climbing obsession

Used to be that climbing was the sole focus in my life. I'd spend at least three hours climbing at the gym 3-4 nights a week. Besides heading to the bar for a show, it was really my only social outlet in Gainesville.

Times have changed. A few more things have entered my social life. I'm engaged. I have friends outside of the climbing gym. The climbing gym, at least initially, didn't seem to take as many outdoor trips, despite the paradox of being closer to good stone. I threw myself headlong into photography yet again and have discovered I quite enjoy it since it meshes well with other interests. I took up snowboarding. Weather around here in the wintertime is too wet to have good climbing days. On the dry ones, it's rarely above freezing, which kills those days too. Summertime is manky and damp; holds are slippery and feet don't stick. Fall is perpetually hectic and even weekend trips are hard to come by. We'll see how this spring turns out, but it's looking like my best climbing is going to be at beloved Horse Pens 40 for spring break. It was going to be Bishop out in California, but the logistics just didn't work out. Road trip insteaad! I can live with that.

Thus begins the training regimens of years past. When I'd try in vain to break above the prior plateau so I could finally send my project. I'm top roping more lately, and trying to build bouldering endurance for our week-long trek to Steele. On the hit list this trip: Mortal Combat, Hammerhead, Earth Wind and Fire, The Beach, Millipede, Genesis, Chrisifix, and Getcha Some. Three have fought me tooth and nail, three I've never battled, and Genesis is just awesome.

Any tips to help me break out of my training slump?

no pain, no gain

After the bouldering escapades and escalades of Sunday, I sure didn't want to climb hard yesterday after work. Planning on doing some training and route climbing, I walk into the gym to discover new boulder problems.

Dammit.

Lucky for me, I was easily lured away from the 45 degree wall by a knot-tying LSU Tiger. During football season, I don't know if I'd trust him. He claims we're just trading the trophy back and forth. We'll see come October how that works out. Warmed up on a few 5.9s, no worries. Hey, let's try this 5.12. What am I insane?

Yes.

Hop on the slopey, microscopically crimpy 5.12. Flash denied.

Barely. One move from the top, I miss one of the better holds on the route. A micro jug that I'd have called a crimp at the beginning of the climbing career. Too bad. It was balancy and technical and awesome. So what if it's sandbagged. It's a confidence booster, and maybe now I won't shy away from hopping on those twelves at the gym. Maybe when I get on the sharp end outside again, I won't be spooked by an eleven. We'll see.

Ropework being done, I bouldered for a bit on last week's new problems. The freshest new problems were glutted with people. Sure, I could've worked my way in, but I wasn't in the mood to fight with the machismo. Finish up the night on my new training goal.

A push-up pyramid. Simply put, push-up sets increasing, then decreasing in number with very little rest between them. Start at one, go up to ten, and back down again. The goal would be doing 100 pushups in 15 minutes or so.

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 = 55, then back down again makes 45 more for 100. The ultimate goal might be to do this, then add a pull-up pyramid to the mix. Certainly a long ways off. Last night, muscle failure. I think I made it to eight on the way up before my chest and triceps started giving way. Shampooing after the gym was a struggle last night. My pecs are a litte twitchy today. Next week, try again.