What up peeps?! Alright so the first two weeks of my euro trip have gone by in a flash, and it has been nonstop fun. Our first meet was in Uden, Netherlands, where it was cold rainy and windy, and I managed a 5m bar before blowing through not once, not twice, but thrice trying 5.20m... Still one of the most fun meets I had ever been to. We then journeyed south to vienna (pronounced 'ween'), where we jumped in a square meet.
By the way, when I say we, I mean the eurothrash crew. You have Dustin 'Howdy Duty' DeLeo, Bobby 'Power Steering' Talley, Greg 'Woepse Stanker' Woepse, Chris 'Grandpapa' Bencomo, Allison 'Bierdumpel' Stokke, Tori 'Bunners' Pena, and Theresa 'NoNickname' Raub. The crew has been awesome and they have made my stay incredible thus far.
Ok so back to vienna. We warmed up into a nice tailwind on a 1m tall runway, and I got to my 5m 12.9 in warmups. I started on that, blew through, went to the 12.7, made 5.15 and 5.28, and had some good shots at 5.40m... Better day.
Power Steering, the Stanker and I then ventured from Frankfurt to Dublin, where we jumped in an awesome meet with the Clonliffe Harriers, where I got my first ever european win with a euro PR of 5.30m. Greg was second in the meet, and we all enjoyed some pints of Guinness afterward in a pub right on top of the track while singing some Irish tunes with a group of DAF's (dublin folk) that called themselves The Elderly Brothers. Fun times.
The next morning, on the other hand, wasnt as fun. We had a hell of a time getting our poles to the airport, and when we did they wouldnt let them on the plane, and Bob and I had to hop a plane to Belgium instead, where we waited a few hours for Chris and Greg to get us and take us to Leverkusen, where we are based.
The next day we packed up and headed to a meet in Eindoven, Netherlands. We got lost on the way there, and showed up about 70 mins before the bar went up. I still ended warmups on a 13.3, quickly blew through a few poles while making 5.10m, 5.20m and 5.30m, and then had a nice second attempt clearance at 5.40m on my 12.7. The bar went to 5.50m, and Robert Jan went clear on a second attempt, while I had a standup and a blowthrough on my first two. I went to the 5m 12.3, and somehow made the bar on the third attempt, but it was ugly. I wasnt able to negotiate 5.60m because of some unlucky weather, but I went home happy with a Euro PB.
A few days later we found out that I got into a meet in Padova, Italy, right by Venice. We booked my ticket and I traveled this morning with my new German buddies Bjorn Otto and Danny Ecker to Italia. So far it has been fun, and Im rooming with my good friend Brad Walker, who looks more ready to go than I have ever seen him based on his last meet in Karlsruhe, Germany. The meet is tomorrow at 7pm, and im hoping for good weather and an opportunity to leave up some high bars. Everyone says this is a good place to jump, and amongst the likes of Brad, Bjorn, Danny, Alhaji Jeng, Steve Lewis, and Gio Lanaro, theres no doubt the energy level will be high for me. I am just looking forward to having a ton of fun, enjoying Italy, and getting back to the thrash in Germany on Monday.
Sorry for the long delay in posts, and I hope everyone is doing well out there in cyber land. Until next time, may the force be with you.
Viel Gluck
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff Jeff, It's great every time you take the time to describe what's going on in your life and with your vaulting. You are having the summer you'll always remember! I'm interested to know how you are handling all the different languages, customs, etc., and how you've all managed to become so adept at traveling, especially when you're traveling with poles! I might be becoming just a teeny bit more knowledgeable about pole vaulting thanks to all the descriptions you write - so thank you!
ReplyDeleteWe miss you around here. The tea supply just doesn't go down as fast without you, our fridge has had the same watermelon probably since you left, and your fun spirit to be with is of course the most important and biggest thing we miss.
Stay safe and have fun and jump high and keep writing! Hi to all your friends (who are also my friends!)
XOX