Tracking Calories and Nutrition/Serious Training Routine at 11:12 AM

So like I said, for the next 4 weeks I'm going to go training crazy and see what happens.

But we all know just working hard doesn't always = good. You gotta workout smart too.

Therefore I'm going to monitor my caloric and nutritional intake so that I can put on about a pound of muscle a week so I can get stronger healthily without just overworking my muscles/tendons.

Now, to inform you, I am 5'10 weigh 140 lb.s and have 6% body fat, which means I have 8.4 lb.s of fat on my body.

I normally eat about 2100-2200 calories a day. In order to maintain my weight, I have to eat about 2400-2500 calories..which is why I keep losing weight, slowly but surely.

One pound = 3500 calories, meaning to put on a pound you need to consume 500 extra calories a day..obviously most of those calories have to come from protein otherwise you'll just get fat!

So I need:
3,025 calories a day
Max 90g fat
Of fat only 30g max saturated
373g max carbohydrates
About 140 grams of protein, a gram per pound. Although 130 would be ok too.
And 31g of dietary fiber.

I am tracking my intake through a really useful website called www.fitday.com

There you can look up thousands of popular brands of foods and add them up to find out what you consume in a day.

Already I'm avoiding the cookies and saving space for meals!

Lol.

So onto the workout regimine.

I won't go into too much detail, but the way I work out for power is to do all 3 types of resistance training basically to work out till exhaustion.

Now I haven't gone on a strict muscle building routine in 2 years, but back then it worked pretty well.

For each muscle group, I do 3 sets of 70-80% of my max weight for 5-8 reps. Then I do a different excercise for 50% of my max weight for 10 reps. Then I do a final excercise for 20% of my max weight for about 20 reps.

In this way, I'm only at the gym pumping iron for about a half hour, so that my muscles get exhausted quickly with little rest in between.

I hardly ever did cardio..but ill have to start..

My schedule is as follows:
Week 1: Power Week 12/23-12/29
Wed: Biceps/Triceps/Forearms
Thurs: Shoulders/Chest
Friday: Rest (It's Christmas after all...)
Saturday: Brooklyn Boulders
Sunday: Back/Abs
Monday: Rest/Trip To D.C.
Tuesday: Rest/Trip To D.C.

Week 2: Endurance 12/30-1/5(Light reps + treadmill or other cardio excercise every day at the gym)
Wed: Biceps/Triceps/Forearms
Thurs: Shoulders/Chest/Climbing
Friday: Rest/Retreat to PA (possible light climbing)
Saturday: Rest/Retreat to PA (possible light climbing)
Sunday: Back/Abs
Monday: Dance Dance Revolution/Climbing
Tuesday: Rest

Week 3: Power Week/Rest 1/6-1/12? (Subject to change based on what day is optimal to take a trip to boulder outside)
Wed: Biceps/Triceps/Forearms
Thurs: Shoulders/Back/Climbing
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest

Week 4: Rest Before Sending 1/13-1/19
Wed: Rest
Trip possibly begin Thursday ending no later than Sunday

And in terms of supplements, I'm currently taking:

Vitamin Shoppe Brand:
Amino Complex
Glucosamine (vegetarian formula)
MEGA Fish Oil EPA-DHA

GNC Brand:
B-Complex 50


BSN Brand:
Syntha-6 Chocolate Milkshake Protein Complex


VPX Brand:
Zero Impact Pumpkin Supreme and/or Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars


Rationale:
Really simply,
Amino acids = broken down proteins for immediately after working out to absorb into your muscles
Glucosamine for joints and tendons
Fish oil for heart joints tendons and over a dozen other good things
B-Vitamins for energy
Zero Impact protein bars are great tasting bars that dont have sugar alcohols or anything that makes you feel sick after you eat them. Great for when im on the run and i cant make a protein shake. Lots of calories too, and theyre from healthy fats and protein.
Syntha6 is definitely the best tasting protein shake ive ever tried, plus it also doesnt have sugar alcohols and doesnt make me feel sick. plus you only need to put it in 6 fl oz of water for 22 grams of protein and around 200 calories. I have a small stomach so its good to use a couple times during the day if need be.

