Went to the Trace Facility on friday. The place was north of the city, on a train-line I never catch. The facility is a warehouse tucked into an plain of one-story suburbs, surrounded by other warehouses. I was surprised how well equipped the place was, considering they've only been open for a few months. Two structures made of steel piping hold up flat plywood roofs, one has an additional steel structure attached, no roof. Footholds, handholds are everywhere. The side has a makeshift wall with a platform in a variety of heights - for wallruns. A chill section is set up on a kind of balcony with magazines (new scientist, the economist, anyone?), tables, couches and water. The place is hella cool.

First thing I though when I saw the place was "this would be perfect for a game of off-ground tag". I even suggested it to the few kids who were there early, like myself, but, to my disappointment, was dismissed. Later, to my delight, I discovered that off-ground is a regular part of the training program. After the regulars poured in - at around 6 - and the catchups were done with and warmups completed the place was set up and the game began. I was slow, loud on the landings and unfit... yet treated very nicely, not singed out nor ignored. It was really fun, though I was sweating bullets and my arms hurt all the way through to sunday (today). Great workout. I'll definitely be back.

The guys were good company as always. The more I'm exposed to this crowd the more my respect for them grows. I wanna be friends, but still fell awkward. Plus any delusions I had about my physical appearance have been blown sky-high. They're all built like frikkin' superheroes! I'm a big guy, not overweight, with my share of muscle but these guys make me look like a flabby hippo. Both in physical form and in movement. I guess the bar is set high, something for me to aim for.

On the administrative front, I've been falling behind on my transcribing. Spending time on the sunday book takes away from other things, I'm still looking for a good balance. As long as i don't neglect this blog i should be largely alright.

Last sunday class for the year today. It's raining. It'll be four hours - should be fun. I'll be going to trainer training sometime in the next few weeks. Looking forward to it.