Summer Recovery

The last time I posted on this blog, I had briefly talked out my plans for getting physically fit. I am happy to say that I have had a lot of progress! I am also excited to say that I have had NO PAIN while climbing!! This is such a huge step for me!

Climbing has not been the only thing I have had progress in either. Six weeks ago I could just barley run a mile at 5mph. Now, with the help of an inhaler, I can run three miles at 6mph. Now that I feel that I can actually run well, I am starting to like it. I run a lot in crossfit and I also run through the side streets and park near my apartment. I can tell that my midline is getting thinner and I am pretty excited. Not that I need to lose weight, but it is nice to have a less bulky build. I feel lighter and more healthy.

I also said before that I was going to start crossfit. I took what is called an "on-ramp" class, where we learn different lifts and workouts required of us. So far I have been doing crossfit for five weeks, three days per week. I can already tell that my body is getting stronger. The first day after our on ramp was over, a staff member moved me from their "below beginner" level to their "advanced" level. I'm psyched because my workouts include more complicated lifts, chest to bar pull ups, and handstand pushups! It is nice to have a challenge that is not climbing. I feel that crossfit is another outlet for me and can help my competitive climbing. Ultimately with crossfit, I think that my body will be in a more balanced physical state which will help both my climbing and mental state.

I have also made large strides in changing my diet. I am trying to eat three balanced meals a day with fruits/veggies mixed in as snacks. So far, my only issue is cutting down on dark chocolate and frozen yogurt. Those sweets are my vice and when I get stressed I tend to eat a lot of it! However so far I have been pretty good (we'll see how that goes on my vacation next week). 

With all of this progress in my life, I feel pretty good! Actually, I feel much happier than I have in the past nine months or so. It is nice because I now have some outlets that are challenging for me. Since I am doing all of these things, I am trying to document all of my progress. Along with this blog, I keep a workout calendar and two journals. I also document photo and take video of me climbing so that I can see my progress. I think that most of my problems stemmed from the fact that I could not see that I was progressing in the sport.
Below is a pretty interesting photo I put together showing my physique change in the past seven months. My shoulders have definitely shrunk, but now I look a little slimmer.

Last but not least, this is my climbing blog so I do want to talk a little about my climbing progress. As I said I have been documenting my progress on video. Six weeks ago I was getting pumped out at the end of a 5.10. Now I am making good progress on a (finger friendly) 5.12d circuit that we have up in our training room. Not only that, but I have flashed a couple v6's and got to the last clip on a 5.12 second go! But that is not the best part: I have NO PAIN. I can't even believe it. I don't even have pain the next day! Even still, I am trying to take it easy. I am only climbing twice a week and the last time I climbed was July 1st. I am also taping my fingers. I really do not want another injury, especially while I am trying to recover.

Below is a link to my climbing video documentation. I can see my progress through the weeks and I welcome you to check it out as well. I am psyched to see what the rest of the summer holds for me!!

Video Progress

True Inspiration

Exactly a year ago, I was in a hotel room in Vail, Colorado anticipating the qualifying round of the Vail World Cup that would take place in the morning. I was the third youngest female competing. I had skipped my high school graduation to go to Vail saying, "I have to go; what if I never have the chance again?" However in reality I felt like this was the beginning to my professional climbing career. I envisioned myself competing in world cups for years to come.

Unfortunately, I did not foresee a finger injury lasting six months and counting. These past six months have been the most physical, mental, and emotional taxing months that I have ever endured in my entire life. Transitioning from high school to college, moving in an out of multiple places, having minor heart surgery, sinus infections, a broken ankle, having my car constantly break down, and getting asthma attacks have not been helping my non-climbing experience. Through this time period, I felt like I had reached a breaking point and then just kept drifting away. I became so broken down that I felt like I was stuck and could never pick myself up. Things like reading climbing books, doing p90x, eating right, and just being fit in general didn't seem appealing anymore. I felt pretty depressed for few months. Although recently I have realized something: These past six months I would not trade for the world.

