So, I got sick of having nothing to write, so I picked up a piece of chalk and walked out on my front step. And felt like an idiot. And walked around the back yard, stared at the back stoop, and walked back to the front. Realized I'd locked myself out of the house. Took a breath, and jumped off the stoop.

I made it to just past a crack in the sidewalk. Five, maybe six feet, from two steps up. Landed with both feet, legs bent, didn't feel like I was over-stressing anything that couldn't handle it – ankles, knees, joints were happy. I drew a rectangle around the space where I landed – many thanks to Brian Taylor for that tip! -- and walked back up the steps. I jumped again, and again, and didn't keep count. I forgot that people might see me, though I'd still wait for cars to pass before making another jump.  All I saw was the rectangle, and all I thought was getting my feet into it.

After maybe a half dozen jumps I turned in my rectangle and looked at the steps. I didn't think I could make it to the top (second) step, so I jumped to the first. Made it, easily, and landed solidly. I had more trouble keeping my balance when I jumped out to my rectangle.

I started feeling tired fast, maybe after 5 or 10 jumps, so I set a goal to do ten sets – from the top step to the rectangle, and back to the bottom step. My quads started losing steam first, and quickly. My brain started re-calculating – that rectangle started looking farther away, and I wanted to move forward just an inch, so my toes were past the lip of the step, and I knew I would make it. It was really hard to keep back. My rectangle landings started getting sloppy – falling just short, launching too far and not being able to check my momentum. Landed on my ass once, but it wasn't a far fall. My jumps from the rectangle to the step stayed true, though I was using my arms a lot in the launch to compensate for my legs tiring.

I made it to ten sets, got Josh to let me back into the house so I could chug some orange juice, and managed to crank out 15 more sets. My quads bitched, and I started losing control of my rectangle landings. I remembered something that Brian said in his new warm-up video, about paying attention to how your body reacts to focused thought. Meditation through action, mind over matter, about all that I've said about visualization. And it helped, if I kept my focus.

Some things for future training:

Need to tie on my glasses, or get sports glasses, or just be very very careful

Need to tie back and braid my hair, because it flies everywhere when I land.

Need to get the right pants. My young mens' jeans are great for length and mobility, but they snap and worse, unsnap at unfortunate times.

Need to pick a time when Josh can watch/spot, and hopefully get a camera. I'm not too worried about my form for jumps – I feel pretty natural – but I'd like the input.

I got back inside and my quads and hams are jelly. I squatted down to put my shoes away, and for a moment I actually couldn't rise back to my feet. I'm having trouble keeping my feet when I walk, my legs will just kind of give out at odd times. And I cannot, absolutely cannot, stop smiling.

Oh!  And additionally -- I heard the WFPF podcast of Brian Taylor interviewing Livewire and wow!  Two great athletes and inspirational role models, what a great talk.  Brian's slowly becoming something of a role model/mentor to me, and it's great to see more of his work on the site.  And kudos to Joe Rudy, getting his question on the air!  I can't wait to hear the next podcasts.  Great work, guys!