Vaulting in the Big Leagues

I guess you don’t realize how much something weighs you down until it’s finally over.

Throughout the entire NCAA-Indoor-Compliance-eligibility issue,  I remained as positive as I could knowing everything would work out eventually, no matter what the outcome was.  Everything always works out.  Because it has to!

It wasn’t until I finally received an email from our Assistant Compliance Director with the attached letter from the NE-10 conference that I realized how  much this stress was bringing me down.

“Based on the information provided to this office, it is determined that Christine meets all the requirements for the granting of a hardship waiver per NCAA bylaw 14.2.5 and is eligible to regain her season of competition in Indoor Track and Field.”

I jumped.  I yelled.  I screamed.  I danced.  A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.  I called my mom, dad, brother, stepdad–even if no one answered!  I texted Coach Jackson super excited.  It was all finally over!!

Now that this stupid stuff is over with, it has completely changed my mental approach to practice and training.  I have a much clearer goal and focus.  It’s not some wishy washy, “well, I might be competing for indoor, but definitely outdoor.”  Yes. I’m competing.  My motivation has soared off the charts. Good.  I’m competing.  NOW LET’S GET IT!

I’ve really been surprising myself throughout this preseason training.  I’m excited about the progress I’ve made so early.  It’s only October and I’m making huge improvements at practice.  I’m jumping pretty consistently at 12′ at practice (6 inches above my PR), working on staying close to the pole up top and extending higher to get a bit more height.  I’m actually turning!  It only took 8 years.  I just recently started working with 13ft poles.  I’ve gotten on a few light ones, but do absolutely nothing with them when I get in the air.  It’s going to take some getting used to.  This week I’m going to start doing my pole runs and drills on 13’7″s so hopefully it’ll help me get the timing down and be less intimidated by something new.  To sum up, I need to stop being a baby and jump.

We’ve also started talking about pulling me back to 7 steps instead of 5 steps.  That will be very interesting.  I’ve jumped from 5 steps since my freshman year of high school.  Stay tuned for that fun!

I also have my tarsal tunnel syndrome in check.  It’s a condition that I will have for the rest of my life, but it’s about making the pain more manageable.  Heat, ice, ultrasound, the goods.  I’ve also worked out a few lifting plans with the weight room staff that are easier to fit into my schedule, mixing days together, focusing on more on the main lifts, and just getting in the weight room whenever I can.

So as usual, things have finally made their way back on track.  I knew it would eventually, it’s just exhausting in the process.  We’re halfway through the fall semester and it’s time work hard, finish strong, and start get pumped for winter training and indoor track–now that I know I actually have an indoor season.  :-)

No worries, I’m not talking about my school. I am 100% sure I belong at Allegheny. I mean, I’m pretty sure we’re in the process of changing our admissions slogan from Unusual Combinations to Wonderfully Weird (I’m so glad I’m graduating before this has a chance to be official). The title refers to this blog. You see, it’s called Vaulting in the Big Leagues. And I think my collegiate pole vaulting career has come to a close.  What happened was last year we had no pole vaulters and to not compete in an event is like to freely give away points so my coach was like, you’ve done this before, you’re going to jump. And then outdoor happened and I’m primarily a thrower meaning I regularly compete in 3 events, and I’ve started to figure hammer out so my coach decided that I should stop vaulting so I could focus on throwing.

And now it’s senior year. And training to only vault in the indoor season just doesn’t seem practical. Plus, we have a new throwing coach so hopefully big things are going to happen in weight and hammer for me this year. Anyway all of this adds up to the fact that I think I’m done pole vaulting. But, and this may come as a shock to some people, college (and even this blog) is not all about pole vaulting. Which means I still have plenty to talk about. And even if I didn’t, let’s be real, I’m an English major, I can talk for hours about absolutely nothing.

Like I mentioned just a few sentences ago, this is senior year for me. And I am super excited. Don’t get me wrong, I love Allegheny, but it’s been four years, and it’s time for the next chapter in my life. And I used that cliche mostly because it amused me. See, my goal is to go to Seton Hill University to get my MFA in Popular Fiction. I want to write books. Specifically the kind of books that people actually want to read. Hence, chapter. Get it? I know, I’m hilarious.  I actually went to an open house for Seton Hill yesterday, and I have completely fallen in love. The campus was gorgeous, the people I talked to were super helpful, and I had a serious conversation with someone about writing urban fantasy. I was so excited I went to the bookstore and now I have a lovely SHU longsleeve.

