2:49:47! I did it!

2:49:47. Ninth woman overall. 

Yes friends, you read that heading correctly.

2:49:47 in the Melbourne Marathon. 

A new marathon PB. More importantly, proof positive that I have conquered high hamstring tendinopathy and I am back and running stronger than ever.

At the end of last year I was told there was a chance I would never race competitively again. This ripped my heart out - not only did I love to run, but I had lots more I wanted to achieve with my running. The ensuing months of treatment and rehab and false starts and set backs are documented a little in this blog, although I refrained from posting about the really, really dark times.

Always, always at the back of my mind was Melbourne Marathon. My big goal for the year and, as the months progressed and recovery took far longer than I wanted, my ONLY goal for the year. I just couldn't write this entire year off - I needed something good to come out of it.

Crossing the finish line on the MCG on Sunday and seeing 2:49 on the clock was the most wonderful reward for all the work and patience and perseverance and the many, many tears that were shed whilst trying to get back to running.

Personal drinks ready to go. 

I can't even begin to express how utterly grateful I am to everyone who had a role in my recovery since last November. Without my wonderful husband Andrew, my family, friends, coach (Sean Williams), physio (Brent Kirkbride), doctor (Donald Kuah), massage therapist (Michael Viera - Complete Body Dymamics) and Mizuno I couldn't have done it. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I know I'm going on as if I've won a gold medal at the Olympics or something, but I really need to express how much I appreciate everyone who has supported me. I love to run and, as much as I freak out before a race, I love to challenge myself by racing. I am so incredibly grateful and happy to be back at it again - and to be racing better than I ever have been before.

Wooooohooooo! Seriously! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! I'm sorry I can't be more eloquent - if you picture me running around madly waving my hands above my head you may have an inkling of how I'm feeling. 2:49:47!! YEAH!

The race went well. I wore the Mizuno Ronin - the first time I've worn them for the full marathon distance and they felt fantastic. No blisters, no bleeding and I still have all ten toenails. Excellent.

Early morning at the 'G'.

The weather wasn't as bad as I feared, although there was some wind and it started to rain a bit near the end. By about 9k I hooked up with two other women (Aarthi Venkatesan and Fleur Flanery) and we started to work together to maintain a pace of about 3:59/k. We were soon joined by some other women and a few men and our pack ran together quite strongly until that dreaded turnaround point near St Kilda Esplanade (25k). Not too long after that (I'm not sure where) we started to fall apart. Laura James and Hannah Flannery took off like they had jet-packs on - they both ran such strong, smart races and made it look so easy - while a few women fell behind me. I had a couple of bad stages but managed to hold a reasonable pace together until the 37k mark, where a hill and fading legs caused me to go from a 4:01km (@36k) to a 4:19km. Ouch. From there I had a couple of other bad splits which caused the anxiety levels to spike a little because I knew I'd be close to blowing the sub-2:50 time.

The last few seconds of the race, as I ran towards the finish and knew I was about scrape in under 2:50, were magic. A mix of utter relief and complete joy. The worst year suddenly became the best year, thanks to that little 42.2 kilometre run through Melbourne.

So happy. So grateful. So blessed.

Speed kills. Tendons.

Speed kills. Tendons.

Well, my tendons certainly seem to dislike speed - or to be precise, my left hamstring origin tendon dislikes speed.

Sigh. This was supposed to have healed by now.

I had to skip my track and long interval sessions last week - my left leg was still not up to scratch. I hated having to skip sessions so early back into training, but I guess if I push through things now I'm going to make it worse further on down the road.

To be honest, I'm feeling very up and down right now. After initially thinking I was about to get back on track, time seems to be slipping away rapidly and I often feel myself starting to panic when I realise how quickly Melbourne is approaching. But, in reality, there's no point in panicking is there? It's not going to help the situation - it'll just make me more frustrated. Instead, I have to take this whole thing One. Day. At. A. Time.

Yes, there is still a 'big picture'. And I'll get there. I have to. It's just going to take a bit longer than I originally planned. Freaking crying about it won't help.

Interestingly, while we're on the topic of Melbourne, the Melbourne Marathon isn't the Australian Championships this year - they've gone to Sydney. Even if I were in top form I doubt I would have changed my plans and run Sydney. Melbourne has always been faster for me and the elite athlete coordinator, Tim Crosbie, does everything possible to make it a really positive and easy experience for us. I'm out to get the fastest time I can and I think Melbourne's the place for that. Especially now they've sorted out the merge with the half marathon runners.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

I did 30k on Sunday (23/6) for my long run. Do you know, I'm pretty sure that's the longest run I've done since Melbourne Marathon last year. It felt good to get it done and the tendon was OK. My endurance held up fine and the next day I only had a tiny bit of tightness in my calves - nothing you'd think twice about and my morning run got rid of it.

