Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Not much is going on that I know about in the gymnastics world at this present moment, but in only a few weeks, the JO gymnastics competition season will be under way!

This year will be the first in two years that I will once again be at the very first gym I grew up in for the first 16 years of my life. I am excited to once again be training and competing there. And for the first time at this gym I will get an level 9 team to compete with! I am fired up and can't wait to start posting footage of this season!

More to come in a few weeks...
:)

Cirque Le Masque

Last night I was thrilled to get to experience a fantastic performance by cirque! It was the second one I had ever seen live. The show was captivating and exhilerating, not quite as incredible as the first one I had seen, but still a performance I will never forget!



Over the past few years I have thought about following a career path toward performing in a circus-like atmosphere, mostly due to the fact that I have been training my whole life in a gym. Since gymnastics is something I want to be doing my whole life and the chance of me getting to do so is not very likely, then why not follow a similar dream? However, getting the chance to follow such an epic career is going to have to take some sacrifices. Unfortuantly, there is nothing nearby that would allow me to learn any form of circus acts. Plus performing in the circus is definintly no easy task in any way, shape or form. In other words, I'm gonna have to want it more than anything! And another issue will be the injured wrist I've developed that wont seem to heal.. :/

We'll see where my life leads. For now I am content with gymnastics training, coaching and being a barista. Maybe one day I will write a fictionalized story about the circus too. :)

Life has no limits!

"Chalked Up"-Have you read it?

Lately I have been busy reading the book, "Chalked Up", a memoir of gymnast, Jennifer Sey. Not only is the book an honest reflection of how elite gymnasts had and are still being trained today but much of the story mirrors my own life. The way Jennifer writes of her personal struggles, partially caused by outside influences and partially by her own personality, brought back some of my own heart-breaking memories growing up in a gym.



As a child, gymnastics was what I did for fun. I never could seem to get enough of it; I always wanted to be in the gym. There is nothing compared to the feeling of flipping off of a 10 ft. bar and landing as soft as a cat on a mat beneath, the magic in being able to stick a dismount from a four inch wide, 4 ft. tall beam, the feeling of springs beneath you, throwing you high into the air. Everything about gymnastics is both exhilerating and yet terrifying. It is definintly the most captivating sport for any dare-devil child, but gymnastics is no longer defined by women. Once you hit puberty and learn that the body is not as limber as it was as a child, gymnastics becomes something different altogether. For some, it can become a nightmarish sport of eating disorders, constant training, injuries and addiction. Even though I never reached elite, or even level 10 for that matter; the psychological, emotional and physical issues Jennifer writes of, have all been a part of my past and still linger with me to this present day.

There is one anecdote she writes of, at the beginning of part III, in her memoir that particularly tore at my heart. The reason soley being that I too, have felt exactly as she did in my own life. In fact, I am still recovering from my own personal experiences of being a high level and considerably good gymnast, to literally feeling as though I had fallen from the face of the gymnastics world. Her story writes of returning to one of her earlier gyms, somehow still holding onto what was left of her Olympic dream yet inside she knew that there was no way of recovering, both mentally and physically, to get her back to where she left off at. She discusses her struggle with trying to remain thin at that time as well as feeling her own personal desire of continuing gymnastics thwarted by everything she has been through.

The short three pages of this peice of the story also sums up exactly the way I felt after my first initial wrist injury in the year, 2008. Both she and I will forever have a deep wound in our lives, the realization that nothing went as planned and we can never go back to the way things were. She couldn't let go, like I wouldn't let go. The desire to be the best was much to great, etched in both of our hearts and minds. Erasing it continues to be a struggle in my life, as I'm sure it is in her own. The difference I think is that even though both of us remained sucked in our addiction to the sport of gymnastics, she eventually let go when she realized she couldn't go back. I cling to the sport still, at first it was to solidify in myself that I could get back to where I left off at. Now that desire has left, I have come to terms with my heart and my body. I cannot go back to the way it was, but I can still have fun in gymnastics. I know now why I fell in love with gymnastics. It wasn't soley to become an Olympic athlete or to be the best, instead it is that incredible feeling of being able to do what so few can do, the joy of flying through the air, denying gravity of it's existance for a brief moment. Gymnastics is the one peice of heaven that I can hold on earth during my lifetime and I'm gonna hang on to it for as long as I can.

Region 2 Gymnastics Clinic-Day 1

I have gotten so behind on blogging. Life has been crazy! Here is a glimpse into what happened on day 1 of region II's first gymnastics clinic of the year.



Most of the footage is of my teammates but there are a few other level 9 and 10's thrown in there.

