UKC

UKC Fit Club Week 410

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 Nick Russell 25 Jan 2015
Link to last week's thread:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=607103

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

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

Alex's sport climbing training article is still here:
http://alexbarrowsclimbing.blogspot.com.es/2014/02/training-for-sport-climb...

Psyche video of the week:
youtube.com/watch?v=pUUyI39FOf4&
Hazel Findlay on Once Upon a Time in the South West. I like this one, especially where she's talking about having to run it out in the upper half, which is kind of good because you don't have to worry about placing a load of sh1t gear.

Last week's posters:
Mutl3y - A light week planned. Ready to go again?
Tyler - Going well at Stockport. I've never heard of a missing fat pad causing problems, surely an excuse to eat more chocolate!
mbh - How was the St Just - St Ives run?
Jeriqo - Keeping active. What's your focus/goal at the moment. I'm not sure whether to put you down a climber/runner/mountain biker/non-of-the-above.
AJM - Did you have a better week at work? The weather this weekend looked quite good down in Dorset.
flopsicle - Did you get back on the bridgy palmy route?
williemiller - Exam pressure over now?
mrchewy - Heavy work week. Just keep it ticking over.
Stroppy's Wife - Change of user name? Took me a while to figure that one out.
Dandan82 - Good luck with the Ninja Warrior application - I hope you'll share the video with us when it's done!
Ally Smith - That's a pretty full week! Did you manage all scheduled sessions this week?
hms - It doesn't look like a meh week to me. Got the psyche back now? The yellow circuit at TCA is definitely biased towards the V5 end of that range. I think it's next on the reset list now.
Nick Russell - plodding along at the moment. Winter's quite disruptive.
Creedence - Still seeing good improvements on the ARC. Did you get back on that 7a+? If it went in 2 sections first try I expect you can redpoint it.
The Ex-Engineer - Did you have a good first week in Scotland?
Humperdink - Strong week. Last time the physio put needles in me I nearly fainted.
Exile - Good work on the FA team! Did you get out yesterday?
Joyce - Welcome to Fit Club! It will be good to see your goals. In my experience it takes a while for them to settle down as you work out what really motivates you.
Just Tintin - Good indoor volume. Any luck with the real rock this weeek?
Ian Rock - I remember you were talking about starting climbing outside some time. Any progress on that?
Lancer - Welcome to Fit Club. Let's get you up E1 this year!
Kevster - More climbing tihs week?
JimmyKay - Good to see you're back on form!
mattrm - Did you get 3 sessions in this week?
Alex Winter - I know you're often lurking here - get involved!
In reply to Nick Russell: Hi Nick, thanks for asking, I had a stunning week!

M - North Buttress (IV), Buachaille Etive Mor
T - The Curtain (IV), Carn Dearg, Ben Nevis
W - Zero Gully (V), Ben Nevis
T - Peter Pan Direct (V), Beinn Udlaidh
F - rained off so - Bouldering, Avertical World Dundee, 20xV2-V3s, 11/20 V4-V5s in new basement area.
S - Bouldering, AVW, all the remaining 9/20 V4-5s.
S - rest, drive back North.

Still looking for partners for tomorrow and Tuesday but sorted for Wed-Fri.

 mattrm 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

Thanks for doing the stats. Really appreciate you doing it.

STG - Sport pyramid - 6a (2/10), 6b (1/6), 6c (0/1) - Trad pyramid - VS (5/10), HVS (0/6), E1 (0/1) 11st 10lbs weight
Aspirational - Climb E5/6 (London Wall), Scottish Winter V (Point 5, Zero, Minus, Orion), WI5, Redpoint 8a (Masada, Mortal Kombat & Cider Soak) stay injury free & maintain 11st.

Weight - 12st 12lbs (6 lbs gain)

M - Rest
T - 4k run and 1 hour bouldering
W - 100 dish tucks
T - 100 dish tucks
F - Rest
S - 100 dish tucks
S - Core workout

Month average - 80%
Year average - 80%

The monthly average is still going well. The weight gain this week has been awful. But I was at a conference all week and the food was excellent. We also did a lot of socialising, which hasn't helped. Going to have to be very sensible this week. Lots of core, but I just couldn't fit in the running or the climbing. Hopefully this week will be better.
 Kevster 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

Thanks Nick,

Yes more this week. I am trying to rebuild the psyche - have some serious fun coming this year trad wise (Dolomites and Lundy), so need to pull the finger out, get fit, get stamina, climb harder on sport ready for all those glorious pitches above rickety pegs and dubious runners.

Tues: Indoors - Managed to climb a few routes this week. Some of the wall is being reset so next week, maybe some new challenges, rather than the same old ones!
Saturday: Reach, upto 7b on lead clean. Tried only one 7b+ which was just a boulder problem before the last clip. Decided to have a bash at bouldering again. Did a reasonable number of problems upto and into the V5-7 circuit. I really am out of shape with respect to bouldering!

This week: Hope to climb all the new routes clean and onsight. Then its either bathroom DIY or a day outside at the weekend.

Cheers! Kev.
 Jeriqo 25 Jan 2015
I guess I'm mostly a fell runner but find I get injured/bored if I just run so enjoy mixing things up with biking and climbing, mostly though I just like doing different stuff in the hills so its all good really, my focus this year is the welsh champs races.

A bit of a quiet one this week really, work tiring me out but managed three runs at least!
Mon - 30mins easy run
Wed - Easy run for 1hr
Fri - Indoor climbing easy leading
Sun - Steady run 60mins
 hms 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

Thanks Nick. Have Bit more Chulilla psyche now I've got some topos with route descriptions and stars on. Still not sure what to target, despite extensive suggestions from Ally & Andy. See what moves me when we get there.

M - TCA to try the Blocfest problems. I think some must have been taken down to set for the final as could on;y find 20. Flashed 13, no hope on others. Tried some more of the yellows too, with zero success.
T - cycle commute. S&C x 3
W - cycle commute. Bloc, campus board & woodie, plus a few circuits and a little bouldering.
T - cycle commute. S&C x 4
F - UCR, trying comp problems from night before. Really enjoyed them. Umpteen of them I had to really work at before getting them, which was great. So often with boulders I can either flash them or get totally closed down. Was supposed to do some stamina circuits too, but board was being reset.
S - UCR routes. Did a long slow session just trying things I fancied. Got to penultimate hold on a 7a+. Didn't do a 6b+ which I'd been putting off as a notorious sandbag - can't get feet up on 1 move.
S - rest

Hope the 6 week training plan has done its stuff. Won't be logging next week (unless you're taking a laptop I can pinch, Ally?)
 mbh 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

It was great Nick thanks. I went with four others from Truro Running Club that I had come across through Strava, and had a lovely time.

