Weather Or Not. The Problem with Periodized Training.

Disclaimer:  I don't rant much on here.  Today I will.  After the rant I'll go back to putting together a great interview with Angie Payne concerning the mental space required to perform at such a high level.  That will be posted up in the next week, possibly in two parts.  But for now...

Let me start off by saying that I still believe that periodized training is the way to go for anyone with specific goals that require them to perform at the upper limits of their abilities.  Now that I've said that, allow me to tell you what I think right this second... when dealing with the unpredictability of weather in this region of the country, periodized training can kiss my ass.

Ok, I might be a little premature with this.  I'm just now in the middle of my post-training rest week, and only just beginning to gear up for a run at my peak performance levels.  The weather could decide to cooperate, in which case I'll get to climb in less than 85 degree, 80% humidity conditions, and I'll have this post to look back on and laugh about.  Or, the summer will be here to stay, I'll trash my skin climbing in jungle conditions, maybe send a few easier routes, stress about losing time, and again move on to another session of periodized training.  Regardless, I'll know I did what I could do.

Spring is broken.  Someone please fix it?

For those of you living in the blissful ignorance of consistently good climbing conditions, I'll clue you into what the hell I'm ranting about.  The Red River Gorge is a temperate rain forest, and in the summer, conditions generally suck for hard rock climbing.  This year, it's looking more and more like the winter that never was went straight into summer.  We've had several days of record highs thus far.  Spring might not happen at all, or maybe it happened in February, when I wasn't looking. 

And therein lies the problem.  For many of us, especially those of us who are weekend warriors trying to climb at a level we have to really work hard for, outdoor conditions have the final say in whether or not we can achieve our goals.  It's frustrating.  Or, it's glorious.  You do what you can do.

My friend Yasmeen, who I've posted about before, was also finishing up her training, and prepping for a trip to Rodellar so she could escape our early summer.  Last night she rolled her ankle in the gym, ending up with a fracture.  It's frustrating.  Her text to me earlier tonight:  "We did do a hangboard workout today, though!  :)"  You do what you can do. 

Simply put, what am I complaining about?  I'm in the best shape of my life, I've spent several early mornings working out the moves of a climb with a grade I once thought to be mythical, and you know what?  Those routes aren't going anywhere.  They'll still be there for me to send when the cool air comes back around.  Difference is, I'll be even stronger then.  You know, you do what you can do.

Glad to have that out of the way.  Thanks for listening.