I'm not sure why, but I don't really feel like
I had been training for years before I could do that jump
I know how the past-perfect works, and for example
I had been training for years when I finally did that jump
sounds perfect.
So, do you think the first sentence is correct? I found an example for could that says:
She walked off before I could say anything.
Does it use the past-simple (walked) because the action is clearly before, or because it's actually describing a situation that happened at the same time?
Maybe if it had been had walked, it would have meant that she wasn't there when he almost started to talk?