UKC

UKC Fit Club is not a substitute for the training diary but to use with (or without) it as a motivational tool for all.

For those wanting to find out more about training for climbing a number of physical training articles here:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=274502

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity, noting goals, successes and failures and to swap ideas.

Anyone interested in starting is very welcome but you should aim to post each week, every week, however little or much you have done. By making such a regular public record of your activities and by restating your goals every week this new habit will hopefully improve your training habits to help achieve your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week's (339) thread:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=563156

The week just gone, in summary

AJ ("Lord of Leisure") M - on a rising psyche curve, storms to a first UK 7a+ flash and a Steppenwolf tick. Will the weather hold for Dreadnought?
maria85 - ticked the Mary Towneley loop, now on to the Rab MM. Hope your wrists have stopped shaking.
Eagle River - coughed athletically and did his back in. Sympathies! A colleague of mine broke her rib through coughing - hope you don't!
Si dH - sat in the gym while it rained. Has Ruth woken up yet? 7b+/7c+ routes are twinkling in his eye.
Nick Russell - readies for a quite possibly wet Lundy, swims a staggering 10.6 km and talks knowledgeably to AJM about Avon.
mbh - finally bought some new trainers and gets one closer to a running Eddington number of 15.
IainRUK - have you seen a physio yet? Hope the outlook is good.
Ali - found a sunnier spot than Si dH for her typing, at what seems to have been Fitclub HQ for the week. Super efforts bag first 6c+ and 7a onsights.
mattrm - went bouldering on Harris - sounds like a good find - and walked to the Old Man of Hoy.
Exile - Has a busy, varied week, and is set to explore judo weights. Why is cycling better for building strength than running, do you think?
needkraken - keep at it! Hope Sankey's advice on how to keep going in solo sessions helps.
Kevster - 18 E points in a great week at Lundy.
JimmyKay - mixes it up with the running. Did you decide on a watch?
Thickhead - good miles and pace
annak - Happy Birthday! Have a virtual cake, if cake is allowed on Fit Club (I decree that it is). What time are you hoping to get in the HM?
stevemarkperry - finds positives in the session that didn't go well, and has two good sessions on top.
pork pie girl - tells it like it is in a typically punishing week. More hard work, some thoughts on BB and a training board about to be built. Did the BB plan work out?
Ally Smith - hang on, I'm confused....anyway, well done on Hades.
Sankey - well done on Sideshow. Great effort. Which route are you and AJM talking about?
Luke Owens - has fallen in love - with LPT. Good try on Face Race - so close! Hope the endurance training helps.
Garrouli - got rained off and was sentenced to 150 pull ups. Is now in Kalymnos (see?), learning Greek and with Dani Boy (8a) in his sights.
biscuit - Went straight for the 7a at Mijas and almost got the onsight. Sounds as though you gave it everything.
Leon - annoying, slippy shoe thing - temperature? humidity? grease?
useful- good outing to Penmaen Head.

In reply to mbh:

Thanks, looks like I'm first in this week...

M: Nothing, rest, meal out, Birthday, call it what you want but no exercise!
T: 3.5mile warm up 5k race 17:40 then 3.5mile cool down. Slow race, prob due to excesses of night before.
W: 16mile run up One Tree Hill, Mt St John and Mt Hobson. 7:40 pace
T: Nothing, too mentally tired.
F: 8mile run up Mt Eden slow 7:40
S: 8mile run up Mt Eden quicker 7:25
S: 4mile walk and 8mile run up Mt Roskill 7:20

Not a great week but got the miles in and only gave in on Thursday despite feeling exhausted every day after Wednesday.

In reply to mbh:
Cheers mbh! Just back from holiday last night, yes she has awoken Ive eaten and drunk v badly for the last week as usual when on holiday in b&bs, but only seem to have put on a couple of lbs so not too bad.
Ajm and Sankey were talking about sticky Wicket.

Goals for 2013:
Grit: 8 E2s, 4 E3s in 2013 (so far 6 E2s, 3 E3s) (excluding snowballing!)
Peak lime: 8-10 E3s in 2013 (so far 6 E3s)
Elsewhere: 8 E2s, 4 E3s in 2013 (so far 4 E2s, 2 E3s)

Sport: Complete base of 7c+ pyramid (needed 3 x 7b, 3 x 7b+, 1 x 7c): so far - Obscene Toilet 7c, Brachiation Dance 7b+, Indecent Exposure 7b+, Tin Of 7b Sticky Wicket 7b and Ground Effect 7b. Just one 7b+ to go.

M: Lazy day but had an evening hour or two at bonehill rocks in between showers. Managed to flash a bunch of stuff up to 6b, and one ft6c up a little rib, and got the low start to that rib, which gets ft6c+, second go. Tried The Wave (7a+) and a 7a but got a bit humbled by both. Probably would be good to go back to with a few more people for psyche, spotters and more mats!
T: rain all day, although we saw a really cool demonstration of an old forge. I sometimes think I was meant to be an engineer in the 19th century instead of the 21st...
W: went for 3-4 mile walk around buckland abbey, nothing else.
T: had an afternoon session at hound tor. Flashed lots of things to 6b again. Did aerobic wall E2 5c, which was good. Bit fluttery but the holds were all big. Then spent an hour or so each on Wish (6c) and Prowed (7a). Didn't get either of them which was disappointing. Wish felt desperate for its grade...think it must be quite conditions dependent, although I thought conditions were ok!
F: had a good 6-7 mile walk along the south coast.
S: just walking round exeter.
S: will probably do a fingerboard session later.

Overall, had a good holiday and climbing wise got a bit more in than expected. Found the granite hard whenever I had to pull hard on tiny quartz crimps mostly.

Ive got a 4 day weekend next week (s-t) and keen for trad altho currently short of a partner. ..

Si

In reply to mbh: Cheers mbh, and apologies for missing last week. First couple of weeks back at college and I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. I also had a bit of the sniffles so I lay off proper training for the week. Hopefully made up for it this week - high volume training but nothing outside

Mon - Hard MCC bouldering session. Ticked off a few of the V5-6 circuit that I had been struggling on last week, after a few more goes. Also managed some of the V4-5 circuit which were shutting me down earlier, and then got a V6-8 2nd go. The grading is messed up! But a good session, feeling stronger.
Tue - rest
Wed - Rockover bouldering. Really soft set for major ego-boostage. Warmed up then flashed 4 V6s on the comp wall, as well as a few of the V5-7 circuit. Also repeatedly fell off the last move of a V8 which was a little disappointing but hey ho. Feeling stronger again.
Thurs - rest
Fri - MCC bouldering, new set downstairs. Managed to do 6 of the V6-8 circuit, three of which were flashed, and a few of the V5-6 circuit flashed too. Finished off by doing laps on the new belay-machine wall without any foot holds i.e very pumpy, lots of smearing. Good session overall.
Sat - friends 18th, fun fun fun
Sun - feeling rough, no training today!

So this week was good in that I've noticed steady improvements in my bouldering strength, and hopefully I'm maintaining endurance levels by not allowing too much rest between attempts on problems.

