Olympian in Progress

EmpowHER Article..Enjoy!

2012-02-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to thank Jody Smith on a great article she wrote for empowHER. The article talks about my training and diet leading up to the Olympic Trials:) Cant wait until Hammer Time on June 21st!

Amazing what infomation and quotes you can get out of me while getting ready for the Super Bowl :)

Click here to read the write-up!

Happy Training~

Time to stop and give a BIG thank you, on my road to London!

2012-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday started out like any other day for me: wake-up, grab my phone and check my e-mail. Usually my e-mail is filled with junk mail but not this day. A huge smile and a few tears flooded my face when I read that I was the recipient of the John W. James Endowment Grant through the USA Track and Field Foundation, AGAIN!

A quick little background on the endowment fund:

Mark and Lori James & Frias Holding Company made the initial gift of $200,000 to the USATF Foundation in July of 2010 to seed the endowment, which is used to fund elite grants for men and women track athletes in the throwing events, and to promote and highlight the throwing events at major competitions.

I had the opportunity to met Mark last year after USATF Nationals. After shaking his hand I could tell how much passion and love he has for the throwing events. It was great to chat with him about our sport and what needs to be done to get more exposure to our sport and throwing events.

I cannot say Thank You enough to the USATF Foundation and Mark and Lori James. Their generosity and love for my sport is humbling. If I could give you all a hug I would:)

Here is the link to the press release: http://www.usatffoundation.org/news/2012-2-2.asp.

Hope everyone has a great Super Bowl Sunday!

Happy training,

Britney

Powerful Women Athletes Telesummit- Spread the word

2012-01-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

Powerful Women Athletes Tele-Summit

Hey Guys! I am doing a live tele summit on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 5-6pm Pacific time. This is a chance to ask questions about the hammer, training for the hammer and anything else that you have always wanted to ask me. Register here

It is free but you can always upgrade to get a copy of the tele summit and some other goodies:)

Be sure to check out the other ladies throwers that will be speaking about their events and their training. Speakers List

Hope everyone is having a great New Year! Talk with you all soon :)

Brit

Everyday is exactly the same ...

2011-11-30T18:42:00.001-08:00

Where I get to train everyday :)

Being an athlete, routine plays a major role in my life. If I don’t have one, I find myself wondering “Am I suppose to be somewhere?” Or, I nap a lot. :)

Since training began in September, my life is more routine than ever. Here is my schedule Monday through Friday... unless I am in Oregon, with my coach:

6:00 am- Wake up, eat breakfast and get ready for training.7:30 am- Leave the house, drive to the OTC... 25 minute drive. 8:00 am- Warm-up, throw my hammers and work on explosive exercises. 10:30 am-12 pm- Eat lunch and relax.12:00 pm- 2:00 pm- Weight Room Session.2:00 pm- 2:20 pm- Get ready for work (at the Olympic Training Center), mix a protein shake and box up some dinner.3:00 pm- 9:00 pm- Work at the Embassy Suite in La Jolla.10:00 pm- Time to catch some ZZZ’s.

On the weekends, I am usually training in the morning and running errands in the afternoon. The past few months I have been working the Chargers home games, but there are only two games left, since the Chargers are having a less than stellar year.

The Q or what I still call "The Murph"

Yup, that is my routine. Love it or hate it, I have to do it. :)

In the morning I focus on training and in the evening I focus on work. Work gives me a chance to take my mind off the hammer and focus on what "real" life will be when my hammer career is over.

"Speaking of hammer, have I ever told you guys how much I love throwing? :) The strangest thing happened to my body and heart this year. I can't really explain it, but all I know is that my body and heart are ready for a big year. My body is catching on to cues quicker and my heart has one path. It also puts my mind at ease to know that my body and heart are ready."

Training has been going great. I have been heading up to Oregon once a month to see coach for a week. Unlike last year, where I would only see him for a few days each month, I am now spending a full week with him. Thanks to Hilton/Embassy Suites La Jolla for working around my training schedule and understanding my dreams and goals. Also, thanks to Coach and Nancy for all their support. :)

I am throwing heavy hammers 4 days a week and competition weight for 2 days. My body is learning to hold the positions. Now, I just have to add some "spring" to my legs. The weights are moving along quite nicely. When I am done with my weight lifting session and I begin wondering if my legs will hold me up at work, then I know that I had a great day in the weight room!

Right now, I am heading to the USATF Annual Meeting. At the meeting, I am sure that we will cover in detail how important the Olympics are...duh! New rules, medical issues and the always important funding issues. I will type up a overview of the meeting. I am looking forward to hearing the issues and figuring out the best way to deal with them. It is also nice to hang out with all my track buddies.

Hope everyone is having a great Fall/Winter. Train hard and train smart!

Brit

London Bound: Summer ending, training beginning!

2011-09-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

Labor Day in Eugene, OR

My summer of rest and relaxation has come to an end.
I enjoyed my time off from the ring but my body said it is time to get back at it. This summer was amazing and had a great time with my family, playing at the beach, laying on the beach, making some money and most of all sleeping in. :)

One of my summer goals was to do a giant on the parallel bar and guess what?!? I DID IT!!! It was not pretty, and yes, I went backwards, but I DID IT! :) Thanks to Becky Holliday and Sean Furey for their coaching and shared excitement :)

My training is in full swing. I just finished up my first cycle and it has been quite a learning experience. My first week of training was spent in Eugene with my coach Lance Deal. I soaked up some much needed coaching and improved by leaps and bounds in the ring. These next few months will be filled with heavy hammers, heavy lifting in the weight room and the word "HEEL" on repeat in my head.

My training plan for this year is going to be a little different than years past. First, I will be switching to a 2 week training cycle with a week of rest (4 training days instead of 6). Since my coach Dan Pfaff says that I am getting older, it means that I need more rest. I would usual take offense to the "old" word, but I do love my rest. I also had to add 3 cycles to my training plan. Jamie Myer, our resident strength coach at the center who has watched me lift since the day he arrived, has been kind enough to write me up 3 lifting cycles that should add some beef to my body! Going good so far, but my Bambi legs are still looking the same....

Hope everyone is have an awesome September! Happy Training:)

Brit

Next piece of the puzzle: Get my mind right:)

2011-07-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a while to figure out what I was going to blog about, because I surely don't have any more tears to shed over this season.

I am sure you all can take a guess about my feeling towards my performance at National's and my trip up to Canada. I now know that I need to work on how I approach competition. My body knows how to throw far, now I just have to get my mind on board. :)

I am enjoying my rest period and getting my body back to feeling 100% (it may never get there, but I can get close). Also, I'm working as much as I can to pay off my debt from track season, and get some money in the bank before winter training begins.

To that end, I just got 2 jobs! I was just hired with the San Diego Chargers AND the Embassy Suite in La Jolla.

Thanks to my co-worker at the San Diego Padres, I will be working game days at Jack Murphy. Yes, I know it is Qualcomm now, but it will forever be the “Murph” to me. I'll work as a Guest Service Representative. Basically, I will be making sure that everyone is minding their P’s and Q’s during the game.

With help from Rachelle at the USOC/Adecco office, I got hired to work the Front Desk at the Embassy Suites in La Jolla. The Hilton/Embassy Suites is an official sponsor of the United States Olympics, they have agreed to hire athletes, work around our training schedules, pay a fair wage and supplement our medical benefits! And so far, so good!

Besides working, I have been hanging out with my family and friends. The sun is my new best friend and it is best coupled with a good book. Right now, I am reading Life by Keith Richards. If he can survive life, anyone can. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! To everyone is the Mid-West and the South... I’m sorry, come to San Diego!

Until the first day for training, September 5th, enjoy life and everyone in it!

~ Britney

One year away:)

2011-07-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

365 days until the Opening ceremonies start in London, England for the 2012 Summer Olympics. I can not express how excited I am to have a chance to represent myself, my country and the sport I love on the grand stage.

June 25th, 2012 will be the Olympic Trials to see who will represent the USA in England. Top 3 with the Olympic "A" standard, 71.50 meters (234.5 feet), will be on the team and wearing the red, white and blue!

This will be my third Olympic Trials, and you know what they say, "Third time's the charm" :)

Catch up and a training breakthrough!

2011-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Elephant Fountain outside the main pool at Mandalay Bay, trunks up mean good luck~

First off I want to apologize for being absent the past few weeks. I left my computer battery charger in Arizona and I finally bought a new one. (I do have to tell ya, it felt pretty good not being totally connected to the outside world for a minute)

Since there is never a dull moment! I will give you guys the cliff notes version:

Tucson Elite, two day meet in Tucson, AZ. Threw a seasons best of 69.64 (228.4 ft). Thanks again to Craig Carter for hosting an amazing meet.
Las Vegas promotional events with SHOOTmedia. It was my first time actually part taking in the “Vegas Experience”. I had an amazing time and met some amazing people.
Decompress. To finish off my tour of the Southwest, I drove over to Parker, AZ for my families annual trip to The River. The River is my favorite place in the whole wide world! This is the only place where I can go and “decompress” - something that needs to do before USA Nationals.
Olympic Training Center hammer meet: I finally figured out what is going on with my throw this season. Let me explain...

Britney Henry Competing at The Olympic Training Center: June 9th, 2011

For the past month or so, practice has been going great. Warm-ups in meets is going great too. But once my name gets called, and I step into the ring, my mind has been going into overdrive. My mind thinks that I need to add something to my throw, that the warm-ups were not good enough. Now, I know that you have all heard that sports is more mental than physical, and I couldn't agree more! My mind is my biggest competitor. Once my mind gets in the way for my throw, all hell breaks loose.

After a text message conversation with coach and a quick talk today, I learned that I just have to throw as I've practiced. Nothing changes in the meet. I don’t have a “meet throw” or have “meet speed”. What I do in practice, and in warm-ups, is what I plan to keep doing in the meet.

Now, this may sound like all kinds of common sense, but let me tell ya, your mind is very powerful. It takes a ton of confidence and mind control to take your mind out of the game and feel what your body has been doing all year in training.

I have been having an amazing year with practice. My throw has never felt better. Now, I just have to let it happen on the field. Hayward Field to be exact. :)

Nationals is right around the corner and I cannot wait. I just started a new cycle of 3 days of training. It is an amazing cycle, the one that I look most forward to during the year. I train for 2 days, have a day of compete rest, train one day and then one more day of compete rest; repeat until the season is over.

I am not sure what my meet schedule will be after Nationals. I think that I am going to take a trip up North to Canada and then maybe a quick trip to Europe.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! Congratulations to all the new graduates!

★

Brit

Some Random shots from my trip to Vegas~

View from the Mix Lounge---the Strip

Pool Party with SHOOTmedia at the Moorea beach club~

View from my room at the Luxor~

SHARK!!!! Found this little guy while wandering the casino :)

Loop around America!

2011-05-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from my journey!

Where do I begin? Life has been pretty busy, but I kinda like it that way.

Let me start with my past two meets. I few weekends ago, I flew up to Ashland, Ohio for the Ashland Elite. I want to thank Jud Logan for all his help putting on an amazing meet. The atmosphere was great. We had a great crowd and the weather was not to bad at all. I am not one for excuses, but I really cannot tell you what happened. My body just did not want to throw that day. On to the next...

After the Ashland meet, I made a quick pit-stop in Spokane, Washington to surprise my mom and watch her run Bloomsday. She had a smile on her face the whole time I was home. :) It was great to be home and see my parents, even if it was just for 2 days.

Eugene, Oregon was my final destination on my loop around America. I arrived on Monday and had a whole week of training with Lance before the Oregon Twilight. After the first few days of training, positions started to click and they started to become a feeling and not just a word in my head. The weather was awesome the whole week, sunny with a nice light wind.

That cannot be said for Friday. The day of the Oregon Twilight, the weather turned windy, cold and wet. I did everything in my power to get over the fear of slipping in the ring, but I could not get my body to understand. I threw 65.64 meters (215 feet) and won the meet.

Now, the "Old Britney" would be freaking out right now. “Where did my throw go? I need a bigger throw! What do I need to do better ?" Well, "New Britney" understands that training has be shifted a little this year, and that I do have a big throw in me, I just need to be patience and to let it happen. :)

This week I am in Tucson for the Tucson Elite. For some reason I love this meet and my hammer loves it too! Training had been going amazingly. I'm hitting numbers that I have never hit in my life. Right now, I can pretty much say that I am happy and confident!

I look forward to what Thursday and Saturday have in store. The weather is shaping up to be amazing and there are some great throwers here to compete against!

Hope all everyone is enjoying their Summer and taking in some great track and field!

Brit

Children's Hosptial Visit!

2011-05-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my best buddy, Kara Patterson and I headed over to Rady’s Children Hospital to hang out with some kiddos in the oncology unit. Walking into the hospital Kara and I both thought we were going to be emotional wreaks, since we were not quite sure what to expect. Each kiddo not only put a smile on my face but made me realize how strong kids can be.

The one memory that stands out the most was of this little girl. After she saw my hammer and I told her where I hold it, she grabbed the handle and started to pull it through the hallways of the hospital. She had the biggest smile in her face and her laugh echoed through the halls. It just about brought me to happy tears but I held it together.

Thank again to Chris at Athlete for Hope for setting this up! I still have a smile on my face and I look forward to my next trip :)

Britney

Life in overdrive!

2011-04-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my first official meet of the year!

