White Trail 2: Sara 0

The white trail wins again.

Today was a running day. I couldn't run my usual trails because there was a Brad Paisley concert there. (College town. Go figure.) So I went to the botanical garden and decided to try my nemesis, the white trail, again.

I tried the white trail last month. And almost got lost and died. It was excruciating.

I'm in better running shape now, so I figured this would be easy-peasy.

The first two minutes of my run I felt great. I looked at my watch at 6:40 in and thought this was going to be bad. I was breathing hard and ready to use my asthma as an excuse.

The trail is all hills. My iPhone said the run was the equivalent of 40 flights of stairs. 40. It was a hard trail with lots of roots and rocks. There was even a piece of red mud trail grooved into the ground. It was very narrow and steep. They should rename it break-your-ankle trail. It was hills and more hills and more hills. And seemingly all uphill. No downhills. (Should I run it in reverse next time?)

And I had to walk. Ultimate fail. I had to walk a few steps here and there. I was dying. My calves were on fire. I frequently felt like I was going to barf. I haven't had a run this bad in a while. I did, however, show a group of high school runners how to power up a steep incline of stairs. #beastmode. They were staring at it like it was going to bite them. I didn't want to lose momentum so I just ran up it. They seemed to be just staring and not wanting to go.

The white trail is 3.22 miles and the botanical garden's hardest trail. I finished it in 24 minutes.

However, I finished where I started and not where the trail ended. My iPhone also said it was just over 2.5 miles at that point. So I don't know what I did there, but I didn't get officially lost. I didn't double back on purpose, but I must have gotten on another trail and then gone back to the white trail. So I finished the last part of my run with the orange trail, which was flat to down hill and I liked it so much more than miserable trail. I felt good on that trail. I guess the white trail is something to work up to. You're seriously tough if you can run this trail without walking. Forget spartan races—just try this trail.

I am so dead right now. Everything hurts. My calves, my abs. My wrist hurts from gymnastics yesterday. It's 9 p.m. and I want to go to bed already.  I haven't been so dead after a workout in a long time. Will I be able to walk tomorrow? Will I ever beat this trail? We'll see.

Other running notes:
Where do all of my headphones go? I keep losing my headphones. I had to use some crappy iPod headphones from 8 or so years ago when I couldn't find my good ones today. I did later find my new iPhone headphones in the pants I ran in on Monday (before I put them in the wash). But there's still another pair of headphones out there somewhere.

What to Wear Wednesday: Lululemon to work!

I feel like it's cheating to wear Lululemon to work, but today I did.  I wore their Day Trip Boyfriend Pant in alberta lake and paired with with Clarks flats, a black button down and a Target cardigan.

The pants are a tad baggy on me and I feel like I need to wear a belt, but for $49, these pants (bought on mark down) are cheaper than most dress pants, especially the Express editor pants I wore for years. They're pretty comfy. And definitely dressy enough for business casual.

My one complaint: They're a weird length. They work with flats, but not boots.

Ankle Injury: Two Years Later

Two years ago, I tore a ligament in my ankle at the trampoline park. (Facebook time hop reminded me).

I was trying an arial and landed wrong. I knew something was wrong immediately. I tried to do my best not to cry. I drove myself home (I kept my sister on the phone to distract myself from the pain) and had my sister take me to an urgent care the next day. And recovery took a long time. It was the end of January (almost four months) before I was back on the trampoline (in a brace). It took forever to rehab my ligament because it was a tear, not a sprain. It looked like just a bad sprain on the original X-ray, but when my twice weekly physical therapy wasn't progressing as it should (I was in so much pain doing their exercises), I got an MRI that revealed a tear, two sprains and bone bruises. So there was even more physical therapy (I really loved physical therapy), and slowly but surely, I strengthened my ankle and didn't have to have surgery. I spent a few months being cautious so I didn't re-injur it.

I think it's amazing that the body can heal itself from this. And I don't notice it all these days. I run gnarly trails. I tumble. Ankles are great.