Jake

In reply to mbh:

M - nothing
T - nothing, again, which put the pressure on for the rest of the week....
W - 12.1 mies run, coastpath to Gwithian beach and back.
T - 13.2 miles run, flat trail
F - 5 am: 8 miles run on trail by torchlight, then later 5.6 miles stroll along coast path to pub (this was work - no, really) , pm 5.5 miles run in woods and on coast path. Steps, etc.
S - 10 miles run trail/road, 1.8 km swimming
S - 13.4 miles run flat trail, then hilly road. Insides feel very sore and I feel wasted.

62.2 miles running, 1290 m ascent, not much fast running, 1.8 km swimming.

The 50 mpw average now stretches back 28 weeks, and the annual total is 2200 miles. My weight has dropped again, to 61 kg, down 16 kg from 18 months ago, giving me a BMI of 22.2. I haven't been at this weight for 16 years and don't want to go any lower.

I had entered for a 10 mile fell race today but didn't go in the end. I have had a stomach upset all week which has made most runs particularly undignified, so I opted for solitude. I am so glad I don't run in some city.

In reply to Joughton:

Hi Jake,

I guessed you had started back at college, and were away writing the longest ever* "What I did in my summer holidays" essay

* well, almost. Newton's 1666 essay would be hard to beat.

In reply to mbh:

Thanks mbh, no broken ribs thankfully.

Mon: indoor routes, getting back into the swing of indoor climbing (unfortunately), did a 7b+ I'd been on before and had some goes at a 7c.

Wed: indoor bouldering at boulderUK. Really good session, did loads of problems and kept going till my skin couldn't take holding on any longer. DOMS right across my back for 2 days afterwards.

Sun: Loja with biscuit. One hilariously sketchy warm up then 3 attempts up a mega 30m 7c. couple of tricky moves in the first half but it kicks in about half way up, knee bar rest at 2/3rds height then into the hard climbing and it has a proper sting in the tail right at the top too. Beasted now and have plenty of scratches on my knees from all the rubbish attempts at knee bars.

Will probably get 1 more session outdoors in Spain this week, back on the sunday then into usual routine of indoors evenings and outdoors weekends.

I don't think we should allow Ali to post this week, it sounds from her blog like she's had far too much fun in Kalymnos and will make us all horribly jealous.

In reply to Eagle River: No fair! It will have to wait until tomorrow though - totally zonked!

In reply to Ali: loads of stretching. physio agrees piriformis issue.

m: 10 miles steady
t: am: 6 miles steady. pm: 9 miles, with 4 x 200m efforts.. 3 x 1km efforts and 2 x 400's..
w: 10 miles steady
t: am: 6.5 miles steady. pm: 6 miles, 1 mile warm up 4 mile tmp at 5:47 pace.. 1 mile cool down
f: 10.5 miles 6:28 pace
s: 10 miles 6:58 pace
s: 7.2 mile steady

In reply to mbh:

Thanks mbh. Love how you've done the stats this week.

STG - Climb 6b (or v3) @ wall, 11st 7lbs
Aspirational - Climb E5/6 (London Wall), Scottish Winter V (Point 5, Zero, Minus etc), WI5, Redpoint 8a, stay injury free & maintain 11st.

Weight - 12st 5lbs

M - T - Eating too much
W - 5k run
T - Sea kayaking for the evening
F - S - Eating too much

Highlight of the week was the sea kayaking. Would love to do more of it, but they're scary expensive and I don't have enough time in my life. Got chased by big scary dogs on the run, that was less fun. Weight could have been a lot worse, so on the diet this week to get back down to 11st.

In reply to mbh:

Cheers. Like the new twist on the stats.

Monday - got tricked y weather forecast. failed to get out. Ended up doing a little bit of core and stuff to make up for it.
Tuesday - Huntsham. 5 goes on Low Blow. Got through the first half (Ames Low) three times, once to just after the rest (big handholds, but layback handholds with relatively poor feet, so not an amazing rest) and twice to being set up for the crux move. Means its in 2 overlapping halves now.
Wednesday - Avon. Did the classic main wall linkup, Krapps Last Tape (E3 5b) into Think Pink (2-pitch E3 6a). I led Krapps, which I was a bit nervy about because main wall weirdness is not really my thing and its notorious for being bold and insecure. Took ages to work out but got there in the end. After a bold start its runouts on intricate ground between well spaced clusters of good runners. Seconded the bolt protected crux of think pink which is quite tough, foot popped but I held it all together. Led the top pitch which was a short sharp sting in the tail - maybe E2-ish in its own right, don't know. Certainly felt stiff for 5c and then quite sustained all the way to the top.
Thursday - Huntsham. 5 goes again. This time I got through Ames Low every time, so that's good training in its own right. Got to the crux moves every time. Twice I missed the finger jug, twice I tickled it. Once I hit it and got my hands up next to it. The jugs are literally 6 inches away, but I'm in a very stretched position relying on a heel to pull me in, and it pinged out. Doesn't need much more and it will go. Going to try and get back there tomorrow, see if I can get that tiny bit extra to finish it.
Friday - Cheddar. Led the first pitch of Ahimsa (E2/3 5c?) to get to the main pitch of Dream Cruise (E3 5c - the first pitch is quite overgrown). Excellent route, surprisingly clean main pitch with excellent climbing which just got harder and steeper as I went up, culminating in a committing section near the top. Chuffed to get that it felt like hard work. Then we went and did a bit of roadside sport stuff - managed to retroflash (had done them all >3 years ago) 2 6cs, a 6c+ and a 7a, short techy things so was having to hang in and fight a bit to get them worked out first go.
Saturday - Berry Head. Condensed to f*ck. Got to the bottom of dreadnought, conditions were so bad we considered bailing without even climbing. Eventually manned up and did moonraker instead, fought my way up the first pitch in the gop and grease. Drier where dreadnought comes off, but psyche had taken a kicking by then andhe guide mentions a "usually greasy" section to contend with...Tried yardarm later but it was steep flatties which were greasy with dubious gear right above the belay, never the 5a the Rockfax guide suggests either! Gave up on that for an idea.
Sunday - Sharpnose. Mizzled almost the entire way there, sea mist hanging on the beach, still air, near 100% humidity, the walls had huge amounts of black and the wet from the tide just wasn't drying. Everything i wanted to try was too wet for me to want to get on it. Gutted. My mate dredged up some psyche so I ended up seconding the classic HVS and a pumpy e2.

Productive week, unproductive weekend.

Load of stuff pencilled in the first half of this week then my other half hands in the phd on Friday so I suspect the weekend will be a bit of a write off climbing wise.

In reply to AJM:
Sounds like you did more sensible than me. I ended up dogging a 3 star route due th conditions after a few falls. Hindsight is great!

In reply to mbh: Cheers mbh!

Started working out in my work lunch break. Requested to extend it to 45mins on 2 days.

M: Lunch time 3km run in 16 mins

T: Lunch time 4km run in 20 mins

W: Penmaen Head - Did 2 F6c's and tried on-sighting some crap 7a in the fading light.

