Episode 26: Meghan Baker is a Not So Average Jane

Welcome to our new series, "NOT SO AVERAGE."  We've long known that the everyday climbers out there who are pushing their limits deserve to have their stories told.  Now that we have a platform, we plan to tell those stories.

Your Stories.

Meghan Baker is a recently married 43 year old mom (to a teenager), who works 50 hours a week, is a brilliant actress in local theater groups, volunteers her time to both The Beta Fund and The HERA Foundation, and still makes time to train for climbing.  She was also one of the first clients I accepted when I was building our training app.  We talk through why she sought out coaching, the challenges and benefits of her lifestyle, and what we've focused on for the first year of her training.  You think you are tight on time?  Well, to be frank, you're full of shit.  

Producing this style of episode takes a lot of time, so please, let us know what you think of the new format, which you'll be hearing about 10 or so times a year.  Of course, I say that now.  If you've been listening, you already know that I'm likely to do more.  We'd love to hear from you on Instagram, Facebook or in the form of a rating and review on iTunes.  And of course, share us all over the damned place, with everyone you know who will care.  

As always, thanks for listening.  We don't tweet, we scream like eagles.

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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Kris Hampton  00:01

This episode of the Power Company Podcast is brought to you by you. It's all about you made specifically for you, and kept sponsor free because of you. Thanks for listening, and for helping us build this.

Meghan Baker  00:16

...think it's how I used to approach climbing and like, I just need to do it more times until I'm strong enough to hold on. It's kind of why I since I started training. I know, in a way, it was like starting over.

Kris Hampton  00:46

What's up everybody, I'm your host, Kris Hampton. Welcome to the Not So Average series from the Power Company Podcast. In this series, we're going to talk with, you know, the regular folks out there, the people just like you, and we're gonna find out why you're not so average. And today we're talking with my good friend, Megan Baker. Megan was one of the first clients in our new system when I was just building this app and trying to figure this thing out as a business. And, in fact, I think I told Megan, in the first email that she was going to be a guinea pig of sorts, and she turns 43, in just a few days, actually. And she's a part of a growing group of adults over 40 years old, myself included, who are taking training for climbing more serious and making it a bigger part of our lives. And we're gonna look at why she reached out for coaching, the challenges and benefits of training around a hectic life schedule, and, and our main focus for her first year of training. And I think that you'll find she was in a situation initially that many of us are.

Meghan Baker  01:47

I'd always been motivated a train to get better, but didn't quite know how to do it on my own. I think my, what I had done before is, you know, sort of hodgepodge together a bunch of training programs from books. I think, like, a lot of people do, Eric Horst's books, and they're like, Okay, I'm gonna do this in phases. And I'm going to make the sense out of the book that I think will work best for me and, and I did that. 

Kris Hampton  02:13

And I think that's a good way to start. 

Meghan Baker  02:16

Yeah, yeah. 

Kris Hampton  02:16

Good way to get your feet wet.

Meghan Baker  02:17

Absolutely. And I learned a ton. And and actually, I think once we started working together, it helped a lot, because I already kind of knew where you were coming from. And there was a bit of a shorthand already because I knew the language you spoke about it. 

Kris Hampton  02:29

Right.

Meghan Baker  02:29

 So it was helpful, but what I did to myself in the process of making my own training program is that I ended up injured with a year of elbow tendinitis.

Kris Hampton  02:42

Just overtraining.

Meghan Baker  02:43

Yeah, cuz I don't rest well. And so...

Kris Hampton  02:46

And that's our biggest challenge right now is getting you to not go super hard.

Meghan Baker  02:51

Yeah. I'm not particularly patient or good at sitting still. So rest is hard for 

Kris Hampton  02:57

We're getting there.

Meghan Baker  02:58

 Yeah. We're getting there. I'm slowly starting to trust the rest, the resting process. So that's kind of fit that comes from resting.

Kris Hampton  03:09

That's good. It's hugely important.

Meghan Baker  03:11

Yeah. Yeah.

Kris Hampton  03:12

But anyway, so you had cobbled your own thing together. 

Meghan Baker  03:15

So I had done that and, and I came to horseshoe hell, the year that you were emceeing  it. After party and I think did you train Bobby and Brady? Kind of?

Kris Hampton  03:29

No, I didn't have anything to do with Bobbi and Brady. 

Meghan Baker  03:32

Okay. So I think what happened was basically that I reached out to Brady and asked like what they did, and he said, we're not a good example, we were a hot mess. We got together and train when we could, it wasn't really formal, you know, I just did what Bobbi told me to and you know, we like they're both super strong. I mean, Bobbi is, if I can grow up to be Bobbi Bensman.

Kris Hampton  03:55

That's what I'm shooting for, right?

Meghan Baker  03:56

 Yeah, she's amazing. So. But he did mention, I think that you had coached some people. And so I reached out, that's when I reached out to you and said, 

Kris Hampton  04:05

Oh cool, thanks Brady.

