Eurotrip Part 1 – Rottach-Egern, Germany 4.67m(15’4”)

Since I arrived in Europe I have stayed in 6 hotels, driven through or stayed in 5 countries, competed in 2 meets, biked around Paris, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, AND I’ve journeyed to the top of 2 mountains via cable cars.  Talk about a European tour!  I have never felt luckier to have my job which lets me travel to all of these wonderful places just to compete. Before I started vaulting I didn’t even have a passport. Crazy huh?

Well, my first competition in Sotteville, France didn’t go the way I wanted it to.  I ended up with a big fat No Height by my name.  Ugh.  Not how I wanted to start my tour in Europe.  I entered the competition at my normal starting height of 4.40m(14’5”).  Now that I look back at it, I definitely should’ve came in a bar lower just to get a good rhythm going.  My last attempt in the competition felt the most normal, but the pole was just too small.  Oh well, you live and learn right?

Thankfully, the day after the meet Mary, Tori, Danny, and I spent a day being a tourist in Paris so I was able to get my mind off of the bad meet.  We took a bike tour around the city learning about the history and looking at the beautiful sites!  Such a cool experience that I will always remember.  Next stop was the Eiffel Tower.  We took the subway system to the best view in the city.  I remember walking around a building and there it was, breathtakingly beautiful, shining in the sunlight.  Tears welled up in my eyes…I never thought I would be standing in front of this magnificent structure.  After taking a ton of pictures I convinced the crew to walk 670 steps to the second floor, there we took an elevator to the very top!  The views were spectacular!  Pictures don’t even come close to doing it justice.  To cap it all off, we each had a glass of champagne overlooking Paris.  :)

The next day we were 30 mins into our 6 hour drive to Leverkusen, Germany when we ran into a bit of bad luck…a flat tire. :( Since the car was rented in Germany we had to take it to a German rental car company.  Ugh…the nearest one was in Cologne, 5.5 hours away from where we were.  Luckily we had a donut tire in the back, but unluckily we could only drive 80km/hr which translates into about 50mph the whole way back.  So this easy 6 hr drive turned into a 12 hr trip!  Oh my gosh…loooong day…but we got everything sorted out and to our destination safely that evening.

Flat Tire in France! :(

 

The next competition was in Rottach-Egern, Germany on Lake Tegernsee.  A platform was literally built over the lake to put the pit on!  How cool is that?!  This meet had a great atmosphere with the crowd cheering, music blaring, and everyone having a genuinely good time!  I learned from my last meet and entered the meet with a huge clearance at 4.32m(14’2”).  I went on the clear 4.42m(14’6”) and 4.52m(14’10) on my first attempts.  Then had a bit of a struggle at 4.62m(15’2”) in which I cleared the bar on my 3^rd attempt.  The next bar was 4.67m(15’4”).  First run down the runway…Boom!  Great clearance!  Then I had 2 very close attempts and a blow through at 4.72m(15’6”).  Definitely a huge come back from the last meet!  I was ecstatic!  This type of “street/lake vault” just makes me fall in love with pole vaulting all over again…

Rottach-Egern Meeting

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for more updates on my adventures through Europe!
Thanks for Reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting
www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

2013 USATF Outdoor Nationals – 2nd time World Team Member

2013 USATF Outdoor National Championships: This meet is "make it or break it" for women’s US pole vaulters.  There are no second chances to make the world team and no committee voting you through if you had a bad day.  You have to be on top of your game on that day, at that time, no matter what the conditions are.  If you get ill or are injured, sorry, better luck next time. 

All of those things make USA’s one of the most important and stressful meets of the year.  Saying you have to be mentally tough is an understatement…you have to be mentally FIERCE in order to make it through this meet.

Leading up to this meet, that’s what was on my mind.  Talk about some weight on your shoulders huh?  It was a must to put all of that out of my mind.  The day of the meet I woke up refreshed, excited, and a little nervous.  This was the day I had been waiting for since the 2012 Olympic Trials.  I wanted redemption and to make that World Championship team. 

