Still Raining

Still pouring - Still Running in it - Still need to finish that bloody assignment!

But on the plus side i have now booked flights to Ireland and a lift to Fairhead allowing me 3 days climbing with 'The Power' and a chance to finally look at 'the Complete Scream' amongst others - unfinished business

A very imminent short term target... it this doesn't keep me keen for the two weeks before i go nothing will!

Neal - I'm preparing my game face - i AM a tiger and the rocks' a bunny rabbit - Tigers EAT bunny Rabbits!

The psyche is on!

The question is…

It’s Tuesday now, I’ve just spent far too long Blogging and I’ve a 3000 word piece on “the pedagogical value of questioning” due in on Thursday

Yes, It’s still raining (which is actually a good thing because I don’t want to go cragging as much – but I still do of course)

Goals

A wise HAP (you know who you are) recently typed something about the act of writing down your goals representing letting the universe know what you aim to achieve. I liked this take on things. It comfortingly reinforces the idea that what goes on in our heads is still private, our own, untouchable, measurable, infallible – even beyond the comprehension of the universe. By committing these mental cognitions to motion through, typing, writing, speaking – these thoughts are then made part of the universe, recordable, known. Theres something about all this that I like…

Anyway – goals are good – I like these

So heres a few of my own – revamped, and part of the universe for the first time

- climb 7c at Dinbren
- Try an E8 this year
- Run a sub 2min 800m this summer
- Run a 16min splash 5km this summer
- Try an 8a seriously
- Take more pictures
- Phone a friend

Cabin Fever

Friday evening the rain came again (had it ever left?). Aside from getting out on Saturday for a running session (a real teeth-rattler by the way!) and on Sunday for a good drenching on the hills (12 miles never felt so far before! Horizontal rain and sleet – 10 yards visibility – shorts, Inov8’s and a Nike jacket!) we didn’t leave the house as a result of the rain and some fast approaching deadlines for both Caroline’s and my own, Uni course. I think Friday’s taste of the Limestone added to my frustration coz I was going berserk! The training board got a good hammering and I messed around with the camera a bit but other than that we just read, highlighted and typed.

A few positive things did come out of it though – it was the last straw – I decided I’m not working the summer, I’m going to take a loan out and climb, run, train and sleep for 2 months uninterrupted (hitting as many UK, European and Irish Crags and races along the was as possible) – also I got some good training in both on and off the wall.

Oh, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean – nuf said

When Friday comes…

A few weeks ago I posted about having tried the 3 7c sports routes at Dinbren – Well Friday I managed to get back on one. The prolonged absence from sports climbing didn’t seem to have too bad an effect on my climbing but the few weeks since trying the route did result in me totally messing up the crux foot sequence to the high undercut! Doh! Yep, despite bleary-eye syndrome (tiredness or hay fever? Although I’ve never had hay fever) I made progress on my first redpoint attempt. Made it to the crux fairly easily and then just forgot the foot sequence, decided on one that seemed vaguely familiar, committed to it, growled a bit…. And fell off! Getting back on it I made it to the chains fairly quickly – hopefully I’ll get back on it soon enough to remember the moves. Like many of the UK sports lines, it’s compact, devoid of any holds and complicated beyond whats really necessary – again, having played on it for the second time I am now sure that there are at least 3 or 4 moves on that route that are Waayyy harder than any of the cruxes on any of the 7c+’s I tried last year in France or Spain. Like my current mantra goes – “ these routes don’t suit me, if I can climb these\ routes at Dinbren I can climb hard anywhere!”Aside from that it was a regular Dinbren evening – Caroline didn’t climb – just growled at her 7a project as she walked under it – she was having an easy evening after a hard week of her own. I did a couple of warm ups and cool down routes and we hit the road again.