This week I've done load of miles and hills ( 72 miles, 9000ft ascent / 115 km, 2635 m) ) and actually varied things somewhat, with sub 7 miles on short sprints to work, and a couple of 18 miles runs where the idea of one was to actually run with others, and of the other was to keep going non-stop and get beyond the mental state where my head tells me to get out the sun lounger and power off once I get to 10.0 miles. (that's a decimal point, not a comma!)

M - 18 miles 3300 ft ascent or so Cape Cornwall to St Ives on the coast path, stopping and starting, enjoying running with others for once. The views of Rosemergy, Bosigran, Haldrine Cove and St Gurnard's Head are amazing. Lots of memories of climbs past.
T -
W - 9.1 miles to lift home after work @ 7:44 (3 miles uphill then 6 miles down hill!)
T - 2.9 miles to work @ 7:00 then 9.1 miles to lift after work @ 7:50 (mystifying how I managed this @ 7:22 pace last week!)
F - 5.2 miles to lift after work, felt rotten
S - 18.3 miles, 2700 ft ascent from my front door up onto Bodmin Moor and back again. 9:04 pace! A bit of a plod, but great to be in the sun and out. Later, I kind of almost, maybe, nearly joined Truro Running Club. I just need to press send. I have never really done clubs, but now I might take the plunge and sell my soul to their colours. They seem a really nice lot, so it's hardly a Faustian pact. The logistics of my life at the moment mean that it will be hard to be a regular at the training evenings, but it would be good to get a push from them and be able to give something back.
S - 10 miles on the coast path, New Polzeath to Port Quin and back. Via Lundy Bay. Trying to help my wife get her head and legs where they need to be for the Grizzly (Seaton, 2000 runners/20 mile beach/ coast path thing at the end of Feb.)
In reply to Nick Russell:

Thanks Nick!

Crap week of domestic arrangements (no hot water and no sleep) took it's toll and ended up with an extra rest day. But; Managed a weekend on rock at RHS - though limited choice got some good work done. Was secretly hoping to go to Birchen and cheer for Mountain Spirit and Nath today but alas not to be.

M - trapeze 90 mins
T - rest
W - coaching then lead Brookes. Pyramid to 6c+.
T - rest
F - Boulder Milton Keynes. Another WBL tick and working more at the top end.
S - too wet as the snow drains in Hope Valley so boulder Robin Hood's Stride. Opened an account on Cave Route (v6) and managed to work out short person beta for and link first half. It'll go this year.
S - Boulder RHS. A few V3s ticked then working the Kid (v6)

 AJM 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

> AJM - Did you have a better week at work? The weather this weekend looked quite good down in Dorset.

Much better thanks. The weekend weather looked lovely, but I've been in London all weekend so the nearest I got to it was watching the sunshine from the train windows on Saturday morning!

A week of ups and downs.

Abject failure to cycle, at all, which is a disappointment. Also felt a bit of a tweak in my finger on Friday which I'll need to be very careful to keep an eye on. That meant I failed to complete the plan, which is a real shame as I was actually on track!

On the plus side I got at least one hard-ish problem done, progress on at least one other, worked out some new mid grade ones, and my Boulder circuits session on Wednesday was excellent, stormed through. Way higher difficulty than the last time, felt so much fresher which I think made the difference. Hopefully up the difficulty of a few problems next time I'm on it.

Aerocap
Continuity - 1/1
Split continuity 0/1

Ancap
Boulder mileage - 1/1

Conditioning
Wide grip pullups - 2/2
Bottom pullups - 2/2
Offset pull-ups - 2/2
Fingerboard 1 - 1/2

Monday - wall. General bouldering. Wide grip and assisted one arm pullups. Feeling a bit beasted.
Tuesday - bottom and wide grip pullups before work. Bottom pullups after dinner.
Wednesday - 100 crunches and some push-ups before work. Boulder circuit and continuity after work.
Thursday - fingerboard after work
Friday - 100 crunches and some push-ups before work. Wall after work. General bouldering, got a few new problems ready for the circuit to up the difficulty, and a new relatively hard one too. Finger felt tweaky so sacked in anything else though to play it safe. Assisted one armers. Tried wrist - should be able to restart doing normal offsets and trx again.
Saturday - 100 crunches. Much walking round London
Sunday - nowt. Much walking round London
 Mutl3y 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

Hi Nick, yeah it was a light week, still trying to lose weight. It's tricky though knowing how that's going. Was down 1.6kgs week to yesterday but by this morning those gains had randomly been wiped out. Bit frustrating tbh.

M- 180 press ups + 57 pull ups. Decided to give recording these a miss from now on and try to improve form. Chasing numbers compromises quality.
T- quick session at Works. Did 25 pinkles (5+ish)
F - works session. Did 6 more wasps (6A/Bish) but the ones I can't do easily are getting difficult now. Pretty good session.
Sunday - works session. About another 6 wasps, felt quite strong. Also did a murple (6Cish) and a white (at least 7A apparently). Vastly exceeded expectations but I was with a good group - wouldn't have done it on my own.

So no fingerboard this week, no real stretching or kettlebell sessions either. Weight loss was also non-existent but I finished the week with my best indoor session for some time. The fight isn't finished yet....next week, full gas, something worthwhile every day.

Maybe even get outside at the weekend??
OP Nick Russell 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Mutl3y:
> still trying to lose weight. It's tricky though knowing how that's going

I've only monitored weight a few times, for short periods of time, but it definitely fluctuates a lot throughout the day. Don't worry about individual measurements - it's the trend that counts. Measure frequently and regularly and make a graph or something. (Something like 3-7 day moving average would probably be a good idea if you're ok with calculating that sort of thing.)

Make sure you're using the same set of scales each time and wearing the same clothes - I found last thing in the evening and first thing in the morning (wearing pyjamas each time) was a good way to do it.
OP Nick Russell 25 Jan 2015
In reply to Nick Russell:

M - Rest
T - TCA. Working my way through more yellows (V3-V5, biased towards the upper end of that). Also did an orange (V5-V8) which was easier than most of the yellows...
W - 5km run, fingerboard, core. Managed some middle 2 repeaters!
T - TCA. Working a few more yellows then 2x10 minutes on the circuits (ARC, probably). Skin is the limiting factor on those.
F - Rest
S - Mixed climbing at Clogwyn Du. Led my first pitch of 6! (Cleft Gully, V 6)
S - Redpoint. Not happy with their setting (or lack thereof) - most of the routes we did had been up since August or September. Put in a good effort flashing a 6c with a dyno over the lip of the roof and a 7a that put up a good fight.

