I had a painful realization during my climbing session on Saturday — that my body, and in particular, left middle-finger, was demanding a 4-6 week vacation. The A2 pulley has been injured for about 6 weeks, but I continued to climb on it. Sure, I’ve taped it every which way, I’ve taken a full week and a half off, eaten Glucosimine like it was going out of style, but nothing has helped. Every time I get in the gym and pull-down, it flares up and I regret it the next couple of days. On Saturday, the reality hit home when I couldn’t even climb routes that I’ve previously been walking up with ease.
I’m going to be honest, 2009 has been my best and worst climbing year. Granted, it is only my 2nd year of focused training for the sport; but, it started off bad – with an injured right ring pulley. Before the new year, I was finishing a top-rope lap session and came down to boulder. The problem was that I’d been climbing for 2 hours or so and already had a sore tendon in my right ring finger. Of course, I ignored this and went on to my boulder projects, which were two very tweaky V6′s. After working out the moves for one of them, I had just watched my buddy finish it and was ready for the send myself. The problem called for a complete cut of the feet, which left me with only my fingers on tiny crimp holds. Then I had to swing my feet around and pull-up at the same time to gain a high foot chip, then launch for the finish. I knew the moves, but during the execution, my right ring finger made a snapping sound, like a pencil being snapped in two. I knew what I had done, and I was devastated. Especially since I was supposed to be climbing in New Mexico the following month as part of my honeymoon. It took me 6 weeks of no climbing to recover – although, I will admit I still climbed in NM and did send a V2 and 5.10c with my damaged goods. yea…I’m awesome 
…stubborn and stupid more like it.
The finger did heal nicely and I got back into the swing of things, lead climbing and bouldering, but mostly focused on my lead. On a May trip to NM I sent a 5.11c, a VERY long 5.11b, and got close to a 5.11c/d the last day. That is the hardest I’ve ever climbed on lead and I was pretty proud of the accomplishments.
Two weeks later I would tweak my left middle finger pulley and a week or two after that, almost dislocate my shoulder during an endurance traverse set. Bummer.
Being methodical and obsessive about things (more the latter), I naturally tried to diagnose the problems. I knew, and still believe, that the wrenching of my shoulder can be attributed to out of balance antagonist muscles (push muscles) that I have neglected for about a year. Ok, cool, I know how to fix that. Just start working the push muscles in my off-days. But what about my finger? I should have strong digits for all the vertical movement that I do, and supplemental workouts like hang boards and finger curls (yes…finger curls), but progress is frustratingly slow and it seems that injury, rather than gains in strength, is the natural result. Why?
The most frustrating part of all of this is that I have spent the last 4 weeks in an endurance oriented regimen that has not over-worked my injured finger, yet the tendon is no stronger than when I first tweaked it. Although the training has taught me most of all how to rest on routes, after a week of no climbing, I seem to be back to square one with no improvement in anything. Needless to say, my spirit is downcast.
Bottom line: when climbing stops being fun, it’s time to stop climbing. I have successfully ignored the messages that my body is sending me – “LET ME HEAL!” And, don’t take climbing so seriously. True, it is a serious endeavor, but only sometimes. Gym climbing is not, and was originally intended to allow climbers a means to keep training in the off season. Outdoors is where it matters. But even then…it’s only climbing. Most normal people think we are crazy anyway. Sure, top roping in a gym is novel and “neat” in a touristy kind of way, but many folks that patronize the local gyms wouldn’t dare cut their teeth on a true crag.
And so, when the Almighty puts a major wrench in my climbing machine, I can ignore it, like I’ve been doing and fight a losing battle, or realize that it might be for my own good. I know a lot about physical fitness, about nutrition, about climbing-specific workouts and periodization techniques, about how to be a better athlete at my chosen sport, but what I don’t know, or do well at all, is how to listen to unpleasant truths, and put into action those things that I know are best.
It is a very fragile thing, the body. More than anything, I have realized what a great privilege and luxury it is to be able to do something like rock climb. So, even though I have to take several weeks off to heal, and be more disciplined in my regimen, and listen to my body, which says “It doesn’t get any easier”, I should enjoy it all while it lasts, because it can all be taken away in a second. Climbing is as much about patience and the quality of the journey, as it is about getting to the top.
