Times, They Are A Changing....

I know many of you already know what is happening in my life. And most of you know something is up. I think I have finally sorted out all of my plans in the immediate future, so I guess it's time to spill the beans....

It was a very rough indoor season for me. Not only was I struggling to deal with my foot injury, but practices and meets were not going well, to say the least. Mentally I was a mess. And there was definitely a lot of tension between my coach and myself. I respect him a lot, but in the end I don't think that we are a good match as coach and athlete. I tried really hard all season to make it work. I tried to come into every practice with a positive attitude, but I always felt pushed aside and disrespected. And inevitably I left practices feeling dejected and down about my future in the sport.

After our last meet at Virginia Tech, my coach informed me that he had "lost the motivation to coach me.... months ago." At first, I was very hurt. For two weeks, I had decided that I was done pole vaulting forever. I was so down after the long season, that I really couldn't see a future for me in the sport. But with a little time, and some great friends, I decided that my time isn't quite up in this sport. I realize that my coach wasn't paid to coach me, he was doing it really as a favor and he gave up his free time to do it. So as harsh as it was, he had a right to make that decision. And I definitely learned a lot from him. And I can take that with me as I continue my journey this year.

It definitely still stings a little if I think about it too much. I have always prided myself on being so dedicated and working harder than anyone else. I have never ever had a coach give up on me in my 24 years of being a competitive athlete. And the end caught me by surprise. But even more surprising was the support I receive from everyone in Knoxville. Immediately I had several other training options to choose from in town. And I had a large group of people backing me up. I really was taken aback, and flattered.

But there are complications to staying and training in Knoxville. Everyone pretty much shares a pit. And even though all 5 post collegiate vaulters in town have different coaches, there are a lot of similarities in the training locations. So I would inevitably see my former coach and teammate at practices and meets. I don't know if I am mentally tough enough to make that work.

I am going into this outdoor season with two goals: qualify for the Olympic Trials, and have fun. Only one of those goals could be accomplished in Knoxville. So I created another option: Colorado Springs. It really fell together during our trip out there week before last. I have places to lift, sprint, and do gymnastics. I also found an AMAZING pole vault club in Boulder. We are going to have 3 elite girls training together this summer! And they have 3 elite guys too! Everyone is so positive and encouraging. And genuinely excited that I will be joining them. I feel like after months in the dark, I have rediscovered my love for the sport.

One of the biggest bonuses the being in Colorado Springs: My amazing, spectacular fiancé that I miss so much will be in Colorado Springs this summer. So we are not only going to have the chance to live in the same town, but in the same APARTMENT! I am so lucky. :)

So this is my last week in Knoxville. I will be moving most of my stuff into storage, and driving out to Colorado Springs! I am definitely sad to be leaving Knoxville. I will be leaving a lot of great friends here. But I will be back in TN in the fall. And really, everyone is welcome to come visit! If you come in July I can tour you around and show you the best that CO has to offer.

What would we do without Virginia Tech?

First of all I have to say thank goodness for Virginia Tech. And to their pole vault coach Bob Phillips. If it wasn't for them, every meet this season would have been a repeat of last weekend: mediocre meet, long wait, impossible to perform well.

Today I have spent all weekend trying to find meets for next weekend, the only weekend left in the season that Virginia Tech isn't hosting a meet. Our original plan was to go to the Air Force Invitational. It's a great track, and almost like home turf for me (since my heart really resides in CO). The competition would definitely be equally as good as Virginia Tech. So it would be a great chance to get some good bars under my belt. Unfortunately it seems the head coach at Air Force Academy is very hard to get in touch with. So I have no idea if they would let us into the meet or not.

But I had a glimmer of hope when I saw a collegiate meet accepting unattached entries in Albuquerque, on the same track that nationals will be held on in a few short weeks. After lots of phone calls I finally got ahold of one of the meet directors to ask about opening heights. Long story short, there are so few entries they may not even hold the meet. But he said that the University of New Mexico was hosting a collegiate meet the day before and he was sure that they would be happy to let in a few 4.00m jumpers.