I've also been in touch with Mizuno to ask about some other shoes that might be worth testing out. At present I am running most of my kilometres in the Elixir, which is working out well. The Elixir used to be my marathon race shoe and I trained in the Nirvana because it had more support so would be kinder on my body. I'm doing all my track work in the Ronin, which I love. Love, love, love. Best shoe ever.

I've found that using a lower profile shoe, such as the Elixir instead of the Nirvana, helps me maintain the body position and form that I need to focus on to get myself through this injury (and to stay uninjured). There doesn't appear to be any scientific evidence for this - even the Mizuno podiatrist said there wasn't much correlation with hamstring injuries and lower profile shoes and my physio said he didn't know, so all I can go on is how my body feels and how it reacts to different shoes.

I am going to try the Inspire as a training shoe - it's got a little more support than the Elixir but less that the Nirvana, so it might be good for doing lots of kilometres. I supposed I'm lucky in that I'm a lightweight so it's not as vital that I have shoes with loads of cushioning, but I'm going to test the Inspire out and see how it goes. A friend recently started running in a pair and he's really happy with how it feels.

So where to from here? I'm literally taking things day by day - seeing how the body is feeling then deciding if the program has to be modified. This week I swapped some days around but I did all the sessions (but again, the track session was cut short - probably a wise move because my 4k cool down had some 'not-right-discomfort'). I had a 25k trail race scheduled for this Sunday - I had a choice of two. I entered one - Woodford to Glenbrook, that I've won the last four years in a row - knowing I'd only be a 50/50 chance of actually racing, depending on my leg. However, it's been cancelled because of flooding. The other one, the Wingello Trail Classic, is a new race in the Southern Highlands. I am doubtful I'll head down to that. Even if I feel OK on Sunday morning, a two-hour drive before a race is never going to benefit the tendon. Sitting in a car for anything more than 40 minutes still causes it to ache.

I do need to get a race in soon though - just to get it over with. I haven't raced since last November and I'm nervous (more nervous than usual!)

So that's where things are at right now.  I'm still fighting.

Mizuno blog

Being a Mizuno Brand Ambassador is, for me, a complete privilege. I have access to really great gear, I can get advice on different types of shoes from people who know their stuff, and I have the honour of being associated with a brand that's known for excellence.

Now, with the launch of Mizuno's new blog, I'm also able to share some of my experience, thoughts and knowledge with other runners. Hopefully some of what I say will interest or help others - but if not, I'm sure something one of the other athletes posts will.

Over the coming weeks and months Mizuno will add more posts to the blog with the aim of making it a comprehensive resource for runners of all levels. There are a few posts up there now, including this one I wrote on being a runner.

For so many years I felt like a fraud - someone who somehow managed to make people think I was a decent runner. I thought it was only a matter of time before people discovered I wasn't really a runner at all. Slowly, it dawned on me that I was a real runner - not because of the times I posted or the medals I won, but because I was dedicated to the sport and I loved it.

With this high hamstring tendinopathy slowly starting to work itself out, I'm able to run more often and I'm telling you, my mood has improved dramatically. I'm not running fast, I'm not training properly and I'm not racing but I am outside doing what I love to do.

You can read the Mizuno blog here: http://www.mizuno.com.au/running/blog/

Mizuno 2013 - love it!

Mizuno Wave Ronin 5

I received the best Valentine's Day presents. No, not flowers. Not chocolate. Not a romantic night out with my husband. Truth be told, the gifts weren't even from my husband. 

That's right. 

Oh, well played Mizuno. Delivering my parcel of 2013 apparel on Valentine's Day. You know how to make a runner's day. 

I received my shoes (Nirvana and Ronin) and compression socks last week and yesterday's parcel completed the package. It was like Christmas. Except better because you know you're going to love everything.

Embossed flowers and shapes on the singlet

This year the main women's apparel colour is pink (coral and rouge red according to the labels). And oh how I adore it.

Not only is the colour fantastic, but Mizuno has added funky little details - like the embossed flower motifs on the singlet and the print on the shorts. Oh, and the lining of the shorts matches the singlet too. I love feeling coordinated. 

