The Soiree, and in other news...

So the Soiree went pretty well. If by pretty well you mean AWESOME. Aside from Brandee, Chris, and me there were two other girls (Deirdre and Faith), which made for a cozy five. Medicine-ball name-games, conditioning with Brandee and Janine at the helm, vaulting, climbing, QM, jumping, rolling, a dinner break that may or may not have had anything to do with a superhot tricycle, scaffolding, and general festivities took up the first day/night. After a restful night of sleep (>.>oh God! My pants! They seem to be on fire! <.< ) we cleaned up the gym and headed out for breakfast. The training that day was supposed to cover Greenlake and Ravenna parks, but we got so creative at Greenlake that we only had a half hour to spare at Ravenna before we had to pack up and head home. Will post more when I get pics and video up. In other news, there have been adventures at work. For those of you who didn't know, I run dogs for a living right now while putting myself through the EMT certification process. It's quite exciting. A few days ago, Moose, a sweetheart of a Vizsla (see picture) spotted an adorable service dog and pulled me off the road to say hello. Moose doesn't seem to notice how big he's gotten... I'd better start doing some more strength training. Back to the story. Moose runs up to this service dog, the service dog abandons it's duty and runs up to Moose, the lady who requires the dog's services is sprawled across the sidewalk and mayhem ensues. Argh. That could have been better.

PNWPA Soiree des Traceuses

We're gearing up for the first ever Seattle Lady's Night at NWCrossfit. This is going to be AWESOME. The plan is to meet up at the gym around 6pm on Saturday, condition, work touch, and then start in on basic technique till 8 or 9. Break for food, then explore around Greenlake. We're conking out in the gym after watching some parkour vids and talking philosophy of parkour. We'll wake up early next morning to hit the streets and put into practice what we trained the night before! Should wrap up around noon on Sunday. Charge is 15$. Half goes to renting out the gym, half directly to the PNWPA. I'll be instructing, along with my good friends and training buddies Brandee Brougham (MonkEE), and Chris Moore (hundr).

Split-Foot Launch

Something I've had a lot of trouble with. I've gotten used to double foot punch take offs because I find they give me the height I need to kong with, but honestly, they're a waste of effort. You put all that oomph into going up, just to come back down without really moving forward any. Split-foots, on the other hand, are like the holy grail of the vaulting world to me. Smooth, controlled take-offs that slip right into the cadence of your run. Bam. Distance.

I was waiting for students to show up to the Crossfit parkour class last Wednesday, when I noticed the stairway into the building was the perfect height for a kong to doorway precesion. After about a half hour of practicing these, I noticed that I was actually split-footing the take offs, something I've never done without thought before. I was focusing on distance, not on my punch, so I guess my feet just did the most helpful thing they could! I'm going to make it a point to fit in some quality time with those stairs before every class, and hopefully train in some muscle memory.

Little beats big when little is smart, first with the head and then with the heart. - Bryce Courtney

Makes sense. Little, in this circumstance, can mean stature. It can also mean small gestures, small steps, components of a whole. Big, to me, means a large obstacle. Social injustice, global warming, and a twelve foot wall are all good examples of a big that can only be overcome by lots of small gestures and commitments.

With parkour, I feel like the only way to progress is to commit to lots of little gestures every day. I want explosive kongs, so I begin my day with ten explosive push-ups. Little gestures = big improvement.

I like the second part of that line too, "First with the head, and then with the heart." I try to always think through my options and routes when training, minimize steps, and find the most effecient path. But after all of that, you really do just have to focus and throw down. I need to work on that part...