Sick as a Dog.

I never really understood that statement. Are dogs always sick, or is it supposed to be really awful for a dog to be sick when they are actually sick. I’m not sure. But I’ve been sick. And not just in the “oh crap. Exhaustion got me. I need to sleep for a day and let my body reboot.”

No, this was something else. The only time I can remember being more sick than this was once, back in high school, and also when I had that damned swine flu a couple years ago. This was bed ridden, run over by a mile long train “Please, Lord take me now” kind of sick.

I know why it hit me so hard. Long hours at work, climbing way more than I should and well passed what would be considered smart climbing. And it didn’t help that my entire family had come down with the black plague. Basically, all this and no matter of healthy eating and exercise was going to make up for everything else I was depriving myself of (let me spell it out for you: REST.).

So, now, two weeks later I went to the gym for the first time in an attempt to move on some rock. I had tried to go after the first week… and really I just sat there and twiddled my thumbs, and helped coach a friend who’s trying to get into climbing. This trip, I’m just fighting off the last bit of the nagging cough (BTW, I’m good for ab workouts for the next couple months… six pack? Done. Thank you, hacking/debilitating cough.). Energy is still at critically low levels.

I enjoy a good dyno as much as the next guy. I think I’m a pretty dynamic climber. I often have to tone down my desire to do big moves just to make sure I’m training statically and improving my foot technique and such… but when it came time to DTFO (Dyno the F* Out.)**, I was severely grounded.

Now I hear what you’re thinking… No, not because I’m psychic, but because you’re probably a smart person, or at least someone with some level of common sense. But you’re saying to me “James! You’re obviously not ready to be going back. What’re you doing? You run the risk of potentially making it worse. Or relapsing.” Yeah? Close?

I coach Pole Vault at the local community college and one of the local high schools. And if one of my athletes did this… I’d be pissed. But I no longer have a coach. I only have myself to answer too, and myself to blame.

I will admit I backed off though. I geared up to see how I was doing, and I did all right. Then I warmed down and called it a night.

Things I did notice: long rests in order to recover from a burn. Even on climbs well below my average level, I was still needing a long rest. The biggest parts I struggled with were core tension (sore muscles in my mid region… don’t know why. lol) and my grip strength was fatiguing quickly.

But I couldn’t handle being inside anymore. Or at work. I needed to move. I needed my drug. This is where I felt like a dog. Trapped inside and anxiously waiting to get outside and run around. Climbing destresses me. it clears my head, and for two weeks I was without my wonder drug. I was getting volatile, restless and more or less neurotic. The line between my fever and cabin fever was blurring.

Even if it wasn’t a mind blowing night, or a training night. Booting up was much needed. It’s raining outside. It’s cold. I needed this. If anything, I feel healthier just from having gone and shaking out my restless bones.

So here’s to health, happiness and holidays. I’ll let my body recoup some more, probably until the first of the year. I’ll keep time at the gym (guys… that’s all I’ve got. No outdoors until next spring.) to minimum. I’ll eat whatever I want, and ignoring my normally more restrictive diets. And just focus on getting healthy.

It just occurred to me that this is the longest I’ve gone without climbing since I started really attempting to improve almost a year ago (apparently that’s January 6^th). As much as I hate to admit it, this hiatus is a blessing. My desire to climb and move are constantly growing and keeping myself in check is often times difficult. My body needed this. Next time though, hopefully I’ll just take some time off instead of crashing like this.

Happy new years guys. :)

James

**DTFO was a saying we made up a while ago. I’m not sure if it’s ever been used before so forgive me if that’s been your friend’s “thing” for the last… however long. It wasn’t my intention to steal it. I’ll try to write up a blog sometime soon about how that came about how that became a sort of faux-mantra for us. If you have used it before, or heard it used please leave a comment and share your story.

Nearing the Years End

I keep jotting down notes on things I’m going to blog about. The things that have happened. That I’ve learned. That I think you’ll find interesting. But I’ve spent so little time at home these past few weeks that I really am here to sit, sleep and shower. But I’ll try to do a quick post and maybe come back and go more in depth.

I competed in the Portland Boulder Rally at the Circuit climbing gym. If you remember, I competed in a black light competition during Halloween. And I did awful. Be it rest, being over zealous, or possibly just not enough forethought going into a route… I did really bad. However, this time I came in rested. Freezing cold (lost feeling in my feet and fell off the early problems because I couldn’t tell how I was on the holds), but completely calm.

I went nuts. After that initial folly on a couple fours I was finally warm. I slowed my pace way down (about 6 or 7 minutes between attempts, and 10-12 minutes between each problem). I flashed the next five problems ranging between 510 and 630 points (supposedly that's v5-v6). I realized I should have climbed stuff a little bit harder. I do think some of my success was intentionally watching a route, which gave me beta, but also allowed me to pick problems well suited to my style of climbing. …which means all of them were dynamic and overhang. I was in heaven. No crimps in sight.

I definitely should have set my sites a little higher though. I had a blast. Won a couple hats and quick draws. The end. It took me a while to recover from that. To which then I got ill. Again. More vitamin C!

I don’t remember if I talked about setting my first routes. They weren’t mind blowing by any means. But they were fun. I had a good time doing it and really felt like I was playing with Lego’s. but for adults. I’m really excited to get back in and work on some more, but I know I won’t have any time, probably until after new years.