T: Rest

F: Dinbren - First session on "Ice" (F7b) - First redpoint I fell off after latching the last hard move as I didn't catch the hold right really fought my way up! Subsequent redpoints were futile as I couldn't get past the nails first moves! Felt beasted after the first redpoint for some reason...

S: LPT - Went back to finish off "Face Race" (F7a+) - Did it first go placing the clips with no warm up, felt pretty easy (which was nice) but got some flash pump near the top! One of the best routes I've ever done! Also dogged up La Boheme (F7b) felt very tricky one to come back for!

S: Feet-on Fingerboarding - 7 x (2mins on 2mins rest) - Psyched with this result as this has improved massively over the last few months!

In reply to mbh: Thank you for the virtual birthday cake! Definitely allowed (it's only once a year!). Hoping to do the half-marathon in 2 hours, but it's going to be the furthest I've ever run so will settle for just getting round in something decent

This week was somewhat marred by my being ill at home wrapped in my duvet for a couple of days, but at least I got over it pretty quickly for it.

M: cycle 14 miles
Tu - Th: ill
F: ran 4.2mi / 35:30
S: climbing on the Culm coast - pretty wet, but we managed 3 VSs before we literally had to run away from the incoming tide
Su: led a VS and and HVS. Really enjoying the HVSs right now - and chuffed to be moving from leading soft-touch or particularly amenable ones, to just picking any old one and having a bash. Having finally taken my first couple of leader falls, I appear to be less terrified of falling off now too, which I think is really helping.

This week: make up for last week!

In reply to mbh:

Cycling better for strength than running because of the push motion I suspect. 'Judo weights' wasn't vastly different to other weights - I'm just going to use some of the exercises from Horst's book to try to balance up climbing muscles.

Anyway, this week.

Best efforts outdoors last year:
RP - 7a
HP - E5 6b
Boulder - V4
Onsigth E2/3,
Winter VI 6

Goals for this YEar:
Boulder V7 - tick
RP - 7a+ - tick
HP - E6 - not yet, may wait until the Autumn?

Autumn: Concentrate on local some sport, see if I can work up to 7b

Training:

M: 45min general weights
T: 1hr 30min traverses at the wall for sports endurance - working on the double blue
W: am - 25minutes hilly cycling, pm 1hr 10min hilly cycling. Found this hard but should come back the more I do
T: Rest
F: 30min continual traversing on 7a traverse at bridge - great finger work out
S: Nothing
S: am: Tried to boulder on the Calf, Ilkley first thing, but a comblination of damp, spray paint and dog shit meant I didn't do anything worth speaking of. (Think I'm becoming a climbing venue snob!) pm: two hours MTBing on Ilkley Moor - great ride on dusty trails.

Only two climbing session this week, and with a family event next weekend it may be similar for the coming week, so aim is to try to introduce two weights / conditioning sessions without it adversely effecting climbing sessons, and maintain climbing fitness.

In reply to mbh:

Not decided on a watch yet. Pay day is this week though so will have ordered it by next weekend, maybe... See the thing is, Now that I know the new range is coming out and is a lot lighter I'm tempted to hold fire. The old range might go down in price, and if it doesn't I'll just buy one of the new ones.

It's quite frustrating as I'm desperate to start getting all this quality information form Garmin/Strava. I know it's going to help my running no end, so tempted to just to buy one this week and take the hit. What do you reckon?

M-Hill reps. Left leg felt a bit dodge. Maybe needs more recovery from the 11miler.
T-Indoor boulders
W-Tried to go for a quick 5k circuit. Managed 2K in decent time but then bailed. Did another quick 500m and then called it a day. Still feeling rather broken from Lakes off-roader.
T-Rest Indoor wine drinking session. First of the autumn.
F-Rest (Went to watch Rush which is amazing.)
S-Park run. Quick first K but I felt awful all morning. Comnpletely uncharged. So bailed after about 2k. Not a great week for my running. My legs don't seem fully recovered at the moment. Which is very frustrating. Chilled out in the day before driving to Burbage/Stanage for an evening torch session. Decent conditions when the sun went down. Repeated some classic 7a's and NTBTA at 11pm which was mega scary but awesome. Headed home around 12 as I still didn't feel too great.
S- Massive doss day. Needed it.

So sat at work still feeling a bit broken. Not sure whether to try and run niggles off and hope that an increase in general fitness will be best. Or to rest for a week and see how I feel?

In reply to JimmyKay:

I would see if the new ones have features that you really want - I bet they do - and if so, buy one of them, now, unless the price means that doing so will ruin your life. If they do cost way too much, hang on until the old ones come way down in price, which they probably will, soon, then get one of them.

In reply to mbh: didn't got anywhere on BB last week because i doidn't go to malham.. had two sessins planned on thurs and fri but we cancelled thurs as rain being blown into crag .. but to be honest i was relieved as i woke up feeling totally wiped out with 'the time of the month' .. was the same on friday... very amaemic.. looked like casper the ghost!

lesson: take extra supplements before hand rather than taking them when it's too late.

sunday- bouldering and cross trainer
monday- rest
tues- bouldering (PE circuits) pm interval training on bike, core, weights and usual pull ups
wed- interval ytra8ining on bike and core
thurs- up early, bag packed.. ready to go.. felt dizzy as fook with you know what.. session at malham cancelled due to weather anyway
friday- repeat performance of thursday.. ended up on settee eating toast.. had a big steak for tea
saturday- plan was.. int training on bike, core, bouldering and weights then seeing my mum... reality was.. interval training on bike, sprawled out on mat in gym.. forced myself to do core and stretching.. left sulking as still felt rubbish
sunday (yesterday) morning hilly bike ride.. good ride as usual. . good pace.. but last hill involved us getting on a hill time trial.. (it's part of our sunday morning route and we couldn't ack off just because pple were racing.. we didn't get in the way) i was sick in my mouth again (need longer than 45 mins between brekky and riding up hills quickly). pm road ride with friends (2-3 hours spinning on flatish roads with scone and coffee half way round)

felt more like myself on yesterday's rides... want to go climbing outside now.

not sure how i'm feeling at the moment.. don't like the fact i missed outdoor climbing sessions last weel and worried i'm losing my psyche .. wondered if i should've forced myself to go climbing regardless of feeling unwell.

In reply to JimmyKay: maybe try shorter easier running sessions and do lots of stretching and trig poit foam rolling sort of stuff?

In reply to Exile: 7a at the bridge?? where's that then??

In reply to Eagle River: how can you be jealous? aren't you in the land of milk and honey this week?

In reply to Kevster:

Found out today that one of my friends enjoyed good conditions at Daddyhole Saturday and Haytor Sunday so it must have been quite localised stuff. So I could have got stuff done if only I'd known.

By the way, those E3s I did last week are all very good - sure Ahimsa you already is know is a must do, but whilst you're on that midway belay Dream Cruise is really very good and worth doing too - the main section of the pitch is on pretty compact rock so it was surprisingly clean given the lack of traffic but we pulled a load of the vegetation off the easier bits as well and chalked it up a bit. And the Krapps/Think Pink link is a classic for a reason - totally varied climbing, intricate and bold then pushy and safe with a little sting in the tail to finish off!

