BACK TO BASICS!

So I finally made it back to LA this afternoon. I left Linz, Austria this morning at 3am headed for Munich by car. Since my driver felt it necessary to drive in excess of 120mph, the drive only took about 2hrs. I was pretty tired but I kept my eyes wide open just in case there was any chance of me missing my last moments here on earth:)!

My flight to London was supposed to leave at 7am. Of course it was cancelled and so my immediate concern was that I would miss my connection. Thankfully, before I allowed myself to panic, I went over to the British Airways counter and they were able to rebook me on Lufthansa and I was able to make my London -LA flight. The whole trip took about 17hrs but I took two Excedrin PMs on my second flight and I'm pretty sure I slept for about 9 and half hours of that 11 hour flight. If any of you have ever take sleeping pills, you know what I'm talking about. It felt like someone drugged me and that I had very little control of my limbs when I did manage to open my eyes to eat and go to the bathroom. The good thing though is that the flight seems as if it passed in the blink of an eye.

My trip to Europe was not very successful in many ways. Yes I am notoriously a slow starter and I don't usually jump all that well indoors, but I still didn't jump anywhere near what I was hoping for. I have no excuses, I just didn't. I did manage to improve slightly in my last competition , but still the result was unacceptable. Now I could just walk around with my head hung low, and my shoulders slumped and have a huge pity party, but that is also not in my nature.

Some of my friends did really well and the last thing I would want to do is to drown them in my sorrows. There is an excerpt from one of my favorite sayings which I think I quoted on New Years' Day on my blog which says, "Be just as happy for the success of others as you are about your own." I truly believe in this. I would never take away from their shine. I deal with my own issues and if anyone has input and they want to give me advice, then by all means I will surely be appreciative and listen but I do not choose to burden others with my problems.

There are a few positives that came from my trip. The first is that I am far more clear about what it is that's ailing me technically in my jumping. Sometimes the most basic things escape us and we get too bogged down in minutia. In many of the years when I have jumped my best, it has been because I have kept it really simple and I KNOW what I'm doing. I think recently I have strayed from that path and that I have just been trying to do too much and thankfully, my old coach and mentor has been able to begin to bring me back on course.

Track is a matter of physics in so many ways. If I try to defy it, it will not work and that is essentially what I've been doing, even if unconsciously. Long jumping requires speed at takeoff, force created at takeoff, the right takeoff angle and an effective and unrushed landing. Not that complicated really. I knew that all along but my mind has been a jumble of too many things while not being clear on any one thing in particular - you know...jack of all trades, master of none. Well I'm about to master a couple old tricks once again. Hang in there with me!

PS. Thank you all for the words of support. It means a lot.