Vaulting in the Big Leagues

Hello, Hello.

I think I’m finally past the midsemester stuff, as far as I know.  As much as I enjoy writing papers compared to taking exams, I guess I didn’t think of how many I’d have to do at once as an English major.  Silly   English Literature is kicking my butt.  Camelot? Knights? Arthur? Lancelot?  I guess I don’t really like that crap. :-X

Track is going well.  I’ve been going to practice every Wednesday night @ North Andover High School–myself and the famous (or infamous?) Sam LeBeau represent UML.  We could either be a good representation or bad, haha.  All I know is pole vault practice is my favorite part of the week.  It’s the perfect way to beat the mid-week blues.  Last night we put up a bungee and had a little fun.  I was clearing 9′ with three steps.  I couldn’t believe how long it had been since I had actually cleared SOMETHING.  I’m excited, but I’m having a hard time seeing an improvement in technical stuff.  I can’t feel a difference.  Am I supposed to?  All I know is I can feel my arms and shoulders today!

I’m hoping next week to get out to 5 steps.  I’ve never gone more than 5.  So silly.  I’m glad I can work on it though, unlike last year.  Knowing how injury prone I am and having a better idea of how to take care of myself, I can see a difference in my attitude, moods and well-being overall.  I’m still lifting, but it feels weird not having running workouts.  I’m not saying I’m fat or anything, but I’m just used to seeing myself more in shape with running.  It’s a different kind of strong I guess.  I’m taking good care of my foot, biking, and SOMETIMES pool.  As the weather gets colder it’s a little harder to get me in the pool…

okay so that last post worked! yay! ill briefly rewrite what i lost…

schools going well…its really tough but i love my classes. they are all really small and my professors have been great so far! i just finished up my midterms so hopefully ill get a little break from this craziness!

track has been really fun!! the workouts have been picking up as we approach our first meet in 5 weeks but it’s been really rewarding as i get faster and stronger today we didnt get to practice because it was snowing (YES there was 6 inches on the ground + white-out conditions on october 28) so football got priority over the field house

ill write more when i dont have so much homework,

Caroline

i just wrote a really long post but when i clicked ‘publish’ i lost my internet connection or something so i think its lost in cyberspace….

Many of you may not know me, but I am Alex LeBlanc and I graduated from Oakmont 2 years ago. Last year I pole vaulted at RPI and the team and coach were great. One problem was the head coach hated the vaulters, and that became a pain. Luckily now I am at Fitchburg State and the head coach loves the vaulters so that’s a good start for me here. Last week I started training with the pole vault coach and we ran and weight lifted a lot and now I can barely move; lesson I learned from that is not to take the summer off next year! The official season starts next week and I am very excited to get started and get back into shape so I can vault higher this year!!!

i apologize for not writing in a while, but pre-season plus school, plus a job is quite a bit to get through (not to mention my new band is looking to get into the recording studio within the next couple of weeks!). Life has been busy though, and the one thing i learned so far in terms of balancing everything is make sure you get work outs in and dont miss them. If you miss even one you feel miserable the next day, not to mention if you miss a couple it is hard to get back on the band wagon. Thanks to some wonderful coaching and the competitive spirit of the team, i am in great shape. So great today i was burning up our workout (300-300-200 x 2) and running so fast i was blowing by people left and right. however when there were people on both sides of me i twisted my shoulders to fit through, and apparently that is a bad choice when sprinting. A gimpy trip back to school to the Athletic training clinic, and i might have a torn meniscus on the medial side of my left knee!!! Im hoping it is just tweak but until my re-eval and doctors visit tomrow my knee is in a sleeve and i get to play on crutches… yay

i will keep everyone posted with the results

Sitting here bored in the UML Orientation Office for my work study, I’ve decided to take a moment to explain the mantra that is PRINCESS OF POLE VAULT.  There may be some confusion on why I have declared myself to such a high position of power.

As you may know, Yelena Isinbayeva has been dubbed the Princess of Pole Vault–rightfully so!  BUT…as a self-motivating title this year, I have decided to declare myself/strive to be UMass Lowell’s Princess of Pole Vault being the only female vaulter we have.  I think it’s the perfect mantra to boost up motivation after a long year of injury and no pole vaulting at all.

I encourage all of you to search deep down inside yourselves, in the deepest part of your heart and soul, and create one of your own–and I would love to hear them!