So that's basically it! I can answer any questions you guys have...

Hopefully ill look back at this entry and be proud. haha.

As of right now, I just got back from a church party that only had cookies and snacks...no food. so I had to just hold out till i got home to eat.

I took in
2,661 calories out of 3,025

76.9g fat out of max 90

374.8g carbs out of max 373

121.1g protein out of 140

today. I could probably eat some more chicken and hit the 140 mark in protein and finish at 2,800 calories..but i dont want to eat too much more since ill be going to bed within 2 hours..

so ill try harder tomorrow! but still, 2,600 calories and 120g protein is better than what i usually do!

I am soooo sore right now. it feels good.

One month to go, i am trying to go outside... at 11:17 AM

LOL. so it's been 11 months officially that i have been rock climbing.

just a few things i want to say:

1. probably not sending v10 next month lol
2. forget sending v10, i need to get outside period!
3. last week i got the OK from the doctor to eat normally and take supplements again. (fish oils, glucosamine, amino acids) and im going to start taking them along with upping my protein levels again..
4. tomorrow is my last final at school, so starting tomorrow im gonna try to train all out for the next 4 weeks...and see what happens. ill make training plans tonight, and hopefully will post them up in the next few days..

here's a video of me yesterday sending a fun V6 that just got put up at GSR by simon. i tried to flash it, but dabbed. i got it the 2nd go tho!

Garden State Rocks V6 Indoor Rock Climbing from Alan Kahn on Vimeo.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!!

Sickness & Recovery, Brooklyn Boulders, Future Plans at 9:21 AM

YO!

So lets see...

I got really sick last week, from sunday to sunday i was barely able to walk.

my liver became inflamed, i didnt eat more than two bowls of soup for 5 days, vomitted blood, had a steady fever, lost a total of 10 lb.s, and my urine was dark brown.

saturday i forced myself to eat so i wouldnt have to go to the hospital.

they thought i had hepatitis a, but thankfully the blood tests came out negative.

i go back to the doctors next week to get a couple more tests done.

on sunday i started feeling a little better, and since i had to cancel a trip to the gunks, instead i decided to go to gsr for an hour.

i felt pretty weak.
next day i went back and still felt pretty bad but almost sent a new v7.. (now that i look back i think it may be kinda soft for a 7.) next session i felt a little better and got it right away

im not allowed to eat things with fat, caffeine, obviously alcohol, and im supposed to regulate my protein intake to about 40-60 grams a day.

to a person thats targets around 140 grams of protein a day...thats a major setback. (although i hardly hit that goal daily...lol.)

so it felt like i was told i wasnt allowed to get stronger for 2 weeks. kinda beat.

i feel the effects, i feel like its taking longer to recover and im not able to unlock the potential i should have by now...

anyway. i checked out brooklyn boulders with jj last saturday. the place was insane! so many problems, some really really fun setting, and a cool environment.

i sent a bunch of 5's and a 7. i was projecting a couple more 7s and 9s. on two v9s i got about halfway, and i feel i could get much farther if i was fresh. theyve been haunting me and i really want to go back to send them.

we mostly stuck to ivan's problems, they seemed to be the most fun.

there was a really cool stemming v4 with two giant features that was really sweet, and the most fun dyno problem ever that was a v5. (video footage below of a really funny burn. lol.)

i really want to go back there. i feel like going there could really give me the potential to be strong. theres a lot of things out of my grasp, and problems that can teach me new moves and techniques and stuff. thats really what ive been looking for.

i went to gsr on monday, and still felt sore from saturday. we bouldered saturday night from 8pm till 12am.

i was kinda upset i was still feeling weak. ive started to gain back some weight, but i doubt much of it is muscle because of my diet..

im debating right now whether to go climb between now and sunday...