It turns out UNM is not so accommodating. There is apparently a waiting list of post collegiate and professional athletes wanting to jump in this meet, and we were way down the list. It was basically a nice way of saying no. (By the way, he never even asked my name. What if he had just turned down Jenn Suhr? He'd never know...). So we're back to Air Force. Which is still a huge unknown.

Luckily there is a meet at Indiana University that accepts open athletes. But we don't know where they will set their opening height yet. It very well could be a repeat of last weekend with the 2+ hour wait.... I'm still holding out hope for Air Force though...

The frustrating part of all of this, is that I am not the only athlete dealing with this situation. Indoor meets try to limit field sizes, I understand that. But unattached athletes really don't take up that much space. It's not like every meet is flooded with unattached entrants. I don't think accepting us is hurting the Virginia Tech meet in any way. And aren't athletes like me and my teammate the future of the sport? How can we get the qualifying marks that we need for nationals and the trials if we can't find quality meets to compete in? (Yes I realize that I just ended that sentence with a preposition. I'm sorry. I'm annoyed. Not fixing it.) This sport should focus more of it's effort on creating situations that foster athlete development. Not make us so frustrated that we leave the sport.

A Step in the Right Direction

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their support over the past few weeks. I have finally started making some progress in the right direction, and I couldn't have gotten back on track without you.

As you know my first meet was a bit of a learning experience. After a very rough week reaching my breaking point with injuries, I refocused and was finally able to relax and enjoy my vaulting. We returned to Virginia Tech for a second weekend. This time around they had odd bar progressions, so instead of opening at 4.00m like we had planned I entered at 3.96m (12'11.75). It was also my first day jumping on the 14' poles. And I was switching brand of poles, which to be honest was unknown territory. I had no idea how they would feel. I ended up taking 5 jumps in warm ups, at least twice as many as I would prefer to take. But I made huge strides in my ability to embrace the technique that we are training. And I ended up clearing 3.96m on my second attempt. Here is a video of that jump:

By the time the bar moved to 4.11m, I was already at 7 full vaults for the day. Given my injuries, my fitness level isn't what I would like it to be. I am pretty exhausted by 6 or 7 jumps. But I gave a good go at 4.11m (13'5). Here is video of my best attempt:

Needless to say I was happy with the clearance. It was a PR for me, even though it was only by 6cm. But it felt great to clear a bar finally. And I felt like I was able to work around the injuries, and make progress on the technical aspects of the jump.

This past weekend we headed to my old home track, ETSU. The facility is great for track meets, and typically the meet is pretty good. This year opening height was a little lower, 10 ft. I wasn't too stressed out about it though. I have had a long wait in meets before. Last week was the first week where I really took the whole week to recover, and get my feet under me for competition day. And it totally worked! My feet felt the best they have in months when I was warming up. Here is my first warm up jump (the bungee is at 4.00m):

If you have ever dealt with plantar faciitis, you know that your feet are ok once you warmed them up. But once you stop and sit for a while, they tighten up again. Well, we definitely had to sit for a while. It was 2.5 HOURS before we came into the competition. I did my best to warm my feet up again, but they were hurting a lot, particularly my jump foot. My first competition jump I took off from about a foot too close to the box. So we moved back for the second one. When I jumped off the ground on the second attempt, I felt a pop in my foot. It was so painful that I didn't even finish that jump. On my third attempt I was struggling so much to get down the runway that my run was way off. I was really disappointed that I had another meet without a clearance, and I was really worried that I had done some serious damage in my foot. It hurt to put any pressure on my heel all night. When I woke up on Saturday morning my foot was a little more sore than normal, but thankfully (and surprisingly!) it loosened up throughout the day. It now feels like it will be able to recover and be ready to jump again this weekend.

