Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thursday, 27 March 2008 - Stamina

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for stamina.

Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles. ~Alex Karras

S, T and I usually rest at least one day between climbing adventures. At our ages, we need time to recover. M, on the other hand, recovers very quickly - no surprise since he's 19 years old and a highly conditioned, NCAA Division 1 athlete.

When he returns after a rigorous morning workout at the Academy (drills, scrimmage, weights), M announces that he's ready to rock climb again. We discuss our options and decide to head to the Ute Valley Park bouldering area. There, we'll top rope a few climbs and workout on the overhangs. Then, if we haven't depleted our energy reserves, we'll play on the boulders.

I think I'll do all right. I'm not sore, just a bit tired from yesterday's sport climbs. I'll pace myself and stop before I burn out. I will have to climb smartly, leveraging both emotional and physical energies. Anyway, the weather service predicts snow for tomorrow so this will be out last chance to climb before M leaves (he's flying home Friday after practice).

Update: I end up having a very good climbing adventure. I repeat a climb that I've successfully completed only once. I also ascend the first half of a more difficult overhung route for the first time and make significant progress on the upper section. Now, I am really, really tired. Tomorrow will definitely be a rest day.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

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