State Meet

This past weekend was the Wisconsin State Men's Gymnastics Championships. Calvin competed yesterday afternoon. He had been nervous about this meet for almost 2 weeks (unusual for him).
Mama? What if I do bad? What if I mess up my floor like I did in Iowa?
You'll be fine, Calvin.
But what if I do bad?

He did fine.

He started on floor and got a score of 15.1, good for 7th place (level 5 ages 8-9):


Next was pommel, where he felt confident enough to try his flares on the mushroom, and got a personal best score of 13.8:


Then it was on to rings, where he got a score of 13.9 and 16th place:


Vault was next, with a score of 14.5, and 7th place:


His p-bars routine got a score of 14.3, which was a tie for 9th place. He took 10th place (event ties are broken by the all around score):


Last was high bar, where he got a score of 13.6, another tie for 9th place (he took 10th):


His all around score was another personal best of 85.2. Not only that, he got named to the all-state level 5 team (the top 20 boys ages 7-9, by all around score)! This means he gets a t-shirt and gets to go to a Brewer's game with his coaches. He was pretty excited about that (I know it doesn't look like it, but he always gets kinda serious when he sees me taking his picture).

I'm really proud of Calvin. I think he's done very well this season. He started learning 4 of these 6 events last June or July, and I remember tears and frustration from him last summer complaining that he'll never figure out how to do a circle on the mushroom, or he'll never remember his floor routine, or he just can't do a kip. He's come so far and has been so determined and dedicated to improving. We are all so happy and very proud of him.

ONE more meet!

M&M Meet

Today Calvin had another gymnastics meet (I know! A whole month without a meet! He was supposed to have one 2 weeks ago, but it got cancelled). The meet was at M&M Gymnastics, home of Olympian Chellsie Memmel. Calvin did well (level 5 ages 8-9).

This time around he started on vault, and got a score of 14.2:


Next was p-bars, where he got a score of 13.0. There is a deduction each time his coach touches him to prevent him from going over. However, it's good that Calvin being aggressive in going for the handstands, instead of hesitating because he is afraid to fall over. His coaches want to see him going for it:


Then it was on to high bar, where he nailed his routine! His clear hip circle was fantastic, and he got a score of 15.5, and first place:


After high bar, it was on to floor. Again, he did very well, and got a score of 15.4 and 2nd place:


Ah, his most difficult event, pommel horse. He didn't fall off the mushroom! He got a score of 13.5, which I'm pretty sure is a personal best:


He finished on rings, where he got a score of 14.7 and 8th place:


His all-around score was 86.3 (another personal best, I believe), which was good for 10th place. In two weeks he has the State meet, then on to Regionals in April, and then our meet season is DONE. :)

I'm Running

A friend of mine emailed last week that she was starting her "get my body back after baby" program, and was anyone interested in joining her. So, I started running with her last Saturday. One of my goals this year is to get stronger and in better shape. The last time I lost some weight, running is what melted it off. Unfortunately, my knee started really hurting, so I stopped. Some friends suggested that the cause was that I didn't have proper running shoes, so on Friday I went and got fitted for some:
I love them, and I've put 6.4 miles on them so far (3 separate runs), and NO knee pain! While I'm still not crazy about the actual running part, I do love the endorphin rush afterwards, and I'm feeling better overall.

My ultimate goal is to do the Danskin this year. It's my last chance if I want to do it before I'm 40. My other goal is that I want to look good in my bikini when we go on our annual camping trip in June. :)