I just got back from the playground. Yes, the playground. Why would a stodgy, 30-something, childfree woman nicknamed "The Fun-Sucker", who glares perpetually go to the playground? I am trying to decide if I am still limber enough/have achieved a minimal amount of upper body strength to handle a 5k adventure race in October.
I've been to the park in question before because there is a hiking trailhead there. I'd noticed there was a big geometric monkey bars thing about 12-15' tall, so I thought I'd go climb on it this morning early while there were no kids around. I don't like kids and make a conscious effort to avoid them. When I got there I discovered the geometric monkey bars thing was actually made out of rope but that was ok for what I wanted to do.
I was wearing VFFs but it would have been totally doable barefoot. There was also, I discovered, a set of slides, tunnels, ladders, monkey bars, and mini climbing walls. The playground is labelled for 5-12 year olds but fortunately/unfortunately due to the obesity epidemic I weigh pretty much the same as the average American 12 year old and I have been this tall since I was 12, so I figured I wouldn't bust anything.
I climbed up and down the rope thing for awhile then I climbed up, down, and through it to see if I could handle the bending. Then I decided to try some ladders and monkey bars. Since nobody was looking I tried the little climbing walls, which were maybe 7'. I always thought climbing walls were for Trustafarians but they were pretty fun. I never bothered with them before because I am scared of heights and because I don't like Trustafarians (ok, I don't like anybody but you get the idea).
I climbed around in several circuits (I did at least refrain from the slides) for about 40 minutes and got pretty sweaty but I did manage not to blister my hands. I figure it is a pretty good workout and maybe if I do it more I can do the adventure race.
I like to read Mark Sisson's stuff but I usually ignore his stuff about "embrace wonder" and "playing" because I find it to be a bit "whoo" (pronounced like "wu", not to be confused with "woo" as in romantic courtship). While I like to do unconventional things, like not wear shoes or wear weird shoes, I come from a fairly reserved/sedate cultural/social background where attention-seeking is frowned upon, plus I'm antisocial. Therefore I do my own thing but try not to be outrageous about it, which generally means avoiding any and all activities/philosophies that could be described as "whoo". I have now decided perhaps I need to reconsider the level of whooness for this playing business, as I have now found it can be done in an adult fashion that generally isn't bothersome.
Does anybody else use playgrounds for cross training? If you don't I think you should. I don't see any reason to be embarrassed about it since lots of people have kids and they can pretend they are playing with them to avoid judgmental stares.
I've been to the park in question before because there is a hiking trailhead there. I'd noticed there was a big geometric monkey bars thing about 12-15' tall, so I thought I'd go climb on it this morning early while there were no kids around. I don't like kids and make a conscious effort to avoid them. When I got there I discovered the geometric monkey bars thing was actually made out of rope but that was ok for what I wanted to do.
I was wearing VFFs but it would have been totally doable barefoot. There was also, I discovered, a set of slides, tunnels, ladders, monkey bars, and mini climbing walls. The playground is labelled for 5-12 year olds but fortunately/unfortunately due to the obesity epidemic I weigh pretty much the same as the average American 12 year old and I have been this tall since I was 12, so I figured I wouldn't bust anything.
I climbed up and down the rope thing for awhile then I climbed up, down, and through it to see if I could handle the bending. Then I decided to try some ladders and monkey bars. Since nobody was looking I tried the little climbing walls, which were maybe 7'. I always thought climbing walls were for Trustafarians but they were pretty fun. I never bothered with them before because I am scared of heights and because I don't like Trustafarians (ok, I don't like anybody but you get the idea).
I climbed around in several circuits (I did at least refrain from the slides) for about 40 minutes and got pretty sweaty but I did manage not to blister my hands. I figure it is a pretty good workout and maybe if I do it more I can do the adventure race.
I like to read Mark Sisson's stuff but I usually ignore his stuff about "embrace wonder" and "playing" because I find it to be a bit "whoo" (pronounced like "wu", not to be confused with "woo" as in romantic courtship). While I like to do unconventional things, like not wear shoes or wear weird shoes, I come from a fairly reserved/sedate cultural/social background where attention-seeking is frowned upon, plus I'm antisocial. Therefore I do my own thing but try not to be outrageous about it, which generally means avoiding any and all activities/philosophies that could be described as "whoo". I have now decided perhaps I need to reconsider the level of whooness for this playing business, as I have now found it can be done in an adult fashion that generally isn't bothersome.
Does anybody else use playgrounds for cross training? If you don't I think you should. I don't see any reason to be embarrassed about it since lots of people have kids and they can pretend they are playing with them to avoid judgmental stares.
