2011 wrap up !!!
Hi everyone,
I can't believe it's almost Christmas already !!! This year has flown by so fast but i can definitely say that this year will be a year i will never forget. 2011 has been a pretty hectic, crazy year with many ups and downs. I'm so happy to be able to finally say that i'm BACK to a pretty much full training programme which has taken my 11 .... yes 11 months of waiting to return to.
I thought i'd take a bit of time to look back on 2011 as i prepare to head into my most important year yet 2012. I started 2011 with possibly the worst experience of my gymnastics career so far which was the rupture of my right achilles tendon. This completely threw all my 2011 plans out the window and it was quite strange not having a year based on plans and schedules, it was all based on my recovery and only time would tell what would happen next. After my injury it did take me a few weeks to come to terms with what had happened but i knew i had to stay strong and take everything one step at a time if i wanted to return as quickly as possible.
As the months went by it was amazing to see the progress i was making and although it's horrible being injured there were so many new goals for me to achieve and i could see my self making progress everyday. One big step in my recovery was my trip to MEXICO in April with the Great Britain squad and that was a trip i'll never forget. I had such an amazing time with all the girls and i just really loved every minute being back in the squad environment because i'd been away from it for so long and of course i made big progress with my rehab. By the time i returned home i was almost ready to start jogging which after 3 months of doing just conditioning and basic bars was a huge deal for me.
The months continued to go by and as i continued to make progress i was ready to prepare for my next challenge which was returning to competition. By this time i'd been out of competition for almost 10 months and this year my approach was very different. Usually getting ready to compete is a fairly simple process which of course requires a lot of hard work and hours in the gym but this time round i had to build up very slowly as i had to learn how to land properly again. Once i had mastered the basics i then had to make small progressions from jumping off a small block onto a mat to the final stages which was landing dismounts off bars and beam onto a competition style surface.
Before i knew it August was here and i was so ready and excited to return to competition. My first competition back was going to be an international competition held in Ipswich and although i wasn't ready to return to the AA competition i felt ready to return on bars and beam with basic routines. My training leading up this event was going very well, i was so happy to be on my way back and seemed to me making rapid progress then disaster struck. The time finally came for me to move my bars skills from the pitted area onto competition surface and to start with i was so confident as i'd been back on bars for so long i didn't have any doubts. Then about 3 weeks before the competition i was just getting used to our competition set of bars and the day soon came when i had to put my bar release and catch out on hard. So up i went with no doubts at all, i completed a stalder catchev to intentionally miss the bar onto a mat just so i could feel the bars then once i was happy i decided to go for the catch. I then jumped up and repeated the skill again but this time i went to catch the bar and as you all know with gymnastics there is very small margin for error. I was so close to the perfect catch and just as i thought i'd caught the bar, i then pung off and wasn't prepared for what happened next. As i'd been over the pits for so long and rarely missed my release skill i never really prepared what to do if i caught and then pung. So there i was doing the skill, thought i'd caught the bar then all of a sudden i was on the floor with a sprained left ankle !!! I was so focused on making sure my injured/ recovering right ankle was safe i forgot to land correctly on my left foot and then my plans for competition were held back.
This period was probably one of my toughest throughout the year as it tested my mental toughness BIG TIME. I was so happy to finally be recovering my skills on bars, beam and vault after 7 months out due to my achilles injury and now i was injured again and was back in rehab. This was so tough to take in and although i knew it wouldn't be long till i could work skills again i was a little worried about putting my skills back out on hard. All i could think about was that i can't take another injury and with worlds forever getting closer i was suddenly running out of time.
So the weeks continued to go by and now i was battling with two recovering feet it made me more determined to be back. I knew that vault and floor would take time but i also knew that beam was quickly coming back and bars was my ultimate strength which i could train as much as i liked as i didn't effect my feet. My target was to make the worlds team and to help the team as much as i could with bars especially and any other pieces i could offer as this years world championships was very important due to it being our Olympic qualifier. Our team had to come in the top 8 at the worlds to gain a definite space for a team of 5 at the 2012 olympics next year ....... no pressure then for me that hadn't competed properly with my full routines for now almost a year..... NOT !!!
My mental toughness and my team definitely kept me going as there were so many times i could have just given up. I had 8 weeks to get my full bar routine back, then put it onto competition surface and perfect it as much as possible in time for the worlds, it was a big task but if anyone was going to take it on i knew i was tough enough to fight it out. The moment i found out i had made the team for the worlds i couldn't quite believe it. Selection for any other worlds or major championships is always tough but this year was a BATTLE and i was so relieved and so thankful to be named on the team, it was the biggest reward for all the hard work.
The worlds were soon here and they were in TOKYO !!! Which made it even more exciting as i'd never been to Japan before. I really did appreciate every minute i was there as i knew how hard i'd worked to be there and how easily i could not have been there if i didn't put in that 100% effort every single day for the last 8 weeks. The competition soon arrived and we knew as a team we were all well prepared on the pieces we were set to compete on. We had to stay calm and as important as that top 8 finish was for us we couldn't let that be our focus. We didn't want to have to requalify in January and be at squad training throughout christmas and new year, so we fought hard till the end and although we weren't perfect we did it. We qualified a full team of 5 girls through to the 2012 Olympics next year.
My highlight of 2011 has to be our result in the worlds team final. After qualifying in 8th place, we made it through to the team final and we were all so happy that we had achieved our main goal we went into the team final to have fun and leave the competition with no regrets. That is exactly what we did. I couldn't have asked for any more from anyone on the team, we all put in our best performances and made history for Great Britain by finishing in 5th place in the worlds team final. After the ups and downs i'd been through up until that point, i couldn't have asked for anything more !!
I returned home from the worlds ready to start fresh and after the team set the bar so high with a 5th place finish we now have our goals set even higher ready for next year. My personal goals now are to return to the AA competition ready for next year. I had to give my feet a little time to recover after the worlds and build back some strength that was lost whilst i was in japan but now TOUCH WOOD i can say i'm making fantastic progress and i'm loving working back towards the AA again. I did however underestimate how tough it would be on my body returning to AA training after having 11 months off the impact of all 4 apparatus, i can definitely say i'm feeling being back. I can't really complain though as i've been waiting 11 months for this moment and as painful as i can be at times i LOVING it.
I'm now working on a few new skills that i hope to be competing next year and i'm getting a new floor routine which i'm really excited about. The next few months for me are going to be about getting as fit as possible, trying to avoid any more injuries and starting to prepare for a very big year ahead of me which i know is going to be extremely hard work. I'm now looking forward to christmas and the start of 2012. Who knows what will be in store for me next year but i'm excited to find out and am ready to work harder then i ever have before and fight for a spot on that 2012 Olympic team.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and new year and i want to say a BIG thank you to all my fans, friends and family for your continued support, it really does mean the world to me and has helped me more than you'll ever know to keep me going through this hard year.
See you all in the new year !!!! OMG 2012 is getting super close :O :O !!!!
xoxoxo Becky xoxoxo
Regards bex