So at the beginning of the year I had set myself three goals; Short term to get my body injury free and in some shape to climb sustainably, Medium term to climb my Tosheroon project, and Long Term to climb my Marchlyn project.
Well... Getting injury free is going pretty well apart from myself spannering my ankle, as I'm identifying the root problems of my back and core issues (Weak Buttocks). Head knowledge wise this tick is almost in the bag, implementation may take longer.
Tosheroon has Identified itself as more of a Long term goal (it requires fitness), and the Marchlyn project may be easier (or harder) than I thought.
Last night I bit the bullet and decided to put my foot through some highly scientific testing. I walked up to the dam (no scooter as was too windy / silly with my ankle) and jolly well went bouldering.
Must have been a good telly night as the tide was well out (Hydroelectric scheme)
The boulder on the right is Livesey's Love Child, so called as I was reminded of some hideous slopey top out that Bransby was photoed on. The FA was done without a mat, and there was an awkward moment when my trousers velcroed to the lip. a couple of pads and a spotter would make it more nonchalant.
The lower 2 boulders are exposed in this piccy. I've not played on them yet as they either have weird landings or are under water most of the time.
It was great to be up here again, although it certainly exposed my fitness (especially the walk in). Erodeo felt especially hard for F6Aish and I ended up donning my solutions in an effort to climb with less thrashing (the muira heels weren't cutting it). This was another breakthrough as I couldn't wear tight shoes previously. Sufficiently warmed up I spent some time dissecting the moves from my designated project start into Tumbleweed. Its great to work things went you're really weak as its much less likely for you to get distracted with interesting technicality as you cant do it. Pulling, lunging and thrashing I eradicated the impossible and extracted the easiest path between the two. Basically 4 big thuggish moves into the erodeo starting holds. The most technical it got was a toe hook ( another victory as it was my left foot). So get back to fitness and there it goes.
It was a bit dark when I finished, and getting off of Elidir on to the tarmac was a little sketchy, especially when the wind gusted.
So goals wise; What I didn't factor in was my family life. The addition of one extra shouldn'y be a biggy as there's three already, but I'd forgotten the extra issues of babies, and how a few sleepless nights could impact on the rest of the family dynamic, as well as the extra restriction of my time.
Fitness will have to weight, but posture correction, and strength gains can be slotted in, turning the order of my goals topsy turvy. I'm still confident to tick one or two out of the three by new year.
Watch this space.
