Travelin' to France

Summer has been going really well, and I just returned from a big trip to France. I went with my sister, Stacie, and we were gone almost three weeks. We definitely enjoyed exploring, eating, drinking, walking, and relaxing.

We flew into Toulouse and took a rental car to the small village of Siran. Getting to Siran was quite the adventure in itself, but we finally made it. We spent the first few days relaxing and recovering from jet lag. Once caught up on our sleep, we spent the next week exploring the nearby villages, eating great food, visiting a few markets, and enjoying being in a new place. We stopped at a nearby winery (Chateau de Rieux) twice during our stay, toured the abbey at Caunes de Minervois, and enjoyed the weekday trucks that visited the village. We were invited to a neighbor's house for some appetizers and drinks, and it turned into a fun filled evening talking with people from London, Ireland, and France. After our time in Siran, we ventured back to Toulouse, stopping at Carcassonne on the way. It was an amazing castle where we took hundreds of photos.

We spent the night in Toulouse and enjoyed wandering the city. Then next morning, we had a five and a half our train ride north to Paris. Once we arrived, we spent some time planning out the rest of our stay in Paris. For the first two days, we used our Museum Pass to visit the Arc de Triomph, Musee D'Orsay, the Louvre, Centre de Pompidou, Saint Chappelle, Musee de Moyen Age, and the Pantheon.

Outside the Louvre

Outside the Pompidou

After our busy museum days, we took a few days to just explore the city. We visited a ton of parks and took a day to visit the Eiffel Tower. We also took a Parkour class from ADD Academy. The workout was much more intense and the style was more artistic, but it was fun to try something new.

Each day we visited the patisserie for a baguette and/or desserts. We tried several restaurants and decided the one below our apartment, Le Tournebride, was by far our favorite. It was a new experience and interesting to be in a new country. I was definitely pushed outside my comfort zone when trying to navigate around the country and communicate/order food in another language.

Here is a slideshow with just a few of the hundreds of pictures from our trip:

Last week, we attempted and completed the Tour de Bcycle. The challenge is to check into each of the 83 Bcycle stations in Denver in one day. It was quite the challenge and with the hot day, it was very exhausting. We made it though, and now we will receive a shirt and our names on the Bcycle website. It was a fun way to tour the city and see the most important places in Denver. We even stopped at Civic Center Eats for lunch.

One of the many Bcycles I rode during the day

Page 1 of the order of the stations

Our finishing selfite at Botanic Gardens

While I was gone, Eric spent a ton of time working on the yard. It has come a long way in the past year and it is approaching completion. The deck, wall, patio, and sprinklers are complete. We also have a place for a garden and the grass is starting to come in. Once we buy some patio furniture and put in some plants, we will have a nice outdoor space to hang out in.

Turnin' 30

The past few months have been hectic with both Eric & my 30th birthdays, our anniversary, and the end of the school year. As a result, we've been to several nice celebration dinners at some new restaurants and eaten a ton of food. For our anniversary we went to Fruition, and I woke up the next morning wanting to go back. My favorite dish was the Pasta Carbonara with Pork Belly, and I have been craving it ever since. Eric took me for an Italian five course dinner at Panzano for my birthday. The Fried Brussels Sprouts and Pastiche (Housemade Cheese Tortellini w/ Spicy Meatballs) were amazing. Some friends took us to Potager to celebrate all of the above along with the start of summer, and me winning "Teacher of the Year." We shared several plates, and few bottles of wine, and had a great time.

For my birthday, we started the day with breakfast at home. After a mellow morning lounging around, we went shopping at Cherry Creek. We had a healthy lunch at Harmon's to counteract the sweet breakfast, and then went to Freerunning and worked on side flips, punch front flips, and websters. Afterwards, we went to Cannonball Creek Brewery and ate pizza off the Basic Kneads food truck. We ended the evening with a walk around the neighborhood looking for the perfect place to do an outside flip. Unfortunately we did not find a place, but I know we will continue looking. Lastly, we enjoyed birthday cake while watching TV on the couch. The weather was gorgeous, and made for a great day.

Birthday Breakfast of Doughnuts, Breakfast Sandwich, Breakfast Burrito, & a Frappuccino

White Chocolate Raspberry Chiffon Birthday Cake

I am still addicted to Parkour and have been going to class at least three days a week, sometimes five. I started going to another new class called Moveabilities (MoAbs). The first half is focused on Parkour, and the second half is a more intense workout, sometimes using some aspects of a Crossfit workout. I am usually the only one there because it is earlier in the evening, so we always work on one of my weaknesses. Often, we work on skills that we use during the following evening's class, and I definitely see the benefits of working on it beforehand. We have been working on my fear of heights by jumping from taller objects and precision jumping over tall gaps. I am also still nervous about kong vaults to precision considering that is how I hurt my knee, but after the last class, I am feeling much more comfortable with them and am working towards landing on taller boxes.

