Yep, my mum's arriving tomorrow morning from Chicago to see her favourite (and only) daughter. I'm really excited to see her especially since I've been able to take a few days off work to spend time with her.
Of course, this also means that i've had to pack a lot in over the past two days. Today, for example, I got up early to walk Solly then went to work for 9 am. I was getting lots done so kept at it til about 9pm but because I know that I won't get a chance to train for the next two days (and shopping and visiting stuff isn't really training even if the bags are really heavy) I thought I should finish off the day on the campus board.
I'm still struggling to get 1-3-5 fluidly but I reckon if I keep at it a few times a week I'll get there eventually.
So since the Plywood Masters on Saturday the week has flown past. I went for a quick jog on Sunday but that only resulted in 2 inch blisters on both arches of my feet due to my new orthotics. Damn. Monday I tried the new problems in The Pen. Did all the problems up to 6b and found all the 6bs really really hard. Tuesday I went to the BMC open meeting which was at the Houses of Parliament (well nearby). It was a good meeting and really nice to meet everyone there. We all bemoaned the low attendance to the London and Southeast meetings. Despite having 40% of the BMC membership it's rare to get more than a dozen people turn up to a meeting. I reckon that it's because we don't really have any local issues to get fired up about. We all climb at different crags and have such a broad range of interests that we don't really have a common identity. My solution? A flag that we can pitch up that says- I'm from London and I don't need your pity!
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Plywood Masters
A bit of an epic to get here. Tim, my chauffeur while I'm sans license, was stuck at work and we didn't leave London til 10pm. I was nearly out the door with the car keys going to drive- slowly and carefully- just to get up to Blackburn for this comp.
Anyway, it was really nice to climb with everyone here during the qualifiers. Most other comps qualis can be totally stressful but this one is different. There's no waiting around to get on a problem. Everyone looks after each other. The only downside is the ridiculous amount of chalk in the air in the main room. Anyway, I had a good run in the qualis and did all 15 blocs for a score of 147. Six women got into the finals- me, Rae, Diane, Leah, Zoe and Rachel. I had a storming session and climbed all 5 blocs in just 6 go's and won. Leah got second and Diane got third.
Had a really good time- wish I had climbed like this during the World Cup season this year. Well, there's always next year and I can look at this as a good prep for next season.
Gonna watch the boys now... Gaz Parry, Ryan Pasquill, Dan Bradley, Tom Sugden, Jordan Buys, Adam , Roddy Mackenzie and Gav Symonds.
Anyway, it was really nice to climb with everyone here during the qualifiers. Most other comps qualis can be totally stressful but this one is different. There's no waiting around to get on a problem. Everyone looks after each other. The only downside is the ridiculous amount of chalk in the air in the main room. Anyway, I had a good run in the qualis and did all 15 blocs for a score of 147. Six women got into the finals- me, Rae, Diane, Leah, Zoe and Rachel. I had a storming session and climbed all 5 blocs in just 6 go's and won. Leah got second and Diane got third.
Had a really good time- wish I had climbed like this during the World Cup season this year. Well, there's always next year and I can look at this as a good prep for next season.
Gonna watch the boys now... Gaz Parry, Ryan Pasquill, Dan Bradley, Tom Sugden, Jordan Buys, Adam , Roddy Mackenzie and Gav Symonds.
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Weekend in Sheffield
While most of British Team members live close to 'real rock', I'm based down in London and need to work hard to get outside. But, no matter how tired I am getting up at 6am for the drive up to the Peak it's always worth it. The weather was looking pretty dismal driving up the M1, but I was getting some positive signals from friends texting me from the Peak District. As if by magic, when we stepped out of the car at Robin Hood's Stride the sun came out and for an all to brief hour it was all t-shirts and smiles. I haven't been on the grit much lately and it was all too apparent that I was getting too used to pulling on plastic and had forgotten how to trust my feet. But it came back quickly and with Lucy Atkinson guiding me around some of the choice blocs I was climbing well again. We met Percy Bishton and Jacky Godoffe and had a go on Brutal Arete, an amazing 7b at Stanton Moor. I got halfway on my first attempt but never managed to get much past my high point though it wasn't for lack of trying. It's a beautiful line though and I can't wait to get back on it. We finished off our session with the most desperate (Font) 6a in the Peak- even Jacky bouldering god that he is- didn't make it look easy!