I left for Mt. SAC on Wednesday night since my coach, Lance Deal arrived early with the University of Oregon track team. My cousin Heather lives right outside of Walnut, CA and she let me crash at her house :) Thursday I met up with Coach and Brian Richotte (my college teammate) for a little throwing session before the competition on Saturday. It was just like the good ole' times; dirt field filled with weeds of every sort, coach napping next to the ring between throwing and BR on the search of his lost hammer ( I kid, I kid). After the throwing session I tagged along with coach and ended up at an amazing BBQ restaurant for dinner. I had dinner with some of the Oregon track girls, Robert Weir and Coach. The night was filled with stories from my college years, advice for the young guns coming out of college and lots laughter .

The next day I took my cousin Heather up on her offer to come help out in her class room. She has been a kindergarten teacher for the last 11 years and she is one of the best. I had an amazing time with the kids and was very surprised how independent they all are in her classroom. I am pretty sure if I ever wanted to be a teacher, kindergarten would be the only grade I could teach :) After a quick nap, my two cousin and I were off to a local fair. It was a great place to people watch and they had a pretty good pulled pork sandwich. After the a few song from the band, it was off to dreamland for me .

I woke up with a smile on my face and excited to see how far my hammer was going to fly. The BHP crew was back to chronicle the meet too. My warm-up throws felt great just like the practice session on Thursday; nice and easy and I was sitting against the ball. As the meet started, my sit seemed to float away into the thin air. Every other aspect of my throw felt great, just not the sit. I ended up throwing 223 feet and placing 5th . To say the least, I was a little mad at myself but excited for the next meet. My next meet is going to be in Ashland, Ohio and after last week practices, I am pretty excited to see what is going to happen:)

Hope everyone has an amazing Easter and you all find the golden egg!

Britney

“ Just let it happen” MB 4 Life!!!

Life is about to hit overdrive!

2011-04-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Opening Day at Petco~

I am enjoying my last few days of relaxation - life about to hit overdrive.

Not only is hammer season right around the corner, but so is baseball season. After April 4th, I will be splitting my time between the Olympic Training Center and Petco Park. I am excited about getting back to work because it adds some balance and normalization to my life. I can take my mind off the hammer and focus on giving people the best ballpark experience ever!

It is pretty hard to take my mind off the hammer though. Mt. SAC is right around the corner and I can not wait to see how far my hammer flies. After my coaching trip to Oregon, I have a few new tools in the bag and some new ques to work on. I have finally figured out what it feels like to sit against the hammer. It is a great feeling and makes my throw feel even smoother!

Volunteer luncheon with Operation Homefront~

Along with training, competing and work, I will also be more active with Operation Homefront! Over the weekend I attended a volunteer luncheon. I had a great time meeting the wonderful volunteers that makes this organization so great. This coming Sunday I will head up north to our annual event called Spring Fling. It is an event for kids, and I will be showing off the great sport of track and field! The rest the year, I will mostly be working at the resource booth and helping military families with their needs.

Hope everyone is have a great Spring so far! Happy training!

Brit

"Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart."

Physical and Emotional Maturity

2011-03-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a long road as an athlete, I have finally reached a point in my career that my body gets what I have been hammering into it for years. It takes less effort to get to where I want to be.

I don't have to condition as hard as I used to. I don't have to throw as many throws for my body to get what I need to fix, my body finally gets it!

Now, I have to work on the mental part of this concept. I have to remind my brain that I don't have to beat up on myself to get a que, or to get a lift in the weight room. I knew that I was going to get to this point in my career eventually, but I never thought that it would be now.

Physical maturity is a wonderful thing. My body can recover and be ready for the next day. Practices are short and sweet and I have more time to rehab my body. The hard part about my body getting to this point is getting my brain on board. Training habits are hard to break. My mind still is in overdrive; harder, faster, stronger EVERYDAY and EVERY MINUTE! Getting my mind to back off has been a task. I have gone hard everyday since I started sports at a ripe age of 4! I think it is genetic because that is how my family is, so I will blame it on them. :)

This takes me to emotional maturity. If any of you had first saw me when I started to throw the hammer... I was a basket case. I would cry before, during, and after meets. I would cry about everything. (Sorry Ramona!)

One of first things Lance Deal said to me was, “Why do you cry so much?” I wanted to be perfect in the ring. And when I wasn't, I my frustration got the better of me and I cried. If my throw wasn't perfect in warm-ups, then my confidence went down the drain. After years of tears and years of being told that I am doing great, I finally got it... last year. :)

Well, I take that back. As I progressed in the hammer, the tears started to go away little by little. I still had my “freak-out” moments, but it wasn't until last year, that I knew that my hammer was going to fly and nothing was going to stop me. Not even a bad throw.

Last year was the first year that I really started to believe in myself, and was truly confident with my technique. I don't know how it happened but it did. I have to give credit to Dr. Flowers on this one. He has been an amazing for me, mentally. He helps me stay the course and get my game plan, planned out. He has helped me build confidence in myself, because now, I have a plan on how to get that “Perfect Throw” (in quotations because there is no such thing).

Planning is key. That is my next step for the season, planning what I want to do, when. When I want to body to be fresh, when my body can take some loads, and when I want my hammer to fly.

I am still figuring out this plan, but I think I will have a pretty good grasp of it after next weekend.

Next week I am heading up to good ole Eugene, Oregon to see Lance deal for come coaching, and to throw in the Oregon Preview to see how my technique works out in a meet.

I am pretty excited because I get to bust out my new uniform, aaaannnnnddd I get to compete!!!!

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for the outdoor season to start! It has been a long 6 months of training :)

~ Brit

"Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win." - Bobby Knight

Support the troops Saturday & everyday!

2011-02-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

This blog goes out to my cousin who is sitting behind his computer at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan! I can't wait to be sitting next to the River with you and the family in June!

Before my cousin left to head overseas I asked him if he had any cool Marines shirts that I could have. He came back with two sweet Marine shirts and a cozy fleece jacket. After wearing them a few times and after countless people asked where I got them from, I decided that I should make my Marine shirt wearing a weekly event. Every Saturday, I wear one of my Marine shirts to practice and everywhere else I go during the day; in support and in thanks to all the troops that are overseas, away from their loved one, dreaming of the day they get to come home. May sound a tiny bit corny but it is the best way to know how to show my support.

Besides the shirt wearing, I am also volunteering with Operation Homefront!! Operation Homefront is an organization that gives support to military families that are in need. I will mostly be helping out with events that they put on for military families but I will also be helping with a tour/dinner out at the Olympic Training Center. I will keep you all updated on what goes on with Operation Homefront and hopefully post some pictures.

Operation Homefront has also partnered with Outback Steakhouse to raise money for the organization. Just order off the Red, White and Bloomin' menu until April 5th and proceeds from your purchase will go straight to Operation Homefront.

Hope everyone has had an amazing week! My rest week has ended and I'm back to full training on Monday, cant wait:)

Britney

" Semper Fidelis"

Guess what the Fed-Ex man brought me today....

2011-02-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

...MY NEW UNIFORM!!! WOOHOO

I just want to send a HUGE thanks to Danny Lopez! You are awesome and I can not what to wear it :)

My meet schedule is always a rough draft but I am thinking that I am going to throw at the Oregon Preview (March 18th), to preview where I am at with my technique and mental preparation. Then, as always, I will throw at Mt. SAC on April 16th. The last weekend in April, I will head up to Ashland, Ohio. The next weekend I will throw at the Oregon Twilight. Mid-May I will take a short trip to Tucson, AZ for a 2 day meet. In June, I am hoping the hammer will be added to the Prefontaine Classic, so I have a meet before the big show happens. National starts June 23rd and ends on the 26th. I throw on the 25th at 12:15.

This week has been pretty laid back. My rest week as been extended a few days but I know that my body does not mind. Last week was the end of my 3 week cycle phase of my training and now I am heading into 2 week cycle phase. Now I start to become a little more explosive in the weight room and on the track. The hammers will still be heavy, but that is OK with me :)

Hope everyone is doing great!

Britney

" I am deeply centered and peaceful in life. It is safe for me to be alive and joyous ".

National Girls & Women in Sports Day

2011-02-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my best friend and Olympic Javelin thrower, Kara Patterson, and I attended National Girls and Woman in Sports Day at San Diego State University and spoke to 150 Girl Scouts about how we got into our sport and why we love competing.

I love talking to the Girl Scout not only because they give me cookies but I love to see their faces light up when I tell them about throwing the hammer and why I love to spin in circles.

Here is a link to the photo gallery: http://www.teamusa.org/multimedia/photo_gallery/2151.

Thanks again to Janet for taking the awesome photos and to Jodi for inviting us to inspire young athletes of tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I am, it is REST WEEK for me:)

Brit

Winter Training at its best!

2011-01-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

4 kilo

This past month has been pretty much the same routine:

eat, train and sleep.

Winter training can get pretty monotonous without any immediate track meets to look forward to. No need to worry, because I always find joy in a new training cycle. A new hammer program, new weight room program and lots of other little changes break up the monotony of my day to day training.

Some of you are wondering if I will be throwing the weight indoors this year and the answer is HELL NO. :)

The weight and I parted ways after my college years. It is not that we have a bad relationship, it is just that I do not like to compete with it anymore. My back is very happy with that choice.

Besides the new training cycles, I also look forward heading up north to my second home, Eugene OR to see my second family. I have been up here for the last few days and training has been going great. I have picked up a few new cues to take back to the OTC and perfect. The video above is from yesterday, that's me throwing the 4kilo hammer. Not a bad toss for this time of the year, just a few things to tweak.

Hope everyone is having a great winter. I do have to say that I feel sorry for the people on the east coast or anyone not living in San Diego. While everyone is either dealing with freezing temperatures or snow, we are dealing with sunny and 75. :)

Enjoy,

Brit

"Perfection is not just about control. It's also about letting go."

Video of Elite Hammer Throwers at Mt. SAC Relays 2010

2010-12-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

MT SAC Relays 2010 from Andrei Booriakin on Vimeo.

If you just so happened to be around the hammer ring during the 2010 Mt. SAC Relays, you might have seen a bunch of people running around with cameras, well that was my media team, The Britney Henry Project! It was their first time at an actually hammer meet and they were VERRRYYY excited. :) After countless hours behind the computers editing, the masterpiece is ready to view.

Read my account of the day here.

Thanks again to my media team, especially Andrei and Mark!

About the Video >>

The Britney Henry Project photographers and film makers were granted Press Credentials to cover the Mt SAC Relays and to film Elite Athlete Britney Henry in competition. We created this video to promote Britney Henry and her dream of becoming an Olympian in 2012

Film maker Andrei Booriakin filmed and edited "Mt SAC Relays 2010" as his first installment of a high definition video series for The Britney Henry Project. This video was filmed with a Canon 5D MK2, and Canon 7D and edited it on an 8 core Mac Pro with Final Cut Pro, Motion and other software. Andrei currently works as the Senior Manager, Art Development at Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Mark Matcho, illustrator and musician extraordinaire, wrote, performed and produced the original score for this video, entitled Mountain III. His private recording studio is located deep in a cave somewhere in Pasadena, California.

Enjoy and comment at will!

Britney

Give Back for the Holidays :)

2010-12-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

The view of the beach from our hotel

At the beginning of the month, I flew to Virginia Beach for the USATF Annual Meeting. I wasn't too sure how the meetings were going to go. I held out hope and I was pleasantly surprised. The annual meeting was great! Now, I could probably type up a novel about what happened at the meetings, but I will give you a shortened version to save time. There was lots of talk about funding, lots of talk about the new CEO, and lots of talk about change within USATF. I hope that all their promises materialize and that there will be beneficial change for the athletes within USATF.

Besides lots of meetings, I got to fit in some extra "give back" work. On Thursday, my BFF, Kara Patterson and I, along with Allyson Felix and David Oliver volunteered to speak to a huge group of kids with the "Win with Integrity Program". I loved it as always, and I am always amazed by their questions. The most common is, “Do you ever want to quit?” I am sure you can guess what the answer is. :)

Myself, Kara, David and Allyson

I was very happy the USATF takes into account that the athletes still have to train while at these meeting. There was an awesome boxing gym right across the street from the convention center. After the meetings, we could head right over to the gym for a seriously fun workout.

The last night of the meetings was the Jesse Owens Award Banquet. It was amazing. Congratulation to David Oliver and Allison Felix for being Athletes of the Year. The food was amazing and the company was even better.

The Banquet

I flew home on Sunday and was right back into training and more volunteer work on Monday. I really enjoyed helping out at the Al Joyner Celebrity Golf Tournament. It was great to meet all the people who came out to support Al Joyner and his track club. It was also pretty awesome to drive around the course making sure everything was in place.

The next day, more volunteer work. I was off to Target for the Junior Seau’s Shop with a Jock event. Athletes from all over San Diego came out and shopped with kids from all around the city. I was paired up with a little boy that made sure his brothers and sister would have a gift under the tree. It was great to watch the kids eyes light up as they walked around the store without a worry on their mind.

The kids getting their energy out before we shop!

The rest of the week was filled with training and meeting with Mike and Allen from SHOOTmedia. They are great guys and I look forward to what they have in store for me. I guess you can call them my “media agents”.