With that scare behind me, and great jumping in warmups to build off of, I am looking forward to competing at Virginia Tech again. I will be sure to post an update on my next PR! :)

Troubled Waters

I have been quiet again, I know. There has been a lot going on in my world. And honestly there have been too many thoughts swirling around in my head, I was never sure that I could actually put them down on paper. As any athlete training to be they’re best knows, it is rarely ever easy. Lauren Fleshman stated how I have been feeling perfectly on her Facebook page this week: “Trying out for the olympics is being willing to serve your heart on a platter along with a knife and carving instructions.”

Balancing work, training, recovery, family, and friends is truly a difficult task in the best of times. And lately, it has been anything but the best of times. Christmas came at the perfect moment for me. It was truly a blessing to spend a couple of days relaxing with family and friends. It was a much needed break. But since we have gotten back into the daily grind, it seems like one thing after another just building up and weighing me down. The first was saying good bye to my Dad. He moved to New Zealand for a new job right after New Years. My mom will be following once he gets settled in and finds an apartment. Other than Geoff, my parents are my best friends. I know it seems silly being so sad that they are moving, and it’s only for a year. But it has really hit me hard. And anyone my age knows, mastering the internet and advanced technology can be difficult for our parents, right? So unfortunately since my Dad moved, communication has been sparse. It really has been hard to have them gone for such an important year in my life.

Other than the everyday stresses of work and training, the biggest obstacles in my way right now are these nagging injuries. I have a shoulder injury that seems determined to hang around. I don’t know what precipitated it, but it has really affected my workouts. I have had to make major modifications in my lifting. And on vault days, if I am taking off too close to the box or if I start my plant too late, I can really feel it in my shoulder. And even if the problem is minute, the pain in my shoulder causes me to hesitate, essentially ruining that jump. It has improved in the last few weeks, getting less and less sore. And I feel it less on the runway, either because I have improved my run and plant, or because the injury is healing. Either way it is a relief.

Unfortunately, the injuries that are not going away at all are in my feet. You may recall I ended my summer season in 2011 due to an injury in my jump foot. Initially I was told I had torn some tendons in my foot, but after an MRI I was told it was plantar faciitis. I got a cortisone shot in my foot before the start of fall training, and it alleviated the pain a little. But it never went away completely like we were hoping. Since then I have taken time off, dramatically altered workouts, and skipped more practices than I care to think about. I have taken every possible supplement that could help. I ice at least twice a day, stretch every morning and every night, treated it with the physical therapist and athletic trainers, all to no avail. If anything my foot has gotten worse. Over the last month and a half, I have developed the same exact pain in my right foot as well.

Dealing with a persistent injury like this it is a constant mental drain. At times it gets very hard to stay positive. Every workout is a struggle, and most of them get shortened. For a while I felt like my coach and I were not on the same page. I felt left out of every workout because my 27 year old injured body couldn’t do what my healthy 19 year old teammate could handle. I would go into every practice with a positive attitude, but I would always fall apart somewhere along the way.

Last weekend we had our first meet of the season. The pain was manageable. But I was unable to clear a bar. Realistically, I am not disappointed with the result. Compared to last year, I am gripping a foot higher, running from 5 ft farther back, and I’m jumping on the biggest poles I’ve ever been on. And I’m opening at a bar that is above my personal best. Some people think that’s crazy, but I know I can clear it, and I don’t really see the point at jumping at lower bars if they are not going to get me anywhere. I can handle the no-heights. But I am still not happy with an unsuccessful meet.

Practices this week were pretty bad. My feet are hurting more than they ever have. I wasn’t able to jump at all on Wednesday. The stress of it all was so overwhelming that I had serious conversations with my family about hanging up my spikes for good. I have been buckling under the stress for so long, and my body seems to be failing me. I have been doubting the faith that I have always had in my jumping ability.

