Cycle Leg

Lots of first time triple jumpers are confused by the cycle leg. It's been so long since I did my first triple jump that I can't remember if I was confused by it or if I caught on quickly; but I'm sure it felt strange either way. So don't feel bad if you can't get it. From what I've learned and experienced, the main goal of the cycle leg is to provide a flat footed landing going into your second phase, and to keep your first jump from getting too high.

A good way to practice your cycle leg is to do mini jumps by setting up cones going into the pit. Depending on what level you're at you should set them up 3 to 8 feet apart, starting from the pit. So from the pit, measure 8 feet and place the first cone, measure 8 more feet, and place another cone, and then 8 more feet and one more cone. You shouldn't need to take more than 2 or 3 steps, so stand at the last cone, and take 2 or 3 large steps away from the pit. Turn around, and "run" your 2 or 3 steps, landing your jumping foot at the first cone. Jump off just enough to reach the second cone, and move your foot in a circle (ground, behind, butt, front, ground) before taking off of the same foot again and continuing the rest of the phases.

If you're new to the idea of the cycle leg, then you can just focus on that, but if you want to work on your technique as a whole, there are a couple of other things you can do in this exercise as well.
While you're cycling your leg around, try to first lift your other leg up in the front (this will happen naturally when you take off), but then try to make a conscious effort to kick it back behind you while you're landing. This way, when you take off again for your second phase, you'll be able to gain more momentum by swinging your other leg forwards so that your knee is parallel to the ground. It's hard to do at first, which is why you have to practice it in slow motion and in mini jumps over and over so that it happens naturally in a real jump.

That's all I've got on cycle legs for now. I hope I didn't ramble too much!

Spikes

I've been coming across a lot of questions about running spikes lately, so I figured I would share what I know about them. First of all, the reasons for wearing spikes at track meets is to give you more traction, which makes you faster. The standard size spikes to use for most meets is 1/4 inch. I know this to be true for sprinters at least. I have heard that the size can be a little bigger for distance runners at times. Also, concerning types of spikes, yes there are multiple different types of shoes for different events. If you are a distance runner (800m or more), you will want to get distance spikes. If you're a sprinter (400m or less), you will need sprinting spikes. The difference is that when you sprint, you want to be up on your toes the entire race, never landing flat footed; however, in distance races, you run slower, so your whole foot will touch the ground. There are also special jumping spikes for long jump and triple jump. These are specifically for triple jump, because they are a bit wider on the bottom to give you a wider base for landing throughout your three phases. This gives you less chance of landing wrong and injuring your ankle or knee. I'm sure there are also special shoes for throws as well, but you will have to forgive me for not knowing much about those events. I'm also not sure about hurdlers. I would assume they just use normal sprinting spikes, but jumping spikes may also be helpful to them.

My Awards

My medals, my "Most Valuable Field Athlete" awards, and
my two state track and field championship numbers.

My "Outstanding Field Athlete" award
that I won at an invitational where I also
won first place in long and triple jump.

Jump high to go far

This rule applies to long jump, triple jump, and high jump. It's a simple rule, but it's a difficult thing to remember to do in the fraction of a second of the moment of your jump! That's why you need to practice this rule, so that it will come naturally to you when you're not thinking about it. The rule is that when taking off in any of these jumps, what you should be doing is trying to jump as high as you can, instead of as far as you can. Your momentum will do the work of taking you far, as long as you give yourself enough time in the air. So remember, jump high to go far!

What the heck's a Triple Jump?

This lineup is from Regionals my senior year:

(My name is red, in 1st)

Event 19  Girls Triple Jump Division 1
===============================================================================
     Name                        Year School            Seed Mark           
===============================================================================
Flight 1  Finals
  1  Jamie Wall                    SO DeForest           28-06.00        
  2  Emily Heck                    SO Madison East       29-00.00        
  3  Emily Gamm                    SO Waunakee           31-01.00        
  4  Jaci Vanden Brook             JR Waunakee           31-11.00        
  5  Sam Scheel                    SO Waunakee           32-02.00        
  6  Darcy Dean                    SO Middleton          32-03.00        
  7  Briana Kernen                 SR Sun Prairie        32-06.00        
  8  Elena Thompson                SO Middleton          32-07.00        
  9  Jessica Maiers                JR DeForest           32-10.00        
 10  Shannon McCauley              SO Middleton          33-07.00        
 11  Cierra Hotchkiss              FR Madison La F       33-11.00        
 12  KeKe Burks                    JR Madison La F       34-00.00        
 13  Leigha Hodge                  JR Madison La F       34-11.00        
 14  Marta Pardee                  SR Madison Memo       35-06.00 

When I tell people I do triple jump, the reaction is usually something along the lines of "oh....so what...that's just like...3 jumps...er...?". So I decided to share with the world the magicallity that is triple jump. And yes, "magicallity" is indeed a word, or at least it is now. Yes, the triple jump is three "jumps", but it's really defined as a hop, step, and a jump.  The approach for a triple jump should be relatively the same distance as your long jump approach, maybe a little shorter. Unlike in long jump, you don't necessarily want to be bolting up to the board at top speed. Don't get me wrong, you want to be going basically as fast as you can, but it's a more controlled run than a long jump approach. Your first jump should not be too high, or you will kill your momentum for the rest of the jump. Once you have left the ground, you want your jumping leg to cycle around, basically kicking your butt, before it hits the ground to take off for your second jump. This will keep your first jump more controlled, and it will help your foot to be flat for your landing. Now, when you're in the air on your first jump, your non-jumping leg should be kicked back almost straight so that when you transition into your second jump, or step, you will have more momentum by swinging your leg forwards all the way until your knee is parallel with the ground. After your second time taking off the jumping leg, you will switch your landing/jumping leg, and jump as high and as far as you possibly can, with what speed you have left, into the pit. The goal is to make all three phases fairly equal, with your third phase being your largest. The hardest part for most triple jumpers is getting the second phase to be longer. It takes a lot of practice and conscious thought in order to improve the second phase. The jump is measured from the take-off board, to the furthest back dent of where your feet land in the sand.

If you'd like to see me doing a triple jump, go to 00:34 of this video (click here) of my sectionals (where I placed 1st...by over a foot).

Doesn't it just kill you....

Doesn't it just kill you when there are those annoying little girly girls who you're trying to help improve on their jumps; and they're always complaining about how they can't jump very far and blah blah blah. But the only reason they have such pitiful little jumps is because they literally JOG up to the board and daintily hop off!!!!! You're trying to watch their run-throughs so they can have a real approach and their steps are NEVER on. You ask "were you running at top speed that time?". They respond, "I dunno", and frolic off to their dumb little girl pack, where they proceed to talk about boys, nail polish, and other meaningless things. How can you not want to do your absolute best in jumps? Am I the only girl in the world who ACTUALLY loves long jump and triple jump?! Come on people!!!

Just some track nonsense...

I'm in the green.

Our team won an invitational for the 10th year in a row. 

Getting Your Approach Down

If you have a long tape measurer, lay it out along the side of the runway, with the end of it lining up with the side of the board that is closer to the pit. You may need to tape it down to keep it straight. Now decide how many steps it will take you to reach the board. By steps, I mean the amount of times your dominant leg will hit the ground before you jump. Start at the board and run backwards along the runway. Have someone watch your steps so that they can tell you where your last step was. 
A good amount of steps to starting long jump is 7 or 8. It depends on how fast you can get up to top speed. A longer approach means more speed usually, but can take away from your focus if you're just starting. 
Start with your dominant foot forward, and run back along the runway. Make sure you're running as fast as you can. Have the other person tell you where your 7th or 8th step landed. Start there, with your dominant foot forward, and run back the other way towards the pit, reaching top speed just before the pit. Do a small hop out of the run when you hit the board, but don't jump. 
Have your friend watch where your dominant foot lands on the board on your 7th or 8th step (whichever one you choose), and adjust your distance accordingly. Keep doing those until you are consistant.