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just wondering what you all like to do that day of a meet. I like to get up at least 4 hours b4 i compete (obviously not as big a deal if u compete late). i generally eat a good mean 4 hours before, have light snack 2 hours before. and then an energy bar or two before and during the meet. lots of gatorade (not at once, just over a long period of time to keep hydrated without saturating myself).

does anyone does anything like jog the morning of a meet or anything. sometimes if ive been a hotel for too long i dont feel great on meet days. just lookin for comparisons

I always have a pretty decent breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and big glass of milk, i make sure to have a gatorade and water with me at the meet to have to drink at different times, I like having different granola and power bars to have depending on when I vault. I also sometimes stretch right when i wake up.

I'm all about having tons of water and gatorades at a meet...in fact, my brother and I actually used to carry a cooler with us as part of our "meet gear." We also had the routine powerbars, and crackers, etc....Hotels are the worst...I always perform the worst when I have stayed the night in a hotel...I can't sleep in them. I'd be better off spending the night in the car, then trying to get some rest inside. That's about it.

the day of the meet it is kind of a ritual, even though i dont think that i am superstitious i would be lying if i said i wasnt. I normally have a routine of getting up in the morning earlier than normal, ( in hotel of course) go get some breakfast in the with, go back to the room get dressed then get to the bus while listening to the CD i made for that meet. at the track ill be listening to a CD non stop until it is time to warm up. then pop ups and warm up jumps but only a small amount, some people take a lot of warm up jumps even if they are on, ill stop if im not on cus i know i can vault so why waste energy tryin to get into the pit or tryin to get on a pole i know i can get on. pretty much everyone has there individual routines even if they say they dont, you can watch them and see that they pretty much do the same thing in between every jump whether is be yell at the end of the runway or clap there hands or something, but hey thats what makes this sport so interesting,

if we had a home meet, we would all get together at someone's place and eat waffles and pancakes together. I would always try to get to the meet at least 2 hours beofre the vault started so I could hang out and relax a little bit before we had to start warming up. I hated getting to meets where I had to rush around to warm up and get jumps in.

I'm not trying to sound crude here, but one of the best things you can do before a meet is make sure you take a dump before you warm up. you'll feel lighter, and won't have to worry about running to the restroom in the middle of the competition.

ashcraftpv wrote: I hated getting to meets where I had to rush around to warm up and get jumps in.

Yeah I HATE being late to meets. If I am on my own, I'll often get there more than 2 hours early, to make sure I have enough time to talk to people, retape poles, whatever, and still have plenty of time to warm up.

rainbowgirl28 wrote:

ashcraftpv wrote: I hated getting to meets where I had to rush around to warm up and get jumps in.

Yeah I HATE being late to meets. If I am on my own, I'll often get there more than 2 hours early, to make sure I have enough time to talk to people, retape poles, whatever, and still have plenty of time to warm up.

I like to get there with about 5 minutes left in warmups or less (belmore, britdawg, and rainbow can vouge for this). The panic that sets in is good for the adrenalin!

lonestar has caused me concern several mornings arriving just as the first bar is put on the pegs. Nothing like having a bunch of vaulters looking at you with pleading eyes as the clock ticks down. The adrenaline trick seems to be working though, his athletes are definitely performing come competition time.

my routine is not really having a routine... if that makes sense. i used to be this giant head case- GIANT, but then i figured out that i have the same ability that i had during that amazing practice. so i say that to myself before i go to the meet.

if i only have to vault at the meet, which doesn't usually happen, then i'll just make sure i'm hydrated, stay in the shade, and stay calm. i stay calm because only so much adrenaline can help- after that it's counterproductive. as far as vault warm ups go, i'll start jogging and such around an hour before the pit opens- i hate waiting in line to test my marks. then take a few short runs, maybe two full runs and call it. after that- just jump, it's not like i haven't practiced lol

if it's during my school's outdoor season, then i have to do 5 events, and in that scenario, survival becomes my main concern. balancing water and food intake with the times the events start pretty much takes up all of my time.

i just try not to get too set on a specific routine, because i don't want to dig myself into a hole of superstition...which i would do

belmore wrote:lonestar has caused me concern several mornings arriving just as the first bar is put on the pegs. Nothing like having a bunch of vaulters looking at you with pleading eyes as the clock ticks down. The adrenaline trick seems to be working though, his athletes are definitely performing come competition time.

Yeah... if lonestar and I end up at any of the same meets again, I am driving myself next time!!

Peepers PV wrote:my routine is not really having a routine... if that makes sense. i used to be this giant head case- GIANT, but then i figured out that i have the same ability that i had during that amazing practice. so i say that to myself before i go to the meet.

i just try not to get too set on a specific routine, because i don't want to dig myself into a hole of superstition...which i would do

mmm...superstition is bad, mmmkay?

Like having to eat a peanut butter sandwich and a certain flavor Gatorade at a certain time at every meet.

Or having to wear the same lucky bra or jockstrap every meet.

Or having to step forward and back, forward and back a certain number of times before you start running.

Or having to do a certain ritual like rolling your ankles side to side and bending your wrists backwards a certain number of times.

You need to be able to just show up at any time, in any weather, grab any pole, and jump. This is the kind of flexibility that will reduce the headcase issues and make you more successful.

Rituals are only really bad though if you DEPEND on them. I suppose they could be good if they help you set your mind to the jump, but don't depend on them, and don't be superstituous. Don't overinterpret every little thing that happens, because if something you don't expect happens, you won't know to handle it and will choke.

i hate it when people do that long a** end of the runway ritual, one step back, go up on the tippy toes, lean back tippy toes, lean back tippy toes, Longggg lean back start, mannnn that gets me so aggrivated, when people take a long time to just get there run started. I just go out pick up my pole and run. you see it a lot in New England