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

Phoenix, Albuquerque, and Another 15' weekend!

This past week I traveled to Phoenix, AZ to get a jump session and competition in with Greg Hull, and some training with Tori Peña.  It was the best week I’ve had in a loooong time…maybe ever.  I got to see almost all of the amazing people that I worked with the last 2 years out in Phoenix!  I feel like there have been so many exciting things happen within a couple short weeks, and it just keeps getting better!

For the first time since July I vaulted outside from a long approach in practice.  I was expecting it to be a so-so day because I haven’t jumped out in the elements in 7 months.  Plus, you never know how you’re going to take your first day.  Well…It turned out to be the best practice of the year so far!  I felt strong and confident, like nothing could stop me!  Most of my jumps were close to or over 15’ which I never tend to jump that high in practice consistently.  I was moving through poles, swinging fast, and finishing jumps! 

The next day, Tori and I did the speed trap for our sprinting workout.  For those of you who don’t know what the speed trap is, it basically measures the time it takes for you to run a selected distance.  Even though we jumped a lot and I had a heavy lift the day before, both of us ran FASTER today than we did a year ago!  In the past we’ve been fresh for speed trap days, so it was a good sign that we did a ton of work the day before and still ran faster! 

Making the 7 hour drive to Albuquerque was a blast, especially when you have Greg, Tori, Nick Mossberg, and Dustin DeLeo in the car with you.  We had some hilarious games of “Would you rather…” all the way there!  Haha Luckily we made the car our “safe zone”  ;)

So, after waiting alllll day to compete last Friday, I cleared another indoor PR, 4.62(15'2")!  I had so much fun!  We started the competition around 9pm and finished up about 10:15pm.  It was so nice that they split up the competitions so there were only 10 women in my section.  I started the meet at 4.32m(14’2”) with a huge first attempt clearance!  Greg immediately told me to pass to 4.52m(14’10”) and I didn’t even hesitate.  I went and put my sweats on and relaxed for a little bit while waiting for my next bar.  4.52m(14’10”) came around with another first attempt clearance!  Then the bar went to 4.62m(15’2”) and I cleared it on my first attempt!  I was so pumped!  Two weeks in a row over 15’!  The bar went up to 4.72m(15’6”) which would’ve been an All-Time PR.  I had two really close attempts at it, but no luck this time.

Before the competition and in between my jumps I was visualizing the next bar and going through relaxation techniques.  Breathe in…touch thumb and ring finger…let go…breathe out…and feel yourself relax and let all the stress go.  It worked!  I wasn’t paying attention to anyone around me or the competition that was going on…I was relaxed and focused!  It’s amazing what a little bit of fun, relaxation, and focus can do.  :)

Tomorrow, I’m flying to New York for the Millrose Games on Saturday, February 16^th!  I’m so excited to jump in this meet #1.  Because my best friend, Miss Mary Saxer will be jumping with me, #2.  I will be jumping against the Olympic Gold Medalist, Jen Suhr, and #3.  I’ve never jumped in the Millrose Games before!  Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

Double Dose of Excitement: Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame & Jumping 4.60m(15’1”)

So this past week was an exciting one!  I was inducted into the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame AAANNNNDDD I cleared the IAAF and USATF “A” Standard which is 4.60m(15’1”)!!!  The Hall of Fame banquet was on Friday night in Indianapolis, IN, and my competition at Notre Dame(South Bend, IN) was on Saturday morning!  Phew what a great couple of days!

Being inducted into the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame is such an honor.  I really never imagined that I would be in the Hall of Fame.  I feel so humbled to be a part of the list of people that I am joining.  I’m so blessed to have had such great coaches, mentors, friends, and family to accompany me on my journey.  The banquet was wonderful...I got to listen to so many stories of the other athletes and coaches that were inducted.  The actual Indiana Track and Field Hall of fame is in Terre Haute, IN, which is where I am based right now.  I will definitely have to go and visit soon!

So the next morning was the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.  When I got up on the runway for my first warm up jump, I flashed back to the last time I was at Notre Dame…which wasn’t the best experience for me.  A week before my first NCAA national meet freshman year of college, I took one jump, let go of my pole, and severely sprained my ankle when I landed.  I went on to NCAA’s and jumped the 2^nd highest vault of my life on that ankle, but it wasn’t an easy process.  So needless to say, I was a little nervous this time around, but I got through my first couple warm up jumps with no problems.  I conquered my fear and ended up having the best warm up that I’ve had all year!

I came in at 4.25m(13’11”), cleared that along with 4.35m(14’3”), 4.45m(14’7”), and 4.55m(14’11”) on my first attempt.  I was really happy because that was the first time I had cleared anything above 4.40m(14’5”) in about a year.  Then the bar went up to 4.60m(15’1”)…I cleared it on my second attempt!  OMG I couldn’t have been happier at that moment.  The atmosphere was electrifying!  Everyone was cheering and I couldn’t wipe this huge smile off my face if I tried!  Haha!  I cleared the “A” standard!  Wahoo!  In order to make the world team in Moscow this year I have to jump the IAAF and USATF “A” standard and place in the top 3 at Outdoor USA Nationals in June.  So I’m 50% of the way there!  Now I can just relax and jump even higher!  :)   It’s exciting to be jumping over 15’ so early in the year.  And even though I cleared 4.60m(15’1”), it wasn’t a spectacular jump.  Knowing that I have a lot of things in my jump to work on makes it even more exciting.  As I fix these things, it will be easier to jump even higher on a consistent basis!  :)

My next competition is tonight at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, NM.  Can’t wait to get on that runway tonight and smoke some bars!  If you’re in town, please come out and support!

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie