USATF Indoor Nationals Reflections

Prerace on Friday!

First of all, I want to say a huge THANK YOU!!! to everyone who wrote, texted, called, liked posts, commented on posts, etc. It was so amazing to get everyone's support and encouragement while I was there. Definitely brought a huge smile to my face every time I got a new notification. You guys are the best!!!!

As to the meet....

It is really easy to shout from the mountaintops when you do amazingly. It's another thing to share those moments of unmet expectations. My experience at USATF Nationals was so much fun! And so frustrating at the same time.

First thing we had to do was pick up our badges. We knew we had to go to the Hilton to pick up our credentials. The thing we didn't know was that there were 2 Hiltons, right across the street from one another. We first tried to get our credentials at the Hotel and were promptly informed that we were at the table for the World Championships and not Nationals. Whoops. (I guess the congregations of Team Brazil, Team Germany, and Team Netherlands should have tipped us off.) By the time we got to the right hotel, we missed Sirena's hurdle race, which I was super bummed about! We picked up our super official looking badges and headed out the door for the Oregon Convention Center.

We don't need no stinkin badges!... Except we do.

I'm so glad we got to the facility early! We were able to get acquainted with the surroundings and familiar with all the inner workings of the meet. Also, we ran into Sirena on our way to the warm-up facility! It was so good to see her. And it was super helpful also! Sirena is a pro at these big meets and was able to show us around and explain where we needed to go. Then, it was time to get my pre-race on. Pre-race usually consists of an extended warm-up and dry runs of my long jump approach. There were other events going on that day so there were a lot of people warming-up in the arena. As I told Josh later, one of the advantages of me not paying attention to my sport is not knowing the names and faces of the big guns that I was running with so I didn't feel intimidated at all. :D It really did feel like any other meet. I was able to get into my rhythm and just feel like it was any other day. (I have been to countless meets, done countless pre-races. This really was no different.) I was pretty surprised by my reaction actually. I was expecting to feel like a deer in headlights while I was there and be in awe of my whole situation. But I'm really glad I was as cool, calm, and collected as I was.

So excited!!!

However, my chill nature did not seem to positively impact my jumping. I felt amazing in warm-ups. I was super focused and the spring in my legs felt just right. I was on perfectly on some of my run throughs (where you run down the runway to check and make sure you're taking off near the board). Then, Josh had me do a little pop at the end of my run to see where I would be on my plant and I was behind the board so we moved up. No biggie. This pretty much happens ever meet for me.

Then the coolest part of the day happened! We stood in a line and they introduced us. It was so exciting. They mentioned I ran at Davis and more than one person came up to me, super excited that I was a fellow Aggie. Us Aggies really do seem to be everywhere...

Horsecow!!

And finally, the competition started. Following my warm-up, I felt things were going to go pretty well. Then some thing happened during my runs and I was a foot to foot and a half behind the board on all 3 of my jumps. Unfortunately, they don't measure from where I took off, meaning my distances were super crummy. Almost embarrassingly short. I wish they would put an asterisk next to my marks saying, "Jumped terribly, but behind the board." At least then, it would show I was somewhat in the thick of things and not 4 feet behind the winner.


So, here's everything in a nutshell:
Cons:
- Jumped embarrassingly short
- Ran poorly down the runway, which caused me to be behind the board and jump super short
- Not understanding exactly what is causing me to run so poorly down the runway when it counts

Pros
- Having them announce my name at a big meet

That's my name!!!! :D

- Executed some of the things we have been working on: ran with higher knees on the runway, better knee drive off the board, didn't drop my feet too badly on the landing.
- Getting to sit next to and compete with the best in my sport
- Hearing and seeing everyone's well wishes
- Getting to see my family members that live in Portland area, despite the short notice

As you can see, the pros greatly outweighed the cons. Despite feeling like I embarrassed myself and performed below my capabilities, I still had fun and am super happy that I went.

And, as always, I'm super grateful for Josh, being  by my side! I would have been so nervous and scared if I had gone by myself. It was so comforting to have my biggest support person there, knowing he had my back. It was also really nice having someone to debrief with afterwards; someone who knows me and knows what we have been working on. It helped to make me feel much better about my efforts, even if my marks didn't reflect the goals we walked in there with.

Looking forward to starting outdoor season now. That'll mean a lot less traveling, which will be nice. The high schoolers that we're coaching are also starting meets so our lives will be pretty entrenched with track and field. We will certainly try not to become hermits to our sport, but in all likelyhood, that's going to be the case. :D

PORTLAND, HERE WE COME!!!!!

My indoor season wasn't going exactly as expected. I had a lot of fun traveling, seeing friends, and experiencing the incredible energy of an indoor track. However, my marks weren't anywhere near where I was hoping. My goal was to qualify for nationals with an auto-qualifying mark (6.20m). My jumps had been pretty far off of that and I thought my chances of getting into the meet had melted just like the snow in Boise.  *Josh's interjection: I don't think the snow has melted in Boise yet.*

A shot from our last "indoor" meet... We were a little confused when we showed up...

On a long shot, Josh convinced me to still submit my mark for the meet. "Why not," he said. "What do you have to lose?"

So I did. I applied to enter the meet with no expectation of having my entry accepted.

I did my final declarations on Monday (the 7th) and the website still said 'unaccepted'. We resigned ourselves to going to Davis for the Aggie Open (ok, so we were actually looking forward to running at Davis again) and potentially trudging through the rain (not excited about the rain, though).

On a whim, I looked at the USATF website on Tuesday morning (the 8th) and wouldn't you know, this is what I saw..

Luckily, not too many people were in the office yet because I think I shrieked, just a little bit, out of surprise!!!!! I immediately started messaging Josh, freaking out.

"Laura Rombach

omg

omg

omg

i got into usatf

!!!!!!!

holy crap!!!!!

hello?

you there?" 

Eventually, he got my messages and we started making plans for our last minute trip up to Portland, my goal for the whole indoor season. Oh, and by the way, the meet is this Saturday, the 12th.

And needless to say, I am super excited! As Coach Dee would say, "I punched my ticket", even if it wasn't in a way I expected.

However, I'm also freaking out. I have been to countless meets over the past 15 years that I have been competing, been to multiple cities and states, all kinds of weather conditions and altitudes. I've never been to a meet that is on this scale. Never been to a meet with cameras before, and a background check, and potential for being drug tested. It is certainly going to be an experience!!! I'm going to try not to cry before I'm done jumping. :D

For those of you interested, they're going to be streaming the meet at USATF.tv (http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?do=view_event&event_id=25&mgroup_id=45365&year=2016)

I'm pretty sure it is free, long jump is at 2:45 on Saturday afternoon. 

*Josh's interjection part deuce: And if you can't watch the meet, or they don't show her at all on tv, here is some last minute "cramming for the final" from yesterday, just pretend the track is green and it is totally the same thing: 

*

Another former aggie teammate, Sirena, is competing in the 60 hurdles. Be sure to look out for her! First round is at 2 on Friday. Next round is at 2:30 on Saturday.

Wish us luck!!

And to my family in the Portland area, I'm so excited to get to see you guys!! :D

And to my fellow Aggies, Josh and I will be back in Davis on Sunday in time to attend Coach V's memorial service. What a bittersweet ending to an emotional weekend!! For those of you who don't know, my UC Davis long jump coach (and co-head coach), Coach V passed away a few weeks ago. His voice will certainly be in my head as I head out there on Saturday. "We're gonna go out there... And we're gonna do this... And we're gonna go up!" (Wish I could show you the arm gestures that went along with this...) 

*Josh's interjection part tres: Some other former Aggies set up a memorial fund, which establishes a scholarship in his name. You can donate at this link.*