Parkour Goals

 I set two long term goals for parkour, and I've actually met them! The first was to walk along the low rail, the round one, at the parkour park. I thought for sure I would never be able to do that, but it turned out that all I had to do was to get new shoes and it wasn't so hard. I've done that at least a couple dozen times now. There were only three of us in class today and we stayed after and practiced for about a half hour until one of the guys was like "we should film this," so we did. After I regretted it a little, because I was much more graceful looking in my head. But, at least I made it all the way across when being video taped.

I need to get my shoulders out of my ears. Also, I've lost some weight since January, which has been HARD to do, and I've been feeling good about it. Which, is good. But looking at the video it's a reminder that I could still lose a few pounds. So, not to get too into myself about it :)

The other goal I had was to do a lazy vault over this cement wall that's a little below hip level. Everyone does them there and I've tried many many times, but I always hit the wall with my hip. Today I practiced enough and just put some trust into myself and I actually did it! The first time was almost an accident, as often happens. After that I did about a dozen more, a couple that felt really good, like was just popping right over. When you do them right, they are so easy and effortless. I'm definitely going to keep working on that one - I'd like to be able to do them better, and to do them in other places. 

Now I need to set some new goals.

I'm thinking about a hike in NH for tomorrow. The weather should be reasonable and I want to get my stamina up to a level where I can do the last two 4000 footers that I haven't soloed (Isolation and Washington, definitely not the easiest two).

Metrorock!

Today was my first day back to indoor climbing in 15 months, and it was awesome! I think I only went climbing two or three times in 2020, and my foot was healing from toe surgery, so it was not a lot of fun and I could barely drag myself up 5.8's. So, this was my first good day of indoor climbing in a year and a half. Wow.

My friend and I went to Metrorock over CRG because, even though it's a little less convenient for her, it's Metrorock. Just walking in, I was like "I have missed you" my friend and climbing. Also, I was like "are the walls taller than they used to be?" But once I was climbing, I was fine. We both started with a 5.8 and then moved to 5.9's. I did three 5.9's clean before moving to 5.10's. Maybe I should have tried 5.10's sooner because my arms were killing me. I successfully did a 5.10A and a 5.10B, both with about 3 rests for my arms and then I tried another 5.10A, but was on the wrong rope, and my arms were pumped. I did one more 5.9 that I thought would be slabby, but wasn't, and that was the evening. Eight climbs - not bad. I was really pleased with how I was climbing, that I was in good enough shape to flash the 5.9's and get up the 10's. I was also happy that my toe felt OK. 

It was so great to catch up with my climbing buddy after over a year also!

I had a not-so-great Memorial Day weekend. I was so tired after my hike. And Saturday I noticed that my cat was winking at me and had some big eye buggers. She's been acting like she felt uncomfortable for a couple days, and of course there's her general saltiness. So, I called the vet who said that she should be seen that day, but they didn't have any times. So, against my better judgement I took her to the animal urgent care. I had scheduled an appointment, but even so, they told me it would be an hour wait. I was so tired, and it was rainy and miserable out. I was sad.

But, across the street was a gas station, and I realized that my car needed to be inspected because the sticker was running out that day. And, I had been getting a low tire pressure reading, so I could put air in my tires. Since I had and hour that I was going to be unhappy, I figured I might as well do things I dislike. So, I got my car inspected. Then, I went to fill my tires. This is where things went wrong because somehow I pulled the sensor out of the tire and it slowly deflated as I stood there trying to put it back in. If I held the thing there it didn't deflate, but of course you can't drive a car like that, so eventually I had to let the tire go flat and go to the gas station to ask for help. 

So, there I was with my crying cat in her carrier, my car with a flat tire, standing in the rain begging the garage guys to please fix it. Happily they were able to put a thing in! And, the vet then messaged to say that they were ready for Tigger, who only had mild conjunctivitis. And, I went back today and got a new tire sensor. It was a lot of money to find out that Tigger was fine. I should have stayed on the couch, my first instinct. 

Tom, Field and Willey (and Avalon)

My list of 4000 footers that I haven't soloed was down to 5, and I'd been putting them off, thinking that they wouldn't be that much fun, but I finally decided to hit the three that can be done in a loop, and get them out of the way. I had done Tom, Field and Willey way back in 2014, my 2nd, 3rd and 4th 4000 footers as a part of a meet up backpacking trip, and remember the outing as a difficult and complicated couple of days. So, I wasn't eager to redo them. But, I do want to solo all of them, so I decided today was the day.