I had one goal going into USA’s last Sunday(6/23/13):

    1.  Place in the top 3 in order to make the World Championship team.

Height didn’t matter to me until I made the team.  I wanted to stick with the plan and compete.  The plan was to do what makes me the most comfortable, which was to jump at 4.40m(14’5”), 4.50m(14’9”), and 4.60m(15’1”).  I had been jumping those heights the last few meets so that’s what I wanted to do. 

Warm ups that day weren’t the greatest, but never the less, I had my coaches Greg and Jeff telling me that I was fine.  As the competition started I put my feet up, relaxed, and visualized my jumps.  I was ready.  I cleared 4.40m(14’5”) on my first attempt!  That first clearance is always a huge relief.  The bar went up to 4.50m(14’9”)…I blew through my pole on the first attempt, but came back with a nice second attempt clearance.  But now, I was in 4^th place.  I chose to pass 4.55m(14’11”) and go straight to 4.60m(15’1”) because that was the plan.  That was what I had been visualizing in the weeks coming into USA’s.  This next bar was “do or die” for me.  I had to clear it in order to make the World Team.  Putting all of that out of my head was difficult to do, but I managed to calm myself during the few minutes I had to rest between bars.  I was up first…I chalked my hands up…picked up my pole and thought, “Be tall, swing fast, and let ‘er rip”.  Success!  I cleared 4.60m(15’1”) on my first attempt!  Wahoo!  What an amazing feeling!  I made the 2013 USA World Championship Team.  Yes!  I had two good attempts at 4.70m(15’5”) and one blow through at 4.75m(15’7”), but I didn’t care.  My goal was to make The USA Team by sticking to the plan.  I ended up finishing 2^nd to Jen Suhr the 2012 Olympic Champion.

Women’s Team USA Pole Vaulters:

1.    Jenn Suhr

2.    Kylie Hutson

2.    Becky Holliday

Men’s Team USA Pole Vaulters:

1.    Brad Walker

2.    Jeremy Scott

2.    Jack Whitt

Congratulations to my fellow teammates!  Can’t wait to see you all in Moscow!

So what’s next?

Well…I’m getting ready to go on a European circuit of meets!  There has been so much planning since USA’s that I feel like it’s been a month since then, not just a week and a half!  I leave this Friday(7/5/13) to go to Europe, and I have 5 meets planned before the World Championships in Moscow, Russia in August.  I’ll be competing in France, Germany, Switzerland, back to Germany, and England.  Then I will go to Team USA training camp in Linz, Austria until we travel as a team to Moscow!  My return flight back to the US isn’t until the end of August, so this will be the longest I have ever been out of the country!  I’m excited, nervous, a little scared, happy to continue jumping, sad that I’ll be away from friends and family, and motivated to kick some Euro butt!  Haha!  So many emotions.  I just feel so blessed to get to go on these adventures and see so many different countries, while doing something I love…pole vaulting!

So my first competition is in Sotteville, France on July 8^th! Here is the link to the meet website:

http://www.meeting-sotteville.com/

Whenever I have wifi I will be sure to update all of my social media about my adventures overseas! 

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

New Outdoor PB after Disappointing Week w/ Southwest Airlines

This past week has been a roller coaster…

Like I wrote in last week’s post, I went out to the Olympic Training Center for a couple weeks.  I flew back Friday, 6/7, into Chicago Midway International Airport on a NON-STOP Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego.  As I’m waiting at baggage claim, I had this odd feeling that my poles didn't make it.  Needless to say…they did NOT make it…sigh.  You would think that with a direct flight all of your bags would make it right?  Wrong…Oh the life of a pole vaulter.  So I went to the baggage claim office and they told me they would Fed-Ex them to me once they landed in Chicago and would get to Terre Haute (which is 3.5 hours away) no later than Monday morning(6/10).  

