today this kid I was coaching was doing a lot of negative self talk and they were climbing well and doing a lot of things right and I was just pulling out all the stops, trying all the phrases I know, trying all the reframing techniques--doing everything I could to set-up a positive mindset. And, y'know, the thing about a kid being upset is that talking about mindset and self-talk isn't going to make them not be upset so there's not a lot of levers you can really pull. Especially in climbing where it's a sport about close misses and finding things that you can almost do but can't quite do. If you can't frame failure in a productive way then it's really hard to get anywhere. 

Anyway, I was doing my darndest and at the end the mom who had stayed to watch the practice came up to me and thanked me for speaking the way I did and basically said that how I acted was not the norm for youth sports and that meant a lot. Normally I find parents observing kind of stressful but hearing that made that effort worthwhile so that was great. 

I'm like ancient, ya know?

 Oh you put stuff on a blog? A blogger blog?

That's like putting words down an ancient scroll. Hieroglyphics even. Runes etched in stone buried in a cave covered with ash from the humble fires of early man. A dusty pile of bones sat upon a throne of bronze that when disturbed rattles and shakes and ekes out a husky message from a time long forgot.

I'm like the complaint tablet to Ea-nasir going on and on about sub-standard copper. A living example of the idea that just as things must perish, some things must also persist. Persist against all reason and sense. 

a sunny day is an old thing. an incredibly old thing. ancient. beyond time. beyond memory. a timeless timeless timeless rite.

I did ten sets of ten pull-ups today!

 I don't think I've ever done 100 bodyweight pull-ups in a single workout before so that was great!

Not to count my unhatched chickens before they don't ever hatch but I think I will complete about 70 of the 78 v4 benchmarks on the moonboard. I'm up to about 60 or 62 today and I dropped the last move on Squincher twice and I've done Astro Creep in two parts. Some of the climbs just seem so hard. But that's not really a bad thing. 

Something about my personality would rather work really hard on the v4 that everyone says is v6 rather than doing the v6 that feels more like a v4. At the end of the day you still pulled a challenging move. 

Anyway I've now coached the comp, training team, and club and they all seem good. I feel like coaching has gotten better every year and I've built on what I've learned and done in the past and that's really rewarding. 

There's some great kids out there who like climbing. 

Pull ups. Here's what I'll say about pull-ups. Recently, in the past year or so, I learned how to pull from the bottom position. I used to do pull-ups in this kind of two part motion and then I watched people who were really good at them and realized I'd been doing them wrong. And it's not like I wasn't relatively strong in them. I just wasn't pulling from the bottom position. 

And that's my motto now. Pull from the bottom position.

a week straight of AC off windows open

 we're in peak season baby. the inside is the outside. it don't get no better.

rate my fridge

 

reviewing walking

 Hi today on the blog I'm going to be reviewing walking.

Today I went on a walk and I did my normal loop that I do around my neighborhood and under the highway and through the park. I used walking as my mode of transportation. I was barefoot and recently the road near my apartment has been given some fresh asphalt so that was really nice on the feet. If you're looking to get into walking I think the main benefits that people will tell you are:

-safety. You'll often hear the phrase 'walk. don't run.' And that's because walking is one of the most deliberate ways of getting around. At any point it's very easy to stop and you're able to easily take in everything that's happening around you. Because walking doesn't generate a lot of momentum compared to running or skipping, it's also less likely to result in slipping.

-efficiency. You can walk for a really long time. Maybe if you've trained long distance running for years and years you might prefer to run a given distance over walking but if you have to carry much at all you'd still be better off walking.

-contemplative potential. Walking is often a great time to look around and think about things. The poet William Wordsworth famously used to compose his poems while pacing back and forth and he would use the meter of his footfalls to give rhythm to his lines. 

I give walking a 10/10 honestly. I think it's a great way to get around. I think when you make the decision to go far a walk you're signing on for a little quiet adventure. 

If you're looking to add a little excitement to your walking you can fill up your water bottle and play a little drinking game I invented. Take a walk on a warm sunny day and whenever you feel thirsty take a drink of water. Try it out. It's pretty fun.

link to a video of my dad's ebike

 https://youtu.be/sFEPK5yCnC4

YOU GOTTA GET ONE OF THESE UNCLE MATT