Friday, July 8, 2011

Weeeeellll.....

So. That wasn't what I was hoping for. My first NH in a while. I was really excited during warm ups at the meet today, because for the first time in 2 weeks my legs felt awesome! New shoes made all of the difference. My run and plant felt spectacular!! They are really coming together. And everyone noticed too, which did make the NH a little less painful.
The bungee was at 13'6 during warm ups and I had 2 great attempts at it with a decent amount of height over the bar. Given how everything felt I was certain that I was going to get a PR. But as it turned out, the top end of my vault hasn't progressed as much as my run and plant. I had just enough hesitation before I started pulling that I was just running into the bar every time. It was very frustrating, and I was pretty upset. But I know things are moving in the right direction. I haven't really practiced at all the last 2 weeks because of how rough my legs felt. So I need a lot more work on the runway in practice. It will come. I have no doubts. :)

Keep Moving Forward

So... It's been a crazy few weeks!! Vaulting is definitely progressing. My last competition was 2 weeks ago. Though I didn't have a new PR, I jumped on my 13'7 poles for the first time (which, if you know me at all you know that's a big deal!). And the following Monday I had possibly my best practice ever. For the first time I was conceptually able to move my focus past the plant onto the second half of the vault. It felt amazing! Since then I have been dealing with some really bad shin splints so we have taken practices pretty easy. The good news is that I think the only problem was that my shoes were really worn out. And I just bought them 2 months ago! I guess that's a sign of how much we've been running...

The best news of the last 2 weeks is that I have a job (finally)!! And I couldn't be more excited. I am working for Eddie at the Health Shoppe in West Knoxville. I'm doing my best to catch on quickly, but there are literally thousands of awesome products for sale in there. So I am trying to study up when I'm not in there so that I can actually help people that come in rather than just manning the register. But everyone that I work with is awesome. I'm really excited to be there. If you're in the area you should stop by and say hi.

I have three more meets left in the 2011 season. My goal is ultimately to get a new PR. I have been making drastic improvements on so many different aspects of my vault that I'm starting to get a little impatient to see some results on the runway. I know it's coming. I have also started to work with a great sport psychologist in town. I have a new mental strategy for approaching my vaulting. Today will be my first day trying to put it into action. I am super excited about it. Maybe later on I'll let you know what it is, but for now it's my secret. :)

We are competing again at the Friday Night Heights series on the UT track tonight. Hopefully the weather will hold off... It's sunny now, but the meet starts at 6pm and according to the weather channel there is a 100% chance of thunderstorms at 6.... Wish me luck!!