Entry 1: Sending my best from sunny Cologne 

I write to you from sunny Cologne!! Sorry to all of you back home battling though the cold winter! I have been in Germany for four weeks now and we have had perfect weather almost every day - hot and humid! Reminds me of a typical Queensland summer.

As most of you will know, I moved from Brisbane to Perth in October last year to train with Alex Parnov, so this year travelling to Europe is a little different with my dad as coach not travelling with me. Also this year I have my whole training squad with me – Amanda Bisk, Vicky and Liz Parnov and Steve Hooker. We are staying in Hurth-Gleuel which is a little town about 8km from Cologne city centre.  Amanda and I are sharing an apartment with our own little kitchen (and might I emphasise “little kitchen”) so we can cook. Keeping things as close to home as possible in terms of food, sleep, training and not living out of a suitcase is great. 

I am lucky enough to be doing this six-week training block (from mid June – end July) in Europe as opposed to cold Perth because Steve is here doing the Diamond League meets and Alex is obviously here also. There was no point in myself and the other girls being back in Perth with no coach so off we all went to Europe to train and enjoy the warmer weather (hey…..I’m not complaining!). I’m really enjoying putting in some good training in preparation for some meets around Europe in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games.

On the track, things have been going really well, with some good sessions from six and eight steps. I’ve had two sessions from full approach which, on the whole, I was happy with and now I have just under three weeks until my first competition….I can’t wait! I feel like I am in good shape, running well, am strong in the gym and more technically proficient in my pole vault sessions, so I’m looking forward to putting it to the test in competition. There have been some good performances from the girls so far this year and I want to get amongst it and see what I can do.

The training set-up over here is great. We’re training at Leverkusan which is not far from Cologne. It has pole vault pits galore – indoor, outdoor on the D and both ways on the straight. Amanda and my session last week saw us jump on three different pits – the D got a little busy with other vaulters so we moved to the straight and with a runway, box and uprights coming from both directions into the one pit, we were able to choose our direction depending on the swirly wind conditions! It was an interesting and challenging session to say the least. 

Off the track, we have been keeping busy with some shopping, sightseeing, going out for dinner, going to the pools/ lake, playing “competitive” games of badminton at Steve’s place, watching movies and keeping in contact with people back home on Skype, Facebook and email. I wonder what athletes did before the days of the internet….it certainly does help you pass the time and keep in touch with family and friends back home.

On top of all of that, it’s been World Cup fever here in Germany over the past few weeks. The night when Germany played Argentina (or should I say Germany smashed Argentina), I was in the city and the locals were going crazy! Peoplewere  everywhere with German flags, painted faces, hanging out of their cars, beeping their car horns in celebration. A few days later while Liz was in Biberach competing, Vicky, Amanda and I ventured into the city to watch Germany v Spain. We had dinner at a restaurant in Rudolfplatz with prime seats in front of the big screen and then ventured to the “student” area of town for the second half. Unfortunately Germany lost, everyone was disappointed and the atmosphere was not exactly like the previous game. Despite this we still had a fun night!

Back on the track…..next week is a lighter week of training and the Parnovs are off to Russia to visit family for a week or so. Amanda is heading to Poland to visit family and I am flying to London to see a good family friend. I will no doubt catch up with some of the distance boys that are based over there at the moment too. I’m looking forward to doing some shopping, seeing a show and doing a bit of sightseeing in amongst my lighter training week.

Come August things start to get busy with everyone in our training squad competing at different meets around Europe. At this stage it looks like my first meet will be in Lucerne, Switzerland on August 8.  I competed there two years ago and jumped 4.50m to come second. It is a great place to jump. Good atmosphere, good conditions and a nice setting with the mountains in the background. I look forward to having another big jump there! From Lucerne, I am not too sure what August and September holds for me in the way of meets. Hopefully meets will be confirmed in the coming weeks and I can jump well in Lucerne to justify my spot on the start list.

I hope that I can have maybe six meets in August and September which will be just what I need to be in the best possible shape for the Commonwealth Games in October.The  Commonwealth Games will be quite competitive with Kate Dennison who has jumped 4.60m, a few Canadians who have jumped into the 40’s and 50’s and of course my two training partners, Liz and Amanda, who both jumped 4.40m this domestic season. With a PB of 4.56m and all things heading in the right direction with training at the moment, I should be right up there in the mix and the aim is to raise the bar (literally) and jump into the 60’s in a fight for gold at the Games.

Bring on the next few months…..I’m excited!

Bye from Cologne!