Goals - mid year check in

The year is half over and I'm wondering how I'm doing on my goals.

#1 Stay Healthy. Do what I love while avoiding injury as best I can.
Working on this one. First injury of the year now. Resting so it doesn't get worse. 

Classes to try———I don't really care about trying new classes as much, and I've tried most of the classes I'm interested in at Ramsey
1.  Try an Orange Theory class
2. Try a Fuel yoga class.
3. Try more classes at Ramsey—DONE
4. Maybe try swimming (not necessarily a class) 
5. Take a yoga workshop on something, like hand balancing or inversions.

Been doing speed work since April.

Running goals. (I added some since December)
1. Run a 10k or half the Chick Fil-A half marathon—DONE
2. Still would like to run a 5k under 23 minutes—In progress
3. Look into group work or morning speed work—DONE
4. Botanical garden trail without walking - DONE (super slow pace but it counts!)
5. 10k at 8 minute mile pace - DONE
6. More 5ks? Can I run on the road? In progress
7. More Strava records — Ongoing though I've been varying my pace more, slower easy runs, and faster track work instead of all the same pace.

Have run 3 10ks. 

Tumbling goals: on the back burner for the moment. I'm taking a break from gymnastics.
1. Connect fly springs. Getting there. Better than last year, but not quite.
2. Walk overs. Not there yet. Oh well.
3. Touch my feet to my head. Stopped working on this.
4. 10 second handstand. Maybe? Definitely can do 7 seconds.
5. Practice handstands at home. (Daily?) Haha. Didn't do this.

General goals
1. Conquer the Ninja course at Rush. I got to the third ring or so. And then they got a whole new ninja course.
2. Try another flying trapeze place. Bonus: Get my cutaway! Tried trapeze at two new rigs!
3. Get a body composition test done. DONE. UGH. SO INACCURATE.
4. Stay on budget with fitness clothes. (Spend less money at Lululemon).
     Now I spend all my money on running shoes ;)

I feel like my goals have really changed since I wrote them in December. Tumbling is on the back burner. I'm a slow learner and not especially good at gymnastics. I have made almost no progress in the last year. I like the trampoline park, but there are too many kids, so it's hard to go and have fun. And while I love flying trapeze, I feel like my weekends are TOO busy when I add that in.

My mini goals (STAY HEALTHY)
1) Run a 5k under 23 minutes (same goal as above)
2) Mile to 6:30
3) 10k in 48 flat
4) Find a running coach. I think I really need someone to talk to about running, goals, when to back off or push and what to do.
5. Volunteer at a race
I've been debating running the AthHalf this fall. And I think maybe I'll volunteer and not run it.

Workouts this week: April 9

Sunday: Bodypump
Went to Bodypump. Still died in lunges. I did half of lunges without weights. (What is wrong with my legs?)

There was no yoga class tonight. They had a staff training.

Cute runners at the IM Fields, where I run. 

I did a 1.5 mile recovery run afterwards. It was painful and I walked a lot. But trying to stretch out my legs.

Note: Saw a couple walking a fluffy black cat on a leash. (It was pretty awesome.)

Goofing off after I saw the cat.
 (My calves look ripped because they are. So sore.)

Monday: Lunch yoga
I missed Sunday night yoga so I tried Alex's Monday noon yoga class. It was small. I liked it.

I'm trying to up my mileage, so I wanted to run two miles tonight. It was painful. I ran the 2. Barely. I was limping and almost crying as I walked back to my car. (My calves are so tight from Saturday's race.) I could have taken painkillers, but it's good for me to know what's going on with my muscles. (Tiny muscle tears.)

I went to the gym for the power plate machine (It has a 60-second massage feature). Lately there's always been a line. It's mostly people doing calf raises or single leg dips (which you can do on any machine.) Today it was two of the guys, who were working with a sour annoyed trainer. The guys look like they'd both come out of full body casts. They were pale. Their arms were atrophied and they were greasy. (I'd guess serious gamers.) They were having trouble with a medicine ball. (I wanted to snatch it from them and show them how to workout.) It's rare I see people so out of shape. Maybe it's good they were working out. Except they weren't trying and the trainer was annoyed by that.