With Christmas right around the corner, I have been helping my Grandmother get the house ready, wrap all the gifts up, shop for more gifts, bake some cookies, shop for last minutes gifts and then head to the post office to ship them all off. (Note to all: Use the POST OFFICE if you are shipping to Alaska or Hawaii) - learned that the hard way.

Training has been going great. I am getting stronger in the weight room, my body is getting used to some new cues in the ring and my body is almost keeping up with me. I hurt my wing last week while benching, but it should only take few weeks to heal. In the end, it will be better than ever :)

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year!

~ Britney

Rally for Girls' Sports Day!

2010-12-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

I thought long and hard about why I am an athlete. Besides loving to spin in circles and throw my hammer far, sports has made me who I am today. Sports has given me an opportunity to showcase my skills on a grand stage, taught me the value of being a great person, and reminds me that nothing beats hard work.

When I first started throwing the hammer in high school, I never dreamed that I would be traveling all over the world to throw against some of the best. The hammer has allowed me to travel the world, see cities that I only saw in books and to meet life long friends. Throwing my hammer on the grand stage has not only alleviated my stage-fright, but has taught me some strong values that I will never lose.

Dedication, hard-work and integrity are the three values that grow with me as the years go by. I would have left this event years ago if I did not truly believe that I will be standing on the podium one day. I love this sport with all my heart. The dedication that I have to my sport, and my event, will carry me to that stage. To achieve my goals I have to put the time and effort into my training everyday. I know that if I put the work it, with all my strength, I will throw my hammer farther then I could ever imagine.

To train and compete without integrity, is not only a disgrace to yourself and those around you, but to your sport. There are no shortcuts in sports, and if you try to take them, the journey that you had hoped for, will only turn into wasted dreams. Always remember that nothing beats dedication, hard-work and integrity.

Being a women in sports is nothing to be timid about. I throw with the big guys, lift with the big guys and compete with the big guys all the time. The strength of every women athlete that has been part of my sport carries me to my goals and dreams.

Britney

Finally, a new blog!

2010-11-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

Britney Henry - Training Season. 2010

I just finished my first training cycle of the year...phew. Dan Pfaff writes my workout routines and he has a very clever way of making my workouts appear short and easy - my body begs to differ.

By the end of week 3, my body was starting to feel a little over trained. I started my rest week a day early.

There are many ways to tell if your body is over trained, not being able to sleep, no appetite, with little pains starting up. If you feel these symptoms, they point to you being over trained. Not be able to sleep is a big one for me. I NEED my sleep, if not, I am not a very pleasant person to be around. So, if you feel like you are on the verge of being over trained, STOP. It is not going to kill you or your workout, it will only make things worse.

Otherwise, my body is holding up great and I am very happy with my progress so far. I head into my 2nd cycle this Monday. My workout looks simple, but is very technical. I look forwards to the promised gains in strength and size.

The first weekend of this month, I flew up to Vegas for the USATF Throws Summit. I would like to say, thank you USATF for having the summit in Vegas. The summit was well organized and I felt like we got a lot accomplished this year.

The Throws Summit consists of voicing our concerns, bio-mechanics of the throws, talking with the nutritionist, and a little talk with the sports psychologist. Whenever there is a summit, the issues of funding, development within our events, rules, and medical, all come up and we, the athletes, want answers. This summit is where we voice our concerns, and the Annual Meeting in December is where we try to get them answered. Overall the summit was great. I got to catch up with some of the other throwers and take in the sights of Las Vegas.

The second weekend on this month, I headed up to Eugene to see Coach Deal. The weather might not have been San Diego perfect, but the training was awesome. I am starting to figure some positions out. In my mind, I've always had a picture of what I want to look like when I throw. Recently, I figured out, my picture wasn't exactly correct. This was revealed by Coach Deal's cool training tool.. a mirror! Looking into the mirror, with him telling me what position to be in, really helped me out. I am a HUGE visual learner and mirror has been great. I now have a clearer picture of how I want to look in the ring.

This past weekend, the girls from the Olympic Training Center threw a little Bachelorette Party for Becky Briesch. She is getting married in January and we all felt that she need a party. We all had a blast and look forward to the next Bachelorette party... who’s next???

This weekend has been pretty relaxing. I spent the time with my family around the dining room table, with a huge turkey on it, watched some football while enjoying some salmon. I even typed up a new resume and searched for a new job.

Hanging out and relaxing is great, but I always miss my hammer ring. I look forward to the next training cycle and polishing my hammer pictures.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with your family and friends.

~ Britney

“Can't never did anything, but crawl under a bridge and die.” Lance Deal

Rest and Relaxation is coming to an end...

2010-10-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Rest and Relaxation~

“Rest and Relaxation” has been my daily motto for the past 7 weeks! I have had no plans, came and went as I pleased and enjoyed spending some quality time with friends and family. Next week, I will be back to the daily grind of making my dreams come true. First stop Korea!

Two weekends ago, I headed home to spend my birthday weekend with my parents, and I was invited by Liz Wardsworth to host a hammer clinic in my hometown of Spokane, Washington.

I met Liz at the Prefontaine Classic a few months ago. She asked me if I would come out and watch a few of her young hammer throwers. Of course, I said yes, and let her know that I would be coming to town for my birthday. As the time grew closer, so did the amount of kids, parents and coaches attending.

I started to feel nervous about talking in front of a crowd and what I was going to say. Luckily, I was prepared. A couple months ago, I was thinking about meeting with a few kids, so I put together a tutorial packet about basic hammer technique, training and diet. This was the lifesaver. When I get nervous, I tend to forget what I am suppose to do. During a meet, I keep a note card to stay focused. For this Hammer clinic, I had my hammer packet.

The weather on day of the clinic was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. The clinic went just as perfect! After introducing myself, drills, more drills and last but not least drills, the kids had a hammer meet. They all did great and I look forward to hearing about all their successful seasons. Overall, there was 16 kids and just as many parents and coaches that showed up. To top off the clinic, they brought me a cake for my birthday and sang me "Happy Birthday".

The next generation~

I had an amazing time and I have to thank the throwers, parents and coaches! The throwers were amazing and listened to everything that I said and tried their hardest. The parents, for giving up their Sunday to bring their kids to a little clinic out at Eastern Washington University and to the coaches that are keeping the hammer flame alive in Spokane.

Thank you for the awesome 'Thank you' card~

After the clinic, my parents and I headed over to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho for dinner and to watch the rest of the Sunday football games.

Lake Coeur d' Alene~

It is always great to go home and spend time with my parents. I do not get to see them a lot during the year because I am either training or working.

After that quick trip to Spokane, I headed back to San Deattle! The weather has been crazy in San Diego, rainy and cloudy. It is a nice change, but I am starting to miss the sun and wish it would come back.

Training starts back up next week and there are a few changes for next years training. One, I will dressed in awesome Under Armour Swag, and two, I will for the first time since my LSU years be giving an honest effort to add some mass to my body.

Thank you Under Armour~

I look forward to what this year has in store! I never know what quite to think about the year until I step into the hammer ring for the first time. But I have a funny feeling, it is going to be like the rest, pure joy!

Hope everyone has had an amazing summer! Enjoy winter training and I will let you guys know how sore I am after the first week of my training.

Britney

“Believe with all your heart”

Thank you- For another great season in the books!

2010-09-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

Where I wish I was spending my rest time~

It is that time of the year....REST TIME

I get about 6-8 weeks off from training before the quest for Korea starts up. I will mostly use my rest time to work for the Padre's at Petco Park and visit family. I will still be active, just nothing too intense.

This is also a time to look back on my season and evaluate. Overall, I am very happy with how the season panned out. I threw a personal record, placed my highest finish ever at USA Nationals and moved up on the world ranking list. :)

USA Nationals~

I must also give thanks to those who have made my season a huge success!

I must start off the Thank You’s with my coaches, Lance Deal and Dan Pfaff. You both have showed me what it means to believe in myself. You may not know it, but every time that you both believe in me, I believe in myself that much more. You have both given me the tools to be The Captain of My Ship. I can't wait to see what next year brings. :)

Next, I must thank my family and friends. It feels great to be back home. Being back in San Diego has brought some normalcy back to my life, after a summer competing in Europe. At the end of the day, when I leave my training at the OTC, I finally get to go home to my family. You have all believed in me since the first day I started throwing the hammer. My dreams are all your wishes and hopes. Your support will be the greatest gift that you could ever give me, and I thank you all.

Thanks to all my track buddies that I train with at the Olympic Training Center. Kara Patterson, Becky Berisch, Jarred Rome, Russ Winger, Sean Furey , Mike Hazle, Becky Holliday, Brad Walker, Yoo Kim, Akiba Mckinney and Ty Sevin. You are all amazing and I look forward to each day I get to drive 25 minutes to train and see you guys. It is always nice to have someone to talk to on the throwing field and someone to keep my mind off the next set in the weight room. You are all amazing at your events and I can't wait to see how far you will all throw/jump next year.

Thank You to Tracy Lamb/USOC/USATF. Thank you for allowing me to train at the Olympic Training Center. You have provided everything that I could ever ask for in a training center. The welcoming environment at the center would have never happened if it wasn't for you, Tracy... thanks for believing in me!

The OTC~

Thank you to the OTC training room staff, Nancy Deal-Whitacre and Alicia Lamb. My body can not thank you guys enough!

Thank you to Ross Flowers. You will never know how much you need a sport psychologist until you start talking to one. You help me keep my mind going down the right path and not stopping to look at the butterflies. :)

Rita Somerlot and Connie Price-Smith, thank you for all the work you put into keeping up with the throwers. You do a great job!

To my fans on Facebook. Thank you for all the words of encouragement through the year. It is always nice to read them before I head out to the ring.

To my “Media Team”. You are all amazing at your jobs and I am thankful that you guys take time out of your day to help me. I appreciate all the work that you have all put into the BHP and I can't wait to see where it goes.

I am sure that I have forgot a few people that have helped me through the season. Please know that anyone who has put a smile on my face during the year or has given me advice, I truly appreciate it.

Enjoy the last few months of summer and keep smiling :)

Britney

“ I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul “

Last chapter to the 2010 season!

2010-09-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

Britney Henry

The last chapter has finally been written and my body can't thank me enough.

My mind would love another shot at throwing the hammer this season, but the story must end.

The past two weekends I competed in two small club meets here in Great Britain. The first in Mansfield and the second in Hull.

The meet in Mansfield was a pretty poor showing on my part. Going into the meet my body was not really feeling like throwing. To make matters worse, the wind was relentless, which made it pretty cold. I could not keep warm.

I figured if I took some Excedrin all would be better... not the case. The caffeine hit me and I was ready to go, but not in a good way! I was shaky/shivering from the caffeine and the cold. The combination of the two made throwing pretty difficult. To add to the situation, the ring was the slowest I have every thrown from in my life. Slow rings are not my favorite. I ended the competition with my shortest throw of the season, but happy to get out of the cold and come off my caffeine jitters.

Yesterday I competed in Hull, my last meet of the 2010 season. The week prior to the meet, my practices had been going great. My throw/technique was making a last minute appearance! I was finally starting to feel what coach has wanted me to feel since the meet in Tucson...heel on 3 and 4. The hammers were not flying too far, but I figured a meet would take care of the distance.

Needless to say, yesterday was better than Mansfield, but I did not come close to my goal that I had set out for myself distance wise. I threw 66.00 meters/216 ft. Better, but still not what I wanted. My technique was there on most the throws, but the power factor was not. My goal while I was competing in Europe was to throw what it would take to make finals at the World Championships and the Olympics. I came close, but not close enough.

I end the season looking forward to the next. I may not have thrown the distance that I wanted, but I have ended the year where I want to be technically.

Overall, Great Britain has been great to me. Both Jean and Shaun Pickering have opened up their homes to me and I am very thankful for their hospitality. Lee Valley and Loughborough have also been kind enough to train at their amazing facilities. I would also like to thank everyone that helped run the club meets that I threw in...Throwsfest, Bedford, Mansfield and Hull. You all did an amazing job and I cannot thank you enough.

Amsterdam is next on my list and I head over there today. I am looking forward to the sights and exploring a new town.

Hope everyone enjoyed the little Q & A I had with the USATF Foundation. They are all amazing people and I cannot thank them enough for all the support they have given me.

Until next time...

USATF Foundation Q&A

2010-09-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Follow this link: http://www.usatffoundation.org/elite/britneyhenry_q_a.asp to read some questions and answers about myself and my love for the hammer throw! Enjoy:)

Bedford~

2010-08-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

Bedford Stadium~

I will keep this post short and sweet, just like the meet.

The 2010 Bedford International Games (BIG 2010) was held in Bedford, Great Britain, a little city about 45 minutes away from where I am staying with Jean Pickering (Shaun’s amazing mother). After a quick drive out to the Bedford International Athletics Stadium, and a nice long warm-up, I was ready for the hammer competition to start.

Going into the BIG 2010, my body felt a ton better. My body had finally adapted to the time change and I was pretty clear on my cues in the ring. As we were called to the Call Room, it looked like the meet was going to be a little shorter than normal, with only myself and two others competing. I was alright with that, because I knew that as long as I stuck to my cues, the hammer was going to fly.

On my first throw the hammer flew out to 68.83 meters/225.6 feet, that put a smile on my face.

I knew that I had more in me, so I kept at it, trying to get the hammer to fly further. I had a pretty consistent series but no throws further than the first. After the meet, I was really happy with how it went, I stuck to my cues and I threw a Euro PR (my furthest throw in Europe).

