Trouble with the blog

So...it's been a long time since I've written on here and have missed out on sharing a bunch of stuff that's happened lately.  So, with as much a pain in the ass as this thing has become, I'm quiting it.  If you guys have any questions, hit me up on facebook or myspace.  If you just want to see what stuff I've been climbing, I created an 8a.nu scorecard and you can now track me on there.  I appreciated the nice comments I've had from you guys both on and off of this page.  Ciao!

So, it happened again

I went into the the front last night expecting to just tool around a little bit and then climb today.  Well, that didn't exactly happen.  I ended up having another one of those best night ever nights.  Pretty much every problem I have been working and some I haven't tried, I did.  The night started out with a flash of a crimpy steep problem in the v9-10 range, followed by a first try of the night send of a hard v11, first try of the night send of another v10-11 problem and then capping it off with a first ascent of what James Litz calls, "The second hardest problem in the gym."  I disagree, I don't think it's quit that bad, but then again, we do the opening crux differently.  Maybe it's just sixes...who knows.  Anyway, it's off to recovery land.  Hopefully I get some decent sleep tonight!

back on the road

I finally did it...I broke down and went to the bike shop yesterday and got a new tube for my rear tire.  My fixie has had new life breathed into it!  I am so psyched to be riding it again, especially since everything around here...or at least between all the places I go, is flat.  I haven't ridden my bike in life 5 months and it is a blast.  I went to the Smith's last night to get some groceries and stuff for the apartment and then rode it to work and to the gym today.  I think I am going to hang up the truck for good...well, maybe not for in the rain, snow or if I'm going climbing outside, but you get the picture.  My bike rocks!  woo hoo!!!

An oldie...

but a goodie.  A short clip I just put together of a problem in Hueco from my trip in the Spring of 2006.  The video quality is not the best, but I guess that's what you get with a point and shoot digital camera that just so happens to have a video feature on it.  I hope you guys enjoy, and feel free to leave some feedback on it.  Thanks for the video footage Michelle.

Long time, no...

As I looked back here at the date of my last entry, I figured it was probably time to write a new one. So, since the last one, I went to the gym back home, sat in a hot tub with some very nice company, celebrated Christmas with the fam, flew back to SLC and started back up where I left off...only with a little less body tension for the first week or so back!

I've been back at it, climbing a lot, pushing myself hard and lifting when I can. I think all the hard work I've been putting in is finally starting to make a big difference. I had been thinking lately that I had hit a wall. I workout hard, I've been eating mostly organic foods, cutting back on the already low consumption of alcohol, giving myself rest days, and for the first time in a long time, trying...really hard when I climb. It felt so much like I hit a wall that I was thinking of starting route training early and hitting up Momentum later this week, and then tonight happened. It was exactly what I needed to stay psyched on Bouldering for the time being. So, I went to The Front tonight after work and did one V5ish thing to warm-up a little and then just jumped right into the mix, and ended up doing all my projects and then running some laps on the other hard problems. All in all, I did 7 problems all over V9 plus putting in a ton of good go's on some new problems we just made up. So, I ended up nabbing one V12, a V11, 3 V10's, and 2 V9's. The crazy part was that I did all of them first try of the night and never got pumped at all on any of them. It was the strangest thing, but I'll take it.

I also have been staying at my friend Jules' house up in the Avenues, damn near right around the corner from John and Shannon. It's a pretty sweet place and I'm definitely feeling thankful for it. The truck has been getting a little old lately, especially since I found a place and am just waiting for them to fix it so I can move in. I can't wait to have my own place; I've waited too long for this. January 25th people, put it on your calendar! Well, it's late and I'm off to bed.

On a quick side note... I guess there's talk of St. George this weekend with Shannon and James, and then Bishop with Pete and maybe some others next weekend. I'll be sure to take pics as usual. So, be sure to check them out and let me know what you think.

The Recap

As it turns out, that time to write I was talking about, well now is that time. I decided to get to the airport about an hour and forty-five minutes early for my flight home for the holidays. So, as I sit here and wait, I figure, “Why not hit up that blog thing that I’ve been slacking so hard on lately?” So, here goes:

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of climbing, training, working, and climbing some more. Since the Cruxmas comp we had I have been climbing like a madman, taking little to no rest days. On top of that, the rest days have been more or less just rest days from climbing, but not working out. If it’s not climbing, it’s lifting weights, doing cardio, and now yoga. Yeah, that’s right, yoga. I was a bit apprehensive going into it, but psyched nonetheless and am even more psyched to keep doing it. I think that it will be a great help in helping me increase both my flexibility and increasing my awareness of body position and balance. So, if you haven’t tried yoga, get your ass out there and give it a whirl.

I’ve also managed to get back outside, which was rather interesting. Shannon and I made the three hour drive down to ibex this past Saturday for a short and sweet crushing session. We knew it was going to be cold; the high was supposed to be 25 degrees. Cold, for sure, but the wind there can make warm days too biting to climb. So, it was a crapshoot and we took it. This is what we found when we got there, but said fuck it lets climb anyway, and I’m glad we did.


Ibex is situated on this "dried" up lake bed...can you say HOT!!


The Red Monster Boulder

Shannon walking all over Ju


The end of another phenomenal day on the boulders

So, with a bunch of snow on the ground, missing all of the sunlight on the boulders, no wind thank god, temps between 10 and 20 degrees, and more winter clothes than you would wear snowboarding, we hit the boulders and shook the place up a bit. Though we were climbing in down coats and I didn’t bother pulling off the smart wools to put the climbing shoes on, we still manages to rip off sends of Ju, Purple Flowers, Bruce Lee, and the sit start to White Arete. I can’t say that it was the best climbing day, but despite the cold I had a damn good time and would be first in line to do it all over again…maybe with a space heater next time for the toes though!

Other than some good climbing, some great nights hanging out with the crew, new experiences with cold, and just loving being out here in SLC, I don’t know what to say. Well, it’s 4:08 and I have about half an hour till my flight starts boarding. So, I’m off to grab a bite to eat and start getting psyched to see all of you crazy ass people back in Cincy later on tonight. I hope you’re all ready for me! To the rest of you people, Happy Holidays and keep crushing!

Wow!

So, it's been a week and a half since I last posted something on here. So much has happened in that time and I will get to that when I have time, but for now...I can't wait for this Friday. I leave Salt Lake around 5 p.m to head home for the holidays. It's going to be a good time hanging out with all my friends in Cincy and hopefully dragging them all out to the bars after a good session of crushing this weekend! Well, to all of you Cincy freaks out there...I comin' home bitches!!! So, get ready to party like a rock star!