jedi mike's blog

So lately I haven't been getting out as much as I usually do, and no where close to as much as I want to.  We spent the summer putting a new bamboo floor in the kitchen (felt nice putting down a sustainable resource), and TOTALLY redoing the bathroom.  This has been scaring me a bit since we're working on having kids and I'm nervous about how much climbing my future holds.  When I reflect on the season though, I realize that although the quantity has been lower, the quality has been way up there.  Onsighting 10's at the Gunks and on my first trip to Smith Rocks made me feel like I'm sti

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Met my buddy Deno at the Gunks this weekend. We only met for the day and both of us were feeling pretty knackered. He'd been whooping it up on a party boat the day before, and I'm still in the grips of grading exams and finishing up the school year. Still, it was a sunny day and plenty of routes to get on there.

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Sarah & I went to Hammond Pond the other day while spending an afternoon in the city. Hadn't sessioned there in years. Sarah bouldered for the 1st time since tearing here ACL at Lincoln Woods. She didn't do anything that she was likely to fall off, but it was great to building up the confidence. I think our strong bouldering days are really behind both of us. After warming up on the Wolverine wall, which my dorky self names the small out of the way rock with 3 cracks that I like to warm up on, I spotted Sma on a boulder near the Atrium. Then she went over to do a bit of shopping while I joined a group of guys in the Atrium.

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A professional development day got me out of work early, so I drove down the road to College Rock for a quick session. Gorgeous fall afternoon with a touch of orange still on the trees, plenty of breeze to stir up the foliage, and crisp temps that make the friction great. I've always wanted to make the full traverse 3X's as I've always done it twice and pumped out. Today I mixed it up though by going from right to left (easier) the first couple of times. I was definitely feeling the Kinaesthetic Awareness that John Gill's spoken so much about. I flowed through feeling my arms extend without the jerkiness that can be felt, even if not seen by others.

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So my last blog got me thinking about this past season. Given that the school year's in full swing now, days are getting shorter (and colder), and I'm now a weekend warrior rather than climbing every other day, I've been in a reflective mood. April vacation in the Gunks was the perfect way to start the year. I'd had a few days out at Crow Hill, and Sarah and I could really get into a good rhythm climbing together, particularly with some air under our feet. Lot's of moderates helped us to do that and i could see trying to make the Gunks an annual "let's get into a groove" trip. Onsighting 7th Seal at 10a was a nifty way to build confidence on Memorial weekend, followed by getting fit on my OB course and hitting some of the old classics in NC.

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Went bouldering at Lincoln Woods today. Haven't been climbing enough and it showed in my endurance, or lack thereof. The warm up at the Sit Down area told me that I had a successful season. That spun me off wondering "what is success?" though. I climbed more than last year, and I guess that the questioning I had been engaging in as to why I climb fell to the wayside. Nonetheless, I still found myself asking by what yardstick was I measuring success. I got up routes in styles that wouldn't have been possible the past couple of years, but I've still climbed stronger. Was it successful because I was happy with my performance now that I'm forces to balance work with play? Was it better because Sarah and I have integrated climbing into 'our' lives rather than it simply being MY thing.

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