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

GILL ATHLETICS ROCKS!!!!

Well this last week was a whirlwind of all sorts…

I got back home from an awesome trip to Reno, only to find out that my poles were lost for a day.  Once I opened them up on Wednesday I found out that 7 of my poles were broken!  Literally smashed like pancakes!  :(  I was warmed up and everything…then spent the next 45 mins looking at which poles were broken and talking with my agent, Jeff Hartwig, to see if we can get some more made quickly.  Jeff relayed all of the info to Gill Athletics and they said they might be able to get a few poles done by Friday, if not all of them!

So after that 45 mins of hell…excuse my language…I had to re-warm-up again and get focused for my jump session that day!  Luckily ISU has the same series of poles that I ordered out of college, so I had backups.  They’re just a little heavier and thicker so it’s hard to go back and forth in between new and old poles.  Once I got on the runway I was feeling better and starting to cheer up.  I ended up having a good jump day considering the mental roller coaster I was on!

The next day, Thursday, I headed up to Northern Iowa with the multi-eventers and ISU’s back up set of poles.  After about a day and a half of stressing and hoping my poles would be finished in time to jump on at UNI last weekend…I found out ALL 7 poles were finished!  They were still packing them and wrapping them all together when Jeff Martin and the ISU vaulters made the stop to pick them up on their way up to UNI.  But they were finished and on their way to me! 

OMG I was so excited!  GILL ATHLETICS made 7 poles in a little over a day…AND wrapped them in BLUE!  I can’t thank GILL enough for making sure I had my poles in such little time.  Simply amazing. :)  I’m so proud to be sponsored by GILL ATHLETICS as well as being a part of Team Pacer!  The poles look so good!  The material is slightly different than my old poles(in a good way), so they are a little bit thicker.  They also feel about the same weight, but I can’t really tell a difference!  I taped them all Friday night and had them ready to go for Saturday’s competition. I was so pumped!

Then competition day comes around…and it didn’t really go as planned.  I jumped 4.35m(14’3”).  I feel like I really lost a great opportunity to jump high, which is super disappointing.  I wasn’t committing to my swing at the takeoff and it really showed in my video.  It was one of those days where I thought I looked a lot better than I actually did.  Weird.  My legs felt a little tired, but not enough that I was thinking about them all the time.  Everything was coming at me so much faster than normal and I wasn’t getting my plant up on time.  Buuut…looking on the positive side…I started on my 14’6” poles for the first time this year, and ended on the biggest pole I’ve jumped on since 2011!  Oh and I jumped on 4 of 7 new poles Gill Athletics made for me!  They worked out great, and I was so happy to have them!

Huge Thank You to GILL ATHLETICS!!!! :) 

My next competition is The Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday at 11:30am!  If you're in South Bend come out and support!  :)

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

@ratherBvaulting

www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

2013 National Pole Vault Summit – Reno, NV

Wow!  What a weekend.  The Pole Vault Summit is one of my favorite competitions of the year!   I spent Wednesday through Sunday out in Reno and loved every minute of it!  UCS puts on such a wonderful event bringing in thousands of coaches, vaulters, and locals of all age groups! I was so glad to see my pole vault friends!  It had been too long! If you love pole vaulting…this is the weekend for you.

Being an elite vaulter at the Summit is like being a quarter of a celebrity.  Seeing the kids’ faces light up when you walk down the hallway or into a room gives me such pride.  It was not too long ago that I was a collegiate vaulter attending the Pole Vault Summit in 2008…doing the same thing and being in awe of all of the pole vault greats  J  This event is a great opportunity to meet the ones who look up to me and answer some of their questions.  I got asked anything from what do I do with my free time…to who I thought was the most attractive male vaulter!  Haha what free time?  And hmmm…I think we decided Brad Walker as they were giggling away ;) 

Going into the competition I was so pumped!  I had been having good vault sessions, running workouts, and weight sessions.  Being at the Pole Vault Summit with hundreds of people watching in the stands…music playing…a fast raised runway…and amazing competitors gives you so much adrenaline!  I can’t ask for a better atmosphere…maybe besides the Mall Vault in Des Moines, IA.