We had some awesome clinicians there including:
Tammy Biggs
John Carney
Todd Gardner
Yulia Hancheroff
Guennadi Komissarov
Nola Ayers
Patti and Neil Resnick
Tom Koll
and many, many others!

Triathlete/Gymnast

This week I have increased my hours in the gym, (in both the "gymnastics" arena and at the YMCA).

My Schedule=
Mondays and Wednesdays I train 6.5 hours a day: 1.5 in the pool in the morning, 1 hour of cycling and 4 hours doing gymnastics.
Tuesdays and Thursdays I am for now, just training 4 hours a day at gymnastics, I might increase it in a week or 2.
Fridays work outs depend on how I feel that particular day. Eventually though I will probably be doing 4.5 hours: 1.5 hour swim, 3 hours at gym.
Saturdays and Sundays are also different all of the time. Saturday is mostly my recovery day where I only do swimming for 1.5 hours and maybe some rehabilitation conditioning.
Sundays are cardio and conditioning day. Either biking, swimming or running (when my heel heals all the way), and some strength training sometime later in the day.

Also I am vegan 6 days a week. I am allowing myself to go back to vegetarian on Thursdays and see how that goes, (since Thursday is always the day I struggle through gym training). On a sad/annoying note, I re-injured my wrist...Well I think I just started training to fast on it. Yesterday I made the mistake of vaulting. However, I did do a couple of decent tsuks! But now I am paying for it. It'll probably take another couple of weeks to get back to where I was last weekend... *sigh*. I just want it to heal all the way so I can start training full out again. However, on a good note, despite the fact I have been unable to do a lot for over a month, I still have everything and strangely enough, my bars seem to have improved.

I just need to be ready to go by December. I plan to compete this year and make it through Western Nationals. I am going to break the cycle I have been going through for the last 3 years. This year's gonna be the year! I am so blessed to be at a gym with girls and coaches who support me and don't try to push me in or out of the sport. They are all very patient and that makes my journey and struggles so much easier to overcome.




This is where I need to get back to! Also, since I wont be doing a lot in the gym these next two weeks I am going to really be focusing on my training elsewhere. Last Monday, I made 22 miles in cycling and today's swim practice was:

4x400 w-up (swim, kick, paddles/bouy swim, swim)

50 Easy kick
50 Medium kick
50 Hard kick

Repeat 4x but each time add another 50 to the hard kick. (It hurt!)

Then I did backstroke for the next set:

25 Hard
25 Easy
> Rest <

50 Hard
50 Easy
> Rest <

75 Hard
75 Easy
> Rest <

100 Hard
100 Easy
> Rest <

Then we did the same set with Freestyle. Lord it was hard! But I feel great after so it's all worth it! :) My goal this year is to do a 1600 at a meet which equals 4x16= Ummm, my math is pathetic...I think that's 64 laps. Is that correct? Lol, and also to qualify an event to Y-Nationals which is in Florida. How funny would that be?! To miss out on getting to do Y-Nationals in gymnastics because the first year I was injured and the 2nd year I was considered "too old"! It would be cool to make it, even if it was in swimming. ;)

Likewise, in the gym arena I have some goals, but basically my outline plan is to get healthy by season and peak during State, Regionals and Westerns. Qualify to each and get to compete all events at each.

My final goal is to do a triathlon this year. Even if it's just a sprint triathlon, that is better than nothing and will give me a starting point.

That's all for today!

Update

It's been just over a month since I re-injured my wrist, yet again, for the 5th time... Since then, something has happened inside of me. I have become so much more aware of my thoughts and where my body is on earth and in the air as well. Diligence and persistence to overcome this one injury has changed me mentally. I feel spiritually changed as well. I began looking for answers immediately after my wrist was re-injured... And answers I did find...within me. I also learned of different alternative healing methods, practices outside of the Western medical field. Also getting injured again made me realize how much my diet needed to change. About a week after I was injured I became a vegetarian. Within the last couple of days, I became vegan. I not only feel better, lighter and healthier; but eating so naturally has made me feel closer to the earth, the sky, the plants and animals. Everything feels so real, like I have been re-born. Maybe I have awoken from a deep sleep. I haven't been this happy since I was probably 8 years old. Gymnastics is a beautiful sport that can change a person into something unbelievable. I have learned more in this lifetime than I could've ever learned without this sport. I plan to keep going as a gymnast for as long as I can!



I also saw this a couple of days after my injury and it really motivated me in many ways. I want to be better this year than I've ever been before in my life, and that is my plan. One day at a time...

