UKC

Fit club 890

Hi all. I'm picking up the stats for the next three months. Brace yourselves for general ignorance and excessive dugout references! Thanks Tyler for a solid twelve weeks of write-ups. I think we're all going to miss the good insights and even better mickey-taking!

A new thread is posted each week on Sunday for anyone to jot down their previous week's activity. UKC fit club is a rich community with posters sharing their goals, noting successes and failures and offering support to those struggling to maintain motivation. Anyone interested in starting is very welcome to join, but to get the most of UKC fit club 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 and drive you towards achieving your goals whatever the level of your chosen activity.

Link to last week’s thread: 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/walls+training/fit_club_week_889_part_2-7...

Seems like Quarter Two is starting with extra-showery April showers. I hope you've all managed to find something dry -even if that's just a pinch-block or campus rung! (Apart from the sheep -I hope your pool is as wet as always!)

Ian Parnell: Hope the leg tweaks have responded to a lighter week of running. Well done getting out on rock on four separate days -any day outside is a good day, even if they are a bit frustrating in terms of conditions and performance versus expectation. Have you firmed up any of those vague goals... is Moat People going to be the chosen 7b+ project?

mattrm: Hope you felt fit and rejuvenated this week, following the lighter mileage last week? Good work getting a run in despite the dire weather. I totally feel your pain about motivation in bad weather... a couple of things that made a difference for me were getting some cheap but really useful bits of kit that made crappy weather less heinous to run in: waterproof shorts (sound idiotic, but actually great for stopping wind chill in areas that I don't want wind chill!) and a waterproof peaked cap are real psych-preservers. Picked some local targets to get that new bouldering pad under?

Steve Claw: About time you had a deload week -I get tired just reading about your normal weeks! I'm looking forward to hearing how the Font trip went. Hopefully you've avoided the traditional Font-elbow and it hasn't aggravated your previous niggles.

Somerset swede basher: Great catching up last week. Very impressive Dugout scenes -especially given that you felt sluggish at the start of the session. Particularly strong effort getting that third f7 link-up when fairly fatigued. A great contribution to your annual 7s target! Other than Master's Edge, what are your goals for this summer? You need to put all that autobelay fitness to good use!

Derek Furze: Entertained by your opening gambit of "I didn't get much done" -immediately followed by descriptions of four decent training days! I remain very impressed by your pull-up volume, even if it's down on your 'normal' numbers. It's been a slow start to rock season, and looks like more dodgy weather to come, but if you keep the training ticking over through this monsoon season you're going to be flying when it finally dries up -especially if it coincides with you having more free time. Those Clwyd limestone outcrops won't know what's hit them!

Tom Green: Well done on 1. Starting to get the running consistency back up after Q1's ski sabbatical. 2. Not getting carried away with the running and doing too much, too soon. Need to plan weekly training to STGs and MTGs.

Ross Barker: How're those triceps feeling now? Fully recovered? Hope the crappy weather didn't play too much havoc with your plan for pleny of climbing days this week? I get the impression that you've been quite disciplined with your goal of managing session load. What other habits are you trying to build and how's that going?

Tyler: Hope the plan for the career break are falling in to place. What's P de L routes are on your shortlist (or is it all of them apart from the ones in Madagscar etc?!) Seems like you had a good week getting stuck in to some areas specific to your summer goals. Nice work getting out on the bike for a good suffer, and good work getting stuck in to the E2 -with your sport climbing strengths, it should just be a case of mileage for you to get back in to the swing of things for trad? Maybe a goal of trying to make most of your outdoor climbing days trad for the next month or two?

Randy: Were you disciplined enough to take that planned deload this week? That was a really good mix of conditioning exercises last week -it must be good injury prevention to have such well rounded strength. Do you feel like you are getting more climbing-fit for the coming season? What are your outdoor goals this summer? 

AlanLittle: Strong hill performance last week. That 600m vert/hour is definitely a decent pace, especially as part of a bigger overall day. It's no wonder you felt like a bit of 'top-end' was missing on Saturday's climbing session -I imagine there was a bit of full body fatigue from the Jochberg. Sunday sounds epic -glad you survived the Inov8 step-kicking! Your Scotland mission will be a breeze if you keep these hill-session up.

Tigh: That's a mega week! Your legs must have felt pretty blasted after that lot! Cnicht seems to be a bit of a bad weather magnet, but I've a real soft spot for it... really interesting landscape and rarely anyone else there. Remind me of your goals -do I remember rightly that you have some alpine routes on your to do list? If so, last week suggests that your in a good place fitness-wise.

