Even though one of my goals in 2011 is to jump 17  meters indoors, my distances indoors are rarely of concern to me. Typically meets during the indoor season are all about working on things at full speed and making sure that training is going well. With that in mind I have to say that the meet I competed at this past weekend (The Father Diamond Invitational @ George Mason Univ.) was positive in all regards as far as I’m concerned. I’m always a fan of just getting on the runway, working off some rust and getting the ball rolling in the new year and in a new season. I only took a few jumps on Saturday but was pleased that I ran all the way too and through the board and maintained my speed through all three phases. I wrote enough about the troubles my approach gave me last year so making sure that those troubles were actually behind me was priority number one with this meet.

As you’d expect, even though was mostly pleased with how things went I am able to pick out plenty of things that I’m going to have to address to get where I want to go both indoors and moving into the outdoor season. Of course my body position and posture from the second phase into the final phase need some serious fixing. To be honest, I think that if I wasn’t fighting to avoid falling on my face on my step phase the above jump actually would have been an indoor personal best; especially considering where I ended up after two phases from a 41 foot board. My jump phase wasn’t half of what it typically is or should have been thanks to my being off balance and out of position but I’ll take it for the first jump/meet of the new year.

Combine the above adjustment/correction with the patience that comes from just jumping from a full approach and competing and I’ll be right where I want to be. Some other, more minor adjustments will always be necessary like tweaking my arms in my first phase but considering how my approach looked, after this meet it seems that all systems are definitely a go.

The next outing should be in 2 weeks…