A good week, possibly lacking focus at the moment. Highlight was the winter climbing in North Wales - got a bit of confidence in mixed climbing and my first tech 6 pitch. Unfortunately my sport climbing is suffering as a result of this winter business - Saturday would have been great conditions at Brean.

Goals
  • Brean progression to The Milky Bar Kid (8a) (8a)
    Prisoner of Conscience -> The Guilt Edge -> Bullworker -> Prisoner of Bullworker -> El Chocco -> The Milky Bar Kid
  • 2-finger (front and middle) repeaters on BM1000 small pockets
    Managed 6x6/4 on middle 2. Front 2 still seems way off, though my dead-hang is up to about 10s now. I've found 20s to be the threshold where repeaters become worthwhile.
  • Tick off some of the harder Avon trad that I've not got round to yet
    Amanita, Think Pink, Central Wall, Peryl, Main Wall Elimate, GT Special, Low Profile
  • Winter grade VI
    Seems possible this season if I'm in the right place at the right time with the right people and the right weather. El Mancho (VII 7) would be cool but sounds hard.
  •  Exile 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

    Good effort - all great routes. Were you staying at the hut or walking up each day?
     Tyler 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    M: Stockport, good session
    T: Scans, I get the result of the MRi next week but the ultrasound person failed to find all my ligaments which means one of them is ruptured, not an important one apparently but I'm still unable to run
    W: Deadhangs, no improvement on previous week, not even slightly
    T: Stockport, not great but not bad considering I did deadhangs yesterday
    F: Rest
    S: Stockport, felt knackered. Managed 10 tie ins but generally low quality
    S: Planned a walk but got as far as Ribblehead and turned around

    I began some core/rehab sessions this week
     Exile 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Thanks for doing fit club Nick - good effort on your first tech 6 lead. Yes, got out yesterday.

    Aims:

    Winter start with VI 7 - Start winter, tick, VI 7 - sort of, seconded VII 7 ok

    Spring 7b RP - Countash, Mill Side Scar

    Summer quick build through E1 / E2 to get on some more E3s and consolidate at the grade

    Summer -get on some slate

    Long term aim, (18 months or so?) HP Exeguy (E6 6b) at Trowbarrow

    M: Rest
    T: 1hr road run (winter endurance)
    W: 45min power endurance at wall & core - poor session as felt tired so finished early
    T: 30min road run (winter endurance) - didn't want to do too much before weekend
    F: Rest
    S: 10hrs winter climbing. Did Rib and Groove (V 6) on Cambridge Crag having seen comments in the log book on here from Pete Graham who thought it deserved three stars. It is an excellent route and towards the top of the grade I would say. I felt fine leading it all so I feel I'm building a good head of steam ready for VI 7 if in the right place at the right time in the right conditions with the right partner...
    S: Rest

    A good week.
    In reply to Exile: Based at the CC Hut at Roy Bridge so very handy for the Ben but still a fair drive to Glencoe and especially Bridge of Orchy.

    Are you planning to get up to Scotland this season?

     Si dH 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:
    How hard was your fingerboard session on Thursday? I've been upping the fingerboarding intensity quite a bit the last 2 months, and touch wood, it seems to be working in that I'm feeling strong when bouldering at the moment (although I have also lost some weight in that time so it's difficult to know for sure) - but what I have found is that I need a full two days' rest afterwards. Both times that I have tried to boulder at the wall either the next day after a hard fingerboard session or even the day after that, my fingers have felt very delicate, and once it resulted in a definite tweak that needed a week off. I find that fingerboard sessions themselves, because very controlled, rarely do me any harm - but they leave my fingers very prone to injury for a couple of days. I figure they need that time for the finger tendons to recover and then improve/strengthen/grow anyway so it's probably no bad thing.
    Bit rambling but could this be the cause of your tweak on Friday?

    Hope Tom's was good btw?
    Post edited at 21:25
    OP Nick Russell 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Exile:
    > good effort on your first tech 6 lead.

    Thanks, I feel like I consistently underperform in winter due to a lack of experience (only about a dozen days out and no concerted training, e.g. drytooling). Sounds like you had a good day on Saturday! Do you ever go down to North Wales? I suppose you don't have shortage of partners but I'd happily give a belay and (reasonably) competent second some time.
     Mutl3y 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Thanks nick good idea the moving average. I do weigh myself every day same scales first thing in the morning sort of thing. Which is why it was a bit of a surprise the big fluctuation - hadn't exactly eaten loads the day before.

    Looking at my numbers my 7 day MA is down just 300g - so not terribly impressive. I'm going to need to dial in the food a fair bit for the next few weeks. That's aim #1.

    Cheers tho will use MA as my main benchmark from now.
     Lancer 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Hi Nick, thanks for the welcome- short term target now suitably inflated to E1... Anyway, not too bad a week, although I couldn't be arsed to exercise properly when I got home on Monday and Wednesday- must avoid lethargy in future...!

    Mon- 12 mile cycle commute. 70 press ups before bed.
    Tues- 12 mile cycle commute. Evening- Awesome Walls, Sheffield- 6a+, 5+, 5+, 6b, 6b (neither 6b clean-had to rest- aargh!!)
    Wed- 12 mile cycle commute. 70 press ups before bed.
    Thurs- 12 mile cycle commute. Afternoon- Awesome Walls, Stockport- 6a+, 6b (clean- hooray!), 6a+, 6a+, 6a+. A far better session!
    Fri- 12 mile cycle commute.
    Sat- Home workout- "Frenchies"- 4 x 3 reps (hideous but getting stronger- only managed 3 sets of 2 last time..!), interrupted with 4 x 50 press-ups. Long term target of 8 reps of frenchies seems a long way off...
    Sun- Fingerboard session, then 3 x 50 press-ups and 3 x 8 body curls.

     mrchewy 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Ta Nick - in the end I managed to do more than just tick over despite working 7 days and a few late evenings.

    Mon - Worked late. Rest day, knackered.

    Tue - Worked late. 100 pressups. 2hr boulder and tried bloody hard - felt loads stronger. Working stuff with someone near my grade for a change, which helped. Best session in ages.

    Wed - Worked late. Teatime boulder 1.5hr. Worked V3/4 and did some foot on campus stuff, but no structure.

    Thu - Started a 15 minute blast at lunchtime which involves, pressups, squats, mountain climbers and wide-outs in sets of twenty. Managed 180 before I felt like puking. Will get stronger on this. Tried the P90X ab ripper and felt great on some exercises but crap at others. 1hr yoga class in the evening.