AJM: Good work getting some decent sessions in pre-trip (so easy to drop these in the carnage of packing and getting organised!) Sounds like a mixed start to the hols, in terms of weather etc, but I'm looking forward to hearing how things have gone this week. Any specific goal routes, or just going with the flow?

planetmarshall: Welcome back. Sorry to hear you've been in the wars. It's never a good time to be out of action, but particularly annoying at the start of summer. Hopefully you'll be healed and fit by the time the rain stops! Have you got any specific rehab exercises or is it more a time thing?

the sheep: Always impressed at your consistency -you seem to have the swimming built in to your week as such a strong habit. Good to see the run mileage building again -I'll be following your progress toward the race with interest. Coast runs are always a treat, but was it the normal sandbag of being unexpectedly hilly?!

biscuit: Solid week of training and climbing there, although that slate quarry looks on a par with some of the s***holes I've been frequenting recently! Interesting point about warm ups not being sufficient to get recruited for harder/different style routes. I often don't find warm up routes particularly useful, and I guess the lack of specificity may be part of that. Good that you have a level of self-awareness about being a bit close to the limit on training intensity/volume. Hopefully the natural deload of your holiday week will be beneficial.

Small Step: That's a great second half of the week! Glad the back is behaving. Love the description of your Sunday -that feeling of being pleasantly trashed is so satisfying! I kind of don't want to talk about your planned trip because I'm horribly jealous(!) but what will that entail from a physical/fitness point of view? Are you planning on doing any specific training for that?

In reply to Tom Green:

Thanks for assuming the mantel of taskmaster Tom! The 7b+ I’m inspired by is Brachiation Dance (7b+) but this won’t be dry till mid summer, in the mean time I’d hope to get up a few 7a, 7a+s and check out a couple more 7b+s (I have a few in mind).

STG (this month) – maintain a grip on daily life, get good weekly routine going. 1. Climb some nemesis grit E1-2s clean. 2. Attempt 2 on run climb project.

MTG (next 2 months)– 1. Give me strength – shoulders and core. 2. Climb some safe grit E3 routes. 3. Rheinstor Lower Traverse??

LTG (next 6 months) – 1. Give me strength – fingers, steep stuff and slopers. 2. Trip to Sanctuary Wall. 3. Redpoint a 7b+.

Mon – The Works. 3rd day on and fingers a bit sore so did 50 approx. easy problems. Great quality setting made for often interesting movement.

Tues – Thursday – Nothing

Fri – Early morning session at The Depot. Bad night’s sleep and felt awful during warm up 5 x green, white, black and pinks. However gradually got going on the 30 degree Woodie, tried 9 problems got up 5 including first 5a+ and first 5b (add on number for equivalent outdoor grade).

Sat – Carcing 30mins

Sunday – Desperate early morning visit to Pleasley Vale craving rock before the oncoming storms. Managed an hour until the rain sent me home. Didn’t make it past halfway on any problem. Finished by quarter to nine! 4 mile plod round woods, Achilles sore again by the end, boohoo. Took my frustration out on the Foot on Campus 60 secs on 60 secs off. 60, 60, 60, 58, 49, 44, 37, 368 total (34 sec improvement from 2 weeks ago but still 53 secs off pb).

Reflection - Last week was supposed to be a deload but I got carried away with seizing the weather windows. Without planned to be, this week turned into a pretty full deload. Energy felt low and I really want my Achilles to settle down before I start running fully again. Usual mix of emotions. On the plus side at The Depot Woodie I felt a bit of zip for the first time, like I could properly pull (on some of the bigger holds!). On the downside today at Pleasley the self-loathing peaked. I’ve never been great at ‘zen self-learning’ and today, continually flailing a foot off the floor on the same moves, I was struggling to find much insight or joy. I think I need to leave the bouldering for a while and just do some fun climbs. Also I was getting geared up for another go on the run-climb thing but my Achilles issue isn’t clearing up quickly and so I’m a bit cheesed off!

In reply to Tom Green:

Yeah, i reduced training volume significantly but considering life stress of this week it did not feel that much rested afterwards. 

No real goals currently for the next months, apart from getting back into rock climbing shape and sending something in the 7x range.