Between Tricking and Freerunning, I feel I am moving closer to my goal of doing a flip outside off of a short wall. There are a few places near my house and work that I have been eyeing with this goal in mind. I know it will still be awhile before I will be successful with this, but it's something to work towards. A few weeks ago, I did my first backflip off the side of the AirTrick. While it still gives some spring when you jump, it is much less than the trampoline, and I am finally starting to feel comfortable with the motion.

I am finding myself looking at my surroundings in a new way and imagining balancing, jumping, or vaulting over different objects I see when driving or walking. My window from my classroom overlooks part of the roof, complete with electrical boxes, pipes, and gaps between walls. Not that I would actually do Parkour on the school roof, but I enjoy the new perspective of looking at things differently. I did have fun doing some "mini-Parkour" moves walking back to my car the other night while downtown. There were a ton of walls to vault over, a wall to balance on, some planters to precision jump, a tree branch to swing from, and an electrical box to climb on.

View From My Window at Work

We finally took advantage of some tickets we received last year and went to see "Once." The music was great and even though the story didn't end the way we would have liked, we enjoyed it.

Attempted Selfie Before "Once"

Eric has made a ton of progress on the yard and it is getting close to being finished. The below pictures show the nearly completed retaining wall, a new stamped concrete patio, a new sprinkler system, fresh topsoil for our garden, and freshly seeded grass. I can't wait until it is finally finished and we can enjoy our yard.

 Freshly Seeded Grass

New Stamped Concrete Patio

Gettin' Back To It

After about six full weeks of having an injured knee, I finally was able to return to Parkour. I know I probably pushed it and went back before I was ready, but I was getting more and more frustrated with not being able to go. I could see a considerable difference in my mood and energy levels compared to when I was going to Parkour. I was testing my knee daily and as soon as I was able to jump off the bench in our bay window and not feel like I was hurting it worse, I went back to class. I had to take it pretty easy for the first few weeks, but I am now almost back to where I was pre-injury, although I still can't bend my knee all the way.

Since returning, I have started attending Tricking and Freerunning classes to address my latest Parkour focus on flips. Tricking incorporates elements of martial arts kicks which can then be used to increase momentum when flipping or twisting through the air. During this class, I have been working on my back flips. It doesn't seem like it should be very difficult, but last weekend I did my first black flip on the trampoline. It was an exhilarating rush to finally accomplish something I had been wanting to do for so long. I'm hoping to progress to the mats and the Air Trick without needing a spotter.

Freerunning is all about flips and is my new favorite class. I'm often the only one there, so I get tons of one on one attention and can choose to work on whatever I want. I've been working on front flips off of elevated objects, side flips, and wall spins.

I have also been to a Women's Parkour class and did my first six foot lache. Accomplishing this was one of those moments where I started thinking there was no way I would be able to do it, and within a few minutes, I was feeling pretty comfortable with the new skill.

6 Foot Lache

My next overarching focus will be on building confidence. It's not uncommon for me to "chicken out" or take a really long time to try something. I know this is partly because I am still recovering from an injury and am afraid of hurting myself again, however, I need to find a way to move past it. I often hesitate at several points during obstacle courses and this adds unnecessary seconds to my overall time. It is especially frustrating when I continue to pause, even after I've done the obstacle and know I can do it. Last weekend, I was working on wall spins. On my first two attempts with the sharper angle, I did the spin without any issues. Then, I started over thinking the move and was unable to complete another one. I really wish I could find a way to stop psyching myself out and be more confident in my training.

The past two weeks I have started participating in a writing group. I think it will ultimately be a big step towards writing a memoir. It's not uncommon for people to tell me I should write a book, and this seems to be a good starting point. I am enjoying the process so far and I am interested to see where it will take me.

This week was Spring Break, so we took a mini camping trip to Moab. I was definitely disappointed that our campsite was nothing more than dirt and a fire pit, as I much prefer to at least have an outhouse. While there, we went mountain biking. I rented a really nice mountain bike to help me take advantage of some of the trails. The upgraded bike definitely made a difference and I found myself attempting much more than I would on my current bike. We rode Sovereign, Porcupine Rim, and Klonzo. This was my second time on the Sovereign trail, and it was a relatively mellow ride. The next day, we were shuttled to the top of Porcupine Rim, which was a 17 mile, mostly downhill ride. I really enjoyed the first half, but started to get tired partway through and was anxious to finish during the second half. We split off from the group for the third day as I was in need of a shorter and less technical ride. Klonzo seemed to be perfect for this, and if I go again, this would be a good first day ride. While I enjoyed the trail, I was still pretty tired and sore from the previous two days to fully experience it. Unfortunately I spent all my time mountain biking trying to catch up with the group, and didn't take any pictures.