Umm… my boss from the Source found this blog. There was this split second of panic somewhere between “hey, so I saw your blog…” and “we should talk.” That I was like “aww crap… I didn’t say anything that’s gonna get me in trouble did i?” I didn’t. in fact, Michael was really cool, as he always seems to be. Still. I’ll probably be a little hesitant when posting. Haha

But in all seriousness (and not in any way related to the fact that my bosses might see this.): it’s awesome to go in and pick their brains. Michael and Hans. They’ve humbled me a few times and constantly remind me that I’ve got so much to learn. And I’m down with getting reminded I’m new…ish. I’m always ready to be humbled and remember I’ve got a long road ahead of me before I’ll meet my goal of a v10. And this all helps lay the foundation that will not just get me there, but beyond.

I’ve decided atleast through the rest of the holidays that I’m going to focus more on just getting time in on the wall. “training” is nearly impossible right now. And I think just getting my hands torn up and pushing through the exhaustion will be training enough. I’ve been to one of the gyms 5 times in the last 4 days. My hands are raw, and my body’s tired. But I can really feel myself getting mentally strong. Even though my body is trying to fail, feeling myself push through and strive for good footwork and still breathing, while not panicking is such a powerful feeling.

I believe the body follows the brain. Therefore I need to train my brain to stay calm and focused. I’m going to end this pretty quick and so I’ll leave you with this, one of my favorite quotes.

"Beyond the very extreme fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never pushed through the obstruction." -William James

Sport Climbing? It Ain’t No Thang.

That? Is a bald faced lie. In fact it really consists of one of my biggest athletic weaknesses. Endurance. And so I typically avoid long and grueling routes simply because I know it’s not my favorite way of playing. But it is challenging and so the allure is there… somewhere. Underneath a weakening fear of heights and growing passion for any and all things vertical, I find myself wanting to get use out of this sick harness I own.

Today, at the Source Climbing Center… (You know, the one I work at) I was asked to shoot some stuff to post on the website (and write my bio… crap! Forgot to do that. HaHa… kind of.) and one of the angles Michael (one of the owners) proposed was from behind one of the walls. No big deal… Oh wait, that means I climb up there? Fu…n times.

So as were climbing up this semi-sketchy rung ladder steadily fastened between steel frames and welding, Michael turns to me and says “three points of contact. How’re you doing?” “no worries.” I felt fine. It was dark and I can’t see real well so I was going mostly by feel. This was good because it kept me from thinking about the 35 foot fall I’d take if I slipped. I also missed thinking about the bouncing on said steel, that would be the only thing slowing my descent.

I didn’t think about it until we climbed to the top where the ladder stops and I have to hoist myself up to the edge and peek over the peak (see what I did there?). I’m hanging on to the finals bits of metal and even as I write this I feel my palms getting sweaty. It was also at this point I looked all the way down and felt pangs on panic creep in.

But I didn’t lose it. I was fine. In control. The fear was there, but it didn’t cripple me. If anything it helped me to keep focus on my balance and everything my body told me to make sure I stayed right where I was. And eventually as I climbed back down (feeling quite a gnarly pump as I overgripped the rungs) I thought “how could would it be to GoPro this?” I didn’t go back up. But next time…

Ok, so now my shift is over and Michael says the crew is invited back to climb after hours. I was in serious need of a nap after the hell that was last week and this holiday weekend. So a short nap and I’m recharged and ready to go. The goal was just to get on the ropes and see what I do. Michael had other plans.

First thing he says, is of course, “hey” and then it’s followed by “Know how to lead climb? Wanna learn?”

One of my goals is to climb 5.12 Lead. Setting a date to accomplish this goal by is difficult knowing very little about this style of climbing and how my body will react. So I’m holding off on that.

We went through clipping and I went up some 5.9’s trying to remember not to back clip, to breath, to keep form and focus on my technique as my mind fell to fatigue. I know I’m fine on harder routes when top roping… but that stupid clipping tripped me up haha. It took me a second route to get it, before I felt comfortable and wanted to go faster.

The final test of the night was Michael and Matt (fellow coworker) we’re going to project a 5.12. I think to myself, “Awesome, I can get some kind of clue as to how difficult this goal might be to achieve.” But it was then made apparent that I was going to attempt the route and unclip on the way up to the top. I had no expectation as to what I might do personally… but I was game. What’s the worst that could happen?

I hop on and the holds were nice. The moves were solid and flowing. This actually felt better than the 5.9’s that I had been doing. At no point did I get cocky though. Nor did I feel like it was out of my range. I made it quite a ways with a rest but suddenly I realized I was blown out. My tank was empty and I was toast. My forearms were pumped.

“Breath James!” “I’m Trying!” Too late. Well passed the anaerobic threshold, I went after this like it was a boulder route. I still had at LEAST 15’ to go. And that’s probably conservative. I rested, shook it out. Heard some laughs and very awesome cheers to push me further. I made a few more moves but my muscles were now in the moments that precede muscle failure. I tried to rest and get back on but I knew what I had done and the deficit I’d created. This is what training would stave off. Like Butt lock in the 400m dash, I was toast. The only difference is you can waddle across the finish line with butt lock. You can’t shimmy up a wall when your arms are that far gone.

Oh well. It was a good taste of things to come. I’m excited. The fears there, but it’s making me smarter, not hesitant. And that’s part of why I started climbing in the first place… isn’t it?

