Post, the first.

So here I am, taking the plunge with a new blog. I've been toying with starting one for a while, mainly to motivate myself after a mixed 2010. And what better time to start something new than the new year? So here it is. I should probably explain what brought me to the decision of starting a blog:

2010 was an interesting year for me. After trying in the past to climb regularly, the usual setbacks reared their heads. Recurring injuries, lack of partners, work, weather, depression, exams and confidence all played their part in annoying the hell out of me and stopping my meteoric rise through the grades. I thought I would never get to climb on a regular basis, and constant reading of UKC forums and scanning of the photos merely cemented the fact that I was lacking in the motivation/confidence compared to even the most armchair of climbers. A chance opportunity to climb with a knowledgeable climbing partner saw me regain some of my former glory (that being flashing 6c+s at the wall without any effort) albeit only slightly.

Another lucky chance came by again in April, responding to a 'partner needed' post on UKC saw me climb again in the Dinorwic quarry, with a climbing coach no less! What was once a distant dream, suddenly became reality as I climbed my first 7a, and another straight after. Ecstatic could only begin to describe how I felt as I was moving again on rock, scrabbling and puffing my way up the slab yes, but it was a start. Thus began a good few months of climbing and steadily building experience, confidence and a pile of equipment. I climbed on the Great Orme, Tremadog, Moelwyns, Holyhead Mountain, Rhoscolyn, Dinas Rock, Benllech, Almscliff and a lot in the quarry. I decided I'd set some quite high goals for myself, high, in the context that I had only been climbing for a month or two. I don't know whether I knew I would succeed at that time or not, but lifted by the recent success in the quarries I decided they were attainable.

And lo and behold, December 2010 finished and I had unbelievably notched up some (if i say so myself) impressive numbers for someone of my experience in the climbing world. I also managed a 50 mile ultramarathon without any training. So a success, yes, but sitting here I can't help but think that I could have made more of my year. Was my heart completely into my climbing? Probably not. Did I make enough effort when I was climbing? No. My work rate has been woeful, and was even pointed out to me. I knew in the back of my mind that I wasn't going at it the way a fanatic climber keen on improvement would be, but even now I don't know why I refused that second top rope or why I declined a chance to climb a certain route with no real excuse not to. I of course regret it now, but what good does that do? Could I be climbing harder than I am if I had put that extra 10% in? Definitely. So 2010 has left me with a quite a few negatives, that have made me wonder if my heart is really in my climbing. But I can also take a few positives from the past year.

I made an active effort to climb more, mostly thanks to my climbing partners, but of course I've got to take some credit. I achieved my goals of climbing E4, 7a and V5. I enjoyed every minute of it. I was having a massive crisis before my trip to Antalya. I thought I wasn't good enough; that I would fail miserably and people would look down on me and that I should just give up on getting better at climbing. It hampered me in my first few days, where I climbed a few routes but kept making up excuses not to climb that one extra route of the day. My climbing partner Ian, then pointed out my problems. One of them being my work rate. I was quite embarrassed, but he was right. I decided to work on this and ended up onsighting a 7a! Credit to Ian there. Clipping that lower off was the boost I needed to get my mind and my climbing back on track.

And that is the reason for my blog. To document my progress and to keep the psyche high. Documenting my goals and my weaknesses for all to see will hoepfully keep me going from the 1st of January 2011 onwards and upwards. It will also get me out running and walking so I'll actually have something to write about when I don't climb. This blog is for me, but I'll try to make it interesting in case anyone does come across it. Hopefully you didn't find this too waffling but I just needed to get that out of the way.