The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers

I learned some important things this past weekend.  

First, my favorite New Balance running shorts have a pocket!  I have had them for a year, raced in them a dozen times, and somehow never knew this.  Pockets are very important to runners, so the fact I loved these shorts when they didn't have a pocket should tell you something.  They fit me really well.  They never ride up; they never annoy me.   The pocket find is outstanding.

Second, I learned that you cannot be unhappy while bouncing on a trampoline.  I've been in a bit of a funk lately, mostly because work's been extra stressful and super busy.  On Saturday morning, I had the opportunity to try out one of Jumpsport Fitness' trampolines, their top of the line 370 model.  Et voila:

  

This is a seriously awesome trampoline.  It's very bouncy and totally quiet.  Despite the fact that I live in a tiny Manhattan apartment, I entered the raffle they were holding.  

... and I won!  My very own trampoline is on its way!  Woohoo!

-Gym Belle-

Join Me at the Girls On The Run Manhattan 5K!

On June 5, I'll be volunteering as a Running Buddy for the Girls on the Run 5K at Asphalt Green and I'd love for you to join me. 

Girls on the Run is an awesome non-profit that uses running to teach pre-teen girls about self-respect and healthy living.  The girls train twice a week for twelve weeks, and, through their training, they're taught to stretch themselves physically, emotionally, mentally and socially.  The program culminates in a 5K race.  The girls are encouraged to set their own goals for the race rather than race competitively.  During the race, each girl is paired with a Running Buddy who runs/walks alongside them and cheers them on. 

I'm very excited for this event.  If you're interested in volunteering, I've included a link here with more information.  Shoot me an email (gymbelle@gympressions.com) or leave a note in the comments if you plan on going!  I'd love to see you there.

-Gym Belle-

Forgetting, The Secret of My Success

I'm fairly certain that, when I was a kid, I learned to roller skate by forgetting that I didn't know how.

I recently scored my max height box jump PR the same way.  Not too long ago, I finally did 20" box jumps.*  I was super psyched about it, so you'd think that I'd remember the height.  Well, I didn't.  The next time max height box jumps came up in a workout, I was sure that I had already mastered the big 25" box.  Because I thought I had done it before, I had no problem doing 25".  Then I added on an inch and half, and did that.  And then I added on another inch and a half and totally chickened out.

Me chickening out of the 28" jump

If I had remembered that my previous PR had only been 20", I don't know that I would've pulled off 26.5".  The moral of the story is three-fold: 1) box-jumping is 90% mental, 2) remembering stuff is overrated and 3) you can do way more than you think you can.

-Gym Belle-

*The red box is 18", so to get to 20", we just pile on plates.  The gray box is 25".