Preparing for USA's

Welp, just got back from another bike ride with Julia! If you don't know, we love bike riding. We try going at least 5 times a week, if not every day. I've always loved riding and ride every year during the summer, when track is a little more low key. Julia and I started dating just over a year ago and she's always loved riding, but just hasn't done it much. So we started last summer and finally was able to get back into it a few weeks ago. If anyone knows anyone who wants to get rid of a "nice" road bike, let me know! We'd love to get some new bikes in the future. Sooner the better, ha. Well we did the same route we did yesterday morning and beat our time by 5 minutes ;). Ok enough bike talk for today, on to the good stuff...
I leave for Eugene, Oregon tomorrow morning at 9am! My coach, his wife, and I are flying out there to meet the rest of the KU team that's been leaving at various other times this week. I think we have 10 KU athletes competing at both the Junior and Senior Championships this year which is an awesome number! I'm REALLY looking forward to having a good time out there. I know tons of other athletes from other schools and professional and unattached athletes who I love seeing at these big meets. Eugene is without a doubt, the best place to go for a track meet, especially this time of year. In the spring it can be pretty unpredictable with rain and cold weather, but in the summer, I've had nothing but good experiences out there. There's no wonder why its called Track Town USA as it's just a classic track stadium and town. It seems like almost everyone in town comes to watch all of the track events held there throughout the year. It's always crowded with local Oregonians who just love track! The reason I'm looking forward to this particular meet more than some in the past isn't because I'm expecting to win, I'm actually only ranked 7th going into it. It's because I'm ready to start having fun again! The last couple months, I've been finishing up my collegiate career, lost, and not sure what my next move is gonna be or where my next paycheck is gonna come from. It's been rather stressful for me and I'm so excited to finally have a plan for the next 2 years! Now that I have a job lined up, classes to take, and an idea of what my life is gonna be like for a while, I can relax more while I'm vaulting and just do what I do. Vaulting under stress has always been a challenge for me, so its definitely a relief to be a ton more de-stressed. I've been doing some good things at practices lately and I hope I can keep it up this weekend. I have another vault session today at 2pm where I'm lookin to do some short run jumps, as well as some medium run jumps if I'm feeling good. My main technical goal is to plow through the takeoff with my chest forward and arms as high as possible. Whenever I do that, I either blow through the pole or have a fantastic jump. I can honestly say that if I drive through the takeoff with my chest at this meet, I'm making a team. Whether its the World Championship Team heading to Daegu, Korea or the Pan American team heading to Guadalajara, Mexico, I believe I have a good shot at jumping really high on Saturday. If I haven't mentioned it already, The Men's Elite Pole Vault will be held on Saturday at 12:00PM Pacific Time. I'll be updating my blog while I'm out in Oregon, starting tomorrow and hopefully I'll be able to report some good news Saturday night! I've been doing everything coach has wanted me to do the last few weeks and I'm feeling very confident in my vault right now. I want to thank everyone who has supported me on my journey thus far and I hope all of you can continue to have a friend/son/grandson to cheer for for a long time to come! I'm mentally, physically, and spiritually ready for this trip and all I want is to go out and have a good time and give myself a chance to jump high. Period.