Back to Business

After six weeks of painful resting I am finally back in the game! It is now my third week on climbing and I have had no problems with my fingers, heart, etc. etc.

In the past weeks I have seen a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, and a hand specialist. All of my appointments went well and it looks like I'll be in good shape for the upcoming competition and summer season! My finger is still sprained, I had torn my collateral ligament so it is partially healed. Fortunately, with the help of tape, I can climb again!

Unfortunately however, I missed the little window of spring climbing :(

As most of you New Englanders know, this window was very small...it lasted about 2 weekends in April....thanks snow...and rain. My first day back outdoors was a couple of Fridays ago, where I learned the hard way that summer was approaching fast (see pictures below).

After fending off mosquitoes and dying of heat at the same time, I came to the conclusion that a summer climbing checklist needed to be created. This list is based on the things I forgot to bring that one treacherous bouldering day at Farley. So, here is my checklist for the upcoming weeks:

SUMMER CHECKLIST:
1. Bugspray
2. Hair elastic...or just maybe a haircut
3. Brush(es)
4. Chalk!!
5. Shorts
6. Water
7. A climbing rope because sending hard problems is nonexistent during the days of New England summers.

Fending off mosquitoes with a sweatshirt and jeans.

Fending off mosquitoes with a towel.

...I guess the only good thing about the summer heat/rain everyday is that I can focus on the upcoming world cup in Vail!!! So psyched!!!!!!!

Out Of Commission

So as I had mentioned in my last blog post, I had hurt my finger. Fortunately, it is only a sprain. I have been resting since the Heart of Steel (with the exception of a few climbing excursions that didn't go well with my finger).

So, what...that's like a month of resting?

Let me just say that I don't know how normal people do it. I can't bear to watch anymore t.v. or my brain will explode. I also can't bring myself to go to a regular gym and do regular workouts. It's just so boring! No wonder so many people are obese.

Since I have been resting, I have begun to take more photos! Photography is a great hobby for when I'm injured because I can still enjoy the outdoors and be around climbers...when the sun finally comes out in New England.

So here's some of my recent photos...the last three were taken a couple of months ago but were recently edited:

Derek Jakoboski- Full Throttle v8

Derek Jakoboski...some problem at Horse Cave in Lincoln Woods

Derek Jakoboski- Barbed Wire v9

Derek Jakoboski- Pocket Rocket v8

...He broke a nail

Flannery Shay-Nemirow- Moon Arete v10

Nick Steinwachs...flashed pumped

Sasha Digulian...some highball in Horsetooth

Heart of Steel, or a head full of stupidity?

Listen to your heart, that's what they all say. That all seems to work out just fine in movies, but what about in real life?

Yesterday I competed in the Heart Ov Zteel. Overall, I think that the Boston Rock Gym crew is a great job! All of the climbs were phenomenal and the finals were spectacular. I just wish that I had the chance to have fun. See, I have had the worst chain of events. I have had some terribly obscure injuries and obstacles I've had to climb to get where I am now. This past week I have been terribly sick with a sinus cold.....no fun. I thought it would be better by the comp, but I was in terrible shape.

So, why show up? Well I have been thinking about that. It is because I decided to listen to my heart. My heart told me to go climb, go place, get my name out there. But, my body said: fuck you. Every comp I've competed in this year I have gave my all. Yesterday was no different. But, was it a smart idea? I was very sick and because of that by equilibrium was off and I had trouble aiming for holds. Not to mention by body felt 50 lbs heavier! Because of my physical state, I wound up injuring myself. I got my finger stuck in a pocket and hurt it. Luckily, nothing major. At the worst I fractured my knuckle, but it is too early to tell.

Some may say that I'm a fighter. That I did an amazing job despite the fact that I was sick. Others may say that I am stupid. They'll say my ego got to me and turned me into an asshole. Well, to be honest I should not have competed yesterday. I feel ebarrassed that I only grabbed 60 bucks off the wall because I know that I can do better. Yes, I was sick. But that is why I am stupid.

Why try and climb sick??? I have been grappling with that question all day. The fact is, I have been training hard and want to prove it. I climbed sick to prove to myself my love for climbing. I want to prove to myself that I will overcome any circumstance and still be great. And guess what, I proved it. But do I want to be know is the girl who always gets hurt and still makes it in? No! of course not! Even though I feel extremely embarrassed, I also feel at peace. I would have gone insane if I had stayed home on my couch drinking tea. I would have always wondered what may have happened if I gave it a shot.

So do I have a heart of steel or a head full of stupidity? Ehh...I'd love to say I have a heart of steel but I would make the same stupid mistake over again if I had the chance. Hopefully when I compete in the next UBC Pro Tour comp, medical staff will not have to rush to my side.

Boulder!

Recently I took a two week trip to Boulder, CO.....To explain my entire experience there would take forever, but I do want to touch on what was great about being there.

I've always wanted to take a picture like this...

New England tends to suck a lot of ass and I usually feel depressed because of the attitude people have when winter occurs. Actually, I wound up taking almost all of December off due to a lack of motivation. I planned to take this two week trip back in November. I knew that I would need a break from the weather, and I was right! My planning for Colorado consisted of booking flights and booking my Nationals ticket. Beyond that I had planned to stay with my awesome friend Amanda, who lives out in Denver, and to somehow get to Boulder everyday.

(I guess I fit into the climbing community well since most people I meet have the same sort of planning)

The weekend before Nationals in Boulder, I decided to compete in the Dark Horse Championships. There I met and climbed with Sasha Digulian, Natasha Barnes, Tiffany Hensley, and Courtney Sanders. This comp was the first time I have actually climbed with girls that are the same strength as me! I am not dissing any east coast girls out there, by the way. Until this competition I was actually underestimating myself! I had heard of how all of these girls have sent hard climbs outside etc. etc...but I had no idea that I could keep up with them! Tiffany was also a lifesaver and offered for me to stay at her house during my time in Colorado...thanks Tiff!