In reply to pork pie girl:

Foam roller. Exactly. I've been putting it off and off. My IT bands are always well tight naturally let alone after running. Need to get on it.

Sub 18 5k feels miles off at the moment. It is going to go down before the end of the year though.

In reply to mbh: AJM has a bendy right knee! But cheers for the beta anyway. The route is Sticky Wicket, had another go on it on top rope this weekend, pretty much have a sequence but the link is going to require another bit of game raising I think.

M:
T:
W: Matrix - managed a Font 6c, which is a bit of a rairity for me
T: Few pull-ups
F:
S: Kilnsey - One go on Hardly Annual, which I didn't like, then four goes on Sticky Wicket
S: Walked 6 miles


STG: More 7a's (Bleep and booster, barguest direct): One more done: this years RPS: 6c (4) 6c+ (2) 7a (3) 7a+(1)

MTG: 7a+ Appetite/Direct Flight/Sideshow(DONE)/Gilbert Cardigan

LTG: 7b WYSWIG - started working

In reply to Sankey:

Feels hard to get into, but as with all drop knees you've got to keep going past the point where it feels like its pushing you off into the oasis of stability on the far side!

Fwiw I'm genuinely as flexible as a board...!

In reply to AJM:

Agreed!

In reply to mbh:

Thanks Matt.

STG: 7a or 7b in Spain in Nov
MTG: Frankie at Kilnsey
LTG: dunno

Got back from Kalymnos on Wednesday so going to include that this week.

Thurs: Hot and humid Secret Garden. Lead o/s 6a+ and 6b then failed spectactularly on 2 x 6c. Redpointed one of them. Felt a bit tired and low psyche all day.
Fri: Felt better. Decided to spend the week going at 7a onsights just on the offchance one would come good. Ghost Kitchen. Lead o/s 6a+, 6b and 6c. The 6c, Resista, was an awesome route. Tried a 7a, Le Mythe de la Caverne, came close but no cigar.
Sat: Kalydna. O/s 2 x 6a+, 6b and 6c. Tried a 7a, Ixion, but no cigar. Disappointed with my efforts - yelled take rather than pushing on.
Sun: hot and sweaty 9 mile road run to Ghost Kitchen and back.
Mon: Spartacus and Spartan wall. O/s 2 x 6b and 2 x 6b+. Tried a 7a, Kerevros, but no cigar. Tried really hard!
Tues: Iannis. O/s 6b and 6c. Tried a 7a, Sens Unique, this time got the cigar! Woo... God loves a trier!
Weds: Kaly road run, 4.5 miles including hill reps.
Thurs: Back in the UK. 4.3 mile flat road run
Fri: nowt
Sat: 7.3 mile run Forest of Bowland, 268m ascent.
Sun: 13.8 mile run, Langdale race route. 1,400m ascent. Probably a bit pointless as I won't be able to do the race.

Kalymnos was awesome and I'm chuffed with my 7a tick on the last route of the trip. Team Kalymnos cheering me on got me up it!

The best route of the trip for me was definitely Kerveros at Spartacus. Totally brilliant and I'm really pleased I had a go. I tried really hard and came off at the second to last bolt, having done the steep climbing. I had nothing left but at least I tried hard.

Top banana in team Kaly was Ali. On fire!

In reply to mbh:
Back to my old self; no need for alter ego's.

Bit of a shit week; still feeling slightly lurgified and 3x >12 hour days whilst away in Germany haven't helped.

VLTG (Sept 2014): Complete 3 peaks cyclo-cross race

LTG (Spring 2014): Unjustified, 8c, Malham & Fish-Eye, 8c, Oliana?

MTG (By end Sept 2013):

Get super fit for trip to the Red River Gorge:
- Complete 4x4 of >7b routes on steepness at Awesome Walls, Liverpool (not been indoors in 6mths).
- Complete double set of Beastmaker pull-up routine with >5kg on each hold (Aim for +2.5kg and double-up on front-3, back-3, middle-2, crimp, sloper, front-2, back-2 & sloper).
- Complete double set of Beastmaker repeater routine with >5kg on each hold hold (Aim for +2.5kg and double-up on front-3, back-3, middle-2, crimp, sloper, front-2, back-2 & sloper).
- Complete 10 sets of 3min on, 3min off foot-on campus routine.

Diamond projects: Re-assessment of grades
#1 >8b Direct start to NGOOTB
#2 ~8b Link-up

Non-tidal wish-list for weeks when Diamond is a non-starter:
Mandela, Kilnsey (wet at the moment)
Supercool, Gordale
K3, Cornice (will it dry out again this year?)

STG:
- Ankle re-hab & physio
- Fingerboard - one BM pull-up & one BM repeater session per week
- Aero-cap - 4x4 on a less steep 7b is this week's target
- Once a week foot-on campus session to ensure high intensity pump - aiming for 9 sets
- Core & flexibility work - fitted into rest interval in Fingerboard/foot-on campus session
- Lose some weight; new aim <73kg - 74.1kg and 6.5% BF - Surprising result after a week of glutony

The week just gone:

M - Hangar. 7 reps of 40move circuits in the cave. Failed on last set and nothing left in the tank for planned for 8th rep.

T - 5am start to fly to Hamburg with work.

W - Hamburg - lardy/boozy dinner

T - Hamburg - almost missed my plane, but made it home thanks to flight delay.

F - Felt wiped out, but forced myself to go to work do. Somehow blagged double my allowance of free-drinks and made it home at 3am after some pretty "special" dancing...

S - Still tipsy at 0830 so went back to bed. Cave and LPT in the afternoon. Zero ability to put more than 3 hard moves in a row. Face Race and La Boheme "downstairs"

S - Roasting at Dinbren. 6b, 6c, 8a dog, 7c dog, 7c redpoint, 7a OS. 1 litre no where near enough fluid. Inspired by watching documentary about Mark Cavendish went out for a fast, flat 15miler.

In reply to Ally Smith:

It doesn't hold me back as much as my other inadequacies as a climber do, so less of that you!

In reply to Ally Smith: Oh, and forgot to say. The stupid dancing has made my ankle swell up again

In reply to Nomics4sale:

Well done!

In reply to Ally Smith:


I've seen you dance so its not like it was even for a worthwhile cause!

In reply to pork pie girl:

The A590 crosses the River kent near Sedgwick, South of kendal. On the underside of the bridge are various walls built of limestone blocks with various traverses on them. It's great for fingery climbing tht i think transfers to vertical trad climbing really well. And it's outside. And it's nearly always dry regardless of weather.

Re loosing phsyc - I'd push it for one or two, but if you begin to feel as though you're resenting it give it a break and come back fresh.

In reply to Nomics4sale:


Where and when are you going? Assume you won't have seen last weeks FC but am trying to get a cheap sun trip in somewhere during November to make up for the fact I can't leave on the van trip until after Christmas...

In reply to Nomics4sale:

Great effort!

In reply to AJM:

I had a quick TR on Sticky Wicket yesterday and used your drop knee beta for the move to the blocky pinch - works very nicely indeed and makes the move feel pretty trivial; definitely no special flexibility required. Nice work spotting it!