Mon: Indoor Climbing, Boulderwelt east, One-Arm-Lockoffs with +6kg: 2-3s at various angles, send 4 powerful boulder in the 6b+ to 6c+ range after a couple of tries

Tues: Rest

Wed: Rest

Thurs: Block lifts repeaters, 6x12x7,3 with 2 min rest at 16,5kg.Easy session without any noticeable pump

Fri: Rest

Sat: Outdoor climbing, Frankenjura. TriedChasin' the Trane (Helmut Albrecht Gedenkweg) (7c) again to see at what kind of shape i am. Unfortunately, it did not went as i have hoped. Felt weaker on the powerful sections than i had imagined and really struggled a lot on the technical sections, never feeling confident in my beta and switching that again and again. Skin was also wrecked quickly and even my toes were sore in the end.

Sun: Rest

In reply to Tom Green:

Kind comments Tom, but the reality is that although I am trying to train and not doing too bad overall, I am still struggling to some extent with the legacy of whatever hit me in February.  Anyway, I keep pushing.

Thanks Tyler for a great stats stint.  Always hard to keep it going through the winter months, so good job.

Mon - nothing, but can't remember why!  Yes - it was Easter and grandkids here.

Tues - Two grips max hangs BW up to 13.6kg.  Not sure I like this particular protocol, so might switch back to my old workout for these.  Don't feel like I am getting progress at the moment.  Weighted pull ups from BW (!) warm up all the way up to plus 20.5kg, which is about 130kg.  These are feeling hard, but I have put on weight through the extended illness (about 4 kg), so I think that is making a difference.  Anyway, progress ok.  Six sets of stretching and core.

Wed - work

Thurs - Repeater block lifts at 21.6kg both hands.  15 mins on the exercise bike for 8.58km, but thrashed it to some extent.  Surprised to get a call from Ineos in the evening to see if I could ride domestique in the TdF as they had heard about the watts that I was putting out.  Turned out to be a computer error.  Nice afternoon so wandered up to Windgather for an hour - it was wet and a bit unsettling, so only three routes but a load of bouldering before I got pissed off with wet feet.

Fri - nothing.  This can't be right, but I can't remember how the day unfolded.  Yes!  Childminding all day!  Only exercise was the obligatory rough and tumble.  Worryingly, the six-year-old dragged my weights out to train so that he can get stronger to 'beat' me.

Sat - Went for a run.  Still taking this very easy following calf injury and debilitating illness, but did 4 km okay at around 6 mins per km.  Hit 70kg following Easter indulgences (no chocolate), so suitably horrified.

Reflection.  The weather is a bit rubbish.

In reply to Tom Green:

That's the plan, although I only managed one hill day this week. Should probably do two consecutive days with a bivy at some point

STG: Kilterboard 5C @ 45°
STG: Thalkirchen 5.9 "easy" crack
MTG: Rough Bounds Scottish backpacking trip in May
MTG. DAV Lofoten meet in July
MTG: Im Extremen Fels ticks     in August
LTG: Be a confident, well rounded low to mid 7's sport climber. For measurable definition see Fit Club 823
LTG: Winter '25 - do an actual off piste ski tour.

M:  Had planned to do another (shorter, easier) hillwalking day for Easter Monday, but after Sunday's epic that didn't seem like a good idea. Got the mountainbike out of the shed for a couple of hours instead to loosen up sore legs a bit.

T:    Rest day. 

W:  Wall, Thalkirchen. Kilter, crack machine, shoulders. Bike there & back. Decent session, not pushing too hard - getting m<y hill legs on for Scotland is the priority at the moment, everyting else in maintenance mode.

T:    Another two hours in the woods on the mountainbike

F:    Half crimp block pick-ups, pullups, shoulders

S:    Hillwalking. Benediktenwand again but from the south this time. Not a good idea as it turns out: not much snow, but mostly a boring trudge on forestry roads. And hot. I set out carrying three litres of water, largely intended as training weight, and ended up drinking all of it and more.

S:    Once again replaced a second hillwalking day with a couple of hours (actually 3½) on the bike in the nice shady woods.
 

In reply to Derek Furze

‘Weighted pull ups from BW (!) warm up all the way up to plus 20.5kg, which is about 130kg.’
 

