The Pads and The Rip

I sent myself a reminder to write about this gymnastics topic sometime last night and with some strange level of synchronicity my neighbor brought up her daughter and how she was doing in gymnastics as we ran this morning.  She talked about the uneven bars and how her daughter was doing all these moves she didn't know the names for, but was impressed with nonetheless.

Only last night I'd been thinking about my long gone days of gymnastics.  I loved the bars.  They might have been my favorite, but I liked all the events for the most part.  As my neighbor and I talked I gave her the names for the different skills her daughter had mastered and tried to explain how some were more difficult to learn and why.

And because it had been on my mind last, I asked her if her daughter wore the hand grips when she worked on the uneven bars.  She had seen what I was talking about but they didn't need them at her seven-year-old's level yet.  I told her about what a "rip" was and how they were no fun.

I explained that even with powder on your hands, you put a lot of pressure on the pads of your fingers and over time calluses built up.  The hand grips helped alleviate and lessen the problem, but it doesn't solve it.  Eventually, when your hands are responsible for holding your whole body as you spin around on the bars something gives under the skin and the whole callus will tear off, right down to the very sensitive skin.

Odd that I'd think about that last night.  It took years for my palms to not overgrow calluses after I stopped gymnastics.

The Big Boy Update:  "What's that hook?"  On the way into a store yesterday he stopped at the back of a truck and asked what the trailer hitch was.  It didn't look like a hook to me, but he has a strong sense about how vehicles might connect.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I think we've entered the "I'll wait until you put me in training pants to poop" stage.  Daddy is currently annoyed. 

Fitness Update:  Fourteen miles today.  I took the advice of an experienced runner at one of the stores I frequent for running gear and took two Gu pouches and used them earlier than I normally would have.  It definitely made a difference adding that calorie boost before I started to fade as opposed to when I really needed it. 

Someone Once Said:  Supreme happiness lies in wanting to keep another person safe and warm and happy, and being privileged to try.

Woah:  I Just realized today's is my 500th blog post.  Have I been doing this that long?  Hard to believe...