Well that could’ve gone better! Lack of energy, head not in the game, i even managed to draw blood. Needless to say, that was not the best night i have ever had.
By way of explanation, the Indy Climbing Wall, as part of the six-month winter aggregate, this season is having a “Massive Monday” Series. On the first Monday of every month, there is a small competition with a theme.
The first one was Crimps vs. Slopers with a travesty of near-Brexit levels as Slopers took the crown by the narrowest of margins. 25 problems, with points dictated by the number of attempts, with more leniency than a simple flash contest. I came in a lofty fourth.
Next up, due to the large old resin wall was a Back To The Features evening, with fierce and brutal taped sections for hands and feet and a variance of hold types and sizes to test you mettle. Just my sort of thing, i made ground on my previous position, attaining third. It did come at a cost though, as you can read here… (I’m Pedro di Brenina by the way).
With the scores for these positions combined for the overall leaderboard, i found myself going into last night’s Dyno contest joint second overall, thanks largely to absences of fellow climbers. Despite a journey to the wall that began around 1pm in Birmingham, i felt buoyed by my chances and enthusiastic about what lay ahead. If only i’d known.
As i started with, it did not go well. This one was a straightforward flash contest – with points dropped for every failed attempt – and i proceeded to start by dropping points on the very first few problems. Dyno-ing is tough, and my warm up left a lot to be desired. Like actually getting warm.
I flushed out a few of the easier ones to get me going but very quickly found more problems to fail on. Points were dropped on things i really shouldn’t and i watched as people found sneaky ways through problems i’d struggled on earlier.
My head was gone by this point and my body was sore. With only the hardest lines left to do, i knew my chance had gone to achieve an even vaguely respectable score and/or position. My only hope now was that everyone else had done equally poorly.
The guy in joint second certainly wasn’t and it suddenly dawned on me that this is exactly his sort of climbing. Nevertheless, despite wanting to sack it and leave, i figured you never know what’s actually happening and might as well just on as much as possible.
I opted for a series of huge leaps on the front face. First move negotiated (after customarily dropping two points unnecessarily) and the crux second. Hands set, look at where you’re going, feet placed, leap and… BANG! My elbow connected with the wall, cutting a chunk out and now slowly leaking. This really wasn’t my night.
The injury was superficial but looked even more impressive due to the psoriasis on my joints. To prevent getting blood on clothing, matting or anywhere else, a protective tape thing was concocted but proved to look as stupid as it was useless. This really wasn’t my night.
I persevered but quickly got to the point where i knew i lacked enough energy to complete any of the remaining lines. Admitting defeat has never been easier, that’s for sure.
In theory, in climbing competitions, what you’re aiming for is a bell curve of difficulty over time. Start easy, work up to the hard ones in the middle then save some easier ones for the end. It never works and no competition more so than last night.
Still, if it wasn’t for the bad nights, the good ones wouldn’t be so good. Chalk it up to experience and move on, that’s all you can do. That and nurse the wounds of last night – my elbow is still sore.
chezdelabloc 
One thought on “Uch”