You are probably thinking why? All of that sounds pretty shitty. But through this time I have learned more about myself than I ever would have if I had kept climbing. Becoming a pessimist and hating the world is something that I just needed to experience. I needed to realize who I really am and why climbing means so much to me. Even though these past several months have been terrible, I recently have had the time to rest from most of my stressors. These past couple of weeks has let me reflect on these months. Turning my optimism back on, I have realized that life has become truly inspiring.

This "true inspiration" I am talking about is not just my life, but life as a whole. I have had the chance to talk to people who have gone through things that I feel are much worse than what I am going through. With this time I have had the chance to experience intense emotions, which really can change a perspective if you let it. I have been able to look at life in a more delicate manner and also look at my accomplishments. For the first time I am actually proud of all my climbing accomplishments instead of feeling that I am still not good enough. Through this time I have been able to look at myself and realize that I love competition and have an unwavering motivation to do something great. This motivation is what made me take this time to learn, appreciate life, and be inspired by it.

In recent news, I am still injured. I have started climbing jug hauls, which is great, but not satisfying. I have decided to broaden my fitness horizons. I recently began running, which is something I used to (and still sort of) hate. I also signed up for a 4 month crossfit membership. My crossfit training begins Monday. For the first time I am getting excited to try something physical that does not involve climbing! However I would love to try trad climbing this summer. So if anyone is in the New England area and wants a trad buddy, I will totally come! You will just have to teach me some stuff.

To conclude this lengthy blog post, I would like to thank my friends who have supported me through these past several months. If I had never taken the time off from climbing, I would not have become close with many of these people. I also hope that this blog post inspires someone to appreciate life. As much as I hate not climbing, my life really is something great and I feel that I have become a better person because of these past several months. And whether I am able to return to climbing or not, I will find something that I can strive to be the best in.

Bionic Fingers

It has been exactly 4 months since I stopped climbing. I have been to two specialists who have both diagnosed me with chronic tenosynovitis (inflammation of my tendon sheaths). I found out that the original clinical term for this was tendovaginitis...you can see why they decided to change the name. I asked the nurse why it was originally called that and she paused then said "Because when your tendon sheaths are swollen, they sort of fold together and are squishy"... Which also makes me wonder what doctor would ever make the conclusion that inflammation in the tendon sheath should be called tendovaginitis? ... Anyways the new name "tenosynovitis" comes from the word "synovial" as in the type of fluid that builds up in the tendon sheath. I guess if you want to change the original name, tenosynovitis is the second best....I may still call it tendovaginitis...

I have tried climbing only a couple of times since December and it all ends in pain. The first specialist I saw suggested I try massage therapy and acupuncture. The second doctor I saw specializes in inflammation disorders and tendon injuries. He suggested I wear coban, an elastic adhesive tape, and some plastic "pulley protectors". He thinks that by protecting the pulleys, the swelling in those areas will displace itself. I have to wear those things 24/7 for 8 weeks...then after that time period I can try climbing again. However I will have to wear the coban and plastic pulleys for many more months to come. So for now I am wearing these bionic finger protectors and I am going to try acupuncture in a few weeks.

These are my bionic fingers!

Fingers with coban

My plastic pulleys!

Day 3 of pulley protection...swelling gone down??

March Madness 2012

This weather is crazy! It has been 60-80 degrees for the past two weeks! However I am not so sure how I feel about this nice weather. The warmth and sunshine is great, yet I cannot climb in it. Such a bummer. But you know what I realized? I haven't climbed during the month of March for 4 years!!! This year I have crazy swollen fingers. Last year I tore a collateral ligament in my finger. The year before that I bruised my ulnar nerve (funny bone). The year before that year I had pneumonia! So insane! The month of March just does not like me.

