Grrrrreat Day!!

So training has been humming along. My injuries are all improving. I was officially released from physical therapy this morning for my foot. Finally! And apparently getting new running shoes every once in a while helps too. Thanks to New Balance Knoxville I have a few awesome pairs of shoes to rotate through. Since they hooked me up with shoes my foot and shins have significantly improved. I can't thank them enough!

We have made a few adjustments in my training, mainly getting my sprints off the track and onto the turf. So far it's definitely paying off. I had possibly my best jump day EVER today. My legs were feeling good, I could actually jump off the ground for a change. Today I made some significant strides in my actual technique in my jumps. I was able to get my grip on the pole up to 11'7 from only 3 lefts, or 6 steps. As a reference, last year from 3 lefts the highest I could hold was 10'. Over a foot and a half higher.... It's going to be a good year!! :)

I also cleared 11'1 today from 3 lefts EASILY. I was over it by at least 6", and on that jump I was only gripping 11'5. On my last jump of the day I came sooooo close to clearing the bungee at 11'7, gripping 11'6. As Roman said, the bar would have stayed... That's a 9" push!

For those of you that need all of those numbers translated, the box that the pole is planted in is actually 8" below track level. So if I am holding 11' on the pole, my actual grip is 11' minus 8", or 10'4. So to clear a bar that was exactly my hand grip, it would have to be at 10'4. Hopefully that makes a little more sense.... I know that a 9" doesn't really sound that impressive. But I am only running from 6 steps. The farther back you run from, the more energy you'll be able to put into the pole. And the more energy put into the system, the more energy you will get back out of it. So if I can push 8" or 9" from 6 steps, imagine what I can do from 16 steps..................... Holy crap I'm so excited!!!

Of course we don't have any footage of my best jumps today, but here is one of the vaults from this session. Enjoy!