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I just got into this a couple of weeks ago. It's amazing how fast the body adapts. I've done many things like this in the past, but in recent years, I've spent a lot of time at the computer. I've made sure to go biking or walking a dozen times or so each year, but I haven't been nearly as athletic as I was when I was a kid or in my teens. This is quickly changing...

I used to do a lot of Free Running back then, but it didn't have a name. I did a lot of jumping over fences, garbage cans, picnic tables, creeks, and pretty much anything else that looked like an interesting challenge to jump over. I usually landed on my feet, but sometimes I'd land on my hands and roll out of it, etc. I even jumped off of my house a few times; about a 15 foot fall. I climbed up a lot of different surfaces, too including trees and the side of my house using only the cracks between the bricks. This was quite a few years ago, though.

So basically, I'm a former casual free-runner getting back into it years later, now that it has a name and a place in society. Back then, no one (that I knew) was at all interested. I was just the wild kid doing his thing. I did it because it was fun and challenging, and that was it. I had a few friends who'd try some of the jumps with me sometimes, but not very often. For the last several years, I haven't done anything physically more interesting than occassionally biking, running, and swimming, although last year I did finally get myself to climb a tree again a few times.

It wasn't that I didn't want to. I did. I just felt like those activities had no place in our society. I felt a bit like an outcast every time I did those things. Anyway, when I saw someone free-running recently on tv, and it was given a name, and other people were interested, it excited me! I've been wanting to do these things again. I was planning to add some more interesting activities this year, in addition to the tree climbing, but I was really looking for a way to do things that were at least a bit socially acceptable. It was hard to get myself to climb a tree in public last year. Grown men "aren't supposed to" do such things. Or are we?

I've always been a person who pushes boundaries in every area of my life, but at the same time, I notice that I hold myself back in a lot of ways to fit in. Free-running hit me at exactly the right time. I was in the perfect state of mind to grab it and run with it immediately. I went outside that same afternoon, and started with some very basic stuff.

I've been living my last 8 years or so mostly like an average semi-active American, physically. So, I decided to take it easy in the beginning. The first day I went out with the idea of free-running in mind, it was pretty hard to find stuff to do. It seemed like something mainly for heavy urban areas, the way it was presented, though of course I knew it could be done anywhere. I found a few things to do, such as climb up and jump off of a couple of low walls.

The next day, I read a little about Free Running and Parkour online. I decided that Free Running was definitely my style. I watched a few free running videos on youtube. This inspired me. I went out, and it was much easier for me to think of what I could do this time. My main goal at this time was to simply build up my strength. I know I'll get to the big stuff later. For now, I need to condition my body to take those impacts, land correctly, keep my balance, etc.

I found a good tree and climbed it, both to strengthen my overall body and to start rebuilding the calluses on my hands. Then I found a big log and just did a few jumps off of it, then a few 180s and 360s, jumping and spinning in the air before I landed. The purpose of this was to build up my strength and balance for landing, especially the strength of my feet, ankles, knees, etc to absorb the impacts. After I did a few of those, I found a spot where I could jump about 4 feet down onto some very soft soil, and did that a couple of times. Then, I went and practiced jumping from one rock to another in a creek bed.

By this time, I was already getting a little winded. It takes a lot of energy to jump and land. Many muscles are flexing to exert and absorb a lot of force all at once. I took about a minute between each activity to simply stand there and breathe and look around for the next thing to do. I did a few cartwheels, which was something I hadn't done in years. Then I went over to the railroad tracks and just practiced walking as far as I could on them, and jumping back and forth on them.

I was pretty much done at that point. It was a great second day with a lot of small activities designed to build up my strength, balance, and coordination. I came inside and relaxed, feeling great about making progress in my new hobby, the rekindling and expansion of my physical freedom!

These last couple of weeks, I've been a lot more careful about what I eat, making sure to drink protein shake and take vitamins every day (I've always taken vitamins daily anyway), along with healthy meals. I naturally eat a lot less lately, due to the extra exercise and the fact that I've been working on this website most of the day every day. I am fueled by my excitement about the website and my new hobby of free running, combined with the other great things that were already going on in my life. I also natually sleep well, due to the extra exercise and greater sense of fulfillment, even though I do sometimes wake up a bit early, excited to work on the website some more.

I've gone out at least two out of every three days since then, doing what I call "Basic Free Running." I climb the tree once or twice (yesterday it was three times), then I do some jumps from the log, then some bigger jumps. Then I jump from rock to rock in the creek, getting a little faster and more steady each day. I've done rolls and more cartwheels in a field. I walk on the train tracks, jumping back and forth from one to the other. Then I either come inside or do more jumps and climbing if I feel up to it.

Today, I had a breakthrough on the train tracks. I was able to walk for 10 minutes without falling off once. I jumped back and forth several times during those 10 minutes. Every day before today, I could only walk maybe 5 to 30 seconds before I'd lose my balance and step off of the track. These are old and very worn tracks with smooth edges, yet my balance and focus have improved enough with practice in these last couple of weeks that I was walking pretty comfortably on them today.

I also did several jumps today that were much greater than any jumps I've done in a very long time. I jumped back and forth over a tall utility box. The first time, I used it as a springboard to get a good height on a jump, just to practice my landing and build my landing-strength some more. Then I jumped over it without touching it a few times. This takes a lot of quick-abdominal strength/speed as well as leg strength. Not only do you have to propel yourself up and forward quickly, but you have to yank your legs up high very quickly to clear the object. It's something I wouldn't have been able to do on my first day unless I had a lot of adrenaline boosting me. I also did some larger jumps on concrete, including a 6 foot jump straight down, all to build my landing strength more.

I've been amazed at how rapidly I'm regaining and extending my physical abilities. I knew that I could do it with practice and attention, but some days I've been sore all over, and then I feel completely fine and even more energetic the next day, excited to get back out there! I'm paying attention to any and all messages from my body. If I need a day off to recover, I take it. If I have the energy to go do more, I do it. I actually massaged my own feet last night. I think I've only done that a few times in my life. I did it right before bed. It helped my feet feel a lot better, probably recover faster, and put me to sleep pretty quickly.

Speaking of bed, it's about time for me to go get some sleep. I'll probably post more about Free Running in this Blog/Book in coming days.