Sprinter Elaine O'Neill shares some insight on her run up to a big summer - and on juggling studies with sport.

Hello there,

So this is my first blog for Welsh Athletics in the run up to the 2012 Season and beyond... Exciting times I must say.

April is here again, and it's that time of year when lots of people jet off to sunny destinations for a spell of Warm Weather training. However, for me and my training group, our feet are staying put firmly on Great Britain soil, and for now we will be enjoying the sunny sights of Loughborough! To be honest I don't mind staying at home as I've got everything I need here, and the last block of training has gone well. I won't lie though and say I'm a tinge envious of people hitting the track in the blazing sun!

I've been hitting PB's in the gym and been having very productive running sessions, so I'm quietly confident for this season, as last year was an injury write off for me. I'm just keeping my head down and focusing on what I need to do at the moment. My opening competition will be BUCS at the Olympic Stadium on the 4th-7th of May. I cannot waaaiiiiit to run here, the experience will be brilliant and I can already feel the excitement to get out on that track. The fact the tickets sold out so rapidly for this event highlights the importance of this year I think, and there is a big buzz surrounding this 2012 season.

Last week was an extremely busy week for me. It saw the '100 days to go' to the Games mark on Wednesday and I attended a Festival in Anglesey (very long drive!). I got to meet and chat to lots of year 7 kids from that area and take part in some different sports with them- overall the day was really enjoyable and I think most of the young people had fun too!

I also handed in my dissertation for my university course last Friday, which was a maahoosive relief! I'm currently finishing up my third year of studies and completing and handing in this piece of work was an important step. It's been difficult to balance track with studies this year as honestly track has taken the front seat, but I finally feel like I'm nearly there with the course and am looking forward to completing it.

I will try and post some videos and pictures of training up for you on the next blog but in the meantime you can follow my progress on twitter at @LaineyONeill :-)