Training season begins...

Got the Ratho for the first time in a very long time. I actually can't remember the last time I did route training. I'm sure it was before the Pyrenees....before pre-trip TCA training....before the days pottering around the Central Belt and Sheffield....before the punter-flu bollox....before Cornwall radness....before the nice trips to the 'Deen....it was sometime back then, possibly...

Suffice to say it is feeling rather wintery out there (wet today!) and it is definitely time to keep training and keep active. That is my general plan for the winter - keep active at the wall, gym, outside bouldering, routes, trips abroad, short runs, swimming, anything. My elbow is still injured, obviously, it may heal soon or it may not, but it means I just need to do general training rather than pushing myself hard. Indoor routes, the gym, and outdoor climbing fullstop being ideal, rather than the dubious temptations of TCA.

So it was good to get back to Ratho. I thought I would both be out of practise due to the lack of wall training, and feeling on reasonable form due to a week away. And thus it was - I did fine. My fingers struggled a bit with the cold, I got pumped as always, and also my lungs were aching from the general effort. All to be expected although the lung thing is a bit weird....then again my fitness is a bit weird i.e. completely fucked. Despite that I did a few challenging routes and felt like I was treading water okay. So that's fine for now.