The Ronin are FLURO YELLOW and I'm so excited about it. I love bright shoes (like the aqua Elixir from 2011). I've given them a test run which reaffirmed that they are indeed my favourite shoes ever. 

A quick side note on the shoes. For years my training shoe has been the Nirvana, a really comfortable and supportive shoe that I chose to do most of my running in. Now I'm running again whilst being treated for/recovering from high hamstring tendinopathy I'm finding the shoes that have a little less support (the Elixir and the Ronin - both of which used to be my race shoes) feel better for me to run in. This may well change when I begin to increase my distance again, but for now I'm doing most of my running in the Elixir. 

Another reason I like training in the Nirvana (aside from the support factor which is important when you're doing loads of kilometres) is that the it is slightly heavier than the Elixir (and the Ronin is lighter than both shoes) so on race day my feet feel super light and ready to run fast. 

Mizuno Wave Nirvana 9

Also included in yesterday's package were gloves, which I really appreciated seeing as though I threw my last pair on the side of the road during the Sydney10 last year. I strategically threw them somewhere I thought I could go back and get them (they were my good pair because I'd forgotten to bring a cheap throwaway pair) but when I went to find them after the race someone had already picked them up. 

Shorts - see the designs that show up in the light? Love it. 

I am incredibly grateful to be a Mizuno Brand Ambassador again, but I really want to make it clear that's certainly not the reason I'm so positive about all the gear. I want to be the best runner I can be, which means I'm not going to wear something unless I truly believe its the best thing for me. What's the point in having a relationship with a brand if that brand isn't going to help you reach your goals? Mizuno's philosophy is 'Never Settle' and it's something that strongly resonates with me. 

Back in 2010, after winning the Canberra Marathon, I was desperately searching for a new model of shoe. I had been wearing Asics up to that point but something had changed and the new Asics shoes were uncomfortable and causing me calf problems. I had friends who were having similar issues so there was obviously a change in the design. 

I was introduced to a Mizuno rep and he spoke to me about becoming a Brand Ambassador. I said I'd be keen to try the shoes as I hadn't worn Mizuno before and I was having a hard time finding a suitable shoe. As soon as I tried the Nirvana, I knew I was on to something good.

Since then I've been really fortunate that Mizuno has continued the relationship with me. I've tried a number of different models and I'm convinced the Nirvana (training, although we'll see what happens when I return from injury and get back to full training), Elixir (marathon distance racing, perhaps my new training shoe), and Ronin (so far up to half marathon, but I'd like to try it for a marathon) are the shoes for me.

Finally, I thought I'd include an extract from Mizuno's 'Mizunofesto' because I really do like it.


Our victories are personal.
Our devotion is perpetual.
And our potential is limitless.

Every day you make promises to yourself.
Be tough, only tougher.
Be strong, only stronger.
Be yourself, only better.

And, above all, never waver.
Never quit.
Never settle. 

So excited. Need to get out and race now. Hopefully that won't be too far away. 

Sweaty hugs from strangers (and Run4Fun)

One of the things I love about racing is the camaraderie that occurs between runners in the seconds after crossing the finish line. In my experience I've found the general rule is the more exhausted you are, the more inclined you are to throw your arms around the nearest person (and vice-versa).

If you think about this is a non-race situation, it's gross. I certainly wouldn't go near a panting, sweaty, often-sticky-with-gel-and-sports-drink stranger if they approached me in the street, mumbling incoherently about "thatlastkilometrekilledmeyoudidsowellIjustcouldn'thangon."But put me in a race situation and I'll welcome those hugs as if they were coming from Grandma herself.

What sparked these (oh so insightful) reflections you ask? I ran the Rebel Run4Fun on Sunday 4 November and the friendly atmosphere at the finish was magic. I was hugging strangers as if they were old friends and having conversations with people as if I'd known them for years. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed with my time but I felt so incredibly happy to be out amongst other like-minded runners. There is something so wonderful about feeling part of a community.

Run4Fun - Homebush - 10k
So, to the race. I was aiming to break 37 minutes. I thought I had a shot, but I've had so little experience racing 10k that I wasn't sure how things would pan out. My first half was quicker than my second half (I have to learn to pace myself) and I ended up finishing in 37.09, fifth woman. Happy enough because it's a PB (my third PB in as many races) but a bit miffed because I hadn't broken the 37 mark.

