There's so much more important parts other than pole vaulting.

It's hard to pass up a pole vault opportunity here in Des Moines. The crowd was so great when I was at the mall and I was pumped up and I thought technically I was on and I figured where else to open up my outdoor season than here.

When you're jumping, it's just an aggressiveness, but I think the exhilaration and the fun comes after you make the bar and you're falling. That's the best part - a few seconds to celebrate and relax.

It was a lot to get used to, especially in warm-ups with the wind all over the place. As the meet went on it steadied out, so I was able to get some good looks to go back and train from.

I've made some mistakes before.

Pole vaulting is an event of high and lows.

It's not like I've been vaulting my whole life. I haven't. So my body hasn't taken that physical beating. I'm still on the upscale.