A laundry list of things learned today

Yeah, it was one of those days. So many lessons require a good explanation, so I'll actually make a real blog post this time :)

Lesson #1: Drug dealer's mean vicious dogs suck.
Lesson #2: Overdoing climbing not so good.
Lesson #3: Mats are there for a reason when you're bouldering. Not hitting them sorta sucks.
Lesson #4: About the time you put 110% faith in something, it fails.
Lesson #5: ALWAYS be focused when bouldering.

My day got off to a real kickin' start around 4:30 this morning when Jake decided he really needed to go to the bathroom. It's my fault for going to bed early instead of taking him out for his pre-bedtime potty break. In my neighborhood, I'm extra vigilant at 4:30 in the morning and it certainly paid off.

I walked outside the front door to our building and hadn't yet closed the door (good thing!) when Jake started growling and fussing. Immediately I figured something was up so I turned around to head back inside when out of nowhere these two very aggressive, very unleashed, very big dogs came running straight at us. I bolted inside and managed to shut the door right on the first dog, who got himself wedged about halfway between the door and the door frame. For what seemed like an eternity I was wrestling with the door, trying to keep this dog from wedging himself further inside, all while trying to hold Jake back so he didn't get attacked. At this point I was thinking my very life was dependent on not letting that dog get inside. Not a good feeling.

Finally I ended up giving the dog a swift kick straight to the snout, which was enough to back him up so I could get the front door closed. By this time, all the commotion and my screaming woke up my downstairs neighbor who proceeded to call 911. Yeah, good times. I woke up later today realizing how f'in lucky we both were that we didn't end up mauled or dead. Sure, stuff like this could happen anywhere, but I think I'm getting weary of this neighborhood.

Might be time to move to the eastside where my biggest concern would be neighbors calling the cops on me for not mowing my lawn or something.

Once I recovered from this fiasco, I decided to hit the climbing gym, which was not a good idea. I was already pumped out just driving to the gym and should have taken a rest day. I completed two 5.8 routes ok but things just didn't feel good and after two flailing attempts at harder routes I called it a day. Then comes lessons of the day #2-5....

I wandered over to the bouldering cave and started playing around. I did a V0, then a V0+ and didn't feel too bad, but I wasn't really focused, I was just playing around. Then I tried this V2 that had a bit of a tricky move towards the top. I had to move my right foot onto this little teeny feature and reach up and to the right for the next hold at the same time. For the first time ever, I put 110% confidence in my foot holding on to that feature and wouldn't you know ... it didn't hold. I was reaching way over and to the right and as soon as my foot slipped I fell sideways, missed the mat, and decked my shoulder straight into the ground. Pretty awesome.

The fall itself wasn't that bad and I got up thinking I was fine, but my shoulder is definitely zinged. Right next to me a girl was trying bouldering for her very first time. After seeing me fall she immediately started crying and screaming to her b/f that she couldn't move and wanted down immediately. She got really pissed he wasn't climbing up to get her, which was sorta funny. She was barely halfway up so he finally talked her into jumping off, then she went screaming and crying into the bathroom and I never saw her again. I guess I ruined her life :(

So, yeah. I shouldn't have been bouldering because I was way too pumped out and not focused. And I should have moved the mat. And now I need to work on my foot faith again because I'm sure I just knocked it back a few notches with that one. Hopefully I just tweaked the shoulder a bit and it'll be fine after a few days rest.

All in all, a really spectacular day!

Ouch

Raw, numb fingers and complete loss of upper body function either equals too much flailing or really hard climbing. I'll pick the second one.

Lessons learned today...

#1: Learned while climbing: most problems are only in your head.

#2: Learned after climbing: pumping out and then carrying a 50-lb bag of dog food is not a fun activity.

Bye bye 2008, you kinda sucked I think.

Since Facebook came along I sure have been neglecting the blog, so I figured what better day to post a quick update than the last day of the year?

Mostly I'm writing this for me so that one day next year I may look back and read this and remember 2008 for being the awful and wonderful year it was. Lots of good stuff happened this year, and lots of bad stuff happened this year. In fact, I consider this to be the single most traumatic and chaotic year of my life I think, but at the same time, I wouldn't have learned so much without the chaos. So without writing a novel....

Big lessons from 2008:

1. Live life to its fullest, because you really don't know how much time you have. I have a bigger fear of regretting something I didn't do, not something I did. Go big and have fun doing it!
2. There are a million guys out there. Not a single one of them is worth losing your soul over.
3. There are a million guys out there. Half of them are assholes and half of them are amazing, kick-ass rock-stars. One of those rock-stars is mine, he just doesn't know it yet ;)
   
4. Believe in yourself and never change who you are.
5. There's no room in life for drama. Shape up or shut up. Life is too short.
   

On a lighter note, I also learned the following lessons this year:

1. Snowboarding fucking rocks, especially when you start carving turns, picking up some speed, and actually passing people down the mountain.
2. Rock climbing is a fun way to terrorize your brain.
3. Pump tracks are highly addictive.
4. Crashing into prickly pear cactus sucks.
5. A year off due to injury healing isn't so fun, so take care of the body! (No more stupid home gymnastics....for now).
   

And of course, what year-end wrap up wouldn't be complete without a list of goals for 2009. I always have a lot of goals, so I'm just going to list the big ones.

1. Carve down Alpental on the board. Hmmm, maybe that's a dream for now....
   
2. Kill it in XC MTB races.
3. Become a dirt studette by doing some riding and clinics in BC. I'm guessing a Fernie clinic and too much time at Whistler will probably result in a budget rearrangement to procure a big bike, but that's a whole 'nother story...
4. Qualify for Boston!!
   
5. Complete a Half Iron.
6. Do some outdoor rock climbing.
7. Find a guy who can keep up and put up with all of this stuff. And maintain my bikes :)
   

Happy New Year!!

Not sure what did the most damage....

...the 26-mi road ride I did Saturday? The hot yoga session Saturday afternoon after three weeks off? My first ever climbing outing at Vertical World today? Or the Colonnade workout and 3-mi run I clocked at Greenlake tonight?

One thing is for sure: I'm now hooked on a brand new sport. I've always wanted to try climbing but have just never gotten around to it. I accepted an invite from a friend to hit Vertical World today and had a blast. Heights don't really bother me, but I've always had a bit of falling fear, so I honestly didn't think climbing would be my thing. I was wrong. I was so freaked out on my first climb though I could barely hang on to anything. I learned pretty quickly that chalk is your friend!

After a few climbs I figured out how to move around and felt a lot more comfortable. I found the mental challenge to be the best part. There were a few times I got stuck but knew where I needed to go. It's weird how your body knows what it needs to do but your brain is screaming, "No way! You're going to fall!" Every time I went for it I made it, so it's just convincing yourself you can do it. I'm now signed up for the belay class and well on my way to making this a regular thing :)

I think tomorrow is going to suck. I'm already feeling the climbing mostly in my triceps, shoulders, and legs. Or maybe the legs are hurting from Saturday's ride. My core is killing me from yoga, but that could also be from climbing. Ugh.