 I look back on think of what a different place I'm in now. I mix up my workouts more now, and only miss the trampoline a little. I still go every once in a while. Here's what I learned

10 lessons learned from spraining my ankle

1. Time heals all wounds.
It seemed like it took forever to heal my ankle, but it did. And looking back it doesn't seem like that much time. So glad to have healed.

2. Everyone wants to give you advice about how to care for your ankle.
Just smile and nod and do what the doctor tells you to.I heard about how a friend healed his ankle my sitting on it, and now it crunches, how another friend had even more swelling than me and slept upside down and heeled his ankle, how I should just go ahead and workout like normal, how after 48 hours I shouldn't ice it anymore that I should use heat, how my injury couldn't have been that bad, and so much more. It really got annoying. I try not to do this when friends get hurt. But sometimes I can't help myself. So I'll usually pop back in and tell my injured friends that I hope they heal quickly, and to do what works for their body. Everyone is different.

3. Physical therapy is the best.
If I was 5-10 years younger, I'd really consider going to physical therapy school. It's a career that makes a difference and is always going to be in demand—due to sports injury, and especially older patients needing help with mobility issues. There were a lot of white-hairs in there working out shoulders or legs. I could see myself loving a job like this, being active. But alas, it's four extra years of schools (plus science pre-requisites.) So I'll just have to cheer for physical therapists and the amazing work they do healing our bodies. They know the right exercises and stretches to get you back to where you were. And I'd trust some of them more than an M.D. (Example: My physical therapist gave me a compression sock that I desperately needed. The doctor did give this to me or tell me to get it. This made all the difference in my recovery.)

4. Voltarin Gel is awesome.
This is a pain gel that's often prescribed to arthritis patients. I got a prescription for my ankle, since my doctor was worried about my stomach taking all of those pain pills for four months. The gel is amazing. It numbs the pain away, and works fast. I've kept the extra around for aches and pains I know I'll have (wrists after gymnastics, IT band when training too hard etc.)

5. Flat shoes are the way to go.
I loved wearing sneakers to work all those months—on doctor's orders. I really appreciated how comfortable they are—when compared to heels. The one lasting difference of my ankle injury is that I live in flats now. Five-inch platforms used to be my go-to work shoes. Now, I wear the most comfortable flats I can find
• Puma makes ballet flats. I like to think they're as comfortable as Puma shoes.
• Clarks makes very comfy flats
• Some Cole Haan shoes are made with Nike Air footbeds.
Other brands: Hushpuppies, Aerosoles and probably more.
I will rock my flat shoes.

6. If you're going to sprain an ankle, sprain the left one....because not being able to drive is the worst.
I couldn't drive for at least a month after my injury. The doctor didn't want me to drive when I couldn't SLAM down the brake pedal, since I hurt my right ankle. I worked at home or got rides to work. (It is not fun to ask for rides). The worst was grocery shopping. I'm used to just picking up something on the way home from work. But I had to go with my husband—and walking around the grocery store on crutches is not fun—on his time. And he didn't like the daily requests for milk or eggs. He just wanted to go once. I can't plan what we're running out of. I can guess, but sometimes you just don't know.

7. Don't even try to get your own food while you're on crutches.
Just have someone else pickup your restaurant soda or your buffet plate. There will be a nice soul who will ask. Just let them. You can't balance your crutches, purse and a tray. It won't end well.

8. One-legged workouts are totally doable.
Take a pain pill and work out. I did a lot of one-legged TRX. I got my arms and abs really strong during this period. And I learned a lot about body awareness while adjusting the workouts while compensating for not being able to use an ankle. (Also, lots of wall squats). But it's good to change workouts up.

9. How to sit still.
I am so bad at sitting still. I'm twitchy and constantly moving. But when I sprained my ankle, I had to sit still. It would hurt to get up and I needed to keep my foot elevated. Also, the pets really liked it when I sat still. They'd all come gather around me. I got better at sitting still, because I had to. I'm still twitchy and like to get up every few minutes but if I need to sit still for an hour—it's more doable now than it used to be.