Tuesday: OFF
Today was supposed to be my track workout, which I was REALLY looking forward to. I'd already gotten my clothes ready.

Only, my calves are still shredded. I can feel it when I walk. Speed work would have been the worst possible thing to do. So I rested instead.

I went home and walked the dog. I did a little cooking. Not as much as I wanted, but still.
It's so nice how much time I have when I don't workout.

Walking Mojo

Wednesday: Gymnastics
I picked an awful week to try and up my mileage. I tried to get 2 miles in on my lunch break. My calves are still sore. I took some painkillers so I could run. I was hoping they'd be better today. Maybe it wasn't as bad as Monday? I run clumsily. I walked more than I'd like. I'm eating protein and hoping my calves heal soon.

I went to gymnastics and tried to avoid jumping. Learned a forearm stand. I have trouble finding my balance and don't know how to fall out of it. That will come with practice.

Forearm stand

Also, they aren't having gymnastics this summer. I'd decided to run more miles this summer, so this works for me.

Feeling strong after gymnastics. 

Thursday: Easy run
I wanted to get a longish run in this week, so today I was shooting for 5 miles. But I was worried about my calves.

I read somewhere online that I should try some compression sleeves for my calves. So, I ordered some from Amazon. Today I wore compression crops for my run. That plus rest and taking it easy and I finished my 5 miles! I did go slowly. I did walk more than I wanted to. I don't know if I'v ever been so happy to run slow. But I logged my miles. I didn't cry. I didn't limp. Hooray!

CWX compression crops. 

Friday: Pilates
Went to Pilates. There were no classes at the gym for the Easter weekend.

Logging miles. Always logging miles.
This wasn't supposed to be a shot of powerlines. Oh well. 

Saturday: Long run
Today was my husband's birthday. To celebrate we went on a long run. No, really, that's what he wanted to do.

We did the big loop around Lake Chapman. It's 6 and change miles. It's really pretty, very hilly and full of roots. You really have to watch your step. I stayed with him for the first 3 or so and then I took two wrong turns (it's been more than a month since I've run here, so oops), so I got further behind.

The rain washed a bridge out, so there was a small river to ford. This involved strategic hopping on logs and picking the highest part of the mud to highly tread through. My shoes still got dirty, but not wet.

I walked way too much on this course. The hills kill me. They make me feel so weak. But I was trying to keep it slow and my times were within what my training plan said. So I did it. I finished 8 miles. (I added some to the beginning and end of the course.)

I drank all of my water after the run. I ate a granola bar dipped in peanut butter and an orange.

We went home and cleaned up and went and got tacos.

Miles this week: 21
Runs: 6
6 days running
Workouts: 10 (workouts + 1 and 2 mile runs)

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Workouts this week: Jan. 15

Sunday: BodyPump + Yoga
First double workout of 2017. I did an hour of BodyPump followed by an hour of yoga. I haven't done this combo in over a month, so I died in yoga. I'm not usually that dead. Usually I always go for the hardest option. In this class, I just went straight to downward dog a lot.
Still, I like taking the time to stretch after lifting.

Monday: Run at the IM Fields
I had the day off workout and it was 61 degrees out, so I did a trail run. (5.72 miles in Strava, 5.1 on my Apple watch)
8:24 pace.

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Gymnastics
Went back to gymnastics for the first time in a while. Worked on the usual: Handstand forward roll and back handspring. I might have accidentally whacked a coach in the face. Oops. I think he was fine.

(Ran a mile before gymnastics. Since I was early and need every mile I can for the challenge. There's a .7 mile walking track that I thought would work. Only it wasn't lit. I had to use the flashlight feature on my phone. Not my best idea to run in the dark. But got my mile in.)