    Fri - 3hr boulder. Ticked a pesky V3, worked 3-5 and felt strong for me in general. Left knee (medial) really inflamed after.

    Sat - Worked. Rest. DOMS from Friday's session.

    Sun - Boulder. Finally ticked an awkward problem on the 30°... V0! Played on V3-5 but felt tired today (14 days straight at work now). Felt really solid on the start of the crimpy V5 but the first foothold is what's playing up the medial ligament, so will stay off that now as had to resort to the brace and it's like a balloon. To finish, smallest campus rail 5 x 20 hand movements with 6 extra on the last go. Foot on. Short rests.

    A really good week as it turned out. Managed some moves I'd normally think impossible, so making progress but the new set is a bit more progressive than normal for me - stuff just a bit too hard, rather than just too strong for me. Bit battered now.
     AJM 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Si dH:

    Toms was good fun, yeah. Good weekend all round really, packed a lot in as ever! Unlike you though I think I'm ballooning weight wise though off the back of this and other stuff, it'd be a real concern if I wasn't climbing well (indoors at least) but it needs to come off before honeymoon.

    It took me a while to get the intensity sorted, but I don't think it's meant to be a super maximal session - it was assisted (foot on chair) one arm hangs on a camous rung, but cycling hands every 5 seconds or something for 70secs so probably something vaguely akin to repeaters...? However, I definitely know what you mean, I had a phase of doing a lot of fingerboarding a while back and wall sessions the day after I had to take ages warming up because my fingers felt pretty creaky. Given its the first time I've finger boarded in ages it's something to keep an eye on.

    Thanks to the layout of the plan I'm not actually scheduled to do much fingerboarding, none in the plan for this week, so I get a natural break from it, and I can schedule the wall sessions this week to push the harder climbing out towards the back of the week.

    On Friday if I crimped with just that finger against my other Palm I could definitely feel something, whereas even yesterday that had gone, so fingers crossed it was a passing thing that won't lead to much downtime. If it does, then at least my wrist seems to be back in the game again so I can do some bar work, offsets, rings, trx and the like to pass the time!
     AJM 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Nice effort on the mixed action Nick, and on having the psyche to drive up there just for a day!

    I think I've had to shelve my ambitions at winter climbing for the foreseeable future, which is a bit of a shame. Maybe one day I'll move to a more convenient location for it and will be able to dust the axes off once more!
     Banned User 77 25 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Probably my last fit club... Think its time to call it a day with UKC after nearly 15 years.

    Monday.. selection decision for the world trail team for GB.. so we'll see.

    m: lunch slow 5 miles. evening slow 5 miles, IT bands sore from cold long run.
    t: track, 4 mile warm up, 3 x 2 miles at 5:30-5:35 pace, plus cool down and 400s recovery, 14 mile day
    w: 13.3 mile road run in the snow 7:40 pace, felt sore
    t: am: 4 miles steady. pm: 7.8 miles 6:40 pace, felt comfortable.
    f: track. 4 mile warm up. breakout 600's. 4 x (600m, 400m, 300m, 200m) with (200m, 100m, 100m) recovery. Most sub 5:00 min mile pace.
    s: am: 8.6 miles Appalachian trail Pennsylvania in the snow past two great view points, slow. pm: 4.4 mile road run 7:50 pace.
    s: am: 0.2 mile warm up. 13.1 mile progression run, with a ~1 mile hill rep, 6:30 pace over all, last 5 miles 6:00 pace, finished last serious mile 5:45 pace... felt good. 0.2 mile cool down. pm: 4 miles 7:05 pace but pace picked up throughout.

    5th week of 90+ miles, 2nd week of serious marathon training.

    TBH I dont think I made the GB team, no trial race, 20+ runners in contention, most in Britain.. so we'll see...
     Si dH 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    I'm guessing that's on reasonable size rungs (ie not the bottom row of a 2000) so probably not quite as bad if you warm up very well the next day - definitely something to watch though
     mrchewy 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Tyler:

    > which means one of them is ruptured, not an important one apparently but I'm still unable to run

    > I began some core/rehab sessions this week

    Best of luck with the rehab - hard not to get down about injuries like that.

     mrchewy 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Stroppy's wife:

    I'm guessing this is Iain - hope the running continues to go well, wherever you report it chap.

    Kelvin
     Exile 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Despite being a Welshman living in England, (hence Exile,) I haven't winter climbed in Wales at all simply because when Wales is in so is the Lakes, which are on my doorstep.

    I keep meaning to make the effort though.

    Re underperformance, it's easy to do in winter, so many stars need to align - partner, time off, conditions, weather, right route - that climbing at your limit can be hard to achieve, (although Greg Boswell would probably disagree!)
     Exile 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

    Good effort doing three days on the Ben from the road then - cardio training is so much more important for winter climbing than pull ups!

    I'll get some days in Scotland when the Lakes aren't in condition any longer - when they are it makes sense for me to climb here and save the petrol money and brownie points.
     Ally Smith 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Hi Nick - I know what you mean about winter under-performance. I'm rusty to say the least, with only 2 days out in the last 2 seasons, both of which involved ignominious retreats from things that were either blatantly too hard for me (Great Corner, llech ddu), or blatantly out of condition (western gully, black ladders).

    However, i'm keen to get out this winter, and Snowdonia is almost on my doorstep, so give me a shout if you want to traipse back up to Clogwyn Du for some mixed action?
     Ally Smith 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    I felt beasted trying to do an aero-cap route session after finger-boarding 2 weeks ago. Even went as far as emailing coach; he reckons strength training should knock 10% off a subsequent session, at most.

    So, i reckon we both either:
    - got the intensity too high (almost definitely if you got a tweak from it?)
    - are mal-adapted to finger-boarding, and we'll get better at including these sessions with some repeat efforts

    - are plainly too fat at the moment and loading the poor fingers with excess butter
     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Si dH:

    Medium campus rung size.

    But yes, it's an odd coincidence. Although it was also third day on for my fingers, including that fingerboard session. Was just psyched to be able to do unscripted generic bouldering because I knew I could finish all the scheduled sessions for the week.....
     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    Definitely too fat, no questions!

    I don't actually know the fingerboarding caused the tweak - I was bouldering the next day when I noticed it. I don't really know what intensity it's meant to be!

    Given how wrecked I feel after an ancap session, even continuity feels like a slog, definitely not -10% for a same session effort for that!

