Canyon Anniversary

Celebrating our 5 year anniversary, canyon style.

One Year

Taken almost exactly one year apart, these photos are Annie at 7 months and Annie at 19 months.

Punt

It's every competitors worst nightmare (especially in this comp format where a mistake means you are finished). . . right as you pull onto the start holds, your foot blows off and you're done before you ever started climbing. Untie. Let the disappointment, embarrassment, and anger settle in. It's the equivalent of disqualification for a false start. You could not do any worse. I trained, I brought my entire family to Colorado- and this is what happened. I knew immediately that any chance for making it to finals was gone. I still had one route to go and I easily flashed it (which would have easily gotten me into finals if I had just done the easy part of the other route). Redemption? Maybe. I think I would be easier on myself if my strength just didn't measure up to the other competitors with the limited training time that I've had. And I'm happy that I'm still competitive as an athlete. I'm just so disappointed that this is how it went down. Had I not slipped off the start, I would definitely be competing at the World Cup this fall. It's a tough thing to swallow but I realize that some people train for YEARS, go to the olympics, only to do something similar. Putting it behind me and moving on. And making the most of this family vacation.

SCS Nationals

Around the new year I decided that I wanted to go to SCS nationals in Boulder, CO because it would be the qualifying event for the first IFSC World Cup event in Atlanta. While I knew that finding the time to train would be next to impossible (as evidence by my lack of blogging) and that the trip would be a logistical challenge, to not try for a world cup in my hometown seemed like a travesty. I am nowhere near my physical best, I have zero route-climbing competition experience (yes, I had to ask what the rules are), and after the airline busted the wheels off Annie’s stroller (in case you ever wondered, they don’t guarantee wheels . . . sorry) my arms are fried from carrying her all over Denver & Boulder the better part of today.

But I’m here and you better believe I’m going to try. I’m proud of myself for following through despite the many setbacks, pushing myself, and going outside my comfort zone. Last week I was at the gym getting in some last minute training. I had saved a bunch of routes for onsight attempts and I was getting the smack down. I had felt so much stronger weeks earlier and was so frustrated by my perceived failure. As I was changing in the locker room feeling defeated, I looked down and that long pink scar that spans my lower abdomen held my gaze for an important moment. My frustration softened and I remembered how far I’ve come in a year. Qualifiers are tomorrow and I'm happy to be here.

(And p.s.- to lose a wheel between the gate check in Atlanta and Denver on a direct flight takes skill. This is not over! After the flight crew sending us to stand in a customer service line only to be told 'Sorry. We don't guarantee wheels' . . . it's war, Airtran, it's war.)

Balance

When I first sat down with Andrew Kornylak to talk about making a profile video for prAna, I wanted it to be about aspirations and coming back to climbing after going through the journey of becoming a mother. And while we did talk about aspirations and dreams, we kept coming back to the concept of balance. I hope you enjoy this very personal video! My hope is that is resonates other parents, climbers, and people on a similar journey.

Kate Reese McGinnis: Holding On from Prana Living on Vimeo.

It has been some time since my last post. And while one of my resolutions is to blog more, I was thankful for the downtime of the last couple months. A lot happened in December and we allowed ourselves to pull in tight, hunker down, and get cozy for some quiet winter days. Annie Quinn turned one and we celebrated her first year on my 30th birthday. . . a completely joyous day for our family. Kenneth and I, in absolute awe, looked through all of the pictures and video of Annie's incredible first year. Annie is growing into such a beautiful, intelligent, fiercely independent, strong, excited, hilarious little girl.

I met my 30 year old milestone with gratitude and happiness. In the past few weeks, I've come back to training after having very limited time to climb in December. My inspiration is kindled and I can't wait to see what will come of it. More to come on that soon.

Still Got It

So- all in all, the Horse Pens comp was a huge success. We all headed out to Alabama Friday afternoon and stayed with the Traylors. Annie had a great time running around their lakefront lawn and terrorizing their poor dog. Saturday morning started very early but Amie saw to it that our bellies were all filled with blueberry pancakes before sending us on our way to the boulderfield. Annie looked like the kid from the Christmas Story, wearing so many layers that locomotion was impossible. Luckily the day warmed up quickly and we were all able to shed some layers. It was great to greet the usual faces and introduce our daughter to this 'Triple Crown' community that we've been a part of for so long.

I was psyched to see Angie Payne and Kasia Pietras there: those two are always strong and inspiring so it was great to have some strong female energy around. Last year I went around the boulders with them during the comp, being entirely too pregnant to climb, to point out problems and beta. This year, I was back on the boulders. I started out strong- hoping to finish as many problems as I could before Annie's naptime. By my 7th completed problem, I took a break to feed Annie lunch and try and get her down for a nap. (This is when the day started getting a lot more difficult). Until that point, Annie (now 11 months) was having a great day playing with rocks, sticks, leaves and acorns and watching the crowds. Still, this was not the normal day at the crag and she would not take a nap for the life of me or my husband! She ended up taking a brief nap in the car but nothing substantial. As for me, the guns were empty and completing the final 3 problems was ROUGH. After spending some time in the prAna tent after the comp was over, we left before the awards ceremony with a very sleepy baby.

For having had very limited time to train and for it being my first competition back, I was proud of my performance (placing 2nd in women's open). The experience reaffirmed that I can be an athlete AND a mother- with balance, as with all things. Don't count me out yet, I believe I still have my best climbing days ahead of me! I don't have many photos from the comp, but Brett May was kind enough to send me these and video is coming- stay tuned ; )