sunday i plan on going to the gunks. i hope to have lots of fun and to be able to try some hard stuff beyond my ability.

soo i want to be able to be at full throttle sunday...idk. maybe ill wait.

at the same time i want to get stronger for sunday...but if i climb today i might still be sore..ahh! too much thinking.

anyway. ive been watching videos from niagara glen. i really really want to climb there. it looks insane. the rock looks so good and the problems are hard and really cool.

maybe ill go there during winter break if its not snowing.

idk!

i need to get outside, even though its getting cold.

so for now, check out a vid from brooklyn boulders featuring the most fun dyno ever, and a really embarrasing fall. lol

Blood and Bouldering @ the Gunks at 8:22 AM

So sunday i was mad stoked to get on the rocks again. my plans were to send a bunch of problems i left unfinished from last time i went, try a couple new hard out-of-reach problems, and flash black boulder problem v5.

i went with manuel, jj, and emiliano.

maybe 10 minutes into arriving at the trapps, we were warming up on the boulder of the gods and the warmup boulder

i went over to check out new pair of glasses with a d00d i just met who was also psyched to work on it.

i walked back to check on the guys and unfortunately emiliano fell and broke his ankle by landing one foot on the pad and one foot on a jagged rock.

the bone was stickin out of his ankle and his foot was sideways.

we called the ranger over and 911 and got him to the hospital.

5 hours later, jj and i decided to leave the hospital and go back to the gunks

(emiliano is recovering as of the time of this writing, keep him in your prayers as he will be undergoing surgery and such.)

with about 2 hours of sunlight left, i decided to try to focus on having fun and working on a project that wouldnt consume a lot of time.

so ive wanted to flash black boulder problem, because it looked like a pretty fun problem, and it seems like its hard for me to flash things outside, because the holds are often harder to read for me.

i saw some other guy working on it from the v3 stand start, so, thinking that it was the start i made an attempt and fell off the crux move because the left hand sloper with the thumbcatch was very different than what i thought.

so then i looked at it one more time and started from the v5 sit start and got it right away. felt solid.

so even though i didnt flash it, i got it 2nd go. still much to learn for me

so we walked a little further to andrews boulder problem.

i was lifting weights with my forearms the previous wednesday, i worked them out pretty good, and i havent lifted in a while...

for some reason, on andrews boulder i got so pumped...maybe left over soreness from wednesday..? i felt sore in the morning, but idk i never felt that pumped before.

i was sending andrews boulder problem and on the v0 top-out i felt so pumped that i touched the last jug but decided to let myself down because my hands were opening up.

very weird.

but if im feeling this sore, then that means ill probably get stronger for next time :)

the following morning i felt sooooo crappy hahah.

i picked up manuel from the hospital and after traffic on 87, we got home at 930. i had a 3 page paper to write and a history test to start studying for.

so i was mad beat.

and i feel like new pair was a tease yesterday, i really wanted to send it, but didnt have time to get on it! very disappointing. i am much more disappointed for emiliano, so it was a disappointing day.

but i didnt let it get me down, i still had lots of fun, and i think we made the best of it.

november 22nd is the next day i will be at the gunks, weather and God permitting...

ill make sure im ready this time!!

Bouldering In Lincoln Woods at 8:41 AM

So i went up with my friends jason and john to stay at our friend daves house in Massachusetts. we drove up early saturday morning and chilled in a very cool new england town, watched "yes man" and rode bikes.

yesterday, (sunday) we drove east to lincoln woods state park in rhode island to boulder.

the park was beautiful. the trees were tall and extremely colorful. i couldnt have asked for a more perfect day. the temperature was in the low 60's, and the sun dried out the rock that was soaked the previous night.

most of our time, unfortunately was spent wandering around trying to find the boulders..in particular, the try again boulder.

one guy who was helping with crag clean-up led us to a boulder he said was ships prow, which actually turned out to be try-again, so we used that as a basis and walked around for 20 minutes lol.

