Going to Reno?

[SoreSoar]

I'm planning to be vaulting in Reno in a week. I've seen one or two folks mentioning that they were also going, so I hope to see you there.

This will be my first pole-vaulting competition, so I'm really looking forward to it. I started vaulting last August, at age 46, after getting inspired by watching my son's high school team. His coaches sure looked like they knew what they were doing to help the athletes make adjustments, learn correct habits, and vault safely. They also have a USATF club so the vaulters can train outside of the high-school season.

This is a whole new thing for me. I ran cross-country in high school (one of the also rans), and have been master's swimming for the past couple of years. Mostly, longer, endurance type events. This quick sprinting, weight lifting kind of sport is taking me places I've never been. As an older athlete, I have the drive and discipline to do my conditioning workouts, but I can easily overtrain. My challenge has been to stress my body enough to build up what I need, without stressing me into injury. I'm learning to feel where that line is. That's where the online name comes from.

Anyway, I'll be the old guy with the Tri-Valley Vault club out of Livermore, California. Come up and say hi.

By the way, does anyone know how they group the masters at Reno? Is it by age group, or PR, or something else? I'd be estatic if I hit 9', but it looks like current masters in my age group are doing much higher.

[cdmilton]

I will break it out by PR. Check out last years results:
http://www.polevaultsummit.com/2003Real ... nners.html

[master]

Last year was my first at Reno. I was surprised at the grouping I was with. Several people in the group had jumped a lot higher than I had. So the scheduled sequence of heights for my group was 11'6" (1 foot below my PR), then 12'6", then it would have been 13'3" if I had made it that far. That was a pretty tough sequence of jumps for me. I'm hoping this year I will be in a group where the bar will raise no more than 6" each time.

Who else is going? I would really like to meet and talk with any masters vaulter that will be there. The commeraderie of fellow athletes is a major part of the great experience of masters vaulting. Look for the masters vaulter in a white helmet, then come by and introduce yourself and say hello. (When the helmet is not on, you'll see my balding head )

- master

[Bubba PV]

My rule of thumb when entering Reno (10 years) was to enter my desired opening height as my current PR. So if I was jumping 13' I would enter 11'. Sure enough, that's where the group started and a lot of people went out. Had that been my real PR I would have maybe been out in three jumps. Too late for that tactic this year but it also helped me in the situation where there were big gaps between heights. Have fun. Bubba

[master]

That's a great idea Bubba. I will apply that next year.

- master

[vaultwest]

I will be vaulting and coaching at the summit. I have not been able to find an indoor facility so my group and I have been vaulting outside in the rain that is Oregon . Not sure how well I will be able to jump but I am excited to see everyone and hopefully get a reasonable jump off. I also hope they don't go with such large increases in the height sequence. I was in Master's group last year and while he had it harder than I did for me going from 13'3" right up to 14' was just too much for me. If that continues I think I will use Bubba's advice next year and put down a lower PR so I don't get stuck in the wrong group. I hope to see you all there in Reno
Vault On

[SoreSoar]

Well, now I'll be the guy limping.

Pulled my calf on Sunday. Vaulting, of course.

I'm thinking injury management is a big part of this sport at my age...

By the way, my club wears helmets, so I'll also have a white one. I'll have hair under mine, though.

[SKOT]

I'm thinking injury management is a big part of this sport at my age...

It is a big part for any age group. I pole vault for Hope College in Holland, MI. We have 11 jumpers and 4 are hurt to the point it affects our workouts and limits our jumping, including myself. And, we are suposed to be in "prime" physical condition!

[rainbowgirl28]

I'm thinking injury management is a big part of this sport at my age...

Dennis Phillips told me once that staying healthy was the key to being successful masters vaulter (I don't remember his exact words but it was along those lines).

[Bubba PV]

That's so true and I've had that conversation with Dennis too. I spend a lot of time away from vaulting just on general conditioning and so far I've been pretty limited on injuries - knock on wood. Here's some of the stuff I'm doing which may seem overboard but I WAS out for nearly four years with hernias and Achilles surgeries. Keep up the good fight. Bubba
http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/CurrentTraining.htm

[master]

If you look at any discussion in the Masters forum, you will see that all of us in that age group provide that warning to anyone that asks. The real killer for us is that it takes about 3 times as long to heal than it did when we were in our 20's or 30's. That means a single injury can wipe out the better part of a season.

Bubba mentioned this the other day, and I concur, potential for injury is why you often don't see masters vaulters sign up for an event until near the last day that signup is allowed.

Before taking up vaulting at age 56 (I hadn't vaulted in 35 years), I called Dennis (who lives about 10 miles from my home) to get some advice. One of the points he stressed (no pun intended) was listening to your body so as to not push it to injury.

- master

[SoreSoar]

As it turns out, I had a great time at Reno.

The highs:
-watching the elite vaulters on Friday night
-meeting other master vaulters (you know who you are)
-seeing Becca getting recognized for this website
-seeing my son set PRs
-watching the other members of my club supporting each other

The low:
-not vaulting, since my calf wasn't up to it

On balance, a great outing.

Now, when can I start vaulting again????