Completely different experience on my own! For one thing, since there are four mountains, there are a lot of built in spots for breaks. For another, there's a really long ridgeline to walk, and I love a good ridgeline! According to everything I read, it's best to do the hike clockwise, with Avalon first, because that's the steepest part. The one bad thing about that is that Avalon also has the best view. It turned out pretty well, though, because I got to the mountain at about 10, so by the time I got to the top of Avalon I was starving and needed to stop and eat! I had a delicious cheese sandwich on sourdough bread, an orange (that was actually kind of heavy), and some nuts and mini-pretzels. The view from Avalon was of the Presidentials - you could see Washington and Adams, and the mountains before and after - they are so huge, and I could feel good because I had hiked them all!

After a kind of long break, I headed up to the top of Field, which is the tallest of the mountains. The hike up to Field was not easy, and I didn't move super fast, but I was pleased with how I did on the hike. I felt good. I was breathing hard, and my legs were feeling it, but I didn't need to stop and catch my breath, and none of it felt impossible. When I got to the top of Field, I took a nice rest to eat some more nuts and pretzels and admire the Mt. Washington Hotel and relax for a bit. 

From the top of Field to Willey it's a 1.4 mile walk. It started with some pretty significant downhill, which messed with my head a little, because I knew I was going to have to go back up. Other than that, the walk to Willey wasn't so hard; it's shorter than Field, so there was elevation gain, but not too much getting there. There isn't a huge view on Willey, and I just sat for a few minutes before turning back. By this point it was after 2, and I was starting to worry about time. 

I shouldn't have worried about the hike back up to Field. It was definitely uphill, but that's what you get with a mountain! It wasn't that bad, not nearly as hard as what I had done, and before I knew it I was back on top of Field. I sat and admired the view again and ate a powerbar. There was a very demanding grayjay there, and I gave in and fed it, which was really awesome - it landed in my hand and took a nut! I tried offering it a seed, but it was like "I'm not perching on your hand for some silly seed!" Birds!

By that point I was a little more nervous about time, so I headed off for Tom, the last of the peaks. It's a .9 mile hike over, and then a .6 mile spur to the top, and 2.3 miles down. The hike from Field to Tom was my favorite part of the hike! I could see my parkour skills paying off - I was much better able to trust my feet and to use tic tok's in moving down from one rock to the next. The other thing that I did well was keep my knees bent while going down so that they wouldn't absorb all the impact. IDK if it was the trail or if it will be a permanent change - I hope it will be something that sticks. Anyhow, I got to the next sign and was like "I really enjoyed that" even though my feet and legs were starting to hurt.

Tom is one of those mountains that you just go up and tag. There's no view, but it's not too hard. I got to the top and heard noises around me, which was a little creepy. I stayed for about a minute, turned around and went back to the bottom of the spur. I still had the second half of my sandwich, and I sat on a log looking at the sign and ate it. It was really delicious!

The last 2.3 miles went really fast. I practiced trusting my feet, bending my knees, and using my parkour as I went down. I used my poles for the steepest part of the downward part, but then I put them away. There were four stream crossings, and even those felt easier! I was pretty tired by this point, and kind of ready to be done, so I did try to go a bit faster. I was really happy to hear the sounds of the road, I'm not going to lie! It was great having the GPS with me, I checked to see where I was about a half dozen times during the hike, and it definitely made me feel a lot better to know. Most of the times I checked I was almost at the next sign or turn, but once I was not even close, and that was good info to have.

I finished around 6:45. By the time I had cleaned up a little and gotten organized I left around 7. I definitely wanted to drive as much as possible in the light. I got as far as Concord before #1 it got dark, #2 I had to pee, and #3 I was hungry, so I stopped at the rest area and got some boom chick popcorn, which I guess isn't the healthiest thing, but that's what I did. It had started raining and there was a low fog covering the road, and very little light. The last hour of the drive home was so difficult because it was hard to even see the lines on the road to know that I was in a lane! The popcorn helped, but not really. Anyhow, I made it home, fed the cats, foam rolled, took a shower, and am ready for bed!

QQ!

