Boot camp and beyond

Today’s after work climbing adventure with Vivian and Michael was an off day. I skipped any sort of warm-up route and started with one of the 5.9s that made me think I was going to die last time I tried it. I got to the same scary move-to-the-other-wall point and couldn’t get the strength to get to a hold that was a bit of a reach.

Some of the weakness was probably psychosomatic, but since I didn’t feel as freaked out as the other time I think more of it was a result of the detox. I tried two 5.8s, one of which I’ve completed before, and only got about half way up the wall both times. Quitting didn’t feel particularly good, but I did feel like I was still learning and improving on the lower half.

The last route I tried, another 5.8, had no overhangs so I didn’t need as much power and I was able to get to the top quite quickly despite increasing gastrointestinal discomfort. It was good to finish as a non-quitter but next time I’d better be less of a delicate flower.