Yesterday I wrote the previous blog while I was at work, but what I didn't tell you was that when I got to work, I unlocked the building, walked down the hall to clock in, and realize I'm walking through puddles when I started thinking... I just walked through a couple puddles and acted like nothing was wrong. WHAT THE HECK?! I look further and see that a significant part of the hallways was wet, an exercise room had sitting water, and my office and the office next to it was both under a half inch of water. Maybe more though cuz my socks got wet through my tennis shoes. Turns out it was the same thing that happened last year around this time. Whenever it rains a whole lot, which it did the night before, pressure builds up and explodes through the floor tiles right inside one of the entrances. I know this because the exact same thing happened last year and I happened to be working during a storm when it happened that time. So anyway I called my boss and he came by to check it out. We got a cleaning crew over to take care of it and they said they sucked up over 150 gallons of water - ridiculous. Well thats not all that happened... While my boss was there, I asked him if he thought it smelled kinda funny down this one hallway I walked down earlier. It was sort of a burning plastic/tar/asphalt type smell like a machine was burned up or something. He said I should call the campus police and report it before I get off work. I call them and asked if they could send someone out to check it out and the lady on the phone said that they would send out an officer and fire unit... I was like woahhh I don't think thats necessary, but apparently its protocol. Long story short, I have to stay there 2 more hours to unlock doors and such for the firefighters to check the origin of the smell. They eventually found a hot tank of steaming tar outside one of the back doors that was smoking and ventilating through the air intake of the building. But that wasn't enough, personally I think they just wanted to play with some of their new toys... They got their 100' ladder truck to extend a ladder onto the roof and check any air conditioning units to see if their belts were in good shape. It was a long day at what I used to consider a simple job. Pictures from the day are below.
Ok back to today.
I already told you I was accepted into grad school AND got the G.A. Position in the athletic department, which solidifies my plans for the next phase of my life. Bout time... But then I go to practice. It was just me and my coach today. Our plan was to go from long run today and then short or medium run wednesday, before going out to Oregon for USA's. It was pretty warm outside today, humidity around 341% at least, and luckily some cloud cover. It was a pretty good, gusty tailwind today so I was excited to try to get on some big sticks. I started out with some straight pole drills and then moved back to 10 steps. (For future reference and your convenience, I'll say this now. When I say how many steps I'm running from, I'll try to always use the word "steps" which is referring to Total steps, not just lefts) I did significantly better today on my straight pole drills and also on my short run. At this point in my career, I have 3 primary approaches. Short = 10 steps, Medium = 14 steps, and Long = 18 steps. My short run is usually around 74'6", medium around 104', and long run around 134'. Today I didn't use a tape measure, just cuz our outdoor runway is on a football field and I can use the yard lines. So I don't know exactly what my run was at today but I was about a foot and a half further back than the last two practices. Most likely due to the tail wind. I moved back to long run after about 4 jumps from short. Just between you and me... and the rest of the world wide web... I went through a rough patch near the end of indoor season when I started to get on bigger poles. I have this recurring fear of my grip not being strong enough and that I'm going to slip off. It's a completely made-up fear that holds no truth whatsoever, and that's what I had to tell myself a thousand times before I got rid of it during outdoors this year. If I've learned anything through collegiate vaulting, it's that you can't ever let your mind get the best of you. You're in control and you have to maintain control, harness it, and never let it go. If I had a tip of the day, that would be it. Back to vaulting--- I ended up taking about 10 jumps from my long run. If I would've just blogged about jumping, it would've been titled, "The Best Mental, and Worst Statistical Practice of My Life." Dude... I made ONE bar the whole practice haha. I just have to laugh at that. In the past, if I only have a clearance percentage of 10% at a practice, it was an AWFUL day. But today was different. I felt like the greatest vaulter in the world. I was soaring to the clouds today. Yea, we may have put the bar on some pretty hefty heights today, but I was pleased. I cleared 17' 5" once, and missed everything else. from 18'1" to 18'7" to 19'1". I missed em all, but the thing about it is... I wasn't on my biggest poles. I wasn't running as well as I usually do. And I didn't care, because today was a breakthrough day. I was putting more energy into those poles than ever before at a practice and I was actually swinging and turning and going UP the pole ON THE SIDE... which, if you've ever seen me vault, I DON'T DO THAT. But today I did. It was a great day all around. My girlfriend, Julia (whom I will refer to as Julia from here on out on this blog so don't ever forget who I'm talking about) must have told me congrats at least 27 times and I thank her for that tremendously. After practice, I lifted weights, grilled some burgers, watched some tv, and here I am, in bed before 11. I've been pretty good about my sleep lately. I learned the hard way that sleep is important. I never realized it till I started getting more sleep. Dang it makes ya feel good. Tomorrow morning, I'm getting up early and Julia and I are goin on a bike ride. Lookin forward to it! I also wanna thank my mom and my friend Roy for giving me some good feedback on my last post! Thanks for your support! Catch ya later.
Love the pics of the firefighters on that hugh ladder! Your best day so far in 2011 radiated all the way to Georgia and beyond, we are so thrilled for you. If I had a tip of the day..it would be remember when you did the art sculpture of the vaulter and you cut half his head off? Let your body, muscle memory, speed and the pole work for you and keep your brain out of the equation. When you're just vaulting (read: not thinking so hard) it's a beautiful thing!
ReplyDelete