What About Bob

Friday night I had the opportunity to jump once again. After competing in the meet Wednesday I had a much better idea what I was capable of doing, and walked into the Fuzion facility with a plan I was much more confident in. Only having jumped once since March my goal was to make a mere 17', and that would allow me to leave the competition happy and confident in the upcoming events. To my surprise I managed to make 17'4.5" instead. 
Now I'm not trying to brag about the height as it is lower than I have opened at many meets in the past. But its the highest bar I have made in a meet since my injury was diagnosed. So this is great progress and something to celebrate. There have been many days and nights during the past 9 months where I have started to lose hope, only for a moment of course, and doubt what I'm doing. Never the why, I never doubt the why, only the what. But small victories like these make it more than worth it. To quote the wise words of Bill Murry in What About Bob, "Baby Steps".
Something else that is for the pole vault minds out there. I started the meet on a 16.0 flex (190lb) 5m (16'4.5") pole and finished on a 15.4 flex (195lb) from a 14 step (7-left) approach. I haven't jumped on poles this size since July of 2010, and I was about 10 lbs heavier back then. So yet another exciting piece to the puzzle.
Its odd to me that I have been able to manage all this without any running or real lifting workouts in weeks as I had to put all that to rest for returning back pain and nerve issues. Spending my days running in a pool, sprinting on an elliptical, spinning full speed on a stationary bike, and only working out my upper body on the rings. I'm appalled at how well that regiment is actually carrying over. So to all you injured athletes listening, there is hope, and regardless of what others may say, there is more than one way to train and become a successful athlete. I will produce more evidence to support my argument soon.

An 8 week Silence Creates an Hour of Noise

After 8 weeks off the runway I decided to step back on last night. We set up these spring series meets to help all us post collegiate poor folk out, and they crept up on me quick. I told myself, I may not be ready, but I can always warm up and see. I can't believe the series has started, which means the count down to The USA Championship has already begun. Wouldn't that be something, if I managed to qualify, after all that has gone on. I honestly don't believe its out of my reach to be there, and be a player. I haven't jumped in roughly 2 months and I figured, what the hell, I'll give it a shot. Not knowing what poles, grip, or approach I should go from. It was a fun guessing game, and I error-ed on the side of too soft of poles! This was a fantastic feeling. In warm ups I crushed poles from 12 steps that were too big for me from 14 steps in Reno back in January. and were about right from 18 steps in March! So I have to say HOLY SHIT! I'm excited. I only managed to make a humble opening bar of 16' then struggled from there on. But I learned a great deal about where I am at, and Friday in the Fuzion meet #2 I will have a far better prepared plan of attack that I am guessing will yield much greater results. Either way, I'm just ecstatic to be jumping again. Rock and Roll!

A Unique Perspective

You know those days where it seems like everyone around you is acting like a complete ass? Then finally at some point you realize, your the one who is real the problem. Well to be honest, I've been noticing that a lot lately. I do my best not to bring other people down to my level when I'm in the dumps myself, but some days it feels like a full time job. I tried to figure out why I've been acting this way, and I've come up with several reasons. After attending the Drake Relays Mall Vault this weekend it all became clear. I need to be jumping. Holy shit I miss jumping, so much. Watching my friends and peers burn down the runway and fly over bars in style, for a massive crowd, made me extremely nostalgic. Normally when I attend a large competition as a spectator I have a really hard time with it. I can remember being bumped out of the USA Outdoor Championships in 2003 by 1 measly centimeter. I was still in college and USA's just happened to be near where I grew up. I decided to go and watch the meet even though i was heart broken about not getting in as an athlete. It turned out to be an amazing meet to watch but I remember telling myself, never again, never again will I stand on the sidelines and watch elite competitions like this. Guess what, the same thing happened the following year as I sat and watched the Olympic Trials while being the first athlete out by 1 measly centimeter, they even had my BIO in the program at the meet. That was hard to watch, but ultimately exciting, actually the most exciting vault competition I have witnessed to date. You get my point. Sometimes it's hard to watch. Honestly though I've got to give a big shout out to the organizers of the Mall Vault because I have seen a lot of street type vault meets in my day, and that competition was done very professionally in so many ways. Other organizers could learn a lot from them.
When I arrived at the meet I must admit that I rolled in with a baseball cap tipped down low, a dark coat and a quiet disposition. I did not want to be recognized as an athlete in the crowd. I would have rather been seen as a quiet camera man with no ties to the sport. In anticipation for the competition I thought I would have that feeling again, the feeling of being left out, or picked last, or not being good enough. When I arrived, it wasn't there. I walked into the mass of people heard the loud music, clapping, and became so excited for my friends on the other side of the fence. I wanted to shake hands, scream when they were on the runway, catch steps, start the clapping, and be a part of something special. It was something special. I fought through the crowd, jumping around with a tripod and HD camera, held it high above my head to pan over children resting on parents shoulders, because the best thing I could do for those athletes that day, was shoot the best videos I could. I had a blast, and the feeling of inadequacy, wasn't there. I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel about that. At first I thought, maybe your ready to be done, your ready to be a spectator. After the 4 hour drive home I stayed up till 3am editing and posting videos to the best of my ability alone with my thoughts. I felt so confused about my excitement for a meet and the performance of athletes that I was not a competitor in.
The flame of doubt, in my devotion as an athlete, was soon extinguished when I sprung out of bed this morning to finish my uploads for Derek and Kylie then head to the gym, where I spent an hour sprinting between the elliptical machine and the pool, like an injured athlete should. It felt amazing and I felt as driven as ever.
So no, I'm not ready to be a spectator full time, and thank you to all the great athletes who jumped at the Mall Vault for the fresh burst of Inspiration.