there werent any locals on the boulder to help us with the problems, so we tried very few problems for the amount of time we had unfortunately,

but i got to send a pretty fun powerful problem called try again v5.

from there we headed to our cars and then drove to the other side to work on the iron-cross and cave-wall boulders.

i sent a really fun v4 traverse called iron cross. crimpy, big, powerful cross moves. i am usually not a fan of traversing, but the moves were pretty sweet.

we walked over to the cave wall boulder and i worked on a v7 called rump to jump. the opening moves were really cool, really shouldery moves on pinches. i got so close to linking the extension to the v4 problem neil's lunge. but i ran out of steam.

i got sick over the weekend, so i think that affected me a little bit, because i was sick- all i ate that day was a quarter bowl of cereal...lol. as well as the problems taking their toll on me little by little.

if i had another day, id definitely be able to send rump to jump. kinda bummed we had such limited time, but it was a good learning experience!

for some reason it feels like when im on real rock i forget to use technique, and once i remind myself, the problems go from being really hard to being alright/easy/fun. lol.

i really wish i could have checked out the pond cave. there lies the boulder problems "who needs hueco v8" and "leap frog v7". both looked really cool, they were the only video problems i could find on youtube when i looked up lincoln woods.

but...maybe next time, whenever i go back...gunks definitely felt more fun to me, and the access is so easy and so much closer lol.

i got to train more!

its been officially 9 months since i started climbing, since trips outdoors are limited, i dont have time to spend days in a row at a crag. i need to send harder stuff in a day.

i need to build strength, endurance, better problem reading skills, and more fluid/precise foot movement.

back to the gym for now!

Team Five-Ten Rock Climbing Shoe Review at 1:48 PM

The Fresh Smell of Rubber unlike commonly found in stinky shoes like Evolv. Perhaps it's possible to grip the crag without losing newly found friendships by the unbearable odor that leaks from your feet.

Ok, there's probably more to the new slippers that FIVE-TEN put out besides their smell. But it was definitely pleasing to open up the box and find exactly what I was looking for.

Hopefully this article will help you with common questions you had about the shoe, things you wondered in terms of fit, grip, softness, edgyness, whatever...As well as show you photos beyond the 1 side shot that seems to be soloing Froogle.com and Five-ten's website.





So most importantly, I must admit that my previous climbing shoes were mad rock conflicts, a newer downturned, sticky shoe that I've found to be stickier than most rubber I've tried out. I really enjoyed the shoe, although in my opinion, I would have liked it a half size bigger in order to prevent the following calluses from arising on my big toe and back of my heel:









So I wear Lacoste sneakers on a sunny day and vans slip-on's when it's not so nice out.

Both shoes I wear a size 12, Although, I COULD fit into an 11 1/2.

I bought the mad rock conflicts in a size 11, which seemed to be way beyond small for me.





The FIVE-TEN website recommends that you size the shoe to your street shoe size, which I was very skeptical to do at first, but I ordered a size 12.

The whole shoe fits my battered foot very comfortably, It feels like there is a nice sharp extra bit of rubber on the toe for edging. the whole shoe feels very stiff on the sides. walking is painful, but i dont know how a such a severly down-turned toe can be comfortable without sacrificing stiffness.




As you can see, theres a bit of fold near my heel, and it feels like i might be able to pry the shoe off with my hands if i try hard enough, but after testing it in the gym, it feels real solid.

In the gym it felt very very good for edging, I felt confident on the smallest of jibs, as well as had a very sensitive mid-sole for the overhanging rock.

Admittedly, it didn't feel as sticky as my mad rock science friction 2.2 rubber, but that may change after breaking it in. On actual rock these shoes would definitely be insane.

The fit didn't bother me at all, besides the initial pain from the down-turned toe, but I know no matter how big I get the shoe, it probably wouldn't change that.

the shoe was fairly easy to get on and off with the triple loop enclosure.

I found the single strap up top to be pretty useful too, even though it wasn't necessary to keep the shoe on my foot.

