Hey everyone!
 
It has been a while since my last blog and a lot has happened in the interim. Well, firstly I hope everyone had a great Christmas and new year period and managed to stick to their new years resolutions! Personally, I don't tend to make them because past experiences have taught me that I last about 3 hours before I break them :)

Thankfully i got to spend the holiday season (or the 2 days i got off training!!) with my family in their new house on the Gold Coast. They designed and built their "dream home" and aside from the chaos that comes with building a house from scratch, the place is magnificent. The pool is finally finished and I'm looking forward to spending my weekends relaxing in the spa!
 
So it's about 3 weeks until Olympic Trials and things are going very well. Our squad just spent 2 weeks on a training camp in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast which was a nice break from our daily grind. Our apartment looked over the beach and we woke up each morning to a glorious sunrise. It definitely made it easier to wake up and go training!

It was also nice to break our usual routines up a little: sometimes when you have long periods of repetition, it is easy to get bored and tedious, so going away for 2 weeks was a perfect solution. Also, having to sleep on a squeaky single bed for 2 weeks definitely made me appreciate my gorgeously soft queen bed at home!
 
As many of you may have seen in the news, the new speedo LZR Racer suit was released a few weeks ago. There has been a lot of hype surrounding it as the "fastest suit ever" and judging by the 3 world records that were just broken in the past couple of weeks, i dare not question its claims. I had an opportunity to try one out at a local Brisbane meet over the weekend, and it felt great! I swam a couple of fast times which is very encouraging after the hard work we have been putting in. Also, my teammate Christian Sprenger broke the Australian record in the 100 breaststroke in the new suit, so it is definitely something special. 
 
Over the past couple of months, I have put in the best block of training I have ever done, which is very exciting for me. I am significantly stronger than I ever have been, and I am noticing how my muscles are growing! I have never had a muscular physique before and my teammates think I'm crazy for wanting to be as ripped as they are, but I honestly think a woman looks drastically better with muscle definition on her body. Also, the stronger I am, the better I am going to swim so that gives me the motivation to push myself harder every day.
 
So trials are just around the corner with just over 3 weeks to go. Finally taper is here! Taper is my favourite time of year because our work load decreases and we progressively get fresher and more excited to race. As much as I am excited about racing at trials, I am also excited about seeing the rest of my squad race. We have a very close knit group of 7 on our squad, and it will be fantastic to see all of our hard work rewarded in 3 weeks. When we step up to the blocks, we will know that no one has trained as hard as us, and nothing can stop us! 

I know I want to be on the Olympic Team going to Beijing, but no one has their place yet. Everyone will be fighting as hard as they can, even if they know there is always the possibility of not making the team. Putting in everything you have even though success is not guaranteed is one of the most courageous acts someone can perform. When it comes down to that last 25 metres in my race, I know I will be putting in everything I have, and if that means a spot on the team, my goal will be achieved.
 
"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose"
 
Jo