Emphasis on Adventure

My week has been even busier than the last couple and it's driving me nuts.  Mainly because I've missed  a few things that were important to me because as Congress gets closer to writing and eventually passing the next defense spending bill, the staffs get more demanding - and sometimes the questions are outright bizarre.  And they all have to be answered RIGHT. NOW.  (No matter that it's Saturday at noon, or Friday at 5pm.  Must. Know. Now.)  I've spent the week chained to my computer, generally well into the night.  Two more weeks and it should be over though, which is what I'm living for right now.  Oh, and the weekends.  Last weekend was the Race for the Cure with friends.  This weekend - I went flying.   

The school is normally located in Baltimore, but has relocated to Washington for the summer and is now within a 10 minutes walk of my house.  That's just a recipe for danger...

We started with ground school, in comfortable clothing and a really uncomfortable safety belt.  It's about as tight as it can get and still be able to breathe.  They started (much like surfing, actually) with your feet on the ground and hopping off the white line while being held by the back of the belt.)  Then they took us to a stationary trapeze  just about 6 feet above the ground, where we practiced the knee hang, but not the dismount.  Because back flip dismounts are impossible  that low to the ground.  Then we started climbing...

The first time I got up to the board, I was petrified.  I mean really terrified.  But once I actually hopped off, I was so focused on holding my body the right way that I didn't feel the speed or the height.  The main part was remembering to keep my body arched when I wasn't doing anything else.

Then when hanging upside down, you have to keep your knees clamped down (that's what keeps you hooked on, and still arching your body, reaching out in front of you.

We got three tries doing the knee hang alone, along with a back flip dismount that the guy I recruited as a photographer missed, which is understandable given the speed with which those things happen.  I remember seeing the net across the way as I was hanging by the knees, but not much else. 

The fourth trip up the boards was for real - going for a catch, two people meeting in the middle, one transferring to the hands of the other.  It was amazing.  Mind-blowing amazing.  One second I was hanging by my knees, reaching forward, and in the next, the Catcher had me by the arms, saying "Gotcha!" and then I was flying.

Swinging out towards the end of the net,

...and bouncing back down to safety.

Next step?  I'm signed up for six more classes and am going to go as far as I can this summer.  As much as Yoga is good for focusing on my body, it's got nothing on trapeze for forcing me to let go of everything but my body and then the hands of the guy catching me.  I'm sore in the back and calves, but it's not bad compared to a tough day of weight lifting or a long run.  The school's motto is "Don't worry about the fear...Worry about the addiction."  They're right and I'm hooked.

Comments

[Shanti's Mommy]

You are one amazing woman! Once again ... I'm so proud of you!

[Tom Bridge]

Hi Shanti,

Erin D sent me over this awesome story, would you be willing to talk with me about a feature for WeLoveDC.com?

Tom Bridge
Editor, WeLoveDC.com

[--Deb]

Oh WOW! How cool is that???

[Jennifer]

Woohoo! That looks like so much fun! Are you going to abandon ship and run off to join the circus now?

[claudia]

That looks amazingly awesome! I'd totally do that.

[Sylvia]

Wowza! Next you'll be climbing the rigging of a tall ship! Absolutely thoroughly completely impressed with your ability to focus.