Follow My Beta

From Divisionals to Nationals 2015

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

Hello, friends!

It’s been forever since I’ve written a blog post, but trust me, I’ve had good reasons.

We won the team award at Divisionals! — …where we won the team award!

For the past month, I’ve been competing and training like a MADWOMAN. Divisionals, which took place over the weekend of June 12, left me disappointed, irritated, and incredibly motivated. I qualified for Nationals in speed in fourth place, but bad beta and bad mental game kept me out of sport climbing. I was crushed; ropes season is my favorite. But fortunately, my lead season wasn’t over yet; a week later, I boarded a plane to Kennesaw, Georgia, for a two-week-long pre-Nationals training camp run by the well-renowned Scot Jenerik. For two weeks, Scot worked to transform the mental game of me and twenty more of the nation’s strongest youth rock climbers. We would wake up early every morning, go for a run, return to the hotel, do three sets of twenty-five burpees with push-ups, rest for a couple of hours, and then go to the gym for sessions anywhere between two and eight hours long. Somehow, we found time to fill out mental training packets, play hundreds of rounds of Jungle Speed (aka the world’s most violent card game), and eat eight bags of banana chips (or maybe that one was just me).

All of the participants in Scot's camp, with Scot himself on the far left — All of the participants in Scot’s camp, with Scot himself on the far left

Nationals camp was two weeks of the hardest training I’ve ever done, as well as the most fun. It was worth every second, from screaming my way up 5.12s to panting through the fifteen-meter speed route three times in a row.

11427858_10204686461864749_1006348891722867101_o — Speed climbing at Divisionals, where I made a time of 16.6 seconds and came in 4th

Of course, in all of that training, I lost track of time, and before I knew it, I was tied into the speed wall again, but this time in front of an enormous crowd and four judges with fancy clipboards and timers at Nationals. I landed two solid times–a 17.04 and a 16.47, the latter being my current personal record. Unfortunately, neither time was good enough to win me a place in the sixteen climbers who moved on to semifinals, but that wasn’t what mattered. I’d tried, I’d gone fast, and most of all, I’d learned. I ended the competition in 20th place.

Training camp completely revolutionized the way I saw climbing. I spend equal amounts of time on speed and sport, and although I was going to be competing in speed, I definitely learned the most from sport climbing on those tall, tall walls. I learned how to not let my head get the best of me. I learned that there’s nothing to be afraid of on those walls. I learned that every move is a new challenge, and I learned that to be successful, you had to be willing to take on challenge after challenge until you reached the top. But the thing that stuck with me the most was something Scot had said, right before we started training on the fifth day. He told us that he wanted us to choose a very difficult route, get pumped on it, and then reach the point where we thought we would fall because it was so difficult. Then he told us to play a game, and that game would be to answer this question–how many more moves can you make after you think you’ve reached your breaking point? Reach your mental breaking point, he said, and then count the moves between that and your physical breaking point.

For me, the answer to that question was a turning point. I chose a hard 5.12, full of slopers and on slab. My least favorite style. I got pumped. I wanted to give up. And then I started counting.

One move and I thought I was going to fall. One clip and I was slipping off my hold. I hauled myself back onto it. One more move, big and shoulder-y. A scream, because I had to remind myself to breathe. More moves. Pushing harder. I was slipping off of every hold, but before I fell, I would desperately grab for the next one.

Counting matching, clipping, and hand-switching, I made it seventeen more moves before I fell. Seventeen moves was the difference between when my mind had wanted to give up and when my body had given out. Seventeen moves that I’d finished when I didn’t think I was physically capable of moving another inch. I came off of that route more tired than I have ever been in my climbing career, no exaggeration. And it was the most amazing feeling I’d ever had.

The way I thought about climbing changed in that one moment. My confidence in my ability to push through pain has skyrocketed. My previous definition of pain, of being pumped, of being tired, was shattered. I could look back on the times I’d let go because my mind said it was too much for me, and know that I would never make the same mistake or have the same regret again.

So, quote of the day? That’s easy.

“I may not be the fastest, and I may not be the strongest, but I’ll be damned if I’m not trying the hardest.”

-Unknown

Stay safe!

Julia

Regionals 2015

May 11, 2015July 11, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

Hello, my lovely adventurous friends!

Unless you are involved in the climbing world beyond my blog, you probably did not know that Regionals (an important qualifying competition) was this past weekend! I competed with twenty-something (twenty-six, maybe?) of my peers at one of the most fantastic gyms I’ve ever been to, in an obscure abandoned warehouse in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The competition was an amazing experience. Not only did I get to climb some fantastic routes on Walltopia walls and textured new holds, but I also got to spend some quality time with my teammates in isolation and in our hotel.

