on my shoes!

Recovery week done and back preparing for a peak heptathlon performance

It was good to have a chance to recover physically and mentally last week during my recovery week. During my recovery weeks I like to iron out any creases or niggles with my body in order to prepare for my next phase of training. I had some very good power testing results and hit the numbers we been targetting which was great and a tribute to my team:) I popped over the Bombay's to Hamilton for a javelin session with Debbie Strange and Stu Farquhar which was also very encouraging. Then to round out the week I raced a few time trials at my home track on the North Shore. Now I'm itching to go and hit the final couple of weeks of my preparation in New Zealand...bring it on!

Loading up for fast feet action on the power plate with my power and strength guru Mike
Thanks Nicola McGuigan for taking these pics:)

Checking out my upper body power profile on the plate

Great throwing in the Tron with Stu who is currently the world lead in men's jav...#gostu #awesome

Great to get a session in with Deb Strange...#javguru #stuscoach

Poppa Joe and his friend Heather striding out at MISH...great supporters for my time trials!