USATF Masters National Outdoor Championships

            Andy and I traveled down to Ames, IA to take part in the Masters National Championships this past weekend. The meet actually takes place over the course of 4 days, but since our main events (pole vault and triple jump) both took place on Sunday for us, we just competed in one event each. The forecast had a high of over 90 degrees, full sun, and very humid. All of the women actually competed together, versus being split into two flights, so there were 20 of us competing together! I was the youngest at 32, and the famous 85-year old Flo was the oldest of the group. The line was pretty long for warm-ups, but staying warm wasn’t tough when it was so steamy out. 

Based on how pole vault at the decathlon played out, I knew I would have a very long wait to get through the lower heights until I would come in. After my warm-ups, I was able to go watch Andy triple jump. He was having a frustrating day, especially when his best jump was a scratch. He still broke 40’ and took second in his age group behind a pretty elite triple jumper. 

After waiting for well over 2 hours, the final pole-vaulter went out, and I was able to do one run through before moving the bar up to 3.20 meters (roughly 10-4). I cleared it and passed to 3.40, then 3.50 (11-2 and 11-6). While I wanted to clear 12’ again, I really didn’t want to end at just 11-6 again. We put it at 3.61 meters (11-10), which was my college PR, and I cleared it! Deciding to go for a PR, we moved it to 12-1.25, and I missed. It would have been great to PR again, but I feel great about tying my second best jump, and being consistent at the higher heights this year. Going into this, I was also a little nervous how it would go after sitting for a couple hours, and then competing by myself. I had a lot of fun, and definitely had a lot of adrenaline going, as I was gripping at my highest, and on my biggest pole – and with the standards pushed back.

We had a fun surprise with Mrs. Z (now Mrs. Messenger) working the meet, too! She was our elementary art teacher, and we usually get the treat of seeing her at the WI State Track & Field meet, as she officiates that big meet as well. There was also a group of women that pole vaulted that I also did the decathlon with back in June. It’s always fun seeing familiar faces! Andy and I competed under the Three Eagle Track Club, and as a Club Team, we ended up 61 of 115 Club Teams. Pretty cool!

Hometown 5K

            We were back in our hometown a few weeks ago, and although I was not looking to run a 5K, nor did I have any interest or desire to, Andy ended up registering me for it (so of course I had to then!). It was a very hot, sunny day, and I have not been putting in the mileage to run a fast 5K. He has not been doing much distance running at all, so neither of us were very optimistic at what our results would look like!

            I was the pacer, so fortunately, Andy just stayed with me and we let all the crazies pull ahead in a start that is always too fast. I had no idea what I could really do, as I had recently run a PR 800, but did not feel like I had the stamina for a fast 3 miles. I was correct. We picked off runners ahead of us one-by-one until we were in the top mix and I was top female at that point. We mainly just tried holding on for the second half as the heat and lack of training caught up to us!

            We ended up 4^thand 5^thoverall (and first female for me) with a time of 21:12 (ouch!). My PR is almost a full minute faster than that. Nothing to get excited about, but at least it got my hard run out of the way for the day! ;) 

2019 River Vault

            This was the first year that I made the trek to La Crosse alone for the River Vault. Since this was my 4^thyear there, and the pole vault community is rather small, there was a lot of friendly faces there that always make it a fun event. It was a steamy hot, sunny day. I felt like I was clicking with warm-ups (as always), and started at 10-6. This was also the first year that I competed in the top flight of women, which was also exciting! It also made for the smallest flight out of them all though (an extra bonus). I cleared 10-6, 11, and 11-6 all on first attempts. 

I am now getting a ton of clearance on 11’ that I feel like I could potentially make that my starting height even, which is a great indication of how far I have come this year! I came down on the bar at 11-6, but it stayed up. This also should have prompted me to either a) move my standards up, or b) lower my grip to get in deeper. Instead I did neither of those things heading into 12’. My first attempt at 12’ was the best jump I had at the height. If I would have made either of those adjustments, I am confident I would have cleared it, as I had the height, but came down on it, knocking it off. My takeoffs at 12’ all felt terrible, but I tried to make the most out of each jump regardless. 

Clearance on 12'

            I feel very fortunate to have already hit the 12’ mark this year, so that I don’t feel pressure at these competitions as the season is already drawing close to the end. Walking away from the River Vault, I didn’t feel as disappointed in the result, as a result of having hit my goal already. However, watching the videos from that day, I feel extra motivation to end my season with a bang – because the height is there!

            Heading into Masters Nationals Outdoor Championships this weekend, I am really excited to jump at a big meet like this for the first time. I have some reservations, as there will be 20 women, and I will most likely be starting after most all of them have gotten done competing. This means that I could be sitting for a very long time just waiting to start. At the decathlon, however, I sat for 1.5 hours to wait for only 7 women to finish, and was still able to go in and perform well. It will be both an opportunity and a challenge that I look forward to taking on.