My goal is to throw as close as I can to my PR while I am in Europe. I believe that I have it in me. I just have to find some meets to do it. I was really close at the BIG 2010, I just have to clean up my fourth turn a little more. I hope to get into a meet on August 24th in France, a meet in Italy on the 29th, and the last, on September 7th, in Poland.

After the meet, I sat and listened to Vėstetinn Hefsteinsson talk about the discus throw, and about the career of one of the best discus throwers in the world, Gerd Kanter. Don Babbitt spoke after Vėstetinn about specific training in the shot put. It is great to hear about the other events and how they are developed through training.

Jean's beautiful backyard~

The day was pretty long but I did not mind, it just ment that I could sleep longer. Today has been a rest day for me, filled with laying in the sun, watching movies and working on a new blog series - where I am going to talk about a great girl that I met at a BHP bbq!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Brit

PS. Be sure to check out my fan page on Facebook, it has a ton of pictures from my travel thus far :)

Quick update on the past two meets!

2010-08-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Welwyn, GB :)

I am crossing my fingers but I think that my body has finally adjusted to the time change!!! YAY!!!

Like I said in my last blog, jet lag is difficult! You never know how your body is going to react, at least I have yet to figure it out.

McCain Throwsfest~

My first hammer meet was this past Sunday, at the McCain UK Throwsfest. It was a small affair but a great start to my European tour.

I ended up throwing 65.97m (216.4ft) and was pretty consistent around the 65 meter mark. My body felt pretty good, just a little tight from the plane ride.

Out and about in Gothenburg, Sweden~

The next morning I was off to Sweden for the Gothenburg Grand Prix.

The Gothenburg Grand Prix was a little larger in scale and had a few more hammer throwers in the mix. I arrived to the hotel around midnight and quickly hit the hay. On the way in, I could tell that Sweden was a beautiful country. I could see the outline of trees and the reflection of the lakes. I woke up in the morning to the surprise that I was in the middle of the city, with no trees and no lake in sight, I was surrounded by buildings!

After breakfast and a quick chat with some of my fellow track friends, I was off to explore the city and try to find the beauty I thought I had found on my way in. The city was beautiful in its own right. There were little parks all around, beautiful churches, and the buildings were so unique compared to the buildings in America. During my exploration of the city, I found a little turf field where I did a quick little warm up to get the blood flowing in the body.

The Church right outside the hotel~

After lunch and a “quick” nap (more like 2 hours), it was time to head to the track.

Sometimes I do not pay full attention to important details, like shuttle times. The shuttles were on a rolling schedule with no set times between 4pm and 6pm. Since the hammer started at 8pm, I figured that I would head over to the track at 6:30pm. I failed to realize that the shuttles stopped at 8pm. I assumed that they were going until at least the middle of the meet since the last race was at 9:30ish. Like I said before, I did not pay attention to the details but lucky enough there was a shuttle driver that had to come back to the hotel to pick something up. He saw me standing outside the hotel looking lost, and let me know that the last shuttle was at 8pm. He ended up giving me a ride to the track. But not after letting me know over and over again that the shuttle stopped at 8pm, and that it said so on the meet info sheet. I tried to explain to him that I mis-understood the details, but he was not having it.

I got to the track I only to remember I left my phone back at the hotel. My phone acts as my watch and now I had no idea what time it was. Luckily there were clocks all around. I watched Becky Breisch throw a few throws in the discus, then it was off to warm-up for the hammer competition.

Going into the meet my body felt pretty good. I figured that I had enough explosiveness to get through the meet, but I was wrong. My warm-up throws felt great. All my throws during the competition felt amazing. But I could not for the life of me put power on the ball.

I ended up throwing 65.77m( 215.7ft) and placing 2nd.

I was a little pissed after the meet because I could not get the hammer to flying. I then realized that it was my third day in Europe, and my body hit the dreaded “3rd-day-jet-lag-fatigue” - that is what my coach calls it, anyway. I called coach that night and let him know what had happened, he assured me that I will be fine and that the next meet will be great!

Lee Valley Athletics Centre~

So, now I am waiting until Sunday for my next meeting in Bedford, UK.

Today I am going to have a quick little practice out at Lee Valley where my coach, Dan Pfaff, coaches.

Tomorrow I plan on heading into London to do some sightseeing and hopeful meet up with some more track buddies. The London Diamond League Meet is happening this weekend, Friday and Saturday! I hope to get a ticket but my chances are looking a little slim. BBC will be televising the track meet so if all else fails, I can watch it on TV.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Britney

Welwyn, GB...First Stop on the tour!

2010-08-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

Welwyn, GB

In part, I write this blog to let you all know my happening from the last month, and in part to stay awake! Jet lag is a tricky feeling, and sometimes hard to predict, but I will conquer!

I am finally in EUROPE! :)

This past month has been entirely focused on competing in Europe. I've been tuning up a few positions in my hammer throw. My coach, Lance Deal and his wife Nancy took a little vacation to San Diego. Not only to enjoy the city, but so Lance could watch me throw before my trip. It was great to finally show coach and his wife what I do day to day, both in my training and in my personal life. Throwing with Lance Deal at The Olympic Training Center was great. He gave me a few new position and cues to think about. It was long over due, I was getting a little tried of practicing the old cues. After working on few drills and a new starting position in the ring, the feeling of keeping my heel on the ground became little more familiar to my body.

Thursday and Friday were training days, but Saturday was a day to enjoy the town! We first stopped by a little breakfast place in the Gaslamp. Stuffed French Toast is the dish they are known for, but I opted for the Monte Cristo - a ham and swiss sandwich, deep fried and topped with powered sugar. It sounds not too appetizing, but it was delicious. After the amazing breakfast, we walked around the Gaslamp and onto Harbor Drive. We explored Sea Port Villagea bit and were drawn towards the U.S.S. Midway, a gigantic WWII era Aircraft Carrier.

U.S.S. Midway

Pictures of the USS Midway do no justice to how big it really is. Coach had always wanted to explore the ship. Since we had a few hours to kill before their flight took off, we got in line to see the USS Midway. I never really thought about what was on an aircraft carrier, but it is basically a city on the sea. It was great to hear all the stories in each area of the ship. From the bunk rooms, to the brig, to the engine room and to the ready room; each story was unique and very informative! I learned that the U.S.S. Midway was the ship that my Grandfather came home on after the war!

After the quick trip around the ship and up to the flight deck, it was time for coach and his wife to fly on the big bird back to Eugene.

This past week I spent most of the time preparing for my trip. Throwing went well with all my positions holding up in the ring. I backed off a little on my lifting, giving my body a little recovery time before my trip. I knew my body would be pretty stressed from traveling, and stressing it out even more by lifting heavy and going full boar would not equal throwing my farthest!

I arrived to London yesterday morning, after a night filled with packing and asking myself if I really needed “all this stuff”. I flew from San Diego to Washington Dullas. After a quick layover, I was off to London! I tried with all my might to sleep on the plane. I slept for a few hours but I could never get comfortable. Also, it was not helpful that the lady in front of me thought that she needed all three lights on while she read her book. ;)

After landing in London's Heathrow airport, I met up with Reese Hoffa, Shaun Pickering and Coach Don Babbitt. Reese and I had a few minutes to kill before Shaun and Don landed, so he put a few movies on my computer. I tried to figure out how to do it before I left, but I am not too computer savvy. Now, I know I need to download a converter. Thank you, Reese.

Once Shaun and Don arrived, we were off to the local track for a shot put demonstration by Reese and Don. It was great to see all the people out at the shot ring learning from one of the best.

I headed home to Shaun’s mum's house in Welwyn, right as the rain showers started. Shaun’s mum has been gracious enough to let me stay at her house this week.

Eventually I will be staying with Shaun in Loughborough, GB. I will be training in Loughborough because it is one of the few places I could find to throw my hammer to train. It is a little hard to find a “hammer friendly” place in Europe. Since Futbol is the nations past time, hammer holes do not make for happy ankles. I can guess I can understand their point. :)

Today, I will be throwing in the McCain UK Challenge Throwfest at Barnet Copthall, and tomorrow, I leave for a meet in Sweden.

I plan to do a little walking around before I head to the track. Shaun’s mum's house is a little north of London, in Welwyn. The town is full by gardens and little pubs and I can not wait to explore. I will post pictures on Facebook, as I take them!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

Britney

Summer fun...just enough to feel like a “normal” person! : )

2010-07-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

By Brent Haywood ~

Ahh, rest and recovery. Just what my body needed.

After the last meet, I was a little hesitant on taking a WHOLE week off. I had just started to really feel the new position I had been working on, and I wanted to get back into the ring and keep hammering at it . : ) But once again, my coaches were right, my body needed the rest and recovery.

Recovery week consisted of time in the sauna, massage, hot tub and lots of stretching. I worked enough to keep my body from going stir crazy at the house. I also did some much needed cleaning and organizing of my room.

Out to see La Roux with friends and family :)

To add to my productive week, I ﬁnally ﬁgured out when and where I will be staying in Europe. I am going over to Europe on August 6th and will be back home on September 11th. I will be staying in Loughborough, UK with Shaun Pickering. He has been gracious enough to let me stay at his place and train at the training center near by. I am super excited to get to the UK. I love new adventures and I am super excited to compete internationally!

I have 2 hammer meets lined up in Europe, and I am waiting to hear back on a few others. Hans Uurick has been a great help talking to the meet directors for me.

Now some of you may be asking “ Why are you going to Europe?”. Well here is the shortest answer I can give. First, I am not ready to stop competing yet! I feel that I have a few more positions to ﬁgure out in the ring this year. Secondly, competing in Europe adds a whole new element to my throwing ability. I have to learn how to adapt! I need to learn how to throw far with no sleep, little food and compete in other types of track venues. I am not saying that I will experience all of these problems at the same time, but I look forward to overcoming any obstacles I may encounter. Being able to adapt to these situations will only add to my “tool belt”, and make me stronger as a thrower. Lastly, I get to see the WORLD. One of the best parts about being a professional athlete is that I get to travel the world. I get to see how the rest of the world lives. I get to eat different food, shop in new stores and see the sights. Now, I am not sure how much I will be able to do of this, but I will try to do as much as I can. I am over there to compete and kick some tail, but I also need some fun time, too.

Until I leave for the other side of the pond, I will be training and working.

This was my ﬁrst week back and my body feels great. At this point of the season, everything is about quality and not quantity. I am making 20 throws a day. I am lifting twice a week and other than that, I am just staying in shape.

My main focus right now is what I am doing in the ring. I am ﬁguring out what cue will trigger the right position. My coach and his wife will be coming down at the end of the month for a mini- vacation. Lance will also be able to watch me throw before I head off to Europe! I am super excited about that! He has yet to come down and see where I train.

Chloe Rose McCarthy!

Outside of of my sport, life has been pretty simple. Today was a great day for our family. My cousin Shawna had a little girl today! Chole Rose McCarthy! Everyone in the family is super excited and we all look forward to babysitting duties. : )

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Anybody doing anything fun? Any trips planned? Road trip? Enjoy all the adventures that you all may par-take in! Donʼt forget to stop and smell the roses:)

Until next time,

Brit

Prefontaine Classic was pretty classic!

2010-07-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

Wish I didn't look cross eyed :)

There are not enough words to describe the Prefontaine Classic.

The enthusiasm the crowd possessed for each event made the stadium feel like it was on fire.

A big thanks to all the fans who were able to attend one of the best tracks and for hosting the women's hammer. : )

I arrived to Eugene, Oregon to compete in the 2010 Prefontaine Classic on the July 1st with my best buddy Kara Patterson. It is always fun to travel with someone you know, because then you have someone to wonder around the airport with, and you always have an eating buddy! We took advance of the delicious choices that the San Francisco airport had to offer. Kara ordered the clam chowder bowl from San Francisco Soup Company and I ordered one of my favorite sandwiches from Boudins- turkey and avocado!

We arrived to the Valley River Inn and it immediately felt like an international track meet. Athletes from all over the world were everywhere we walked. The Prefontaine Classic is part of the Diamond League series. That means the meet features some of the best athletes in the events that are being contested. The Women's hammer was no different. We had some of the best hammer throwers in the world; Betty Heidler from Germany, Tatyana Lysenko from Russia and Sultana Frizell from Canada. Amber Campbell, Jessica Cosby and Loree Smith were competing also for USA, so it made for a great competition.

After packet pick-up and a quick change into practice clothes, Kara and I were off to the track. I had a few throws with coach, and Kara had to practice her skills on beating the Prince of Persia game:) Practice felt awesome! My left heel felt like it was working and the hammers were flying. After a short throws session, it was off Lance’s house for some yummy dinner.

Friday, I awoke to rainy skies. I usually prefer to wake up to sunny skies, but I also understand that my body does not like the pollen in Eugene. I hoped that the rain would knock down some of the pollen from the air and my allergies wouldn't bother me too much on Saturday.

I had a little shake out to do at the track and a quick massage back at the hotel. My parents and grandmother also arrived! I am always excited when my family is able to make it to my track meets. It is always nice to hear their cheers from the stands. After dinner at the hotel, we headed down to 6th Street Bar and Grill for some tasty beverages. We told some fun family stories and has many laughs, then it was back to the hotel for a restful night sleep.

