CWIF

I'd decided that I wouldnt have a beer on Friday night, then my pre comp preparations would be perfect. But you know how sometimes you convince yourself of something and when you stand back from it you realise you are deluding yourself? I had a sudden realisation that I wasnt going to win, and that a couple of pints wouldnt be here nor there. Croxall gets heavily involved with the guiness before comps and he's always in the finals. So anyway, I went to the pub. It was nice. My regular Friday exhaustion worked to my advantage (as the comp was an early start) and I was asleep by 10pm.

If you are going to be indoors competing, you dont want it to be sunny outside. Persistent drizzle (Peter Kay rain) is optimum competition weather, and persistent dull weather was what we had. I got to the Climbing Works at 0830 and had some computer stuff to sort. Dave Mason and I started climbing at about 0915 (I am telling you this to illustrate how long a day it was). There were 30 problems, set on luminscent pink holdz holds throughout the centre. Walking round - they all looked hard. By 9am it was already busy. Ned and Dave would keep whispering to me who the euro wads were, as a rule of thumb anyone you didnt recognise was an 8b beast. Euro's are bigger than brits. I dont mean fat, I mean beefy. Anyway, my team arrived, and I was decked out in a resplendant pinky purple Wild Country t-shirt. My team mates were Jordan and Naomi Buys and the mighty Harry Pennells. Connected, but not directly in my team were the red chilli lot, who were Tom Peckitt's gf, Miles and Diego.

I was dead keen to get started. I just wanted to get climbing, to move on the problems - get the nerves out the way. Everyone looks for an easy problem to do to start a comp, it gets you moving and starts the ball rolling. I think the problems were supposed to be from 6c - 7c. Although there were some 'easy' ones they were all highly droppable - it would have been easy to make mistakes and come home with nothing. Still, got to be in it to win it.... Both of Nao and Jordan were a bit broken bless them - but they climbed well and pushed on regardless. Time went on and problems dropped and our team made progress. I fell off first on a slab problem (quelle suprise!), which Harry rinsed up. He was on fire. You see, a gritstone legend who has turned his hand to the board is a mighty combination. Although a complete beast now, he's still got the skills. Tenuous balancey slabs he can do where this one trick pony struggles.

Bish bosh whallop - the problems yielded (or not) and ever so slowly it felt like we made progress. Time was passing fast, and there were still loads to get through. I was having fun. I felt like I climbed well and that I did some of the harder problems. The ones I failed on were ones I dont think I would have ever done, or that put me completely out of my comfort zone - trusting ones feet on slabs for instance, jamming cracks etc. Which is probably why I havent done west side story yet. I keep saying it was a really good morning, but it was more like a day! by the time I left it was about 1600.

There was a really good atmosphere. The general air was one of collaboration and cameraderie. Everyone was shouting everyone else on. I would certainly enter again. If I do just one comp a year the CWIF is a great one to do. I think I like team comps. Went home, watched the semi's on the  interweb, then went out with Folog and Lauren for Lucy Fletcher's 30th birthday do at Bragazzi's. It was nice. Felt ruined on Sunday.

This week I hope to go to the cave on wednesday.