In reply to AJM and Exile:

Cheers!

AJM: I'm going on (another!) of Nik's coaching holidays. You should come if there's still spaces, it would be good to have you along.

In reply to Pagan:

Thanks!

In reply to Nomics4sale:


Hmm... It would blow through my original budget and leave it in a cloud of dust in the rear view mirror somewhere! Although given the other ways I could blow the budget its one of the more productive ones...

In reply to pork pie girl:


Lighten up! You had 3 crap days cos of your period then felt good on your bike on day 4. You'll be back to top form this week, don't worry about it.

In reply to mbh: =) thanks, I've had a marginally better week this week so that's a plus

STG (next 4 weeks): New STG time; make a training plan for font, regularly get V3/4 indoors, try and get back into trad, get outdoors when I can. Most importantly try and keep up 3 sessions a week while my regular partners away
MTG (before winter): 6a bouldering regularly, keep leading trad (been over a month now so back to VDiff's) get on some sport and train hard when indoors, get in shape for font!
LTG (over next 6/9 months): get to know my technique and style, push through to HS trad, try and boulder 6b get on some sport


M: band
T: cat-sitting
W: Wall session, dragged 2 friends along had a reasonable climb despite coming down with man flu and general grumpiness
T: rehearsal
F: pub after work...oops
S: wimberry boulder bash, was nice to get up there again for some very slimy grit. Am starting to feel more comfortable outdoors again which is good but generally not anywhere near as good as I could be. Find myself getting run down by people telling me 'it's easy just do it this way' etc when I'm obviously not managing to do it + not doing great
S: wall session, first 30mins on my own I was a crushing machine xD new set in one of the rooms so flashed all of the problems up to the V2-3, the V3-4 I had to maybe have one go and I did a couple of the V4-5. Other people joined me and I climbed ok for the rest of the session apart from getting run down at one point.

So better week-ish, and yesterdays session must have been alright as I'm achey today, always the sign of a good session! Probably not gonna get in so much this week as I'm off to a wedding at the weekend.

In reply to Pagan/AJM: Ah well, I should probably try again. My knees are pretty much ruined which probably doesn't help. Am guessing you may have shorter legs than me.

As an aside, I am glad I use a pseudonym on here when sentences like this get written:

Sankeys' advice on how to keep going in solo sessions... lol!

In reply to Sankey:

I'm just under 6 foot and have reasonably average length legs for my height, as far as I know...

In reply to AJM: I'm sure your legs are normal!! I'm 6 foot but know that mine are freakishly long...

In reply to JimmyKay: yeah foam roller on IT bands wreck.. i sometimes do other muscle groups on a rock hard cardboard tube.. but i can only cope with a foam coated roller in the It bands and quads.

In reply to pork pie girl: I sit on a Tennis ball for my piriformis. Excruciating but kind of nice at the same time. Not sure what that says about me?

Going to invest in a foam roller when back in uk. My itb and hip and knee and calf all give me grief down my left hand side.

In reply to Nomics4sale

Good trip and nice one on the 7a.

In reply to biscuit:

I think it says a lot

In reply to mbh:

Cheers for doing FC dude.

Yes it was hard to turn it into a positive at first but I got there. It's odd because there is always a positive in a session, even if it doesn't always feel like it at first, you just have to dig it out! Good week this week, happy with the sessions.


Goals:

Maintain 142 lbs: ~143 lbs

STG:
Current Focus: Climb every problem at the Very Far Skyline Boulders (The Roaches). Aim: To improve my head on high-ish grit slabs and crack-lines and to improve my slab and crack technique.
The Undercut (Churnet, 6C+/7A)
Old Sloper Problem (Churnet, 7A)
Bonus Goal: Alternative 3 SS (Churnet, pretty high roof finish, 6C)

MTG (early 2014):
Lead any WI route in Rjukan (Jan)
Improve winter experience
Get out to the Alps

VLTG (dreams):
Dream of White Horses
Cenotaph Corner
Cemetery Gates
Juvsøyla (WI6), Upper Gorge, Rjukan
Lipton Ice (WI6/7), Upper Gorge, Rjukan
Wheel of Life


This Week:

M: Awesome session at the wall. 15 mins ARC then stretched my comfort zone on really sketchy high moves on delicate slab and steep problems for over an hour, brilliant! Finished on the woody.
T:
W: A micro session at The Roaches on my new high grit slabs and cracks comfort zone stretchers. Got a move futher on a crack problem and managed 2 3rds on flash attempt of one of the high slabs. I bottled it from that point but it's big progress from my weekend attempt of not even getting on it. Let battle commence
T:
F:
S: An hour on the mountain bike checking out the new local trails, nice to be out.
S: Great session at Curbar although it was far too hot for grit! Was a nice sociable session with plenty of climbing up to V2 ish.

In reply to mbh

Cheers mbh. Yes I did give it everything. If I had eaten properly and opened my eyes a bit it would have been better.

This week is the same as eagle river. Just climbed sunday with him. Frustrating cos its a brilliant route. Fluffed getting to the good rest due to messing up my sequence and ending up starfished. The crux move I can't do even in isolation. Trying to do it with the moves before and after isn't going to happen this week. Steves beta of just being strong and using technique didn't work for me.

Going to try for a 7a onsight and get to the good rest on the 7c which is about 7b we reckon.

In reply to mbh: Thanks MBH.
Yes the PMH outing was as pumpy as expected and enjoyable despite my perceived lack of fitness!
This week I have been moving house more than anything (unpacking, scouring "preloved" listings for furniture).

I did however manage 2 hours at Quay Climbing Centre on Sunday (22nd).

They have so many autobelays that I could clip in my 8yo daughter then safely clip myself into the route next to her. So I had some serious fun working a 6b route with an unfathomable (for me!) crux, while she was enjoying going up using all the holds to about 4m then jumping off.

Quality daddy daughter time!

This week: hopefully some rock/wall time, although I'm counting the next few weeks as off-season chill time, until the Boardroom opens i.e., just easy mileage.

In reply to useful: References:
[1] http://www.quayclimbingcentre.co.uk/ Exeter, Devon
[2] http://theboardroomclimbing.com/ Deeside, Flintshire (Opening 19/10/2013)

In reply to biscuit: i use a cricket ballfor my piri! .. sometimes at the same time as crossing one leg over the other..OOOOOCCCHHHHHH! know what oyu mean about pleasure and pain. i only do stuff like that when i'm injured.. can't bring myself to do it as a preventative thing. but it's really effective and saves money on physios.

get a really firm foan roller.. i reckon anything softer isn't worth it...the softest ones at the gym aren't worth the effort.

In reply to Nomics4sale: :oD

good effort in kaly.. sounds like you crammed in loads of climbing and shed loads of miles and hills too.. great balance for your holiday. sounds like a perfect holiday in my masochistic book

Ali & Nomics - brilliant!

Another fairly useless week for me, motivation was low once again.

