So, I moved to Australia! I have been asked this a lot, why?! In short, when my boyfriend and I learned we were going to have a baby, we knew a decision needed to be made on who would be leaving their home country. I worked as a Personal Trainer and Coach, he was an Australian soldier. So it was quite a quick decision..! I can be an athlete and personal trainer anywhere. Unless he was going to give up being an Australian citizen, there was no way of continuing his career. So following the 2020 European athletic season, we left the UK and arrived in Oz!
We are now in a pretty good routine and are happily living near Brisbane, Queensland. We have set Nyla up with gymnastics and swimming lessons. I joined the local athletics club and gym in Ipswich and train before my boyfriend goes to work, which is usually around 5am. I also train when he gets home which is around 5pm. In between those hours, I do the usual household bits and go to Nyla’s activities (which are a total of 4 times a week). It can of course be very tiring so it’s all about management. I try and eat well to help my body recover; I supplement what I can’t eat enough of. I sleep as much as I can and try and nap when Nyla has her sleep during the day. If I have the choice of training at super early o’clock and a more reasonable time, then I take the latter option! Soon I will be starting a new job so my routine will change a little bit again. I’ll update you when that happens!
In terms of Olympics and how that is all going… well things are looking promising! Most of my gym numbers are near the best they’ve ever been or ARE the best they’ve ever been! Throwing is a little harder as I train on my own and send videos to my coach (who is based in Doha, Qatar). We have been a bit rubbish recently, so he hasn’t seen me throw live (via phone) in 4 weeks. We had a frank conversation and have put things in place so we are in live contact once a week. Also, we agreed getting another pair of eyes on me once a week would be beneficial. That way I will have live feedback for two of my three or four throwing sessions a week. In addition to that, our shipment from the UK is FINALLY coming next week (fingers crossed!!), so I will have my home gym back in the garage.
We had a 3-day lockdown a week ago because of the UK COVID_19 strain got into the community. Thankfully, the Queensland Government got it under control really quickly and we are allowed back out to do everything. We now just have to wear masks everywhere, including the gym. (Just for reference, from October through to mid-January, we didn’t have to wear masks anywhere!)
I have a few competitions lined up for the next few months. All being well, the plan is to get that Olympic standard ASAP so I’m not chasing anything later in the year. Send those positive vibes my way please!
Speak soon,
Jade