    Yeah hopefully get better as I adjust to load!
     Ally Smith 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:
    Cheers for doing the stats Nick - another high volume week for me - even managed a bonus session on top of those prescribed by coach Randall.

    However, my shoulder is starting to complain again; a work trip to Hamburg for the next couple of days should help the recovery before going to Chulilla next weekend. 8b RP is the target for the trip – either El Infierno, or El Montana Magica depending on temperatures/sunshine.

    BHAG:
    - “La Geurre Sainte” 7b/+ multi-pitch in Wadi Rum
    - Hard sport multi-pitch (8a region?) – something in Taghia maybe?
    - Kaa’bah, 8c+ - gotta aim high!

    LTG (2015):
    - Do some adventurous cycle touring (maybe MTB Great Glen/West Highland way?)
    >8b+ RP – cherry pick from the list below
    - Unjustified/Overjustified & Bat Route, Malham.
    - Waddage, Mecca & Extension, Tor.
    - True North, Kilnsey
    >8a on-sight (turns out the lattice board is very non-linear and I need to aim for 110 moves for 8a+ OS; Eek!)

    MTG (Winter ‘14/’15):
    - Finish off all the remaining routes at Brean; 7c, 8a & 8a+/b link-ups
    - Stay in gainful employment – redundancy looking less likely, but still not certain
    - Fisheye and/or Humildes pas Casa, Oliana; End of Feb.
    - Headpoint some hard grit
    - Decorate the house & build some home training facilities
    - Healthy shoulders, fingers & elbows – keep following the physio (boo – bad finger)
    - Get some proper “rat crimp” strength so that I can climb hard on peak lime - as much about being a skinny wretch as it is having strong digits it seems
    - Cut the lard; 76.1kg and 6.7% BF this morning, but like Mutl3y it was lower midweek (75.5kg and 6.6% BF) – gotta stay off the expenses paid dinners whilst in Germany this week

    STG (next week)
    - Fit in some core and aerobic conditioning at the hotel whilst away with work
    - Smash in Chulilla’s backdoors

    Last week:

    M - Stockport. Warm-up then 6x doubles on a 7b. 16 tie-ins total.
    T - Boulder mileage, 2x 20 problems, then 8 laps of 1 on/2 off aero-cap. Struggling with the aero-cap intensity again; not really getting pumped, but powering out instead.
    W - Rest: working on campus-board Mk2, then 330 core movements and 90 press-ups.
    T - Progressive an-cap & 1 on/1 off aero-cap. Short session, puffing lots of 1on/1off, but not getting excessively pumped – need to up the difficulty I think. Shoulder sore.
    F - Rest; cinema. Excess pop-corn consumption
    S - Back to Parisella’s – wasn’t as cold as last week, so surprised the mixed was in after the thaw on Friday. Great session. Managed Cave Life – LWH link (7C+) first RP after reminding myself of the LWH finish, then set about working Lou Ferrino sans pocket (8A), which in some kind of miracle went down 3rd go! Then did all the lip problems, and tried BCLS and BCDLS a few times, dropping them from the lip each time. Beasted. Snack based dinner watching movies at friends house.
    S - 20km pre-breakfast road ride to try and burn some fat, then aero-power bonus session. 8 laps on the Stockport “super-circuit” (7c/+ ish). Laps 1-6 successful with increasing pump. Lap 7 fail on the downclimb. Final lap fell early, but pulled back on and finished with excruciating pump! 10min (7a auto-belay) continuity to warm-down.

    P.S. Finally got round to updating my blog - filling in the gaps from not doing full trip write-ups. Kalymnos done; Costa Blanca and Oman to follow shortly.
    Post edited at 09:02
     Ally Smith 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Snap! An-cap sessions destroy me; easily knocks 2 grades off what i can do in a aero-cap session.

    Guess that's why an-cap is my weakness and needs the biggest work for me to go up a grade.
    OP Nick Russell 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:
    > surprised the mixed was in after the thaw on Friday.

    Me too really. Until we got to about 800m there was no sign of winter and I thought it was going to be a wasted drive and walk-in. But the crag was pretty white, plenty of ice and solid turf. Sunday would have been a washout though. I'll give you a shout if I'm up that way later in the season.
    OP Nick Russell 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Exile:

    > when Wales is in so is the Lakes, which are on my doorstep.
    Yeah, makes sense. Wales is convenient for me because it's closer (still >4 hours drive) and I can call in on my parents in Shrewsbury on the way. It would be good to get out in the Lakes though - I'll let you know if I do!

    > so many stars need to align - partner, time off, conditions, weather, right route
    Yes, I think we both said something to that effect in this week's post!

    In reply to Nick Russell:

    I'm going to have a stab at this again. I disappeared for a bit due to lack of psyche. Stats and goals next week. Been climbing fairly regularly since my last update but generally just training with no real direction and mucking about with different disciplines. Keen to crack on with the bouldering goals again now as that's where my heart is at.
     flopsicle 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    "flopsicle - Did you get back on the bridgy palmy route?"
    Nope - bit of a pants week here, had a cold and my daughters Dad blew her off so I didn't get my main climbing day! Did have a lovely extra day with my kid though...

    Mon - 1.2 miles on hills.
    Tues - Nowt
    Weds - 2.2 miles on hills. 1 hr climbing, X 26 auto belay F6a/F6b (auto belay has F grades as well as usual notts uk tech 5a + 5bs for those routes)
    Thurs - 1.25 miles on hills
    Fri - WBL, 18 attempts, 12 completed, plus warm up, plus approx 6 routes V3 - 5. The Depot V3-5 felt about the same as notts uk tech 5a - c so not counting as my notts 6a target.
    Sat - nowt
    Sun - felt like I ran forever on very muddy hills but My Track said it was only 3.7 miles! I believe it because the map was right, just felt knackered!
     hms 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    Um - I was planning on knocking politely at the front door?

    As anticipated, work email system went ballistic about the Chulilla topos with 'sex shop' in the text. Memory sticks are banned, may try to breach the walls of prudery via a drop-box. Just want the thing printed so I can work on that psyche!
    OP Nick Russell 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to hms:
    > As anticipated, work email system went ballistic about the Chulilla topos with 'sex shop' in the text. Memory sticks are banned, may try to breach the walls of prudery via a drop-box

    Surprised the e-mail filters are that stringent! Dropbox may work, but if you find that banned too you can send it to me and I'll chuck it on my website. I see no reason for that to be banned.
     Ian Rock 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Thanks Nick. Not managed to get outdoors yet. I wouldn't feel right looking for a trad climbing partner and then turning up half clueless with just my harness and shoes, so going on a PyB course first in Spring. Can't wait!