Saturday morning finally arrived! I could not wait until I could get to the track. After a great practice on Thursday, I felt confident in what I needed to do in the ring; keep the left heel on the ground. My warm-up throws felt great. I felt like I had lots of energy going into the hammer and my heel felt like it was working. As we lined up for introductions I looked out into the crowd and was amazed at how many people came to watch the hammer. Not only were there fans seated around the hammer ring, fans were lined up outside the hammer areas and the fans in the stands were watching as well. After the meet, coach told me he thought there were about 2,000 people watching the hammer!

View from the East Grandstand~

Once the meet started, I was ready to go. I felt like this was the day that I was finally going to get this whole heel thing figured out. My first 3 throws were average - 67 ish on my first throw, then two fouls. Going into my 4th throw I knew that I was going down the right road and I just had to keep trying. I threw 68.94 meter/ 226.1 feet but it felt like it went a mile. It was my best throw of the meet and put me into 5th place. My 5th and 6th were close, but the left heel was still slipping.

After the meet I was a little frustrated. Sometimes no matter how focused and confident I am in my cues, my body something does wants it wants to. I knew that I could keep my heel down, since I did it on Thursday. But, I also had to remember that I had just started to feel it, and that it takes a little while before I can do it at meet speed.

After a few tears, I was back to being excited, because I threw the farthest I had ever thrown at the Prefontaine and it was my highest finish!

The hammer meet was pretty exciting, Tatyana threw the farthest throw on American soil and Betty Heidler was not far behind. The rest of the meet was the same story. Meet records were being broken, world fastest times were ran, and farther throws were recorded.

Kara did an amazing job in the javelin, throwing 65.90, beating the Olympic Champion and World Record Holder Barbora Špotáková.

The fans did a great job cheering for everybody and putting that Hayward energy into the air!

Javelin and shot put warm ups~

After a great meet it was off to the post-meet dinner at the hotel. It was an amazing dinner and it was great to chat with everyone. The rest of the night I hung out with my family and enjoyed family time.

Sunday, it was back to San Diego and away from the allergies. : ) After I landed, I drove over to some friends house for a great 4th of July BBQ and fireworks! Thanks Graham and Dawn, the food was amazing!

This week is going to be filled with rest and recovery. My body deserves it. I have had a great season thus far and I can't wait to see what is next. My plan is to head over to Europe in mid-August for some more hammer meets. Until then I will be working on feeling my left heel on the ground, every throw, with speed!

Hope you all had a great 4th! Have a great week :)

Brit

Recap of Nationals!

2010-06-29T16:55:00.001-07:00

Photo: Bill Frakes and Laura Heald/SI

Once again, I come to you all from an airport. This time I am delayed in Chicago. Just like San Fran, if you fly into Chicago, expect to be delayed. The delays are almost always weather related and today is no different! I have to admit the Chicago airport is not too bad. There is a huge skeleton of a dinosaur and the food choices are not too bad.

The dinosaur :)

USA Nationals wrapped up today with some great performances. Kara Patterson is a super star, breaking the American Record in the women's javelin is no small feat, but she sure made it look easy.

All the throwers from the training center did a great job! I am so happy to train with you all everyday. Thank you to Becky Breisch (1st in Discus), Jarred Rome (3rd in Discus), Russ Winger (4th in Discus and 6th in shot), Ian Waltz (6th in Discus), Sean Furey (1st in Javelin) and Mike Hazle (2nd in Javelin) for being great training partners, even if it is a quick "hey" on the field or someone to talk to in the weight room!

Des Monies, Iowa did a great job hosting the USA Championships. The weather was a little hot for me and the crowd, though. The crowd for the hammer was not bad, but in the stadium it was dead. My vote is to have Nationals in Eugene, Oregon all the time. I may be a little bit biased because I am alumni, but Eugene has a great track, great throwing fields and fans that are there rain or shine!

I competed in the hammer throw on Saturday. Looking back and being removed a few days from the meet, I am pretty happy with myself.

I placed 3rd with a throw of 69.57m(228.3ft).

I was pretty mad at myself after the meet. As you all know, I go into every meet with cues and I always expect myself to execute them all. Well, I did 2 of the cues pretty well, but I could not get the 3rd cue right. I know in the back of my mind and coach does too, that if I could keep my heel down on my 3rd turn, the hammer is going to fly! With that said, the 2010 USA Championship meet was a little struggle for me. My first 3 throws were not the greatest, my mind was wandering and my speed wasn't there. Going into the finals, coach told me “ It is a whole new meet, now get after it!” and that is what I did.

My 4th throw was my furthest, 69.57 meters. My 5th and 6th throw were really close, but not quite. At the end of the day, the top 3 make the team and that is what I did. There is no Olympic team this year, but one day it will count and I will be wearing the red, white and blue!

After the meet, a bunch for the throwers meet up at Court Avenue Brewery! It is always great to mingle with the throwers after the meet. There were plenty of stories to be told and more laughing than I could take. Afterwards, it was off to bed for the flight home. I was so happy to get out of the hot, humid air and back to the mild and sunny weather in San Diego.

Adriane Blewitt, Amber Campbell, Britney Henry and Kara Patterson :)

My next meet is going to be the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene! Back to my home track and competing against the best hammer throwers in the world. My family will be there and I am so happy that they get to come. The Prefontaine Classic will be televised on NBC from 4:30pm until 6pm this Saturday. I hope they show a few throws of the hammer, but I am guessing they will just show the results. I am also excited for Pre, because now I only have one cue to think about.

: )

I am not sure what my summer plans are yet. I hope to get over to Europe for a few meets, but I am still trying to find some more meets, so if you know of any let me know. :)

Have a great week!

Brit

Almost SHOWTIME!

2010-06-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Drake Stadium!

Since I have a 2 hour layover in the beautiful Denver airport, I thought I would give you guys/gals a quick update on how everything is going.

My smile grows bigger and bigger the closer I get to Iowa and the 2010 National Championship. : ) I am very happy with how my hammer training is going and where my mind is at. Training has never been a problem for me. I go into the ring everyday and execute the given cues.

Now, on the other hand, I am a pretty emotional thrower, I will admit it. When I first started throwing the hammer, I would cry after one bad warm-up throw! The next year, I cried after every meet, good or bad. Now, I may only tear up a little if I do really well. I think what snapped me out of my flood of tears, were a few little words from my friend Kathrin Klaas, "It takes too much energy to cry, and it takes away from your training." That really hit me and it is so true! Crying is wasted energy, and I need as much energy that I can get.

My emotions don't play as many games as they once did. This year is the first year that I truly believe in myself. It is weird for me to say, because I always thought that I did. I can't tell you the exact moment that it happened, but it feels great to finally believe in myself. That is a big reason why my mind can't mess with me anymore. I know what I have to do to throw far and I know that I can do it!

The National Championship's are here and I am ready. I throw on Saturday at 3:20 pm Central Time, in Des Moines, Iowa. The meet is going to be televised, and may highlight the hammer, if we are lucky!

Here is the schedule:

ESPN - June 25 - 8:00 - 10:00 pm
ESPN - June 26 - 1:00 - 2:30 pm
NBC - June 26 - 3:00 - 4:00 pm
ESPN - June 27 - 1:00 - 2:30 pm
NBC - June 27 - 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Other than getting ready for Nationals, I got my car back!!! I was right, I threw a rod through the block and through the pan - if you are going to break something, better do it good, right? The Padres are still kicking butt, and I happy that they are. It is great to come to work and see the ballpark full of Padre fans!

Best of luck to all my friends competing this weekend! I can't wait to see you all compete and kick butt!

Be sure to check out my Facebook Fan Page and Twitter because I will be posting updates and pictures!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Britney

Gearing up for Nationals:)

2010-06-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hayward and the awesome rainbow~

As I sit here in the San Francisco airport waiting for the fog to go away, I thought that this would be a great time to catch you all up on what is going on in my hammer life and life in general.

My hammer life has been pretty quiet. This season has been going great, with me throwing a bit farther each meet. My last meet was the California Relays. The meet was pretty short and sweet. Going into the meet, my body was still feeling the effects from the Tucson Elite. The week leading up to the California Relays, my body just felt like jello and wasn't as snappy as it usually is.

The day of the California Relays, my body ﬁnally felt like it was ready for six hard throws, but my tummy wasn't thinking the same. I sort of mistimed my food intake and was starving going into the meet. I thought I ate breakfast late enough to have a light snack before I threw. Well, that was not the case. Two granola bars were not enough and my tummy was rumbling the whole time. With that said, tummy rumbling and all, I ﬁgured I had enough energy for one good throw. My second throw was the best, 70.23 meters, and the rest of the meet went downhill from there. I was pretty happy with getting a throw out to 70 meters on an empty stomach.

After the meet, coach and I thought that it would be a good idea to go into Nationals as fresh as I can...meaning resting my body feeling as good as it can. So my next meet will be the USA National Championships in Des Monies, Iowa. I throw on the 25th, so I have about a weeks until I compete next.

This last week, I was Eugene, Oregon, with my coach, Lance Deal. This trip could not have come at a better time. Life in San Diego is kind of getting crazy, which it tends to do before Nationals.

Two weekends ago, I drove out to Parker, Arizona for a weekend of relaxing with my family. The river is a place I like to go to clear my head. I enjoy doing nothing but floating in the water and lying in the sun. Well, it almost turned out like that. I under-estimated the power of 110 degree heat. My body didn't handle it too well and I spent most of the time inside eating rice cakes and raisins.

I left on Sunday with my cousin's ﬁancee, Jill, to get back to San Diego. My ﬂight to Eugene was scheduled for Monday morning and Jill had to get back to work. 50 miles outside of San Diego, my car decided to blow up...literally. We heard a boom, smoke starting bellowing out from under the car and the oil was pouring out of the engine. Now, just to give you all a heads up. I am not a girly - girl who has no idea where the dip stick is. When I was little, I would sit right outside the garage door and watch my grandpa re-build engines. So, yes my car had oil in it, and no, it wasn't running hot. But, I do have to say it was stupid on my part to drive through the desert in the middle of the day. In the back of my mind I thought my car could handle it. Right now, my poor car at Bond’s Automotive waiting to get ﬁxed. I am not positive what happened, but I am pretty sure a rod broke and went through the block... AGH.

Needless to say, this past week in Eugene was a great way to clear the mind and figure out what to do with the car. I am lucky to have a great cousin who will help me ﬁgure out what is wrong with it... thanks Matt.

This past week was spent in Eugene tuning up my technique for Nationals. All went as planned and Operation Keeping Left Heel Down is starting to work. I felt some great positions in the throw and my body is starting to handle far throws now, without feeling like it was just run over by a truck.

Dan O'Brien, Ian Dobson myself and Chris Solinsky

Besides coming to see Lance and get some great coaching before Nationals, I also par took in other great activities while in Eugene. Thursday, I talked with some young trackster with the Win With Integrity Program. It is always great to talk to the youngest and let them know my story about how I got into the hammer throw. The Win With Integrity Program is aimed at letting kids know that drugs are not the answer to winning, hard work and the love for you sport is.

From the turf fields, looking at Hayward~

Friday. I was off to the Oregon Track and Field Reunion. I didn’t know too many people, but it was great to catch up with the people that I did know. NCAA National Championships were also in town this week, so it was great to watch some great performances. I posted a few pictures from around the University of Oregon and a few shots from the track meet. They are on my Facebook fan page, so be sure to check them out!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Happy Training :)

~ Britney

“The hay is in the barn.” - Lance Deal ... he always says this to me around this time of the year : )

Video of 71.27m throw at Tuscon Elite

2010-05-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tucson Elite- Finally learned how to defy gravity.

2010-05-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

The hammer sector~

The gravity forecast for the 2010 Tucson Elite was just how I liked it, heavy with a chance of lightness. Before I go any further, I have to give most of the credit to my coach, Lance Deal. He used to talk about gravity when he threw, and now I carry on the tradition. But in all realness, there is something special about the Tucson Elite. This is the 3rd year that I have thrown a personal best here. I can't put a ﬁnger on it, but I believe the something special is a combination of the thrower-only atmosphere, music in the background and a fast ring. Thank you Craig Carter and the rest of his crew for putting on another awesome throwers only meet.

This meet is structured differently than the other meets that I have thrown in this year. This meet is divided into two hammer rounds, a qualifying round on Thursday and a final round on Saturday. This structure mimics the World Championships and the Olympics and helps us throwers practice the format of the big meets.

I ﬂew into Tucson on Wednesday and was welcomed with the good ole dry heat. Once I got to the hotel, I did a little shake out and was ready for bed. My sleep would have been a little more slumber, if there wasn't a 2 year old staying above me. I am pretty sure that the kid is going to be a runner some day, because that is all she did-run from one end of the room to the other.

Thursday morning. After breakfast it was off to the track to get the blood ﬂowing and then back to the hotel to rest. I threw at 4 pm, so I have lots of time to kill. I am currently reading The Breaking Dawn- (I know, I know, and yes I am still Team Jacob!) At 2:45pm, it was off the the track for day #1 of the 2010 Tucson Elite. Once I got the the track, I took shelter from the sun under the giant tree next to the hammer ring. After a quick warm-up, it was time to get the show on the road. My ﬁrst throw was my farthest of the day 68.15m/223.5'. Not a bad day, but I wasn't as deliberate with my cues as I would have liked. I knew what I wanted to do, it just wasn't quite clicking. But that is what day #2 is for, right?