But after talking to my coach and some important people in my life, I have reconsidered. We are making more major adjustments to the training plan. My feet are clearly not handling two vault days a week, so we will drop it to one. That means that the only vaulting I will do for the rest of the indoor season will be at competitions. I have also been blessed with an amazing boss/sponsor who is helping me afford some new shoes. New Balance hooked me up yesterday with a sweet pair of Grandma-like shoes to wear at work and walking around during the day (seriously hideous shoes. I am not usually one to get caught up in what I’m wearing, but I am definitely losing style points with these. But I don’t care how silly I look if they’ll help), plus a new pair of trainers, orthotics, compression socks, and special socks to sleep in that keep my feet flexed at night. I don’t know if it’s the socks, the shoes, my positive attitude, or something else at work, but this morning I wasn’t limping quite as much when I got out of the bed. I have refreshed my optimistic outlook on the season. We leave today for our second meet at Virginia Tech. My opening height isn’t getting lowered, I am just going to jump higher.

A huge thank you to those that helped me out this week. It was really a rough one. I really do feel blessed to have such an amazing support system from all of my friends and family. I am more determined than ever to give this everything I’ve got until I have nothing left to give.

Merry Christmas!!

It's been too long since I posted, so why not get one more in before the end of the year, right?? It's Christmas Eve... What do you think I'm doing today?

Vaulting of course! We have our last practice this morning, and then I'll be booking it home to be with my family. I'll get about 5 days with them before I'm coming back to TN. Originally we were only given 3 days off, but my parents are moving to New Zealand for a year (I know!! Crazy, right??) and they leave at the beginning of January. Since I don't get to see them often, I decided to skip a vault practice and come back a little later. I need some quality time with the family before they head to the other side of the world without me...

So training has been going well overall. I think if you had watched my last few practices, you would think that I have had some miserable practices. But I've actually been happy with the progress. We moved from 4 lefts to 6 lefts two weeks ago. That switch went surprisingly well. I moved through a lot of poles pretty quickly and started to put things together. This week we have moved back to 8 lefts, our full run. Last practice had lots of run throughs, but not the bang-your-head-against-the-wall-bring-me-to-tears kind of run throughs. They were actually productive. Even with very minimal sprint training because of my injuries, I am so much faster than I have ever been. My run is 2 feet farther back than it was in the summer, and 5 feet back from where I was starting this time last year. So all-in-all, the approach to the box feels VERY different. And it's taking some getting used to. But I'm so ready for today's practice. It's going to be a great one!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

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!

It's Been a While

I know. But I have a hard time finding something to write when I'm not feeling positive. And the last 3 weeks have been a struggle. Things are thankfully looking up now.

So after my last post, I had a week of post-engagement happy times with Geoff before coming back to Knoxville to get ready for fall training. I was feeling great and I was very positive because my foot was feeling much much better. But things took a turn for the worst when the physical therapist examined my foot and said that in the 6 weeks I'd been resting, my foot showed minimal healing. The tear must have been worse than he thought and that this could in fact be a career ending injury since it's in my jump foot. More than anything, I was shocked. It was definitely not what I was expecting to hear. I shed more than a few tears and had about 15 minutes before I got to work to properly freak out. Then with some much needed discussions with the parental units and coach, we decided to hold off on the drastic life changing decisions before I saw another orthopedist and actually got an MRI.

It took a little over a week to see the orthopedist, get the MRI, and get the results. The doctor was amazing! Spent at least 30 min with me each time answering the millions of questions I had. He's definitely on speed dial next time I have any issues. (Dr. Brantley Burns at TN Orthopedic Clinic if anyone is in need. They are GREAT!).

So the verdict: No torn ligaments. Never had any torn ligaments. Just an acute case of plantar fasciitis. Whew!! That was quite the scare. As anyone who has had plantar fasciitis knows, it's painful and annoying and there isn't an easy fix. It goes away when it wants to. After discussing the options, I decided to get a cortisone shot. It's given some people I know a lot of relief in the past so I thought it was worth a try. It has been 9 days since the shot and it is already less tender. Definitely not back to 100%, but getting there. The physical therapists are much more aggressive now that we know there is no tear. Sometimes it seems like they're doing their best to MAKE a tear, I was crying on the table yesterday. Really. And it takes A LOT of pain to make me cry. But I trust that they are helping. It really is feeling better.