Meghan Baker  04:06

Yeah, right. So I thanked him subsequently, because I, you know, it's made a big difference for me and in how I look at climbing. And I knew at that point that it was becoming a more important aspect of my life. And that if I wanted to really enjoy it, and to part of my enjoyment comes from getting better at it. And getting to the point where I'm making progress again, and I just couldn't figure out how to do that on my own with my limited amount of time, you know, and I have a very limited amount of time.

Kris Hampton  04:44

Yeah, yeah, we all like to believe that we just don't have time. And most of us were full of shit. Frankly, we don't have time, we make it. Fact is we'll fill our available time with random things and assign false importance to them. It's not the case with Megan, she'd kind of boiled down her time, pretty far already.

Meghan Baker  05:07

So for a living, I work in Marketing at a Fortune 500 company. I've been there 10 years. So it went from being a job that I did when I moved back here from New York to what has become a career in marketing and communications. I'm grateful for that. Because when I started the job, I was a single mom, and I needed you know, the things you need insurance and stable income and all those things roof over your head, food on your table. And so I work 45 50 hours a week, it's not a job that I can leave at the office, it often comes home with me.

Kris Hampton  05:49

And it's not all just driving to the office and then driving home, you now, last several weeks, you've been traveling a ton.

Meghan Baker  05:56

Yeah, yeah. I mean, and it's great. I mean, the opportunities that I've gotten, you know, and it's a company that is in the travel industry, which I love. And so it affords me a lot of amazing opportunities. And, you know, it allows me to go on climbing trips that I might otherwise be able to afford. So I'm grateful for that. But it does take up a huge amount of time. And it's kind of frustrating, because I sit all day, and that's hard.

Kris Hampton  06:25

Yeah. Hard on your body and hard on your brain.

Meghan Baker  06:28

Yeah, exactly. And it's a stressful job. And, again, so you know, when you leave that kind of atmosphere, and you drive the 15 minutes, to the gym to go train, you have to completely, you know, shift gears and go into another mode. And I find that challenging some days. But so that's what I do for a living. And I...

Kris Hampton  06:51

You mentioned, you're a single mom?

Meghan Baker  06:52

 I'm a single. Well, I was a single mom, I got married recently. So but yeah, my daughter's 13 years old. So we're in the throes of middle school and all of the the awesomeness and drama that comes with that and...

Kris Hampton  07:08

And even though she's a really amazing kid...

Meghan Baker  07:11

she is.

Kris Hampton  07:12

She's still a middle schooler.

Meghan Baker  07:14

She is.

Kris Hampton  07:16

They're still going to be drama, no matter how cool the kid is.

Meghan Baker  07:19

Oh yeah, at any on any given day like...

Kris Hampton  07:20

And it's just to be expected. 

Meghan Baker  07:23

It could just be Yeah, the world's coming to an end and things are tragic. But now she is a really good kid. I'm lucky because I do think she has a good head on her shoulders and is mature beyond her years. So some of the drama she can identify as such, she doesn't get super devastated by it. So, but yeah, I mean, she's in the midst of that, like key age where she's figuring out what she really likes. And what's really important to her and meeting new people and making friendships and yeah. And really like, you know, volleyball and basketball and all the things that she's interested in, which is important.

Kris Hampton  07:57

Yeah. And right in the midst of her being in her drama. You got married? 

Meghan Baker  08:02

I did. Yeah.

Kris Hampton  08:03

To a really cool guy shout out Keith. 

Meghan Baker  08:05

Shout out to Keith Baker.

Kris Hampton  08:08

 And while that's, you know, you could look at that as helping your situation, and he does for sure.

Meghan Baker  08:16

Oh absolutely. Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  08:17

And that he's, you know, a dad to Mary Kate and, and a great partner for you.

Meghan Baker  08:24

Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  08:25

There's also relationship stress that happens, you know, especially when you're trying to dedicate a bunch of time to one thing, there's going to be, how much time can I take away from the relationship to dedicate to this thing?

Meghan Baker  08:40

Yeah. And that's, you know, I think, hugely important to me, and, and the stress that comes from that as stress I impose on myself, right, because I, I don't ever want to do something where I'm being selfish, you know and taking time away from my daughter, for my husband, for my family. Just because it's something I want to do. And that's hard. Because, you know, I think a lot of people I've talked to a lot of climbers who grapple with us themselves, it mean, on the surface of things. Climbing can be a very selfish activity, it's about you and the rock, and it's really just your battle and your goal and your intent. And, and, and it's, you know, at the end of the day, you know, I'm not a pro climber, I'm not making my living this way. So it's just what I do for fun and but it's a passion for me. And so Keith understands that luckily, I'm I'm very lucky and blessed that he understands I have these two major passions in my life that I don't make any money doing or barely any money doing and that I need to give time to in order to kind of feel like I'm really being true to myself.

Kris Hampton  09:57

Yeah, and you just mentioned you have another passion, and so tell me about that.

