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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?

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Both sentences are correct.

I had been training for years before I could do that jump

To my ear and brain, the focus in the sentence is on the time it took to train for the jump.

I had been training for years when I finally did that jump

Whereas in this sentence, it is more on the event of finally performing the jump.

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