Been a weird few weeks. Being laid off at work has been oddly stressful, which has not exactly done amazing things for the climbing. But it hasn't gone too poorly, notwithstanding. What happens next is in Lord God's hands-- and i have no doubt it could be something much better than the near-constant stress and anxiety we've had here. But it's certainly got me in an amorphous limbo for now.
On the climbing front, i'm coming very close to closing out this first season. Really haven't gotten to project any routes outside, and i'd very much like to get out a few times before calling it-- even if just to get a feel for some potential redpoints for next season. I feel like i'm climbing better and stronger than i ever have, but i'd have a hard time objectifying that. My endurance is definitely at a different level than before, but i'm also latching stuff i couldn't really consider three months ago.
I'd say dieting/weight-loss has been the most frustrating--and promising--part of this season. Weighed in this morning at 192.2 lbs. That's the lightest i've been in probably 17 years. That's encouraging. But i know i could still lose 15-20 lbs without even losing any muscle, and be perfectly healthy. And that is where i'm going to see a move to the next level in climbing. I just don't seriously see climbing v7 and up at over 190#.
On the other hand, i sorta feel like i'm getting the hang of this dieting deal: It sucks, and it's hard, and it just requires robotic scheduling and focus; but its possible and it works. What does boggle me, though, is how hard it is to just get to and maintain a healthy weight. I'm not exactly obese, but i can't seem to just get to 10% bodyfat-- let alone maintain it. At any rate, i feel like i'm moving very very slowly in the right direction, so i'm not too down about that; just seems so very much harder than it should-- so very much harder than it is for anyone else i climb with. I mean, i've finally got me below the 193 mark, but i feel ravenous all the freakin' time! I think i'll stop feeling so hungry all the time if i can hang on long enough to get used to it, get used to not having that extra handful of mixed nuts or cheese or whatever i tend to cram in my head after work. But it is so hard to convince me that the difference between losing and gaining is a matter of a couple hundred calories. Not exactly having a Big Mac to round things out before bed.
At any rate, i have seen progress (albeit small progress) on the Clydesdale status. And definitely having a structured program and some goals have made that possible. (I think for the coming seasons it'll be necessary to refine my goals from "climb harder than most everyone else in the world" to something a tad more specific.) And definitely seeing some real live gains in strength and power have helped inspire me not to have that occasional cookie. So even while i'm certain that i'm going to see my largest gains by losing weight, and that gains in strength at the same weight tend to be miniscule in relation to what i'd gain in strength simply by dropping weight, it has also been clear to me that seeing objective gains at a given weight seriously motivates me to do what it takes to lose-- it multiplies the gains in strength.
At the moment i feel ragged. I've done two comps in the last week and had a really-way-too-hard-but-awesome bouldering session in between. Comp last night i was just stale. Failed on moves i had wired. I'm actually looking forward to ending this season and starting back into more strength training (after rest, etc, of course).
In the meantime, i'm praying for the strength to not slob out whilst looking for a job and trying to sell a house. Keep some sanity without engaging in thermonuclear self-destruction: Prime short-term goal. And one for which i've never had any talent.