Interestingly enough, there has been a fair bit of discussion about the course being 200m long. The course was certified, but talk is that a turn point was put in the wrong spot. If true, this would mean I would have hit my target time, which is a bit disappointing. Having said that, the race has been run (and won by Lara Tamsett and Ben St Lawrence for those of you playing at home) and all I can do is look forward to the next 10k to try and achieve my goal.

I wore the Mizuno Ronin for the race and I can now say, without a doubt, they are definitely my favourite shoes to race in. They are light, responsive and really comfortable. I'm pretty confident they'll stand up to the marathon distance too.

Life has been incredibly hectic lately - work is taking precedence over everything and I am working incredibly long hours to get everything done. Working from home is a joy but it also means that if you need to stay up until 2am to get something done, you do it.

Naturally, this is making it hard to fit in quality training sessions, but I am trying hard to get it all done. I surprised myself on Tuesday - I had done an easy 7k in the morning because I thought that may have been my only chance to get a run in but the interval session was hanging over my head like a big, black cloud. At about 5.30pm I pushed myself out the door and headed to the oval. I felt flat and sluggish and I couldn't focus (I kept thinking about work), but I got through my session. What a change! A few months ago I would have looked for any excuse to avoid interval work.

I had a pretty solid weekend too, which has probably taken a bit of a toll on my legs. I did a three-hour ride on the M7 on Saturday, followed by a very short run (I am still considering doing Canberra half Ironman, but things are looking very doubtful right now). On Saturday I did a 30k run (I had 35k scheduled, but that was without taking the Saturday ride into consideration). This was on top of a lot of work, which is doing my head in and stressing me out.

This is always the busiest time of year for me and I am really looking forward to Christmas so I can take some time out. Still, I have a few more deadlines and a few more races before then.

Keep on running.

2:51:27 - Melbourne Marathon

2:51:27!

A three-and-a-half minute PB!

OK, that's the short version. If you don't want to waste time reading the world's longest race report, stop here.

THE LONG VERSION
I flew down to Melbourne on the Friday before the race. After the previous week's hot weather it was a rude shock to wake up and find a grey, rainy, windy and cold day (it was snowing further up the mountain). My flight was scheduled for 12:15pm but the weather delayed everything so I didn't end up leaving until a fair bit later.

Finally landed in Melbourne and made it to my hotel (so easy with Skybus - had a nice chat to the driver when I was the last one left on the bus. I asked him to explain how to do a hook turn... I decided I'll never drive in Melbourne). Quick dash to a supermarket to get a couple of things then out for a short run. I was feeling so, so nervous.

I slept in late on Saturday because I was worried I'd have a restless sleep that night and I wanted to be as rested as possible. Eventually headed out for a very brief run on which I started to feel... fantastic. My legs felt strong and I was full of energy. Phew! Good thing that taper decided to kick in!

I had to be at the MCG at 1pm for the elite athlete briefing. Took my time getting there, dropped my personal drinks in then had a look around the expo before meeting with the other runners and the competition director, Tim Crosbie.

It is truly a privilege to race as an 'elite' runner in this race. I've been lucky enough to do it three times and it is such an amazing experience. The title 'elite' is a bit misleading - yes, there are some real elite athletes involved, but there are also runners like me who have some solid results and are racing as part of their state or territory team.

 The 'elite' group has access to facilities under the MCG on race day - before and after the race. Any runner knows how valuable that is - we have toilets, space to warm up, showers, water, sports drink, bananas and people to help us. No lining up for anything, no waiting in the cold. It's awesome.

Tim and his staff do such a great job of looking after all the elite runners - not just the super fast ones - and I am so appreciative of all their work.

The briefing was pretty standard - an overview of the rules and info on the course, drug testing and the schedule for race day. We got our bibs and we were on our way.

As anticipated, I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep that night. The alarm was set for 4am (three hours before race time). Eventually I nodded off, but I woke a number of times - frantically checking the clock to ensure I hadn't overslept.

When the alarm finally went off I felt OK. Nervous, yes, but ready to race. Breakfast, shower, dressed (NSW uniform and Mizuno Elixir), more breakfast (lucky raisin toast) and some anxious pacing around my room.

Early morning MCG.

I got to the MCG about 5:40am. Plenty of time to warm up, go to the bathroom (a million times) and get into 'race mode'. This part of the day is, as I said before, such a privilege. Everything is so easy and you don't need to waste energy worrying about queues, getting a good start position, being cold, getting rid of your warm-up clothing... it's all taken care of. About 35 minutes before the race started I took a tablet to stop my dreaded 'toilet stop'. (As an aside, I think I may now know what causes this - supplements that contain a high dose of magnesium).

