New York and Boston 2015

I am writing this post travelling from Dublin to New York where I am racing at the Armory Track Invitational. Then the following weekend I will be competing in Boston at the New Balance games in a Team New Balance Ireland DMR. 

I will be running 800m at the Armory Track on Saturday 31st January.

And then 800m in DMR race at the NB indoor games Saturday 7th February.

The reason for writing is that this is the first time in three months that I have had to even contemplate a blog post. 
This winter has been a challenging one to say the least. During the cool down of my first session back I stood on a stupid tennis ball and wrecked my ankle. I was able to train on and off for a couple of weeks. Mixed with some cross training on the elliptical machine I was able to maintain my fitness and coming back to training wasn't difficult. I suppose it was just the feeling of panic that for me that was unsettling. I have of course had lots of injuries but nothing as silly as basically a badly sprained ankle. I felt angry with myself and constantly wished I could go back and change it! I was able to take out my frustration on the elliptical, but going to the gym day after day training on my own but still training hard could get anyone a bit down. I definitely tortured myself a little and in the future I would try and be a bit more relaxed about the whole situation. 
It feels strange to be discussing my ankle which seems like so long ago already. I was back to training by late November and a much happier girl for it. 

We organised a very last minute training camp to Portugal over the new year. Myself and my boyfriend Johnny headed out on Boxing Day for 10 days of a bit of sun and some hard work. 

New Balance trainers post workout in Portugal.

With exams looming there was no time for sunbathing but I was really happy with the training I got done. It was great to get some time to focus without distractions of Christmas celebrations and I was able to do my favourite thing.... Cook. Johnny and I cooked nearly every night and I love deciding what to eat and making some super healthy tasty food. Those who know me know that I love vegetables, try to eat well and that my favourite meal is my take on a tuna nicoise salad! Poor Johnny has to put up with salads and vegetables 24/7 but he never complains, but my dad can't stand "vegetarian muck" and he always let me know how he feels about it! Check out my Instagram page for some of the meals that I brought with me for the flight and travel. http://instagram.com/katekirky1/
My brother Conall was also home from college in America. He is on a track and field scholarship at Oklahoma State University. He has been injured for over a year and it has been tough for him not being able to run. It was great to have him home and have that gap filled in our family that happens when he is gone. It's really strange being the older sibling and still living at home while my younger brother made a big move to the other side of the world. When he left and I suppose this is the same for any other brother and sister, I was thinking if we were close enough to still have a good relationship with him. Luckily we were able to keep in contact well when he was away and Skype with the family every weekend. 

I have received continued support from Ford UK and I would be stuck (literally) without my focus.

My Ford dash on one of my many early morning training trips.

Being a student and athlete involves many hours spent in the car travelling from uni to training to massage and then doing it all over again. 
Queen' sport have also continued to support me. They recently hosted a series of lectures for all the queen's supported athletes. Hugh Campbell got us to imagine our biggest goals and began the exploration of using psychology and relaxation to improve performance. I would love to continue in this area further. I am admittedly hard on myself and sometimes slightly negative, but I do believe that in some ways  this helps with my determination.

A huge thank you has to go to My shoe and clothing company New Balance and Nic Bideau who have kindly organised this trip and made it possible.

I am really looking forward to racing this weekend. It will be an amazing field and undoubtedly the highest quality field I will ever have competed in.  

Three words.... Bring it on.