Day 1
I go for a run. And then do some drills. After my
drills I do some exercises which I think may help my t-jump.
I do some standing t-jumps.
I hop on my right foot ten times.
I hop back on my left foot.
I jump with both legs together.
I stand still and jump as high as possible and touch
my feet ten times.
I repeat the whole procedure and then run home.
Day 2
I look out the window and realise I must live in Hobart.
It’s drizzling. I have a jacket and a long time ago I decided I don’t let the
weather control my running. I run up to
the DAC track. I start with my running drills and a man says, “What injury are
you recovering from?”
I reassure him and continue. After the drills I do a
standing t-jump. I try this with eyes closed. I then try a running t-jump on
the track finishing with a landing on both feet together and then continuing to
run. I will build up to the pit.
Day 3
I do my drills on the bike track.
Do a few standing t-jumps. Goes well. Seems to work better if I include the last
two steps before doing the t-jump.
I feel ready for the pits. The t-jump is flowing
sub-consciously and automatically from the hop.
Day 4
I go for a swim. You could say I am increasing my
aerobic fitness with very little chance of injury. The truth is I swim it
because I enjoy swimming.
After my laps I do double leg jumps starting with
feet flat on the floor of the pool. I jump as high as possible and slowly make
my way down the pool.
Afternoon. I jog to the local soccer field. There
are a group of young kids playing soccer.
There is a disused jumping pit beside it which I head for. I have one practice t-jump and one of the
soccer kids approaches me. He says, “I can show you what to do.”
I reply, “Okay. Show me.”
He does a perfect t-jump, better than me. He is blithe, graceful and young and jumps
further than me. I say, “That was very
good.”
I wander down and do another jump. He beams and
says, “I am good. I can show you what to do.”
He races down and does another good jump. It’s my
turn. I jump and he immediately says, “Watch me. Watch me. ”
We are joined by other kids who have stopped playing
soccer. They all want a jump. And the adult who is umpiring the soccer glares
at me. Don’t worry I want the same thing as you.
I love their enthusiasm and their love of jumping
and their enjoyment of physical activity but...
I tell them, “I love your jumps. You are good. I
want to see some good soccer play. That’s what I really want to see. Some good
soccer.”
They drift back to the soccer and I have the pit to
myself. A few practice jumps. I decide the last two steps have to be right. If
they are right then everything else follows in a nice rhythm.
Day 5
Run back to the local sporting fields. Today nobody is
playing soccer and the disused jumping pit is empty. I place my drink bottle down
as a guide and practice jumping. I run down the runway and jump without a takeoff
board. Without worrying where my feet land. My rhythm feels good. 20 jumps and
only one aborted. I need to crouch down before jumping. And then I need to
become more vertical and jump as high as I can. In a few days I have to put everything
together. What will be a good jump?
I do some running drills on the soccer field. Perfect
spot for drills. I then run back home. The
drills and the jumping are tiring. More tiring than jogging up the bike track.
Day 6
Run back to my regular spot. The local soccer field.
Nobody is there and I run towards the pits.
I have to work out how long my run-up is. I start
with 6 paces and scratch a take-off line on the runway. I want to run fast at the pit and have my
right foot land just being the take-off line. It is just practice. I move my starting
spot by centimeters and run again. I move it again and jump again. I repeat and
repeat. I try running without jumping to see where my feet are landing.
There are two things that matter. One is doing the
t-jump correctly. The other is running fast and taking off with my foot in the
right spot. What is more important?
A lady who cannot help me turns up with her dogs. I
ignore them and they ignore me. Perfect result.
I run back home.
“How was your run?”
I answer, “I did the t-jump?”
“How’s that going?”
“I will find out tomorrow.”
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