Sending Food!!

Boulder, Colorado. I placed 15th in Nationals and met over a hundred new people.....if that's not enough psyche to get you out of a depression then you are not human! The people I met out there were great! I spent every single second enjoying my life and where I was. That is the way life should always be. I climbed every single day...which in total was 11 days on! I climbed in nationals, then went outside, then on the same day trained in a gym, then climbed outside again, again, and again... Oh, not to mention I am now broke because of Whole Foods. Never making that mistake again (but I might because it just tastes so good).

After Tiffany left for Bishop, I was able to crash on the couch of Lesly Ladlad's and stayed with her and Isabel Faus.
Thanks guys!

I'd like to make a big shoutout to everyone I chilled with in Colorado. It was amazing meeting all of you and I hope to see you soon! I am planning a road trip this summer, which will include a 2-3 week stop in Colorado. I also decided to compete in the rest of the UBC Pro Tour comps so if you're there, look out for me!

I'm excited for the weather to get better in New England (please for the love of God) so that I can send some shit outside and also train for these big comps/road trip. So, if you're ever in the area, give me a shout! I'd love to show some of you the climbing out here!

Bouldering=Good for the Heart

So last weekend was the ABS 12 Open National championships and also the first stop on the UBC Pro Tour! I competed in qualifiers and semi-finals and placed 15th overall. For me, 15th is a big deal. For one, I placed 30th last year and to go up 15 places makes me feel so good. I also am satisfied with how placed due to what went down in the qualifying round...

11:08 am...I began my first climb for qualifiers. Flashed the first and the second problems. I came down from the 2nd problem and sat down in the chair. Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat and started racing at 300 beats per minute! This heart condition is known as Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). I have had this before and it is still an unknown cause. When this happens, I have to sit down and do absolutely nothing until it stops due to the lack of oxygen going through my body. But, I was on problem number 2 out of 6....I'm not going to just wimp out and miss a chance at semi-finals. I trained so hard and flew in from Boston! So I decided to climb. I could only give the remaining 4 problems 1 good go and even still I would fall off halfway due to muscle failure from the lack of oxygen. Every climb was a constant fight for consciousness and my chest was unbearably painful. After the 6th problem, I stumbled over to the medical tent where the staff couldn't even count a pulse because my heart was beating so fast.

If someone has this abnormally fast heartbeat for too long, it can cause blood clots. I was going on an hour of a 300bpm heart rate and was therefore rushed to the hospital. There, they recorded a 260bpm heart rate which was definitely less than when I was competing. Luckily, the wonderful doctors at Boulder Community Hospital were able to bring my heart down to a 120bpm rate, which was out of SVT range. I placed 20th in qualifiers, making it into one of the least slots for semi's. The next day my heart was still beating at 120bpm, but fortunately didn't increase. I was able to move down to 15th place, where I now end my ridiculous tale.

I am blogging about this because I think it is important for people to hear that someone tried their hardest for something they love. I believe that there is no excuse to quitting and I certainly showed it. So next time you are climbing and you think your cut hurts and you don't want to push it, think of this blog post. It is a good reminder to realize what you want and to push to your limits no matter what. No one ever said that climbing was safe in the first place!

The Tendon Savior

Have you come out of a climbing sesh with fingers that are sore and achy? Or the cold blues gettin' your fingers down? I feel the same way. But, unlike you, I have a cure!

The cure is a secret weapon called: Epsom Salt. Yes! This stuff can be bought at any local drug store (I usually use CVS). Just dissolve a couple tablespoons of this stuff into a bowl of hot water and just soak your hands for a minimum of 10 mins.

10 Minutes? That's all? YES! Every night i come home from a hard climbing sesh, I soak my fingers in this salt from heaven and my tendons instantly feel better. If you have a hurt tendon it is suggested that you do not ice it, since tendons have a limited blood supply to begin with. Essentially what the Epsom salt's doing is soaking into your skin (which the hot water helps), and tends to the wounded fingers.

Now, all you hooligans should use this new found knowledge wisely. Along with soaking your hands, you should just keep them warm in general with gloves, hand warmers, and finger exercises. Follow these steps and kick those winter blues right out the door!

Realization

Realizing something can be a gradual process or it could be something that hits you right in the face. For me, it is both. Climbing is a lifestyle for me. I realized that the first day I touched a rock. However, realizing why I chose it as a lifestyle was a gradual process that wound up hitting me all at once today.

I started climbing because I didn't fit in anywhere. All of my close friends had left my shitty public school and everyone else was too busy living the social life of a 7th grader. I hated everything that was happening with school, friends, and myself. Climbing was an outlook that kept me alive and helped me push through and it ulimately changed my life.

Through high school I climbed. I got better. I stayed dis-attached from everyone else in school, but I liked it that way. But now that high school is coming to a close, I began to ask why I still climb. I wondered what it would be like to be a "normal" senior. This threw off my training schedule and I began to ask what I was training for. Yes, I am competing in Nationals, but why?

It took me about a month to realize that "normal" is pathetic. It took me a month to realize that without climbing, I was not happy. It took me a month to realize that I train because it makes me feel free and confident. So even though my lifestyle of climbing had been a gradual thing, I was slapped in the face with the realization of my love for climbing. I can never stop, it is an obsession. But, it is more than an obsession. Climbing is a love that will never go away and that has saved my life. I feel sorry for those who have not found a love like this. Life must be miserable. I hope those poor souls have a realization as I did.