Friday was meeting day. We started off with getting the mind right. Jim Reardon, a sport psychologist was the guest speaker. I work with Dr. Ross Flowers, a sport psychologist at the Olympic Training Center, so I already have a routine for getting my mind focused before a meet. But, it was great to hear what he had to say.

The next meeting was with physicians from St. Vincent Hospital in Indy. USATF and St. Vincent Hospital have a partnership. If I ever need a place to go somewhere for physical therapy or anything that sort, I could go there for little to no cost. I loved all the stretches that they showed us. They are quick ans easy, and my body thanks me afterwords.

The next meeting was more of a group forum. Lots of questions were asked and lots of answers. Last but not least, was a meeting with the bio-mechanist for his analysis of my throwing form. This was the chance to see what I looked like throwing on Thursday. After watching the hi speed video, my thoughts were confirmed, I need to keep my left heel on the ground while I turn.

After a greats night rest...(thank you Fosters), it was Day #2 of the Tucson Elite.

My Saturday was pretty much the same as my Thursday. Light breakfast, shake out at the track, few chapters from my book and a quick nap. Once I got to the track my nerves were hitting me a little harder than Thursday. I knew in the back of my mind that if I kept my heel on the ground the hammer was going to ﬂy. My warm-up throws were ok, nothing special. I remember telling myself that today was going to be a building day, I was going to build upon every throw.

My ﬁrst 3 throws were around 67 meters, not bad...but not what I wanted. My heel was still sliding and I was starting my piss myself off. Going into my 4th throw, something clicked. I don't really remember if my heels were on the ground, but my 3rd and 4th turn were a blur. After hearing 70.90, emotion overwhelmed me and tears came to my eyes...”YES....I have ﬁnally become part of the 70 meter club!"

My 5th throw was into the right cage door.

On my 6th throw, I was still thinking of my cue....feel my left heel...and once again it worked....71.27. All I ever heard was 71, because once again, emotion overwhelmed me. Wow! That is all I could think, and that I all that I can still say. I still can't come up with the right words to describe how throwing the hammer 71.27 meters, feels. I can't wait to watch the video to see how it looks. Maybe after watching the video, some words will come to me.

Hammer cage~

After the meet, it was off the Lindyʼs with my cousin and her roommate. They do live up to their reputation, they have amazing hamburgers! After the “OG” and some “water”, it was back to the track to see the rest of the throwers compete. Overall it was a great night to watch some throwing- Kara and Dana in the javelin, Russ in the shot and Adam in the discus! They all did great and I cant wait to see how they do the rest of the season:). The highlight of the night was watching Cory Martin throw 22.10 in the shot put, making him the number one shot putter in the world. It was amazing to watch, but I am pretty sure his quickness comes from the hammer:)

This is going to be a short week for me. On Friday I head up to Sac-Town for the California Invitational Relays. I am excited to see how this meet goes. I am going to go into the meet with the same cues, and like always be consistent! Other than throwing my hammer around, life is still pretty much the same. I work as much as I can with the Padres, and I am so happy for them! The Padre's are doing great this season and I look forward to see how the rest of the season goes!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Britney

~ As soon as I receive video from this weekend, I will post some throws!

Oregon Twilight - Gravity was a little stronger than normal ; )

2010-05-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

The legendary Hayward Field

I love going back to Eugene, Oregon! The main reason is I get to see Lance Deal and get some one-on-one coaching before the 2010 Oregon Twilight meet.

But I also get to see all my old friends! It was almost like a mini-reunion. It is great to see them and re-live the past and all the great times that we had together. The best part of the trip was seeing my folks! I have to give it to my parents, the 7 hour drive from Spokane to Eugene has to be one of the worst. There are some pretty parts, but most of the time its farm fields, and that makes for a long drive.

When one of my old co-workers invited me to the Eugene Tattoo convention, I figured I should probably go. The day before the meet I try to ﬁnd something to distract me from over-thinking my throws. I had nothing else to do, and I wanted to see my old friend, so I went. I dragged my friend, Sarah Malone, along too. I hadn't seen her in a while either, plus I didn't want to go by myself. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were lots of great tattoos to look at and it was a great place for people watching.

One day I plan on getting a tattoo, the Olympic Rings, but I sometimes think that I want to get sometime else. There was some great artwork to choose from, but seeing the pain on some of the faces made me re-think my idea.

After the pain convention...I mean the tattoo convention, Sarah and I headed over to the Electric Station for some din-din. I got the usual, steak, potatoes and a delicious beverage.

The Electric Station!

After the meal, we headed to the Highland to meet up with coach and a couple of my old training partners, Brian Richotte and Adam Midles. About 3 hours later, after reminiscing past track trips and athletes, it was time for bed. After a great night of sleep, I ﬁgured I better get some good food into the tummy and do a quick little shake out. I threw at 5pm, so I had a while. My parents got into town around noon, so we hung out for a bit, but I had to get back to coaches to get ready for the meet.

Going into the meet, I really didn't know what to expect. I know I said that about the last meet at Drake, but I had the same feeling here. Practice had been going great, and I had been doing what coach wanted me to do. But I just started mastering those techniques. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to get new techniques to translate into a meet.

Warm-ups were great, and my technique was there during the meet. I just couldn't put it together the way I wanted to. I was fouling far throws and being too timid on one that I was saving. I ended up throwing 65.13, 223 feet and placing second to Loree Smith.

Needless to say, I was pissed after the meet. I ﬁgured that my technique sucked. After my coaches review, I learn my technique really wasn't that bad. I just had to ﬁx one thing. I don't feel as bad now, and am pretty excited about how close I am to the throw that I want.

Now you may ask, why didn't your coach tell you to change that one little thing before the meet? Coach was down in Berkeley helping the Heps and Decs out. I knew beforehand that he wasn't going to be in Eugene for the Oregon Twilight. If I would have just added ʻsit harderʼ on my note card, then I would be a happy camper right now. But I didn't, so what do you do.

My next meet is going to be in Tucson, Arizona! I really don't know why, but I love this meet. I am pretty sure it is the ring. It is the only fast ring that I like, and the weather should be nice and toasty!

I am going into a rest week, so my body will be able to recover and I can focus on the hammer and getting my body ready to throw far!

Hope everyone had a great Motherʼs Day weekend!

Britney

Makes me smile every time! Rennie's landing~

Drake Relays!

2010-04-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

View of the stadium from the VIP tents!

I was a little worried about what was going to happen at the 2010 Drake Relays. Last years trip was not the best of situations for a track meet, the rain, cold and wind made throwing your best difficult.

This year was a little different. It was still rainy and windy, but not during the meet! The weather was actually great. I wish I could say the same about my hammer throwing.

I went into the meet with a game plan; 80% ﬁrst throw, 90% second throw and 100% on my third throw. I really never have a plan regarding what distances I want to throw. I mainly just think about my cues during the throw. My warm-ups went great, and my ﬁrst throw was great, 80%. But I just kind of stayed at that level for the rest of the meet. I threw 65.30 meters, (214.2') which earned me a first place finish. I was a little disappointed that I only threw 214, and that I could not ﬁnd another gear, but I did place first, and a win is a win!

After the hammer competition, I was off to watch the rest of the meet. Drake puts on a great track meet. I felt like I was back in Eugene, Oregon, where everyone knows about track and ﬁeld, and the people so hospitable. The 2010 Drake Relays had VIP tent for the elite athletes full of food and beverages! :) After the meet, it was off to the hotel to get ready for dinner and a night out on the town.

Besides throwing, the other great part about track meets is catching up with all your friends afterward. For dinner, a few of us went to Court Avenue Brewing Company, I got a big bowl of pasta that was very delicious! After dinner, we all tried to dodge the rain drops and went next door for some more brews. Lucky for me, my ﬂight didn't leave until the afternoon the following day, so I got to enjoy a morning of laying in bed and watching TV.

Overall, this trip was quick and easy. Nothing too exciting happened, but it was great to go to Drake and get used to throwing in the ring that I will be throwing in for Nationals!

This week will also be pretty easy. I am starting a new training cycle, and my body will be happy with the change. Also, I only work two days this week! Friday is going to be Beerfest at PETCO and I am looking forward to hopefully meeting the people behind Supertroopers and Beerfest!

Hope everyone had a great week!

Happy Training,

♥

Britney

Official results posted here.

Mt. SAC Relays!

2010-04-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sign next to the hammer cage~

It took me a bit to gather my thoughts about this weekend. I needed to let my brain cells re-charge from this weekend activities. : )

My weekend started out great. After a short drive up to Ontario, California and a quick warm-up at the Mt. San Antonio College track, I took a few buddies to my favorite restaurant, Pamona Mining Company. As you all know, I love food. Before the meet, I plan out where I am going to go to eat. Every year that I have every gone to Mt. SAC Relays, I have had an amazing dinner at the Pamona Mining Company. I don't know why I like it so much, but it has a great atmosphere and the food is yummy. I usually eat a steak the night before I throw, nothing special, I just want a burst of protein before competing. After my tummy was full with delicious food, I relaxed in my room and stretched a little before falling into dream-land.

The next morning I was full of nervous, excited energy. This was the ﬁrst meet of the year were I was going to face the top hammer throwers. Plus, my media team and family was going to be there. Usually, my body lets me eat breakfast before it switches into game mode, and wants nothing more to do with food. I woke up without much of an appetite, but I knew I had to eat something. Becky Breisch was pushing me to eat, dispensing her “motherly advice”. : ) After a couple bites of breakfast, I headed back to my room to relax and prepare for the meet.

Going into the meet, I wasn't to focused on my distance. I had been working on some cues in practice, and just wanted to execute them in a meet. My warm-up throws felt good, a little off, but not bad.

Warm-up Throws~

My ﬁrst throw was my farthest throw of the meet, 69.51. I was pretty surprised that it went 69 meters! It didn't feel anywhere near a 69 meters throw. It wasn't as clean as I wanted, and I kind of forgot where I was on my third turn. But it went 69 meters, and I will take that any day!

After the first throw, I kind of lost my head, and I couldn't focus on my cues. I would get one cue here and another there, but nothing consistent. Overall, I am pretty excited about my performance at the Mt. SAC Relays. I feel like I have so much more in me, and I can't wait until I get my head together to execute my full potential. I placed 3rd, with Amber Campbell earning first place, and Sultana Frizell, from Canada, placing second.

Getting read our rights :)

After the meet, I was off to my cousin's Timʼs 40th B-Day party. It was 70ʼs Vegas style event and everyone played the part. I was hot on the roulette table for a bit, until the music started to play. And, for those that know me well... I love to dance! After a few songs, it was my bed time, so off to dream-land I went again. I had a blast with my family, maybe a little to much. Sunday was recovery day, full of cleaning up, napping and drinking as much fluids as I could.

Ready to party~

Next weekend, I will be heading out to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays. Last year this meet was not the best: long, rainy and cold. Looking at the weather, it looks like it might be like that again. So, I am preparing myself to throw in rain. I expect the meet to go a little bit longer than usual too, since they will be combining the collegiate with the elite throwers. I need to stay positive because Des Moines is where Nationals will be held this year. And Nationals is what counts!

This week is a rest week for me. I will be throwing a little and getting some much need TLC on the body. I will also be working at the ballpark with the Padres! It is baseball season, and I usually work the games. The Padres look to be setting themselves up for a great season!

Just a quick side note: I would like to thank my media team. You guys and gals are troopers, and I am glad that you got to see what the hammer looks like in action.

To all the hammer girls that were bugged by the media team, there will be some pictures posted of you all, soon. Thanks for being so kind to them...it was their ﬁrst hammer meet. ; )

Edit: Here is the link to the Mt SAC Relays 2010 video made by the Britney Henry Project.

Hope you all have a great week....and enjoy Earth Week!

♥

~ Britney

Influence SD Awards!

2010-04-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

~Anthology~

First off, I want to thank Inﬂuence SD for a great night of entertainment. The venue was amazing, Anthology. The singers were great, Krys Justice and Beyond Category. The drinks tasted delicious, Twitter-tini. And the food was amazing, seared ahi tuna! Overall, it was a great opportunity for the stars of the social media to get a little recognition.

Next, I would also like to thank my media team for introducing me to the blog/media world. If it wasn't for you guys, I would have never even thought about blogging, let alone a creating a press kit! You all are amazing at what you do, and I feel very lucky that you all want to help me achieve my goal!

So, Wednesday, blog awards day, started off like any other, with me waking up to the sunny skies of San Diego and getting on the road to Chula Vista for some training. Wednesday is a pretty light day for me, just some med ball and lifting. After training, I headed home to get ready for the night. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was looking forward to what the night had in store.

I went to my friend, Michelle Laxson, to get my hair done. (I have yet to ﬁgure out how to "do" my hair, besides the good oleʼ pony tail! ) She did a great job! With only a short time until the awards, and swearing to one day learn to do a side braid, I headed home to get ready. My best buddy, Kara Patterson joined me for the night, she came over to my house to get ready too! After applying my face..I mean make-up : ) and getting the dress just right, we were off!

Once we arrived at Anthology, the nerves hit me. I kinda felt like I was at a track meet, butterﬂies and all. I was super excited that after only 4 months of blogging "The Britney Henry Project" was nominated for an award. And I couldn't ask for more... but now I wanted to win! We waited in the VIP/nomimee's line for our photo op on the red carpet, I did a quick interview and then we headed to our seats.