On that note, you can IM me at PrncessPolevault <3

First semester of sophmore year has gone by so fast. i am kinda the opposite of chrissy because track wise i am a sophmore but academically i am basically a freshman. i delared my major at the end of last year so this is my first semester taking all the classes i need to take. its fun being in classes with all freshman and trying to help them out.

as far as track goes it is going pretty well. this year we got a new assistant coach, i think that some of you may know him, Coach Hoogasian. after a week of miscommunications and settling in i think that we are off to a good start. Coach Hoogasian is really good at getting athletes in the right mind set to do their best, when somone is frustrated and its making them vault worse he can usually talk some sense into them which is a huge help. he is also really injury sensitive which is good because the majority of our team was injured by the end of last season.

speaking of which, last week i didnt vault at all because i hurt my lower left back. its a pretty old injury actually. i got it in indoor season last year from vaulting a few feet under and noone realizing it for a practice or two. over the summer i tryed to not vault alot and strenghen/stretch my back. unfortunately my first day of vault practice here my back hurt worse than it did before, or i wasnt used to it. so i went to the trainer and i am doing all kinds of fun physical therapy. i didnt vault last week and this week i am going every other day. tuesday was the first day i vaulted pain free and i had an awesome time. it really helped me refocus. before that i was getting pretty frustrated. its no fun having your body not work when you are mentally prepared to do something.so learn from my mistake and get your injurys properly looked at in a reasonable time frame.

well i am off to take a physics test, i hope everyone is doing well!

I promise.  I haven’t fallen off the earth.  To the pole vault community, it may seem like it after almost a year without picking up a pole.

Okay, so academically I am a sophomore.  Track-wise: FRESHMAN.  Although I may technically be a freshman in the eyes of the team, I certainly feel a lot of wisedom and self-awareness has come along with the trials and tribulations I so lovingly call “The lost year.”  The injuries, the drama, the fights, the tears–ups & downs that can all be filed under ‘adjustment’ have finally come to a close.  I’m ready for the clean slate, a new start.

Our first team meeting was weird seeing the timid faces sitting before me while my coach explains they’ll be making a 20 person cut after preseason to get the roster down.  That was us just last year.  My goal is to do everything in my power to help them adjust and do they’re best to stay on track (no pun intended)–to take the things I’ve learned from my own experience and support them through their first year too.  That was my summer job after all….

On the injury-front/UML Track: The doctors at Lowell General Hospital’s Pain Management Clinic are my heroes!  They gave me a shot in my foot (can’t rememeber what though) and everything has been great!  I’ve been lifting and vaulting.  I’m not allowed to sprint, so I guess that chapter is closed and it’s a little sad.  I’ll miss the 200m.  Oh well, more time to focus on vault   Been going to night practices at North Andover and look forward to it every week!

On the ‘everything-else-college’ front:

• Loved my summer job as an Orientation Leader for new students–best experience of my life.
• Lived in a beautiful apartment thanks to the housing crisis that has struck UML.
• Had to move out due to “partying” conflicts and discovering that someone in the apartment tried to break into my bedroom using a bobby pin.  Found the bobby pin all stretched out and missing one of the rubber stopper on the floor while moving out.  After taking the lock apart guess where we found the other rubber stopper. *sigh* Thankfully, they didn’t get in–but I can’t even imagine what would happen if they did.
• Ive been living in a 6 person suite in an upperclassmen building for 2 days now and loving it.  My roommate & suitemates are great.
• Changed my major from Exercise Physiology to English with a Writing Concentration and a minor in Theatre arts.   Yeah, that’s a little different.

So with a few setbacks in the beginning I’m ready to put myself together and achieve the goals I’ve set for this year.

Greetings avid Patriot vaulters,

It’s Sean, aka The Impervious, aka The Imperator, aka Buschleague, aka Juan Carlos Escobar (Only in New Mexico and Arizona), signing in for the first time this season, and EVER. This is an occassion worth celebrating so put on your party hats and crack some bubbly. And without further adieu, I would like to give you the premiere of my blog.

As I sit here ignoring this programming class, I would like provide some perspective for all the curious minds who would like to live vicariously through this blog. In a nutshell: college, track and otherwise, is the berries. This year is particularly special as our assistant coach quit over the summer making room for the one, the only, the renowned and legendary John Hoogasian!(!!!!) You all now the guy, and if you don’t, then you should. I did a double take when someone first dropped the news, but when I caught a glimpse Hoogasian cruising around the track Monday, I knew I didn’t need to pinch myself because it was real.