10. Ankles are important.
I learned just how much I use my ankle. I couldn't sit on my foot, walk up stairs, run, jump, drive and do so many things. I rode a lot of stationary bikes and did a lot of rowing machine workouts and wall squats. I also did a lot of toe raises to strengthen my ankle. But I won't take my ankles for granted now. And I do make sure to stretch my ankles a lot more now.

Flying Trapeze: backend split finally and lucky socks

I've decided I have lucky socks.

Because whenever I wear these socks (Lululemon run socks), I have a good night at trapeze.

I took another Sunday class. And it was a small class again. We finished up 30 minutes early and got lots of turns.

I worked on my swing again. My first one up was a mess, but I had to remember what it felt like, so they were better after that one.

More work on my take-off: Tonight's lightbulb moment was Kaz telling me the motion is

Ready: Bend your knees, and bring the bar down and right.

Hep: Is 2-ish steps. Not one explode off the board motion.

1) Raise the bar to eye level
2) Hand on/Jump

You should be in a 7 at this point.

The 7 in my swing. For as new as this swing is I'll take it.
My butt is even over the board. 

I did not get that several classes ago, but tonight I got this at least once. We watched it on the tivo. I didn't get it every time (bent arms! no), but just knowing and being aware is a big step in the right direction. And yes, once again, the key is slowing things down.

Hooray! Better takeoff. And I feel like I get some serious height on my swing.

My swing is—my timing's still off. I anticipate and drop my legs too hard (it should be smooth) and I'm piking at the end of the swing instead of arching. So many things to learn!

More practice for split catch today.

I'm a little sick of this trick so it was catch it or work on something new, in my mind.

First run up, Nailed it. I had a great open/belly flop, landed flat on the net. Shain said to do it just like that. (I practiced getting this trick faster on the pullup bar a few times this week.) One more run and it was time for catches.

CATCHES
The first lady up was working on WORKING IN HANDS. What I was supposed to work on a few weeks ago, except I haven't caught anything in weeks.

It looks so fun. I want to try it! You catch your trick and then work on your swing, meaning you arch when you're to the far side of the catcher and do your swing and maybe turn around to catch the bar again. I WANT TO CATCH THE BAR.

First catch attempt: I went a split second before Rhuben said Hep. (I could tell he was going to say it.) Waiting is so hard on this trick. Ruben caught me.

I thought the trick was fine. Spain said I released one hand at a time. Oops.

Second catch attempt: I went way early on this one. Rhuben caught me anyway. He later said she shouldn't have, he was just being nice.
Shain reminded me that the first rule of trapeze is WAIT FOR THE HEP.
Sorry. It's a trick where you're just looking for the catcher. You actually have a lot of time to wait for them, once you're in position.

Third attempt (because it was a small class). I waited. And Rhuben caught my hands. He hiked me up to his wrists for a proper catch. He said he was waiting on me to go. Haha. I actually waited this time so it was a tiny bit off. But Rhuben's amazing and caught me three times.

Three for three ain't bad. So that's why I think these socks are lucky socks. (And they keep my feet warm).

And that's a wrap. We can shelve that trick for a while.

How to afford flying trapeze

The problem with adventure sports is that there's always something more exciting, more awesome....and more expensive.

I thought barre was expensive and then I found flying trapeze. How in the world do you afford a $45 a pop class? Well, I don't really know, but I'm trying to figure it out.

1) A special occasion is a great time for a first class. I did my birthday class there. it was easy to justify the $100 down payment as a birthday expense. (And it paid for the class for me and my sister.) My friend and I went back when she graduated college. And just getting off your butt to try it out can be the hardest part.

2. One class equals dinner out. So I tried not bring my lunch to work every day and go out to eat with the husband less. That put me at 1 or 2 classes a month.

3. Give up gym memberships. I gave up my $144 a month barre membership, and instead started running and going to the student gym. That saved me enough to do a trapeze workshop.

A lot of the ladies that go seem to have well paying jobs (doctors, business owners, medical sales) and/or well paid husbands. A few don't have children, some do. Some of them go on vacations with flying trapeze. That sounds amazing. I might have to get a consulting gig or something before I can do that. (My vacations tend to be cheap ones visiting family.)