Thursday: Run + Yoga
Usually I'd run after work, but there was a free class at Lululemon that I really wanted to go to (the last one was SO good) so I ran on my lunch break. I probably only have time to run 30 miles, but I usually want to run more. I did 3.66 miles in 30 minutes. (I thought I ran closer to 4.)

After work, there was yoga at Lululemon. It was yoga for runners. And it was a more intensive than I'd anticipated. I'd wanted an easy, stretching class given all the miles I'd put in lately. But this class kicked my butt. There were no breaks. It was fast and intense. It would sub this for a workout. Not in addition to running. And I got two free class cards. (For when I'm not as tired).

Friday: Lunch pilates
I had tickets to see college gymnastics so I couldn't really make yoga. So I went to lunch pilates instead.

Foggy morning run. It poured all morning—
starting right after my run.

Saturday
I had to get the last 4 miles for that Lululemon challenge in. I got up early and got my run in before 9 a.m. (which is my favorite. To get my run in first thing. But it's usually too cold to do this in winter). It started pouring almost as soon as I was done with my run. My legs were super heavy. Mile 3 was awful. And then I started feeling better.

Put I did it 25 miles in two weeks. More on the challenge in a separate post.

Handstand progress

I've been working on a handstand for forever. (A year and a half.)

I started doing handstands at the trampoline gym and circuit training class. That progressed to wall handstands and gymnastics classes and finally taking a handstand class.

Progress is slow but I'm getting there.

My husband snapped this one of my at gymnastics tonight.
1. Straight up and down. (I tend to tilt my hips and not form a line. Or arch my back)
2. Toes pointed
3. My hands might be a tad wide, but it's okay
4. My head might be a tad out.
5.. Fingers are tented.
I'll take it. I can tell the difference between my handstand now and last summer. 

The goal is a 10 second hold. This picture was like a 2 second hold. I have more 5 second holds now.
I've got a better idea where my balance point is and more holds and fewer junk handstands. (Still plenty of those.)

I still need to work on
• Really squeezing my quads and butt to straighten my handstand out
• Entries. Getting me head between my arms and not out.
• Holding longer. Finding that balance point and holding it—instead of kicking up too hard and falling over.

Super happy about my progress on handstands and hope to be able to hold it longer each month.

Goal: Practice at home.
I don't have a lot of space to practice in my townhouse, so I take a Sunday handstand class and Wednesday gymnastics. That's twice a week. If I can get a few handstands in at my house or at the student gym, I think I'll make more progress. I've really just been doing them once a week and that's not enough.

(What I wore: Glyder Mosiac crop and Athleta PR tank. I like tanks with built in bras that won't come up like a loose tank might for gymnastics. )

Bonus: My husband came with me to my adult tumbling class tonight  :) It was awesome. He had a blast. He said "that was a lot of fun for $10. They have all the toys. You can pick want you want to do. And there are coaches around to help you do it." He wanted to play on the bars. So Robert worked with him on basic bar work. I think he wants to do a kip.

We walked on the balance beams. I showed him the cheese wheel for back handsprings. We played on the tumble track. He played on the parallel bars and had a bar set up for him on the floor.

Lesson: You're never too old for gymnastics. (My husband is 35.) And it is fun!

Handstands on the beach

After driving 6.5 hours to the beach, I really needed to stretch my legs and my back. My sister lives a mile from the beach so we went and walked on the beach at sunset. It was really nice. And by the end my calves were killing me, so a good workout too.

I wanted to do some handstands—in part to stretch out my back some, but sand is hard to do handstands in. I couldn't get my balance on the soft sand. I could get my balance better on the hard wet sand by the waves, but the ground was a tad uneven, so that made balancing a little more challenging. We'll see if I can get a handstand split while I'm here.

Bringing a GoPro to Tumbling

I got a GoPro for Christmas. I am beyond excited.