    M - Cycle commute. Routes aero pyramid 4+, 5, 5+, 6a. Didn't manage the 6a, got halfway and just couldn't pull the move even after resting on the rope, cream crackered.
    T - Cycle commute. Running - injury seems to have healed so risked a HIT work out. Went well, 1m walk, 1m jog, 1m sprint x 10. Ached like mad afterwards, stretched off in warm bath.
    W - Tummy bug. Off work.
    T - Tummy bug. Off work.
    F - Cycle commute. 5km run in the evening, got a PB without going for it and wasn't that puffed either so pretty happy.
    S - Long walk.
    S - Social climb, just went over stuff I'd done before. Mate ticked a powerful overhanging route so upped the bar a little.
     Ally Smith 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to hms:

    Just employing some good sports psychology by publicly stating my aims for the trip; using some language that reinforces how i want the trip to go.

    No point hesitantly saying, oh I might have an alright trip, depending on actors x, y & z that are beyond my control.

    I've done the training (you and me both), I know what i want to achieve (8b RP and/or 8a OS) and i will do it in good style (quick RP, good training trip for Oliana).

    So, state want you want to do, be it grade chasing or specific routes, and start to reinforce some PMA: Awooga!
     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    I think we need to utilise the power of the Internet to crowdsource some suitably ambitious goals for hms.

    I'm going to go first and throw out there "7b+ redpoint in Chulilla, 7b onsight in Rrg, 7c/+ redpoint on home turf in 2015 and lining up for 8a in 2016/2017"

    Useful backing evidence being probably more static strength than me, an obvious lack of dynamicity which if addressed should allow rapid progress (nothing better for fast improvement than an underaddressed weakness), and a work ethic that puts most people on fit club to shame with the possible exception of Ally and the dedicated runners.

     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    I'm sure I thought I was doing ancap sessions before but I'm sure they didn't screw me up quite as much as these do.

    And for me it's meant to be a strength!
     Dandan 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    > Dandan82 - Good luck with the Ninja Warrior application - I hope you'll share the video with us when it's done!

    Thanks for the stats Nick, the ninja warrior application is done and none of you lot are going to see it! I don’t think I’m particularly good at selling myself so the video I made is a bit of a cringe-fest from my point of view, hence I’m keeping it under wraps! I’ll let you all know if I get an audition though.

    Another good week, volume still high, injuries still being managed, although my finger felt a bit rubbish midweek after doing steep wall laps up to 7a, it seems to have bounced back and feels pretty decent today all things considered so hopefully it’s still on an upward trend towards being fully mended.

    M: Strength and Conditioning
    T: 25 routes 5-7a: only managed 20 as finger started to complain but what I did was good quality
    W: 4x4 routes: 6a, 6a+,6a+,6b
    T: rest
    F: Strength and Conditioning
    S: DIY
    S: Routes; Aerocap 15min x3

    I’m smack bang in the middle of the aerobic phase of my plan so it was mostly volume climbing to work on my stamina this week, although Robin’s idea of aerobic seems somewhat ambitious to me (for example I think I have 4x4’s up to 7b this coming week!)
    The stamina is definitely increasing, steep walls are starting to feel less of a fight and more of a good place to have a rest and I’m moving on increasingly harder ground with no pump when doing 15 minute aero sets, all good news with Kalymnos looming.
    My only current stumbling block is my finger, it’s just stopping me from confidently getting my teeth into the higher grade elements of the training, I’ve had to scrap the performance (projecting) sessions and fingerboard sessions for the time being and in an ideal world I think my finger would like a good couple of weeks off before easing back into things. I’m hoping if I can hold the intensity at the right level I can climb and heal at the same time but it’s a pretty fine line and with such a slow healing injury, it’s really hard to tell if it’s working or not…

    Saturday was DIY which I wouldn’t usually try to pass off as exercise but I was digging out tree roots and I sweated more doing that than I do on the S&C days so I think that counts.

    I felt super strong and light Sunday (despite gaining half a stone recently, same bodyfat % so I don’t mind) but I managed to keep a sensible head on and stick to the plan just doing easy Aero stuff. So many times in the past I would have jumped on something hard and more than likely hurt my finger, or an elbow, or some other body part, it’s nice to feel like I have some self control.

    Target is to just keep going, keep my sensible head on and continue building a super solid base of fitness.
     Dandan 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Lancer:

    > Sat- Home workout- "Frenchies"- 4 x 3 reps (hideous but getting stronger- only managed 3 sets of 2 last time..!), interrupted with 4 x 50 press-ups. Long term target of 8 reps of frenchies seems a long way off...

    8 frenchies is pretty serious, isn't that basically 24 chin ups with pauses in between? That's crazy strong, i'd say 3 reps is more than enough for getting to the top of an E1!

    I don't know your physical history but don't injure yourself by doing a load of unnecessary strength work (speaking from hard earned experience), at your level I imagine the best thing you can do is just climb as much as possible, your goal is definitely within your grasp.

    Of course if you enjoy the strength training then crack on, it'll never be a hindrance, just don't break yourself


     Spengler 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Thanks Nick.

    M - 1 Hour core strength work
    T - Wall. 60 mins bouldering up to v4. 45 min system board (12 moves on, 5 mins rest). ARC Traverse - 30 mins 6a+, 5 mins rest, 10 mins 5+. 2.5 minutes extra on the 6a+ traverse.
    W - Rest. Some light stretching.
    T - 45mins core strength work. Then FB repeaters. 3 sets.
    Half crimp 30mm (+3kg), Front 3 30mm (+4kgs), 35° Sloper (-5kgs).
    +1kg front 3, +1kg Slopers.
    F - Wall. Routes. Up to 6c clean. Tired so only short session. 2 hrs.
    S - Walk round Cwm Idwal.
    S - Wall. 1 hr bouldering. Ticked one of the harder v5s.
    2 hrs of routes. Still tired, so not a great session setting new low points on the 7a's. .
    ARC traverse - 32 mins on 6a+ish. 2 minutes extra on the 6a+ traverse.

    Seemed to lack stamina after the FB session this week, as although I felt strong, ticking another of the harder v5's this set, I powered out really quick on harder routes, though as an excuse for my psyche they've been up a while now, and smaller holds are getting greasy. I did attempt to onsight a 7a through the roof, and got to the last clip. If I'd made one more move before trying to clip, I think I'd have done it, but a poor clip position finished my left arm off.