I was still super-keen to keep climbing so it was off to the Climbing Works for an evening session. Jacky and Taz had just re-set the lilac circuit and I managed half of it before closing time.
The next morning it was back to the Works to finish off the lilacs. Managed all but two of them and then had a play on the comp wall. By then my skin was shot and I was pretty tired so we watched the final of the Difficulty World Cup being broadcast live from Kranj before tackling the long and slow drive home. So it's back to another week of work and training before the Plywood Masters (next weekend) up at Boulder UK.
I was still super-keen to keep climbing so it was off to the Climbing Works for an evening session. Jacky and Taz had just re-set the lilac circuit and I managed half of it before closing time.
The next morning it was back to the Works to finish off the lilacs. Managed all but two of them and then had a play on the comp wall. By then my skin was shot and I was pretty tired so we watched the final of the Difficulty World Cup being broadcast live from Kranj before tackling the long and slow drive home. So it's back to another week of work and training before the Plywood Masters (next weekend) up at Boulder UK.
Friday, 16 November 2007
Stuck in London
Wanted to get up to the Climbing Works bouldering league opener but couldn't get a lift out of London tonight. Since I lost my license (too many speeding tickets) I've had to rely on other people for lifts. Just as well really as I've found that the hole in my finger has become infected and is swollen and painful. It might even need to get amputated...sniff...sniff.
But the good news is that the weather is looking good for tomorrow and I'm keen to get on the grit!
But the good news is that the weather is looking good for tomorrow and I'm keen to get on the grit!
3am blog
I've just finished editing the video from the team training camp last week. It's been fun but the hours have flown by and now it's 3am and I've got to be at work at 8.30 tomorrow morning. And I've got two councillors from the Mayor's office coming for a visit. And I'm going up to Sheffield with my mate Tim for the first round of the Climbing Works bouldering league tomorrow afternoon. Hmmm... thank goodness for Red Bull!
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Brno (Czech Republic) World Cup
A strong British team consisting of Gaz Parry, Dave Barrans, Mark Croxall, Roddy Mackenzie, Diane Merrick and me arrived at Brno on Thursday to climb in the last World Cup of the 2007 season.
Friday morning Diane and I were up early to support the boys. Dave crushed the qualifiers, easily getting through to the semi-finals in 4th place! Mark also qualified in 19th and the luck of the Parry came through with Gaz getting the last spot in the semis in 20th place. Roddy was so close finishing in 21st, literally only inches from getting through. All very exciting.
A bit of a rest in the hotel and then it was our turn to go into isolation. My goal for this competition was to qualify for the semis and I felt confident that I could do this. The first problem was a dyno and although I kept hitting the handhold I was unable to hang on though it wasn't for lack of trying. The second problem was much harder- only a few of the girls managed it. It involved a strong move of a horrible slopey hold with an awkward foot. Although I reached the bonus hold on my first go I wasn't able to get any further. Four more blocs to go and I knew that I could still do it. The third bloc looked like it was more my style and although I climbed it well I never managed to latch the penultimate hold well enough to top it out. As I sat back down my lower back started to seize up and I tried to stretch it out but it only got worse. The fourth bloc involved a big lock with a high left foot and I just couldn't get the body position to do it properly and had to keep trying to jump for the next handhold. At this stage my back was really hurting and I was no longer able to land properly or even reach down to chalk my hands up. At the end of my turn I spent most of the next six minutes of rest on my back trying to stretch it out. On the fifth problem I reached the bonus hold again but my back was getting worse. Knowing that I would be unable to climb the last problem I handed my scorecard in early and called for the doctor. Gutted. I haven't had to pull out of a climbing competition yet, but there didn't seem to be any point in trying the last problem.
Diane looked very strong in her first international competition, but didn't make it through either. This will hopefully have been a good experience for her and I think that she'll be back with a vengeance in 2008!
On Saturday my back improved and I watched the boys climb in the semis. Dave and Gaz finished 8th and 9th respectively. Both came agonisingly close to getting into the final, but didn't make the cut-off. Mark didn't have a good set and was probably disappointed with his 19th place finish.
When it was all over we could look forward to the infamous post-comp party. Unfortunately we couldn't get into the club that was supposedly booked with the Dutch and Austrian teams we moved on to another club to be joined later by the French, Russians and Ukranians. A good time was had by all until the early hours of the next day! I'm not sure if it was the alcohol or resting that day but my back was feeling loads better and I hit the dance floor. That cheered me up considerably because it means that I'll be able to start my 2008 training this week- yippee!
