Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Cragbaby Turns 2!!! (and a GIVEAWAY from Clif Kid!!!)

Sentimental Snapshots. Reflections.
16 Comments.

I know it probably sounds cliche, but I also know that every parent knows exactly what I’m talking about – it’s so hard to believe he’s already 2!  Where did the time go?  All those days functioning on 2 hours of sleep, the all-night nursing buffets, hours of daily chores performed wearing a snuggly baby wrapped up close to my heart – some of those days seemed to literally crawl by, yet here we are, celebrating C’s 2 year birthday…So many memories, so many firsts (and lasts), it would be easy to get kinda down about my baby growing up, except that I have a feeling the best is yet to come! 

"It feels a little weird being 2..."

With that said, on this first day of spring that shares the spotlight with my son’ sbithday, today’s post is in honor of my Cragbaby, who for all intents and purposes, is no longer a crag-BABY…but I’m probably gonna keep calling him that, at least online anyway, until he refuses to tolerate it anymore…Anyway, this past weekend we had a big birthday bash for family and friends.  And where else would a Cragbaby have his party – well, his first choice was at the crag, but we decided that wouldn’t be fair to the poor Mommy still stuck in a blasted ankle boot (for 6 more days…), so we went for the next best option – the climbing gym!  C had a blast – for the first hour he excitedly made his rounds to all the VIP’s that he doesn’t get to see all that often.  Then he realized that he had a captive audience just waiting to watch him show off his sending skills on the free-standing boulder.  He did lap after lap on his old project, “Up the Down”, (V0-), that he now has completely wired and can practically send with his eyes closed.  His favorite part was standing up on the platform on top of the boulder and waving at all of his adoring fans and paparazzi.  He was even on his best behavior and tolerated rappeling back down with only a mild amount of whining and even a few smiles. 

A big difference from being 1 year old...

  

...and especially from being 2 days old!!!

These past two years have been the best ever, and I can only imagine the fun (and trouble) he’ll get into in the next two, and beyond.  And since birthdays are a time to give, this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to have a giveaway of Cragbaby’s favorite cliff-side snack – Z-bars from Clif Kid!  These organic goodies taste like candy bars with only a hint of good-for-you, and are chock full of vitamins and minerals to keep your little guy or gal going strong all day.  So in honor of Cragbaby’s birthday, our generous friends at Clif have offered to give away a box of Clif Kid’s best selling products – C’s favorite chewy Z-bars, Fruit Snacks, and even something with a crunch!  All you have to do to be eligible for the giveaway is comment on this post.  I’d love to know what your favorite “Under 2 Moments” were with your little ones, or for those of you without kids (because we grown-ups regularly raid C’s snack shelf to snag our own Clif Kid bars…) what are some of your earliest outdoor memories?  Best of luck – contest will run until Saturday night! 

 

Share

TRANGO Grassroots Athlete Team 2012

In the News.
13 Comments.

I’ve known for a week now and it’s been all I can do to contain my excitement, but now that it’s official I can shout it from the roof tops! Somehow I ended up being chosen as one of the 6 members of Trango’s very first team of sponsored athletes!  If I’m being completely honest I’d have to say I’m rather dumbfounded as to why they would choose me, especially when I compare myself to the rest of the team (2 of whom I know personally and have seen firsthand how awesome they are…).  But regardless, I’m gonna run with it and hope I don’t disappoint!  For most climbers Trango is probably a household name (anybody ever used a Cinch before?), but for all the non-climbers out there, here’s a little bit of background for ya.

Trango is a Colorado-based company that has been manufacturing climbing gear since 1991, with a mission to provide innovative design at a fair price.  My first experience with this company was a rather humorous encounter with the founder, Malcolm Daly, back in 2007 at the New River Rendezvous, an annual climber’s festival in West Virginia.  My husband and I were still relatively new climbers, so we had decided to take advantage of one of the many clinics offered at the “Vous.  While we were practicing our gear placing skills, Malcolm happened to walk by and strike up a conversation with us.  We got to talking and ironically had no idea who this guy was except that he was somehow associated with Trango climbing gear.  It took about 30 minutes of geeky gear talk before I finally happened to notice that he was wearing a prosthesis on his right foot.  About an hour later, I was completely floored to see this man tear his way up New Yosemite, a classic 5.9 hand crack that everyone in our group had flailed on earlier in the day.  It was inspiring to say the least, and the perfect way to end our very first New River Rendezvous experience.  We drove home that weekend feeling blessed to be part of the climbing community, and motivated to work harder than ever to improve. 

