ABS Nationals Finals

Sorry for no post since Friday- just got back in Atlanta and got the ol' laptop charged back up. For me, the finals on Saturday night were a bit of a disappointment- winding up in 11th place. I was not very excited about the problems set, but that is how comps go: sometimes the problems suit you/inspire you. . . and sometimes they don't. I did well on the first two problems only to get completely shut down by the slab problem, unable to reach a hold statically and unable to control the swing. Then I tapped out on the fourth problem when the start required my left hip (my bad hip) to be in a position that felt like I was risking injury. I still had a lot of fun at the event, but my friends that came to spectate were disappointed not so much by the route-setting, but by the lack of beer (what kind of climbing comp is this?). The disappointment faded quickly afterwords thanks to good times with friends and diner food, and my thoughts moved on to plans for the spring. I'm feeling pretty strong and capable of competing well, so I'm strongly considering competing in the Earthtreks Roc Comp in April, hopefully having some more time to prepare for that event than I had to train for this one.

Snowtorious

ABS Nationals prelims today: so nice to have this event on the east coast! The weather has made it very difficult for people to get here as DC was filled with dump-trucks full of snow going out of town today to try and relocate it. I am staying with my best friend, Jess Culpepper, and her husband and we had some trouble of our own making it to the comp. The plan was for them to drop me off at the metro station so they could get to work, but maneuvering around the slush streets was gripping and the traffic was gridlocked. I was beginning to think that I would surely miss my climb time, but we changed the plans and decided to drive to Alexandria instead and traffic permitted in this direction. I later learned that the red line train that I was supposed to ride to the gym had de-railed. Another bullet dodged in my book: good thing I was already wearing my lucky underwear!

The comp was super-fun with gymnastic, but technical problems: an power/enduro-fest of six problems 4min on/4min off. I am in eighth place going into finals: not too bad for an old lady (believe it or not, I am by far the oldest female competitor making it to finals). It was good as always to see all the familiar faces and friends.

After competing, I went out to lunch with Charlotte, Sarah, and Alex J. and we decided to celebrate the record snowfall:

(ABS Nationals or traversing Mt Ranier: you decide)

Climbing pictures to come tomorrow- I promiss!

Valentine's Day

Getting ready to leave for a quick meeting at work this morning and then it's on the ATL airport to fly out for ABS Nationals. I'm as ready as I'm going to be (given my current schedule) and pretty excited to compete in a nationals event on the east coast, at least I was until the double blizzards dumped on DC. As of this minute, Reagan International is still not open and only the underground portions of the metro are running (which doesn't help you if you're at the airport).

National weather service is claiming 4ft of snow with wind gusts up to 60 mph. As of now, the flights before mine today have already been cancelled, but my flight is claiming to still be on time. This is going to be a very long and blustery weekend with no guarantees that I'll actually make it to the gym in time to compete. No matter what, it will be an adventure. I'll keep posting on that situation, but in the meantime, I wanted to talk about Valentine's Day.

Nationals has always fallen on this weekend, and so, for the past 4+ years, I have not been with my husband on valentine's day. While many people hate valentine's day for the hallmark holiday that it is, I love it for all the reasons I love every movie that has Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan together. I don't know how much longer I'll be competing at events like this, but I'm really looking forward to the day I get to celebrate a Valentine's Day in the same state as my husband (like New York on top of the empire state building). Happy Valentines Day, Kenneth: I love our life together!