It's been over a year since I've really climbed - I went climbing once last year, outside at quincy quarries. But it was one of those really hot days where it was hard to touch the rock, and we tried to climb things with spray paint, and it wasn't that fun, so I barely count it. So, I feel like today was my first climbing in a year - it was so nice!

I went with a meetup group - the nature girls. Always a nice group, though I feel like everyone was like 20 years younger than me at least. But, whatever. I was the one who knew how to set up the ropes, which was a little weird. I was really happy to see that my training in parkour this winter had really paid off; we set up two ropes on savage wall, each of which I climbed - one twice. The second time on the harder route I actually got in some good moves on harder crack, which was great fun. And, it was nice just sitting out by the quarry, chatting and enjoying warm weather.

On the way out, there were these two guys whose rope was stuck - they had dropped it when they were taking it down and it got caught on a little outcrop of rock. I couldn't leave them with a stuck rope, and so I offered to set up mine so someone could climb or rappel down and get the rope unstuck. One of the guys showed me a back way to get up to the top of the cliff - who knew there were still places to find at QQ?? After, we went to a golf club for beer, which was funny because there were all these women in fancy clothes and looking all nice, and I was covered in dirt from my day's climbing. Hey - that's how I roll. 

Now that I'm fully vaccinated I can actually go climbing in a gym again! 

Welch-Dickey

It's Patriot's Day, the second one with no marathon, no reenactment, and for sure no Paul Revere riding his horse down Broadway yelling that the British are coming. But, on the bright side, I still had the day off of work, and it's not a holiday in NH, so it seemed like a good day to kick off the hiking season. And, it was! I was trying to decide where to go that wouldn't be too long or hard a hike or too long a drive, and I thought of the Welch-Dickey Loop. It's such an awesome hike, I haven't done it in ages, and it's just a little over four miles. With all the light we have now (sunset after 7) knew I could sleep in a bit, relax over coffee, and still do the hike with plenty of time to drive back in the light. Also, it is a popular hike, so today was the perfect day for it.

When I looked at the weather report, it showed only a slight chance of rain in Waterville Valley, but as I was driving up I saw that my rain luck was not holding out. There were a ton of small, localized rain storms moving around the valley, with rain falling in patches and then stopping. The Egg Salad Sandwich People of yore would not approve, but I hadn't packed my raincoat or pants. But, I did have an umbrella, so I threw it into my pack.

What I love about Welch-Dickey is that after the first little bit through the woods (which is a nice little stroll with quick little stream jumps) much of the way up is slabby. You come to the first slabby bit maybe a mile in, and then there's a nice view area (where I stopped for a cheese sandwich on sourdough bread because it was after 1 and I was hungry). After that, the rest of the way up involves a lot of slab, some pretty steep, but always with good grip. Even though it had been fairly rainy, it was still fun to walk up. 

Welch is the first mountain when you take the traditional counter clockwise route, and it's a kind of funny shaped little lump with huge opened slabs all over it. In a couple places there are some climbing moves - not at all tricky but very fun. I love going through them! 

It took me about an hour and 20 minutes of walking to get to the top of Welch, not including my sandwich break, which was certainly not breaking any speed records, but in my defense I wasn't trying to :) When I got to the top there were a bunch of people there, but they happily all decided to leave just as I arrived. So I could sit and eat a yogurt and power bar in quiet. Of course, just as I started to eat it began raining again - I was so happy I had my umbrella. I know it looked a little silly, but I pulled it out and sat under it until the storm passed, and thought smug thoughts about the Egg Salad Sandwich People, who I am sure under no circumstances would be caught dead on the top of a mountain with an umbrella. But, I was dry and it was quite nice listening to the rain.

There's a big downhill between Welch and Dickey, and then you go up more slab to the top of Dickey, which is actually the higher mountain, but I never really sit around for the view. There was still some snow on the top of Dickey, but nothing you would need microspikes for (which I had read on three people's trail reviews the day before, so I hadn't brought them). I lost the trail and had to search for it a couple times on the way down, which I always do on that trail. 