Goodnight :)

James

Sport Climbing and Training (Not exactly related)

Oh man. Tonight was amazing. Had work and then headed to the gym. I had every intention of doing a nice grueling workout. However, the crowded gym made this nearly impossible.

Let’s back up. In the previous post, didn’t I say I’d be taking it easy? No projecting or brutal workouts? Yes. So what the heck?! Well, I decided that my aerobic endurance was terrible, and working on that would be a fun, easy (sort of), stressless way to spend the next month and a half.

Saturday’s workout was beautiful. Nice 30 minute warm up. Followed by a good stretch. Goal was to climb every V3 in the gym as smooth as possible with 3 minutes rest between burns (Burns: attempts at a route.). I also get a 10 minute rest halfway through. I wanted to stick right in that aerobic zone. Actually, I just didn’t want to hit my anaerobic threshold. In total, I had three falls and 15 routes leaving 3 or 4 in the roof and surrounding overhang. Definitely should have started there.

It ended with a feeling similar to a long uphill bike ride (and complete muscle failure haha). My hands were missing most calluses, or they were worn away. And I was wiped out. My cool down was supposed to be to slow climb V2-VB (Vb is the lowest grade… similar to climbing a ladder), which was brutal. But it all felt so good. I slept really well.

A lot of people wanted to advise me on the right way to train. Some advice was much more useful than others. But what this workout made me realize (along with the advice I was given…) is that despite the very climbing specific work that needs to be done, the body is still a human body and responds just like it would in any other sport. It’s only taking all the knowledge I already know about training athletes and applying it to benefit me in climbing.

Just so you know… I’ve read more text books in the last year than I did while I was in college. All sorts of texts on sport specific training and the human body and I have to be honest… The human body is still the human body, no matter what sport it’s participating in. Mind Blown? Mine too. A lot of the analogies some of the more experienced climbers used to relate the training they spoke to me about were using Track and weight lifting. Two extremely different sports from climbing and yet the strategies were identical to how I train my athletes. These were some of the same ideas that some members of the climbing community shunned me for considering recently. Haha glad I stuck to my guns. :)

And before I hop back on topic (I know, I’m all over the place. I’m improvising from my rough draft.) I just want to give kudos to top rope/Lead/Trad and all the other sport climbers out there. Every sport I’ve done in my life has focused entirely on short maximal efforts and with only a few exceptions have required serious attention to any kind of aerobic conditioning. The thought of training for sport climbing is both daunting and frightening to me. Much like being a pole vaulter who is told to run an 800m in a meet, or worse (in my case) the 1500. Forcing myself to improve and grow as a climbing athlete is something that will be really good for me. I just have to stomach it. And back on topic.

My plan tonight was to try a “4x4.” Definitely an anaerobic workout. Simply, 4 routes varied in difficulty (ex. V2,V4,V3,V2) done consecutively with 10 minutes rest between sets and repeated 3 more times. But the walls were so busy, I got stuck waiting nearly 3 min between burns ruining what I wanted to accomplish.

So I ended up playing. I was shocked by how I was doing. I already warm so I starting down. Flashed some V5’s and got a V6 on the second burn (foot slipped… oops.). and V7’s are becoming so… friendly. If I had started the evening intending to project that V7 I would have finished it. And I’m fairly confident I can finish it in one or two burns the next time I’m in.

However, due to crowds, I think I’ll be using the old Circuit gym to train. Campus ladders, Hang boards, and a building full of new problems sounds like what I need.

Anyways, that’s all. No, I lied. I signed up for the Portland Boulder Rally on December 3^rd. if I climb like I did tonight I’ll be sure to demolish my performance from my last comp. Plus, Carlo Traversi and Sierra Blair-Coyle are said to be there. Ok. Bye. :)

James

Kaizen

It has been recommend to me (quite frequently actually) that I take a length of time off for my body to rest and recover from whatever physical stress I’d been applying to it, normally for several months on end. This usually was then forced on me by some injury I would receive via overtraining. However, this holiday season, my training may take a forced hiatus due to the amount of working I’m doing.

While this does mean money coming in and a lack of time to make excuses to burn through it. I will unfortunately be struggling to train like I would otherwise until the beginning of the new year.

But who knows. Maybe backing down and not climbing will get me primed and ready to hit the ground running… er, um vertically… to improve.

The beauty is, knocking out a couple fingerboard workouts a week only requires I go to the other side of the room… not across town.

I did get some climbing done though. Pulled down that elusive V7 that has been shutting me down for the better part of 2 months. No crowd cheered. No video caught it. I simply slapped the top out and pulled my exhausted and pumped out body the last bit of the way up. It was a peaceful moment.

The hardest part wasn’t the crux, it was getting my brain to be quiet. Some climbers say hyperventilate before you do a route. Others scream and try to act like weightlifters before a big lift (Why?! I don’t understand this…). Me, I just keep yelling positive thoughts to myself inside my head.

But that’s not what I wanted. I wanted nothing. No need for an outcome, just the chance to move. And so I simply “shh’d” to myself. Weird? Not compared to some stuff that I’ve tried. (That… sounds worse than I mean.)

It came through in my breathing. Slow and controlled. And when I hit that big move in the crux, the one that dropped me so many times before, I moved through like a coiled spring. I had just enough gas in the tank to hit it and not barn door my way into another attempt. It just all came together.

I want to discuss the idea of Kaizen. A Japanese term normally used in business practices. However, I want to take it a different way. The idea is to always look for ways to improve.