Anyways, yesterday I picked up my camera and went to Lincoln Woods to take some shots. It felt great to get outside and also be around climbers. I shot all in manual for my first time yesterday. I think the shots turned out pretty good! I had to use photoshop to adjust the lighting in one picture. The rest were great and just needed a border. Look below!

Lincoln Woods

Gravity Hits v10

Mosquito Bite

Guide Book Reading

Pocket Rocket v8

Pocket rocket v8

Sunset

V7

Pocket Rocket v8

Gravity Hits v10

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

Last week I got an MRI on my fingers. I got it read just a few days ago and it wasn't very good news. Apparently I have chronic inflammation of all the tendon sheaths in both of my hands. My ring fingers hurt when I crimp because of the pressure I am putting on those fingers while they are swollen. Unfortunately, I do not have a timeline for when this injury will end. There is also no cure other than rest. However I am going to try massage therapy and acupuncture. I am also going to get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd opinion about my fingers. Maybe someone will have a good idea that may help me return back to climbing sooner than later!

Even though life is really difficult and dull without climbing, I am trying to do the best I can to be happy. I strongly believe that things get worse before they get better.

I also believe that the recovery process of an injury is the same as one dealing with a illness or death. Last year, I created a book in my AP studio art class that illustrated my perspective on dealing with a death of some sort. I looked at this book today and I feel that I am going through the same recovery process now. There are no words, but each pages describes a different phase of tragedy and recovery.

Below is the illustrated book I am referring to. I am not going to explain the pages because I feel that the recovery process should be associated with emotions, not words. Therefore, everyone should interpret the book as they see it. That is the best part about artwork!

3 Months and Coaching

So it has been about 3 months since I stopped climbing...with the exception of a few days of attempting V1's. I feel like a broken record right now. I am just blogging about injury after injury. I feel like it is kind of boring. I am injured, still. I have no clue when I will be able to climb again. Maybe June? September? Good news though: I got my air cast off!! Whoop!

But I am not going keep blogging about my injuries today.

Youth ABS Nationals is on Friday and I am SO PSYCHED!! I have been working really hard with the climbing team and I feel that our team is ready to go. The team kids have worked so hard for this weekend and I know that they will do well. I am so interested to see how they place in comparison to the rest of the nation. This weekend will be a big learning curve for my coaching. Just like every other competition, I can earn from the other competitors. I can learn from the other coaches, the rankings, the styles of the climbs, the climbers. I think that going to this competition will help me with both the training of the team and my own training.

Last year was my first year coaching and three of the team kids went to ABS Nationals. Two of the kids placed in the 20's and the other placed 11th. This year, there are four team members from Worcester, two from Hadley. It is not many, but considering how hard our division is, I am very proud. I think that because our divisional was so hard, these kids will do great. Not to mention the training and nationals training camp Shane, Josh and I have put them through.

Last summer, I went to Youth SCS Nationals and stayed with my friends Sydney and Tyson. Tyson really opened my eyes up to what successful team is: Very strong and supportive of one another. Their team camaraderie was unmatchable to the other teams at the event. All of the kids were so proud to be a part of Vertical World Climbing Team. They also supported one another and really acted like some sort of crazy family. These kids didn't have massive ego's either. In fact, they didn't have any egos at all from what I saw. They were just confident competitors who were there to have fun with their friends and family...and crush. 

Seeing the Vertical World Team made me think of what my team could become. I came back to coaching in the fall with a new attitude: helping the kids not only get good at climbing, but to help them become confident, respectable young adults. I tried hard to get the kids decked out in Team Ascension gear, to get them excited about being a part of the team. With the help of the other coaches, I think that we are able to accomplish that and much more. I look at our climbing team and just think, "Wow, I am really proud right now". I can see that these kids care about one another and about climbing. They care about rock climbing lifestyle, not just the competition.

To coach this team make the pain I feel from injury go away. This team is something that I had always wanted, but never had. They are a family-like support group for one another, just as they are teammates and fellow competitors. I feel so accomplished to be a part of building this team. To offer someone else something that I could only dream of is a really, really great feeling.


