Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

I took a trip down to Tacoma about a week ago and managed to get some climbing in at their "new" gym: Climb Tacoma. The gym is small, but efficient in terms of maximizing space. They grade with the color system: White, Blue, Green... Yellow v4-5, Red v6-7, Pink v8+ I was happily surprised at my performance. I managed to pull down one red route, while also getting to the last move on two other red routes. A few days later I climbed at Stone Gardens with Lauren and lead onsighted a 5.11+. Unfortunately this streak didn't last. Last night I tried to climb as many v4s as I could at SG. I think I managed to complete two... I think a couple threes threw me off at the end of the night as well. Sure, I could lose more weight and eat better--but that's being extremely particular. If I lost more than 10 pounds I would be unhealthy and I'm now a vegan who eats mostly organic, whole foods. Room for improvement, but not by much. On days like yesterday, I just have to remind myself that hard work will eventually pay off.

The Sickness

Just as I was starting to see improvement, I got the flu and had to miss about two weeks of climbing. Im back in it now...two days ago I took my good friend Sammy to the gym and I was unable to pull down any v5s :( I've spent the last few days watching videos on "Louder than 11" Vimeo, so I'm still psyched for climbing, but I would be lying if I said my drop in grades isn't frustrating me. The good news is I see no other option than to keep climbing--"just keep climbing," as Dori would say. I'm miserable if I don't do some type of activity and climbing consistently keeps me wanting more--more so than any other sport I've tried. Hopefully consistency will pay off and I'll see a v9 before my athletic ability peaks!