M: Bike commute
T: Bike commute one way.
W: Lunchtime run, 20mins, really wheezy still.
T: Bike commute. Climbing Barn - unstructured messing around and realising how weak I am.
F: Bike commute
S: Wales - scramble/easy climb in the pass up the Parson's Nose then to the summit of whatever Welsh sounding hill it is, I don't have a map handy! Good long day out with old mates, nice and sociable though hardly technical!
S: ~13km trail run with some hills with my Rab partner for next weekend. Managed to not die, or even wheeze, which is encouraging. Quick fingerboard session.

Am working on a winter climbing/training plan to motivate me more. Also now in possession of a super-duper new vacuum (4 full loads out of the bedroom carpet alone... eek) and have a docs appt this week to hopefully get some more meds as a more short-term fix to the wheeziness. Fingers crossed running and suchlike will get better again soon.

In reply to maria85:

cheers. Just read last week's thread, nice one getting the Mary Townley loop done. That's a lot of miles on a bike! And this week doesn't sound very useless to me... Maybe not your usual big goal ticks/miileage but still a good week.

In reply to pork pie girl:

Perfect holiday in my book too. It was hot so we were getting up early to make the most of the shade and most days we were done by 2pm or 3pm, leaving lots of time to lounge around having a proper holiday. Restaurant food is good, beaches are good. What's not to like? I'd suggest it for your next holiday but I know you'd miss Malham too much .

In reply to pork pie girl:

My respect for you has gone even higher. Cricket ball ! You're well hard.

Cheers for the tip. Firm it is then.

In reply to mbh:
STG: Climb inside @ least want with the aim of onsighting around limit.
MTG: 4(3) e-points in September.
LTG(2013): 7a+*1, 7a*4. 34e points(33 to date).
VLTG(2015?): Classic e5 (Positron?, Right Wall?)

Mon: Arc(30 mins).
Tue: Bouldering @ Stockport.
Wed: Nothing.
Thu: Arc(30 mins). 4x4(V3,V3,V3,V3). Repeaters.
Fri: Nothing.
Sat: Nothing.
Sun: Horseshoe.

Another poor week. Monday I felt worn out after the Arc session. I'm wondering if lack of motivation is causing a lapse in technique, but prefer to continue to blame the shoes for now. Thursday went OK but whilst I felt quite storming on my session last week I definitely didn't this week.

Nice day at Horseshoe. Did 8 routes but nothing above 6b. Managed to get scared on one of the routes (that I've done several times before) & sit on the rope. Suitably disgusted with myself I finished it off.

Anyway, Gogarth tomorrow so everything that could be wrong is now fine.

In reply to biscuit: no..I sound like I'm being skinned alive when I use it! Try getting a cardboard tube from the inside of a roll of carpet works really well.. You'll need to cut it down a tad tho.

In reply to Nomics4sale: I so wouldn't miss Malham! You saying I've been a bit obsessed with the place huh? Let need know how much fights and accommodation costs usually.. Might,look at it for next sept.

In reply to mbh:

cheers mbh,

No training last week - need to improve on this this week. just one day outside. Good to finish on a character building semi epic/adventure for the last full days trading this year (possibly). For those with time, who may wish to know:

Climbed at Swanage. It was on off mizzle/sea mist to just overcast throughout the day. I worked out its probably the last free weekend I'd have for a proper days climbing before December. So tried to max out.
Every time it was my lead, it closed in. Sat out at the bottom of Facedancing for half hour, did a wet VS, waited then decided to go for the OS of Facedancing in one push. The holds were gopping upto the first crux section. Then I fell off a greasy crimp - good to take a proper trad leadfall. The holds were damp upto the wall/first belay. Then the mist came in and grease city, so I pushed on and fell off the second crux section by the top pegs. Tried this repeatedly but it wasn't having the charm and I was starting to lose light. Traversed off to the final crux of Tudor rose, it too was minging, fell off the reachy move on that crux. Fell past the belay ledge and decided enough was enough. Aided out. Second needed a head torch, they topped out in the dark. Good to have a good story to tell. A year without topping Swanage in the dark just wouldn't be right! Moral of the story: Don't let enthusiasm get in the way of common sense when you can see the conditions are all wrong!

Cheers! Kev.

In reply to pork pie girl:

Good point well made!! And I agree with Nomics about your psyche - a wee blip in what is otherwise immense levels of psyche!

Anyway, Kalymnos part 2:

M - Secret Garden, warmed up on a 6b+ then did Frapogelo (6c) which is a totally awesomely fun route and made me put aside my tufa-hating tendancies. Got back on Markoutsi (which Quiddity and I agree is def 7b), put clips in, then had a redpoint go but crux felt aweful and messed up sequence. Lowered, rested for 10 then got it next go. Did a 6c and 6b+ to finish ofd
T - Iannis - onsighted Kalyne (6b), Zagori (6c) which totally freaked me out, Sens Unique (7a) and Verikoko (7a+). First 7a+ onsight, albeit very soft and totally suited me!
W - rest day, went to Arginota and did 2x6bs and a 6a
T - Grande Grotte. Felt incredibly nervous about DNA - more like I should get on it, than I wanted to. Warm up route was busy so bolt to bolted DNA to warm up and work out moves. Then got it second go! And it was really fun... managed to get a bum/head wedge, and another bum wedge in addition to ten minutes sitting on the tufa seat. Nomics - you would love this route - add it to your list for next time! Then got on Aphrodite, messed up crux on onsight, but got it second go.
F - Woke up feeling totally mentally and physically exhausted. Went to Panorama. Warmed up on a 6b which felt hard, then did one of the new 6cs which was easy but scarily loose... Tried Neptun kl (6c) but totally ran out of juice in arms on jufgy holds, and couldn't force my head to keep trying (I don't think I could really have done much more anyway). Didn't want to finish trip on failure so got on Uncle Earnie - how hard can 6b be? Bloody slimey, slopey, polished hard that's what. Got up it clean but pulled my wrist which had *just* about held up for the trip - oops.
S - nothing - chill out in Kaly and hideous flight home
S after getting to bed at 3am, got up at 7 to got to London City Race (my orienteering club organises it so I was helping out). Ran women's open and managed to come fourth despite lack of concentration and not having run for yonks - though missed out on 3rd by 15secs - bummer.

Anyway, Kaly trip round up...positives:
- Increased onsight grade from 6c (with clips in) to 7a+ (putting clips in)
- Went to some great new crags and did loads of fantastic routes
- Got pretty confident at attempting onsights around 6c
- Managed to get head in order a bit
- Learned to like tufas...as long as they're the right kind!
- Had a lovely, relaxing holiday with some great people

And a few negatives:
- Not sure how this will translate back to UK rock with stiffer grades and not so many bolts - could do with getting out soon to consolidate but that's not possible
- Head still played up a few days, so still not happy running it out when I get nervy
- Wrist poorly again
- Probably put on loads of weight....honey coated dough balls- mmmmmmmm...

More info and pics on blog - http://www.averybusylife.blogspot.co.uk/

For those who may be jealous, you will be pleased to know that I have now returned to 12hr working days and no prospect of getting out on real rock any time soon, so the next couple of weeks will proably be an enforced rest!