    Upped the 6a+ traverse again, really had to fight for it but I seem to be improving. I think I’ll move on to working higher intensity endurance now, as my boredom threshold has probably been reached for ARCing…
     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Dandan:

    I'd guess I could do 2-3 Frenchies in a set, I'd be amazed if I could do more. 8 would be insane!
     Lancer 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Dandan:
    Possibly 8 is a tad over-ambitious, although I am going to see if I can there as a bit of a personal challenge, as I have a bit of an obsessional relationship with physical activity and strength training- possibly something to do with a past career in the military! Anyway- thanks for the concern and advice- much appreciated- I am trying to increase intensity of training slowly, climb as much as my work and family dictate, and give plenty of rest days to recover specific areas.
    Post edited at 19:40
     Mutl3y 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    Hi Ally, if you don't mind asking, how do you measure BF? I've found a website or two but not sure for accuracy. Also any particular level you are targeting? 6.6% sounds pretty skinny wretch like to me
     Joyce 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Morning Campers,

    This week didn't quite go to plan...
    Maximum Strength Training Week 2/3
    Monday - one armer practice - 3 x sets of six sagging locks each side; 3 x sets 6 pull ups with 7.5kg extra extra; 2 x sets 2 offset pull ups - slightly less miserable effort on these. Also shoulder control muscle exercises, antagonistic muscle stuff e.g dips, bench presses, shoulder presses and front lever practice. Finished with 30 min Yoga video off YouTube.
    Tuesday - Got the Ofsted call - nuff said!
    Wednesday - More Ofsted.
    Thursday - Post Ofsted rest.
    Friday - Rest.
    Saturday - Park Run on course that was new to me - it had some icy patches in the shade and street furniture chicanes to slow you down. I tweaked my lower back as I set off so slowed and eased into it. Ended up 8th in 19:22, setting a new PB - stoked!
    Sunday - Still tired from Ofsted so no climbing. However, late in the evening (as Paul Simon once sang) one armer practice - 3 x sets of six sagging locks each side (less bad to start off with but then 'assisted' by crimping door frame; 3 x sets 6 pull ups with 7.5kg extra extra; 2 x sets 2 offset pull ups - not as bad as last time. Also shoulder control muscle exercises, antagonistic muscle stuff e.g dips, bench presses, and shoulder presses.

    Right then, goals:

    STG (by Easter):
    Boulder 7B+ (probably Between the Lines or Underhand at Almscliff as close to both).
    Keep working weaknesses - one armed hangs, slopers, an-cap, power
    Tick some more 7A+s in a session - only done this a couple of times so far.
    Do more in a session at TCA - a little less conversation, a little more action - this probably my biggest weakness

    MTG (by September)
    The Loop at Huntsham (super an-cap 8a),
    The 7C traverse at Biblins Cave.
    7B in a session - could be ambitious but we need that, eh?
    Some 7Bs at the Bowderstone

    LTG (by end of next winter)
    Tetris, The Keel, Peckitt's Roof (Huntsham), Fat Cat Roof (Dinas Rock) - all 7C
    Climb all the Classic Rock routes with the good lady wife.
    Actually go up some mountains, rather than just staring at tiny crimps in a cave at the bottom of them!

    Dream Climbs
    The Nose (El Cap)
    Careless Torque - never even actually seen it but it's THE line - wanna be falling off of it within 5 years.
    Great Wall on Cloggy - the essay in Hard Rock just does it for me.

    Back to normality this week - huzzah!

    Love from,
    Joyce,
    Xxxx
     AJM 26 Jan 2015
    In reply to Joyce:

    Any idea whether Huntsham is dry at the moment Joyce? (Incidentally, it's Andy who you met up at the Sliced Slug when Tom B did Low Blow). Slim chance I might be out and about that way sometime this weekend.

    On the finger Injury front, my finger seems to be able to tolerate a pretty good amount of me being a tw*t to it. Warmed up slowly, did some harder stuff, did some even harder stuff, and only felt a wee bit of an ache when I stopped playing on the powerful basic crimp climbing problem on the 30 that I was trying. If it'll take that it'll take most things. Given that I'm going to try not to be that stupid (in hindsight!) next time, this bodes well. Warmed down with some continuity, open hand focused, and a set of offset pullups. Hopefully I'm not as broken as all that, fingers crossed and touching wood and all that.
     AJM 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Hmm so some ache if I crimp with it this morning, not really painful bit definitely an ache.

    I'm making the working assumption it's a slight tweak to the A2, unless anyone has a different theory (ache in the main knuckle, first from the base, when in a half/full crimp position. Nothing really when open handing. Nothing in general use, only climbing or after climbing)?
     JayK 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    M- 7 day gym membership started. 5K on the treadmill in 22:30, did some dips and pull-ups and then moved onto core. Which felt a lot harder after running. Sauna and Jacuzzi. Loving it!
    T- Wall, had a bit of a boulder before going and attempting a fingerboard session. Reasonable before doing some core.
    W- 5k on the treadmill this time in 20:52. Did some pull-ups and dips before moving over to do some core. Sauna and Jacuzzi.
    T- Wall, board session. Feeling a lot stronger again. Cruising up some the starts of some of the harder problems which last week were shutting me down. Psyche is rebuilding.
    F- Gym, 5k on the treadmill in 19:34 (not bad eh?), did some dips and moved onto core. Decent core set. Did some chest and shoulder exercises before hitting up the jacuzzi and sauna. Drove back to the wall and whacked in a decent fingerboard session for good measure. It's coming back!!
    S- Rest day after 8 days on.
    S- Anston Stones for the first time. It's only a 90 minute drive from my house!! AMAZING. It goes up to F8B. I am mega psyched about this. Warmed up - as it was very cold. Did a 7B+ after a few goes. Cruised a 7C all the way to the last big move and couldn't quite do it. This frustrated me loads and I lost all my skin trying it. Anyway, went over to play on Dark Art 8A, no skin but could do bits of it so I'm keen to get back and try it again soon. Went back over and managed a few 7A/B's and then quickly smashed a gnarly 7C off to finish the session. Good day.

    My psyche is returning and my body is feeling fresher. Training isn't breaking me like it has over the last couple of weeks. It just required changing it up with a bit of gym. Alright!

    New 2015 goals:
    Out boulder Ally Smith ,
    Find a short boulder 8b route with no more than 2 bolts. >D
     Ally Smith 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Mutl3y:

    I've got a set of scale that do an electrical impedance test of BF - after feeding it data like your height and whether you're an "athlete" or not.

    On the non-athlete setting, 6.7% = 14.4%, so not quite the skinny wretch you imagine!

