And Again...

This weekend was my second meet in a row in Boone, and unfortunately it wasn't a stellar outing. We were competing in the basketball arena at App State, which to be fair is not my favorite place to vault. It is a very nice arena, but for vaulting there is a lot of cement and the pit is pretty old. The last time I jumped in there was 3 years ago. In warm ups at that meet I landed in a hole in the pit and left the meet on crutches. Thankfully I learned my lesson and I didn't have any issues this time around.

There were some tough things to deal with this time around. Practices didn't go too smoothly last week. Our original goal had been to move back to 8 lefts, or 16 steps in practice. That didn't happen. But we decided to go ahead and try it at the meet anyways, at least in warm ups. And I had to do it without my coach.... (I owe a huge thank you to Meredith, Mandy, and Coach Ward for helping me with my steps and standards). Warm ups was great thru 12 steps. But moving back to 16 steps I just couldn't get comfortable. I felt like I was too far away, and when I moved up it still just didn't feel right. I am not worried, though. Usually the first day moving back there is a lot of adjusting. It takes me a few runs to get used to the extra speed, and at a meet there just aren't enough jumps. I know that when I go back this week it will go smoothly.

I moved back down to 12 steps for the meet. Unfortunately I didn't improve on my height from last week, but there are a lot of positives that I can take away from the meet:

-First of all, my body felt great! I have been struggling with some nagging injuries lately, but I recovered well for the weekend.

-I opened at a higher height than the week before.

-I was jumping on stiffer poles than the week before.

So far it has been a slow start to the season, but I think a lot of things are finally coming together. Physically I am really to jump big, and mentally I am really getting close. I am very excited for the meets coming up in the next 2 weeks. First is the National Pole Vault Summit in lovely Reno, NV! And then the first weekend in Feb. I'll be back in Johnson City for the Niswonger Invitational at ETSU. It's going to be a great couple of weekends!

Here are some photos from my first meet. I wasn't jumping at my best, but they are still some decent photos.