Here's to Friends and Pushing the Limits

Dee and me after my first lead climb last May :)

Dee is psyched after her scary lead with a ridiculously high (even for Smith) first bolt.

Yesterday I went climbing with Dee. I'm so happy to be climbing more consistently again, after a 3-month summer hiatus followed by a mental block that ended in tears mid-climb on a couple occasions. After a rough re-introduction to climbing, I took a few more weeks off and then re-approached the crag with an open mind and zero expectations. And I did just fine! Now the mental block is gone, and I seem to have picked up where I left off last June, both physically and mentally. I have really been enjoying climbing with Dee recently. She is the first person who encouraged me to start leading climbs, and now she knows I will try hard to lead anything, whether or not I can make it all the way to the anchors! :) In this way, we push each other and get psyched for each other's mini-victories, like Dee overcoming an extremely high first bolt yesterday and my success on a route that I was pretty sure I couldn't do. Of course, that is just one of climbing's constant lessons --- our mental limitations are often much lower than our physical limitations. Dee, thank you for reminding me of this, being a great climbing partner and an even better friend!  

Me following.

Dee and me playing hard on a sunny December day.

In other news, I have been getting back in the pool lately. Between feeling burned out at the end of triathlon season, and not having much time for anything other than running in the weeks leading up to the NYC marathon, I avoided the pool and got totally out of shape! My shoulders and triceps have been screaming in the pool, but it feels great, and I know I will get my conditioning back. To accelerate this process, my dad and I have challenged each other to swim 50k in the month of January. Yes, that's 50,000 meters. Never one to back down from a challenge, my dad upped the ante by wagering a latte for the first one to reach 50k. I've decided to set a goal to get my 50k done by January 11th (in 10 days, since Juniper is closed on January 1). But shhhh, don't tell my dad! I'm not telling him my strategy until I can safely demand a latte. Muahahaha.