I feel I strive for this. Not just in climbing, but in every facet of my life. Today that meant striving to not get in my own way. Tomorrow it means a long day of work and then opting to rest instead of training.

To me, Kaizen is; the desire to never stop learning. To say no, only if you absolutely have too (or if it’s regarding drugs. D.A.R.E. taught me that.) To listen, a lot. And to never settle or be satisfied. To not let others limit my potential.

P.S. I totally jacked the concept of Kaizen from my boss, Michael. He introduced me to it. But he meant it towards business. So… There you go. I made it my own.

November’s first update! (I need to think of better titles…)

October has come and gone. The rain is here and it’s unrelenting. I have a third job. This one’s pretty fitting. I’m working at a climbing gym that recently opened in Vancouver called The Source (Facebook). It’s a beautiful top rope and lead climbing gym. There’s a small bouldering portion. Check the website and head in if you’re ever in the Vancouver area (Washington… Not Canada, ladies and gents.).

I was there climbing this week at the gym (might become a normal thing before I go to coach at Clark College) and the local newspaper was taking some pics and I ended up having my picture taken and popped in the paper. I was surprised by the number of friends who read The Columbian. Granted, the picture took most of the front page of the business section.

The grand opening for the gym was a huge success. I spent the evening belaying people. Or is it “on belay?” I don’t know. I boulder. My bouldering religious beliefs recommend abstaining from ropes.

Some other things I’ve forgotten to update would include running into Carlo Traversi. He was in town for a PCI clinic at the Circuit. I sat down to stretch and realized I had picked the spot in the gym right next to him. He was super chill and awesome to talk to. Considering how inspiring his climbing has been to me, it was awesome to see he's also a really down to earth guy (I KNOW there’s a climbing pun in there somewhere…).

And finally, I made a quick little practice test video at the Circuit. I posted a write up on my other blog over at IEFilms.net. I’d love to get some feedback. Just leave some comments either on the YouTube Channel, or below this blog. :)

That’s it. A long week is over and the next one is starting. Thanks for checking in.

James C.

First Comp

The first time I ever ran the 400 meter dash in a competition was my sophomore year of track. Our best 400m runner gave me some really awesome advice. I listened, ran over the information in my head, and climbed into the blocks. As soon as the gun went off, I tore out of there like a bat out of hell. I cranked out in front of everyone. I was running the 200m. Soon, the sound of footsteps faded behind me and that last turn came up and I realized… I still had 200 very long meters to go. My legs began to lock up, my lungs began to burn and by the end of that race it was taking everything I had just to keep from face planting on the finish line.

This is pretty much the exact same thing that happened during my first indoor bouldering competition. If you missed me, talking about it here… I went up to Tacoma for Edgework’s annual Blacklight comp. It was 3 hours of pulling down the hardest routes you can for points. Kyle tried to coach me, giving great advice like “slow down, take it easy, keep a relaxed warm up.” But I was there when the kids competed. I had been staring at these beautiful and creative routes all day and all I could hear was “blah, blah, blah… GET IT!”

Kyle had to talk me down from trying to tackle a relatively easy problem that had a cool jump start. “Is that what you would normally do? Or would you warm up on easy problems and get to the harder stuff.” So, I tackled the easiest problem I found close by… and then immediately hopped on the jump start. And then tackled the next one. And the next one and by the end of the first hour I was pumped out, cramping, breathing heavy and oh yeah… toast.

I didn’t stop though. It would be another 30 minutes before Kyle convinced me to take a 30 minute break and try to recover before pushing through the rest of the comp. I came up with some really interesting beta to work around my quickly diminishing arm strength… finding dyno’s where they weren’t intended. Bear hugging and hyperextending my arms occasionally instead of using crimps I didn’t like. You know… the usual.

And probably the biggest thing I failed to realize was… I was projecting at or near my max for most of the day. Instead of pulling several problems that I could flash I began getting so hungry for the fun routes that I forgot I was supposed to be getting points. Not falling a lot and trying again before I had fully recovered.

The one thing I did, with no issue at all, was have an amazing time. That was my whole goal. Try something I haven’t done before and focus completely on just enjoying the atmosphere. The volunteer judges and spotters were awesome to talk to and quite entertaining. They seemed to really love being there helping out. And that really added to the atmosphere. Several friends asked me if I was nervous before going in, and I simply told them no. I was there to have fun. And the volunteers all helped make sure that happened.

The setting was amazing. I don’t know if I’m one who really takes the time to appreciate the aesthetic of the movement in climbing. It’s something I feel I’m only now beginning to grasp. But something about these routes, about the beta that was forced in a lot of places, just made for some really beautiful moves. And when they linked together it really just inspired me in a way this sport hadn’t before.

The time aspect, and only having five attempts at a route really made me pay attention to a route before I stepped onto it. I can’t see well in the dark (lol… awesome.) and so I was struggling a bit on figuring out what a hold would be like before I actually got to it. But I really felt myself relaxing. Even when I was on the wall, I didn’t feel panicked, or nervous because my beta wasn’t working how I wanted. I held on and pushed through. And I’m proud of that.

I saw some familiar faces from the Circuit, my home gym. And met some awesome new people. Johnny Goicoechea was there. He’s like a lion. I say that because of his hair. But there was a power and control there I haven’t ever seen in person. And when I talked to him, he was really chill and humble. Very laid back and ready to celebrate the competition with the fellow climbers.