THE RACE
It was a relief to hear the gun go off - finally I was underway and I knew that in under three hours I'd be home and hosed (I refused to entertain the idea of running over three hours!). I planned to go out at 4 minute ks - a strategy I've followed in the last few marathons I've done - go out at 4 min k and see how long I can last.

This time, thankfully, I held the pace for much longer than usual. Although I detest racing in my Garmin (it stresses me out) I knew the split information would be valuable in analysing the race so I wore it (and forgot to turn off the sound so the stupid thing beeped at me every kilometre).

I settled pretty quickly and began ticking off the kilometres fairly evenly: 3:47, 3:54, 3:57, 3:56, 3:58, 3:56, 3:57, 3:55, 4:02 (oops), 3:57. The official race results say I went through 10k in 39:41 (my Garmin didn't match with km markers so better to use official timing).

16k marked the point where I started doing a few more four-minute kilometres, with some sub-4s interspersed.

At about 31k a piano fell on my back and the ground turned to quicksand for a while. I felt like I was running in slow motion - at 33k I ran a 4:09 km and at 34 I ran 4:08 before dropping back down to 4:02. The hill between 36-37k threw a spanner in the works - I ran a slow 4:14 then a horrendous 4:23. Ouch!!

The results give my 10k splits as follows:
10k: 39:41
20k: 40:26
30k 40:21
40k: 41:45

My Garmin has my halfway split at 1:23:48 (it's odd that the race doesn't record a half split).

When I crossed the line, in 2:51:27, I had nothing left in the tank - I was exhausted and so, so happy about it. I really believe I gave it everything I had.

I was thrilled. And relieved! After focussing on (and worrying about) this race for the past 11 weeks I could finally relax. The thing that made it even more wonderful was the knowledge that I had trained really hard to achieve that time, and it had paid off. Yahoo!

I had a massage after the race (during which I had one of those awful foot cramps where your foot curls up like a claw and won't release). I was feeling pretty sore. Back at the hotel I flooded the bathroom by having a epic-long shower then sat by the window overlooking Jolimont Avenue and watched the procession of runners continue. Those people are champions - I don't know how they keep going for hours and hours and hours.

The winner of the female race was Lauren Shelley in the stunning time of 2:36:29. Jane Fardell was second in 2:37:52. Both these women qualified for the world championships next year - amazing runs.

I finished 11th overall and 10th in the Australian Championships. A record number of women (22) ran under three hours. Go girls!

I spent the afternoon enjoying the Melbourne institutions of coffee and retail therapy with fellow NSW runner Magda Karimali-Poulos - one of the most consistently strong (yet unbelievably modest) athletes I have the pleasure of being friends with. She finished fifth in the fantastic time of 2:45:36 - and still had the energy to go running after a bus at the end of the day.

Unlike last year, when I flew back to Sydney straight after the race, I had allowed myself another night in Melbourne to kick back and relax. So lovely.

Felt surprisingly OK when I woke up on Monday. Sore and tired but not as bad as I had been anticipating. I thought I was supposed to do an easy 20 minute recovery jog so I did (turns out that wasn't on the program). It was lovely being able to run without thinking, "Will I do it? Will I run well in Melbourne?"

But the gods have a sense of humour and couldn't let the weekend go by without having a laugh at my expense. When I flew into Sydney I couldn't wait to jump in the car and get home. I'd timed it so I'd be ahead of peak hour traffic so I'd have a nice, stress-free drive. Ummm... no. My car battery was flat. Dead as a doornail.

This was a saga in itself, involving me asking the carpark office and every single car rental place if they had a battery charger pack before standing next to the pay machines and accosting everyone there. Without going into detail, my poor (and wonderful) husband was three quarters of the way to the airport when I was saved by a car park officer and sent on my way - three hours after my plane landed.

So there you have it.

2:51:27.

Huge thank you to my coach Sean - this wouldn't have happened without him. Also thanks to Mizuno for supporting me. Finally, endless hugs and kisses to Andrew who has done absolutely everything so I haven't had to worry about anything except eat, sleep, train and work.

Hard work = results. Who knew?!

In my last post (the one about the horribly disappointing M7 Marathon) I mentioned that I had sent an email that would hopefully set me on the path to some achieving some good results. That was six weeks ago now and yes, I think it's safe to say things have been going well.