Monday morning comes around and the tracking number they gave me still said the poles were in Chicago…great.  I call the Southwest Chicago Midway Baggage Claim and they said they landed at Indianapolis International Airport at 8am and should be shipped to me by Tuesday morning(6/11).  

Tuesday morning comes around, no poles, so I call them back.  They told me that my poles were never in Indianapolis and have been in Chicago since late Friday night.  They were supposed to be picked up by Fed-Ex, but apparently they forgot my poles.  So now they said my poles would for sure be picked up that day and overnight-ed to arrive by Wednesday morning(6/12).  

Wednesday morning comes around…no sign of my poles and the tracking number still said they were in Chicago.  I call Southwest Chicago Midway Baggage Claim again, and they said they were very sorry Fed-Ex didn't pick them up because they won’t fit on the truck.  Now they had to order a special freight truck.  I asked multiple times if they were sure they would be picked up and to please notify me when they did.  I was reassured over and over again that they would be picked up that day.  I called an hour after they were supposed to be picked up and guess what?  Fed-Ex didn't make it for the pick-up time that day…awesome.  Apparently they were going to come back later in the evening and get them to me by Thursday morning(6/13).  Every day I told them that Pole Vaulting was my job, and I really needed my poles for training, plus I had a competition on Saturday that I couldn't jump in without my poles.  I was desperate.

Well…Thursday rolls around…again…no poles.  I tried to call all day with no answer, and their answering message service was full!  This time I called the main Southwest Baggage Claim number and they couldn't contact Chicago Midway either.  At this point I was extremely frustrated and getting ready for the reality that my poles weren't going to get to me by my competition on Saturday.  

On Friday(6/14) I called Chicago Midway again with no answer, but this time I was able to leave 3 messages saying it was urgent that I talk to someone, to please call me back!  I never received a call back, so I called the main Southwest Baggage Claim number again.  They finally got in contact with Midway and they said the poles were going to get to Terre Haute by 8pm Friday night.  That evening my coach, Jeff Martin calls Southwest and talks with them for an hour, and finally decides that my poles were definitely not going to get to Terre Haute by the start of the competition.  He asked Southwest that if he drove up there tonight would my poles be there and would he be able to pick them up?  Finally, they said yes.  What a disappointing week dealing with Southwest Airlines.

So Jeff drove 7 hours round trip Friday night to get my poles.  He got back at 4am.  Keep in mind that he had been working on setting up for Saturdays’ Sycamore PV Open out in the hot sun ever since Wednesday.  Plus he was at the track early the next morning to finish setting up for the competition, and was there all day to run the meet and to move the pit back to where it normally is after the meet finished.  I am extremely lucky to have such a good coach, friend, and mentor on my team.  I can’t thank him enough for all of the big and little things he has done for me.  So a HUGE thank you goes out to Jeff Martin!

What a relief it was to know my poles were going to be here for my competition, the Sycamore PV Open!  I could finally relax after hours on the phone that week.  But now the pressure was on to have a great day after all that work Jeff had done. 

Turns out, the weather wasn't going to cooperate.  It rained on us at the beginning of warm ups and we had a nice little headwind!  But I didn't care.  I was bound and determined to jump well that day.  I came in and cleared 4.40m(14’5”), 4.50m(14’9”), 4.60m(15’1”), then put the bar up to 4.70m(15’5”).  I missed my first 2 attempts and was down to my last attempt…I wanted to clear that bar so bad!  I visualized myself clearing it at the back of the runway.  With a deep breath I was running down the runway saying to myself, “be tall, move your arms, and swing fast”.  Next thing I knew I was on the mat celebrating with a new outdoor Personal Best of 4.70m(15’5”)!  I love the feeling I get after clearing a personal best.  You couldn't get me to stop smiling for anything!  The great part about it was that most of my family and friends were there to watch!  Thank you to everyone for coming out to support!  That means the absolute world to me!  :)

