Oh I do like to be beside the sea side, oh I do like to be beside the sea, however I’d rather be 4 hours further up the road sat at my parents home than waiting in a cafe in Ramsgate for my car to be MOT’d and serviced so I can legally drive again on UK roads, oh I do like to be beside the sea!

England, I thank you for not raining on me, if you could keep it up for a few more weeks I would be very grateful! A few weeks too much? How about a few days at least? No? Ok, then back to crossing my fingers...

First stop (not counting wonderful Ramsgate) is my parent’s house to store some of my belongings, tidy up a few loose ends, and perhaps say hi to my Mum and Dad if I get the chance. Regularly seeing the old King and Queen is one of the few things I miss about living in England, and so I always really appreciate my little visits back home, even if it is a constant battle to avoid being over fed. After a few rest days to recover from the drive and last phase of my training, I hope to get in a day or so of gritstone, before leaving once again for pastures new and my project.

I feel in good shape, in fact, the best shape ever (hopefully this doesn’t sound too narcissistic or over self focused) but one of the exciting things about climbing is how specific each route can be, and so one can never really know how they will feel until the time arrives. I tried to tailor my training to be specific to my goals, climbing similar moves, similar length, similar style, but all the time being wary of not being too narrow minded, as it is amazing at how good you can become in a specific exercise without actually improving your level.

Whilst we have been training lots indoors, both Caro and I know the importance of maintaining an affinity with real rock and so we try to make one or two outside sessions per week. Two of these recent sessions have been pretty interesting for me, and it is to these sessions that I will dedicate my next few blogs...