Trango founder Malcolm Daly getting his crack on at New River Rendezvous 2007

But here’s where the Trango story gets amusing.  Literally the day after we’d gotten back from that weekend, my Mountain Gear catalog arrived in my mailbox.  As I was thumbing through the pages, I did a double take when I saw a climber on a beautiful hand crack, as it had reminded me of our impromptu crack climbing lesson from the day before.  Upon closer inspection, I was shocked to see that the climber had a prosthetic foot, and that the caption referenced “the unstoppable Malcolm Daly.”  I immediately sat down and googled Malcolm, and stumbled upon his story on the Trango website.  I literally laughed out loud when I realized how well-known and respected this jovial, down-to-earth guy was – and that we’d had no clue!  What stuck with me the most was that Malcolm not only took the time to have a personal conversation with us, but that he genuinely seemed to value our opinion with regards to gear, even though we were obviously still relatively inexperienced climbers.   

I’ve had my share of ups and downs throughout my journey as a climber (with one of the bigger downs happening just 5 weeks ago), but on more than one occasion, stories of outrageously inspiring people like Malcolm Daly have kept me from wallowing in self-pity for too long.  I am honored to be associated with a company that not only preaches the “don’t give up” message, but also lives and breathes it.  Aside from being a force to be reckoned with when it comes to state-of-the-art climbing equipment, Trango is out to make more than just a profit.  On a national level they are strong supporters of several non-profit organizations such as The Access Fund, The American Alpine Club, and The Hera Foundation.  And on a more personal, local level, they are proud sponsors of just about every climbing event I’ve ever been to – and by sponsor I mean that they do much more than just send gear and swag.  These guys are actually in the trenches at 6 am making coffee and serving breakfast, all with big smiles on their faces! 

So needless to say, I couldn’t be more excited about this new opportunity for 2012!  And with just 8 days (but again, who’s counting…) left before I am boot-free, this news couldn’t have come at a more motivating time.  Here’s to an exciting year – a broken ankle may have given me a late start, but I have every intention of making up for lost time!  If you are interested in seeing the other athlete profiles for the Trango team, click here (oh yeah, and be sure to give them a “like” on facebook if you’re a Trango fan!).

 

Share

Extracurricular Training Part 2: Shoulder Stabilizers

Uncategorized.
5 Comments.

Last week I posted about PUSH muscle training, and why its important.  Of equal importance is shoulder strength – all those tiny little stabilizer muscles that keep your shoulder in place while you latch a dyno, lay in hard on a gaston, or run laps on horizontal terrain.  Climb long enough and I guarantee you will either sustain a shoulder injury yourself or climb with someone who does.  Sometimes shoulder problems are chronic and creep up gradually as dull, nagging aches that never quite seem to go away.  Other times these injuries occur acutely, resulting from a specific motion or fall scenario.  Regardless of how it happens however, shoulder injuries suck, and should be avoided like the plague.  (For lots of good info on shoulder injuries, check out the info here, compiled by a friend of mine and her husband who are also physical therapists).

Although sometimes a shoulder injury is unavoidable, there are fortunately several safeguards that the smart, proactive climber can utilize to stack the odds in their favor.  My first forays into a rotator cuff strengthening program came under the supervision of a PT in January of 2009, after an awkward mantle (in the gym, go figure…) brought on a nauseating, tearing sensation across the top of my left shoulder.  Thankfully the damage was relatively minor and I was able to get back on track within 3 months or so. 

That being said, I was a rotator cuff nazi for the rest of that year, faithfully doing my thera-band exercises at least 5 days a week.  Once I started to trust my shoulder again, I felt comfortable maintaining where I was at and cut down to just 2 or 3 times per week.  Just like with my antagonist training, as I’ve begun to project harder, tweakier lines in the last year or so, I’ve thrown in a few more exercises here and there to hopefully provide some added stabilizer insurance. 

The following exercises are ones that I feel every climber should do on a regular basis if he or she wants to save their shoulders.  

1.  EXTERNAL ROTATION:  This movement is probably the foundation of all shoulder stabilizer exercises.  It can be performed with a wide variety of equipment and angles, making it easy to increase/decrease the difficulty as needed.  Start out with 2-3 sets using thera-bands or very light dumbbells (as in 2-3 pounds), and work up to 5-10 pounds.  Make sure that the arm remains flexed 90 degrees at the elbow, and rotate posteriorly (towards your back).  Move at an even, controlled pace both up and down.

Side-lying external rotation - start

  

Keep your elbow on your hip and hinge your arm upwards.

Overhead External Rotation with bands

  

Overhead motion mimics climbing better than side-lying. Keep your elbow still.

2.  INTERNAL ROTATION:  This movement is the mirror image of the previous one.  You’ll probably be able to use a little more weight/thicker thera-band for these exercises.  This time instead of rotating away from your body, you will rotate in towards the your center.  Again, keep it slow and controlled. 

Side-lying Internal Rotation - start. You can put a pillow under your head if its more comfortable.

  

Rotate inwards and upwards, keeping your elbow pinned to the ground (or crash pad...)