So now it's back to fall training. I haven't been given the go-ahead to run on the track or try jumping yet, but I am running on the alter-G treadmill at work. It's crazy! It takes some of your body weight off so that I can do all the running workouts pain free and not get too far behind. Check it out:

And of course I can do all the gymnastics that I want. :) I will post more as it comes. Hopefully I'll be putting up videos of my short run jumps very very soon.

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!

Alright. For those of you that want to know the juicy details here it is!

Ever since my parents have announced their upcoming move to New Zealand, Geoff and I have been having some serious talks. To be totally honest, we both knew REALLY early on that this day would come. So it was really just a matter of time. We knew we had to make it through next year with as little major distractions as possible, both because of the importance of the competitive seasons and because of Geoff is just starting grad school. Plus, family means a lot to me. I didn't want to reach any major milestones in our relationship while my parents were out of the country. We had basically decided that we would get married in the fall of 2013. So our two options we were left with were wait to get engaged after my parents returned from NZ and have a super short engagement, or get engaged now and have a really long engagement. I get stressed enough with everyday life, so the longer we have to plan the wedding the happier I'll be. :)

So I knew things were coming, I just had no idea it would be this soon! I knew Geoff was going to have an important talk with my Dad last weekend. He didn't tell me, but it was the only time we were guaranteed to see my parents before they left the country. It didn't take much guessing. Once both my parents knew, we started celebrating and it kind of felt like we were already engaged. But Geoff needed to talk to his family too before we made things official. It worked out that he had to leave Pinehurst before me to make it to some meetings at ETSU. So my mom brought me back on Thursday and we met Geoff in Banner Elk. There is a gorgeous river just outside of downtown that is a special place for the two of us. We had one of our first dates there, and it is a place where we both had the first inkling of how great things would be. :) We parked by Geoff's car and his only instructions were for me to come find him. My mom waited in the car, and I set off down the trail. Once I spotted him in the middle of the river, it seemed like it took FOREVER for me to make my way out there to him over all the rocks. He was waiting with a blanket, two champagne glasses, and the Bruno Mars song 'Marry Me' playing on his iPod. He filled the champagne glasses with apple cider he had kept chilled in the river and asked me right out there on the rock. So perfect!!

But the best part was THE RING! We are designing our own ring using diamonds from my both of my grandmothers' rings, plus some from my mother. I'm so excited that my ring with have true sentimental value. I definitely wish my grandparents could have met Geoff, but this way I think that they will always be with us. Unfortunately we can't afford the setting that we want just yet. So in the few days while I was in Pinehurst and he was back in TN he was working hard, unbeknownst to me. This is what he proposed with:

I LOVE it!! Absolutely!! It is so perfect! We have also decided that I will wear one of my grandmothers rings in the meantime to make it seem officially official. (In case there were any doubters... :) ) And he also made me a small ring out of hemp that I can wear to practice in. So I am never at a loss for rings to wear! :)

As we said, the wedding will be a long time coming. Fall of 2013, in Pinehurst at my parents house on the lake. So start planning time off now! We probably won't set a date for a little while. We will have to schedule the wedding around our competition seasons... Of course. Haha. Those of you that have already been through the wedding planning process- any and all advice is welcome!! I took one look at the wedding books at Barnes and Noble and was instantly overwhelmed... Good thing we have plenty of time. We'll find out how good we are at procrastinating....

Injury Update

So. I have gotten a few different opinions on my foot. The week we decided to end the season I started seeing a physical therapist in town to figure out what is going on and to start treatment. I also went to see an orthopedist during some down time at home with my parents. Both of them came back with the same diagnosis: I have partially torn 3 ligaments in my foot. For the anatomically inclined, it's the Abductor Hallucis, Flexor Digitorum Brevis, and the Plantar Fascia tendon. (Don't explain my injury and leave me alone with Netter's... I get curious).

The only thing I really need is rest. Both gave me a timeline of about 4 weeks out, which is perfect. I have already been resting for 2 weeks, and I have another 2 weeks before fall training is scheduled to start. So overall, I'm optimistic. And I really do think it's a one time injury that I can overcome and move past. But I will say that it will be nice to put on a real pair of shoes again and toss this boot aside. With some care and attention it doesn't need to be a nagging injury that hangs with me until the end of 2012. In the meantime I will be enjoying my time off, trying to relax and get refocused for the year to come!