And speaking of which, as soon as the comp ended, a couple of kegs were tapped and prizes were thrown out to the audience. Prizes were also given to the winners in a few of the categories and the energy was high all night. Even at the after, after party… where I got to actually talk with the volunteers and several of Kyle’s climbing friends from the gym. It was really was an awesome end to amazing night.

I guess the last thing I’ll leave you with tonight is a funny story about Kyle during prize throwing. He REALLY wanted some chalk. I’m not going to say what made him think he really needed this chalk, but he was going to be loud enough to make sure the throwers knew he was needy. When the chalk finally came his way, he swats it down and scrambles on the ground for it, creating a scene. A very loud and entertaining scene. As he stands up to show off his prize, he holds in the air with a look of “behold!” as a Petzl chalk bag hits his raised hand and sticks to it. The look of shock and excitement reached high pitch levels a man of Kyle’s size normally wouldn’t reach.

I won nothing. I got lots of stickers and a T-shirt. But that’s cool. I had an amazing time regardless. I didn’t need to win anything. And I learned a ton about the sport and how I can improve and change my strategy for next time. Which is December 3^rd at The Circuit. :) have a goodnight guys. I’m passing out.

Update? lol

I have not been updating. I basically fell off the blogosphere after my post on getting that first v7. Why? Super busy, sick, needed a break, planning a massive shoot (that got cancelled… wah wah.) and growing a beard. It’s more draining than you think.

So what have I been doing? Well… it’s 1:32 am currently and I’m going to knock out this blog so I don’t continue to leave you hanging.

As far as climbing goes, I changed my strategy to work on footwork. It’s amazing how setting a simple goal of “not being so sloppy with my feet.” …actually scratch that. Put in the positive, please. “Being better with my feet.” Really helped dial in my focus. It also gave my upper body joints a reprieve from the constant abuse I place them under. I very quickly noticed how quiet my stepping became and how much more efficient I felt.

And though I’m far from finished on that front, I am improving.

Next… Training with the college kids has seemed to be very counter productive in my training for a v10. In fact, between the morning workouts and the having a couple jobs and then not sleeping because I WILL get my time in at the gym… I’ve struggled to even tackle v5’s. For this reason, and several others, I will probably be limiting the amount of time I spend with the College kids (outside of our actual practice time… Because that’s pole vault, my other love.) just so I don’t continue to hinder my progress.

As I mentioned, I had a really awesome film shoot scheduled for about 2 weeks ago. However it got cancelled. The art of CYA, or Cover Your Ass, came into effect and I didn’t do a good enough job of it. It’s not often I make big mistakes, or mistakes I can’t correct. But I was spread too thin and I got sloppy. Noted. Lesson Learned. Moving on.

And since I had all that fun equipment, I asked my gym (The Circuit) if I could come in before closing and shoot some climbers doing some routes. It ended up being just me, with one camera, but the footage looks useable and I’m very excited for what I can do with that little bit of tester footage. Hopefully if I impress enough people, maybe I can do something a little bigger with more crew and deliver some really nice product. Product, simply meaning a finished video… not necessarily something I’m trying to make a ton of money from.

And THAT is my Third, and most important love. The one I don’t think I could live without. For example, this labor of love, is also something I finished in the time since we last spoke.

A music video I did for Tim Lundy, the guy who does all the sound for my projects at Intense Entertainment.

The only other thing I’ve been doing is trying to learn some new training techniques. Despite everything I know about strength training and training the body to improve via muscle recruitment, or PNF or any other number of training tools… I really want to specifically learn training regimens geared towards improving my Technique. So I’m reading The Self Coached Climber, and learning some new tricks from that.

That’s all I’m going to post in here, tonight. Saturday, I’m participating in my first Competition. Just for fun. It’ll be at Edgeworks in Tacoma Washington. I really want to just hop in and have a good time. No stress for how well I perform compared to everyone else. Just compete against myself. If I can keep that in mind, I’m sure to have an awesome time.

Have a great night. I’ll give you the play by play on Monday… give or take a few days. ;)

James

October 2011 update

I reached my goal 3 days late. I walked into the gym intending to just work on 5’s. Use the day as a sort of recovery day. I ended up working on a tricky V5 and wasted a lot of energy. After that I focused on repeating some old 5’s that I’d either flashed or onsighted.

I really struggled. Be it a lack of sleep, or proper diet. Possibly even just needing to recover some more… but I couldn’t work anything. I gave up on the “training” and started screwing around.

Finally after a long playful session, I hopped onto a V7 that I had tried 2 or 3 times before. This particular 7 got my attention with it’s large dynamic lunge, a dyno that goes the full length of my wingspan straight up. My first and only attempt was extremely half assed. Not sloppy. Just… lazy. But when my hand connected with the slope-y pinch, I had this brief moment of effortless ease. Redundant? Don’t care. That’s how it felt.

My feet cut from the wall and my hand was the only thing keeping me on. I made a loud grunty scream and cranked down until the swinging stopped. I moved up the rest of the route and heard some cheers. I also hear a girl (who’s a better climber than me) say “That’s not how I’d do it.” Don’t care. It worked and it was awesome.

After some rest, I attempted my V7. I really feel like it’s mental now. I’ve failed so much despite having the beta and I want it so bad, I can’t just relax and do it. I’ll come back to it eventually.