~Waiting to get in...~

Anthology is a great place. I love the layout - clean and open. We sat on the ﬂoor level with 2 balcony levels above us. All the levels looked right onto the stage. We sat down and decided to order the drink of the night, Twitter-tinis! I have to say, they were very tasty. Once our drinks arrived, we were up and mingling on the ﬂoor.

Since I am a blogger now, I thought it would be cool to meet the other blogger's. The only blogger know is Steve Adler, with The Friarhood, and we were competing in the same category! We met Terry Parish, the co-founder of short ﬁlm company and Chris Chan, an NBC reporter.

After our drinks ran dry, and our dinner was served, we headed back to the table. Anthology has amazing food! I ordered the pan-seared tuna, and it was the best that I ever had, EVER:) Krys Justice opened the show and Melani Gordon began the ceremony with her opening remarks. My category, Blog of the Year was towards the end of the program, so I had plenty of time to eat and enjoy the show.

Mingling with the other bloggers!

During the show, I couldn't help but think of all the amazing blogs that are out there, my favorite was The Football Girl. I am glad that there is now a place to go to learn all the important stuff about football. Maybe I will join a fantasy football team! I also enjoyed Sam-the-Cooking-Guy, he is hilarious and I love to watch his show. He making cooking look fun and carefree!

As the night went on and it got closer to announcing the winner of Blog of the Year, the more my butterﬂies started to ﬂy around. Once the presenter started naming the nominees, the butterﬂies calmed down - just in case I won! When the presenter, Dmitry Shapiro, announced, Diego-on-a-Dime as the Blog of the Year, my butterﬂies were replaced with a rock. I was pretty bummed that I didn't win, but Diego-on-a-Dime is a great blog and is very helpful for people in San Diego looking for cheap things to do in town. The night was topped off by paper airplanes ﬂying through the air with gift cards inside, and the sweet sounds of Beyond Category.

The night was great, and I was so excited to share it with my grandma, my besty Kara, my cousin Teresa, and of course, Graham and Dawn - the people behind the blog! I headed home feeling a little defeated but knowing that being a ﬁnalist was a great accomplishment.

Kara, Dawn, Myself and Grandma Carol :)

Tomorrow, I have a photo shoot in the afternoon, a big day in front of Brent Haywood's cameras, and the Mt. SAC Relays are next weekend, with my cousin Timʼs B-day blast to ﬁnish the week off. What else could I ask for? Not much. : )

♥

Britney

Texas Relays!!!

2010-04-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

The stadium overlooking downtown Austin.

Austin is by far my favorite city in Texas. I donʼt know exactly what I like about it, but there is something that makes it stand out. It could be the food, the music or that it has one kick-ass track meet!

The Texas Relays are a huge track meet. High school, college and elite athletes all compete for 4 days of amazing track and ﬁeld events. When you first get to the track, the first thing you notice is the fantastic view of downtown Austin. It is beautiful. Every building looks unique. Plus there is a gianormous football stadium, right across the street! The campus of University of Texas looks amazing, surrounded by shade trees and beautiful buildings, a perfect setting for a track meet.

The football stadium :)

Traveling to Texas, I had a pleasant surprise when I checked in to my flight. I was upgraded to first class for the first leg of my trip. :) This was my ﬁrst time ever flying in ﬁrst class, and I was quite excited about it. The main reason I was excited was the seats, they are bigger and recline enough to take a nap. Flying first class was great, until the plane was about to land. Turbulence is not my best friend. I am okay with the bumps, but not dropping. The am pretty sure the plane dropped about 10 times. I tried to tell myself that it was just like riding the bobsled - it kind of feels like the same, but my mind was not going for it. I had a little freak out, but not too bad. The rest of the trip was great. I arrived pretty late into Austin, and after a few detours I made it to my hotel.

WooHoo, First Class!

I competed on Thursday. It was a little windy, and by a little, I mean a lot! The gusts were about 20 mph. The temperature was great, right around 80 degrees.

This meet was a little different for me. My body was not feeling up to par. I was a little sore and tired from my previous workout cycle, and my previous week of throwing was not exactly what I wanted it to be. But, I was not going to let that stop me. I knew in the back of my mind my body would perform. It also helped that my coach, Lance Deal, was there to cheer me on, and to coach me as much as possible.

Lance is the only person that I can hear out of the crowd when I enter the ring. He gives me that last little bit on confidence I need before I step into the ring.

My warm-up throws were not the prettiest. I usually take 2 warm-up throws before the start of the meet. During my second warm up throw, I was off on my turns, so I let it go on my 3rd turn instead of my 4th. I do not like to begin a meet with a bad warm-up throw, but there was no time to throw another. I knew I could pull together a good throw during the competition.

My ﬁrst throw went over 66 meters, phew. My best throw was my 5th, 67.96 meters. But this was by far one of the ugliest throws I have taken in a long time! I still have no idea how it went that far. But it did, and that is what counts. Overall, I had great energy in my throws, meaning lots of speed going into the hammer, but technique wise, it was not that good. However, I am very happy with how the meet went, and so is my coach.

A must-have when you come to Texas! Yummy!

My next meet will be Mt. SAC Relays. This is another meet that I love. I have gone to Mt. SAC relays since my sophomore year in college. One reason I love Mt. SAC, is that the hammer cage is all by itself, and I donʼt have to worry about the cage doors being to closed too much. We get a pretty good crowd down by the ring, which is encouraging.

Hope everyone had a great week and have a great weekend. My goal this weekend is to do as little as possible, I haven't done nothing in a long time.

Happy Training,

Brit

VOTE for The Britney Henry Project!!! 2 DAYS left...

2010-03-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

My blog is up for Blog of the Year, here in San Diego. If you all could please go to this web-site:

http://vote.influencesd.com/categories/76903-blog-of-the-year

Click on the gray arrow next to The Britney Henry Project. You do not have to sign-up for anything or register. Once you click on the gray arrow you have voted. There are only two days left for voting, so vote now!!! Thanks for all the votes and the votes to come.

Oregon Preview!

2010-03-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

There is nothing better than a warm, sunny day at Hayward Field - the hammer ring from my days at the University of Oregon. I ﬁgured since we have been having plenty of warm weather down in San Diego, I should bring some up with me to Eugene.

This weekend has been great. I got to Eugene on Thursday afternoon and had a normal practice with my coach, Lance Deal. My throws felt great and my speed was right where I wanted it to be. On Friday, I did my normal "Pre-Meet" routine, a light warm-up, med ball throws and some explosive lifting. That night I got a little ﬂush massage from coach, and off to bed I went.

While I am trying to fall asleep before a meet, I visualize the meet for the next day. I visualize everything: the car ride, check-in, weighting in my hammer, warm-up, and even the throws I intend to take. This, ﬁrst helps me plan out what I am going to do the next day, and second helps calm my nerves. Going through the motions and visualizing what I want to do, usually put my nerves to rest.

The Oregon Preview went better than I excepted, today.

I wanted to throw over 65 meters. I have been throwing over 65 meters in practice, so I ﬁgured that I should be able to do it in a meet.

Warm-ups felt great. I was doing a great job executing the 3 things that I wanted to work on.

My ﬁrst competition throw was a foul, right on the sector line. The second throw was my best throw, 66.11 meters (216.9 feet). That was my only fair throw of the meet. My last 2 throws were fouls, one into the cage, and one that I fouled intently.

Throwing over 65 meters was just what I wanted to do! It felt great, plus I executed the 3 things on my list. This meet was to see if any little technical ﬂaws might pop up. Nothing too bad popped up, but I did realize there is a lot more left in me!

My next meet will be the Texas Relays. I can't wait to get to Texas. I love the city of Austin (and the track meet isn't to bad either). Oh, and the food in Austin is amazing! There is this steak place right down the street from the track - and I can't wait to eat there!

~ Until next time!

~ Britney Henry

Diet- Not My Favorite Word!

2010-03-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Always drink your water!

I love food. I love all types of food. If I had my choice,
I would eat sushi for the rest of my life , with ice cream to ﬁnish it off.

Being an athlete, I do need a variety in my food choice. I do eat sushi, just not everyday. I try to stick to a certain meal plan that is specific to what I want my body to do. Since I have started throwing the hammer, I have tried to put on muscle and gain some weight. I do have to admit, I do not try that hard and I am happy with where I am at with my weight. The main reason that I want to stick to my meal plan, is that the plan insures that I am getting a well rounded diet, that I am eating all the fruits and veggies, some grains and lean protein. The other reason that I must stick to the meal plan is that I am pretty lazy when it comes to creating meals. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook and create new meals, but when I am tired from work, training or both, being creative with food is the last thing on my mind.

I don't count calories, I don't look to see how much protein or carbs are in the food I eat. I just make sure that I have a protein, a carb and either a fruit or veggie with every meal. I do splurge and grab an In 'n' Out Burger or have a bowl full of ice cream. I do know that I can not do this all the time, because my body really can't run off of In 'n' Out Burgers and ice cream, especially at the elite level. In order to have enough energy at practice, and to make sure that my body is running off the right fuels, I have to stick to my meal plan. Below is a little snap shot at what I eat on a daily basis. I do switch it up, but when I am lazy, this is what I eat.

Now, there are a few other details that go into diet. I try to pay close attention to what my body is telling me. When I am tried and I know I shouldn't be, it usually means that I am a little low on Iron, so I have a steak that night. When I feel like my body comp. is going up and I don't want it to... or I'm preparing for a photo shoot, I cut carbs (not all, but grains and breads...I will never give up fruit : ).

Lastly, I want everyone out there that reads my blog to know, please don't listen to the fast food commercials, athletes DO NOT eat fast food everyday! Now, we might enjoy it on occasion, but certainly not everyday.

Meal Plan:

Breakfast: Egg whites, fruit, toast with peanut butter.
Snack: Chocolate milk and granola bar- usually in between throwing and lifting.
Lunch: Sandwich with lots of lunch meat, salad, and chips.
Snack: Chips and salsa, goldﬁsh or some type of fruit.
Dinner: Chicken or steak, potatoes, and veggies.
Snack: Cup of milk or yogurt.

My word of advice for everyone out there is not to get stuck in a fad diet. They are pointless! That is why I do not like the word diet. It sounds like one is forcing themselves to eat a certain way. Just eat a well balanced diet. Make sure you eat lots of fruit and veggies, have a lean protein (chicken, turkey, lean steak) and eat whole wheat. If you want to splurge, go ahead, just remember that you can't do it all the time.

Now I am going to have a bowl full of ice cream, it is my splurge day! Happy, healthy eating!

Update on Everything!

2010-03-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give you all a little update on what is going on in my life right now.

It is almost my one year anniversary with the San Diego Padres Baseball Team ! WOOHOO!! I work with the Padre's at Petco Park as a ticket sales agent to support my hammer training. I have said this a thousand times, but one more time won't hurt - the Padres are amazing in the way they support me. The Padre's schedule my work around my training regime and always give me time off when there is a track meet. Work there is starting to pick up. With the home opener around the corner, we are all making sure that everything is in line before the big day. Right now, we are all selling single game tickets and making sure that our reward programs will run smoothly through the season.

Training is going great. I couldn't ask for more from my body right now. My throws are starting to become more constant and my speed is coming back. For the past 2 weeks or so, Anita Wlodarczyk, the world record holder in the women's hammer has been training at The Olympic Training Center. It is always nice to have others to throw with! In the next couple of months, the German throwers and Canadian throwers will be training at the Center too!

I am going into a rest week right now, and my body is ready for it. I am on a “2 week cycle”. 2 weeks of training 6 days a week, and then a week of rest, training only 4 days a week. Around June, I will switch to a 3 day cycle. That allows my body to recover fully, and sets me up to start throwing further in competition.

Other than working and training, I have been going to lots of birthday parties. Someone in my family has had a birthday every weekend for the past 2 months, at least that is what is feels like!

This past weekend, my cousin Teresa had a big birthday party. For her present, she decided that it would be great to do Walks for Wishes at Seaworld. It was a great idea, until the day of the walk. That is when 5 of the 6 storms that San Diego gets per year decided to show up. Our family did the one mile walk. It was great to do it for some Wishes and to support the kids. Luckily, we got to walk thru Seaworld and see the animals!

I am glad that my life is a little busy right now, it keeps me from over-thinking the hammer and training. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

~ Britney

Hammer season is almost upon us…or me!

2010-03-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

It is almost my favorite part of the year, HAMMER Season.

In my training world, there are only 2 two seasons… Hammer season and the off season.

In the off season, I concentrate on the technical aspects of my throws, practicing over a hundred throws a week with heavy weighted hammers. The off season is also where I TRY to put on some muscle and build strength in the weight room. Focusing on building a good strong base for the hammer season.

During the hammer season I start to back off on the amount of throws I take, reducing the quantity to less than 80 throws per week, and I throw lighter weighted hammers more often. The goal being to transition from strength work to speed and finesse. I also start to use lighter weights to become a little bit more explosive in the weight room.

The 2010 Hammer season is going to kick-off with a little warm-up competition in Eugene, Oregon, called the Oregon Preview. This meet is to see if any new technical problems pop-up. Since I cannot practice the emotions and adrenaline of a hammer meet, this is a good meet to get used to dealing with that kind of pressure.

