EVOLVing Interests

Truth be told, Evolv was always a brand I liked in climbing. My first shoes were the Defy’s. My first chalk bad would have been Evolv, if the store had any in. Pretty much, it was either Prana or it was Evolv. I like their style. I even have them adorned on my camera bag.

I began to drift away though. I have a very powerful nose and Evolv has a history of being incredibly smelly. I couldn’t keep them in the house. Or the car. Or in the neighboring yards. They were finally laid to rest after a mishap where desperation placed them in the laundry.

Check me out thuggin on this v1! That's the face of concentration.

After destroying my Defy’s, I went for another pair my friend Kyle recommended, the La Sportiva Solutions. Great shoe… not for me. The Miura’s from the same company did the trick. After that, I stuck with La Sportiva and picked up some Python’s. Super Downsized. Too much in fact. But I loved them. Sadly, they fell prey to sloppy footwork and now need to be resoled.

Sorry for the history lesson. I like to over-share. When the python’s bit it, I was debating getting another, larger pair, or trying something new… Enter the Shaman. I see them everywhere. Apparently they’re made from magic carpets and stitched together from the hair off a Unicorn’s mane. They grant special powers like herculean strength, ninja like reflexes and other such bad assery. And each pair was personally blessed by Chris Sharma himself. At least, that’s what the rumors say.

But seriously, these shoes are supposed to reinvent the wheel according to people who own them. The concept of downsizing like a Geisha is no more with these bad boys (which look like Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Total plus, as he’s a personal childhood hero of mine.).

I tried on a couple pairs that were approximately my size before taking the plunge. They all felt awesome. Like I could dominate the world as long as my feet got inside the shoes. Plain and simple. I ended up going a bit smaller… but I knew these were it. One shoe to rule them all (one for each foot.).

These were going to make me an Evolv fan boy again. Not as sensitive as the Pythons were. And not a huge loss, all things considered. I do like that the platform was such that I could pop onto the tips of my toes with no pain, making all the ballerinas jealous. And they fit like a glove. The three straps really let me custom fit the shoe to my foot. One exception being the heel. But I’ve yet to find a shoe that properly hugs my funky feet to 100% satisfaction (Python’s had the best heel, just saying.)

Sadly, I’ll be waiting to try these beautiful ladies out (yes, my shoes gender swapped.) on the wall as my left hand is still bummed up from my fall. :( But soon! Until then, I’ll Plie the night away. And I’ll enjoy my shiny new t-shirts. And the chalk bag… well, that’s replacing the one my athlete’s mangled.

Here’s to hoping recovery continues to go quickly so I can let you know if these shoes help Toto and I get out of Kansas… or back to Kansas? Nevermind.

Goodnight,

James

Wait. I lied. I’m grabbing some local climbers to do some photo test shots here in the next little bit of future. Stay tuned for that. :)

Workouts: Week 2

Day 1: Lets try Pyramids again

I realized I was doing the pyramid workout wrong. Last week, I tried to do 4xV2’s,3xV3’s,2xV4’s,1Xv5,2xV4’s,3xV3’s,4xV2’s. But after going through the book where I got this workout (The Self Coached climber), apparently, I was over zealous; not giving myself enough rest and adding to many problems to the routine.

The correct pyramid workout was 4xV2’s, 2xV3’s, 1xV4, 1xV5, 1xV4, 2xV3’s, 4xV2’s. The rest is whatever I need to not get pumped.

I climbed with a friend for part of the session. The 2’s and 3’s were fine. Even the V4 was good. But I still think I rushed my rests. Because the V5 tore me to pieces. I was 1 more from finishing and definitely let myself take too many attempts at it. I just wanted it so bad.

This made the next V4 extremely difficult. I couldn’t finish it. Tried a few times, but knew anymore work would make it hard to do the rest of the workout. The V3’s were also very rough. I had wasted a lot of energy making this part that much harder. The Last v2’s all pushed me mentally as I struggled to keep myself going. My last two were so hard, I felt my grip loosen and I was certain I was going to peel off at the top.

I didn’t. I felt good about the work out. Much better than last week. Even now my hands and forearms are mad at me.

I will say this. I hate climbing when the gym is packed. But in that sea of faces are some really amazing friends. Climbers whom I’ve spent time with and gotten to know. Their support during this rebuilding and healing phase has been monumental. So, though they probably won’t read this: Thanks to all of you.

Day 2: Pop, Pop, Pop.

I postponed the workout form Wednesday. I was super ripped to pieces and need an extra day to recover. Plus I had been wet from work for about 6 hours. And the snow started to fall. I called it a night and went to bed.

I went back tonight, feeling better. I was ready to tackle the 4x4 workout. I arrived and began warming up. Felt great. About half way through, I was on a crimp. No big deal. Until I tried to adjust my hand, slipped. It’s that classic moment of not letting go.

I rotated, still on the crimp. And heard a quick pop, pop, pop from my wrist.

Fuck! Seriously?!? I just felt good about my right hand… now my left might be messed up? I did finish the route. It didn’t hurt. So I thought, maybe it was nothing.

