Off to Font

Well, It's 11.30pm and I've a flight to catch at 6.30am... It's time to go to bed.

I feel like a child going to bed on Christmas Eve!

Fontainbleau is less than 12 hours away and I just can't wait to climb those boulders again :D

Bon chance to everyone climbing in Tollymore tomorrow.

See y'all in a week.

Competition Climbing - Follow up!

Germany came third at this years Gymnastics World Championships, just last night -

Team captain Fabian Hambuchen had this to say about his young team mate's final performance that secured them the podium place:

Germany secured the bronze medal on pommel horse, its last event, where Sebastian Krimmer was the team's final competitor. Krimmer's 14.966 was more than enough to keep Germany in third place, behind China and Japan, who finished first and second, respectively. The U.S. finished fourth, followed by France, Russia, Great Britain and Korea.

"Sebastian never messed up a routine before worlds," Hambüchen told IG of Krimmer. "He always hit it, so I just told him to let it go the way he had done it in training. He stayed cool and did an unbelievable job. I'm very proud of him."

- www.intlgymnast.com

This is a perfect example of a world class team keeping to it's training regime... competition changes nothing, the work is done in the gym before hand.

The job at hand on the day is to just churn out another training session.

:)

Sick!

Trip to Fontainbleau is only 2 days away now, and I had an absolutely great bouldering session in the Co op last night - with little gems of advice from Howard. All was going well until this morning when I woke up with a banging headache, a sore throat and a nose that seems to be in training for the Dublin marathon on Monday...

I've a cold!!

I've always said athletes are like babies. So I rang work and told them I couldn't make it, dragged my duvet into the sittingroom and sat on my couch for the day sipping tea and eating sandwiches.

I'm in panic mode at the moment cause I had a very clear training plan for Font. It included my final training session that was supposed to be tonight... but I ain't climbing tonight!!

So what do I do... rest for the next 2 days before I leave on saturday morning, or go training tomorrow and do my last session in preparation for 9 days bouldering in Font... It's a tough one! If I was giving advice to someone else, I'd say 'the work is done, rest!' but it's always hard to give yourself the right advice and follow it!!

All I know is Holy Moly (F7a) is waiting for me and I really really wanna send it!!

Decisions...

Decisions based upon Faith and not fear...

I want more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjR_mwCEiK8

Competition Climbing

So I read 2 blogs regularly (Dave Ayton's and Neal McQuaid's) and I get so much insight into how people approach their climbing and I find reading them makes me so psyched to go out and train and try hard.

I may not know

a lot about bouldering yet... but I love it, and it's just about all I think about. I also think that if I can write a blog that motivates or helps in any little way - that can only be a good thing. :)

Strangely enough I'm going to start my blog about bouldering, by first discussing a lead climbing competition...

I was in Dingle at the weekend at the Irish Lead Climbing Championships and I kept hearing that my competitors were 'so nervous!' and I couldn't help but wonder why, we all do this all the time and we're all mates!!!?

People said to me later on in the day that I'd grown up with competition (in addition to this, my sport was gymnastics and I competed in a leotard...) therefore I find it very difficult to get super nervous anymore about climbing competitions, because first and foremost you're allowed wear clothes!

The one thing I noticed at the weekend was how people changed the routine they're used to because it's a competition.

I found myself saying at least 2 times - just do what you always do!

I was out-climbed at the weekend, but it was nothing to do with nerves... I'm just not awesome enough... YET!! What amazed me was that I out-climbed a good few competitors that should have kicked my ass!!

I can only put this down to a lack of experience with getting rid of the nerves of competition.

My advice is to keep the routine you have at a training session for competitions. Where possible, simply do what you always do.

When you arrive at a competition venue ask yourself - how different is this to my training wall. How many people here are strangers? What reason do I have to be nervous?

I believe most of us would answer - nothing's different - these people are all my friends and they all want me to climb well and if I fall, none of them care.

So wear the same clothes as you usually train in, put on the same smelly old climbing shoes that are moulded to the shape of your gnarled climber toes, chill with your climber mates and know that you're essentially sitting in your 'office' when you go to a competition.

The only thing that should be different to a normal bouldering/climbing session is that if you send everything, you get a prize at the end!!

In addition to my simple advice, I'd say go out and grab a copy of the 'Inner Game of Tennis' by Timothy Gallwey and read it. It's a very small thin book, but it's an absolute must read for anyone who gets the jitters before competition or has a bad day climbing in general, or a good days climbing despite bad conditions or preparation and doesn't know why?! (it's not all about tennis by the way!!)

And next time the butterflies in your tummy start to feel like they might get the better of you at a climbing competition just think... at least I don't have to do this in a leotard!

It certainly helps me on my way!!