So, what now? I’ve reached my goal. I’m sick, working a lot and not getting nearly enough sleep… so where do I go from here?

Normally I’d continue as I have, entering a training cycle that gradually increases workload while I approach my next goal deadline (Short term goal was a V8 by January.). However, I think it’s time to change strategies.

As the grades get harder, the holds get smaller in size and fewer in number. And this is revealing some huge weaknesses in my technique. Specifically, my footwork. I’m also terrible at crimps. So I really want to make a short term goal of improving my foot work and crimping.

Ok… now to answer the “what’s next” question. For the next 6 weeks, my plan is to warm up on the gym’s traverse wall, switching between matching feet and stepping through. It’s the matching that gets me (Kyle makes fun of me because I’m climbing v6’s and v7’s but didn’t know the term “matching” can be used for your hands AND feet.).

As for crimps, I’m looking for those annoyingly crimpy routes a grade or two lower than my max. I work the problem as far as I can. Once I fall, I back up and hold onto the hold a little longer than normal. Focus on really slowing down the transition between moves until I’m pumped out. Or my fingers get so sweaty I can’t hold on. So far… not much improvement. At least, no miracles yet.

I want 2 good weeks of easy before I really hit the ground running. It also works out because I’m breaking in some new shoes, The La sportiva Pythons. Originally, I wanted the Solutions, but I didn’t like their fit.

The pythons are a leather slipper that I’ve downsized an extra 1.5 EU sizes (38). I’ve had 3 days in them. They’ve stretched and I’m getting that form fit. However, I’d be ok with a few more days of stretching.

Do I like them? Yes. Very much. By far the most aggressive shoe I’ve used. Once the nerves die in my toes, I’ll be able to use them to their full potential. Until then, I’ll just enjoy the extra sticky rubber and the incredible improvement in footwork… I know I said above that there was no miracle, but it’s more of improvement out of necessity. Poor footwork is too painful.

(girl at the gym: "Those look disproportionately small... even for you.")

My old Miura’s will probably become my sport shoes/trainers while my python’s become my performance shoes.

In this picture you can see that the blood is rushing back into my feet. this was when i tried on the 37.5's... which also dislocated a metatarsil in my right foot.

I’m going to cut this one off here because I want to rant about Route setting. Specifally NOT posting grades. But I’ll do a new blog as it may be a long one and this one has some length to it as is. :)

September 2011

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” – Henry Ford.

September is over. Which means I either made my goal of getting my first V7, or I didn’t. 4 weeks and some change went by and I pushed for max effort every day I hit the gym.

Every day, my calluses were rubbed raw and my fingers would be stiff. The prescription was stretching, ibuprofen and Ice.

I tried to cut back on the number of days I would go to the gym so I could get my money’s worth on each attempt. I’d try to make my trips 3+ hours with long rests. I focused on two v7’s and pushed.

My breathing was controlled. Body tension was tight. My technique was sharper than ever. And in true fashion, I picked the hardest V7 that fit my style. By the half waypoint of the month I knew which project was mine. A day later I was confident in the beta.

The next week was spent wiring the moves. Climbing until my joints hurt and my fingers (usually) bled. My days became consecutive journeys, visits between shifts at work, and whenever I could.

This, though driven and something I’m proud of, is probably why I failed. I could feel myself closing in. I wanted it so bad I pushed beyond fatigue and what was rationale. Though I improved, I couldn’t heal enough to piece the route together.

I had a following of friends and fellow climbers who I’ve gotten to know over the last several months all coming over and supporting me in my numerous attempts. Looking back, I feel bad that I may have distracted them from their own sessions for so long. But they were nabbing shots on their cameras or phones, just in case THAT attempt was the send.

Persistence turned to frustration, turned to a deeper resolve. My head could see nothing but the moves and the absolute conclusion that I could and would send this problem. There was no doubt.

Which must be where Henry Ford’s “Probably” comes from. The amount of determination wasn’t enough to will me up the wall. I lost sight of the fact that my body breaks down and needs time. As Ron said, “It’s ok to be human.” I just had to be reminded of that.

I made my last attempt. As desperate as this may appear to someone reading this, I felt so calm and strong and smooth. I moved and flowed. Hit the crux and did it right. Slow. Static. Controlled.

Oh, did I mention I showed up to the gym 5 minutes before it closed? My first attempt was cold. Stupid. But I climbed hard. It was easily my most solid attempt at the route. And I failed.

I’ve said I failed a few times now. But did I? I pushed myself to my limits and fell just shy of my goal. It’s a bitter taste, but not totally unappreciated. It’s a lesson. And I’ll take it and learn. Now it’s back to the drawing board. Time to reanalyze my weaknesses and develop a training strategy to grow and get that 7… and then an 8… and 9… you get the idea. :)

Accountability

My coach in college taught me early to not only write goals and place them where I can see them daily, but also tell others of my goals. If I’m sincere and realistic these won’t sound cocky or arrogant and hopefully these people will help hold me accountable.

My short-term goal for climbing is my first V7 by the end of September (half way through the month now…). I have 3 routes that I think are doable by then and I’m pushing hard for it. I went 3 days in a row projecting at my max. This is the kind of sore and broken that makes me sleep for a day, be anti-social and enjoy every grinding second of it.

I’m getting closer too. The progress seems almost unnoticeable. But as tired as I am, I feel my moves get smoother. My breathing has become less rapid and more controlled keeping me from getting too taxed. And although more and more pieces of my skin are gone and the pain grows, I feel calmer with each attempt.

