(rain)Well, it wouldn't be London if it didn't rain. Friday saw Brett (Science Parkour Crew WOOT!) and myself head to Elephant and Castle (that's a tube stop, no really) and brave the elements for a little circuit work. It was amazing how, with a little rain, every surface really showed it's hidden face. The pavers were slimy with old moss; the glazed bricks sleek and frictionless; the old brickwork was a lucky dip of rough and sticky or green and smooth; fencing was either slick or squeaky and the rubber floor of the playground may as well have been ice. Brett and I played add-on until we had a nice circuit that encompassed a little of each surface. We aimed to move as smoothly as possible whilst exercising caution in the semi-aquatic space we were using. I was very proud of us both for not ending up on our behinds and pulled out the camera to get some footage of Brett. Sidestepping to catch the final angle on the circuit, I ended up on the playground floor, executing a nice, slimy shoulder roll to save the camera from destruction. Cinematography is a dangerous sport.
We finished with some vault combination drills and a very welcome cup of hot chocolate...
Saturday brought with it more rain and I caught a handfull of trains to get to Latimer Rd. Here I met Joe, a friend of JB's, who got me warmed up with an inverted front-support traverse (both ways) of the nearby playground. We then made a tour of the Latimer Rd training spots, finally settling for some slightly out-of-the-weather scaffolding. After a few minutes of play we had set ourselves some challenges: A lache to arm-jump with very little backswing, a lache to lache which had little leg room on the second catch (making the swing to 3rd catch a little tricky) and, later on, a 7-8ft precision between the scaff about 8ft high from ground level (enter my mild fear of heights). We were joined by Peter and Jayden and decided (after completing our challenges) to do a little climbing. The first ascent was to the top level of the scaffolding (only 3 stories) and into the building proper. Nice and easy. Next we descended the 3 stories via the outside of the stairwell. The holds were very accomodating and I was surprised how comfortable I felt with the height, even having a good look down occasionally did not phase me... After a few more laps up and down of the stairwell, Joe, Jayden and I attempted a rail precision at the top story. Slightly comforted by the flimsy anti-pigeon wire separating us from a rooftop one story below, we each made the jump, overshooting a little on the way there and a little less on the way back.
Back down at ground level we played with some vaults, tic-tacs and precisions in the wet. Dismounting from a successful tic-tac to climb up I very nearly rolled my left ankle again. Just a tweak, but enough for me to make the decision to call it a day.
Sunday... The ankle is fine, and I just finished a bowl of fish-head and cassava soup (pretty tasty if I do say so myself). Today is rest day. It's raining outside. A little upper body workout later this evening and then maybe read a book or watch a movie. Eat some chocolate? (Happy Easter to those who East)
We finished with some vault combination drills and a very welcome cup of hot chocolate...
Saturday brought with it more rain and I caught a handfull of trains to get to Latimer Rd. Here I met Joe, a friend of JB's, who got me warmed up with an inverted front-support traverse (both ways) of the nearby playground. We then made a tour of the Latimer Rd training spots, finally settling for some slightly out-of-the-weather scaffolding. After a few minutes of play we had set ourselves some challenges: A lache to arm-jump with very little backswing, a lache to lache which had little leg room on the second catch (making the swing to 3rd catch a little tricky) and, later on, a 7-8ft precision between the scaff about 8ft high from ground level (enter my mild fear of heights). We were joined by Peter and Jayden and decided (after completing our challenges) to do a little climbing. The first ascent was to the top level of the scaffolding (only 3 stories) and into the building proper. Nice and easy. Next we descended the 3 stories via the outside of the stairwell. The holds were very accomodating and I was surprised how comfortable I felt with the height, even having a good look down occasionally did not phase me... After a few more laps up and down of the stairwell, Joe, Jayden and I attempted a rail precision at the top story. Slightly comforted by the flimsy anti-pigeon wire separating us from a rooftop one story below, we each made the jump, overshooting a little on the way there and a little less on the way back.
Back down at ground level we played with some vaults, tic-tacs and precisions in the wet. Dismounting from a successful tic-tac to climb up I very nearly rolled my left ankle again. Just a tweak, but enough for me to make the decision to call it a day.
Sunday... The ankle is fine, and I just finished a bowl of fish-head and cassava soup (pretty tasty if I do say so myself). Today is rest day. It's raining outside. A little upper body workout later this evening and then maybe read a book or watch a movie. Eat some chocolate? (Happy Easter to those who East)
No comments:
Post a Comment