Preppy Runner – Theodora Blanchfield

Over the past few years, I’ve become a lot more ballsy. There’s not a lot I won’t try.

Including, apparently, trapeze, which I tried yesterday…on a date. A first date.

I’d read about it on Ali’s blog and seen that Sex and the City episode. It sounded really freaking cool.

I reread Ali’s post before leaving and got a little more nervous than I had been, but still thought it’d be awesome and I wouldn’t be that scared.

I walked up to the class area at South Street Seaport and thought, “This? This doesn’t look that high. Whatever.”

No big deal?

While we were on the ground, they taught us how to climb the ladder (you have to belay yourself in) and about the tricks some of us we would be doing. When they first told us they were going to teach us about the climbing-the-ladder procedure, I was skeptical. Don’t you just put one foot up then another? Why did I need to be belayed? Then I stepped up on the ladder, which was not so steady, and was very very happy to be wearing such a sexy belt on a first date. Still, I wasn’t that nervous.

Then I got up there, grabbed the bar, and got a little nervous. The first two times, I told them, I need a second, I need a second, before I actually jumped.

Once you were airborne, you were supposed to pick your knees up and loop them over the bar, and then let go and hang upside down from the bar.

Which would have been awesome, except in 3-4 tries, I never got my legs up. They said I didn’t put enough force in when I jumped off (BECAUSE I WAS TERRIFIED), so I didn’t have enough momentum. I think it’s definitely that, but also a combination of a weak core, tight legs from my run yesterday and everything happening so fast. The instructors are yelling instructions at you from below, and we’d gone over all the commands earlier, but my mind and my body just weren’t communicating yesterday. Actually, growing up, I was always TERRIBLE at listening to instructions of how to do any sort of movement. I’d hear what the instructor said, but my body just couldn’t translate. Which is why I stopped dancing at a very young age. That and the no rhythm.

Oh look. My legs are up…but not over the bar.

The third time I climbed up to the platform, I freaked out. I got up there, put one hand on the bar, and was too scared to put the second one on. I was shaking standing up there but was too stubborn to climb back down. (Plus climbing down the ladder still seemed scarier than flying. ) I asked if someone else could go ahead of me, while I took a second to climb down. They tried to persuade me to just go, but…OH HELL NO.

I took a second to calm down and jumped again. It was still terrifying, but I was glad I told that inner voice to shut the hell up.

Take a look at the video below. I almost tagged it as comedy on YouTube because it’s pretty comedic how terrible I am at this.

My jelly core and arms were ridiculously sore today from all that hanging.
But I want to go back. I have a score to settle with getting my damn legs up onto the bar.
Have you ever tried trapeze? What’s the most interesting date you’ve been on? (Or married people, how’d you meet your significant other?)