My coach, Lance Deal, Silver Medalist and American Record Holder in hammer throw, will be there to support and coach me.

The best part is that I will be throwing out of the ring I grew to love while attending the University of Oregon.

The schedule of Track and Field meets for this year can change at any moment, especially if I get into an international meet. Right now, this is what I have planned:

My Favorite Hammer Ring :)

Oregon Preview
March 20th 2010
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

Texas Relays
March 31st - April 3rd 2010
University of Texas
Austin, Texas

Mt. SAC Relays
April 15th-17th
Mount San Antonio College
Ontario, California

Drake Relays
April 23rd - April 24th
Drake University
Des Moines, Iowa

Tucson Elite
May 21st - 22nd
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

Cali Relay: TBA

High Performance Meets Florida: TBA

USATF Outdoor Nationals:
June 23rd- 27th
Drake University
Des Monies, Iowa

"How's your training going?" Four words that mean everything.

2010-02-12T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today, I remembered that my car was well overdue for an oil change. As I walked into Bonds, I heard them again: " How's your training going?".

I can not count that amount of times I hear that phrase every week. Those four little words mean everything to me. It means that someone cares enough about me and my hammer to ask how I am doing.

This brings me to what this blog is all about: Support Systems! These are the people that care about the whole person and not just the athlete part. They want the athlete part to succeed, just as much as I do! They are the ones to cheer and the ones to cry with me. They know the real you, the person before the athlete.

My family, friends, coaches, trainers, media team and auto mechanics all make up my support system. They know the real Britney. The once little girl that was so hyper they could hardly stand it. The kid that was always traveling from school to school, and from country to country, throwing her hammer. Now, the adult who throws the hammer for a living, working with the Padres and supporting herself.

As I start to watch the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies, I can't help but to think of all the people that the athletes have supporting them. They not only have their own support systems, tonight, they have their whole country behind them.

So to all my people that are part of my support system...you know who you are... Thank you! I will always appreciate all the support you have given me through these years, and in the years to come. You help me both mentally and financially (Thanks Grandma). You all make sure that I never float to far away from the little hyper kid I once was. The little kid that was guided by you all.

Now I am going to grab some tissue and watch the ceremonies. Seeing the Red, White and Blue always bring tears to my eyes. Go TEAM USA!!!

Press Kit!

2010-02-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

How it all got started!

2010-02-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

The Britney Henry Story

SAN DIEGAN BRITNEY HENRY HOPES TO “NAIL DOWN” SPOT AS A MEMBER OF U-S 2012 OLYMPIC WOMEN’S HAMMER THROW TEAM

Written by Steve Corman
Photograph by Brent Haywood
For Immediate Release.

San Diego, CA – “I didn’t know how far the hammer was going to take me. I just like spinning in circles and throwing far.”

Those words from U.S. Olympic team hopeful Britney Henry, a young woman on a mission in the hammer throw event. It’s a competition many people haven’t heard much about, much less witnessed.

Yet for this 25-year-old resident of San Diego’s Allied Gardens community, it’s been a case of dedication and persistence that has her ranked as the 5th best hammer thrower in the U.S. and 36th world-wide.

She now has her eyes firmly set on making the American team for the 2012 Summer Olympics after previously coming very close to making the squad in 2008.

“I work out six days a week at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista,” Henry explains. That's the plan my coaches have laid out for me giving me best shot to make the Olympic team."

The workout is a rigorous routine over several hours. A typical workout includes a warm-up, throwing the hammer, medicine ball, general strength body weight exercises, then a lunch break for about an hour, followed by Olympic style weight training, cool down with stretching, icing and massage. Additionally, I cross train biweekly with bike sprint sessions to give me more explosive strength.

The object of the event is to throw a heavy metal ball, attached to a wire and handle, known as the “hammer,” as far as possible.

It involves considerable skill, strength and finesse, and begins with a precision-like whirling action that finishes with the ultimate toss.

The “throw” originated years ago during the Scottish Highland Games where they used to hurl an actual sledge hammer, and has been refined over the years. The women’s event uses a hammer weighing 8.8 pounds.

While men, whose hammer weighs 16 pounds, have competed in this event since the 1900 Olympics, it wasn’t added to women’s Olympic competition until a century later, in 2000.

“It’s a sport where strength in your legs is essential. That’s your driving force and involves your thighs, hamstrings and back. Your arms are there to guide the hammer as you maneuver to throw. Lots of it is muscle memory and visualizing the throw in your mind,” she adds.

“The more I throw, the easier it becomes for my body to make it happen. It’s doing the same technique over and over again and making certain you stay in sync.”

So how does someone get involved in such a unique and demanding sport during her upbringing?

Britney was born in Anchorage, Alaska and grew up in San Diego, where she went to grammar school until 3rd grade. A series of moves followed and she eventually attended Lewis & Clark High School in Spokane, Washington.

“I was a pretty good athlete and enjoyed softball most of all,” she explains. “I played catcher for a number of years and loved being involved with every pitch. By the time I got to high school though, I realized I probably wouldn’t make the varsity. That’s when I discovered track.”

“I had seen Olympic track events in past years on television and thought it was pretty amazing, especially seeing the winners getting their medals. I had visions of how great it would be if I could be in that situation some day and never forgot it,” Britney adds.

She ran both the low and high hurdles, along with competing in several other field events. But a sprained ankle at the end of a race before her junior year sent her to the sidelines.

Britney knew about the hammer throw from a track camp the previous summer and while the injury prevented her from running, it didn’t completely idle her and she made the switch to this new event.

And she was an instant hit, thanks in part to coach Arnie Tyler, who saw her potential but had to leave teaching and coaching after the 9-11 attacks in 2001 to fulfill his duty as a military reservist.

She eventually broke the Washington state record with a throw of 166 feet her senior year.

“I was determined I wanted to continue competing in the hammer in college but didn’t know if I could get a scholarship. Arizona State was my top choice and they were interested in me, but couldn’t provide a scholarship for the hammer event,” she adds.

She was then contacted by Ramona Pagel, coach at Southeast Louisiana State University, who had a scholarship for her. “Ramona, a shot-put record holder, knew how to get team members strong. I did lots and lots of squats and weight-lifting. She was always there for us and was kind of like our Mom. During that year I improved my throws to 205 feet,” Britney says, who moved to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge her sophomore year.

That was also a good experience for Britney but they eventually eliminated the hammer event from the track program.

“Before I knew it, I was recruited by the University of Oregon, a perennial track and field powerhouse.

My coach there was Lance Deal, the men’s silver medalist in the men’s hammer throw at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia,” she explains.

“He helped me a lot in college and still works with me, providing lots of good advice on what you’ll feel as you compete and how to overcome obstacles. I send him video on a regular basis now and try to get to Oregon each month to have two or three training sessions with him.”

Britney was a standout at Oregon, winning the Pac 10 Conference title in 2007 and finishing 5th in the NCAA Championship meet, held at Stanford. She was an NCAA All-American that year and her throws began regularly surpassing 220 feet.

“Britney is one of the most determined and tenacious young athletes I’ve ever worked with. It’s a pleasure to see her drive and desire,” Deal explains.

She also works with her former Olympic Training Center coach, Dan Pfaff, who now lives in England. He writes her workouts and they communicate regularly by e-mail.

Britney graduated from Oregon in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology and a minor in business. She was considering graduate school but felt it would be in conflict with her training for the 2008 Olympic team.

"Two days before the Olympic trials in Eugene (OR), I threw the Olympic A standard. At that moment I realized I was a contender and no longer a little girl throwing. It was an emotional shock I was not prepared for, I couldn’t focus on the day of the actual event and fell short. It was a major eye-opening experience and has greatly helped me grow and mature,” she recalls.

“I’ll never forget that time and how excited she was about making a throw that would have secured a spot on the team,” coach Lance Deal reflects.

“As exciting as that was, the letdown that followed was tough for her and all of us around her,” he remembers. “But I can’t praise her enough for the way she’s gotten back up and is still determined to be on the 2012 team.”

So Britney is now totally focused on winning a trip to London as an Olympian. She moved back to San Diego, the city where she spent her early years and where many family members live.

“I love spending my one day off each week and any other time I might have with them. We’re all very close and they’re incredibly supportive of me, especially my grandmother,” Britney says.

She also works part-time in ticket sales and community outreach for the San Diego Padres baseball team and emphasizes how accommodating they’ve been in terms of her schedule. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with such a great organization. When I finish competing and am retired from the hammer throw, I hope to eventually work with a sports franchise in some capacity. I hope to mentor young women interested in doing what I’ve done. It’s always great to give back,” she adds.

But the business at hand is the upcoming summer Olympics and the incredible amount of work involved in preparing for the trials.

To get there she needs to make the Olympic A Standard, currently at 230 feet (70 meters), which she’s very close to.

“I have great confidence in Britney’s ability to hit that mark and go further. That’s just the way she is, so dedicated and focused,” Lance Deal adds.

There are several other American women with the same goal in mind and only three will make the team. Primary competitors include: Amber Campbell from Coastal Carolina, the top U.S. finisher in the 2008 Olympic event, Jessica Cosby from UCLA, Erin Gilreath from Florida and Loree Smith from Colorado State. She knows them all very well and considers each one a very worthy opponent.

From an international standpoint, Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland) holds the current world record of 77.96 meters (over 255 feet). She most recently won the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Britney’s main focus in workouts is refining her technique and gaining strength, hopefully resulting in greater distances.

“Your throw doesn’t need to be perfect. There’s never such a thing as a completely perfect throw. In practice I want to make it perfect. That’s the perfectionist in me, but I also know it’s what I’ll be working on the rest of my career. Your limits are what you make of them. I love winning and I want to go out and win everything, but I am happiest if I make a perfect throw."

"I love to throw far and win. It’s what I try to do each time I go out and compete,” she concludes.

With Britney’s strong work ethic and positive attitude combined with her engaging personality and contagious sense of humor, Lance Deal strongly believes she has what it takes to reach her goal. He’s shared many special times in her competitive career and training and is proud to say, “From the time I first met Britney Henry, my life has been full of Britney Henry moments."★

Spinning in circles is not all that I do!

2010-01-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

Looking over the trail!

Depending on how my training cycle goes, every now and then I get this

cool thing called “free time”.

Being a full time athlete and working part time with the Padre's, free time is hard to come by. But when I do have it, I like to spend it with my family and friends.

This past weekend I got some of that free time, and since it was also my rest week, I had 2 extra days off…Wednesday and Saturday!

My family loves to hike, as do I, so this past beautiful Sunday morning my family and I took a quick hike out to El Capitan Reservoir. This trail is a family favorite because of it's unparalled beauty, but mostly because it is really close to my uncle's house.

It is a great trail to hike right now. Due to the rain storms that we just had in San Diego the streams are finally flowing!

Next week I'll begin a new training cycle and will be back to spinning in circles. From now until June-ish, I will be on what is called a “2 week cycle”. 2 weeks of training 6 days a week and then a rest week. I only train 4 days during rest weeks, with Wednesdays and Saturdays off.

New Years Resolution

2010-01-14T21:16:00.001-08:00

My Office!

Some people make a new resolution every year, mine has been the same for the past several years;

making the 2012 Olympic Games!

Each day I wake up and go to work. My job is amazing. I don’t put on a suit and tie, I put on spandex like a super women. I jump in my car, with my tea in a Padre's season ticket holder mug, and listen to talk radio as I drive to Chula Vista. My final destination the ARCO Olympic Training Center. Instead of stepping into an office, I step onto the field of dreams, take big breath and begin my day.

Now I'm not pushing any papers, but I am throwing lots of weigh around. I am my own boss and start the day with a meeting with myself, which consists of reviewing in my mind what my training will be for the day.

My resolution for the year is clear, “I want to spin fast and throw far!”

ARCO Olympic Training Center.

Video Teaser

2010-01-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

Orlando Throws Summit

2009-12-27T20:47:00.000-08:00

Once a year, USA Track and Field invites some of the top throwers in the country to talk about all the aspects of throwing and competing at an elite level. USATF did a great job at bringing in the best and the brightest to guide us into a podium spot. Not only did I enjoy the speakers, I also enjoyed catching up with all the fellow throwers. It is always nice to see how they are doing and what their plans are for the year.

Beyond the speakers, I made sure that there was time to watch some football, do some last minute Christmas shopping and the always favorite trip to Chipotle with my buddy Dana Lyon.

Overall, the Throwers Summit gives me that extra boost throw my hammer and keep me motivated until track season starts. You can read more about the presenters and attendees of the USATF’s Podium Education Project.

2012, the year that my dreams can come true!

2009-11-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give a quick hello to anyone and everyone that is reading my blog.

My name is Britney Henry and I am an Olympic hopeful in the hammer throw.

Since I was a little kid running around bases on the softball field, I wanted to be an Olympian. I never really thought about what sport, until I found the hammer throw. To me, the hammer throw was the hardest event/sport and I have a obsession about conquering difficult tasks. My goal of being an Olympian was only propelled when I started to be coached by Lance Deal, an Olympian is his own right.

The quest to being an Olympian does not just involve me throwing my hammer everyday as far as I can. It takes a whole crew of people, including myself, to guide me in the right direction. Throughout my blogs I will talk about all the different aspects that goes into being an Olympic hammer thrower. Everything from diet, to rehab to this little thing called a “social life”. I cant wait for all of you to read about my journey to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Let the count down begin!