Quality Time

A month or so ago, my yoga teacher asked the rhetorical question of why I would do subject my body to running.  Not being a runner herself, she could not appreciate the desire to run.  She is, however, a mother and, had I given her my primary reason WHY, she may have changed her tune.  Or perhaps not.  Anyway, while my running and fitness routine may not be conducive to a smooth yoga practice, my yoga practice does seem to be quite complimentary to mitigating to stress that my workout routine has on my body.

The driver for my return to working out (running and weight lifting) was to allow me to participate a the June Spartan Race with YaYa, my 19 year old son. If you have children around this age, you may know that opportunities to spend “quality time” with them are not something to take for granted. I am trying to take advantage of even the smallest of opportunities, such as watching the Super Bowl with BoBo, my firstborn (who may be moving  away in the next year or two).

The rope climbing aspect of the Obstacle Course Races (OCRs) has been an area of concern for me. One of MANY.  I have researching the topic by reading and studying YouTube videos on the various foot wrap techniques.  I even bought myself a rope to play with the wraps in my garage. Unfortunately, the only beam in the garage I trust to use for is not all that high.  Last night, I was thrilled to find that my gym had re-hung the climbing rope in the outdoor turf area.  I could see if from the parking lot as I drove in. In my excitement, I rushed inside to share the news with my son.  He was in the middle of a serious lifting session but immediately suggested that we go outside to check it out.

YaYa made the first climbing attempt. Although I subjected him to the foot wrap videos, he had not studied them as intently as I had for he figured he could use his upper body strength as needed. He made it to the top without any fuss and even did one of the foot wraps that we had seen.

Now, it was my turn…YaYa coached me, “You have to jump, Ma.”

Afraid of ripping up my hands and wrists, I hesitated but went for it. Jumped and took hold of the rope with my hands. I pulled myself up a bit and tried for the wrap. Much to my surprise, I got it.  I walked my hands up the rope, as I’d seen in the videos, then let go of the foot hold, hoisted myself up, and [somehow] managed the foot wrap again. Already, I was nearly at the top.

I looked down. Now, it was a LONG way down.  Could I get the wrap successfully a third time? YaYa smiled at me with encouragement.  So, I went for it and reached the top. I smiled with pride and nervousness realizing that I had to go DOWN.

Thinking back to the YouTube videos I’d watched, I kept my foot wrap and separated my feet just enough to allow me to walk my hands down slowly until I was safely back on the ground, ecstatic and unharmed.

Just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke, I did it a second time which YaYa caught on video.

On a separate note: my yoga practice this morning was just fine.