I am fit and raring to go for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Singapore after recovering from the injury I picked up in Hong Kong, although my teammates think I am insane for training in the heat and humidity in my long sleeves and tights.
I really don't find it a problem and the weather actually makes me feel looser, when I take the kit off I feel cool. It does get really hot and humid and with so much sweat the ball can become affected, so I put tape from my wrists much higher up on my forearms to help to keep the sweat away. I don't like to use the hand spray because it is too sticky for me!
Most of the time I really don't know where I am on the try scoring list -- I didn't know I was top with 35 -- because my focus is solely on trying to get the wins for the U.S. team to ensure we get into the top four and win more legs than Las Vegas. I am all about winning and if we were at the top of the table then I may take more notice of that try list.
The rankings for the Rugby World Cup in San Francisco in July are now out and we were shooting for fourth place and have been given fifth. Finishing in the top four of the Sevens Series remains our goal and that is why this tournament is really important with three more to go. There are only three points between the top two teams South Africa and Fiji and a lot can happen in the remaining legs and we really want to be pushing hard and that is what makes the games so exciting.
We are in a pool with Kenya, England and France and we really do need to catch a break at some point! It really is a tough pool and we always seem to fall into one of them at each leg.
Kenya have been going really well recently. We know how they are going to play and you cannot afford to cough up any possession because it will bite us in the butt! Winning gives you a lot of confidence and that is certainly the case with Kenya at the moment.
John Moonlight has announced he will be retiring from the Canada Sevens team to become a firefighter. He is a big personality and so important for their squad but now he is going to embark on a totally different career.
Personally, I am still very much focused on Sevens and when the time does come to do something different then I would like to get into coaching and also start my own clothing brand for rugby. In lots of sports there is a face of a brand like in basketball and baseball and I don't feel we have that in our sport in the U.S.
These are exciting times for rugby in the States with the Sevens World Cup in the San Francisco bay area and now we have Major League Rugby up and running and hopefully this can get off the ground and stay for a while to help grow the game.
Rugby is definitely moving in the right direction and that is really exciting and here in Singapore for the first time the HSBC Rugby Festival has given young female players between the ages of 12 and 18 the chance to play the game.
We can boost rugby's profile back home by bouncing back from our performance in Hong Kong and really making an impact in Singapore. It is about delivering now as well as looking to the future.