Jumping Journal: February 14, 2006

Day 37. RADICALLY DIFFERENT.  That's how you explain putting on a real pair of jump boots versus the pair that I have been wearing for the past couple of years.  I don't think I have had a jump quite like the first jump tonight in ages.  I couldn't even lock my knees out.  That hasn't occured since...while as long as I can remember.

 

I got to the Roland Tremblay Ski Jump Complex, formerly the Newport Ski Jump, and noticed several pair of boots sitting off to the side that I hadn't noticed before.  I started looking to see if any them might actually be able to fit my size 13 feet.  The first pair I tried fit great, maybe even a slight bit big, problem they was too long and the toe was too wide for the bindings on my skis.  I tried another pair, much tighter but they would fit the bindings better.  I decided to stick with them and give them try on the hill.

 

I knew from just walking in the boots that I was going to have a rather interesting night of jumping.  The boots I have been using are blown out on the sides, so much so that I can very easily stand straight legged, vertically, with the boots on.  Anotherwords they do absolutely nothing to help with the jump whatsoever.

 

I put on the skis and before even making it to the knoll point on the inrun I notice that this is going to be very interesting.  I head down the inrun and almost can't even get into a decent tuck position.  Very unusual.  I jump at the takeoff and quickly notice that I haven't even locked my knees.  The tips are amazingly pointed down.  That was the biggest shock.  I ride the landing hill but I'm so far out of it that I end up crashing.

 

I make my way back up for the second jump. It ends up slightly better, but not much.  At least I don't crash anymore jumps for the remainder of the evening.  The third jump gets better and I start to feel a little more comfortable.  The fourth and fifth jumps are much better and I start to even drive through the heels and I notice the ski tips come up very easily on their own without me having to do anything to get them to come up.

 

The sixth and seventh jumps seemed to be the best jumps of the evening.  I was told by one of the other jumpers that my seventh jump was quite good.  That jumper does know what he is talking about.  I think the different boots will show an amazing difference when I go to jump the 50, hopefully, on Thursday evening.  I will have to pull out the video camera and get some video taken.  I will be curious to see if I will still bend at the waist or not.  Supposedly on jump seven I didn't bend at the waist.

 

Jump eight wasn't very good.  I groaned in the air since I knew it wasn't worth a darn.  Jump nine was slightly better and jump ten was even better than nine.  The coach said that he thought that the last jump was the best, I would say number seven was the best of the evening though.

 

Crash