Canadian Bouldering Nationals 2011

  After having re-arranged my schedule to spend more time in Las Vegas with Mike, I learned that he’d decided to head east to participate in the Canadian Nationals bouldering competition. I had not planned to join him, but when I found tickets that were not too expensive and recognized an opportunity to head home to visit a good friend who’d been in the hospital and now rehab since January, I couldn’t resist. I had a pretty good spring, in terms of climbing, and was excited to compete. Unfortunately, as is my luck, I was battling a cold going into the Lead Nationals in Boulder (2 weeks prior) and fell prey to a nasty version of the flu, which kept me out of work and off from climbing for over a week after. Now, tickets bought, plans in motion, I was set to join in on the fun but disappointed that I wasn’t sure what my fitness, stamina or head would be like. 

      The travel went smooth, even meeting up with old friends and enjoying authentic buffalo wings at Duffs (rumor has it they won the last taste off against the original buffalo wing founder The Anchor Bar). Weather was bitter cold, but nothing we couldn’t handle. At a local coffee shop off the lake strip in Burlington, we nestled in and worked until check-in time at the hotel. Our hotel, Holiday Inn, was down the street from the climbing gym, which was convenient but not close enough to walk to. The hotel itself was really nice. Every now and again, we end up in these places where you wish every stay could be like that. There was the swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, fitness center, air hockey, foosball, wi-fi, etc. Despite that we always bring our own breakfast, I kind of wished they had a breakfast option that was included.

    During our pre-competition stay, we worked, met up with old friends and watched the Canucks take the 3^rd game in round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoff series. At the qualifying round, everything went well. We got there with plenty of time, made the rounds to visit with all of the familiar faces (many of whom I never get to see except at these events) and generally had a good time. I was out significantly earlier than Mike, by random assignment so I readied myself and tested what I might be capable of, given that I was coming into this competition cold.

      The warm up felt good, almost too good. I had to back off and try not to push it so I wouldn’t psyche myself out or worse wear out what stamina I might have. With my fitness barometer out of whack, anything could happen out there. All I needed, I reminded myself, was to keep my head about me and everything would be fine.

     This year of competition climbing has been a mental struggle. Injury, illness, whatever, has tended to take upstage my performance. The ankle injury freshly suffered just prior to ABS Nationals was reason to be cautious, but I didn’t have to worry about falling on it this day. For one thing, the height of these walls were not as tall as the ABS walls and for another, my ankle was healing (though still temperamental). My 2 other ‘local’ competitions were disasters in terms of competition preparedness. Nerves shot from unnecessary stresses and lack of rest and nutrition really showed through with near injuries from over-pulling. These are just a few indicators that remind me that I’m no spring chicken and if this is the way it’s going to go, then go with it. Afterall, what’s most important to me is getting outside healthy and fit, ready to crush some climbs! The only competition that held any real meaning for me was the US Lead Nationals and I received my invitation to the World Cup in October so I can’t be too disappointed in my performance there. Yay!

     Back in Burlington, however, the competition was under way and I was well on my way through the problems. Problem 1 and I could tell my nerves were a bit out of control. I knew it was a gimme so I was happy to have done it and I took the fall with no issues to me or my ankle. Problem 2, I started it with slightly better nerves, but was called down for a technical. Ok, I’ve had this happen before so I thought I would just brush it off and try again. Except when I went for my 2^nd attempt, something wasn’t right. I wasn’t thinking and I couldn’t focus. My mind was set on my original read of the problem and for the first 3 or 4 attempts, I failed and fussed with variations until it occurred to me that the setter wanted you to walk up the wall and then out and around the corner.  I was flustered and angry with myself that when I figured it out, finally, I was out of time and unable to get the bonus. I knew that was going to hurt my results. Now, I had to shake this off and focus on the problems ahead of me. To make finals, I was sure I needed to top one or more of the 3 left.

     Women’s Qualifier #3 was awesome, but I psyched myself out of the big move in the middle. I had every opportunity to rest and adjust, even re-think my sequence, but I felt week on my left hand and for some reason was over throwing myself. It was embarrassing.

     Problem 4, bonus no problem, but I kept slapping the finish hold unable to just stick to it. Grrr. Problem 5, tired and off balance, but completely doable. Another gimme. I was sure the girls would all get 1 and 5 and after watching a few girls effortlessly get bonus on 2, I left. There was no way I was making Finals and though I didn’t want to be upset about it, knew I was coming into this cold, I was disappointed. I felt I let my nerves get the best of me and once again, let myself down under pressure. I needed to decompress and come back when I could appreciate the competition better.

     Having returned and later confirming that I didn’t make finals, I was somewhat relieved to share my story and hear confirmation from other girls who suffered similarly. Thirza Carpenter was definitely not a person I expected not to make Finals. Only a few years before, this girl won the Canadian Bouldering Nationals. Beastly as she is, I was especially relieved to see that I wasn’t alone in my feelings. Both of us set about redeeming ourselves in the Citizen’s comp the following day (also known as the loser’s comp for those of us who competed the day prior). Many of the girls opted out of turning in a score card just to sit around and session, but I wanted to see what I could do. This was my opportunity to learn something from the day before, especially since I saw the women’s qualifiers were still up and marked as part of the citizen’s.

     Moving quickly up into the women’s qualifying numbers, I was nervous, wondering what would happen this day. Would I find that I was just as troubled and stumped and incompetent as the day before?

     Problem 2, my nemesis, the one I didn’t get bonus on was one of the first on my list to tackle. 'Just sort this out’ was my mindset. I had nothing to lose, and certainly it meant little to do it in the citizen’s when what mattered was doing it at Qualifiers. Still, procrastinating and studying a few other’s approach, I set my mind to get on it. Now, when I touch something to climb, whatever was in my mind moment’s before is gone. I’m all about the climb and in that moment, I found the moves, and swiftly completed the problem. Satisfaction! I was redeemed. To me, the competition was over. I knew I could have done the problem the night before and I knew I was screwing it up and allowing my nerves and the technical to get into my head. For me, the rest of the citizen’s was a session fest; Thirza and I quickly catching up to the same problems.  

      Before 2 hours was complete, I had flashed everything I touched, less one problem (women’s qualifier #4, which took a few tries), but maxed my limit of what I could do in the comp. I was sessioning the Men’s Final problems, with little success. I was pleased to take down all of the women’s qualifying problems and noted with amusement how much easier they were despite any under lying apprehension. This performance confirmed for myself that there was no reason I couldn’t have done them before. The only thing stopping me from performing my best under pressure was my head, nerves, and confidence. Even coming in cold, I knew I could have performed better.

     At the end of the 3 hours, I got quite a workout in. Thirza and I had completed all of the same problems but I would win with number of attempts. Winning in this competition meant little since it was the loser’s competition, afterall, but receiving my little medal, lifted my spirits all the same. At the end of it all, I was confident that Thirza and I both belonged in finals and that that statement meant I’d reached a whole new level of confidence and belief in my ability to compete with women of that caliber.