Overhead Internal Rotation w/Therabnd - start.

  

Overhead Internal Rotation w/Theraband - hinge at elbow.

)3.  THE “RAISES”:  Raising your arms in front, to the side, and behind your body (aka flexion, abduction, and extension) works many different parts of the shoulder.  All of these exercises can be done with dumbbells or thera-bands.  Keep a slight bend in your elbows and make a conscious effort to keep your shoulders “down and back” throughout the duration of the exercises. 

Lateral Raise

  

Front Raise

  

Posterior Delt Raise

4.  RETRACTION:  This scapular movement engages the small muscles on either side of the spine on your upper back.  Squeeze your shoulder blades together and you can feel these little babies working.  You can isolate the retraction movement with dumbbells/thera-bands one arm at a time, or do Reverse Flyes.   To maximize your efforts, focus on the shoulder blades drawing together at the top of every rep.

Reverse Flyes

  

Isolated Retraction

5.  PROTRACTION:  This movement causes the shoulder blade to slide forward and outward along the back, making the back to appear arched.  Either isolate the movement one arm at a time (the opposite direction of retraction), or add a “plus” to the push-ups in your antagonist routine, by pushing your shoulder blades up towards the ceiling at the top of the movement.

Ideally you’d perform all of these, but unless you’re like me and stuck in a walking cast with nothing better to do than strengthen your rotator cuff, you might not have the luxury of time. The most important exercises by far are external and internal rotation, so if you have time for nothing else, choose one exercise from each of those options to do 2-3 times per week, and rotate through the other ones on a regular basis as time allows. Do these either on climbing days AFTER you climb, or work them in at the end of your PUSH muscle workout.

Rotator Cuff Training goes hand in hand with Antagonist Training, but serves a very different purpose.  The best antagonist exercises are compound movements, meaning that they involve more than one muscle group.  Compound movements bring about more efficient strength gains, as well as develop better coordination and balance.  Rotator cuff training, on the other hand, isolates those very specific tiny muscles that we as climbers often ask too much of.  It may not seem like you’re accomplishing very much since the weights are so small and the movements so specific and focused, but a little preventative medicine will go a long way!  A solid strength training program for climbers will include a healthy combination of both antagonist training and rotator cuff strengthening.

Just like there are numerous ways to tackle a crux sequence on a boulder problem, there are about a billion ways to fit extra-curricular training into your schedule.  Feel free to share your modus operandi – what has worked for you, and maybe areas where you struggle?

Share

Tales of a Broken Talus – Update #3

Climbing. Training. Reflections.
6 Comments.

 

Cragbaby and the ladies partying at Inner Peaks Member Night!

I’m hoping that this will be the last update that ends with a boot…

Days 18- 20 – After the good news at my doctor’s appointment, I spent the latter part of the week exploring my newfound freedom to attempt some cardio.  Although me boot-legging my way around the neighborhood could hardly be described as heart-pumping, it at least felt good to get out.  It took me 27 minutes to walk the .85 loop, but I had zero pain, and even got stopped by a little old lady who informed me that I was “doing the right thing” by trying to stay active.  I also experimented on the elliptical machine at Inner Peaks, and was pleasantly surprised that I could actually get my heart rate up for about 20 minutes before the awkwardness of the boot started taking its toll on the rest of my lower half.

Day 21 – Climbing gym by day, climbing gym by night.  This morning I was psyched to be able to onsight a vertical 5.10b (is that called a boot-sight?).  No hangboard, but I did a lot of up/down laps on steep but moderate terrain.  After a lazy afternoon we were back at the gym for pizza, cookies, and overall fun and merriment at the Inner Peaks Member Party.  I was disappointed I couldn’t enter the women’s dyno comp,  but was happy that somebody from our climbing crew represented and took home the prize (Congratulations April! 🙂 ).

Dragging my boot up the new blue line in the lead cave (toproping only of course)

Day 22 – 23 – Took another walk around the neighborhood and thoroughly annihilated my previous time.  This time around I felt like I was walking more or less at a normal pace, and only felt myself gimp a little bit when walking down a slight downhill section.  I made it easily around the loop in 18 minutes this time, and my ankle felt good enough to keep walking for an even 30.

Day 24 – Added weight to my hangboard workout, by plopping a 5 pound bean bag in my chalkbag.  It’s amazing what a big difference such a seemingly trivial addition can make!  I also experimented more with downclimbing my staple 5.9 in the lead cave, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could go up and down twice before giving out and coming back to the ground.  There was also a new route up in the lead cave that was significantly steeper and more of a challenge boot-leg style, but the holds are big enough and just close enough together that I can manage.