So you weigh 109.5kg you have been indulging😳. I don’t think Ineos will be impressed 

In reply to Tom Green:

Weight - 14st 7lbs

STG - 10km fell loop in 1h 45m

MTG - 30 mile ultra (July 24)

LTG? keep on trucking?  stay fit? ummm

BHAG - F7A boulder somewhere / kickflip

M - F - Rest
S - 2k

S - 2k

Weekly kms - 4k

Diet status - Okish

Holiday this week, so even less exercise than last week.  We had a nice time tho, so that's good.  Got a few short runs on Saturday and Sunday.  Everything should be back to normal next week.  Planning to get down the bouldering wall and get a few decent runs in.  Don't plan to go nuts on the runs this week, just be sensible.  Hopefully the weather will perk up, but currently it's sheeting it down here and has been for most of the weekend.  The forecast isn't great for the rest of the week, might be dry towards the end of the week, so lets hope that happens.

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Haha!  Obvs 130%!  I am getting sloppier (as is my proof reader).

Needless to say, I have already been nicknamed 'Billy' by my Ineos team mates.  Let's see who's laughing on Alpe d'Huez...

In reply to Tom Green:

Hey Tom and thanks for taking the helm. It's no small job what you guys do each week and is really helpful for reflecting and planning training. To that, a big thanks to Tyler for his work and support. 

And yeah Cnicht was beautiful when the weather allowed it to be viewed. I look forward to getting back there again someday. 

Current goal is Gran paradiso and Mont Blanc. End of June/early July. 

Deload week complete. Did 

M - strength session

Tues/Wed - nothing. Had a wisdom tooth out so tooknitneasy

Thur - 6km trail run slow

Fri - 800m x 6 at a fairly hard effort

Sun - 10km trail run 

This week plan for 4 runs and 2 strength sessions. 

Have a great week all. 

T

In reply to Ian Parnell:

Foot on campus impressive - I'm due to start these next week!

Re the ebbs and flows of emotions - I did used to get 'give up' annoyed with myself, but worked out (slowly) that it wasn't really productive for me.  However, I do wonder sometimes whether my more relaxed acceptance has a cost attached.  Something to ponder - I suppose the ideal is a positive and calm drive - zen like maybe?

In reply to Tom Green:

I'd also like to add a big congrats to the 'Hardest Geezer' who today completed his run from south Africa to Tunisia. He's been a great source of inspiration for those 5.30am alarms when I've wanted to stay in bed rather than go run on a poxy treadmill. Incredible athlete... 

In reply to Tom Green:

Hi folks. 

Week 14:

M: Rest. Skipped planned session as felt knackered.

T: Hill/road run. 17.6km, 519m vert, 7:00/km.

W: Strength sesh.

T: Bouldering. Back to the Dugout for A Spade. Got the sequence sorted. Just need fresh abs and a low gravity day to finish this off!

F: Trail run. 12.4km, 432m vert, 6:40/km.

S: Sport climbing. Fun sesh with Ross and co. First proper sesh on Slobberlob (7b) (my log book tells me I was on it in 2021, but think this was a bit of a desultory go when my mate was trying it). Got the moves sorted. Should probably have gone in that sesh, but will hopefully go quite soon.

S: Strength sesh. 

Week 15:

M: Run.

T: Bouldering.

W: Run.

T: Climbing.

F: Strength & Core.

S: Hill walk.

S: Strength & Core.

STG (end of May):

On reflection, I've decided not to get sucked in to any hard (for me) boulders or sport routes. There's a chance I might get out to the alps in summer, so goals are to keep the cardio and hill fitness high; improve my speed over moderate ground (VS-HVS); and improve my onsighting. 

Average 35km/wk running.

2 off E2 list.

1 x VS Challenge Day.

2 x Sport Onsighting Marathon.

A Spade.

Slobberlob.

MTG (end of July):

Average 45km/wk running.

1 x Mountain Ultra (Welsh 3000s; Tea Round; Corris Round).

3 off E2 list.

Maybe sneak in an E3.

2 x VS Challenge Day.

2 x Sport Onsighting Marathon.

Yates' Layaway.

In reply to Tom Green:

Cheers Tom, hopefully you’ll bring a ‘new manager bounce’ with the weather.

