I’m going to pencil my most recent competitive outing in the “personal victory” column. As with my other competitions this indoor season, it was definitely a learning experience but at least the result was a bit easier to swallow than the rest have been. I still need a ton of work, and all of that work is going to be on my approach, speed down the runway and rhythm. Those are things that I can correct and adjust in training but that I will only get more comfortable with through meet situations.

I entitled this blog post “Patience” because although my best jump was measured at 16.51m, I took off at least 8 inches from the back end of the board. It’s an indoor personal best by a few centimeters but not exactly the distance I was after. So I’m being patient. I know that things are coming together little by little and that they will come together exactly when they’re supposed to. A 17 meter jump at Virginia Tech wouldn’t have done much for me and I have no problem with waiting to drop that big one when it matters/I need it most. I’m also aware that the goal for me beyond the World Indoor Champs is consistency beyond 17 meters, so I tinker now so that things come naturally and effortlessly in June and beyond.

Ok ok, so if it looks like I’m jogging, it’s because I am. But in all honesty, I didn’t realize that I was coming down the runway slower than molasses! And yes…I am still stuttering before the board, but at least I got a comfortable jump in (unlike in NY). My goal for my next few meets is to run hard and fast through the board and allow my speed to push me down the runway. After this 16.80m jump (from take off to landing), I know what I can and will do in Doha once I actually run down the runway; and that’s exciting.