Toe hooks felt very solid with the same 3.5mm rubber up-top

Heel hooks felt solid

Edging was super solid

I am happy I bought this shoe. :)

So basically

If you're a boulderer looking for a serious edging, sensitive, down-turned toe for overhanging rock shoe...get it!

Just make sure you get the shoe according to your street size. or possibly even one half bigger.

I could probably fit comfortably in most 11 1/2 street shoes, but I like room in the 12's

I don't have a wide foot or nothing, my heel sticks out a bit so I need the heel for a rock shoe to have a inward curving rear unlike the evolv pontas.

Oh, and another plus, especially for previous mocassym users...

These won't turn your feet red. maybe that's why you should try them.



Hope this was insightful for you guys! If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer.

-Alan

Strength by numbers at 4:17 PM

the stronger i get, the more i realize its not about strength. in everything.

the stronger of a climber i become, the more i see there are ways around using strength. an interview with dave graham helped me see that.

he can climb v9 in sneakers and claims hes mad weak and has weak fingers...but its all about seeing the geometry and the "various boxes".

last night i went with manuel to gravity vault. i was able to flash a bunch of v4's and v5's, as well as almost flash a couple v6/7's. i wound up not getting anything higher than v5 haha. i kept on moving from wall to wall, and then eventually i just got worn out from everything else. and really hungry.

im trying to complain a lot less, and try to eliminate powerful moves from my inventory. instead, im trying to look at the problems and really analyze them. thinking no matter what, that there HAS to be an efficient, and capable way to do every problem in the gym.

so although im trying to get stronger, im going to focus as much as i can on just climbing. and stop thinking, "oh i should work out this muscle so i can do that move in that one problem."

my etch motherboard hangboard finally came in the other day, and i got to put it up in my garage. so happy with it! and my free holds also came in the mail, not sure what im doing with them yet...

Here's a vid of the hangboard


i also realize its not about my abilities or what im capable of doing in anything in life. its about my weakness and relying on God for strength to get through hard times and relying on God to do the things i need to.

i dont have to worry about the future. i dont have to look at the future nor do i have to look at my goals as one giant monster anymore.

chuck smith last week at church really taught me the basic truth ive needed to realize. i like how his teaching always seem to be so simple... and so profound.

he said that 12 spies were sent into the promise land to scout it out, and 10 said, (super paraphrase)"oh theres giants and the walls are so high, theyll crush us like bugs" etc.

and joshua and caleb said "the land is plentiful...those giants? theyre like bread to God...the walls? come on now"

now i thought he was going to be like, "ONE WAS POSITIVE AND ONE WAS THINKING NEGATIVELY"

but thats not it.

10 were looking at it from their point of view.

2 were looking at it through God's eyes.

and before...
i kept thinking like it was all a joke
that i wasnt making progress
and i had so much work i have to do
and such little chance of anything actually working
and its all my fault for not making it happen
and like there was this big monster of work i have to complete

but joshua and caleb saw the promised land through God's eyes
the problems are minor to Him, let Him deal with the troubles

just do it

ya kno?

now i can be diligent and do it
and know i wont get stuck..
i wont rely on my strength.


one more important thing i want to say

sometimes im upset that God actually listens to me, and gives me what i want.

because i realize how stupid my wishes are. and usually it just doesnt turn out anywhere near what i thought it would.

but whats amazing is, it was all in God's plan that i would foolishly ask for these things and that He would use it to show me how stupid i am. and then make it work in His plan.

yesterday i had the weirdest experience. the weirdest feeling.

i was sitting in class surfing the web on my computer.
i saw something.

like i felt freed, like i was in bondage, like i couldnt escape, claustrophobic, happy, sad, bitter, spiteful, relieved, focused, empowered, hopeful and very very alone all at the same time.

honestly it was like a wave of these feelings all at the same time. i felt like i was going crazy

so i took a deep breath, thought about where i was. and continued paying attention to my science teacher and taking notes.

i may not be able to relate to anyone, ever. and im ok with that.