Day 25  – I’m very grateful that I am able to get outside and go for walks during this beautiful spring weather we’ve been having, but I can’t wait to get back to pounding the pavement again with my running shoes.  I never thought I liked running until I couldn’t do it…

Day 26 – The hangboard is getting old.  Although I can quantify my progress relative to the board, I can’t really see applicable results on the wall yet, since the only routes it makes sense to attempt boot-leg style are ones with good holds since I’m constantly cutting my feet to bump the one good foot up.  To be honest, boot-leg climbing is getting old too.  It seems silly to try and really “work” routes that don’t have an obvious campus/one-legged sequence, as I don’t see how that is going to help me long term, so I’m kinda stuck with the same old routine day in and day out.  I do however feel like I’m making tons of strength gains by climbing up and down really steep routes.  I’m getting really comfortable without using any feet, which is actually a big step up for me, since pre-injury losing my feet always made me feel slightly out of control.

Cragbaby watches as Mommy gets her glam on at the photo shoot (or attempts to anyway...)

Day 27 – The boot not only made it successfully around the neighborhood with ease, but also made through a previously held tradition of walking to Chick-Fila on Friday nights.  We used to do it every Friday we were in town this past spring and summer, and this is the first time we’ve had enough light AND my foot has felt good enough. 

Day 28 – Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down was the mantra for today on the steepest lines I could muster myself up.  Rounded out the day with my token 5 sets of pull-ups to failure.  Still a long way from my goal of 10 on the last couple of sets, but at least the first 2 or 3 feel solid.  The afternoon provided some uncharacteristic fun when I got to get all dolled up for a photo shoot – Today’s Charlotte Woman magazine is actually doing a story on little old me for their April Issue, which is themed “Women on the Edge.”  I’ll give more details when the issue is actually out, but I will say that the photo shoot was pretty fun – it was all waist-up and head shots, so the boot didn’t even get in the way!

Day 29 –  30 – 45 minute power walk around the neighborhood plus 30 minutes on the elliptical machine means that I’m actually starting to be able to do enough in the boot to get my heart rate up a bit.  It also means that the boot is starting to get a little stinky.  Thankfully I only have 2 weeks left. 

 That’s right – 2 weeks.  14 days.  4 more hangboard sessions.  2 more weekends – 1 of which will be filled with fun activities for Cragbaby’s birthday!  I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it sure can’t come soon enough!

Share

Local Company Spotlight: Sports Science

Gear Reviews.
3 Comments.

A few of weeks ago I did a two-post feature on a local NC climbing company – both the man and the products behind Misty Mountain in Boone, NC.  This week I’d like to spotlight another local company – this one from South Carolina.  Sport Science is an active-wear clothing company based out of Mt. Pleasant, SC that has been around since 2005.  Their mission is to “create products that do more so yo ucan do more (or less) in style and comfort.”  The simple, no-frill design of their clothing aims to integrate performance, comfort, and versatility to result in a product that Sport Science describes as “comformancability.”

Sport Science graciously provided me with a short-sleeved t-shirt made from their “Smarter Basic” fabric to use for this review, but as always, the review consists solely of my honest opinion.

HERE’S THE PROS:

– COMFORT – The Smarter Basic fabric is definitely the best part of this shirt.  Although cotton is obviously the gold standard of comfort, this synthetic micro-polyester/lycra combo comes pretty darn close.

– PERFORMANCE – I was very impressed that such a snuggly and soft shirt could do such a good job wicking away moisture to keep me cool during my workouts.  The “Fresh Guard” odor treatment also kept that synthetic funk at bay.

– VERSATILITY – This shirt didn’t really scream technical performance at first glance.  This means it feels just as home in the grocery store, coffee shop, or toddler playdate as it does in the gym.

HERE’S THE CONS:

– FIT – While I was happy with the overall length of the shirt, the rest of the fit seemed a bit off.  Through the chest, back, and shoulder area, the fit was pretty snug, but around the waist it seemed looser and almost a bit sloppy.  There didn’t seem to be any sort of curve to adjust to a women’s waist, and the excess fabric was not attractive.  This could just be because every woman is built differently and this fit just didn’t jive with my body, or it could be that this particular product wasn’t the right fit for me.  From the looks on their website, it appears that their new “Stretch” fabric tee might have a more feminine fit.

Considering Sport Science’s specific objective to make a comfortable and versatile product that can still perform, I’d say they are doing a pretty good job, since those were the three specific things that I thought stood out about my Smarter Basics Tee.  However, while I understand that they like to keep their designs simple, I think it would be worthwhile to tweak the dimensions on their women’s products to arrive at a more flattering fit.  I will definitely continue working out in this product, and I would certainly recommend it to someone looking for a basic workout shirt (although I would suggest trying it on first if at all possible for fit).  Although this company is based in SC, their products can be found in numerous states all across the country (for a list of retail locations, click here) as well as online.

Has any one else tried out anything from Sport Science?  If not, what’s your favorite brand of technical apparel?  

 

 

 

Share
“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN