Will I ever jump over a bar again?

     It's a question that I think about quite a lot, actually. And I thought about it quite a few times this weekend when I went to the GLIAC Championships at SVSU this past weekend.
     Hillsdale men's and women's teams competed hard, but finished 7th and 5th respectively. You can see results, here. The meet was highlighted by Amanda Putt who ran a dominating mile race. She had a great finish and is poised to run pretty fast in two weeks at the NCAA DII nationals in Albuquerque, N.M. She ran a 4:53 (4:55 converted) at GVSU a few weeks ago and won the GLIAC title with a 4:57. Good job Putt!
     I spent a majority of the meet at the edge of the high jump apron, watching a few athletes that I had competed against two years ago, but it was mostly new faces — including a freshman from Lake Erie who has jumped over 7'-2" this year. He jumped 6'-11" to win the GLIAC title before missing all three attempts at 7'3".
     My first year away from the sport, I missed it a ton. I was so convinced that I would be motivated and willing to continue to train and compete, hoping maybe something would click and I could be jumping over 6'-10"; 6'-11" and 7'-0"... maybe higher... bars. It was a combination of a new job, new surrounding, lack of places to train, but mostly procrastination and laziness that never brought me to seriously train. I know you will love this classic video.



     Once last year's outdoor season completed, I didn't miss the sport as much, although I think about probably at least once a day.
     So, while watching the meet with my beautiful fiancée Erin, she told me that we should train as a married couple and compete as long as we can. I'm not sure if that's exactly how she said it, but it was something like that. There's a good chance that Erin will finish her eligibility up in graduate school in Colorado — which if I'm living in the same town as her college of choice, I might be able to train and compete at meets. Just like the good ole days!
     Thinking (and writing) about that now makes me really excited. My body isn't as quick because of my inactivity, but it can still be there I think. I play in a community basketball league, which is just one game a week. It's fun, but it's also coming to an end soon. I need to get motivated soon and do something to stay active.
     So, we'll see! I would like to say that I compete again someday, and maybe I will. I was really tempted to jump out during the girls competition this weekend, because I think I could still jump their bars. Maybe opening height of the guy's competition.
     To wrap up this post, I did the following things:

• Erin and I sang kareoke at a country bar. We sang Lady Antebellum's 'Need you Now,' and we both got really into it. Classic, and I apologize no one got that on video.
• Erin and I cooked a meal out of Martha Stewart's food magazine. It's my new favorite magazine.
• We celebrated my mother's 58th birthday on Sunday in Lansing at my sister's house. It was a lovely day and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

     Back to the grind tomorrow! We'll see what the news brings.