Week 3

Sorry about the delay, it is now close to the end of week 4 in my training program, yet only now am I entering what came down in week 3!

Training continued as usual, with the highlight of my gym training being holding on to the small crimp for 9 seconds, with consistent 6-7 second hangs, and also the fact that I managed to pull off one of those dreaded moves that we consider "impossible for me" (and these moves differ from person to person obviously), on a V5 boulder in my gym. Without going into much detail (hopefully I'll post a video later with the send) I was trying repeatedly to do it in a different way to most people, but my way wasn't getting anywhere either... It was getting to the point where my mind was convinced that I would not be able to do the problem in the near future, no matter how hard I tried. Then, something changed in my mind. I decided to try this problem the way most people do it, but this time, I would have to try my absolute hardest, and very importantly, with great enthusiasm. I personally find enthusiasm to be really essential in any pursuit in life that we really care about. This may sound a little obvious to many, but I often see people that, even though they care about what they're doing, repress the feeling. Perhaps these people were educated to control or repress certain feelings, such as anger and frustration, which is OK to a certain point I think. But is it OK to extend this repression to other feelings, such as enthusiasm or joy? For me, it's not. I find that in this particular case, enthusiasm brings me back to the moment, to the fact that I enjoy climbing and its movement, and not only does that give me an extra bit of explosivity (essential especially in bouldering), but also gives me a sense of trepidation, a good sort of eager giddiness, like the one that one feels when/just before achieving something they didn't think was possible or was unlikely. It was this enthusiasm that made me forget that this move was "not my style". It made me forget all those failed attempts and the predisposition of not getting the move. Ultimately, it allowed me to latch the hold and take it all the way to the top (starting at that move, not at the beginning, though!). I felt very very psyched about this little accomplishment, not because it is meaningful to do a boulder problem in some gym, but because it reminded me that not only do unlikely events become possible in one's life if one tries, but also we get to enjoy life more by being enthusiastic even if we don't achieve our goals (provided the path to this goal is what's the source of the enthusiasm, not the goal itself). So that was good. It felt great! I came out of the last gym session in week 3 feeling like I would send that problem the next session, but unlucky for me, this construction started in my gym of this new lead climbing area which lead to me not being able to access the problem in all of week 4...

Check it out! I got a fan! Sort of...

The weekend was, as usual, quite fun. Socially at least! Barry, one of my first climbing friends re-incorporated himself to the outdoor climbing scene once more, after a 3-month absence due to renovations that he and his girlfriend Lauren did for a house he owns. Due to his long time in climbing, experience kicked in and he wasn't in bad shape considering the long absence, onsighting 16, 18, 18, 18, and a 19, including the 18 and 19 at Owl Pillar. Jin kept on trying that dreaded 19 at Owl Pillar. Our friend Steph caught up with us with some random friend of hers and she climbed for a little bit too, as she lead the 18 at Owl Pillar, which is unusual for her. Once more, after spending time in Andromeda Wall at Mt. Ngungun doing a couple of climbs I hadn't done before (some 16 and an 18) we headed to the project where I had one not-great burn at Idaho Sunshine. My headspace is not good. I didn't commit enough. I didn't move with confidence. I didn't reach a highpoint at all. I need to relax, enjoy, and breathe easy. Need to let go of expectations and let the enthusiasm take over.

Here's another (pretty sh*t) video of my training and attempt at Idaho Sunshine (keep it private guys!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCFYpIhe71k

See you next time!