As I was really getting down the mountain, these two trail runners went flying past me. I have no idea how anyone can go that fast and not sprain an ankle. I think they were racing each other, they weren't together, one was clearly in front. I bet they did the entire loop in like an hour. Or less. On the way down I practiced trusting my feet, bending my legs so my knees don't hurt (they still hurt unfortunately) and doing parkour steps with minimal success. I was really glad for all the PT exercise I've done - I can tell my legs are stronger! It felt pretty good, actually, though I was glad that I started with just a four mile hike this year. All and all a good day on the mountain - I'm excited for this year's hiking. Hopefully I'll be able to hit Tom, Field and Willey, Washington and Isolation solo and complete my 48 solo. And, I will do some of the 4000+ hikes that "don't count" on the lists because they are subpeaks, like Mt. Hight and Boot Spur. I'm also thinking about trying to do the Lafayette Loop again, though I would probably need to camp up there - parking is so difficult now. It's such a good hike! 

Although these aren't tall mountains, they start in the valley, so there is elevation gain. I know it's not super speedy, but I feel fine about this:

Cartwheels, rolls and bicycle polo

Today was a real "life in the city" day - it's been so long, it was amazing! Since I'm working from home I was able to meet a friend during lunch hour and we worked out in the school playground across the street. In class on Sunday we did cartwheels, and then cartwheels over things, and I could kind of do them. So I figured if I worked on it, I would really be able to do them, and they're a bit flashy. And I want some flash! My cartwheels are improving, mostly on one side. It's harder to do the over things bit - I can do them over the curb, but a tree stump or trunk is harder. The shorter distance down throws off my momentum. The best part was that after we worked out I had my one-on-one with my boss and my hair was a mess and I was in my sweats and I was like "sorry, just got outside over lunch" and she was like "that's awesome!"

After work I went to the evening parkour, the one with running. We had a shorter run today - according to map my run it was .56 mile and according to my watch we started at 5:43 and arrived at the park at 5:50. We did have to stop and wait at lights a couple times, and we also got caught on narrow Cambridge sidewalks. It was a lovely run, though, because it was downhill.

One of the coaches was with the last person in the class and they got way behind, and then took a wrong turn and thought they were going to another park. Anyhow, he was gone for ages and was pissed when he arrived. While we waited, we practiced front rolls in the park and I tried not to think about how many dogs had peed there. Once he got there, we practiced balance by walking on a fence that was waist high and about an inch and a half wide. For some reason everyone else was just strolling around, including two women who were taking their first class. I was nervous and jumped down several times (doing a roll though - totally aced the roll). As we were working on balancing, I noticed these guys on bikes with sticks riding around on the tennis court next to the park and I was like "what the heck are they doing?" and it turned out that they were playing bicycle polo! It was pretty cool to watch, and I got distracted for a while. The sun was setting over the park and Charles River, I was practicing walking on a fence, and there were bike polo players. And that was my city moment for the week. I love Boston!

After, a friend and I went for ice cream. I got peanut butter with oreo cookies (to cancel the workouts I guess) and we sat in one of the Harvard quads. It was freezing out, so we only sat for a bit and then walked back to my car and I drove him home.

New Ski Boots!

Now that it's the end of the season it seemed like time for ski boot sales! I got some really awesome K2's that fit me like a glove (well, a glove with a hard plastic shell). The new boots have so much more lining, and the tongue is covered in a nice soft fake fur. The guy at the store said that my toes should just touch the ends of the boots, which they do, and they are supposed to stretch and get more comfortable? 

Since I had the new boots I had to get one more ski trip in, and fortunately Wachusett was opened last weekend, so I went on Saturday night. My ticket was from 4-7, but I didn't wind up staying for the full time because the snow was so bad and my feet were killing me! But, I do love the new boots. My first run was very pathetic, there were no green trails opened and only two blues, and I could barely get down the blue. Each run got better and better, and towards the end I was feeling OK. The only thing was that my feet were killing me! Probably I have to work on modifying my stance, because my toes were hitting the end of the boots, but if I bent me knees more they didn't. Next year I start off with lessons. It was super fun and great skiing in April though I forgot my gloves because it was so warm out, and had to wear old gardening gloves I found in the trunk of my car :)

Today I went to the Wednesday parkour, which was really fun! Except the running. On the bright side, it was a class of 12 and I was up at the front of the pack! So exciting!! It was a pretty fun class, coach planned a route and we all did it, over and over. I got better at it over time. After class I went with a friend for really good sorbet in Harvard Square.

I had the cleaner come again - it's so nice! It's clean, but I didn't have to clean. When my cats saw the cleaners come in, they ran under the bed, poor things.