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.

Playin' Like a Kid!

Theme of this blog post: fun!

Last week we started an Adult Level 1 Parkour/Freerunning Class at Apex Movement. I was a little unsure of what to expect, especially considering I had a hard time understanding what Parkour was myself. I've seen the crazy videos of people jumping from roof to roof and climbing up walls, but I knew better than to expect that from a beginners class for adults. According to the website, "Parkour is an art of movement in which you train the body and mind to overcome obstacles."

Our first class began by measuring some benchmark skills. I'll admit it was quite the challenge, and I struggled to do even one pull up. Next, we learned quadrupedal movements (QM). The first resembles crawling on your hands and feet moving your opposite hand and foot together. At some point, we'll move to doing this on a bar. Finally, we moved onto the obstacle course. It immediately reminded me of when I was a kid and often made up obstacle courses on the playground and raced my friends on them. The course included running through a tunnel, climbing over several boxes, and balancing on some rails through the "hot lava." The time ended once you made it to the top of and eight foot tall box. I left with such a high that carried over into the next day, and I was so excited to return.

During our second class, we learned how to do Parkour rolls and worked on correct pull up form. I laughed to myself when they told us to go warm up with 5 pull ups before having us complete a pull up circuit. My goal is to get to four by the end of the five week class, since that's the recommended amount to move onto Level 2. I'm noticing that even though I'm having a hard time with the basic skills, I seem to do fairly well with the Parkour moves. According to the instructors, I'll be scaling a rooftop like a ninja in no time! Our next class focused on basic gymnastics including hand stands, cartwheels, and roundoffs. In an upcoming class, we will practice these moves on the vault, and I'm hoping we'll get to try out the foam pit! On my way home today, I saw two boys doing cartwheels over the cement divider in front of the school. It definitely reinforced the idea that everyone does Parkour as kids and we tend to grow out of it as we get older.

This past weekend, we went to Steamboat Springs with some friends. We went for a four mile hike up Mad Creek Trail. There was a historic barn at the top of the hike, and I even practiced my QM moves on the surrounding fence.

Later that day, we went to the Strawberry Park Hot Springs. We spent the rest of the night hanging out, and having fun. There may have even been a cartwheel or two down the middle of the road.

Gettin' There

Our deck is coming along pretty well, and although it's still not quite finished, I'm feeling more hopeful about our yard being finished. It's been taking awhile due to the weather and the contractor running out of parts. We have plans for stamped concrete once the deck is finished. It ended up a bit bigger than I expected, but I'm looking forward to spending time on it.

Two weeks ago I was able to go Imperial Flyers again. I went by myself, so the pictures were lacking. I worked on Bird's Nest and was able to make the catch. I even made it into the official YouTube video!

We made homemade pizza last week and went a bit overboard on the toppings. We ended up with three varieties: Chicken Pesto w/ Sundried Tomatoes, Sausage & Peppers, and Margherita w/ Chicken and Peppers. 

Eric has been at home this week due to the government furlough, and I'm really enjoying having a "stay at home boyfriend." I had conferences this week, so I was working 13 hour days and not getting home until late. It was so exhausting, but it was amazing having dinner ready for me and the house picked up when I got home each night. My favorite was the homemade Beer Battered Tacos w/ Guacamole.

A coworker gave us a giant zucchini from their garden, so I made Chocolate Zucchini Bread. Since I was already taking the time to make it, I also made Chocolate Hazelnut Banana Bread. They both turned out pretty well and it will be nice to have breakfast already made for the next few days.

Campin'

Last weekend we went camping in Wyoming at Curt Gowdy State Park. We went mountain biking both days and I really enjoyed the trails. They were difficult, but there was enough that was ridable to keep me motivated. There was a small "playground" where I  rode up and over a giant rock. I was really reluctant at first and even chickened out on my first try, but once I did it, it wasn't so bad and I did it several more times.

It was a challenge to push myself to keep up with the boys, but still feel comfortable on the bike. I did fall going up a switchback and ended up with a massive bruise on my arm. On the way home, we took a detour to Little Man Ice Cream, which is becoming a favorite any time we're headed home from up north.

It's been raining all week, so we haven't done much in the yard. I moved a bit more dirt to level out the piles behind the wall, but it's a slow process. Earlier this week, the deck was demolished, so hopefully we will have it installed soon.

Enjoyin' the Weekend

I'm getting back into being at work and have had two full weeks with the kids. That being said, I definitely enjoyed the extra day off for the holiday weekend. It seemed to be a good balance between being productive, getting some rest, and having fun. We spent some time in the yard and while Eric finished the wall, I started filling in the dirt. I know it may not look like it yet, but those dirt piles are definitely smaller than before.

The next step will be replacing the deck and we're looking forward to not having to do that part ourselves. Once that's finished, we'll move on to the patio and the grass. We'll see how much motivation we have left as to whether we'll do the patio ourselves or hire someone else.

We returned to Imperial Flyers for a drop in session today after attending the Open House last weekend. It's a trapeze club that I think could be a fun activity while I'm off in the summer. It's about 35 minutes from our house, but I think it could be worth it. They have an annual circus in August. How cool would it be to perform in their circus next year? I worked on the split today and had three catches, some more successful than the others.

This was my fifth time total, and so far I've been able to make catches from knee hang, heels off, whip, straddle whip, and now split. Unless they have another idea for next time, I might try bird's nest. I'd also like to try straddle whip again and make it look a bit cleaner than before.