Trying hard!

I’ve discovered some interesting things about my ability to pull hard recently. It all started on the new 45 degree board at the works, it’s all hard! I mean hard! There are rules on foot placements that mean you can set hands how you like then use any number of foot holds that are marked with an X or a triangle. Easy right? Unfortunately almost all the holds are atrocious (particularly at 45 degrees) and the foot holds are a whole new level of useless. So you’re basically in for a cut loose nightmare on pants holds. A good way to get strong, feel rubbish or get an injury.

Anyway, picture the scene; it’s a groggy eve, it’s dark, I’m feeling relatively strong and mighty psyched for the night ahead on the new board, add in to this mix a rather capable and equally psyched Miss Crane and I should be on for a punishing and valuable session! After just about getting to the top a number of times we started to set some problems which I couldn’t do. Bummer.

1st attempt, can’t touch it. 2nd attempt, can’t touch it. 3rd attempt...
I have a little strop and Leah puts me straight saying “try harder”?!? The cheek! “I’m trying” I say, “well try harder” she says. Slightly put out I sit down at the bottom of the board and f$%king try. I get half way through the problem!

Hmm... Have I unlocked something here?

Since then Leah’s been there regularly telling me to man up and try harder and it seems that I must have let myself slide into some kind of half arsedness where my idea of full power was way off reality. I keep making moves that I don’t think I should be able to do and I feel like I’m digging into new reserves all the time that my subconscious has been holding back from me.
The moral? Man up and try harder. On top of the immediate gains that this brings i.e. I climb harder in the long term this extra effort will equate to much more effective training. Just need to make sure I remember to call on it when I need it and not forget it’s there!

Wish me luck for C.W.I.F

P.S. I came 8th in the Bristol comp. Not too bad, should have done better.

Bristol comp etc

This weekend I went to sunny Bristol for yet another comp! The new wall down there is very nice indeed and is well worth a visit if you are southside at any time. They do some alright food and it’s all in a very attractive (swanky even) setup. The wall itself has just about every angle imaginable and the main attraction “The Mothership” is a face that any bouldering centre would be proud of.

The comp was fairly well thought out if slightly unorthodox. There were two sittings for the “heats” where 3 hours were allocated to attempt 30 problems of varying difficulty, all self scored. Once the results were in, the top three from the senior men and senior women had a final problem at 5:30pm. This was the odd bit really, there was only one problem that you only got one go on and the men and women both attempted the same one. On top of this weirdness, the problem that was set was essentially a route, which for a problem in a bouldering competition seems a bit strange.

Anyway, regardless of these anomalies fun was had by all and the staff, smoothness of running and the prize fund of £200 for each senior category was all top notch. Leah Crane won the women’s comp by some margin and James Gardener romped the men’s by flashing all of the 30 problems! Not bad for a 17 year old (although he does look about 25!).

How did I do? Hmm... Not sure yet, I’m still waiting for the results to go up on the website but I reckon somewhere in the top ten maybe just outside with a score of 283 (James scored 330).
Now it’s back to the grind stone in order to get some sort of stamina before I go on holiday. I’ve decided to have a look at some 8a’s while I’m away to get some experience of the level of filth involved but also in case I find one made for me and stand a good chance of doing it. If not then it’s Freemonster at Water-Cum-Jolly which I need to have a good look at soon if I’m to have any vague hope of doing it in the next 3 months.

This coming weekend is C.W.I.F (Climbing Works International Festival) which should be a good laugh and will make for some seriously entertaining wad watching. Sharma might even be there but there’ll be a whole host of other monsters to try and learn something from and be inspired by as well. I’ll be “competing” but let’s face it with people like that coming it’s not going to be my most successful day of climbing.

Over and out!

Double whammy, quick succession blogging!

‘ello again! So I’ve been training hard again and it feels so good to back on it. Got a slight issue with my ring finger on my left hand but I’m hoping it’ll pan out ok. More excitingly I’ve got another trip booked to go to Spain for a spot of sport climbing in Sella next month! Psyched!

As a result my stamina-less bouldering arms are being subjected to some serious punishment. Circuits at the works are the order of the day on the training board near the door. No campusing and no 45 degree board, just lap after lap. Tonight I finally got the 7b, the general consensus is that it’s actually around 7c (hope so) next to try and work out is the 7c spotty but it feels like it might not be too good for my dodgy finger. My aim is to get at least a 7b whilst on holiday maybe harder but I’m trying to keep things realistic so it’s attainable and I’m not disappointed!

I have just realised however that I’ve only got 2 full months and one month of attempts to bag an 8a before my year is up! Hectic! Panic! Argghhh! I really don’t want to fail on this as it has been playing on my mind all year and I’ve only just had a decent length time of actually trying to get fit enough for it. Hopefully my holiday and some more intense training will make it possible, it’s time to choose my victim so I can study it and then start getting on it as soon as the conditions permit!

Finally it’s comp on Saturday at Bristol (of all places) which should be a bit of laugh I just can’t get enough of the competitions; I love ‘em.

Wish me luck and I’ll report back when I’m done.

I am rubbish at regular blogging!

Okay so haven’t managed to do it once a week yet but here I am anyway. Top news! Last week I was down in London doing an AV install from Monday to Friday which was not good for training due to long days and tons of snow!

On Friday however the castle was having its monthly “King of the Mezz” competition so I decided to go down there and have a crack at the locals. After a tiring week and a hectic day of shopping in Camden I was hardly on top form and felt like I was climbing like a weak dumb ass. When it came to presentations I was definitely not expecting them to read out my name in SECOND PLACE! Best comp result so far, mighty psyched, very happy with myself and back on the training now I’m back in Sheffield (sort of).

Today is my first effort at a round of the leading ladder which is a BMC league affair with different catergories for varying abilities. I’ve put myself in the recreational category which is for onsight limit of 7a/7b

Well hello there!

Welcome to my spangly new blog! You may not be interested in what I have to say about myself and all that I encounter, in which case stop reading and go and stare at Facebook! If you are, then welcome. Signup as a "follower" and I'll look forward to reading all your comments/abuse in the coming weeks and months.

The point of this wee bloggeroo is mainly to chart my climbing progress over the foreseeable future, to give me somewhere to rant and gather my thoughts and if I die doing some E9 death route someone can publish it as my memoirs.

If you had been reading my Road to 8a blog then the saga continues! I got back from a climbing holiday in Spain in January and since I got back I have had the fire well and truly re-lit. To say I’m psyched would be a bit of an understatement and I’m now training at a level that I didn’t really know I could so in theory there’s still hope.

This is post numero uno but the plan is to try and get something up each week and more if something awesome happens. Next entry will be a little catch up on the Spain trip to Albarracin which was the nuts!

Pete (if you’re reading) congratulations (you know what for)!