Johnson and Heart Foundation Trophy Recipients Janene Kingston ...

London I ran fairly well in my heat, considering I had had aless than ideal preparation beforehand in Europe. My racesweren’t going as well as I’d have liked and my confidenceand self-belief were quite low. Standing on the start line inLondon was tough, because I had no idea how I was goingto run, but I tried to remind myself that I knew how to runand hurdle and that I was at the OLYMPIC GAMES!! Afternarrowly making the semi-finals by 0.02sec I felt like I hada clean slate. I changed my stride pattern in the semi andwent out harder than usual. Although my overall time wasslower and I did not make the final, I achieved a fewimportant technical aspects of my race which I was veryproud of.My greatest achievement and most memorable momentwould easily be the 2012 London Olympic Games.Everything about the experience was mind blowing and itwasn’t until I was walking around the Opening Ceremonythat it really hit me that I was at the Olympics. The wholestadium had a buzz about it and 80,000 people sure canmake a lot of noise! Everyone was so helpful there and theaccommodation was simple but very practical. The entireAustralian Flame Athletics Team got along so well and weall had a great time hanging out together and supportingeach other at the track. One of my most memorablemoments would be when I got a photo taken with CadelEvans at the Closing Ceremony!More recently I have just finished my Australian part ofthe season. In 2012 I carried a knee injury which didimpact on my training and Olympic Games preparation,although I really only accepted that post-London. When Igot back from London I had four months off to rehabilitatethe injury and do some cross training. I was not able to runduring this time but it was a welcome rest from the trackand I was able to rejuvenate my body and mind as well. Ihad a good season here in Australia where I won my sixthOpen National 400H title and also qualified for the WorldChampionships in the process. I have been selected torepresent Australia in Russia this year, which is veryexciting as I have had limited preparation and I know thatby the time the World Championships come around I willbe in fantastic shape. I have just returned from my sixthtrip to Japan, where I usually go every year after theAustralian season finishes. I only had one 400H race therethis year but I won the Shizuoka GP which was my fourthvictory in a row. I ran my PB in Japan three years ago andit is such a great place to visit.My aim now is to get in as much hard training as I can,with Matt and the rest of the MattyBDEPT squad I trainwith here in Canberra. We all support and encourage eachother through training, especially as the weather getscolder! I am heading to Germany late-June to base and getsome races there before heading into the Australian WorldChampionships team camp in the UK before going ontoMoscow for the World Championships. I am aiming tofinish in the top 16 and run a PB. Then I will be back homeJune 2013 Vetrunner – Page 17and have twomonths tofinalise weddingplans beforegetting marriedto Heath onNovember 9!!Looking backmy injury lastyear was reallytough and Matthad to adjust alot of mytraining toaccommodate it.The experiencetaught me thatyou really needto listen to yourbody, but at thesame time Iknew I could getthrough races and training and of course the Olympics andthat I’d have time after that to get it back to 100% fitness.We push our bodies so hard that it is good to take sometime off every so often just to recharge for the next seasonahead.Matt and I have always taken a ‘development’ approachto my athletics and have identified areas we think I canimprove on. I am naturally quite a good hurdle technicianso it is mainly my flat speed that needs some work and Iwill be able to develop that through training as I get older,faster, fitter and stronger. My passion, determination andtrust in Matt are very critical qualities to have in a sportthat take so much dedication and time-investment. I amaiming to win two medals next year at the CommonwealthGames (400H, 4x400 relay) and then be a finalist in boththe 2015 World Championships and 2016 Olympics. Afterthat I will assess where I am in life and athletics and makethe call as to whether I’ll keep running or not. I lovetraining each day and I work so hard to be the best that Ican be, so that when I get to run at an Olympic Games orfeel the euphoria of running a PB, it makes it all worth it.Training is my time away from life, where I don’t have tothink about anything except just letting my body do what itknows how to do and enjoying the achievements as theycome along. There is no way I would be able to train ashard as I do if I didn’t love it! Matt is also an amazingcoach and is very passionate about what he does, so thatmakes it a lot easier to train and compete with himsupporting me the whole way.Boston MarathonWe were all stunned and saddened by the terrible bombings at this year’s Boston Marathon.It is at times like these that our hearts go out to those affected by such tragedy, not just as fellow human beings butas fellow athletes.We hope those injured recover quickly and are able to run again, and our thoughts are with the families of thosekilled in the attacks.The first Boston Marathon was run 116 years ago on 19 April 1897. The winner was John McDermott with the time2:55:10. We hope that the attacks do not diminish the history or future of this great race.