I thought I'd play with it this week and take it to Wednesday night tumbling.

I took it out of the box (which was actually super complicated and I had my husband do for me). And here are a few things about a GoPro

1) No viewfinder! You can't see what you're shooting. No one told me this!
2) You can synch it to an iPhone or iPad to control it or show you what you're shooting.
3) It's super tiny, but tough.
4) Accessories. You will spend a fortune on it.

I got a $30 pack of accessories from Amazon including a chest harness and head mount. I got the chest harness out for tumbling. Here's me doing a flip with the GoPro on my chest. I actually do two flips. I think it's super cool how I can see my feet and the camera must know I'm going to make the landing.

Here's a video of my front tuck. It's not the best because I'm still learning the GoPro. And the coach is right, my flips are low! Seeing it helps so much.

The downside of playing with the camera is that I wasn't very focused on working on my back handspring. I was a mess. Next time, I should work on what I want to work on and just get the camera out for 10 or so minutes. Then I won't be such a mess.

Next time, I want to try cartwheels and flips with the camera on my head. Or maybe put it on one of the girls who can really flip!

What else should I do with the GoPro? Any ideas?

Hopefully you'll see more (and better) videos later this year.

Gymnastics Sneak Peek

I Looooove gymnastics. And this weekend, my college team had a Halloween sneak peak for kids to get their face painted and for the new freshmen to get used to performing in front of a crowd.

So my sister and her two girls and I went. 

1) There was a costume contest so the kids were all in costume. As luck would have it, my sister and I were the only adults who dressed up. 

2) The adults watched the gymnastics while the kids played on the gymnastics equipment. Madison was even trying forward rolls on the tumbling mat. So cute.

Here are the gymnasts practicing on bars. I've tried bars all of once before. Soo hard.

 Here are the gymnasts on beam. I can't even do a flip and they can backflip on 4-inch surface. Amazing.

And lastly, floor exercise. A lot of the girls did their tumbling pass on the track to the side and landed in the mats, but a few did floor work. And weren't our seats great? Right along the mat.

I'm looking forward to this gymnastics season. Gooooo Gym Dogs!

Adult Tumbling

I brought my camera to tumbling class this week.

This is me working on a bridge kick over.

I usually start kicking over from higher up and work down to one pad. This is the kick over from two pads. (It's easier when you start from higher up and have more leverage to kick over from). I can get to one pad after about 10 minutes.

I am THIIIIIS close to getting a bridge kick over from the floor. I still need a tiny push from Megan or Helen (in pink in the back).  And looking at this picture, I need to get my arms straighter under my shoulders and not bend my elbows.

Here's my bridge. I was showing Lindsey the difference between arms below your shoulders and arms angled out. It's hard to open up your shoulders to get that straight angle, but it makes bridges and easier.

The thing I like about tumbling is the more I work on it, the more flexible I get. Now, I can do a back bend no problem. I couldn't a month ago. And I like to think I get a little better every week.

Flips…
I'm still working on my flip. I don't feel like there's a lot of progress, but I'm getting closer, I know it! I have to do about 10  bad flips to warm up and then I get some flips closer to landing. I saw some of the photos about me not going high enough and the very next flip I did higher. Next week I'm going to take over the tumble track and try flipping on there. I think the footing with the run, run punch and trampoline confuses me. I think the tumble track might be simpler. That or get the high mats out again. I must get this!

Bad flip. Much too low and too open. I landed on my butt, which is better than my head.

Bridge Kickover

I've been working on a bridge kick over for most of the summer. Here's one at Aerofit. This one's not especially pretty, but you get the point.

Basically you go up in a bridge and kick over. It's not the hardest skill ever. Your back has to be flexible enough to go up into a bridge. And the key to this one is keeping your arms straight—hands and shoulders should be in line, not extended. (Mine arms are slightly extended in this video.) And you have to kick hard with one leg.

