Positive Person, Negative Environment.

How many posts with a weather theme? Jesus. I feel weirdly positive about my climbing right now. Given the lack of climbing I'm doing, both outside and on the board, I feel like I'm actually going reasonably well. On with the "thingz wot I hav dun" bit...

Last Thursday Lank and Pasty came round for an evening session on the board. A quick brew on arrival and then on to the board. It was another pretty good session which left me with a problem to come back to. Both Lank and Pasty seemed to have improved their footwork, although there was still evidence of some shocking foot-pops, tut-tut. Pasty definitely seems to be adjusting to the steepness well and was looking pretty strong, I think he might have a Winter of CRUSH if things carry on in this vein. Lank spent the evening trying to devise problems that revolved around doing a massive reach beyond mine and Pasty's span, so no change there then. Amongst his lank based machinations he managed to pull down in a convincing fashion. It's good having guests come to the wall as:
1) It gets me out there climbing on it.
2) I end up trying new and different style problems and linking holds in ways I hadn't considered.
3) Group sessions last longer and are more evenly paced.
This is all good stuff but I also need to get the keenie-beanie-ness to head out there seulment and put the effort in. Beasts aren't born they're built. Or something equally cheesey, right?

Saturday I popped up to Kebs with the family, the weather was grim. I didn't climb but I collected a Clip Stick that I've purchased off Nemo The Grumpy Teenage Fish (who incidentally appears to be going quite well right now, if he starts wearing trousers that fit him he might be not bad at climbing).

Sunday I had planned for a regular education session in the presence of the grand master Sex Pest at Chapel Head. The weather had different plans (i'll say no more about the weather) so I headed to Rubicon to meet up with Lank, Rick and Lagers. Now lets just get this clear from the off, I don't like Rubicon. It's all very nice next to the water leafy pretty blah blah but I find the climbing (bouldering) unpleasant and silly. The problems all seem to either be jump starts (which are just silly) or the crux is pulling off the ground (which is silly) or dirty hard sit starts (which aren't silly, well they are but in a different impressive way). Anyway I had a pleasant time despite the climbing. I think me and Lagers both agreed that the way to be amazing at climbing is to come to the crag with a ready supply of pastries and coffee. Sadly I didn't. ANyway afterwards I went for a cake and brew with Lank at Outside and made the extravagant purchase of some liquid chalk. Clip-stick, liquid chalk, just paint me in lycra and call me sport boy. I'm hoping the magic of liquid chalk (coupled with the granting of my wish for more PE and stamina) will change my current sporting vogue for failure into a lengthy line of ticks. Cake slices in Longlands are massive by the way.
Monday evening I went on the board with Mrs Keeg. She is also in training for Font-Oktoberfest and is looking like she's got the bit between her teeth. She's actually pretty handy at climbing in an annoyingly natural way but at times lacks focus and SYKE. Good to see her pulling down and going for (and hitting) moves which most times she'd not even attempt. I had a dabble of my circuit, it's about 16 moves and steep. My strategy is to go round as many time as I can without a rest, then take as long a rest as feels enough then go again (and theoretically repeat this process but I tend to get bored after attempt number 2 and move on to one or two move power problems...). Anyway when I first devised the circuit I could just do one lap and noow I'm up to two and a half laps. I think three laps is just round the corner and I think if I can do four laps then I will have the cling-on-ability to do my LTG sports project (which will then be replaced with a new harder project in the endless cycle of climbing...). I then went on to power problems (I am aware that mixing training like this is not considered optimum training but it's more fun and I'm all about the fun). I surprised myself by doing at the first attempt a problem that was devised at the previous group session on the board, I then worked a longer term project. It has a very hard first move then a hard few moves to the top. The top moves I have linked (albeit unreliably) but the first move is way off. Anyway today I did the top moves a few times in a row and they felt steady and for the first time ever I got my fingers into the pocket that you slap for the first move and for the merest sliver of a second I held it. I dunno where this apparent improvement has come from (god knows I've done nothing to deserve it) but I 'aint complainin'. It has however motivated me, the sport season is coming to an end and it has been thus for less than successful, and I have a Font trip coming at the end of October. I think the time has come to take this motivation and turn it into CRUSH.

September is drawing to a close, hopefully if the fates and the stars align October could be a month where things happen. And it's about bloody time...