What a way to begin the new year and to start coming out of that self-imposed cave.  From “underground” to Aerial Silks!  Aerial Arts of Rochester has issued a challenge for eight people from all who applied… and I am one of the lucky eight!  And I am also scared to death!!

I have never, in any way, been considered an athlete.  I never felt strong enough, coordinated enough, or confident enough to play sports other than couples’ soccer (it was more about the wings and beer afterward than it was about playing… I mean, how seriously can you take a team that calls itself the Bakers’ Dozen, and all the players have cute names like Peanut Stick, Sticky Buns, or Cheesecake?  psst…I was Cheesecake and my husband was Sticky Buns!).   I ran myself back and forth and basically did whatever I could to avoid the Bruce-Smith-serious guy that would charge my way whenever the ball happened to find its way into my part of the court.  Believe me, I wasn’t going to argue with him if he wanted it!  That’s the extend of my athletic ability so far!

I am ready to change that.  Yup, at 50 years old, I am going to train in Aerial Silks!  For one thing, Bruce Smith won’t be chasing me down!  It’s just going to be me and Mr. Gravity.  Ummm…yeah.  That’s the scary part.  I have a lot of mass for Mr. Gravity to pull on!

During the next twelve weeks, I will be taking FIVE one to one-and-a-half hour fitness classes a week, as well as meeting with a nutritionist.  By the end of March, I hope to have a lot less mass and a lot more strength.  I have never been able to do a pull-up in my life, yet I will have to build the strength to pull myself off the floor onto silk drapings.   You can click on the picture to link to the Aerial Arts of Rochester.

My motivator?  My daughter, Illy Welden.  I have seen her blossom in the past two years since she began Aerial Arts training.  Her strength, her physique, and her confidence have soared!  When the opportunity to apply for the Challenge came up, I realized that I wanted what Illy has for myself.  Maybe I won’t be the graceful aerialist that she now is, but I can get my behind off the couch and into the air!  I can become stronger and more fit as I pass through these “Golden Years” and hopefully with a lot more grace.   Illy will also be my teacher for one of the five classes each week…talk about role reversal!  But she will keep me motivated when sore muscles and bruises come.  She will keep me going when I first fail at hanging upside down (and I am sure that I will have other failings…but I will work through them!).

This is Illy’s first Aerial Performance after studying for less than a year.  While I’m not sure that I will ever be able to be as good as she is, I certainly aim to try to do my best, and I hope that one day I will be able to post from my own performance!