Osmosis

Omosis has become one of the most important words featured in my #ClimbingWonders. Osmosis is not a climbing term, nor a climbing technique, it is the name of the route I have set my eyes on as my first long-term climbing project.

Since the start, he had been sharing his experience, one of the ways to break through for accelerated learning and improvements in climbing, is to give yourself a stretched goal. But the risk of this approach is on chances of incurring injuries, when not manage the state of mind and patience carefully. I have been pondering.

When we returned to the climbing scene after the first country lock down back in June last year, I was taking my time doing some leisure climbs on routes I have been on before. Then there is this route with some draws already on the first few clips, a few people were trying on it, so I thought, let's just have some fun. This was the start of my first long-term climbing project.

When I first started climbing, I thought 7c is a dream. Then as I started to make some progress, I then thought I would be able to make it eventually, but it will take a while (given my personal best back in 2019 Kalymnos climbathon was a 7a+). With these thoughts, I gave myself ample amount of time to not let impatience runs me into injuries. Ultimately, the main crux will be more the mental than anything physical, I gave myself two years.

One of the most enjoyable things about having a long-term climbing project is to witness how, day by day, it has become the centre of everything.

How much I eat and not eat to get the optimal power-weight ratio. How to put down on paper some plans to conquer the different cruxes. How to regulate the sleep to maximise performance. How to keep the mental healthy by tracking some nano-progress.

How to identify what is missing and how to train to get stronger for a 36m overhang route. (Reflection: the 4x4 training has for sure contributed to the better forearm endurance, it also helped me to understand myself better on how much warm up I need to get to performing state).

I think this is what having a passion does to life, and it is this very reason I have fallen in love with everything about climbing.

I sent the project in six and a half months, much ahead of my own target. I was lucky to have had the good weather to give it a proper try the last day before the country's second lock down. I got on and I executed every move in a calm and collected way with no mistakes. I took the time and was patient at my key rest points: this is one of the biggest take aways from the journey. I had the amazing crowd and key people there to cheer me on. Thank you everyone who has been there for me along this journey, especially to my lovely fiancé.

I was lucky, there was not a time I was met with frustration and had wanted to give up. Though as I am writing this, I do remind myself, for my next quest, I will most possibly have a different and harder journey, where perseverance will probably have a bigger part in the play. Let's manage the expectation right and look forward to the journey towards my 2021 climbing goals! Allez!