Sad Day.

It's been a rough few weeks for me here. I have made some progress on the runway. Definitely turned some heads at my last couple of meets. It feels good to finally feel comfortable with my run and plant. The unfortunate consequence is that I have ended up blowing through poles so the improvements haven't resulted in any spectacular meet results. But progress is progress and I can't be disappointed with it.

Unfortunately I feel like I have been fighting off injuries the last few weeks. Our schedule had me competing in 2 more meets. Both of them are here at home, the last 2 installments of Friday Night Heights. With the way training has been going, I had no doubts that I would end the season with a big result. But my body has other plans. Since our last meet over a week ago, I have been trying to manage an issue with my heel. I was able to practice last Monday, but since then I have pretty much been limping around. It always is excruciating in the morning, then it starts feeling better by practice time in the evening so I can do at least a light workout.

But after a week of pretending it's not a big deal, tonight's practice was a slap in the face. It was actually feeling a lot better during the day, and I did some short run warm up vaults. But when I tried to sprint for a full run I could feel it escalating. And I just knew if I jumped on my heel at full speed it was going to hurt. A lot. My coach took a look at it after I decided to pack it in for the day. Just the little bit of poking he did sent the pain through the roof. I was almost in tears and couldn't put any weight on it. We both came to the decision that I should just end the season a few weeks early, and schedule a doctors appointment ASAP.

I have 4 weeks exactly until we are supposed to start our fall training. I am optimistic that we can get this issue sorted out quickly. And the rest of my body will be welcoming the break. I even have a few weeks off from work, so I can really do some relaxing. I think I will get to spend the entire time with Geoff, which I'm sure will be just what the doctor orders. :) And even though it is a premature end to the season, I made it much longer into the summer than I ever have before. Now I am confident I can jump well all the way through August. I know I have made significant and permanent changes to my vault since my move. And I'm looking forward to putting in some hard work this fall. Next year... it's going to be BIG!

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!!

Help Support Geoff!!

So those of you that know me well have heard, but for everyone else let me fill you in... My boyfriend Geoff Fryer has qualified for the BMX world championships!! Unfortunately they are in Copenhagen, Denmark which isn't exactly a cheap trip. But races like this are what we train for, so we're doing all we can to raise money so that he can make it to the race. Here are the T-shirts that we are selling:

If you would like to get one and help support Geoff on his journey, simply visit his blog (http://flyerfryer.blogspot.com/) and donate $20 or more. Be sure to include the size you want and where to send it if you aren't local for either of us. If that is too confusing you could also give your donation here on my page too, I'll make sure he gets the money. Promise. :)

Just a note on why supporting a rider like Geoff is worth it: while he's had an incredibly successful downhill career, he is very new to the BMX scene. He has been racing barely a year and he's already qualified for the world championships. I think that says a lot. We both know that we couldn't make it through our careers without support from amazing people like you. And even if you can't afford $20 right now, every little bit helps. We will be eternally grateful. :)

Friday Night Heights-Thursday Installment

So last week's meet went well. My goal for that meet was really just to have fun, relax, and takeoff. I had no run thrus, which is the first time I had a day like that in a long long time. My grip was very very low and I was on a very small pole, so the height wasn't anything spectacular. But my run felt great and I had fun.

This week Friday Night Heights was moved to Thursday night instead. (HUGE thanks to Chris Kane who covered my coaching for the night so I could compete) We had some vaulters come down from Virginia Tech, plus a couple other local collegiate girls. So we actually had a good sized group and everyone had company to jump with. I inched my grip up a little, and jumped on the biggest poles I've ever jumped on. The only problem is that I was blowing through my poles.... And my grip is still almost a foot below where it should be! Haha. Looks like I may be running out of poles soon. Overall I was happy with it. It was progress. And the men had a GREAT competition. Ended with a 3 vaulter jump off and 2 guys going 17'4. Good night! Looking forward to more Friday Night Heights, and possibly some street vaults in the future?? :)

Wish Me Luck!!

