It's Board Time.

Ok so the past twelve months of my climbing have been riddled with injuries. A year ago we were preparing to go to Switzerland and my aim was to climb a 7c, but a few weeks before the trip i suffered from an A2 strain. So i went on yet another trip not being 100% fit and ready. I've realised from reading up and speaking to a lot of experienced people that the only way to avoid injury is to train the finger specifically, i.e fingerboard, campus etc. Where the fingers are loaded and strained in a controlled manor, so when on a route or boulder problem the fingers are conditioned if a foot should pop then the they are used to the stress. Each time i feel i have been getting back to health before starting to fingerboard i have always managed to go one session too many and get re-injured.
Last week seen me have my first session on the woody in well over a year. It was a mixed session as i didn't seem to have lost much strength, but i have trained around my injuries with running, core and weights so i feel my overall health and fitness is at the best it's ever been. The next day however my body could definitely tell i had hit it hard, so an easy route session was done to flush out the build up of toxins. After the double session i felt it was time to hit the fingerboard with a light session on the Thursday, this went well but i had a little ache in my middle finger where i felt a strain a few weeks back, the next day it was back to normal and it felt ok. With four days rest tomorrow is route session of mostly stamina training, followed by a board session either Thursday evening or Friday depending how i feel.

I have found it hard to fit running into my schedule as i have been working a lot lately, so i was keen to buy a road bike and start cycling to work. I cycled a few times last year but found it hard to get motivated, with the nice weather i managed to find myself a bargain Scott on Ebay and bought it!! Yes it was a bit of an impulse buy but hopefully i'll save a few pennies on fuel and shift the last few pounds i need to.

After a slight set back on the MIA front, this year is going to be a year of climbing multi discipline and getting down to the 7c front of bouldering. Getting the psyche back to go out and work a 7b in a session and get 7c's pretty quickly. So training will be getting hit hard soon.
Hopefully going to either try and get a deal on some Beastmaker holds or make some similar ones for the woody.

One step closer!

So i kept Saturday free as i was going to a sports mans dinner on the Friday evening so thought i would end up getting drunk and Saturday would be a right off.

Wrong! I was disciplined only had a few pints and listened to the amazing speech off Dennis Taylor, who is, as i always thought a true athlete.

The plan was to head up to Trowbarrow, South Lakes, as of all the venues the shelter stone was the most likely to be dry. Driving up and the weather wasn't looking great, freezing fog pretty much all the way up there. But when we got there like magic the fog had gone but the ground was still frozen.

Conditions were pretty good and after warming up on the Red wall and getting shut down by Nicks Wall (6c) we headed over to the Shelter Stone. I was psyched to get Funk Phenomena done as i had a session on it in the summer and came pretty close and now i am feeling much stronger. But that changed when the top out was dripping wet.

Next on the list Pit Problem; i gave it a good go just from the stand start that still gets 7b+ but just couldn't latch that edge. Tried Vitruvian Man at the end of the day, but the weather was so cold that you couldn't rest properly and i just had to try, fall off, try again, fall off, try again..... until i was beaten into submission!

Leaving with no new ticks i felt disheartened so was psyched to get back for another session there as soon as possible.

Which luckily for me turned out to be Monday, we drove back up this time conditions were looking even more perfect, and we were joined by a new face Ged Mc from The Climbing Hangar. Always good to get out with new people they bring a fresh sense of enthusiasm to the venue.

Warms up on the Red Wall again, this time managed to do Nicks Wall (6c) longest siege of a 6c I've ever had, and its not even a hard one!!

Felt good, moved around onto the Shelter Stone and we were actually climbing in t-shirts, the sun was out it was a glorious day.

After a few tries i managed to the latch the edge and my heel-toe stuck! That was it, i knew i was going to do the problem as soon as it stuck, so the left heel goes on and i locked out to the lip, matched the lip, got my feet around and rocked out!

I was so happy, second 7b+ and it didn't even take that long.

Got a good feeling that this year is going to be the year i climb 7c!!

Will try and get some photos up soon but having trouble with the car reader ive got.