Flying trapeze isn't cheap. It's a two hour class of 8-9 people. It's an expensive operation, so I understand the cost, there's

1) The rig. High flying trapeze, nets, ropes, ladder, bars, tape. Lots of pricey equipment. The electricity, water, rent etc.
2) Insurance. I don't even want to think about this one
3) Staff. Three people work every class. Usually one of the owners, who have each been doing this for 20 or so years. They're highly trained and the only ones who can work the safety lines for the more advanced tricks. They usually call the tricks (yell up to you telling you what to do and how to move and when). There's also someone to work the board (the take-off platform). This person clips you into the safety lines and helps you take-off. There's a third staffer—to switch out on board or lines, or to catch at the end of class. They train athletes to work in these positions, but the training is intense, so I don't imagine it's a minimum wage job to work at flying trapeze.
4) The fact that 8-9 people are booked for 2 hours with three staff members. That's a really low ratio. (Not the same as a barre class with one teacher and 30 students doing the same workout every single day.)
4) The price of operating the website, and booking app.

And I get a lot out of these two hour classes. Quite honestly I learned more in three classes than I did an entire 9-week series at static trapeze. It's definitely worth the $45. But it's not a cheap hobby.

I do hear sky diving is more expensive though ;)

Flying Trapeze: Bullet Drop

I got my bullet drop tonight. Hooray. I struggled a little too long with something I should have gotten the first time, but hooray, progress.

The bullet drop is the flat back drop to the net after you practice your warm up swing. I've landed on my butt, released late and somersaulted out of it. But tonight I had two solid drops. It's all in the hips. Not legs. You go straight, like plank, thrust your hips out so you're in a straight line. Then drop.

Hooray. Let's hope I can keep this up for next class.

Today, we worked a lot on my one-handed take-off. I still need to throw the bar up more. I need to dip my wrist more and to the right. Dave was showing me how to do it on the board (like we're dancing. Dave is so fun.) We did more practice take-offs.

I know it's a real struggle. The girl in the last Sunday class was working on this. I need to get this.

The motion is kind of weird. I was trying to turn my wrist out and I think it's in and down. (Or could be vice versa!). And I keep tension in my wrist when I need it to go slack. Sigh.

We practiced my swing for three or four times tonight. It does look like a swing (It's not horrible, and it's not effortless). I'm missing calls, missing my timing, piking. I get it in pieces, the front half, and then have to reset for the back half. I'm a little confused about what I should be doing myself and don't want to anticipate, but rather wait for the call. Like I should be arching, and they're not calling it anymore. And I'm not sure what to do on extend. It will get there. That's why you work on it every class.

More backend split practice. My first run through, I didn't get my thigh up against the bar, so it was a "floating split" and so I wasn't really ever in position. And I couldn't arch because I wasn't in position.

Try #2, my timing was off. I couldn't get into position fast enough. And I let go to early on hep.

Onto catches.

I swear I'm working on my blooper real, because on hep, I only let go of the bar with one arm. I don't know if I hesitated. But that was an awful mess.

Onto second attempt, and I was one second too slow getting into position and the timing wasn't there.

Watching this back, and my takeoff position is awful. 

I need to put my hips out more. 

I've been wanting a fast trick. This is it. And I'm not fast enough.

So this is class #2 I didn't catch my backend split. I should have gotten this last class.

Maybe I'll head to the pullup bar and practice position.

Also, does flying trapeze hurt my back? I think it might be time to go back to the chiropractor.

I'm at this intermediate stage—between the easy tricks and not quite at the next level of tricks. Backend tricks don't look difficult, but really are. And I'm in a class of 8 people who have all been flying for more than a year and taken multiple workshops. So I want to be so much better than I am. One day though....

Flying trapeze: Unclipping Lines and the Blooper Reel

After a miserable rainy weekend, the rain held off long enough for trapeze Sunday night. I felt lucky to not have to reschedule the class.  Also, only half the class showed up.

There were 5 of 9 people there, so the class went by super fast. I got lots of turns and was exhausted by the end.