I worked on these at my first tumbling class. You can start kicking over from a higher block (easy!) and gradually work your way down to the floor. Here, I'm kicking over from 2-3 inches of padding.

I can't quite do them all the way on the floor, but I've been pretty close for a while.

Up next: I'd love to do a front limber to back walk over.

Fall tumbling

Being bendy on the trampoline.

Today was the first tumbling class of the fall semester. There were so many people in the class. During the summer it was usually 5-6 people. Twelve people was a big class. I think there were 17 people there tonight: some of the regulars, 4-5 acro people, a few cheerleaders, some college dancer/gymnast type people and a few guys who must do acro, parkour cheer or something, because they were flipping impressively.  

I had to redo paper work. Then it was stretching and drills (forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, round offs). We did these in lines three people deep—there were so many there.

When it was time for stations:

I worked on my bridge kick over. I've been stuck on two rainbow mats, or about 3-4 inches for a month. Today, I tried on one mat, about 2 inches and finally got that. Hooray! Progress! I tried a kick over on the ground—and got it twice with a tiny push from Coach Megan. I guess next week, I'll see if I can do it without her. And then I need to work on going back to a bridge instead of coming up from one. 

I did some handstand drills.

Then I worked on my front tuck. Robert (one of the new instructors) piled the mats up to my chest and had me practice getting UP and getting my hips over. I think this is exactly what I needed to work on. So I did this, and did it and did it. He wanted to build muscle memory. Hopefully, this is exactly what I need. 

Goal: Front tuck by the end of the year, if not sooner.

I was a little overwhelmed by all of the people in the class, but I got to work on what I wanted to work on. I got some time with the coaches (there were 3-4 there).

Tumbling is my favorite class of the week. I wish I could do it a few more times.  And I'm thinking about buying a tumbling mat. If only there weren't so expensive. #takinguptumblingat31

Workout Variety

Clockwise from top right: TRX at Aerofit, cardio at Aerofit, acro yoga and tumbling at Bishop Park.

My usual workout routine is just going to Aerofit. I do some cardio. I do TRX. I like to mix it up.

To add some variety, I've been going to Wednesday night tumbling. This summer and added in the occasional Sunday night acro yoga. I signed up for Monday night aerial trapeze classes starting this week. There's also Tuesday night tumbling in Oconee that I want to try. And when I can afford it, I want to try Leap, the flying trapeze. And that's a lot. And probably how I hurt my knee to begin with—overuse.

So, if you need me, I'll be at a gym….somewhere…..hopefully not being bored.

Just a flesh wound

Tonight at tumbling I bled all over one of the rainbow tumbling mats. It was awesome.

I was working on a bridge kick-over on the rainbow mats. They're pretty primary colors.

The instructor walks over to me. I'm probably doing something wrong.

Her eyes get wide and her voice is a little more emphatic than her normal super excited tone.

"Are you bleeding!?" she asks me.

I blink. I don't think I'm bleeding. I'm certainly not hurt. I'm fine.

And then I wonder if I am bleeding. OMG. What did I do?

There is indeed blood on the yellow part of the rainbow mat.

"Am I bleeding?" I ask. 

She inspects me.

Do I have a compound fracture? Is there bone sticking out somewhere? What is wrong with me?

"I think it's a mole," she finally decides. "At first I thought it was a bug bite, but it's a mole. Maybe it got rubbed on one of the mats."

"I can't see it," I apologize. Really not knowing what's going on with my back.

I think of what could have caused it. Maybe when I was working on gymnastics presses and tumbled back on to one of the mats. Really, I don't feel hurt. 

And before I know it, I've turned around and the coach has applied a band-aid to my back. Like I was a good obedient, kindergartner. Except, I'm a 31-year-old woman. But it works for me, because it would be super difficult to bandage a spot I can't even see.