All the routes and the fantastic walls — All of the routes and the fantastic walls

For two weeks, I’ve had some sort of viral cough infection. I’ve been on a course of antibiotics and a course of intense steroids in an effort to get me to stop coughing, but to no avail. Despite our best efforts, I hadn’t been able to train properly, go running, or otherwise prepare myself to the extent that I would have liked. However, I decided I still wanted to attend this competition, so Friday after school I boarded a plane with a few team friends and my mom to Albuquerque International Sunport. After a quick dinner, our team manager, Ashley, held a meeting with ALL FORTY KIDS who had come from my gym. After that, we went straight to bed; I had to wake up at six thirty the next morning.

The competition format is relatively complex. In Regionals, the climbers are not allowed to see the routes before their climb times. Each climber stays in a sectioned-off area of the gym to warm up until his name is called by an official. Then, that climber sits in a chair with his back to the first climb for five minutes, has one minute to tie in, and then gets five minutes to have his first look at the route and to climb it. This repeats for the next two routes.

I arrived at Stone Age 2.0 the next morning at 7:45 sharp to enter isolation. I didn’t climb until exactly 10:18 AM, so I had over two hours to finish Of Mice and Men, eat, fill my chalk bag, and get warmed up. Because I climbed close to last, I had the opportunity to give pep talks to many of my teammates, including my good friend Alex (who later won speed and came in second for difficulty).

After my allotted isolation time, I sat in the on-deck chair as my coach gave me some last words of advice–don’t think with your head–and prepared myself to enter the competition.

The routes passed quickly. I didn’t send any of them. The first one, a long, slabby haul on textured green slopers, pumped me off after clip eight. Around clip seven, I had to take a rest as a prolonged coughing attack kept me from climbing (fortunately, I was at a good rest and it didn’t affect the rest of the route). The second, a crimpy slab route, had me nearly coming off at every move, until it finally took me down (again at clip eight). The third was overhung and slopey, with a first move that I almost fell on, a sketchy jump, and some seriously interesting clipping positions, and I made a fatal foot mistake after clip five, almost hitting my belayer on my fall.

It was touch-and-go, but I pulled out fifth place, earning me one of seven spots on the Divisional team. I wish I could say that my sickness really impacted my performance and I could have done better, but in difficulty, it really didn’t make make a difference. I was close enough to 100% that I can honestly say I just needed to train harder. However, I felt every bit of my lung problem that afternoon during speed.

Ashley lined up my category in front of the enormous speed walls. Fifteen meters. Roughly fifteen seconds. Two tries. Then it’s over. I don’t remember whom I raced. My first time, a 17.44, was my best. I came down after hitting the buzzer gasping and coughing while the belayers looked on, concerned. However, I still had one more run, so I stalled for a moment clipping in, until an official cried, “Climbers, at your marks!” My second run, somewhere in the nineteen-second range, felt like pulling through molasses. My speed endurance is something I need to work on; I can really only do one run comfortably.

Speed climbing (not me) — Speed climbing (a pair of junior-category girls)

I left the wall, and I was told that I’d won. I was elated, of course, until the results came out, and it turned out that Alex’s 16.49 had won her the Regional Champion spot. Frankly, she’d earned it; I was really, really proud of her.

I was proud of myself, too. I had been told that maybe it would be better if I didn’t go. I’d been told to take it easy. I hadn’t trained right, I hadn’t prepared well, but I’d still shown up, given it my all, and come away with an invitation to Divisionals, a ribbon, and a medal; my team also came away as the team winners of the Regional Championships.

I’m on to training for Divisionals now. I’m really excited to go on another trip with my friends and to prolong my ropes season. I’ll see you in Millcreek!

Stay strong and stay safe!

Julia

Five Ways to Climb like a Girl

April 30, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

For the past week or so, I’ve been working on an article for a small, Utah-based company called Swoob. The company itself is genius. Sports bras with pockets? Inconceivable! I will no longer be stuck sticking my gate key in the waistband of my shorts and constantly having to retrieve it while I’m running (or worse, not noticing its falling and having to backtrack until I find it to let myself in).

Anyway, I was really honored to write this blog post for them. It’s about getting started and growing as a climber and as a person. It just went up today, and I’m SUPER EXCITED. If you’re looking for embarrassing photos or stories about me, go check it out. If you want inspiration to get up and go to the gym, go check it out. If neither of those things apply to you, still, please, go and check it out.

Here it is:

My article

Thanks for your patience as I struggled to finish this and left you all hanging.