Whether I do any or none will depend on partners, I’m keen for any European to ones but don’t have anything lined up. In the mean time I need to get a lot fitter to be able to tough out long days. 
M: Bike ride about 1hr

T: Rest

W: Beacon cleaned up two 7a+ which is a first

T: Annex

F: 38 min bike ride

S: Very sobering, got shut down by Rapture, not even close to doing the move. This was the case before but I appear to have made zero progress since then when I thought I had. Said I’d nip up King Krank to drop a TR down a potential project. After two goes up I still hadn’t managed the crux of KK, a route I OS’d 30 years ago! Thoroughly despondent, I may as well have spent the winter sat on my arse eating cake. 
S: Rained off Penmaen Head after dogging a route I flashed last week! 1 hour bike, at least that’s improving.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Disappointed your aid climbing through a storm didn’t warrant a mention, proper suffer training for the greater ranges that!

In reply to Tyler:

Next week's report for me, but also I need more time to reflect on the futility of trying to climb with wet, cold hands ...😂

In reply to Derek Furze: I’d love to be more Zen. I have tried honestly but I think the relentlessly crap weather coupled with my relentless crapness pushed me over the edge from my usual monk like state! Funnily enough I was listening to a podcast on the journey home where it took said climber 10 days to do the 6 individual moves on his boulder before another 20 to link them. He came across as enviably zen.

In reply to Tom Green:

Thanks Tom,

Font was great, but very much a family holiday.

The weather forced 2 rest days in the middle of the week, and general Font style meant that even 6A/6B felt really hard on most problems.

M - Rocher du Potala. Nice little place, played about on the Reds up to 6A

T- Rocher Saint-Germain.  Bit too slopey for my liking, again made it up a few Reds up to about 6A

W - Rain

T - Rain

F - Roche aux Sabots.  I really like it there, the style is much better for crimping on something positive.  Highlight was Graviton (f7A), which was sent first go once I had the balls to throw a heel above my head and go for it.  A number of 6B's also sent.

S - Mont Ussy - Very hot day, by the time the children had had a go it was too hot for me to do much.  Had a play on Ussy Peur 7A+, and really liked the moves, but too steep for me to do at the moment.

S - Drive Home

In reply to Tom Green:

Good morning everyone, great start to the stats Tom and it was good to climb with you on Saturday!

Triceps fine now yes, and crappy weather isn't too bad midweek as I usually just accept that I'll be at the climbing wall anyway. Especially now we're in BST I'd love to get out in the evenings but I'm sure a dry spell will come along at some point. I've also got a day of annual leave to use this month so hopefully that spell comes soon!

For the most part yes, but there has been the odd session where some mates turn up late and keep me going, or there's a problem I'm particularly keen to keep trying. Other habits include the shoulder warmup routine, which I actually skipped on Thursday to warm up on-set, and I felt great. But mostly just little things like staying hydrated and having a little snack mid session, and generally not doing anything stupid.

An okay week, again quite aimless, again with little rehab, and again having a good chinwag with a Fit Club member

Weirdly, doing nothing for my left hand seems to be making it feel alright, or might that just be because I'm not hammering it near the limit?

Last Week:

Avg weight 79.4kg (too many sweets in the house!)

M - Rest.

T - Moonboard. Felt lethargic and generally crap. Couple of non-BM 6B+s. Not sure how to start feeling less crap. Right hand feels a little stiff but that might just be leftover from Sunday.

W - Rest.

T - Indoor bouldering, new set. Quite enjoyable, felt reasonably strong, not a peep from the left middle finger. Right ring felt a touch tender afterwards in the PIP.

F - Rest.

S - Bouldering on a rope. Worked Bill and Ben (7b+) in a couple of sections. Definitely a bit uncomfortable on a rope, crap at clipping, and afraid of taking the ride if I whiff a clip! Perhaps not unfounded on short routes where extra slack goes a long way. Either way, still prefer bouldering above pads, but was great scenes and chat! Right hand felt fine, just a tweak methinks.

S - Rest.

Next Week:

M - Rest.

T - Climbing.

W - Rest.

T - Climbing.

F - Rest.

S, S - More climbing!

Goals:

Rehab left middle finger.

Manage session load and build better habits.

Improve ability on tiny edges.

Louisville Lip.

Rigpa.

In reply to Derek Furze:

Prompted by Tyler's disappointment I shall now include Sunday's expedition...

All week the Sunday forecast for Llandudno has switched between a complete write off and dry, sunny conditions and finally on Saturday it settled into a window of decent, dry weather, so we arranged to meet at the driest option (Penmaen Head) at twelve 'to give the crags chance to dry'.  It was drizzling when I pulled up and by the time we got down there it was surprisingly wet in places.  Tyler looked slightly shocked as he stood beneath his project.