In reply to Ali:

Not a bad result for a trip where if I remember right you were struggling with training psyche in the run up to it! Excellent stuff really well done.

Tufa is brilliant. I want to get so much better at (onsighting) it...

In reply to Ali: flipping get in there girl!!!

PS the dough balls sound ace.. sugar and carbs... rocket fuel?

In reply to AJM: you decided on what you're doing with all your free time yet?

if you are up in the dales at the beignning of next month i'm around on the 8th, 10th, 11th and over the weekend and then again on the 15th, 17th, 18th and over the weekend..

(doing out of hours cover at work and that means i get an extra day off... crazy as i'm part time now anyway and actually would prefer to be paid .. in some ways it's a good thing in terms of time off but in other ways it outs me under more pressure to get a full time workload covered in two days!)

that goes for anyone else that is out and about up that way

i may also consider a meander at one of the peak limestone sports climbing venues too on the 8th and 15th as i'm sort of nearish there because of work the day before and the day after

PS what are the coniditions usually like late season for peak limestone?

put my summer psyche dance tunes on ij the car this morning and started to visualise the moves on baboo baboo to get me back in the mood.. so back on it tomorrow with saint sarah patient shuttleworth!

In reply to pork pie girl:

Not really. Major planning of trips etc is in limbo until the end of the week, Ali is too busy to think about it at the minute! Hopefully something in November though. Keen to do a load of bouldering as well.

I think I'm busy those weekends, but the weekdays might be a possibility.

I don't know masses about conditions, some parts of the tor are nearly permadry but I guess a lot of cheedale is or will be damp for the winter by then.

In reply to mbh:

Hi mbh, thanks for doing the stats! If I get back into swimming training properly you can expect some bigger totals to come... All depends on how much running I feel I can take i guess.

A bit of a late post this week, just got back from Lundy yesterday. Turns out my pessimism about the weather was misplaced - we only had one morning rained off! (and the day of thick fog was a planned mid-week rest anyway). No impressive grades but a very pleasant, fairly chilled, varied trip (as per my plan really). It's the second time I've been to the island, and my enthusiasm for the place has grown even more!

Last week:
tl;dr - I was on Lundy, it was good you should go!

M - Nothing (at home with family then driving down to Ilfracombe)
T - Ferry to Lundy. Strong winds. Felt like death for the latter hour or so but the breakfast stayed down. More wind and rain in the afternoon but we hadn't planned to climb anyway. Went for a walk when it cleared up in the afternoon.
W - Climbing on the Devil's slide: Albion (VS 4c) is an excellent corner climb, recommended; The Devil's Slide (HS 4a) is pleasant enough, and takes a natural line up the second half but I found it a bit underwhelming (minor blasphemy, I know). I suppose I should expect that being so comfortable at that grade and having done Satan's Slip last year.
T - Rained off in the morning but Lundy granite dries pretty instantly! Skies clear, sun out, we went to do Shamrock (VS 4c) in the afternoon. I can't recommend this one enough, probably the best route of the trip! A race against the tide to get to the base of the climb from the bottom of the abseil added to the experience.
F - Morning: Albacore (HVS 5a). An excellent slabby crack on the first pitch (would be 3* if it stopped there) but not so nice on for the topout. An offwidth crack (ok if you're into that, I suppose) followed by a classic loose-rock/earth scramble to salvation. A miscalculation of the direction of the route meant I didn't even have the ab rope to hand (as advised in the guide book). Emily following almost pulled off a fridge-sized block :s
S - Thick fog all day, planned rest anyway.
S - Hot Rod (VS 4c MA*) and Road Runner (first pitch only, also top-end VS 4c). Hot Rod was probably the disappointment of the trip. It starts out with 20m up a vegetated slab and wet corner, but the guidebook warns about this, the meat of the route is supposed to be a beautiful 20m vertical hand crack. It was a bit wider than this (fist to o/w sections at the top) and very dirty. A shame, because it could be very nice if it was clean. Road Runner is much better! If you're going to do a VS at that side of landing craft bay, I would recommend this one. (AJM: I did take a knife and tat but can report that enough of the fixed gear is currently in ok condition that I did't have to add anything. I unfortunately couldn't do anything about the older in-situ rust)

A couple more days of Lundy climbing for next week's thread.

Short- and mid-term goals suspended pending Achilles recovery, see week 338. I probably didn't help that recovery by climbing on Lundy, but I didn't feel like compromising on that trip. Current plan is to keep up core/fingerboard/swimming and check in with the physio again in the next 2 weeks.

Long term goals (timescale to be assessed when the achilles recovers)
Climbing: Consolidate E3, it still feels on/off. Get into routinely trying E4s. Sport onsight 7a/+, redpoint 7b+. See my ukc wishlist for specific routes that have caught my eye...
Running: Get enough running fitness/experience for a marathon(+). Try some fell running.

*My Arse, would be a useful addition to the grading system, in my opinion.

Regarding my achilles, I don't really know how to measure progress of recovery... I think that I gave it a bit of a beasting in Lundy, climbing most days and carrying a ~20kg pack around (a 100m ab rope is really heavy!) but it doesn't feel substantially worse today than the day before I left. It was quite sore in the evenings all week, but any pain subsided entirely overnight.

So does anybody have any experience with this kind of injury? (The Physio called it tendinopathy, as opposed to tendonitis (acute) or tendinosis (implies some structural change).) Should I continue to rest completely (like I was for about a month before the trip) until it's completely pain free? or is this over-cautious? If it doesn't feel worse than before Lundy, does that mean it actually is no worse?

I'm not really expecting any answers, but I'm hoping some of you (runners, maybe in particular?) have come across it before. I'm going to ask similar questions to the physio next week anyway.

In reply to Ali:

Top effort, psyched for you! Sounds like you had an awesome trip!

In reply to AJM, pork pie girl & Luke: Thanks guys! I have struggled a bit over the past few months and trip made me realise how much I love climbing and how totally awesome it is! Need to get something else booked in now to try and keep the psyche going...

PPG - dough balls are awesome - incredibly unhealthy but totally yum! You should def consider a trip out there at some point - for the food of course, sod the climbing

In reply to mbh: So Here comes a long post sorry ...

STG (End of 2013):
Regularly try and lead cracks and committing laybacks - Sort of tick before squamish I was throwing in jams where possible and doing laybacks. In squamish was almost daily
Lead E2 try onsight
Top out the chief - TICK!!!!
Boulder 6C/V5 UK and try get one in Squamish. - Fail in squamish
Climb Grand wall at squamish - Fail was not ready
Adventerous climbing on the isle of man in october
MTG (April 2014):
Winter Grit - 7A boulder
Winter Grit - snowballing
Winter Grit - Big air
Font - Climb a load of 6's and try get a 7.
Font alternate plan - eat a load of pastries from different pattisserie's
plan a trip to kalymnos for first week in april
Kalymnos - 4x7's in a week.
kalymnos - at least two ticks a day
LTG (July 2014):
Plan two week UK/irish tour visiting - Pembroke, North wales, Ireland, fairhead and isle of man

Goals for week 337:
rest - Tick
fly to canada - tick
climb - Tick

Week 337
M: Rest I think may have climbed
T: Rest as above
W: Rest
T: Rest
F: Rest
S: Fly and drive to squamish
S: Starting easy not really trying in theory then got and e2.
Murrin part warmed up on a trad 5.8 slab then did a steep crack 5.8.
Feeling confident I tried a trad 5.11b but bottled it before the crux reversed then mate lead it managed it 2nd with 1 fall probs E2/3 6a. Next tried a 5.10c next to it falling twice before giving up. Simon then lead it.
Ended the day on sport where I did a 5.8 which felt really hard for the grade maily due to polish.