So what about accountability? I feel like I have a place in this community. Most of the employees know my name. Several climbers are comfortable enough with me to talk beta and project with me. It’s this group that holds me accountable.

In the last 3 days of climbing, I noticed these friends asking me the same question, “Have you gotten that 7 yet?” I heard this probably 6 or 7 times, and Steve (the guy who introduced me to the routes I’m attempting.) asked me specifically if I was making progress.

It serves as a little reminder that people care, and want to see me succeed (or they’re actually jerks and are hoping I fail… I choose the more positive option.). And it pushes me when my own reservoir of motivation is running low. The sound of someone encouraging me may not perform miracles, but I tend to reach for at least one more hold when someone is egging me on.

A lot of that motivation came from my dear friend, Kyle. My fellow teammate in Track, roommate during my senior year of college and fellow Ninja, he’s the one introduced me to climbing. He came to town to hang out and “crush” I guess is the climber’s term he used (and I’m supposed to know by now… haha).

He’s a powerful climber. Part of the reason I’ve worked so hard is to just catch up to him and be able to climb with him. He has taught me a lot and I’m finally closing the gap.

He often receives my post-session texts describing my night. It usually includes: what I accomplished, how I performed mentally, or if any cute girls said hi to me (not a common notification, mind you…). He holds me accountable by pushing me constantly.

Motivation lacking? Talk to Kyle.

Technique not up to snuff? Talk to Kyle.

Diet not where it should be? Hangout with Kyle. He’ll make you feel guilty.

You get the idea. He, along with so many climbers that I’ve gotten to know over the last few months have really kept me on track to this V7. Now for two days rest and then back to grinding it out.

P.S. Because of the heat, I was going through chalk like mad (sweaty palms :p ). So I upgraded to a chalk bucket… now there’s 20oz of a white substance I can’t take on a plane.

And one more thing… the second set of shoelaces on my La Sportiva Muira’s broke. Making them the second pair in a month. This is Kyle’s subtle hint that I need a new pair. And if you’re wondering why… these one’s go to 11.

Weight: 173 (13 lbs off goal...) Have no fear! It’s only pizza and beer!

Finding my V7

I found my first v7. The one that will be my first. My goal tonight was to warm up and begin moving through as many as I could to see which ones got my attention.

Typically I end up with the hardest but coolest looking route I can find. And I climb until I’m frustrated. Climb some more… and struggle all the way through. I wanted to try to find a 7 that focused on my strengths. Which is pretty much overhand and power.

What I also really wanted was something that got me excited. That the line the setters presented really got me jonesing to come in and tackle. Some of the employees helped point a couple out and after playing around on a few I knew which it had to be. Which one will keep me up tonight thinking about. I already have new ideas for how to tackle a part of the problem I’m not even at yet.

I do really have a hard time gauging difficulty. Maybe I’ve had it easy until now, but I kept saying “which is an easy v7?” not that I want to cheat myself out of a strong victory but that I wanted to slowly notch up my difficulty. Steve (one of the employees at the Circuit Bouldering Gym) probably said it five times last night, “They’re V7’s. They’re all hard.”

It’s something I really need drilled into my head. The burly/thuggy routes are going to hurt. The crimpy/techy ones are going to test me mentally. Willi step up to the plate or back down?

Lets just say I’m in pain. I’m no stranger to it. I just have to inform my brain that this is expected. I knew this was coming. And just in attempting, I see how far I’ve come. There’s a few 7’s I can project and probably take down with some concentrated effort. I can do this. And I feel good.

As I was sitting, icing my right hand… I had an idea. The biggest complaint about my V6 video was people couldn’t tell how difficult the holds were. I’ve seen enough climbing videos to understand how to fis this… multiangle/multicamera shoot. I’ve got the equipment. There’s no reason why I couldn’t shoot my first send of a 7 in some interesting way. Maybe I can get Steve’s help with getting into the gym and shooting it?

Wait: 168 lbs (8 lbs from goal).

with the rare exception of working too much... i've cut out caffeine again. and fast food is out as well.

AcroYoga

I’ve been saying I was going to try this for about 6 months. It’s offered to me free as a part of my annual membership at the climbing gym. And tonight was the night.

It wasn’t too hot in the gym. And being my third day in a row, I took a nice long 30-45 minute, very relaxed warm up trying to loosen up my forearms. I would stop to get water, to watch climbers crush a problem, and just do anything to make sure I was going slow. I asked at the front desk when yoga started and a girl who was signing in looks at me and says “now! Follow me!” she and her partner led me upstairs and they began doing exercises you’d expect to see in Cirque De Soleil. AcroYoga, in a very simplified explanation is one person laying on the floor (the base) holds the other person in the air (flyer) with their feet. They were doing some moves that were a lot more advanced than what I was doing.

Finally more people arrived. I was introduced to several and was instructed on how to do the beginning base work. It’s… interesting. The girls kept asking me if I needed breaks. But I didn’t feel like my muscles were wearing out. I was just getting a deep constant stretch in my hamstrings.

Next, I was introduced to the flyer position by the instructor. She taught me the bent leaf, which is the start of therapeutic stretching. This would be extremely awkward if had a personal bubble. Because at one point I was upside down hanging in the air, sitting somewhat like a frog with my head between a strangers legs. Her thighs also seemed to be putting just enough pressure across the arteries in my neck to prevent a blood rush/blackout. Cool thing, I probably could have passed out and she would have still kept me balanced.