I ended up jumping 14’5.25”(4.40m).  So I’m making progress!  I just wish the progress was a little faster, but I know I have to be patient.  I have a long way to go until the World Championships in Moscow in the fall.  So I started on my 14’ poles and ended on my 14’6” poles, which I haven’t touched since the beginning of outdoor season 2012.  And it was the first time I had ran from 8 lefts/16 steps since the Olympic Trials.  BUT, like I said, I had so much adrenaline going I was able to make those changes quickly and smoothly.  I love those days when I’m back at the end of the runway and feel completely fearless! 

This was also the first time I had seen Greg Hull, my coach in Phoenix since the Olympic Trials back in June.  I can’t believe it had been that long!  It was so great to see him and to be able to work with him again.  Like Jeff Martin and I in Indiana…we mesh so well, and I have great trust in them both. If they told me to get on the runway with a 16’ pole and take a jump up…I’d probably do it!  Ok…maybe not a 16’ pole…haha…but I trust and know them enough that they wouldn’t tell me to do anything that I couldn’t do.  I can’t stress enough of how lucky I am to have them on my team J

Needless to say…the National Pole Vault Summit was a successful trip!  Thank you UCS, Nike, The Chappell’s, and everyone else involved with the summit for putting on such a fun event!

I’m leaving for my next competition in a couple hours!  7-8 hour bus ride to the University of Northern Iowa.  I have some great conference memories of jumping there in college, so I’m hoping for a great vault day!  Wish me luck!

Thank you for reading J  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ratherBvaulting and on Facebook www.facebook.com/pv.kylie!

Kylie

Hi there, friends, family, and fans!  I would like to welcome you all to my page!

My New Year’s resolution was to get involved, keep everyone updated, and utilize social media!  So I decided to start this blog and join the world of twitter - @ratherBvaulting!  You can also follow me on my Athlete Fan Page on Facebook – www.facebook.com/pv.kylie

Well I guess it’s time for an update, huh?  Where to begin…

After living out in Phoenix and training for the past 2 years, I decided it was time to come home.  Where is home?  Terre Haute, IN.  My friends and family are here, my team(Indiana State University) is here, this is my home…where I grew up.  This is where I am most comfortable.  So my coach in Phoenix, Greg Hull, and my college coach, Jeff Martin, have decided that they will work together and help me become the best pole vaulter that I can be.  I can’t thank them enough for not making me choose one of them, just for the fact that they are both amazing people as well as great coaches.

So I’m training at Indiana State University along with being a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the ISU pole vaulters.  Coaching is something that I never thought I would like to do, but when I started helping out with the ISU vaulters…it was a different story.  I instantly fell in love with it.  Teaching an athlete something that I love is so much fun!  I can't wait to see what they can accomplish this year!

Training is going great so far!  I’ve had the best pre-season vaulting that I’ve ever had.  Working with Jeff and the vaulters every day has kept me busy and on my toes.  I feel strong, lean, and ready for competition season. 

Speaking of competition season…it’s time for the 2013 NATIONAL POLE VAULT SUMMIT in Reno, NV!!  I’m leaving tomorrow for 4 days of pole vault, pole vault fanatics, elite pole vaulters, pole vault coaches, and all sorts of pole vault things!  YAY!  This is the one time every year when hundreds of vaulters come together to learn and compete under one roof!  Talk about pole vault heaven!  I can’t wait to see all of my vaulter friends and coaches that I haven’t seen in months…as well as all of the bright faces of the eager young vaulters!  There will be meetings, assemblies, functional movement screenings, and competitions.  So many opportunities to connect with athletes and coaches! 

I’ll be competing with some of the best vaulters in the world on Friday night!  If you can…follow along on Twitter @VaulterMagazine, @PoleVaultSummit, @VaultUnited, @polevaultpower…etc! 

Good Luck to everyone competing this weekend! J

Also follow my POLE VAULT SUMMIT experience @ratherBvaulting!