Open Handed

I went to TCA this afternoon and did a session on open handed holds,

My hand still feels ok right now so I safely avoided the crimping.

I actually find it quite interesting dropping back to open hand, everything feels weird, even the big holds feel awkward. I guess I never really thought about how much I use something resembling a full crimp until I started not using it.

It is also interesting that I can still manage holds that I would normally crimp, if I start doing this on a regular basis then chances are that my shoddy footwork will stop being a cause of A2 pulley issues.

This period of open handing will no doubt help me out in the future, and with any luck also strengthen up my ring finger leading to an increase in pocket pulling power.

14th place

Turns out I came joint 14th/86 in the latest comp but I appear to have tweaked a finger in the process, or rather, I tweaked my finger the day after when I went back to work some of the problems.

As such, I have spent another week icing my hand morning, noon and night to try and get some blood into it. Tssk, this weekend is SIBL and it feels a lot better, but open handed is the way forward for now.

I just need to get a result so I can stay vaguely there or there abouts, and if all else fails I can enter the photo comp instead.

Since I havent been climbing or updating much, here is my offering for the day:

TCA comp

I took most of the week off last week as I had a niggling A2 in the left hand middle/ring fingers.

Fortunately it seems to have worked and I put in a decent showing in the TCA comp, I shall hopefully find the results tomorrow but I believe that I am around 15th place out of who knows how many.

Finger felt alright today and I have about a week to get in a final bit of stamina for SIBL in Evo next weekend.

I am trying to focus a little more on open handed climbing now, three fingers open handed is the way forward!

4x4 going well.

Rubiks PB

I would just like to be the first to congratulate myself on my new milestone.

I just solved the 3x3 Rubiks in 28.76 seconds - hoorah for me - this has been a goal for me for a fair while but I never had any dedication to actually getting it. Continuously getting 31.XX or 30.XX is pretty annoying when you know a marginal thing like a cube locking would have tipped you over the edge

I got a little bit lucky with a couple of stages but for the most part it was an honest solve, quick F2L and a Corner skip for the last step.

That was it really.

I shall connect a youtube video from earlier in the evening when it is done uploading, although it was only a 33 second solve, or something like that, and massively lucky. Still, you should be able to get an idea

*edit*

and this one is not 33 seconds, it is significantly slower.

Dedication

Despite my crippling hand injury (which has healed remarkably well for the single day off I gave it) I decided to go to TCA again and partake in fisticuffs with the problem that tried to skin me.

Joe dropped a little beta for the final moves and I managed to do it shortly after starting.

They may be some of the easier whites that I am getting but it is nice to start getting a few under my belt, I think I may try Pauls pebbly crimpfest next time I am in, in an effort to bother Pete.

I also tried the red problem across the front of the mothership. I had previously tried this about a month ago after succumbing to major psyche levels for the moves.

Unfortunately I had just returned from injury at this point and I could barely do a single move. Today however I managed to do every move, link large sections and put in a decent attempt. Time is running out till the reds are removed though and I think I may only have a couple more sessions to attempt it before it will be consigned to the cleaning fluid.

Had a nice curry tonight with the TCA crew at Redlands Tandoori in Bristol. I would feel happy recommending this place to anyone around, tasty and not too damaging on the wallet.

Ouchies!

Been climbing a lot still,

On Friday I checked out the Reading boulder wall section that was opened recently.

Some really cool problems and masses of potential once the rest of the boulder surface opens, well worth a visit if you are around, pity it is about 20mins walk from the station.

Also went to SSP on sunday and had a good session trying a lot of the new problems and some of the old ones. I also heard my first finger pinging noise when Jack pulled too hard on a crimp. I await news but it didnt sound good when he did it. :-(

TCA this afternoon and I did another white and several of the reds.

Unfortunately I also did my finger falling off the last move of one of the whites...lame.

That's a few days off at least, I might be able to climb on wednesday...but it is a bad flapper, guess I will have to wait and see.

I need to go shower now and eat some foodstuffs.

Humous for the win!

A Tirade of tiredness.

I just got back from TCA,

7 hour session in there.

I am tired.

I will be abused for the problems I set today, they are too easy.

I hate leaving shit routes on the wall, this is going to sit on my mind all night and I really cant be arsed to go and change them tomorrow, and that's if I get time after the lab session.

I got a blister today on my right ring finger and that makes me sad

add that to my phone being broken, the lame routes that are up, the chemistry I cant do and the massive sugar crash I am suffering and you have a pretty lacklustre moi.

Not a very good session tonight, I guess I pulled hardishishish, but meh.

I need to chill out or something, but at the same time I have work to do.

And I want to go climb something that isnt just plastic crap.

I was talking with Omar today about the problems I was setting, and he loves the indoors.

He was saying that he likes the white problems to be practically impossible.

On the way home I thought about this and I just can't agree.

If you are going to spend ages trying a problem that may or may not be completely impossible for you, why wouldnt you do it outside? If you do it outside at least you get something against your name for your effort.

If I was trying to 'train' then I would just use the fingerboard or campus rungs.

I guess the routes I have set in the 'hard' circuit are really just trying to replace the hole left by the red circuit, but of course this just prompts the statement that they arent hard enough.

The red circuit is full of nails hard, unpleasant problems.

I would certainly prefer to set some fun, interesting (slightly easier perhaps) problems that you can at least enjoy climbing on while you are indoors.

I guess that is my two cents, when the red circuit comes around I hope to actually get to set some fun moves unlike 90% of what is up now IMO.

I'm going to go find some food, and maybe do some core.

I dont know...

I dont feel like slacking though.