Tumbling class continued mostly without incident, though one guy did accidentally kick the instructor when we was working on a back tuck. Oops Job hazard. (I think I kicked the other instructor a few weeks ago. Sorry H)

The bandage fell off when I was working on my front tuck. Thankfully, it stuck to the bottom of my foot. 

Next time I will wear a shirt that covers that pesky mole. No more skinny racer-backs for me. Or I will bring a T-shirt. And show less of my massive muscles. 

Gymnastics at the age of 31

I took my first gymnastics class at the tender age of 31.

I've wanted to be a gymnast since the first time I saw gymnastics on TV. Shannon Miller, Dominic Dawes, Dominic Moceanue. I grew up wanting to be just like them. To flip. To fly through the air.

And since I saw gymnastics on TV, I've been asking my parents to take gymnastics. I begged then. I'm flexible. I can put my feet on my head, do a split! I'd be so good at that, I insisted. My father said there was no place near our house to take gymnastics. I told him my friend was ranked first in the state on floor and she took gymnastics in the next city. Then he said gymnastics was too expensive.

And it was. And I'm sure my parents didn't want to schlep me 45-minutes one way to take gymnastics, pay for leotards. And then have my siblings all want to try different sports.

So I took measures in my own hands. And tried to learn handsprings on my own. In my hard, rocky yard.

My best attempt was a round-off with a twist. I didn't know what I was doing. This was before the days of YouTube. Had I had Youtube I probably would have broken my neck, arm or both.

For years, I tried to flip. I landed in the springs of the trampoline we finally got. My sister could flip. I still couldn't. I watched in high school as the cheerleaders learned to flip. I still couldn't. And for a while, with college and silly distractions like a career and pets, I forgot.

When I turned 30 I caught the workout bug. I started going to the trampoline gym every day. I watched everyone else flip and remembered how much I wanted to flip. I should be able to do that, I thought. Only, I tried for months and months. I could rotate—and then land on my back. I put my hands down. I couldn't get my feet over my head. I watched new people get a flip in two visits. After much frustration, I decided to try a real gymnastics gym. One with mats and trampolines and pads and pads and pads.

My husband thought it was the worst idea ever. Gymnastics at the public rec center. Of course I went.

The class was $10. I figured I could try and see if I liked it. What's the worst that could happen? (A: A group of cliquish high school cheerleaders smacking bubblegum and all doing back tucks perfectly.)

But actually, the class that night was six women—all around my age, of varying abilities: A yoga instructor with amazing arms. She was working on her front tuck (and nailing it.) An aerialist who was working on her back tuck with two spotters. There was a science researcher working on her back walkover.

But before all of that, there was the warmup. Laps around the mat. (I could do this!) There were handstands (I only crashed to my back once) and forward rolls and backwards rolls (and a mat because I couldn't do them.) Then, there was another mat when I couldn't do a bad-hand cartwheel. (I can do an awesome one-handed cartwheel.)

Mostly, I kept up with the class. I didn't crash and burn. I did almost miss the mat on a front tuck attempt. I over rotated and went flying around the room a little. And yes, everyone saw it. I should have done a big gymnastics smile with my arms to the sky. But alas. I didn't. My worst critique was "that's how you break arms."  Apparently I tuck my arms under me fetal style when tucking when my arms should go to the side.

I tried a handstand fall and ended up doing a front layout (landing on my back on some pads). The point was landing on my hands, so of course I just rotated around and never touched. That pretty much summed up my night. I wasn't clearly the worst. I was in the thick of it. Mostly, I wasn't that weird uncoordinated new kid. Someone even called my flexible. (And then a few minutes later the instructor told me to work on my shoulder flexibility as my shoulders aren't over my hands in my bridge.) But maybe they'll think of me as the new girl—who could climb the rope and do a front layout on her first visit. (They don't need to know I was working on my tuck.)

All in all I survived. I don't even think I have any new bruises.

I would have liked to flip but it was fun to play on the equipment. I'll probably go back, but I'm already worried about my arms.