Let's start with the fact that today I boomed over my start height of 12' 3" (3.75m), and then 12' 9" (3.90m) from only 8 steps/43' on a 14/170/17.0 gripping 12' 8" (3.86m). Easy jumps with BIG height. A little surprising. On my first attempt at 13' 3" (4.04m), again I had good height but caught it on the way down. Got a slight hamstring strain on the next jump and stopped. The timing of the 14' 1" (4.30m) poles is a little different but the carryover from what I did on the small poles was excellent. Technically I was in control but my legs felt tight from yesterday forward. Why?
You learn some of these things the hard way but today was really needed. I knew I could be hurt from my first couple of take offs but I needed to know where I was. Stupid? Maybe but I really needed to know if what I'm doing is really working and will it really transfer? Technically yes, but physically NO!! So dumb as it sounds, I need to find out and I did.
About six weeks ago I removed a whole series of hamstring/trunk stretches that I have been doing for a few years. My reasoning was that I was not improving on them so they must not be needed anymore. Since I haven't had even a minor hamstring ding in two years, I thought I was fine. WRONG!! I will add them back in as well as a few other strengthening exercises.
The real problem today was my run. For the most part I dropped out my hill/sleds in favor of some faster and shorter running (20m, 30m, 40m). Not smart. When I run hill/sleds it's 50m and powerful. The shorter ones without the sled miss that dynamic. Can't allow that again. I depend on power to cover ground and today when I wasn't covering ground, I TRIED to run harder and that contributed to the little ding. Another factor was dehydration. I have felt a little cramping over the past few days and did not hydrate well today because I was driving 3.5 hours and didn't want to make it 4.5 by stopping to pee five times. Next time I will. Dehydration strains typically heal much faster and are not as dramatic.
Typically a hamstring can cost you 6-8 weeks. On a scale of 1-10 this one is a 2.5 or 3 and I'm actually glad it happened so I can make these adjustments. So when you drop two important base pieces of training that have proved essential, bad things happen. At indoor nationals in 2009, which I won, I got a similar ding and rated it a 5. Four weeks later I nearly PRd at the 100th running of the Drake Relays, so I'm really not phased by this baby setback.
I'm jumping really great for 8 steps (on my way to 16) and a relatively big pole without feeling my usual power on the runway. I will stay out one week, train for one week with the hills and stretches back in the program. Two weeks from today I'll start back jumping on my smallest poles from 2 or 4 steps. The next week I'll get back on my 13' 1" (4m) poles and the week after that, my biggest 4m poles. On week four I will be right back where I am today but more solid physically and technically.
My present outlook is that I just finished my off season training and I'm now getting ready for the preseason, which will start in four weeks. I really think I'm RIGHT THERE as far as the overall plan, so this chink in the armor was great to find today instead of later when I'm back on longer runs and bigger poles.
Speaking of poles, I had my two new 14' 7"s (4.45m) flexed as if they were 14' 1" poles and they came out to be the exact replacements of the 14' 1" they are replacing (15.7 & 15.5). PERFECT! The objective is to be able to start my meets on 14' 7s instead of having to switch up to them from 14' 1s during the meet. Pretty excited about that.
Thanks for being here and keeping me sane. I'm really feel like I'm on the right track, even if it doesn't always sound like it. A year ago today I just started jumping again from 4 steps after a groin injury and 8 weeks later I won the World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia in just horrible wind conditions. Sacramento is known for crappy winds as well. I'm "early" for my progress toward hopefully a top five finish at next year's world championships. Or I'm late since I need to get over 14' by Reno at the end of January. Have a great night. Bubba
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Hey bubba. I just found your blog/website and it is a wealth of information. Thank you! I'm starting on my third year of vaulting and my pr is 12'6". I'd say my biggest problem is my run. I'm just so darn slow and inconsistent!. My previous season I spent out of commission with a pulled quad but that's no excuse. I've been running hills to improve and the results are tremendous. (Wish I had a sled though) I've fallen in love with the pole vault without a doubt and have committed my senior year to training. Hopefully I can get jumpin' and hit 14' before the end of fall. If I can't do it then, I will do it at the summit in Reno. Hopefully I can see you there!
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