Expressway Wall looked driest and Tyler had been last week, so I volunteered him to put the clips in on Quarrywoman, which he efficiently did.  As he lowered off it started to rain quite heavily and when I looked at the route, it was now drenched, quite daunting for the relatively delicate footwork needed.  Luckily we a) hadn't pulled the ropes and b) Tyler had thoughtfully extended all the draws in anticipation of c) incoming inclement weather and d) the skills of the next climber.

I set off.  Seconds later I couldn't feel any holds as water would run over my hands while trying to use them, which made them instantly frozen.  A shame, because a lot of them felt objectively ok and the footwork looked enjoyable (apart from the ice rink qualities that running water created on the slopey limestone nubbins).  

So my first proper projecting lesson became a draw to draw exercise, with not much effort to learn anything as everything - even the fairly big holds - felt impossible to hold and the intermediate moves on crimps were farcical in the conditions.  I did learn that the route was really pretty good, the clipping points generally fine, the rests reasonable and the hard sections seemed perfectly do-able, but then Tyler was applying the full force of the winch - it wasn't conditions for slipping off and having to reclimb anything.  However, one to go back to on a nice day.

We then hatched a cunning plan to retreat to Llanddulas Cave (a crag that seems pretty slow to dry based on my one previous visit), but luckily a quick chat with some other people at the crag (clearly proper locals) put us right ('dripping, even the cave area').  More showers while we waited for some bits to dry sealed the deal, so we sacked it off.

A steady hour 20 for me to get there makes it almost an evening visit for that area, though the extra 25 mins to the Orme probably makes that too far - certainly worth it in May - July for Forwyn, Llanddulas Cave and the bits on Penmaen Head that I have left to do.  That also means that Ty Newedd and the stuff around there is in the frame.   

Despite what might look like a fruitless session, I enjoyed it!  Far better than a wet Sunday with the fingerboard.  Despite my actual shambles on the climb itself, Tyler's next suggestion for me is a) a lot harder and b) a lot steeper and c) notoriously slow-drying...

....and I thought we got on quite well. 

In reply to Derek Furze:

Excellent scenes. Everything that’s great about British climbing!

In reply to Ian Parnell:

I’ve not done many at this grade in the Peak but I’d say Virgin King should be on the list if it is not already, surprisingly soft for the Peak and likely to be dry sooner than things down Cheedale. 

In reply to Tom Green:

Hi Tom, thanks for taking over the helm. Steering the good ship Fit Club through all manner of straits and weather conditions by the sound of it – as Alan mentioned, here every drop of water was needed, we’ve a patch of summer before spring has even got going…

The back situation is a great relief – I’ve also found a new spot on the spine to work / be attentive to – it’s from where my slight leftward tilt begins…the next stage in adjusting posture and embodiment. Feels good when I look back at how this all started in 2009…

The week went as follows:
Mon: the afterglow of the blissful trashing continued, so just light upper body stuff and stretching
Tue: hangboard – felt quite good, and it really helps the spine.
Wed: at a bit of a loss after work stress, decided to hangboard again – this time put the weight vest on…back stood up well to the extra strain
Thu: long stretching
Fri: wall, Thalkirchen, 8 routes (5c, 5c, 6a+, 6b, 6c, 6c+/7a, 6c+/7a, 6b). Started a bit tardily, but once I got going climbed surprisingly well, even ticked the 6c+ and the 6c+/7 [bloody slash grades!], routes I’d tried once before, ca. 6 weeks ago – quite satisfying given the ups-and-downs since end of January; obviously the work I put in for the cancelled Big Challenge hasn’t completely vanished…also on a good note: partner ticked the 6c+, her first on lead in that range since getting out of the clinic.
Sat: upper body exercises
Sun: walk in Chiemgau Alpen…great views southward…direct in the distance the twin peaks of Glockner…and lots, lots more…

what will that entail from a physical/fitness point of view? Are you planning on doing any specific training for that?