i dont need anyone that understands how i think, or how analytical/competitive/weird/motivated i am.

i really dont want to slow down. i honestly, and truely like being single. sometimes i feel like im the only one in the world that actually loves being single. theres so much i can do. so many things i can do without thinking twice.

of course there are downsides. but you learn to replace the loneliness with good things. with Godly things.

so its time to move forward. not by my strength, not by my ability, but through relying on God for strength. no person and no thing else.

ecstatic for the future = me :)

The Time is Now! at 7:10 AM

So lately I've been pretty desperate to propel myself forward in the right direction.

Yesterday I started school at monmouth university after my year hiatus...
Things are really looking up! I see so much potential for development in my character and abilities.

Right now I am currently sitting in the student center until my next class...I'm really hungry and want to get up to buy food but I need to write this first.

Yesterday was definitely a weird day.

It was one of those days where everything seems to fall into place.

I had a couple confirmations that now is the time for training. not just physically, but spiritually and mentally as well.

I'm not going to close my eyes anymore and be ignorant of people's progression and the world's digression.

I need to step and and start doing something about it!

On the way home from school I pulled a random cd and plopped it into my cd player, and I think it was exactly what I needed to hear, although I don't recommend that method to anyone lol

I wrote a song about how I've been feeling as of late. How I don't know what i want or what i want to do, but i can't just stay put. I need to keep moving.

You can check it out by clicking here

At night i went climbing at gsr and was able to get the caution tape v9 all the way to the second to last move: tiny two finger pocket right after the sloper, but was able to finish it from that point to the end.

last week i barely was able to make any of the moves aside from luck and hitting it just right, but today, after my POWER WEEK last week of climbing 5 days in a row, I hit the moves realll solid everytime no problem.

but then i broke my pointer finger nail and had to tape it up, which didnt help the two finger pocket move.

next week i think i actually might get it! by the end of the night i couldnt even send v2's, my forearms just gave out haha.

So anyway. I'll keep moving forward, you do the same! we'll meet again someday :)

I guess I have to go back to cali! at 9:45 AM

So this past week I climbed 5 days in a row, I guess those nutrients are working because on day 5 (yesterday) I was able to flash another v5, send a v7+ and piece the polish traverse v5 in central park

Yeah, that supposed WAY harder than v5 polish traverse lol. Its not. Some girl before was like "people work on that for YEARS." And I'm like..goodness haha..sorry.

A d00d there back when I saw it that rainy day told me hed been working it 6 months.

Its really not a big deal, its just that the feet are really rough or hard to figure out.

A guy there yesterday told me if I rested and came back I'd get it. I agree. Although I'm taking nutrients, my joints have been killing me all week again and my forearms and biceps have been real achy.

I felt pretty weak.

After this POWER wweek I think ill be a lot better and stronger.

Sunday I climbed @ gsr and went to new bruns to urban climb the bridge stone wall
Monday I climbed @ gsr for 2 n a half hours, went out to eat with my family and then came back for an hour and a half lol
Tuesday I climbed at nj rock gym flashed a v6 that felt like a v5-
Wednesday I climbed in new brunswick again for an hour and sent even higher problems that dave put up. I think that helped me a lot with my fear of heights.
Thursday like I said climbed at central park (where I lost my chalk bag :/) and then mphc for a total of 6 hours or so altogether.

I was working on this pretty nutty v7+ at the gym, it had a crimpy start with a big side dyno to a giant jug that you had to mantle on to reach a super tiny "climb it" pinch and then pull to the slopey finish. I worked on it for an hour and almost gave up in order to teach myself that I'm a horrible climber and need to get better. But manuel sent a solid v4 he was workin on and it made me go for the last 2 tries. Which is when I got it :)

I was so tired that I had to try the mantle twice while doing the ascent cuz my triceps gave out

My whole body aches today lol

7 months climbing and v7? Maybe I will get v10 in 5 more months..