Stay strong and stay safe!

Julia

Confidence in Movement

April 11, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

I’ve written a bit about beta and sequence before, but now I’m going to follow a slightly different train of thought: committing to your idea. I’ve been in countless situations where I’m stuck on a move, the clock is winding down, and I just have to go. In those situations, you really only have one option: pick a move and go for it. I have videos of myself doing the strangest-looking moves, ranging from ninja-swinging my feet around to physically grabbing my ankle and placing my foot on a difficult hold to skipping sections of routes using enormous lock-offs. When your options are limited and the clock is ticking, if an option looks plausible, do it, and have confidence in it. If you decide that the easiest way to do a route is to dyno past the technical section, do it! Just make sure you commit to it–if you get scared and suddenly decide that your beta won’t work, you’re stuck. If you start a movement, you have to have confidence and push through it as hard as you can even if you don’t think it will work. Sometimes, you might be surprised.

In complicated situations, you gotta do what you gotta do. If you know your foot has to get up there, but you can’t just lift it, there is NO SHAME in using a hand to move it. If you have to contort yourself into the most awkward position imaginable in order to control a hold, go for it. No one will judge you if you actually try it, and people will think you’re incredible if you actually do it.

Commit to what you think you can do, and everything else will fall in!

Stay strong and stay safe!

Julia

Being Creative: A Short Introduction to Sequence

April 5, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

Climbing isn’t just right-hand-left-hand-right-hand-left-hand all the way up the wall. When you first start to climb, maybe your 5.6s and V0-‘s are like that. But as you progress, so do the routes, and suddenly you have to start thinking more and more. Some people look at a pair of gnarly slopers and say, huh, I guess I’ll just have to move through that quickly, because there’s no way I can hold those for more than a second. However, a more experienced climber might look at that same section and say, those slopers look WAY too hard for the grade. Let’s look at the feet… Oh, hey! Double heel hooks! Fabulous, I’m gonna rest there! Same route. Same holds. Different strategies. Climbing is all about doing the routes in the easiest way possible. If that way encompasses some crazy no-hands rest or skipping eight holds, go for it. The particular moves you make when you’re climbing and the holds you use, also known as your beta, can be specific to you. My favorite way to look at it is that if it works, it’s good beta. Also, it’s fun, because when you’re competing and you do something weird like hang from your toes, you can hear the entire crowd gasp simultaneously (and also hear your friends laughing at you). There’s no wrong way to “send” a route. Literally. If you got to the top, you did it right. Gold star. A+ for you. You could have dangled from one arm for ten minutes, and if you still controlled the end of the route, you did it right. That is something that is very important to remember. Personally, I like to look at a route two ways: I like to try to find the intended sequence set by the route setter, and then I try to find the way that I’ll probably do it. Sometimes those things are the same. Often, they are not. Just because the route setter wanted you to do this or Sally from across the gym did that, doesn’t mean you have to do it. You do you, and if it works, you did right. Stay safe and stay strong! Julia

The Struggle with Skin (and emergency-recovery hints)

April 2, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

I spend too much time dangling from my hands to not care for my skin properly. After that famous video in which Daniel Woods, bouldering aficionado, only washed dishes/showered while wearing rubber gloves, a lot of people have questioned exactly how far climbers go to keep their skin in perfect condition–do we all shower wearing surgical gloves? What happens when our skin isn’t perfect? Do we just not climb?

I, for one, have only worn surgical gloves in water once, and that was when I was going swimming and trying to catch frogs in the woods outside my friend’s house in Washington. I make a point of bringing up that particular video, however, whenever my mom tries to get me to do the dishes.

Kidding.

However, there is definitely an “ideal” when it comes to the condition of your hands. Before major competitions, yes, I do make a point of not going swimming or doing dishes in hot water. Why? Because both of those activities soften the skin of your hands. The chlorine in the pool does catastrophic things to your callouses, and hot water tends to soften anything you put in it. Another no-no before competitions–and in fact, ever, if you want to be able to train well–is lotion. That stuff is DESIGNED to make your skin baby-smooth. Remember the first time you went climbing, or any time you’ve done an activity that involves putting continuous friction on your hands? Remember the blisters and the agony and the groans of your peers as they struggled along with you? That’s what it’s like when you put normal lotion on your hands and then go climbing. Just don’t. There is no need to put yourself through that again.

If I don’t have an impending competition, my general strategy is to keep my skin in the best condition possible without going out of my way or changing my daily routine too drastically. I must have tried ten different brands of climbing salves and recovery creams before finally settling on the one that works best for me: Joshua Tree. I know many people prefer ClimbOn, but frankly, it seemed to have half of the effect of JTree when I left both salves on overnight after difficult practices. Of course, your skin treatment is completely a matter of personal preference. I’ll leave links to some of my favorites at the bottom of this post.