The email I referred to in that post was to Sean Williams, highly respected coach and owner of SWEAT .  I asked him if he'd help me prepare for Melbourne as best I could and, thankfully, he said yes. The next day my first program arrived and I committed myself to doing everything as well as I could - no quitting halfway through a session if I wasn't hitting certain times or paces, no missing a session because I was too busy.

The program, quite honestly, scared me. I saw speed work and paces that I didn't think I could ever achieve. So I simply didn't look too far ahead - I just started by looking at the sessions I had to do on any given day and I did them.

I've surprised myself at how well I've stuck to the programs. Even more surprising, is the sudden development of fast twitch muscles. After the first couple of weeks I was despairing of ever being able to run fast - I even told Sean he would have to readjust his paces for the upcoming sessions - then all of a sudden I could do it.

With Belinda Martin, winner of the NSW half champs. 

The work is already starting to pay off. I came second in the NSW Half Marathon Championships (Westies Joggers Hidden Half on 2 September) and ran a PB of 82:37. Given that this is a tough and hilly course I was really, really pleased. I felt strong and in control the whole time and looking back on it I should have trusted myself a bit more and pushed harder. A few days before the race Mizuno sent me some new racing flats - the Ronin - and after trying them out on a couple of runs and loving how fast they felt, I decided to see how they'd hold up over 21k. In short, they were brilliant. They felt magic. Part of me would like to test them over a marathon too, but I think I might need a bit more support for the full 42. 

Yesterday I ran a local 3k fun run (the Leonay Loop) and won it in 10:06. A milestone in my life - my first ever 3k race! Did a 33.6k run today and felt pretty good the whole way. I've been a little worried by the reappearance of some symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with Glandular Fever earlier in the year, so I'm going to the doc this week just to get things checked out.

Melbourne is getting closer and I am desperately hoping everything comes together for it. Having said that, if I go to Melbourne and I don't run a great time at least I will know that (for the first time) I have gone into a marathon totally prepared. I can't ask anything more of myself than that.

NSW Half Marathon Champs at Lake Gillawarna

Yeah! New Mizuno stuff!

Elixir 7

Nirvana (top) and Elixir (bottom) and CLOTHES!

Yeah baby! New stuff from Mizuno!

How cool is the new Elixir? I love shoes that look a bit different from everything else that's around.

Now I'm all set to try some of this out at the Summer Run in Port Stephens this weekend... just gotta decide what colour to wear. I'm thinking yellow, just because I've never had yellow stuff before.

Thanks to Mizuno for the support.

Mizuno Brand Ambassador for 2012

Yahoo!! An early Christmas present and a fabulous way to finish off the year.

Yesterday afternoon I was (very literally) dancing around the house after receiving an email from Mizuno offering me a place in the Mizuno Brand Ambassador Program for 2012.

I've been fortunate enough to have support from Mizuno since 2010, after winning the National Capital Marathon in Canberra. The timing back then was serendipitous - I was desperately looking for new shoes for both racing and training because the brand I had worn for many years completely changed the models I wore and they were causing me no end of trouble. I thought it may have just been me, especially after being told by a fitting specialist there wasn't a significant change in the shoes, but my husband and a couple of friends were also having problems with their arch support and archilles, so it was definitely more than my imagination.

I had never tried Mizuno before (simply because I was lazy and it was easy to stick with something else while it was working for me), and I was thrilled to find they were exactly what I was looking for. I was recommended the Nirvana for training and the Elixir for racing, and both proved to be spot on.

Not only did Mizuno support me by providing me with shoes, they also gave me a clothing allowance so, for the first time, I started to get outfits that not only fitted really well, but actually matched! So exciting!

I was invited on board again in 2011, and I was just so grateful (and surprised) that an international company like Mizuno would actually consider me worthy of representing its brand. Again, I got some fantastic kit, including the coolest looking shoes I've ever had to date - the Elixir 6 (pictured left). Love, love, love them. Everyone does.

A little while ago all the 2011 Brand Ambassadors received an email thanking us for the year and explaining the program was going to be consolidated for 2012 and only those selected for 2012 would be receiving another email. I very honestly thought that was the end of a very good (very lucky!) wicket for me. I was so sure that I actually went and purchased a new pair of Mizunos from the store because mine needed replacing!

Needless to say I am absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to represent Mizuno again this year. It has been such a privilege, and I desperately hope I can have a few excellent performances over the next 12 months to prove their selection was warranted.

Now, I can't WAIT to see what the new range is like! Happy days!