What I learned tonight: unclipping my lines.
I wanted to learn to unclip my lines. Because all the cool flyers hand their lines back up the board. I asked Shain to teach me this. It looks easy, but it really isn't. 

So you're clipped in, one carabiner is clipped into the hook on either side of your safety belt. The carabiner is what attaches you to the safety lines. So when you're done with the trick, you unscrew the carabiner, open it. Then unscrew and open the other one. You clip them together and walk closer to the board for the staffer to catch the lines with a hook. Sounds simple! Except, you can't let go of the lines. Or they'll fly up to the top of the rig and someone will have to climb up and bring them back down. Eek!

In theory, unclipping the lines sounds simple.  Except, I am so bad at things like this. It takes me forever to unscrew them. And then do the second one, one-handed—while your arms may or may not be tired from all that hanging. Geez! All the frequent flyers make this look so easy.

It was a good night to learn this—since the class was so small, we weren't rushing and I could take my time with the lines.

Working on my swing
I kept working on my swing tonight.

I still need to work on my take-off, especially getting the bar back up to eye level.

I'm getting closer to understanding the bullet drop. I'm kicking too hard. We tried it on the practice bar. And it's kind of like a plank in that you want your body to be straight. Next time I want to try just thrusting my hips Pure Barre style and not kicking at all.

My second go-round, I kicked too hard and almost landed on my head. I somersaulted into the net. Oops.

I need to remember to arch at the end of the swing. I'm not sure they always call it. And I still need to make my swing more relaxed and less forced. Kaz even said I don't necessarily have to wait for the calls, but to feel it.

Shain started calling extend and I wasn't sure what to to there. Have I only been swinging for 2 classes? It feels like more. Maybe I'm getting used to it. (Kaz even mentioned swinging from my take-off instead of hanging straight. Does that mean progress?)

For a trick. We tried my back-end split.

The first time up, I was expecting more swinging. The trick was called after the first forward, backward, forward, and I wasn't ready for it. Oops.

The second time up, my hands were too narrow for the split. (Kara called this down to me from the board.) After weeks of straddles, this makes sense. It's muscle memory. But wrong trick. Oops.

Then it was time for catches.

My first time up was one for the blooper reel. On my swing I bumped the board with my butt, which got my timing all off. Then, we practiced the trick. Something happened (not sure what!) and I was dangling one arm from the bar. I pulled my other arm up as quickly as I could. And the trick was over. Not sure why that happened. But good to know, I can survive a one-armed hang. However brief. I'm not counting this run ;)

(I tried to calm down after this trick, to take deep breaths so it wouldn't happen again. One of the other ladies made sure I was okay and to not be too hard on myself. It was really nice of her. Thankfully, I wasn't pouting, just trying to chill.)

(Sorry you really can't see me, I was wearing purple that just didn't show up.

 Will try to wear neon next time ;) 

My second first time up was my best trick of the night. I swung into my trick. First (one leg straight, thigh on the bar, one leg with knee bent, foot near the bar) and final, go into the split and arch. I reached to catch and we touched and I fell. The catcher said his timing was off. It was probably me, but oh well.

The last time up, I was a second late in my swinging back and that threw the timing off for the whole trick. Another miss for me.

Blooper reel:
Tonight I managed to
• Somersault out of a bullet drop. I kicked my feet too high and almost landed on my head. Oops.
• Hit the board hwile swinging. Oops. I have lots of padding in my butt so this didn't hurt.
• Let go of my hand instead of swinging up for my split. So I was hanging one handed from the bar.

Class finished 15 minutes early. I was too tired to try again. With five people I was constantly climbing the ladder. My shoulders were super sore towards the end of class. That's a lot of holding your body weight.

All in all, a solid class (despite my bloopers)  I didn't catch my trick, but I felt like I'm getting used to my one-handed take-off, my swing. I learned unclipping my lines. I'm really learning a lot.

I still need to learn working-in-hands. We couldn't do it this class because I didn't catch my trick, but Wednesday for sure.

Trapeze hands. Working on building my calluses.
You know you're legit when you tear your hands.