Thanks for asking. Our plans are very vague – just get out hill walking as much as possible until July, then move up to alpine hiking…we have one hut-to-hut tour booked for the end of July (Karwendel) and another for mid-September in the Venediger, High Tauern National Park…in between long day or 2-day tours as the opportunity arises…and going no matter the weather (probably 35° in the shade)
Besides general fitness we’re a bit concerned about being chucked outside the comfort zone. And being without one’s usual strategies or ways of dealing with it (stretching, meditating, headphones blocking out the world). All part of a trekking tour, of course, but the last extensive tour of this kind was back in 2007, 16 days in the Dolomites…more recently Stubai & Zillertal ca. 6 days each…we’re on the circuit for 18 days….
Yesterday we joked about the need to set up a discomfort boot camp at home: things like camping in the backyard in October, preferably when it’s raining; or coming home from a long day hike, just one bowl of food, no shower, and sleeping on the floor…this morning I think this is a bloody fine idea – anyone got suggestions for other stuff? Things to ‘toughen’ up, build a bit of resilience…raise the irritation threshold…

Wishing everyone a good week.

Paul

In reply to Small Step:

Arrive in Lenggries after an eleven hour snowbound epic, find you have 55 minutes to wait for the next train, no sign of an open bar anywhere in sight, and not so much as a bloody vending machine at the railway station  

Heatstroke is of course a risk, but do you also remember the monsoon spring of (iirc) 2013? Couple of months of hillwalking in the pouring rain every weekend. Probably the aerobically fittest I've been this century. (Might have been 2014)

In reply to AlanLittle:

Ha!
That's a long 55 minutes with the tiredness of an epic and the cold kicking in...
I think it was 2013 because that's when I took the tumble at boulderwelt and since then have this occasional seizure...unlike you we piked out - the autobahn around Chiemsee was even closed for a period, and the roads into Achental for quite some time, perhaps weeks even (?) ...

I suppose one toughening up experience could be to a long, long Kaiser tour (Kufstein-Kaindlhütte-Scheffauer-Jägerstieg-Kufstein) and sort of intentionally miss the last train....

In reply to Tyler:

And only 20 minutes down the road! 😀

In reply to Small Step:

If you want a character building end to a tough day, definitely avoid Farchant railway station. It has probably the best stocked vending machine I've ever seen, up to & including jars of chamois goulash with locally made ice cream for afters

In reply to Tyler:

Great shout, suspect its a Zippy route too . logbooks indicate a recent broken hold, but being Stoney that's probably the natural state of things!

In reply to AlanLittle:

That must be some clientele they expect! Did you indulge? Or is that an indiscreet question...?
The ice cream would be difficult to refuse for me
Maybe need to turn it around: character building is to stand in front of such vending machines and exercise restraint...

If you get through town, no danger of such temptations at Kufstein station....almdudler, gummi bears and the local brew, I expect...I'll check next time I'm there...

In reply to Small Step:

On that occasion I wasn't in dire need of the vending machine because the excellent café across the road was open. I have a jar of the chamois goulash in the cupboard though.

In reply to Tom Green:

Hi All. A big thank you to Tyler for his stats stint and for Tom for picking up the reins.

Good question Tom. I've got some.stuff in Yorkshire that's on the edge of my 'in a session' range that I want to do with minimal driving so my aim is to put the fitness to use on that. I'd like to try London Wall but I've resigned myself to having to toproped it first, I'm having trouble still with my Burbaged finger still (ok pulling down but not ok in finger locks) so I need to see if I can actually pull on the holds without hurting myself. Various other local stuff too. If all goes well over the summer I might try an 8a+ in the Autumn and see how I get on.

Mon. Rest 

Tues. Curbar boulder session. Picked off Extended Warfare (f7A) fairly quickly (2nd go from the start after a quick play to work the moves). Did Typhoon (f7A) 2nd go and I'm terrible at dynos so it must be really soft! Also managed Original Warfare (f7B) which is really long. I had to do it 4 times as I kept dabbing on the move round the final arete. A pretty chunky session with a lot of moves by the end.

Wed. Travel to Ibiza.

Thurs. 10km run and the same loop again with the family as a walk.

Fri. Sport climbing at  Buda. Half a dozen 5s for the family to toproped and a quick blast up Inkredulo (7a) to finish.

Sat. 2km run with the boy (at adult pace now though), 1.5km swim.

Sun. Climbing at  Ses Fontanelles. Some more family toproing and then ISC route 9 (7a+) 2nd go after throwing for the wrong hold at the top first time.

In reply to Tom Green:

Cheers Tom, with wonderful ironic timing you have got me with a week of no swimming as I took the Easter week off to be with the kids  Still got some decent runs in though

 Monday, travelled back from the inlaws with the caravan so it can spend the summer on our drive and we can pop away whenever we feel like it. 

Tuesday, 5k trail run in the evening whilst the kids were at swim training. Great to be out on the trails in the light again.

