The acrobatics class on Saturday was even more fun than Thursday's! The skill level of the participants, mostly acrobats and gymnasts, is higher but there are 5 of us who are beginners. We all warm up and stretch together but on top of the usual splits and bridges (backbends), the acrobatics class is working on basic floor moves: tumbling, hand stands, cartwheels, that type of thing. And the weird thing is, although I haven't done one since I was 13, I can still do a decent cartwheel! After watching me do a few, the instructor told me to move up to the advanced group but I quickly set her straight. One cartwheel does not an acrobat make.
Suddenly training is all fresh to me again! And in typical serendipitous fashion, the world seems to confirm the decision to pursue new challenges even while working on the old. I receive (and recommend) Barrie Shepley's Personal Best newsletter every Monday morning and today it contained the following item (btw, to my knowledge this is the first time Barrie's quoted scientology guru L. Ron Hubbard so don't hold it against him.) ;

HOW TO KEEP COMPETITIVE
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were to be consulted, what would you recommend? As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax. You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs. Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's. "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment." The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged. Therefore, instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge and more help. If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference. So, put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

So, the shark is in the tank. Regardless of whether I master any of these skills, the benefits are obvious; I'm doing better in C1, enjoying running again and seeing new applications for our swim, weight and spin workouts. I'm setting all kinds of new goals for myself and am actually looking forward to dry-land training this winter.
Barrie coaches a number of accomplished athletes, not the least of which is Simon Whitfield. His site http://www.personalbest.ca/ is an invaluable resource to both coaches and athletes of all disciplines.