    AJM can attest to me being a fatty at the moment, and our common need to shift the butter
     Dandan 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    I don't get the athlete setting, I get 8.8% on normal or something stupid like 4% if I set it to athlete! Based on the description of an athlete being someone who does 14 hours of intense exercise a week, I guess i'm somewhere between the two in reality? ( I'm currently doing at least 10 hours a week, although not all intense.)
     Ally Smith 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to JimmyKay:

    I could be tempted by a visit to Aston Stones - probably a similar drive for me, but it'd be good to check out some other limestone bouldering venues
     Mutl3y 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    Thanks Ally, I have some scales that do the same thing with the same accuracy. Think I would prefer any other method to relying on them tho (if I ever fancy a more accurate assessment than just looking in the mirror!).

     Ally Smith 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Mutl3y:

    I'm not fussed about the accuracy of the value, but used as a trending tool, it shows how far i am away from fighting fitness, which for me is:
    Sub 74kg
    sub 6.5% BF on my scales

    I don't particularly care what my actual BF value is - experience has shown that i can attain and hold those levels for about 6 weeks each summer before either getting injured or succumbing to temptation and slobbing out on beer and pizza.
     Humperdink 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to IainRUK:

    Best of luck for the trial race selection. Shame to see you go....
     Humperdink 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Cheers Nick, been recovering from the race until now!

    M: pm - Run home from work, 8M steady in 55:41
    Tu: pm - run home from work then 30min fartlek as per last week: 2min hard, 1min @6min/miling 9M total
    W: am - run to work ~2M in 14:02, pm run home from work 4.5M in 33:05
    Th: am - run to work, 2.5M in 18:49, pm run home ~2M in 13:14 + Strides
    F: am - run to work ~2M in 15:03
    Sa: pm South of England Cross Country. Cold but dry for the 9M course around Brighton's Stanmer park. Very hilly course which was difficult not to get psyched out by! Got out ok but a little held up over the first half mile. This probably turned out to be ok as then started to work my way through the field. Around half way caught one of my teammates which helped me push on along with several people dropping out in front of me. Brutal course which was running up or down quite steeply with not much in between but happy to finish in 30th my place in this race. (53:21 for the 9M). Was fourth counter for the team, which we won! ~14M total with warm-up etc.
    Su: woke up feeling terrible, legs kept me awake and felt like I'd been run over by a bus. Got out for 1:30:51 off road but was just time on feet. 12M

    Total 56M and pretty pleased with my performance (great to win the team comp too), just need to work on attacking that first half mile a bit more.
     Banned User 77 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Humperdink:

    I got selected as non-travelling reserve.. bit dissapointed but there was 3-4 who were deffo getting selected and then maybe 10 of us for the last few spots.. so understandable.
     Mutl3y 27 Jan 2015
    In reply to Ally Smith:

    I get ya - makes perfect sense. So long as it's consistent no prob.

    Mmmmm pizza......
     Humperdink 28 Jan 2015
    In reply to IainRUK:

    Ah rubbish! But you never know, people can (and do) get injured.
     mattrm 28 Jan 2015
    In reply to IainRUK:

    > Probably my last fit club... Think its time to call it a day with UKC after nearly 15 years.

    I'll be really sad to see you go Iain, it's always good hearing about what you're up to.
     AJM 28 Jan 2015
    In reply to IainRUK:

    Best of luck with it Iain, be a shame to see you go.
     AJM 28 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Managed an ancap session this eve by picking a problem that I could mostly go open hand on.

    Easy week next week on the plan so might try and spread this week's sessions out a little, have 2 moderate weeks rather than one big and one light.
     biscuit 29 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Cheers Nick.

    Been absent for a couple of weeks. It sounds ridiculous but i don't get the time to sit down and type it out. Quiet day at work today due to snow= no customers so i'm taking the chance while i can.

    Quick update:

    Running - still progressing OK. Now changing to big days out walking in hills and running flats/downhills as it will be on the day. Starting to get JD dialled in with fuelling on the move etc. Combining that with a couple of short, speed work, runs during the week.

    Climbing - had an on-sighting/benchmarking test the other week with PPG. Ok ish. 7a onsighting should be happening but my head wasn't there. Falling practice is getting better and more relaxed. 2 good training sessions since then working doubles. High point today of nearly doubling a 7a. Still only 1 session a week, or two if i'm lucky, but i am resolved to get back on the fingerboard.

    I've cleaned up my diet a lot recently and am trying to work on getting more sleep. Result is that i've lost 4lbs

    I've also been asked if i want to swim the longest river in Norway next May. Actually considering it, but i remain to be convinced it's properly organised. We'll see.

     Joyce 29 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Morning Campers,

    Andy, Huntsham is quite sure what it's doing at the moment. Unless it has been dry for a good two or three days (and preferably breezy) there will be wet sandy, scrattly top outs on the Rift Boulder and Bread Pudding Boulder, the key holds in the middle of the Slug will be wet from seepage (rest of the wall is perma-dry) and Bivi-Buttress may well have seepage to the lip (LH end stays driest). Guess that kinda covers it. I wouldn't pop up for a day trip unless we've had a good few days of good weather.

    Hope this helps.

    Love from,
    Joyce,
    XXXX
     AJM 29 Jan 2015
    In reply to Joyce:

    Cheers boss!

    Yeah I wouldn't make the trip but we are there anyway Sunday afternoon (wedding faff) so I was wondering about climbing opportunities. Looks like we might be sticking round home on Saturday and cycling on Sunday, but not really sure yet.

     Joyce 29 Jan 2015
    In reply to AJM:

    Morning Camper,

    Sunday should be OK (he says optimistically). I'll most likely be out there for a couple of hours but I'm happy to work on projects where a few hard moves are dry for me to fall off/make some minuscule semblance of progress on.

    Let me know if you're going and I'll make sure that I'm there too.

    Love from,
    Joyce,
    XXXX
    Andy Gamisou 31 Jan 2015
    In reply to Nick Russell:

    Hello - I would like to join. Last year I red-pointed a couple of 7a/7a+ sports routes. This year I have a 7b+/7c project I want to succeed on. It's a bit of a jump in grade but chose this route because (a) it's the best remaining line at my local crag that I haven't done, and (b) it'll force me to get fitter and cut down on the beer and pies. Hopefully weekly posting in fit club will help with (b).

    Thanks for listening
     mattrm 31 Jan 2015
    In reply to Willi Crater:

    Welcome. It'd help if you posted this weeks exercise then.
    Andy Gamisou 31 Jan 2015
    In reply to mattrm:

    > Welcome. It'd help if you posted this weeks exercise then.

    Starting next week - so nothing to report this week other than an excess of most things that are bad for you.

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