Also, a special Congrats to Vera Schmitz for clearing a PB of 4.45m(14'7") to get the "A" standard for USA Nationals next week!  You go girl!  :)

My next adventure is to Des Moines, IA for the USA National Championships! The competition is on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 1:30pm CST.  I have to place in the top 3 in order to qualify for the World Championships in Moscow, Russia.  Wish me luck! :)

Thanks for Reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

Update to the 2013 Outdoor Season

Outdoor season is well underway so I guess it’s time for a post huh?!  Sorry to all of my readers for not keeping you up-to-date with all of my adventures on here.  This post has been a long time coming. 

I’ll start from where I left off…

After indoor season finished up in March, I took a week off then got back into a rigorous base training cycle with 4 days a week lifting and high intensity running workouts.  Unlucky for me, I had a horrible sinus/ear infection for the first 3 weeks!  Boy does that effect training.  Every time I tried to workout I felt like I was going to pass out, fall over, or both!  No fun :( So eventually I got over that and was really getting into great workouts, then a few weeks before my first outdoor meet I got lower back spasms.  I was out for a good 5 days and had super light workouts for the next 5 days trying to build my back tolerance up.  How frustrating!  Going into my first big week of outdoor competitions (April 20, 24, & 27) I was a little weaker and less confident than I would have liked.  I ended up no-heighting my first outdoor meet at the Kansas Relays.  What a terrible feeling.  I definitely beat myself up mentally after that.  To me, there is no excuse for not clearing a bar in competition.  I had to regroup quickly, travel to Des Moines, IA, and get ready for the Drake Relays Mall Vault in 4 days.  I jumped 4.60m(15’1”) there!  Such a great way to get my confidence back.  I love jumping in the Mall Vault!  The atmosphere is so electrifying with people lining the runway, loud music, and clapping!  Who wouldn’t love that as a vaulter?!  Two days after that was the Drake Relays Elite Competition where I jumped 4.53m(14’10.25”) to place 3^rd behind the Olympic Silver and Gold medalists in the 2012 games!  So my first week of outdoor competitions started off rocky, but in putting that NH behind me I was able to move forward and clear high bars just days later :)

Kansas/Drake Relays 2013

After those 3 competitions I cleared my schedule and didn't have a meet planned for the next month in order to catch up on lost training.  Well, a couple weeks into that I got another round of back spasms.  What a downer.  :(  Luckily that time they weren't as bad, and I was able to get back to my normal routine within a week.  But now, I had a little over a week until my next competition!  Although vaulting was up and down all throughout the past few weeks, I was regaining a lot of confidence.

During my month off of competing, the Missouri Valley Conference Championships were held.  I want to give a special shout out to Indiana State University's Men's and Women's Track and Field Teams for winning both Championship Titles!  Congratulations to Head Women's Coach, Angie Martin and Head Men's Coach, John McNichols for receiving Coach of the Year awards!  I'm so proud to be a part of ISUTF's legacy :)

2013 Outdoor MVC Champs!

Olympic Training Center Chula Vista, CA

Now that you all are up to speed from the last couple of crazy months, I just got back from a 2 week trip to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.  I went out there with Mary Saxer, Shade Weygandt, and their coach, Danny Wilkerson, to get some great training in along with 4 competitions.  We had a great time out in the perfect weather of Southern California, exploring the OTC, competing, and getting work done!  The first meet at the OTC I jumped 4.60m(15’1”), a great jump for traveling 2 days prior!  I rested up and was confident and ready for the next OTC meet one week later.  Well…I was running fast and jumping better than ever…I was on too small of a pole, it over-bent, and snapped in half during warm-ups.  Ugh.  My hands instantly swelled and bruised, but I was Okayed by the athletic trainers to keep jumping.  I decided to get back on the horse, come in a bar lower than I originally planned, and compete.  I mustered up the courage to run down the runway on my first attempt of the competition and cleared my opening bar of 4.30m(14’1”)!  

