(October 5th – 12th: <10 mins read)
TL;DR:
– ⛑️ Cold fading, cough and snuffles still there
– 🧗 First deliberate fall training session
– 🤹 Slacklining daily, at least one hour
– 🏃 J’s enthusiasm for running really takes off
– 🪨 Cracked my first 8er boulder (6c+/7a)
< music I’m listening to as I type / exercise >
< “Price of Love” radio >
Milestones (click to collapse)
| WK51 | Milestone / Significant Event |
|---|---|
| D-1 | ⛑️ Still coughing a bit but basically 98% 🤹 Almost managed to and fro twice |
| D-2 | 🧗 Another lead session with S n J – my first fall ‘training’ went well 🥳 🤹 Cracked the to and fro twice 😎 🏃 Another lovely (6k) trail run with J – different woods / trail, same vibe 🦵 Video call with Chris – support due to end in 2 weeks – looking for lower body units >1 year |
| D-3 | 🧗 Just a few easy routes 🤹 Daily one hour session |
| D-4 | 🧗 Another day, a few easy routes 🤹 Daily session – 90+ mins |
| D-5 | 🧗 No climbing, just belaying – can feel “golfer’s elbow” coming on 🤹 A really flowy, long session – double turns, ‘sunken surfing’, etc |
| D-6 | 🤹 Really long session – almost 2 hours – still ain’t pretty 😅 … but still improving 🪨 Back to München Boulderwelt – the ‘traverse’ walls are really cool |
| D-7 | 🪨 Cracked my first 8er (7er old grade) – something like a 6c+/7a 🤹 Two turns plus back and forth 👣 51 weekas / approx 12k steps per day |
< Note: For a list of milestones click <here>.
Real-world exercise (& movement)
The routine of running twice a week got broken by a cold … but for that, I’ve maintained my daily gym visit / slacklining (other than the Oktoberfest exception 😅). As a result, my balance is slowly improving: I notice I need 10-15 mins to warm up and get back to where I was the day before, and then the progress starts, in small ‘waves’.
This week’s ‘little tricks’ include getting stable in a ‘sitting on my heel’ position, first bit of being able to stand in ‘exposure’ (standing side-on, instead of lengthways to the line), as well as successfully managing two turns coupled with walking the length of the line, a couple of steps backwards, turn and keep walking (twice).
With the end of the first 12 months post-injury approaching, I had a short video call with Chris to go through where I am, what I’m aiming for mid-term running-wise (through a 42k flat run to a 50k trail). He’s going to help me adjust the short daily mobility plan as well as come up with a couple of short lower body units with less emphasis on the calf / tendon targeted at getting me to a good point for this kind of stretch.
Walking / Hiking (empty)
This is one thing which is really missing … topping the 10k steps per day on average is something which happens without me thinking about it / making an effort, but it’s been a few weeks since I consciously made the effort to get out and do some real mileage with a pack. This needs to change. A couple of times a month ought to be an easily achievable minimum!
Running
Last week where I can use the ‘excuse’ of a cold – I mean, I did go for a short, easy run through the woods (including a few metres of ascent even) with J, but I really need to get back to the couple of ‘serious’ runs a week.
Climbing
The week more or less started with my first deliberate falls on the rope: attempting an VIIIer route (5.11d), I reached the last couple of quickdraws without a pause; having watched my two climbing partners struggle with that section, I was 99% sure that was going to be the crux … I suspect probably doable if fresh, but not after so doable after the first 12-13m. Indeed, whilst attempting the last clip, I could feel it was beyond my current limit … and down I went, probably a good 4. Felt surprisingly under control, no wrenching gut. This I repeated again, before calling it a day on that route and fall training for the moment.
Friday’s visit to the climbing gym was more of a slackline session, partly because I’m pretty sure my right arm “golfer’s elbow” is gradually getting worse. I did belay S for about 45 mins as she stubbornly refused to give up on the same 5.11d route I’d done my ‘fall training’ on … I don’t know how she does it, but, after quite a few attempts (including a couple of fairly deep falls) she did indeed crack the clipping of the crux and with a half-dynamic move topped out. Very satisfying to watch 👏 💪 🤩 🙌 !
Saturday I’d planned on visiting Boulderwelt in Münich again, after another long slacklining session at my local gym – it makes for a pleasant change of scenery, if nothing else. This time I ‘clicked’ into the three traverse walls they have close to the entrance: with differing angles from straight, maybe 10° and then around 20° slant, these feature (mostly) figure of 8 routes varying from V (5.9) to IX- (5.12c) so that one can train with fairly even muscle- and joint-loading – as they write in German, good for endurance; on the 10° wall I could do all the VIII+ (5.12a/b) moves … but would have to be fresh to crack the whole route in one, needing a break somewhere around 1/2-2/3 of the route.
The end of the week saw five of us taking a crack at one of this week’s new boulders. Not only S but also one of the younger students topped it fairly quickly; the rest of us struggled with a couple of moves, repeating again and again like I haven’t done in a very long time – it was a route which didn’t feel like it was over-taxing any of my joints or muscles, at least not at the time 😅.
At one point S noticed the music had gone quiet … so she went up to ask them to restart (I think a Spotify playlist simply comes to an end). Funnily enough, shortly after that restarted, all three of us in relatively quick succession managed to top out – the power of the music 😁!
Now, the owner of the climbing gym decided at some point in September to start grading the boulders from 1-9 instead of 1-8 … this needs to be kept in mind as I say, “YES! My FIRST 8er boulder in my life!!”. And nevertheless, I still think it’s for sure a 6c+, perhaps even a 7a … and either way, it’s a really nicely set route (the black ‘tadpoles’ or ‘ying-yang’ route), proving similarly difficult, regardless of body size (remember, I’m only 167cm / 5’6″ small!); there were several betas, with mine probably being the oddest – if I can, I’ll ‘clean it up’ a bit and get a video of it.