Slowin' Down

When I talk about Parkour, people keep asking me why I do all this "crazy stuff," but I'm wondering why more people don't. We all did it at kids but at some point stopped. On the days I know I'm going to class, I wake up excited about it and look forward to it all day. How many people can say that about their workouts?

The front entrance of the Parkour gym has this sign up for the new year and I think it perfectly describes some of the more specific reasons I do Parkour.

I love how pretty much every reason on the board is something that applies to me, or at least can make me laugh. During one class we "prepared for the zombie apocalypse" by seeing how quietly we could complete the course. One of the instructors followed each person and kept track of how many loud noises they made. Ironically, the first time I saw this sign we had eaten waffles that morning, so the waffle binge totally applied. Eric has been perfecting his homemade waffle recipe and I am more than happy to help him with the eating part.

Since the Air Inversion Workshop, I've been practicing the upside down reason, and I would like to go to the tricking class. Eric has been twice on his own and has been working on back handsprings, back flips, side flips, and variations of the front flip, which are all things I would love to learn.

I have also been working on improving my speed through the obstacle courses. I have a lot of the individual skills, but I often have to psych myself up first and that slows down my times. It is amazing to me how encouraging everyone is. During one course, the guys were achieving times of 12 - 15 seconds. During my turn, I was really struggling and at one point fell while attempting to do a precision drop from one box to another. I kept going and the final obstacle required me to jump into a cat hang and pull myself onto the side of the foam pit. I felt like I was flailing, but I finally made it. The second I stood up at the top, everyone in my class clapped and cheered for me. It's still amazing to me how encouraging everyone is. Even though my time was closer to two minutes, no one seemed to care and instead high-fived me for my accomplishment. It definitely creates an environment where I feel comfortable and willing to try new things. Check off the think positive, be happy, and encourage others more.


Unfortunately I'm going to have to take a break from Parkour for a few weeks. At my last class I was working on vault precision jumps and smacked my knee on the vault on the way over. Don't let the injury discourage you from doing it. I was trying to keep up with the boys, and instead of taking it slow the first time, I went harder than I ever had before, and didn't get my feet all the way up. At least I had a nice gash to prove how much it hurt!

After almost two weeks, I still can't bend it all the way and I'm feeling lot of popping and cracking when I move it. I finally went to the doctor and while it's not too serious, she said it would likely be another three weeks before it was healed enough to go back. Basically the impact caused my kneecap to hit my leg bone. While I know it could be much worse, it's still frustrating to be so excited about something and not be able to do it. Luckily they are letting me pause my six month membership until I am healed. I think now I'll be more likely to let it heal all the way before returning because I know I won't lose any of my classes. Until then I'm making Eric tell me what they learned at each class and living vicariously through him.

As a side note, It's Not My Time by Three Doors Down has been one of my favorite songs since it came out. The lyrics have an incredibly personal meaning for me and the music video is awesome. How could it not be when it includes Parkour?

Lovin' Parkour

I am officially obsessed with Parkour. We have been four times this week and have plans to go again tomorrow.

The remainder of the intro course included rail balancing, vaulting, precision jumping, bar work, cat leaps, wall spins, obstacle courses, and flips into the foam pit. Here's a brief listing of what we did in each Level 1 class.

On the last night of Level 1 we also revisited the benchmark skills from the first night. I was excited to beat all my original numbers, including doing six pull ups. (My original was zero!) One of the first new moves I was able to get was the lache between two bars.

Four Foot Lache

Moving up to Level 2 felt like a big jump. Not only are the workouts more demanding, the obstacles are much more challenging. A big part of Level 2 is overcoming fear and working through challenges. One of the most challenging obstacles so far involved getting across eight foot bars (the same ones I'm hanging from in the video above). I was so relieved when I made it to the other side, and then realized I needed to do a precision jump down about four feet onto a vault. It took some time and reassurance, but I finally jumped and made it no problem.

The instructors have been great about helping me work through the progressions and I've seen huge improvements in my abilities and confidence. I love how encouraging everyone is and how they make a point to celebrate your successes. It doesn't matter if it takes me twice as long as some of the guys to complete a course, they still congratulate me at the end and find something positive to point out. In our most recent class, we were warming up with climb ups onto a six foot box. I could do it, but I kept using my elbow to help me up. The instructor pulled me aside and gave me a different exercise to work on to help with the correct motion, and by the end of the night I was able to do the move without my elbow.

We participated in an Air Awareness workshop a few weeks ago where we learned how to do front flips. We've been practicing and I finally feel like I'm consistently getting it without having to think through every single step.

Front Flip on the Air Trick

Some of the skills I would like to continue to improve upon include wall spins, tacs, cat hangs to climb ups, and flips. We just signed up for a six month membership, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to practice.