My poor pole and hands :(

My whole body was shaking from fright and adrenaline, but I was so relieved.  That was a huge step for my mental toughness!  I only cleared the next bar 4.40m(14’5.25”) that day, but I took every jump and competed.  The next meet was at UCLA 2 days later.  Again I jumped 4.40m(14’5.25”)…this time, in not so favorable conditions.  Throughout the next week I did lots of rehab on my hands, wrists, and my right arm flexor tendon.  I came back and jumped 4.60m(15’1”) in my last meet at the OTC!  What a great way to end the trip, but I am definitely hungry for more!  That 4.70m(15’5”) bar is so close I can taste it!

After these last few extremely frustrating months with a lot of ups and downs, I have learned a lot about myself.  In order to be a pole vaulter you have to factor in periods of highs and lows, you have to learn to let bad practices and meets go and keep the great ones fresh in your mind, and you have to persevere through every element imaginable.  I have also learned that I have a lot of fight in me…I am a competitor.  I will not go down without trying everything possible to jump my highest. 

With that said, my next competition is the SYCAMORE PV OPEN, Saturday, June 15, 2013 @ Indiana State University!  There is an open competition @ 12:45pm, Elite Men @ approx. 3pm, and Elite Women @ approx. 6pm...POLE VAULT only!  It will be my last meet before USA’s, so please come out and support!  Bring a chair, sunscreen, and hands for clapping!  :)

Thanks for reading!

Kylie
@ratherBvaulting
www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

USA Indoor Nationals - 4.75(15'7")

Extraordinary is what I’ll call Saturday’s USA Women’s Pole Vault Competition.  ONE world record, TWO personal bests, and FOUR vaulters over the 15’ mark!  It was the best women’s indoor competition in the USA…ever. 

Credentials for Indoor USA's

The competition was delayed by an hour because the men’s heptathlon pole vault was still going on.  Instead of getting all worked up about it, my best friend, Mary Saxer, and I decided to hang out in the warm up area.  We laid down, put our feet up(literally), and jammed to some pump up music on my iPhone(which consisted of Macklemore’s song, Thrift Shop)!  Haha

Finally the men’s heptathlon pv ended and we were ready to go out and warm up on the runway.  Right away I knew this was going to be a good day!  My steps were on, I was being aggressive, and felt fearless.  I got on the biggest pole I ever had in warm-ups, which was actually a brand new pole from Gill Athletics!

I came into the competition at 4.40m(14’5”) with an easy first attempt clearance.  Greg(my PHX coach) had me pass 3 heights up to 4.55m(14’11”), then to 4.65m(15’1”) with easy first attempt makes.  Then the bar goes up to 4.70m(15’5”).  By this time all of the running events on the track were finished and all eyes were on the pole vault!  The atmosphere in the building was electrifying!  I couldn’t believe that literally hundreds of fans stayed to watch the outcome. That gave the entire field a really good feeling of support.  Unfortunately I missed my first 2 attempts at 4.70m(15’5”) and quite frankly was running out of gas.  So I went down to the end of the runway, visualized myself clearing this bar, and told myself that I knew I could do it.  3^rd attempt personal best clearance!  Yes!!  Now the bar is up to 4.75m(15’7”).  I had 2 solid attempts at it.  My adrenaline was running high; I was pumped, and knew I was going to clear it.  The bar might have shook a little, but it stayed!  OMG, I thought to myself, I just cleared 15’7”…I’m Back!  My eyes instantly welled up with tears of happiness.  Greg called me over for celebration hugs and high fives, then looked me in the eyes and told me that it was time to regroup…the bar was going up to 4.80m(15’9”).  I tried to get ahold of myself before I took that next attempt, but once they moved the bar up I only had 3 minutes.  I still hadn’t calmed all the way down for my first 2 attempts at 4.80m(15’9”).  On my 3^rd attempt I was up and over the bar, but came down on it.  AHHHH!  So close!  But holy shit, what a day!  It felt so great to be in the upper 15’s and to finally, after 2 years, increase my personal best. 

