Time to share again

It's been a while since I wrote at this blog or really anywhere, but it's time to start again. As I sat down to write this I reread some of the last posts and it allowed me to see how far I have come in the last few years. I want to give my future self that same opportunity.

In my last training post I mentioned that I was struggling with V2 and V3's on steep terrain and roofs. Last night I climbed two steep V6's after only a couple of tries. When I last wrote I weighed in at 202 lbs, I am now 187. Clearly I've made progress though not nearly as much as I would like.

So this blog has two purposes. To be a resource for my future self and to document my training, weight and performance so that I can more easily see what works for a 40yr old boulderer with a full time job.

Lets start with the basic stats:

• Weight: 187 lbs (84.8 kg)
• Height 6'4" (192 cm)
• Age: 40

Climbing history:

I started climbing at Exeter University in 1992. I came across the climbing club at freshers week and was hooked. By the end of my first week I was bouldering in the climbing gym wearing my best repurposed cycling lycra. My log legs and ungainly movement quickle earned me the nickname Storky. Over the next couple of years I learned to climb trad. Learning was slow, outdoors only once a week and hours on the traversing wall at the uni gym. I slowly worked my way up to leading grades up to E3 / 5.11a. After a couple of years at Exeter I left for London where I had fewer opportunities to climb. I drifted in and out of regular climbing eventually stopping alltogether after twisting my ankle badly and losing much of my base fitness while it recovered. After a ten year break I rediscovered climbing when I moved out to Portland, Oregon. I found a great local bouldering gym in The Circuit and started bouldering regularly. I also managed to get out to nearby Smith Rock and clip bolts on some easy routes. These days I mostly boulder indoors with the odd trip out to local bouldering spots. The idea of doing more than 10 moves in a row fills me with dread.

Goals:

Reguarly boulder V8 in the gym, do the same occassionally on real rock.

Current level:

• Onsight indoor: V5
• Max indoor: V7
• Max ooutdoor: V5

Current Training Plan:

Boulder 3 times a week indoors with little structure. Occassional HIT workout for all round fitness.