The next morning after a few hours sleep and a fortifying Czech breakfast we went into town with our local guide, Helena Lipenska and visited some dungeons and had a good snowball fight. I learned that the best way to nail someone with snow is to wait until they are underneath a tree branch full of snow and to lob a snowball into the tree. Works a treat. The snow kept falling and I was now worried that i wouldn't be able to get home tonight, but Brno knows how to deal with snow and our flight left with no delays.
I'll be putting some pictures and video from the comp on the site this week. For now I just want to unpack and go to bed!
Friday morning Diane and I were up early to support the boys. Dave crushed the qualifiers, easily getting through to the semi-finals in 4th place! Mark also qualified in 19th and the luck of the Parry came through with Gaz getting the last spot in the semis in 20th place. Roddy was so close finishing in 21st, literally only inches from getting through. All very exciting.
A bit of a rest in the hotel and then it was our turn to go into isolation. My goal for this competition was to qualify for the semis and I felt confident that I could do this. The first problem was a dyno and although I kept hitting the handhold I was unable to hang on though it wasn't for lack of trying. The second problem was much harder- only a few of the girls managed it. It involved a strong move of a horrible slopey hold with an awkward foot. Although I reached the bonus hold on my first go I wasn't able to get any further. Four more blocs to go and I knew that I could still do it. The third bloc looked like it was more my style and although I climbed it well I never managed to latch the penultimate hold well enough to top it out. As I sat back down my lower back started to seize up and I tried to stretch it out but it only got worse. The fourth bloc involved a big lock with a high left foot and I just couldn't get the body position to do it properly and had to keep trying to jump for the next handhold. At this stage my back was really hurting and I was no longer able to land properly or even reach down to chalk my hands up. At the end of my turn I spent most of the next six minutes of rest on my back trying to stretch it out. On the fifth problem I reached the bonus hold again but my back was getting worse. Knowing that I would be unable to climb the last problem I handed my scorecard in early and called for the doctor. Gutted. I haven't had to pull out of a climbing competition yet, but there didn't seem to be any point in trying the last problem.
Diane looked very strong in her first international competition, but didn't make it through either. This will hopefully have been a good experience for her and I think that she'll be back with a vengeance in 2008!
On Saturday my back improved and I watched the boys climb in the semis. Dave and Gaz finished 8th and 9th respectively. Both came agonisingly close to getting into the final, but didn't make the cut-off. Mark didn't have a good set and was probably disappointed with his 19th place finish.
When it was all over we could look forward to the infamous post-comp party. Unfortunately we couldn't get into the club that was supposedly booked with the Dutch and Austrian teams we moved on to another club to be joined later by the French, Russians and Ukranians. A good time was had by all until the early hours of the next day! I'm not sure if it was the alcohol or resting that day but my back was feeling loads better and I hit the dance floor. That cheered me up considerably because it means that I'll be able to start my 2008 training this week- yippee!
The next morning after a few hours sleep and a fortifying Czech breakfast we went into town with our local guide, Helena Lipenska and visited some dungeons and had a good snowball fight. I learned that the best way to nail someone with snow is to wait until they are underneath a tree branch full of snow and to lob a snowball into the tree. Works a treat. The snow kept falling and I was now worried that i wouldn't be able to get home tonight, but Brno knows how to deal with snow and our flight left with no delays.
I'll be putting some pictures and video from the comp on the site this week. For now I just want to unpack and go to bed!
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Off to Czech
Thursday morning- I'm meant to be heading off to the airport in half an hour but, well, here I am in front of the computer. Downloading those final podcasts that will keep me from getting too bored in isolation. Packing books and puzzles. Putting work stuff on a USB stick with the best intentions of getting lots done when I'm out there but knowing full well that I might not even fire up my laptop once. Can't believe that tomorrow morning at this time I'll be pulling hard. Went to sleep last night trying to imagine what the boards and blocs would be like and how I would feel on them. I'm fairly relaxed. I think that earlier in the year I had put more pressure on myself after having done well in 2006. Now I don't really have any pressure and just want to climb well and get into the semi-finals. Right, I really need to get back to packing to make sure that I don't forget anything!
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