So the first minute or so of this video demonstrates pretty close to what I was doing with the instructor. Except I was the upside down girl and the instructor was on the ground.

I can’t tell you how this felt. After an injury in my back several years ago, I’ve had chronic pain. Chiropractic care helps, but doesn’t fix it. Massage does almost nothing and physical therapy… well, doctors can’t get me sitting still long enough to get through PT. but the way this stretched and lengthened my spine was amazing. I immediately noticed an improvement in posture and a reduction in pain. I’ll probably continue AcroYoga for this reason alone.

Next was being a flying bird? Which, everytime they said this, all I could think about was Portlandia’s “Put a bird on it” sketch (This made things more difficult... it's hard to balance when you're fighting the urge to laugh.). Basically, it stopped being a stretch and became some work. It was similar to doing supermans on the stability ball. Biggest difference, the ball was a crazily coordinate woman with toes that moved me to wherever she wanted me to go.

As the place became more full, I moved to a bench, in awe. After a few minutes of this, I headed downstairs. I put in about 4 hours tonight. The AcroYoga really loosened me up and got me ready to tackle more routes on the wall. I plan to do it again next week if I’m free. It definitely wasn’t the yoga I was expecting though. But I’m always down for something new.

P.S. I was trying to do some press to handstands on the Olympic rings. That might make my list of to-do’s.

168 lbs before I ate Subway. :)

September has started; 30 days to pull a V7.

Goal: V7 by September

I’ve been avoiding writing in this for a couple weeks now. It’s been sitting, patiently waiting. And I’ve approached it with the apprehension one would likely find staring down the barrel of a gun.

After my first two rapid succession posts, I started a new job. Had several filming jobs and opportunities, and was going on only a few hours of sleep a night. The result was the complete and utter loss of my desire to train. Dropping from 4 trips to the gym and doing some non-climbing related training on the off days for around 2-3 hours a trip, down to 1-2 days a week for about an hour (just at the climbing gym).

It was mental. I couldn’t see the wall, which was inches from my face. I went from starting to pull down v5’s and v6’s with ease to fumbling on v3’s. I couldn’t see the sequence and I couldn’t feel how my body should move. A lot of foul language followed. My mind was everywhere but in the moment.

I was defeated before my shoes were laced. And it’s not that I had negative thoughts ruining my night. It was just sheer absence of attention. I could recognize the issue, but I couldn’t fix it.

The clock continued to tick. Days passed and I could feel my v7 getting away from me (enter negativity). Doubt crept in like some infection in a cut, poisoning everything. I did what has always been my (terrible) response: push my body through the mental block, or until something breaks. This meant fingerboard workouts until muscle failure, high repetitions with more than bodyweight exercises, and hyper-gravity bouldering well beyond exhaustion.

Finally, I felt my spirit give. At least somewhere inside I still recognize that I do this for fun. I took a couple days to rest and recover. I invited my friend Chris to join me, he had also been suffering from a lack of motivation, I played some “Pretty Lights” which, if you watch many climbing videos, you’ve probably heard before.

I don’t know why, but that music gets me amped. And extremely focused. Plus, the addition of a good friend helped make it a fun trip. No pressure. No desire to crush new near-maximal climbs. Just… fun. And then the crushing happened on it’s own.

While I was struggling, it wasn’t that I was afraid to make big moves, I just had no desire to commit to them. But this night was different. Big moves, technical moves, funky risky moves… didn’t matter. They were mine and they felt effortless. This was also my first night pulling a V5 (overhang) in a couple weeks.

We ended our session on that note. I felt like I was back, finally. I’ve had two more trips to the gym since and I feel like that V7 is a completely REASONABLE goal.

I even had the balls to call a flash on a V5 (meaning that… I was completely certain that I could do this particular V5 on my first attempt, called it, then proceeded to attempt the route.). I didn’t flash it. In fact, I smashed my knee on a hold while falling and rolled around on the ground for a while doing the “Peter Griffin.” Since then, the route has been too busy to finish. But soon…

Sorry guys, I’ll aim for one of these posts a week.

P.S. Kyle might be coming down and we might be going climbing outside! BDT (That means “Bout Damn Time.”).

Oh Yeah… The Bad News: :(

172 lbs

That is +5 lbs since my last post. And +12 from my goal. Diet starts again September 1^st.

2011/08/03

Climbing is very intrinsically motivating to me. I don’t look at the guy next to me and think I can out climb him (or her). I look at the route and wonder if I can do it. If I fall, why did I fall? What body position did I have, where was gravity taking me. I love the feeling of learning more about myself. About pushing my limits both physically and mentally.

I yearn for that moment when my grip is failing, hearts pounding, legs shaking and gravity, as it always seems to do, laughs as it feels the pangs of another victory. It’s in these moments I seem to come alive. A voice inside grows, clawing it’s way out of some deep black pit inside me and refuses to let go. To defy physics. Even if it’s just for one more move. I can’t go down without a fight.

On the other side of this, however is of the flow. I feel it when my body moves together, controlled by one focused mind. My moves are slow, calculating and deliberate, moving in time with slow deep breaths. I am nothing more than I am. The outside world melts and time passes and I’m aware only of that moment. If the other is my compulsive need to fight, this is my calm and my peace.