External Expectations, Internal Validation

 

I feel fulfillment in the midst of a lot going on outside of my immediate agency externally. If I were to play the "metrics game" and fully succumb to psychosoma(n)tics I'd give up right now lol; somehow though yesterday, with two (2) 1.5 hr REM naps in past 24hrs, I managed muscle up on rings (see video), two 7Bs and a 7A+ flash on TB1. Mood follows Action.

I'm in a good place intuition wise. I'm proud of this. Going into session, I knew I didn't feel great; snappiness wasn't there, felt achey and sensitive musculosketal and nervous system, I felt trace fogginess...

 I knew it wasn't going to be limit session and I was okay with that. In giving myself permission to not perform, I inadvertently opened that possibility.

I was patient, non attached to any eventuality, even ending session and packing out. 

Expectations are high right now externally. What further climbs am I capable of with time left before TB1 wall comes down? Will I maintain fitness level given demands of parenting ? Can I push myself given work demands increasing and sleep constraints? Is it possible I improve my dedication to being a good partner, father, and climber or does one always need to be sacrificed?

Answer is Yes. I am capable of future climbs on the TB1 ... will it be PRISM, NEW FREEZER, BENCH 1, LOW CRAB DIET, JEPH LOEB, MAJOR INTERRUPTOR, LUCIFER, HYPOTHENAR, LIONESS etc.,  who cares... time will tell. 

I will arrive at entire process rather than contort my convictions and sense of completion on mere outcome

If the joy I permit myself just with what I've climbed (past tense), do I really enjoy the climbing (present tense)? Carrying this internal logic to next external questions: fitness ebbs and flows, enjoy it. Yes I will experience changes given demands of parenting... 

whatever level I'm at, I will  meet it (not my undoing)        7 RPE is 7 RPE

Becoming a newborn parent again is a rare opportunity, being a supportive partner and pushing oneself is too. We each have one (1) precious temple and life to share build and explore. I view more and more chapters of gratitude to focus on and spheres of entheos, influence rather than sacrifices, sullen sadness.

Choose radness.

N¹M

+1440 parlay to -280 moneyline

 

 I’ve been wrestling my attachment to ambitions (rather than pebbles as of late). Going to focus less on huge “parlays” and start to lock in “moneylines.” The drive is there to have like five (5) outdoor projects (see earlier posts lol) simultaneously but what isn’t is the tactics and execution windows to see it to completion. 

Frequently, climbing is a game of resource management. Skin, limbic friction, stress/hormone cascades, weather windows, fitness peaks (and valleys), time/responsibilities, etc. With this is in mind, I’m minding better; superior visualization/proprioception drills off wall, warm up/cool down/recovery protocols,  allocation of time,  nutrition, attitude with what really matters. 

Couple hard facts:

TB1 is being replaced at gym next year (what left on it do I really want  ✅ done done?)

I got outdoors once this fall because of family obligations (not enough time to reacclimatize and feasibly do multiple projects)…one (1) feasibly  -280 odds I reckon  

Keeping training time in gym 💯… which is dope

With this in mind,

1. fewer lines to project at one time on TB1 resting in between goes, execution on projects and flash/fast sends will be of significance with time remaining on that board

2. Outdoors will be 1 line/area at a time with keen eye on tactics going into winter’25/spring ‘26 

3. gotta get that rings muscle up on film (surprised myself and busted one out again yesterday ;) 

NM

“Pro is ability. Professional is reliability”

 Climbing is a resource management game

1st 100 V point day

eying final problem to tally

 Flying

6b+/V4 ★★★@40° ⚡️

ZELDA.WAV

6b+/V4 ★★★@40° ⚡️

Free Smoke

6b+/V4 ★★★@40° 

Imagine the Possibilities

6b+/V4 ★★★@40°

Baked Sweet Potato

6b+/V4 V4 ★★★@40° ⚡️

crimpin is easy

6b+/V4 ★★★@40°

Persist 

7a/V6 ★★★@40°⚡️

Everything Bagel 

7b/V8 ★★★@40°⚡️

o my can lie

7b+/V8 ★★★@40°

Slip Slidin Away

7a+/V7 ★★★@40°⚡️

Rain or Shine

7a+/V7 ★★★@40°

Arkaines Valor

7a+/V7 ★★★@40°⚡️

Blackout Lite

7a+/V7 ★★★@40° ⚡️

Buttercling

7a+/V7 ★★★@40°

Egg Whites

7a/V6 ★★★@40°⚡️

bumpiddy-bump

6c+/V5 ★★★@40°⚡️

NKJ625

6c+/V5 ★★★@40°

A Punters Delight

7a+/V7 ★★★@45°

 https://youtube.com/shorts/33rFB87DK-c?si=Gs6PC6gygQoyiS_P

state of exhaustion blended with fulfillment

closer still on “Jeph Loeb” V11

 