But, that’s still a long way away. My application isn’t even due until April. And I kind of have to do this graduating thing. I know, total drag. This semester isn’t so bad. My classes are fantastic: Jewish American Fiction, Oppression and Liberation (a study of racism and sexism in America), Myth Making and the War: WWII as the Best War Ever, and my Advanced Fiction Workshop. Next semester, however, I have to do this thing that we call a Comp, but most people call a Senior Project. I’m working on my audition right now, and if I pass then next semester I have to generate 50-70 pages of short stories. Which means I’m probably going to lose my mind next semester.

In the meantime, I have my audition and a paper due next week. So what have I been doing with my time? Well, Saturday I went shopping at the outlets, yesterday I went to an open house, and now I’m writing a blog post. What should I be doing? Outlining a paper and writing two short stories. And since I have no motivation, I have made a rule. I am not allowed to eat dinner until I finish the story I’m working on. Sometime extreme methods are needed to combat procrastination, or plain laziness. The sooner you employ them, the less stressful your college experience will be.

Preseason is in full swing.  Midterms are upon us and I’m just trying my best to keep myself together without getting too overwhelmed.

I’d like to say that I’m nicely settled in my senior year schedule, but it seems to be always changing and throwing something else at me.  For the most part, it’s class, work, practice, while still trying to fit in a meal or two and time to read the four novels a week I need to complete,and paper upon paper, upon paper.  Oh, and sleep.  Unfortunately, lifting has been getting the worst of it.  I’m TERRIBLE at getting to the weight room after two straight weeks of not missing a day, which is actually really good for me.  Well, that stopped when the schoolwork got piled on and I couldn’t call out of work (no work = no money = nowhere to live).  But I’m getting REALLY good at close readings and critical analysis of our readings.  I question EVERYTHING.  It blows my mind.  Drives me crazy, actually.  To the point where I start talking in circles. [Like I didn't do enough of that before.]

The biggest stress in my life right now is certainly the NCAA Compliance issue that I’ve been trying to fix for a few months now.  It has been a serious roadblock in a lot of the usual preseason activities.  I have been getting the runaround since the beginning of the school year and NOTHING has happened. I had a lovely conversation with UMass Lowell compliance office that went along the lines of:

“So…you started at UMass Amherst this fall?”

“No, I’ve been there for a year.   This will be my second year competing there.”

“Oh, really? You transferred last year?”

Now picture me giving a “really?!?!?!” face with the phone pressed against my ear.

I had another lovely conversation, no–verbal lashing–from our very own compliance office at UMass Amherst.  I was insulted and belittled from the confident 22 year old respectful and mature adult I am to calling Coach Jackson bawling like a little girl,

“*sniffle*BUT SHE *sniffle* YELLED AT ME *cough* AND *sniffle* WAS. SO. MEAAAAAN! I. JUST. ASKED. A. QUESTION!”

I genuinely still don’t even know what happened in that conversation.  There was a huge misunderstanding that I apologized profusely for while being as respectful as possible.  I really wanted to yell, “YOU’RE NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ME!”  I guess she was having a very bad day and took it out on the unsuspecting athlete asking for guidance–me.  She had already made up her mind and was going to speak over me and insult me.  It was uncalled for and very unprofessional.  Needless to say the athletic department received a strongly worded email from Miss Chrissy Silvar herself.  Yay for adulthood.

On top of all this, the good ol’ tarsal tunnel syndrome has been acting up again.  I went the entire year last year without a problem with it and it’s started up again.  If I were reading my story in class, I’d raise my hand in literature discussion and say, “I think it’s interesting to point out that while this whole compliance process is going on, our heroine is plagued by the same injury she lost her indoor season with 4 years ago while her new indoor season is held in the hands of the directors and doctors of the NE-10 conference.” Coincidence? Dramatic irony?

I probably need new arch supports in my sneaks.