Now I'm not saying I'm a v7 climber, I'm just getting a grasp on 6's, but I think and hope after this week ill be rested and strong.

I'm gonna do biceps n forearms today at the regular gym. I'm trying to do a one arm pull up, I can almost get halfway.
I'm also at 5% body fat, 7 lb.s of fat on my body.

2 yrs ago when I lifted I was @ 10.5% and the lowest previous I got was 6.5%

So things are lookin up!

And I was worried for a long time cuz I want to send v10 in a year, but I started in january, so it'll be freezing.. But!

Winter break? No school? Bishop cali?

I think so :)

Clips from TRC gym in New Rochelle NY at 7:03 PM

I'm mad beat so I'll make this short

1. Today marks 7 months that I've been climbing
2. It is wayyy too hot and humid outside
3. I'm going to attempt to hit up the normal gym tomorrow morning, hope its not hot.
4. toothpaste kills acne really awesome
5. new as tall as lions cd is amazing, go BUY it. they need support
6. I was going to escape this week, but plans failed for now...try again in a couple months
7. I had an epiphany on wednesday...maybe i'll share that later.
8. I'm going back to school this fall. exciting!
9. I'm very excited to see what events will unfold in the last half of this year.
10. I don't know what I want.

V5 With Crappy Hands. I just wanted to show everyone my failure...lol

Big Dyno, about 7 1/2 Feet

God bless all of you :)

-Alan

So much to do!! at 2:41 PM

Life's been a whirlwind as of late.

I think my biggest struggle is finding out whether I am capable of doing the things I know I need to do, or to pray for strength. Praying seems practical and Biblical. But I feel bad putting the brunt of the work on God when I know it's my own laziness that's keeping me from getting things done.

So then. Today I got some stuff done, mailed some EP's, trying to keep track of finances...played in Long Island on monday, waiting for my next acting gig...or for my Law and Order episode to air.

(Half of me doesn't really care, and the other half is curious which shots they kept.)

I didn't get to send any of the problems I wanted to last week (in reference to beating rock climbing problems in central park...) It rained. the 5th time in a row!! hah



We went to MHPC rock gym and i got to flash a pretty rough, but sweet v5, I feel like I am improving.

Improving...That's all we can do!

I've been pretty desperate to create a tune lately that can match the series of feelings and emotions that flood through my brain every morning. It's really hard. What's probably even harder are finding the right words to match the music.

I'll show you what I got when It's out. It's weird.

this year has been epic. for real.

so much work is piling up on me, I am now trying to take it one step at a time to relieve that.

Of course going back to school in the fall will probably make it a lot harder...

but I truly am really excited to see what's in store for the rest of the year.


Maybe my second biggest struggle is keeping in mind that I cant linger on to the past and say, "WELL BACK IN THE DAY I ACCOMPLISHED (SUCH AND SUCH)!!"

I need to have a current, present testimony.

It's not what I have done, nor what I will do...

Rather, What am I doing...right now?

And that's why I laugh when i log on twitterberry on my phone.

It asks me that same overlying theme of 2009.

Rock Climbing Goals at 11:20 AM

Well it's been 6 months and 2 weeks since i started rock climbing. January 22nd 2009.

I sent a legit V4 In less than 2 months, and my first V5 may 26th, in 4 months. first V6 July 2nd, althought felt like an easy V6...

i still have a long way to go, and need to get outside as soon as possible.

Tomorrow im going to central park, my goal is to send the polish traverse, a V5, and then test myself on a couple other problems including a v6 and v7.

I've been trying to train as much as possible, while taking the right nutrients and supplements, and getting enough rest. but its rough!!

My goal is to send a legit-outside-test-piece V10.

I'm going to gunks august 22nd, my 7 month anniversary, and im going to attempt to send Tiger-style V7.

I'm so behind! I have a long way to go.

Right now in terms of V10 I'm looking at necrophelia V10. I was pretty inspired by seeing Ivan Greene send it through a youtube video.

I need to get better! and fast!

-Alan