Back to the Bike

Too much too soon. This tends to be a reoccurring theme for me as this injury continues on. After weeks of therapy and light running I was to excited to pursue a regiment of speed training to compliment the strength I have worked so hard to regain. Per usual however, I got eager or maybe even greedy, and pushed a little to hard. Wondering how my leg started going numb again, and the nagging back pain returned, its clear now that it is from the running. Which sucks because, not to tell fishing tales, but I was actually starting to feel pretty damn fast again. So, back to the bike for me. As frustrating as it seemed at first, it isn't necessarily a bad thing either. It's amazing how much speed and strength you can maintain on the stationary bike if you plan, implement, and commit to it properly. It does get boring and a little lonely, but if your truly passionate about recovery, you tend to stay with it, and those that do, reap the benefits. It is no substitute for moving fast though, the air blowing in your ears like wind in a storm. Going fast is just fantastic, I think most would agree. Its not as euphoric as flying or falling though, and this is where some may disagree, but to the rest of us, its bliss. A few more weeks on the bike, and in the pool, and I will get to enjoy that feeling again. Patience for now, Triumph around the bend.

Video Blog

I have been talking a lot on here and thought it would be nice to give folks something to look at. Here is a typical day with Alex Tapplin and myself. We meet up 2-3 times a week and exchange knowledge. The arrangement is working out well for us both. I hope you enjoy the video.

The Fuzion Spring Series is Official

So I was breezing through the Polevaultpower message boards the other day and came across a disturbing thread titled "Worst indoor season ever?". Referring to pole vault in the US. The thread goes on for 4 pages. Its full of valid points, theories, ideas, complaints, countless book references, and finger pointing. I can hear passion in some of the words, and even agree with many of the arguments myself. However I have to say, talk is cheap, and actions speak. 4 pages of text and nothing about what someone is actually doing to make a difference. Track and Field is dying, and Pole Vault is dying with it. If it bothers you, help. Go do something about it. You can a make a difference in someones life, even if its just one athlete.
We are acting. Here is yet another action we have taken. Filling the void for the forgotten group of dedicated post collegiate athletes left out to dry between NCAA conference, Regional, and National championships. These people need a place to compete.
So come join us. If your dumping your hard earned money (or pushing credit card limits) into chasing around the country and paying entry fees for 1 chance a week to compete and possibly get a USA mark, how about the option of 3 times in a week, in the same place, on a huge pit, with no worry of bad weather, a lightning fast runway, good friends, a fantastic place to train in the meantime, and no entry fees? The option is now available. Contact me. We want to help.

The Machine

Its awesome to be at a place where the day in day out grind of a "normal" job is nonexistent. Yes we work long hours, and 7 days a week most weeks. But I go to work in running shoes, and warm ups, and am kind of expected too. That's not bad if you ask me. Fuzion is a place where ideas really come to life. The MN PV Showcase is a perfect example of that. Most of the time people sit around and talk about all there great ideas, get excited, maybe even write a few words down or scribble some pictures, but that's usually as far as it goes. Out here, when we talk about something, we are almost instantly on the phone, email, internet, etc, bringing it to life. We don't talk, we do. And what we do helps to resuscitate a sport that started being systematically controlled and ultimately murdered some time ago. The challenge and passion involved with the work creates a great stimulus in the building. The work, however time consuming, does tend to take hold of your life a bit, but does not seem to overwhelm. I'm starting to see the source of fuel that the boss man has fed off of and maintained his business all these years almost alone, and has even managed to grow larger and larger over time. He is a machine and keeping up with him is near impossible. What lies ahead for us as a company looks very bright.
What lies ahead for me as an athlete is looking bright as well. Thanks to Alex, my therapy has taken what I can only describe as the right turn. I have already noticed major differences in my body. I'm happier, its easier to get out of bed, I have more energy all day, I'm able to do harder running workouts, harder lifting workouts, my blood stream is not made up mostly of IB Profen, I'm feeling closer to what an elite athletes body should feel like.
Being patient in staying off the runway for the next few weeks will be very tough for me. I look at it everyday with want and need. Just one little fix of runway speed and pole lift off. It's my absolute favorite thing in life. But if I can wait, and do this thing right, when that exciting day comes, it will be absolutely worth the wait.