In a couple of hours I'm heading down to Tom Black Track here at UT for my first meet in what feels like forever!!! Tim Mack has gotten some officials together so that we can have some USATF certified pole vault meets here in town. There are 4 post collegiate vaulters here (training with 4 different coaches... craziness) so getting the chance to jump locally is huge for all of us. The US Championships are less than 3 weeks away. I think only one of us has a realistic shot at qualifying, but it's on all of our minds.

I feel like my practices have gone well lately. I am running from a full run finally, but still gripping low on a really small pole. My biggest challenge has been to push myself past my comfort zone. We have moved my run back significantly, and I'm really trying to push that free take off. Trying and jump up onto the pole rather than simply running off the runway and just letting it take me up. They are really small changes that will have a big impact on my vault. And it's taking me a while to come around. I am still having a lot of run thrus. I know I could go ahead and move my run in, move my grip up again back to where I was last season. And I would have a realistic shot at qualifying in the next 2 meets. But I would rather not give in, keep everything where it is and just push through it a few more weeks until I make that breakthrough. It may mean waiting another year to get my shot at competing at Nationals, but I know it will pay off immensely in the long run.

It will just take one good day on the runway to get over this hurdle, so I am not totally discounting my chances yet. Today my goal is to build on my last few practices. I want to push myself to relax and open up my run. And take off right from the start. I am not worried about heights right now, I just need to embrace that my run feels different and just go with it. If I can minimize the run thrus today I will be happy regardless of the height!!

Great Friends, Good Company!

It's been a few days. Quick update... Saturday I had a great running session. I was feeling pretty tired since it was the end of the week, but I had a great day. We did 40m pole runs with the pole and I dropped about 0.40 sec off of my time. I was pretty happy with that. As soon as I was done got a quick haircut (had 8 inches chopped off! Much much improved!) and headed to Nashville to watch our good friends Greg and Mandy get married. Mandy is now officially Mandy Bandy, which I think is the coolest name ever! :) It was a gorgeous ceremony, with hundreds of cicadas providing the background music.

Sunday was a nice relaxed day off spent on Geoff's family farm. It's always nice to catch up with family. Monday I got to vault from a full run for the first time since indoors. If you account for the change in my grip, my run has moved back 3-4 ft in just 2 short months. So it is taking me a little bit to get used to how different it feels. I am much faster on the runway, and I am also trying to move my step back. So I am having a lot of run throughs right now while I make the switch, but I am still taking off on a lot of them. And I am starting to get used to it. I think I should have it down and dialed in very soon!

My body is rebelling a little bit over the last few days, so Tuesday was an easy day of sand pit drills and light pole runs. But everything is improving and getting smoother. Today I vaulted again, but I actually had some company out on the runway! You have no idea how awesome it is to be around others working towards the same goal. The past 2.5 years have seen lots of lonely workouts. And if I have had company it has been high schoolers that usually just make me feel incredibly old. So it was a welcome change, and I think it worked well. 3 vaulters and 2 coaches, gettin' it done! Hopefully we can have another practice like that soon! I loved it.

Inspiration

I know I am giving my life up for sport, and I should be watching Nike commercials and football movies to get my inspiration to keep going. And I do. Sometimes. But I always try to remember that in the end, it's just sport. Life is more important. And people like this inspire me more than anything in athletics ever could.

http://youtu.be/8SbXgQqbOoU

What a Spring...

So this is what the radar looked like here yesterday...All those storms were moving north east, so it was a very rainy day here. I actually did a full warm up at the track before I noticed a massive black cloud headed my way. The last time I saw a storm coming towards me at the track it was a pretty harrowing experience. I never want to get caught standing in the middle of the street when it's raining sideways again. So I decided to play it safe and I packed up the poles and made it home just before the brunt of it hit. It was supposed to be a vaulting day, but we ended up just sticking with imitations, sand pit drills, a few light pole runs, and some sprinting later in the evening. Much easier (and safer) to try that in the rain.