My daily routine involves simply rubbing JTree all over my hands before I go to bed. I have two big containers of it, one in my climbing bag and one by my bed. Sometimes I apply more than once a day, and sometimes I don’t feel the need to use any. It all depends on how hard I’ve been training, because every discipline of climbing leaves my skin in different conditions: speed (usually bloody and ripped-up), lead (ALWAYS bloody and ripped-up), toprope (slightly less bloody and ripped-up), or bouldering (sore sore sore sore ouch).

When I’m outdoor climbing, it’s a whole different matter. My skin is always a bloody mess and I’m constantly carrying my JTree. That, my friends, is where the Emergency Fixes come in.

Emergency Skin Fixes

Method One: This is a simple, quick, immediate fix for if you’re on the crag and you’ve got a flapper or an open cut. You just need some superglue. To use this, just smear the superglue over the affected area and let it dry before climbing again. It might not be painless, but it will keep whatever’s open closed and stop bleeding.

Method Two: I hate tape. I hate climbing with it, I hate the feeling of it, and it keeps me from doing what I do best: crimping. However, in certain cases it’s the best way to go. If it’s a fingertip wound, I go with glue or nothing, but anywhere else, tape is acceptable. This method is pretty self-explanatory, just make sure you’re using athletic tape. I promise that Scotch tape will get you absolutely nowhere.

Method Three: Superpowered Skin Salve! I got this from a climbing coach in an obscure corner of Montana. Vitamin E is good for your skin, yes? So, cracking open a vitamin E pill and rubbing it all over your skin… miraculous, yes? Yes. It is. Do this right after you’re done for the day, and by the next morning, your hands will be flawless.

Method Four: Ever heard someone tell you to “rub some dirt on it?” Don’t do that. It’s unsanitary. However, if your skin is bleeding, rubbing chalk in it (as long as you clean it later) is a fabulous way to stop the flow. Chalk is designed to dry sweat off of your hands–it works the same way with blood.

Those are the most handy fixes that I use. If you have any more, please drop me a message and I’ll post a follow-up to this post.

My Favorite Skin Salve Brands (links)

Joshua Tree

ClimbOn

Cross Fixe Hands

Metolius Climber’s Hand Repair Balm

Recipe #1: I Love to Eat (oats)

March 30, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

I love food. I know a lot of athletes like to go calorie-deficient or whatever, but I prefer to just eat well. My favorite food is peanut butter. I don’t usually snack, but when I do, I love cranberries and pine nuts. My weekly staple is quinoa with peppers and pine nuts and cranberries and feta and a little bit of lemon oil. I do all my own cooking and sometimes (like this morning) have to jump on my bike and head over to AJ’s or Fresh Vitamins and get the things I need for my recipes. As I’ve mentioned before, I have the Way of Gray e-book and a subscription to ClimbHealthy. I follow two dozen food accounts on Instagram, including my favorites, withpeanutbutterontop and peanutbutterpluschocolate. I eat like a queen.

Now, I have a lot of recipes amassed, between my own experimentation and all I’ve read. I’m going to be posting a lot of them in other posts, but I’m going to kick off with my favorite breakfast ever: variations of overnight oats.

Peanut Butter Oats

You need: Quaker oats, natural Greek yogurt, milk (or a milk substitute; I use almond/coconut Silk mix), peanut butter

Directions: Mix 1/2 cup of Quaker oats with 1/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk (you can adjust the ratios to taste; the more yogurt, the thicker it’ll end up). Then mix one tablespoon of peanut butter into that and combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Do this the night before you want it; then, refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you will have beautiful overnight oatmeal and it will be fantastical like unicorns.

Super Duper Gourmet Protein Glorious Fantastic Chocolate Peanut Butter Minty Flawless Amazing Overnight Oats

You need: Quaker oats, natural Greek yogurt, milk (or substitute), peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, sweet cacao nibs*, hemp hearts*, chocolate or neutral whey protein, mint*, chia or flax*

*optional; you can use any combination of these ingredients

Directions: Mix 1/2 cup of Quaker oats with 1/4 cup of yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk (ratios subject to adjustment). Then mix in 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of any or all of each of the listed ingredients, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tablespoon of protein powder. All measurements can be adjusted to taste. If the mixture is already thick after all of that, add more milk. Then refrigerate overnight and enjoy God’s gift to healthy humanity in the morning.

