Friday 12 August 2016

Summer Update

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all enjoying your summers wherever you are! I haven't posted for a while because I have been pretty busy with a combination of working, training and playing over the past couple of months! I figured I was due for a quick blog post about my summer so far, starting off with my last competition of my youth career, as well as an update of what I have been up to since. I have also included a few photos! Hope you enjoy!!

Canadian Youth and Open Difficulty Nationals - May 2016

Nationals - Finals Route
photo: Shane Murdoch
Rope Nationals were special this year for a couple of reasons - one, they were held here in Canmore at my home gym, and two, this competition marked the end of my youth competition career! 
Since Provincials in Edmonton, I really felt like I hit my stride both physically and mentally in climbing. Heading into Nationals at Elevation Place, I felt confident in my abilities and ready to compete and climb my best! 
The competition was a total blast - the organizers and volunteers put in so many hours to put on the best Nationals I have participated in during my entire youth career. With a combination of awesome routesetting, a vibrant atmosphere full of locals and a very well-organized event, Nationals in Canmore will be hard to beat!
I felt as though I climbed quite consistently for the entire competition. I try not to set any goals in terms of results before competing and focus more on consistent rounds, efficient decision making and confident climbing. With these in mind, I managed to squeak into Open finals and snag a first place in the Junior girls category and a third place in Open women! 
The finals climb was unforgettable. Although it may not have been the prettiest of efforts,  I felt like I left everything on the wall and climbed my best! It is a special feeling to be able to look back on a climb and feel like you couldn't have done anything more; that in that moment that was your best effort!
With my last youth competition under my belt, my focus turned to the rest of my summer. After all these years of attending international competitions such as the Pan American Youth Championships and the World Youth Championships, it is not often that I get to spend a lot of time climbing outdoors, as I was focused on training purely for these events. This year, since the timing of the World Youth Championships in China conflicted with my university plans in the fall, I have been enjoying my summer in Canmore, playing outside!


My Summer Since Nationals

Since Nationals in Canmore, my summer has been quite simple. I am attending the University of Guelph this fall and studying Biomedical Sciences, so I have been working at the Elevation Place Climbing Gym to save money for school, and on my days off I have been taking in the outdoors with a combination of running, hiking, biking and outdoor climbing!
Coming into the summer, I hadn't really picked out any specific projects or set any goals for outdoor climbing. At the beginning of the season I mainly ticked off some more moderate climbs that either I had tried a while ago or that were brand new to me. At Lake Louise, I finished off Incomplete and Complete, 12d and 13a respectively; at Acephale I ticked Jingus Americanus 12d; and I also visited some areas I have never been to before like Baatan and Black Feather Canyon where I ticked a few more classic 5.12s. 
Once I felt like I was getting comfortable on rock again, I began to set my sights on some harder lines! Recently I have been climbing mainly at Acephale, The Lookout and Planet X, but have also put in a few days at Lake Louise! 
Jason Lives - 12d
Photo: Stacey Weldon
At Lake Louise I managed to tick the crimpy test-piece, Jason Lives (12d); at Planet X, I have climbed two endurance classics - Timber (13a) and Shooting Packer (13b); at the Lookout, I recently climbed Buffet Royale (13c), and just a couple of days ago I surprised myself with a pretty quick send of Endless Summer (13d), my first of the grade! 
So this summer has been quite the whirlwind for me already; I have been very busy with work, coaching kids of all ages in summer camps for this first part of the summer. Although this work has been very rewarding, I am looking forward to the middle of this month when my workload slows down and I will be able to enjoy my last two weeks in Canmore with my family, enjoying my beautiful surroundings and climbing outside as much as possible before I leave for Ontario!




Last but not least I would like to thank all my friends, family, coaches, Five Ten and the climbing community as a whole for the overwhelming support throughout my youth competition career! I am beyond excited for what the future holds!

Planet X on a rare sunny day


Alex Megos flashing Endless Summer (13d) after my sending effort



Wednesday 27 April 2016

Season Update: My Transition from Stone to Plastic

Hey Guys! Now that I recently participated in the last local lead competition of the season and Provincials and Nationals are coming up over the next month, I've decided to write a little bit about (firstly) my transition from climbing long, endurance routes in Spain to the more power based routes characteristic of competition climbing. Secondly, a little update about my season so far!

THE TRANSITION - Frustrating but so worth it

Coming back from Spain around Christmas time, after sending my hardest routes outside, I expected my transition back to plastic to be a lot easier than it was! After taking over a week break to give my body time to lose the jet lag and recover from four months of consecutive climbing, I headed back into the gym setting for a light session on some ropes. It was crazy to see how much power I had lost after climbing those 40m endurance fests for so many months! I had lost a lot of my bouldering muscle as my body had adapted to the need for being lighter and more tolerant of the pump! After clearing the cobwebs for a few days it was apparent that power needed to be regained! Lucky for me I have the ultimate power builder in the shed in my backyard, a 45 degree systems wall equipped with everything from 2x4 pinches to 1/4 pad crimps. So for a full month I devoted my time to rebuilding that power I had lost. It was very frustrating at first. The first session back on the "woody" I couldn't even climb up the warm-up pinch rungs running up the middle of the wall! But with some perseverance and a whole lot of Eminem I was delighted to see my power come back quickly, and compounded by the knowledge and climbing literacy I gained while climbing so many different routes abroad, I got stronger than I felt for Youth Bouldering Nationals back in August! So my advice to anyone transitioning from rock back to plastic is persevere! You may expect a lot from yourself at first but take joy in the small things, and record your progress to show yourself how far you can come with some dedicated training! You'll be thankful of the knowledge you have gained on rock once you start to compete again or get back on that project that has always eluded you!

COMP SEASON UPDATE - Local comps 

After the last local comp that just happened last weekend out in Saskatoon, the local part of the lead competition has officially drawn to a close and everyone is gearing up for Provincials at the U of A in Edmonton the weekend of May 8th and Nationals here in Canmore the weekend of the 28th! As usual, the local comps have been a blast, with the Alberta and Saskatchewan climbing communities coming together to produce some wonderful routes at all the events! What I love about local competitions is that they are the perfect settings to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses as well as try new competition strategies in a lower risk competition environment! All the comps this year have been better than ever, with sanctioned locals hosted at the CCC Stronghold and Hanger locations in Calgary, Rock Jungle Fitness in Edmonton and Grip It in Saskatoon! At each competition I continue to learn about my climbing and reflect on how to improve as an athlete both physically and mentally! I am beyond excited to test my skills at Provincials and finally, with the nation's best at Nationals in my home gym, Elevation Place, here in Canmore! 

Thanks again to all the volunteers and organizers who have put so much effort into making the comps this season such a success! Also, shoutout to my sponsors Five Ten and my parents ;) for the continuous support through this season! So psyched for what is to come!

Peace,

Sara :D
Second Qualifier, CCC Hanger
Photo: Philip Quade
Thanks Five Ten!!
Photo: Monika Helbig

Siurana, Spain
Photo: Andrew Funk