Boulderactive on my mind

It's been three days now, and still I have the buzz in my head. I did not know that helping with a bouldering competition can be such an addictive experience. From helping in setting the routes, to the F1 team (the people that clean out the routes after a category finishes and sets the routes for the next one), to judging, and, my favorite activity, blowing the whistle. You see, the whistle is very important, as it helps climbers manage their time, so I felt important for a change :)

Last but not least, the Open categories ... Omg those people really climb at a different level!!! I saw Beatrix Chong climb for the first time in my life and she really really is impressive! And Salfarina Mohd Drus, i mean omg, her biceps is the size of my leg, and i'm no flamingo bird if you know what I mean... I don't know the name of that Open climber from Malaysia that won the open, but he is my new found idol! He is so smooth in climbing without being massive ... yummy... (I just discovered after seeing the pictures that I am one of those massive climbers, and i am so sad ... Fret not, I'll try to find a way to lean myself down)

How did the competition go for me? It was and still is the sickest joke of my life. Here's why. In qualifiers rounds I couldn't finish any route, but I got the bonuses, which got me in the finals (why? why?) In the finals, I couldn't start on the first route, which left me crying for my 3 and a half minutes of rest. I mean literally crying. Why I was crying, I can't say, out of spite I suppose, out of suddenly realizing that I suck at climbing? Second route, I got to the bonus, but instead of going for the nearest tile, I tried to go for the farthest ... WRONG! Third route I flashed. Needless to say it is the first route I ever finished and flashed in a competition/mock comp ever! It involved a small jump for me to the ending tile, and it was very hard for me to focus and really give it a shot, seeing how usually I fall just before the end. But I managed to control meself and I am really proud of it. Fourth route, you can imagine i couldn't ... So, I got third place! Which gets me into OPEN!!! You know ... the open cat I was talking about just now ... aaaaaaaaaaa

Anyhow, lessons learned: the routes we set for ourselves in the gym are much much too easy. I should do more leg raises (for the roof route ... i couldn't step), I should train harder...

Things are back to normal otherwise, my ankle still hurts, M. mentioned the "M" word ... as in Matterhorn, but only if I do well ... So, that's about it :)