4.70m(15'5") clearance

Jumping  4.75m(15’7”) puts me 3^rd on the All-Time Indoor USA list behind 2 Olympic Champions and a world record holder…#2 - Stacy Dragila 4.83m(15’9.25”) & #1 - Jen Suhr 5.02(16’5.5”).  It also puts me 11^th on the All-Time Indoor WORLD list!  Only 10 other women in the world have jumped higher.  It seems unreal to put it in that perspective.

View a recap of the women's pole vault competition by clicking this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=siEooDueFiY

View my 4.70m(15'5") jump by clicking this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=UUkHAqg9SY7G8Mnlc5Hf_fvw&v=KKLouXuhCGo

After I was finished, Jen Suhr went on to jump 5.02m(16’5.5”) – the new world record.  What a jump!  Even though I placed 2^nd, it’s pretty cool to have the person that beat me jump the world record.  Congratulations Jen!

There was an incredible amount of excitement in this meet!  Congrats to my BFF Mary Saxer for clearing the IAAF “A” standard 4.60m(15’1”) and placing 3^rd!  Can’t wait to see what we can do outdoors!  Thank you for always being there for me :)

Mary and I after the meet!

So now that my indoor season is over, I have taken a full week off!  I am ready to get back to the grind of heavy lifting and running for a base training cycle on Monday!

Bring on the Outdoor Season!!  I AM READYYY!

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

Proud to be a Sycamore - MVC Championships

Competition wise…this past weekend was an off week for me to rest up for USA Indoor Nationals in Albuquerque, NM.  I’m actually in the process of traveling there now, and had a little bit of free time before my flight to write some of this blog!  I compete Saturday, 3/2/2013, at 4:15pm against the nation’s best!  I feel confident and ready to clear some high bars!  Can’t wait to get out there on that runway!

Ready to go to the airport!  Oh the life of a vaulter :)

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Missouri Valley Conference Track and Field Championships at the University of Northern Iowa.  It was quite a bit different for me since I was on the coaching side of the spectrum.  I really enjoyed my time there watching the athletes battle it out on the track and in the field events.  I always wondered why coaches always seemed more nervous than athletes when I was in school.  Well…now I know!  As a coach, you have absolutely no control over the outcome of the competition.  You just have to pray that what you said in practice and at other competitions stays with the athlete, and they try their very best to make that bar! 

The Indiana State Men’s team won the championship, while the Women’s team was the runner-up!  Not a bad weekend from the Sycamores, eh?!  I couldn't be more proud to have been a part of such a great program as an athlete and now as a volunteer assistant coach for the vault crew!  The athletes have been putting in hard work on the track, weight room, and training room since the end of August.  It’s so nice to see it all pay off.  I know the women’s team wanted to win so badly and fought tooth and nail just to come up short…but they have come so far from their 5^th place finish last year.  This is the highest the Women’s Sycamores have placed in 12 years!  So to all of the women on the team…Keep your heads held high…this is only part one of your journey this year.  :) 

MVC Men's Conference Champs!

My love for coaching has grown since I came back to Indiana State in October.  Being able to watch the athletes grow and mature as vaulters is so special.  They've come so far this year as a group and individuals.  Practices have been getting better, and everything was coming around at the right times.  Out of all the ups and downs we've had as a vault crew this year…I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Congrats to Coach Jeff Martin and the whole Indiana State Vault Crew for scoring at MVC’s this past weekend!

