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
