The joys and struggles of training and racing during pregnancy, motherhood and beyond!
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Badger State Games Track & Field
A group
of us from Three Lakes went down to La Crosse this weekend to compete in a
Track & Field meet put on by Badger State Games.This was for all ages to compete against
their own age divisions, from the 8 & under category to 80+.This means that I got to compete!It was almost 90 and full sun out, but it was
a blast!There were a lot of great
performances from our group, and everyone earned some sweet medals.Daisy had a PR in the high jump and made 5
feet for her first time, and Jared set a new PR for the 1500 with a 4:33.I started with long jump and jumped 14’1”
(only 3” away from my PR from about 10 years ago)!
The day
was magical when it came to my main event: pole vault.My goal was 11 feet (my best in college 6
years ago was 11’10”).In warm-ups, the
biggest pole we brought for me was too small, but I was able to borrow poles
from UW-La Crosse, and I ended up moving through an additional 4 poles, putting
me on poles I used to use in college, as well as gripping close to my old grip
too.I made 10’ and 10’6” on my first
attempts, and then I missed 11’.Fortunately, it put me as a tie for first female overall at the time,
which resulted in a jump-off and giving us an additional attempt at the
height.And I made it!Another blessing was having the UW coach
there, who not only allowed me to borrow several poles, but also coached me and
helped me achieve my goal!
I later ran the 800m race as well. There was only one heat of females, and the
oldest one besides me was about half my age, so I led the whole race and ended
up only 2 seconds off my PR. This
couldn’t have been a more exciting and fun experience, and I’ve really realized
this past year just how much I miss the track scene and competing in pole
vault. I honestly never dreamed that I
would still be able to perform at this level after 6 years and 2 kids. The day was almost surreal. I have heavily focused on triathlon for the
past 5 years, but Track & Field (and pole vault specifically), is my true
passion, and it was a day that I couldn’t have felt more alive, or more at
home.
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