Women’s PV

1.            Kimmyanna Rudolph      3.95m/ 12-11.5

2t.           Richelle Kimble                 3.85m/ 12-7.5

7t.           Lauren Rice                         3.50m/ 11-5.75

7t.           Hannah McKnight            3.50m/ 11-5.75

7t.           Alyssa Markiewicz           3.50m/ 11-5.75

Men’s PV

4.            Connor Curley                   4.81m/15-09.25

5.            Wes Schenck                     4.81m/15-09.25

7t.           Andrew LaMaster            4.81m/15-09.25

**Congrats to Coach John McNichols for getting Coach of the Year award!

Coach Angie Martin put a great quote on the women’s comment sheet that I wanted to share:

BEING COMMITTED IS MEASUREABLE

I practiced my hardest today… or I didn’t.

I studied… or I pretended to study.

I supported my teammates… or I blamed them.

Commitment puts it on the line!

No games, no lies, no cheating!

Great Job this weekend Sycamores!  You make me proud  :)

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

Millrose Games 4.65m(15'3")

Well this was a very interesting week for me.  Every practice I went to I felt tired and my legs did not want to work with me…not a good sign.  I have been traveling around the country so much lately that my legs felt like a hundred pounds each even though I tried everything to get them recovered as much as possible…nothing worked.  Uh oh, I thought, I’m in trouble for the up and coming meet…The Millrose Games in NYC.

To make matters worse, I didn’t have the best experience with traveling on Air Tran Friday morning.  I got 3 hrs of sleep the night before, because I had to get up at 3:30am to catch my 6:30am flight.  Never again do I want to travel that early 2 days before a meet.  When I got there, they didn’t want to take my poles even though they have a vaulting pole policy which I showed them.  Thank you Air Tran for finally taking my poles!  But then it took about 20 mins to get through security, and by that time I was the last one to get to the gate, they said the flight was over-sold, and I wouldn’t be able to get to NYC until midnight that night!  Luckily they let 2 more people on, and I was the last one to make it on the plane!  Keep in mind this happened all before 6:30am!  Ugh!

Once I got to NYC my luck did a 180!  My poles were out before I got down to baggage claim and 2 athletes from Fordham Prep High School were already there standing by them ready to go!  Thank you Brian Carney, James, and Sean!  When I got to the hotel I found out that Mary Saxer and I were roommates…and everything was alllll good!  Such a loooong day so far and it was only noon!  We spent the day together walking around Central Park and exploring a tiny portion of NYC!  So much fun!

Thank You NIKE for my new Flyknit Shoes!

Mary and I in Central Park!

The Millrose Games is the most historic and prestigious track and field meet in the US during the indoor season.  It’s been going on for 106 years now where the best of the best come together and compete!  It was such an honor to get invited to vault in this meet!  The Millrose Games got moved from Madison Square Garden to the Armory in 2012.  I had never jumped there before, and I was in awe of the sold out crowd.  It gives me goose bumps just thinking about the meet again!

So I get to the meet Saturday night and immediately was pumped up by the atmosphere and the amount of people that were already there!  I put everything involving my tired legs out of my mind and focused on what I needed to do to jump high.  I decided to open up the competition at my highest opening bar ever, 4.40m(14’5”).  I felt confident from my last 2 competitions.  Plus I thought that if I want to jump high, I need to come in higher to save my energy for those 15’ bars.  It worked!  I cleared 4.40m(14’5”) on my first attempt, 4.55m(14’11”) on my second attempt, and 4.65m(15’3”) also on my second attempt!  The bar went up to 4.75m(15’7”) and I had 2 good attempts at it, blowing through the bar, but couldn’t leave it up there.  All in all, I am so happy to have cleared another indoor PR for the 3^rd week in a row, especially after the difficult travel and my legs not being up to par.  It's amazing what the power of the mind can do.  :)

Today I am leaving with the Indiana State University’s Track and Field team to help coach at their Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet!  I haven’t been to a conference meet in almost 3 years!  It should be quite fun and quite different seeing as how I’m on the coaching side of the spectrum for this weekend!  Good Luck to all of my ISU athletes!  :) 

My next competition is USA Indoor Nationals on March 2^nd in Albuquerque, NM!

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie