Let me just start off with my trips this year:
Mar 2012 - Yangshuo (~1 week)
My plan for the trip was to complete Single Life 8a. Well that didn't happen. Got stumped by the 2nd crux. I felt I didn't spend my time efficiently over there. Left China feeling unfulfilled.
Oct 2012 - Rodellar (~2 weeks)
Awesome trip. My first trip to Rodellar and I was not disappointed. Perfect climbing on steep rocks. The only bummer was the weather. It rained frequently during my 2nd week there. Towards the end i evacuated to Margalef which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as i managed to complete my project LAST YEAR Aeroplastica 7c+ (in superior style i must say). Efficiency wise, i did my best to do as much climbing as i could on the rainy days and I went home feeling great.
Dec 2012 - Krabi (5 days)
i was in Krabi recently to attend QX & Kelly's wedding party which was very lovely by the way. My project for the trip was Just Call Me Helmet 8a.
I knew I only had 3.5 consecutive climbing days and i made the most of it. I was very pleased with my routine which was to climb my project in the morning and just climb other stuff in the afternoon. At the end of the trip, i was exhausted and fell sick but i managed to climb my project and clock other ascents before that. All in all it was a great trip, did my first 8a. Very proud of myself.
About Training:
This year my approach was slightly different from last year. In general i felt that i trained less this year compared to last year. i had more work commitments and often felt tired when i reached the gym. I did however start to hit the weights gym more often to built overall body strength. In the middle of the year, i also started the Malaysia Boleh initiative which gave me frequent exposure to natural wall climbing. Another thing that i did was to just do whatever i could do and NOT do whatever i couldn't. For example, my fingers were bothering me before my Rodellar trip, i knew i was unable to built my finger strength. So i just focused on building my upper body strength through pull ups. Basically i just focused on doing something instead of nothing and listening to my body at the same time.
DUSK