Honestly, I think this climbing team is one of the only things getting me through this hard time of injury. I am glad to be a coach and I am glad to be working with some of the most supportive people I have ever met. Through everything I have gone through in the past couple of years, I never thought that coaching would be this gratifying.

Team Ascension! (There are a few missing, but Optimus Prime is serving as their replacement)

Accident Prone

I always thought that I was invincible, even when walking. I mean, who doesn't feel confident while walking? You always expect to have your feet hit the ground and to keep you moving to your destination. Well, that is where my confidence took a big blow the other night. I was demonstrating to a climbing team member how to properly drop knee. As I got off the foot holds that were 2 inches from the ground, I hit the padded floor wrong and rolled my ankle. What followed shortly was a giant cracking sound as I collapsed to the floor.

Well long story short, I fractured my ankle. Usually when someone rolls an ankle, their ligaments stretch which produces a sprain. In my case, my ligaments are "so healthy" (says my doctor) that instead of stretching, they stayed tight and quite literally chopped a piece of my bone off. So I have what is what is called an evulsion fracture. Now along with my tendovaginitis, I have a nice air cast to wear for four weeks.

I used to think my friend Matt was the definition of accident prone...I think I just proved that wrong.

Seriously though, this is super lame. I am really, really bummed out right now. I just started P90X two weeks ago! However, I can't be depressed about this situation. I mean, how could I have prevented this injury? Also, I can still do P90X. Just not the plyometrics (That's okay though; I hated the plyo anyways).

When things like this happen, I feel like the most important thing to do is to keep your head up and stay optimistic. My motto since I was ten has been "shit happens". Really, it does and there is nothing you can do about it. Just make the best of it.

Through these past two months I have learned and experienced much more than I ever have while climbing. I have been hanging out with a really inspiring group of friends that I met at the gym. I would have never became friends with them if I didn't get injured because I was always so focused on training. They are truly a great support group. I have never had such a great group of friends like them, and it means a lot to me that these people care. I also just moved into a new hall at my school with a bunch of really great people. Being sociable with all of these people and focusing on things like coaching are what is keeping me inspired. Coaching has been the most amazing experience these past couple of months. The teams are doing amazing and I really feel accomplished when I see these kids succeed. You can say that I am living through them in a way, but I feel that I am more proud of what I am building and sharing in their pride.

Now, going back to the "shit happens" motto...I really decided that it was going to be my motto when I lacerated my spleen. When I was ten I tried to dyno to a tree branch and missed it. I wound up falling ten feet down to the ground and punching myself in the spleen. My mother drove me to the hospital where I was life flighted to a larger hospital all while going into shock. I had a 3rd degree laceration of my spleen (one more degree of hurt and I would have ruptured it). The doctor said that if I had gotten to the hospital just 10 minutes later, I would have died. After this incident, I realized that there are some things in life you cannot control. Yes, life can get frustrating at times; but since then I have always felt that life should be lived optimistically. Living through the hard times will just make you stronger and more knowledgeable. If you try and be optimistic, you will gain a lot from the experience. That is how I feel right now. My year of being 19 is off to a rough start, but I have learned so much from my friends, my diversity in workouts, coaching, and the climbing books that I have read. Even though this is a rather depressing situation, I am making the best of it. This has been the longest time I have taken off from climbing, but hopefully I can grow stronger from this. I mean, I am only 19. I am lucky that is just a stupid fracture rather than a life supported coma.

Anyways, that is really a day in the life of Melissa Godowski. I also decided that I am going to go pro at guitar hero. Surprisingly, it is good rehab for my fingers!
(notice I am wearing one 5.10 chase shoe...just in case things get crazy)

Doin' the finger rehab and rockin' the boot!

Too bad I won't be competing at ABS Nationals this year. Oh well, there is always next year.