Wednesday, shed clearance day. Doesn't sound much but it allows me to get my bikes out a lot easier!

Thursday, 7.5k trail run

Saturday was a 10k road route and Sunday a 4k run with the wife as she builds her run distances back up 

In reply to Tom Green:

Thanks Tom and a big thanks to Tyler as well for his stint. Much appreciated.

I think the tiredness showed a little this week, lack of motivation to train, but not to climb. 

M - Went to the wall due to BH rain. All on the main wall. Did 10 mins on a 7a to warm up.Fell off the last but one move on a 7b+ I haven't been on for ages. It felt much more like a flash. Pleased with that. 

Then tried to repeat another, forgot the beta and fell off 2 moves from the end. Remembered the beta but still fell off two moves from the end. A bit of a theme. 

T - Supposed to go to the gym but got confused due to the BH and messed up my alarm.

W - Boulder UK - testing and tweaking the new set. I may make this a regular thing. Tried some V6's but no success. Good hard work session though.

T - rest day

F - Rest day

S - Italy - food, wine

S - Italy - food, wine

I had 4 days off climbing and ate and drank far too much. It was ace. I need to curtail it a little though. We're with very sociable people and we're out for lunch and tea and meeting people and having Aperol Spritz at lunchtime and I can't do this for much longer, it's exhausting.....

We're going to get what climbing in we can. It's a family holiday first but we have 3 days on our own at the end when we'll try and get out as much as we can. 

In reply to Tom Green:

Thanks Tom 

Monday - Easter Monday at a crag covered in runoff so the lines that were dry were busy. Made the best of it, routes to 6a

Tuesday - again, a couple of "easy" (didn't always feel it!) routes, full family faff

Wednesday - wet to start, went out in the afternoon and snatched a quick route or two in - a v nice 6a and fell off the top of a 6a+ unable to find the hold

Thursday - attempts on harder things, which largely resulted in being shut down

Friday - achey, rest. About 6km walk with 300m height gain.

Saturday - impromptu rest - transit day - we intended to stop at a local crag near Apt but found there had been a large rockfall and all the first bolts had been hammered flat.

Saturday - Buoux. After a bit of confusion we arrived at sector No where I did some nice techy routes to 6b with some tricky bulges and some blank slabs.

In terms of goals... I always set myself goals, but their practicality varies! I find myself in an odd situation with family trips, in that of the kids are interested in climbing then most of my time is spent supporting that, and if they aren't then I've sort of got that ticking clock feeling as to how long I have to do my own thing. 

Anyway, at Orpierre I had two things I wanted to do - first was to try some of the harder steeper stuff, which was wet half the week and to be honest the crag bases weren't that conducive to a big family Basecamp in some areas anyway. The second was to do one of the multi pitches, which I could have done on the day we went walking but after a bad night's sleep and with aches from the previous day I just wouldn't really have enjoyed it.

I found the harder stuff I did at Orpierre very difficult. After a long time basically off rock over the winter, between weather and rehab, with the rain having washed the chalk away and on a complex grey rock where the holds weren't terribly obvious, everything on the vert grey walls felt very hard. Grades maybe also stiff, but it could just be a particularly bad style matchup. But it's all good training!

Climbed yesterday, resting today, then 2 more climbing days left.

In reply to Tom Green:

Tom's comments reminded me that I had set some pull up goals for January, that were then overtaken by illness.  Well, I am back to nearly normal and I can't fit in any training now until Saturday, as I am out tomorrow evening and climbing Thursday and Friday, so...

I put a bit more on today's schedule and knocked out 100 pull-ups in amongst everything else.  It's hardly the Dug Out, but small wins!

Edit:  should note that Tyler's mention of Bananas and Coffee has also motivated this change in routine!

In reply to Tom Green:

Hopefully I can just squeeze this in before a new Fitclub week...

Thanks Tom, and thanks to everyone else for the supportive messages, I really appreciate it. I shouldn't overplay it - I'm mobile and it looks like I've escaped any consequences from the head impact other than having to get a new helmet which will of course necessitate a new helmet design Though I shouldn't underplay it either. I could be back climbing in a matter of weeks, or the pain may linger longer and it could be months. I don't know at this point.

There's no real rehab, it's more a waiting game - but I'm planning on another week of rest and then hopefully some upper gym work will be possible. Squats and deadlifts might have to wait a bit...