Going Down Under

I'm going to Australia!

Russ mentioned a while ago that he was thinking about going to a few meets there, and asked if I'd be interested in going, too. I thought that sounded cool, and told him I'd think about it. The next day, I got an email from my manager asking if I'd like to go, too! With all that Australia talk, it seemed meant to be that I head there for some competitions.

This will be a new continent for me, and I'm super excited to be going A) during their summer, B) at the same time as Russ, and C) right in the middle of the big, long stretch of months that are usually just training every year. In 2010 and again in 2011, I injured my back between January and April, so I'm really looking forward to switching up my routine and going on a little adventure. I've really liked every Australian I've ever met (Kim, Benn, Coach Zuyderwyk, etc.), so I have high hopes for visiting the country! I leave February 4th for a meet in Perth on the 11th and another one in Sydney (in the 2000 Olympic Stadium) on the 18th.

My technique right now is coming along well. I've really focused this year so far on finally properly learning how to fly the javelin. I've pretended in the past that I worked on that; like, in my head, I said the flights of my implements in practice weren't that bad, but when I got to high-pressure situations things fell apart. Um, duh, Kara. :)

Read an article about the Perth meet here. It simply mentions that I'll throw head-to-head with Kim Mickle, who I mentioned above. She has always been someone that's easy to talk to at competitions and is super sportsmanlike; I'll never forget how much fun it was to have her there at a meet in Kawasaki in September of 2009!

Christmas in pictures

Russ building my Dad a really cool fishing rod. :)


A shot of my tree in Chula Vista!


A flag for my Grandma.


Nio's face!


Boss and Lucky! Friends...sometimes.


Elevenmile reservoir on the 15-under-zero day of fishing.


Russ feeding one of his Dad's cows!


On a walk with my Dad and some animals. :)


My brother, Craig (right), and me (left) on the Christmas tree at my parents' house.

Updates!

Heeeey blog. Sorry I've neglected you.

My fall training was fabulous. We're doing this new thing this year (new to us anyway...not new to Kibwe) where we throw and lift in the mornings and then do it again in the afternoons, with some variations (running/jumping/med ball throws) in there. The training is modeled after Dr. Bondarchuk's philosophies, and I couldn't be happier with how things are going! I throw (always out of a full approach, just at different speeds) more but with less volume per session than I have before, so repetitions are higher quality and I can focus better on executing good technique. This training just makes sense to me.

I'm a javelin thrower. I need to know how to throw the javelin.

In other news, I traveled basically all over the country for Christmas vacation! I was home in Washington for a few days, went to Iowa and got to see lots of my Mom's side of the family, hung out in Colorado with Russ and his family for a week, and attended my friends Mandy and Johan's New Years Eve wedding in Phoenix! It was fabulous (and my workouts were general strength most of that time, so I didn't miss much), but it has been amazing to be back in one place and know I'll be here for a while, especially considering how much I traveled this fall. Here's to consistent, exciting training!

I'm taking part in the Powerful Women Athletes Telesummit, an event organized by Christina McKinstry to inspire younger athletes and fans alike with conversations about different aspects of training, competition and the lives of elite female athletes in general. My interview will be on Sunday, January 29th at 5:00pm Pacific time, and you can register (free!) to listen in here. The Telesummit starts tomorrow with Loree Smith's interview, and you can see a list of speakers and the schedule here. I'm really excited to listen to all of the interviews, as so many of the women who will speak through this event have inspired and continue to inspire me!