Vaulting in the Big Leagues

Chrissy Silvar is back in business…what?

After the long long (really long) months of doing absolutely nothing, I can slowly start working out again.  I have to wear lidocaine patches on the area where there is the most pain.  12 hours on, 12 hours off.  I didn’t know there were such things, but hey–they better work! Today was my first day wearing them, and I’m going to slowly start working out again. 

It’s about time.

 I’m extremely happy.

No, seriously.  I’m still on the team, kids.

It’s pretty frustrating with insurance, referrals, consultations….I have yet to get my foot fixed.  I can do virtually nothing and I’m so far out of shape it’s not even funny.  I’ve learned so much about tarsal tunnel syndrome, I’m a pro!  Did you know it’s considered rare?  Lucky, lucky me! I’m red shirting for indoor, but since outdoor is pretty much on top of us right now, it’s not looking good for that either.  I have no patience anymore, but so much free time it’s ridiculous!  You’d think my grades would improve…haha. kidding :-/

I’m getting pretty antsy, but the pain in my foot quickly reminds me that I still have to take my time.  I’ve been out for about three months now.  Teammates ask me if i’ve quit! I see ‘pain management’ people (haha) over at St. Vincent’s in Worcester March 25—just for a consultation! Let’s get moving already!!  All I know is once this is taken care of (whether it be spring or summer) I’m gonna be working my tush off.

Congrats to everyone having amazing indoor seasons! :-)

(Side note, nothing to do with track: I got hired to be an orientation leader this summer! YAY! I’m gonna help incoming freshmen! haha)

All season I’ve been struggling with consistency. During meets, getting all adrenalined up, my steps have been crazy, and I have been that guy that goes high and comes down on the bar. As a result, I moved from clearing 13’6 from 4 lefts to clearing 13’0 from five lefts. During practice this week I finally moved back to six lefts, and hopefully have finally got into a groove. I have conference this weekend, so hopefully I will do better there. My conference is kinda unique in that we are spread all over the country and never get to see each other in dual meets. We got Brandeis in Massachusetts, NYU in New York, Emory in Georgia, UChicago in Illinois, Carnegie Mellon and Case Western from who knows where, and us in Missouri. This makes for a pretty cool experience as we are getting flown down for conference and staying in hotels for two nights. From what I’ve heard, the school is throwing down $25,000 for this one trip. Anyway, I would say that this season has been a bit of a transition season.

Well after one full season of college track down, I’m not as thrilled as i want to be. Everyone always says its freshman year so you still have to get accustomed to things, and extreme improvement takes times. Unfortunately for me, I’m not patient. Coming out of this season i am frustrated, or in other words have a burning desire to jump non stop. While it is a completely different training atmosphere i feel like i have adapted properly, and i know i have gotten much better, however the numbers don’t show it, and that’s really the kick in the butt.

I can relate this experience to high-school so it is a continuing thing. You train as hard as your body will let you (or coaches) and you know what you have to do, but somehow you cant do it. This is where words of wisdom from my coach come in handy. RELAX.  He says this in terms of your muscles while vaulting, but also in terms of your head. One huge thing i have been working on is not thinking. Thinking is for drills and practice, but once you want to go big, you have to let your body do the work. You need to trust your muscle memory and what it is going to do. This means once you start your jump dont fight the pole. If you try and fight it and muscle it, in the end the pole will win.

Coming out of this season and getting ready for outdoor, there is a lot going through my head. Things include, adjusting my run and take off, hitting my hips and staying with it, and composure… While this is essentially the entire vault, so i want to jump 24/7, i have to remember to trust my coach and simply do what he says. Believe it or not, coaches know what they are doing, and normally have a game plan laid out for you in terms of training. So while it is great to be intense, you have to make sure you do not over do it, just listen to your coaches.

I leave you with a random quote said by some random guy: “remember, you should live to learn and learn to live, but if you simply learn to learn and live to live, you are going nowhere.”