338
M: Started off wet and moving from hotel to apartment so did some easy bouldering without a pad in the after noon at the apron boulders
T: Wash out
W: Planned to try get as high in the cheif as possible.
Started at the lower apron and did the Bottom line 5.9 in the wet. Next planned to do banana peel 5.7 set off up P1 then got lost and ended up on a 5.10b pitch. Lead fine but scared my self thinking it would all be that hard so abbed off.
Went for lunch at big D's
T: Not feeling great. Smoke Bluffs
Lead a 5.7 to warm up then sacked it off and belayed all day until the rain came in
F: Cheakamus canyon. Saw some guy taking a dump in the car park who quickly ran off
Went to forgotton wall hated it. Reminded me of giggleswick south ...
Lead a 5.10a to warm up then tried a 5.11d did all the hard moves but was not feeling great. Lead a 5.9 called it a day and went to the pub. (all sport)
S: Bullet heads.
Lead a 40m 5.9 trad pitch. Fantastic pitch of climbing.
S: Grandwall boulders.
Wamred up on a V4 got a spanking.
decided to do lots of easy problems. Tried a V2 got a spanking.
Did more easy problems. Nice day pottering about

339
M: Seal cove - Beautiful (see my pic at no5 in the top ten photos)
Warmed up on a trad 5.8 crack.
A mate then lead the 5.10b which was a amaizing face climb. I then lead a 5.8. Then Seconded a 5.9 to collect gear after other two could not clean it. All pitches were between 40 and 50m
T: Grand wall boulders.
Again I stuck to flashing easy problems mattless and left the rest working harder stuff got a few good ticks out of the day.
W: The heat came in.
Murrin park
Warmed up on a classic 5.10a sport route called Zoe.
Then tried the crag classic 7a (5.11d) but was just too hot.
Did a brilliant 5.8 sports route then tried a 5.11c sport route dropping last move. Too hot for me so took pictures.
T: Too hot to climb
Made a roast dinner for us lot and the wide boyz
F: The cheif day.
Started at the apron carpark 63m (ish) above sea level
Apron - banana peel
Then the upper apron - Granville Street
Next did squamish buttress but split off for The butt light.
19 pitches then scrambled to the top until we found a blank 10m slab. looked easy so soloed the last 10m to reach the first peak at 610m above sea level
S: Knackered. Too hot to climb. went to whistler then pub
S: Lower apron
the rambles 5.8 loud thunder clap as second was coming to the top belay abbed off in the rain
Grand wall boulders.
Couple of easy problems flashed

340
M: wet
T: Grand wall boulders
Good progress on easy in a easy chair (V4). 1 easy tick tried lots of hard stuff
W: Smoke Bluffs
Lead 5.8 x2 5.10a x1 (trad)
2nd 5.10c
T: Grand wall boulders
Knackered few easy ticks but too tired to try hard
F: Flew to toronto. Drove to haliburton (interesting drive).
Beers
S: Swam in the pool
Cousins wedding. booze
S: Swam in the pool
Drove to huntsville.
Ate huge steak

Next week's goals:
Fly home - Tick
Climb on grit - Tick
Climb a trad route

All in all a great trip. More details on my blog http://grubesblog.blogspot.co.uk/ basically see all the september posts.

In reply to Nick Russell:


I wonder how much of that is still the In situ gear we left and/or placed when we gave it a tidy in 05!

In reply to Ali:

You will have mail re next year within the week...

In reply to Nick Russell:
Nick, I don't know if this is the same problem obviously, but I had a lot of achilles trouble when I was younger. It started as a kid but was particularly acute when I started cross country running in my early teens, to the extent that sometimes I just couldnt run for weeks at a time. It cleared up around 15 or so and then I got it again when I first started climbing about 5 years later. After it cleared up (see below) I've seen very little trouble since.
I never had it properly diagnosed but I think it is something to do with the achilles tendon becoming too stretched. I used to sometimes get a dull ache in the upper part of my achilles (kind of at the back of, and just immediately below my ankle) and other times, particularly when running, get a sharp pain in my lower achilles (whee it comes up past the outside of my heel.) This was in both feet by the way.

I have a hereditary thing called Haglunds Deformity, which is basically a big bony lump on the back of my heels (sounds lovely doesn't it?) This is why I think it something ot do wit the tendon being stretched, as it is stretched over the bony lump.

It was running around that made it bad when I was a kid. I can't be sure but based on more recent experience I think it may have been because I had inadequate heel support in my trainers. The things I found re-introduced and aggravated the problem when I started climbing were twofold:
a) mountaineering and winter climbing in big/tight boots. This particularly brought back the sharp pain in the lower achilles. This was solved by using heel inserts which meant my foot's usual position was with my hee ltilted very slightly up, so the achilles wasnt as stretched.
b) rock climbing in boots with a hee lrand that curves inwards at the top (digging in to the achilles). The old pinks were the worst for this. As soon as galileos came out, which had a heel rand that went higher up and was better shaped / more comfortable, the probably dissappeared again.

On the positive side I haven't had any problems for 6-7 years now. So on a completely unscientific basis, if any of the above sonds familiar, I would suggest trying heel inserts, getting a pair of running trainers with thicker heels (basicall like they had heel inserts in), and making sure your rock shows don't dig in at the back at all.

Good luck!

Si

In reply to Si dH:
PS on the subject of resting, my experience would suggest that if it gets bad you will be forced to rest at some times due to pain, but that long-term resting won't really help until you find out the cause of the problem and then remove it - you risk just re-injuring yourelf each time you go out. So, focus on fixing the cause and seeing what helps, rather than taking a logn rest.

In reply to Si dH:

Thanks for the reply, I'll think about how that applies to my situation. Re: fixing the cause, I'd just put it down to increase in volume of running but I'll pester the physio a bit more about other possibilities. Now I come to think of it, I did get a new pair of rock shoes at about the time it started...

In reply to Nick Russell: Hi Nick, I've not had time to read your posts above but just noticed Si's post.

I've had a few niggles with achilles in the past - a tip a friend (former pro-triathlete)is to keep them warm. It may sound silly, but as soon as you get back from a run, before you even start to stretch, stick on some thick socks or legwarmers(!) - keeps the tendons warm and supple. May not solve your problems if more serious and more preventative than cure, but it worked for me and for another friend of mine who was having issues.

In reply to Ali:

thanks for the advice, I'll get some long socks for the winter! I've heard something similar about knees actually.