A few minutes later… I couldn’t put any pressure on it. I could make a fist. Couldn’t squeeze. I iced it for 20 minutes. Lost feeling. Explained the concept of icing to a couple climbers. They were all cool about the wrist and shared stories about injuries. It was fun hanging out with the guys throttling the hardest routes in the gym.. it’s the group I figured I’d be climbing with by now. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. So, it’s back to resting.

I’ll see a doctor. I’ll let you know how it goes. Prediction for day 3: Moping… or maybe I’ll do some photography. There’s a few of those climbers that would be fun to shoot.

Day 3: Moping.

No, not really. And this is a bit late. So I’ll recap. Friday was the nicest day we’ve had so far in 2012. And I spent it in urgent care waiting to see a doctor.

I’m not entirely sure why I felt this was necessary. The doctor’s are too rushed to care, and honestly, I give better prognoses than they do (cocky much? Well… not when it’s true.)

So, I felt it was a strained/hyperextension of two tendons. 2 hours in a waiting room and then 40 minutes in a check up room… the doctor finally arrives and sees me for about 3 minutes. Max. “Ice and Tylenol.” That’s it? I know that. I paid money and close to 3 hours of a beautiful day to hear what I was already doing? So glad you spent ten years of your life in medical school.

Now, the pain has already diminished considerably. I have full range of motion. Mostly it’s an acute soreness. I’ve been wearing a brace, not because it really immobilizes it. But it reminds me not to use it.

Workouts: Week 1

Day 1: My First Pyramid of 2012

My hand is feeling good. My strength is coming back good and plenty. Still not where I’d like it. But there’s a lot of work still to go.

My goal was to warm up on some traverses, low level top outs. Stretching. The workout was 4xV2’s, 3xV3’s, 2xV4’s, 1xV5, 2xV4’s, 3xV3’s, 4xV2’s.

Warm ups were good. No issues. The place was crowded, which slowed everything down. I needed that. Not speeding through it made the work go better.

The rests were approximately the length of time it took to complete the previous route. Except when I change difficulty where I would take 5 minutes.

4xV2’s was super easy. The 3xV3’s were also perfectly fine and I had no issues. When I hit the 2xV4’s I began to struggle. I still finished but noticed my core weakening… maybe all the core work with my athletes caught up with me.

The V5 is where I hit the wall (I’ve really got to think of a new saying.). I picked a really pretty and slopey V5. I started it. The overhanging problem really was a horrible idea. I recently tweaked my hamstring (can’t catch a break) and two heel hooks later, I was in some serious pain.

I moved on to two more v5’s. I worked them but couldn’t seem to get it. I moved down to the second set of V4’s. Pretty certain I didn’t finish them. 3 attempts each.

Moved to the 3xV3’s. found some really fun ones. But my right hand was toast. My lack of callusing and still healing hand left me raw… and a bit swollen.

I couldn’t finish. Now would have been a good time to stop because I was sore and hurting. Nope, I stopped because I couldn’t continue. Haha ok. That’s it. Have a good night.

Day 2: Getting back on the Horse.

Attempting a 4x4 workout. My goal was one set of V2,V3,V4,V2. Rest between reps was meant to be the time it would take to re-chalk and start. After the 4 problems, 7 minute rest.

I picked a section with the routes right next to each other. But the place was busy and even if an area was empty when I started, it quickly filled. This made keeping time difficult.

I switched to longer routes of the same grades. Repeat that 4 times. That was the plan.

Set #3, I bumped up V2,V3,V4,V3. Huge Jump, Right? The V4’s were super crimpy. Still Struggling there.

The Last set was V2, V3… I fell from a few moves in and laid on my back, toast. My endurance is completely shot. I don’t mind the raw hands or the swollen fingers… But feeling like I just ran repeat 400 meter Dashes sucks (Thankfully, no butt lock.).

Until Friday!

Day 3: What I meant to do Friday…

Day 3 was supposed to happen yesterday. But it’s been a pretty rough week across the board for the Carr family, so that took priority.

I moved Friday’s workout to Saturday. Then the workout became a climb session. I took my friend Bryan climbing. He’s been a few times, But is still very new.

I focused on trying to help him think more about his feet, as opposed to the number on the routes. He still managed to pick beautifully technical V2’s that just murdered him. Kudo’s to him for not getting frustrated and sticking it out.

I just found fun, moderate climbs around Bryan, working on technique and making the sends smooth. I want to give some praise to the route setters at The Circuit. The difficulty seems to have increased for the grades. All still very manageable, but you’ll feel a bit more accomplished pulling down a newer, harder problem.

I finished my night on a V6. All Slopers and super slick feet. I liked it. I didn’t feel held back by my hand… ok, not true… starting the problem took a minute or so to figure out. But I felt good. Great even. Just not enough endurance to work through the whole problem yet.

But it makes me feel like my technique is still there, and if I keep training and healing smart… I’ll be back and better than ever in no time.

Goodnight,

James