Barefoot Running

I began reading this amazing book this year that inspired me in many, many ways. Apparently, many others are becoming interested in what it has to offer. The book is called, "Born to Run" and has impacted thousands!

Author Christopher Mcdougall creates an astonishing read that incorporates real live people who are changing running history as we speak. The book is of the journey Christopher takes to discover why he was continually getting injured only running a few miles a week, while others could run marathons and remain uninjured. His journey leads him to a virtually unknown tribe, called the Tarahumara, who dwell in Mexico. This unique group of beings are known for their ability to run amazingly long distances and with little resources to propel their strong running abilities. Throughout his journey, Christopher meets many people who all have seemingly inhuman qualities about them.

One character that Christopher portrays in his book is a man named Barefoot Ted. Now if I had known of this man sooner I would've gotten to listen to him lecture at the college I was attending. Unfortuantly, I missed this opportunity but even so I am still uniquely interested in what he has to offer. His story is intriguing and inspiring, and his running method is becoming more of a fad each day! People have become more excited by the idea each day that I finally found a yahoo page that supported the idea that Barefoot Ted has been promoting.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/baring-it-all-the-barefoot-running-trend-2337336/

Barefoot running has started to become a trend. Once again, it seems that humans are shifting back to an older method of running that our oldest ancestors likely used.

Incase the link doesn't open, here's what yahoo page says:

Baring It All: The Barefoot Running Trend user by Susan Rinkunas, RUNNER'S WORLD.



Have you seen the alien shoes spotted on celebrities recently? Matthew McConaughey and girlfriend Camila Alves wear them to work out, actor Channing Tatum runs in them, and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George sports them for beach football.

Just what are these funky, rubber glove toe socks? They’re Vibram FiveFingers—shoes that are meant to mimic the experience of running without shoes, yet protect your feet from dirt and debris. Why would people want to run without their cushy trainers? Running without shoes can strengthen your feet, ankles, and lower legs and improve balance. Some say modern running shoes are to blame for injuries. And one man wrote an immensely popular book that concluded as much.

The 10 laws of injury prevention

Vibram started making the five-toed shoes in 2006, but the trend really picked up steam last year, following the publication of Christopher McDougall's book “Born to Run.” The book describes how Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians have become some of the greatest long-distance runners in the world despite running barefoot or in sandals fashioned from tire rubber. McDougall chronicles an ultramarathon race in Mexico’s Copper Canyons attended by a group of Americans including “Barefoot Ted” McDonald, who either ran sans shoes or in FiveFingers, in case of sharp rocks. The author argues that we’d be better off without the souped-up shoes marketed to us by giants like Nike and Adidas, which he says have done nothing to prevent injuries. The book made “The New York Times” bestseller list, and now TMZ is photographing celebrities in their very own lizard shoes.

According to CNN, the FiveFingers have become so popular that the company is having a hard time keeping them in stock—and stopping counterfeiters from selling knock-offs online.

Some barefoot devotees simply like the sensation of feeling the surface they’re running on while others swear up and down that ditching traditional running shoes has helped them prevent injuries. While there’s no scientific evidence to support the latter claim, we do know that running barefoot or in barefoot-style shoes like the FiveFingers or Nike Free changes one’s running mechanics. When runners aren’t wearing shoes with built-up soles, they tend to land in the middle or toward the front of their feet rather than on their heel and researchers believe that such midfoot or forefoot striking results in less impact on the body. But as Susan Paul, M.S., exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation says, “To date, there are no studies indicating that running shoes contribute to injury or, conversely, that barefoot running reduces injury or makes you run faster.”

The mechanics of barefoot running

If you’re thinking about shedding your shoes, consider these guidelines:

Barefoot training is not for people who are just starting to run or returning from a long layoff—it’s something to slowly incorporate into an existing running regimen.
If you have persistent or serious foot problems, consult your podiatrist first.
Ease in slowly. Paul advises starting with a few minutes on a flat, relatively forgiving surface once a week. Grassy fields, smooth roads, and soft trails qualify. Running on sand might be tempting, but barefooting newbies should stick to wet sand at first as the unstable soft stuff puts a lot of torque on your joints and is much harder to run on.

Listen to your body. “Barefoot Ken Bob” Saxton, founder of runningbarefoot.org and finisher of more than 70 barefoot marathons, says, “Luckily, your feet are sensitive, which is a good thing. Listen to them and they'll keep you from doing something stupid.”


(No Copyright Infringement Intended)

For more information on "Born to Run" check out Christopher McDougall's blog:
http://chrismcdougall.com/blog/