I was disappointed that I didn't get to jump yesterday, but I think it was all for the best. When I got out to the track today I felt like I had a much clearer picture in my head of what I was supposed to be doing with the plant and jump. Trying to master an exaggerated free take off into the sand gave me a pretty good idea of where the pole should be and what the jump should feel like than any simple explanation ever could. So today was miles ahead of Monday, and I think as my last practice running from 12 steps it was probably the best. It didn't translate into clearances. I had lots of height on the bungee I just kept bumping it on the way up because I wasn't getting upside down fast enough. But the pole felt a lot smaller today than it ever has, which I think is a good sign that my run and plant are improving. And the biggest improvement: I made it through 15 jumps with no run-thrus! I'll take that any day.

Back at it in the Gym

Today we headed back to gymnastics to get more work done on the bars. I feel like this is a place where I can really work on the intensity on top of the vault. The most important drill we are doing is on the high bar. Basically trying to pull up to handstand from a very slight swing. My biggest challenge has been to try and forget all of my gymnastics training. In gymnastics all of the swings are done with straight arms and a long body. But in pole vault basically I'm trying to get upside down as fast as possible so that I have the speed and power to get a big push off the top. So how pretty it looks doesn't really matter, it's just the intensity that's being put in. I still tend to have a nice long hollow body and pointed toes, and I swing out too far so I just end up coming back to the bar in a pullover. But every practice it gets a little better.
We did add a couple of new drills on the rope that were pretty entertaining. The first is a backflip on the rope. The flip itself is pretty easy, but being able to get upside down and pull on the rope so that the flip actually gets up in the air isa lot harder than I thought it would be. The second drill was to hang upside down on the rope, then try to hop up the rope. The first time it felt insanely awkward, kind of like the first time you try to walk when you're upside down in a bridge (if you've ever tried that.... haha). Your body doesn't quite know which way to move to get you to go in the direction that you want to go. Challenging, but really fun! One other thing I got to do today was play around a little bit on the rod floor. Tumbling never fails to make me smile. :)

My biggest challenge so far is to figure out how to keep myself from holding back.... I tend to be caught up in making all of the drills and vaults look perfect, and worrying about the consequences and what everyone around me will think. But holding back is not the path to setting records. This is the task that will define my pole vault career. If I can overcome it there is no limit to how high I can jump. If anyone has advice on how to overcome my mental setbacks please don't hesitate to share.

The Sand

So yesterday's vault practice wasn't the best. To recover from it a little we went back to the basics in the sand. All I did was 6 step jumps into the sand for over an hour. It was probably about 40 or 50 jumps, but by the end I really felt like I was making progress. The first few things we focused on were moving my hands earlier (starting the plant earlier), then speeding up the last 3 steps, and then making sure I could see both arms in front of me before I jumped. I felt like I could master all of those without too much difficulty. Then we moved on to trying to have a free takeoff, basically jump before my pole hits the sand. It's not a difficult concept. And I have had coaches in the past that have talked to me about it, but it has never been a priority so I have gotten very used to feeling the resistance on the pole before I jump. It's a lot more comfortable. So even though I don't have a long history in pole vault, this is going to be one change that will be difficult to make. Call it a bad habit if you want. But I'll be able to make it happen. From 2 steps I can do it almost all the time, from 6 it wasn't so consistent. Towards the end I figured out how to change the plant and jump to make it happen, but it's still not very consistent.
After the sand we moved to the track and did some easy pole runs with a plant. Very simple, there was just a shoe on the track that gave me a reference of where to start the plant. I was amazed to find out that even when I'm jogging and even though there was no box I still planted late. The problem is that I started to think about planting when I got to the shoe, which meant that it actually started 2 or 3 steps later. I feel like this was a HUGE revelation because I do the exact same thing on the runway. And there is an easy fix, start thinking about the plant earlier. Simple, right? The kicker is that when I try it out on Thursday it's going to feel really uncomfortable and really wrong but I've just got to turn off my brain and make it happen. :)