Follow Lake Region HS sprint/jump star Kate Hall as she blogs about her senior indoor season & the quest to be the best. Hall is one of the top ranked returner long jumper in the US this winter. Her accolades are impressive, she has never lost a state championship race or jump a perfect 20-20 so far. She currently holds Maine State Indoor All-time bests in the 55m, 60m, 200m, & long jump. Outdoors she holds all-time best marks in the 100m, 200m & long jump. Last winter she was the National runner-up in the long jump at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.
Hello Everyone!
I hope everyone's seasons are going well! The past couple of meets have been pretty exciting for me. I accomplished the two goals that I have been looking to accomplish since last year and the best part is that there is still room for improvement.
My 6.99 55m was pretty unexpected for me. I had switched up my workout routine the past two weeks and my trainer had told me I might see a little spike in my speed after the change, but I wasn't expecting to set a PR. I had been working on block starts quite a bit, and I knew the key to a fast time was the start. The cues in my mind to help my start as I was getting into the blocks were to have a forward lean and to keep my first couple of steps low. It almost felt like I was stumbling out of the blocks when I did this, but I was actually coming out lower than I was used to and it forced my first steps to be longer and more powerful (which is good). I thought I had a “bad" start when I really had one of the best starts I've ever had. I've been trying to replicate this in practice ever since, but it's hard to force myself to feel like I'm stumbling. I'm thrilled that I not only ran a PR, but also that it's early and I'm not peaking yet. I know I can run faster and I can't wait for bigger meets.
Long jump has been back and forth all season. One day I feel like I have my mark figured out, and the next thing I know, I'm as inconsistent as can be. I realized that in meets I think I am trying to come out of the start of my approach too hard and I'm not getting those longer steps that have been helping me stay consistent. Once I realized this, I tried to come out hard, but not so hard that I can't get those powerful, long strides. My mark was right on in practice, and I couldn't wait to jump in the next meet. All week before the meet my dad kept telling me it was going to be the meet where I get a huge jump. My dad does this thing where he says something to help pump me up and even though I know it may not be the complete truth, I believe him anyways. So I started telling everyone else that this was going to be the week that I had a good jump. At the meet I wasn't upset when I didn't run the 55 as fast as last time because I knew I wanted to concentrate on the jump. During my run throughs, my mark was exactly on, which helped my confidence a ton going into my jumps. My first jump was 19-3, and I was about a foot behind the board. I went out slightly harder the next time and I was right on the board. My landing was kind of sideways, so my left foot was 8 inches to a foot behind my right. I was thinking that there wasn't any way that could be a big jump because I was sideways. Next thing I knew, the official pulled the tape out and I knew I saw 20 feet, but I was trying not to get too excited in case I wasn't right. When he announced 20 feet I think the first thing I did was hug my dad and then anyone else who was around me. I was so happy I started crying because I've been working so long for that jump. I wasn't able to sleep for the next three nights because all I thought about is how I could become a national champ this year and even have a jump that is 21 feet if I get my landing straightened out (literally) and get my mark right on. So I guess what's next is to stay healthy and prepare for the upcoming meets!
Good luck to everyone and I hope you are all having a wonderful season!