I hope you enjoy these!

Stay strong and stay safe,

Julia

The Training Challenge

March 29, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

How much is too much, and how much is not enough?

This question is one that all athletes perennially battle with. How much training will get me to where I want to be, but is not excessive? Can I ever train too much?

The answer to the second question is yes. As there is with most things, there is a happy medium in working out. Sometimes, it’s good to reach your breaking point when you’re working out. When I’m doing a leg day, I never count reps. I just go until I physically cannot do another squat, then do three more, then call it a day. However, there is a fine line between working hard and overworking. I max out hard on leg and ab days, but on arm and finger days I go a little bit easier. You might ask why I do that–aren’t a climber’s arms and hands the most important part? The answer is it that they can be. But the reason I train them less is that they are smaller muscles and much more prone to injury. While I can do squats all day and not hurt myself, doing too many pull-ups will result in an injury. I train my arms and hands long enough to get stronger, and then I stop.

I’ve been climbing for two years. For the first six months, I barely trained. Actually, I barely cared. It was a new sport, and I was still trying to adjust after quitting figure skating, my eight-year passion. Because of skating, I had great back muscles and great legs, but barely any arm strength and mediocre ab strength. After failing miserably in the competition world for a little while, I began to pick up speed. I finally started to train, but as soon as that happened, I started getting rashes of little injuries. I would work my arms like crazy, go home, find out I’d pulled something, and then be forced to take time off. I never did cardio, only strength training, and then only in specific muscle groups. I was actually hindering myself by doing the very thing that was supposed to help me.

Of course, I was furious. Here I was, putting all of this extra time into training, and getting absolutely nothing out of it except injuries. So, after a short period of wallowing in self-pity, I started to do some research. With the help of several e-books, my coaches, a personal trainer, and some friends, I began to understand the concepts of muscle balance and imbalance. Most climbers encounter the problem of having such good abs and arms that their backs literally could not support them. Coming from my skating and karate background, I never had that problem; however, my downfall was my forearm imbalance. The insides of my forearms were so much stronger than the outsides that I was putting unnecessary strain on my tendons and muscles all the way up to my shoulders. Also, my biceps were decent but my triceps were subpar at best, causing imbalance in my upper arms.

After discovering all of this, I completely changed the way I worked out. I began factoring runs into my routine, at least nine miles per week. I do “morning warm-ups” before school, which include seven exercises targeting six muscle groups and one cardio boost. I climb five days a week and take one full rest day once every two weeks. I do weight training at the gym three days per week, and spend at least an hour a week on my hang board doing finger and forearm exercises.

Diet is also a huge part of training. Frankly, I’m not a believer in any sort of crash diet–actually, I oppose them. However, eating well is and having a good relationship with food is essential. Thanks to an e-book called Way of Gray, I’ve both cleaned up my diet and made it interesting, as well as adding a new cardio circuit to my routine based on that book. According to an article by ClimbHealthy, eating clean helps lower the risk of getting muscle and tendon injuries, and I agree. Training isn’t just about getting ripped, it’s about getting healthy.

Some people think it’s “cool” to push through the pain in a workout, but really, if your muscles are hurting in a not-good way, then stop. There is a line between working hard and overworking; it is when you cross into the “overworking” zone that you get hurt.

Yes, you can train too much. Yes, you can overwork. Yes, it is difficult to get it right. But once you do, it’s worth it.

Stay strong and stay safe ❤

Julia

Hello, Adventurers

March 28, 2015April 17, 2015 JuliaLeave a comment

Hi there!

My name is Julia. I’m a competitive rock climber and self-professed fitness guru. I’m here to share my story and take you on my journey with me, through my competition life and my obsession with banana smoothies, into the world of competitive climbing.

A bit about me: I’m nationally ranked 29th in the USA for rope climbing. Ropes is my preference, as opposed to bouldering. I’m a lead genie. Three things I love most in the world are lead climbing, lead falling, and ab day (yes, I will post workout plans. Apologies in advance). In my spare time I like to read Hemingway and experiment in the kitchen. If I could choose one place to live, it would be Utah, because they have fabulous gyms, brilliant skiing, Psicobloc, and a gorgeous running trail up to a bench where you can watch the sunrise at 5:30 AM (I can’t be the only person in the world who finds that enjoyable. Please no). My dog is the world’s worst walking partner, so although she is adorable, you will not be seeing any photos. She is a lump of clay when it comes to running.

So sit back, relax, and prepare for an onslaught of goofy blog posts interspersed with inspirational quotes and pictures of food. Let me show how I roll–hmm, sorry, climb.

Julia