 

TB1 ⚡︎ Milestone: V9

Grit = Passion + perseverance. I got that. Whatever else going on, that keeps giving at least and I'm thankful. I do my best to give back my best effort. Sometimes, I'm beating my head against a brick and feel like I'm getting buried, but really, in actuality I'm growing from a seed that was planted and that brick beating is actually obstacles inescapably bashing and shattering against me.

 I shattered through a new one today: my first 7C/V9 flash on a confirmed classic on the TB1. All in all nbd, but I felt I was close for awhile, and it's nice to have validation of that intuition. It's maddening sometimes to feel expectations blurred with gut feelings and discerning which is ego can be tough. I literally failed at everything else in session, but had a glimpse of execution without rehearsal long enough to become "Always Forever" (name of song) ... I thought it paired rather nicely with name of boulder problem "Time after Time." 

I have a mixture of big feelings at the moment, but remain in gratitude and mindful of this moment. Although there's some perplexity, there's also perspicacity; if I can flash V9, I can climb harder than that. Time to build a bigger pyramid and start working more 9s and harder. The trickier part is feeling inside like I deserve the goals I set for myself and building the belief 

m a n i f e s t

Nicholas

 

Benchmark for V7 at 45°

 

Testpieces @ the 7th grade

DRIVE BY TRUCKERS 7A++ @ 40° on TB1

WARNING: the following is a ton of gradespeak which is subjective and contrived... ultimately you can either do a climb and its requisite moves on requisite holds (easily or with great difficulty), or you cannot (nearly or not even close). 

Hyperthenar & Drive By Truckers are the penultimate testpieces of 7A+ @ 40° on the TB1

Although graded the same, I would add two ++ for Drive By Truckers and +++ for Hyper"the Gnar." each + sign adding a hypothetical still appropriate grade. Any climb graded the same with above three  +'s it's not that grade in my opinion. An example is Lioness (deserves to be a classic along with Drive By Truckers) which I will personallyu upgrade when I send it to V9++ (i.e. it would be fair at 10 or even a soft 11), ...which is equivalent to a V7++++ I guess.  I recognize there is flaw with this thinking eg V7+++ would be somewhat similar in feel of difficulty/complexity to V9+,  and yes... the entire grading thing is flawed if you ask me, but we still do it. I also double down on Hyperthenar feeling akin to a V9+ and Lioness feeling as difficult as some 11s I've worked.

I literally wouldn't argue with someone if they graded Drive By Truckers V9 or Hyperthenar V10. My argument for Lioness is: a. lack of ascents b. I've put more attempts into that climb (and Hyperthenar) than any of the double digit climbs I've sent thus far (when I send Prism V10 however this will blow them both out the water). It is important to note that Lioness and Prism will be decided on assuming my beta methods are most the efficient; it means nothing to put 100 goes in on something if beta/method wasn't correct until five (5) goes before send. I feel very confident this isn't the case with either...there is one hold sequence I have left on Lioness, I've done all the moves on Prism (with several methods).

Furthermore, I feel confident that I am a V7 climber. V8s are feeling more and more RPE 7-8, and I feel near to flashing V9s. I'm more reluctant to determine what is benchmark and the bonafide testpieces of double digits just yet, seeing as I've climbed only a handful. 

to start adding +'s and modifications to grades, a climber needs to have an over standing of movement/sequencing/hold types/tactics at grades in question

The conundrum I still wrestle with long after the pebble ; ) is, at what point does fitness and experience level (the subjective ease or difficulty of doing something) skew the reasoning processes of concluding a grade on a scale. 

Regardless, I'm proud of this send of Drive By Truckers... ultimately I didn't give up on it, I threw down on it and I got stronger. Testpieces are a "final exam" of execution ; a proven-ness one brings with them in who they become; further scaling competence and measured confidence to what's next... in my case,, sessions on Hyperthenar, Lioness, and Prism.

NM