A day off.

This weekend I hit a point I'd only really heard about... never thought I'd experience.

Yesterday I went bouldering inGlendalough, but it wasn't like I was super psyched about it. I definitely wanted to go hang out - outdoors with friends and be in the sunshine having a laugh - but to be honest, the bouldering didn't really have it's usual hold over me.

I was more interested in doing handstands and very interested in watching my friends during their attempts. As usual, Claire made Andy's Arete look like a simple case of being balanced, while it felt to me like a total crank and lock off fest!

Tiny amounts of progress were made, but my heart wasn't in it and I found myself more excited to learn about Johnno's sequence on Leftism (7c) than actually climbing at all.

He did really well, stringing the entire opening sequence together, and just slipping off on the little throw between the lower moves of the traverse into the side pull.

Cool to watch.

This morning I got a text first thing from Claire to go out again today, but my enthusiasm couldn't have been any less and my motivation to do the housework out weighed my motivation to climb.

So I took the day off and did my washing up, and cleaned all my clothes for the week, made my lunches for work, swept the floor, etc etc etc. My Dad came over and we drank a cup of tea and had a chat, and I then watch various shows on tv...

Come 5.30pm my climbing brain suddenly jolted into action and I thought - I'd love to go train!

I threw my gear in a bag and headed around to the Co op, and randomly met Naomi and Katie - What a great training session! I spent from 5.30 to 8pm at the wall and the hours flew by!

I'm absolutely psyched to get to Fairhead next weekend to boulder at the climbing meet... though I think I might be on my own, as Fairhead offers some of the best (if not the best?) trad climbing in Ireland...

I've never been bouldering there, but I hear it's awesome -

So this weekend, I think I learned that it's ok not to climb if I don't want to - I kind of freaked out when I didn't want to climb today - I thought, have I burnt out?! Am I never going to climb again?! - but seeing as it only took 8 hours for my motivation to come back full tilt, I don't think there's any chance of me stepping back from the game any time soon.

Climbing for climbing's sake is not the way. The best climbing I've done has had purpose behind it, or a goal in mind. I've been excited to attack a problem, or explore a location or push a grade...

Seems like I need to write down a new set of motivations to carry me through the summer months.