Meghan Baker  10:03

So I'm an actor have been for more years than I want to, I'm not gonna do the math. But since I was six. So yeah, I did my first commercial when I was six. And so I've been acting on stage, I was in New York for four years pursuing my acting career, and ended up moving back home to St. Louis in 2002. And had married shortly thereafter. And, and I've kept it up, you know, it's something that I do now, in my free time, I spare time, which isn't, I make time for it, because it is still really important to me. And then St. Louis, I'm lucky in where I live has a lot of amazing small professional theatre companies, you got to see some of that work last time.

Kris Hampton  10:49

Yeah. And, you know, I was in St. Louis, and I got to see one of your shows, and, you know, I talked to all of my clients about the, you know, the other things, their extracurricular activities that they do. And I don't know that I've ever seen an example that it was painfully obvious that you're so good at that. And, and you put a lot of heart into it. And there's a lot of passion there. And I was blown away by it. So, I mean, it was one of the coolest shows, and one of the most heart wrenching performances I've ever seen. I was sitting near you during a crying scene, and, and I was about to cry. So I had to look away. And I looked over at your dad and your dad was about to cry. So he was staring at the ceiling. And, and I was just like, Wow, really, really good at this, you know?

Meghan Baker  11:54

Yeah, that's really sweet. Thank you. 

Kris Hampton  11:56

And, and that you put that amount of effort into that, while training the way that you do. While working this full time job, being a mom. You know, you got married shortly before your show, you've you had another show. Around the time you were getting married. Training for Horseshoe Hell. Training for climbing in general, there's so much going on here. And you're and I see this one thing, and I'm like, I can't tell her to not do that. Like, I can't say, dedicate your time to climbing because you're so fucking good at this thing. You know. So I think that's, I think that's just a cool part of who you are and what's going on in your life. And then And that's not all. I mean, you've got you're also involved in the Beta Fund, right? 

Meghan Baker  12:48

Yes. So I'm, I'm on the board of an organization called the Beta Fund. It's a nonprofit, organizational, regional to the Midwest. And we work on access issues in the Midwest and preservation of the climbing areas in the Midwest, particularly in Missouri, Southern Illinois and Arkansas. And it's, yeah, it's a huge passion project. For me, I was brought into it by Dave Chancellor who, and Ian Anderson, who I knew who  through Climb Soill, which is the gym where I train in St. Louis. And so I, I felt really lucky to be asked to be a part of it. I hope that my contributions are valuable that I work really, you know, it's a really small hard working board. And so I put my time in there. And then

Kris Hampton  13:45

And then, yeah, there's more. In addition to all of that Meg also serves on the Marketing Committee for Hara. It's foundation started by the late Sean Patrick who succumbed to ovarian cancer in 2009 after a 12 year battle. She started Hara to raise awareness and funding to fight ovarian cancer, which is a cause that you can find more information about it harafoundation.org please go visit them. This busy schedule that Meg has leads to not having much time to dedicate to training for rock climbing and I don't use the word dedicate lightly here.

Meghan Baker  14:18

I could get into the gym in the morning, two times a week.

Kris Hampton  14:22

And in the morning, you mean? What time? I met you in the in the gym in the morning for a session.

Meghan Baker  14:29

At 5am. 

Kris Hampton  14:29

And I was like, Oh my god, am I getting up this early to go into the gym?

Meghan Baker  14:33

That was amazing. By the way. Thank you for doing that. Yeah. It was definitely dark. It was out dark outside. Yeah. No, I mean, I I can get into the gym, three, maximum four times a week. And two of those sessions if I was to do four times a week two of those sessions would be early morning. really early, pre dawn morning in the training room,

Kris Hampton  15:02

Right, by yourself down the haunted training room at Climb Soill.

Meghan Baker  15:06

The ghost and I have an arrangement. It's all good. I play good music they leave me alone. Yeah.

Kris Hampton  15:13

So, so you're in there super, super early before everybody's up before anybodys up as far as I'm concerned. Sophie wasn't even up so yeah, 's nobody's up at that hour. And and then you got to other days.

Meghan Baker  15:28

 Yep. 

Kris Hampton  15:28

To get into the gym. 

Meghan Baker  15:29

Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  15:30

And and I try to make a point in your plan of making sure that you have at least one route climbing day. Because it's it's a social thing for you as well. You know, you want to hang out with your friends you want to climb with Sophie, you want to climb routes with Keith. And the bouldering in the gym isn't necessarily for you all the time. And I think that's the case with a lot of people who aren't 20 years old.

Meghan Baker  16:01

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I at this point. I think everybody knows that. I've been training with you for as long as I have. So we're right. Just about a little over a year, I guess. Yeah. Okay. 

Kris Hampton  16:15

Yep. 

Meghan Baker  16:15

So, um, and, you know, I've been super happy about it. And I'm vocal about it. 

Kris Hampton  16:22

What month is it?

Meghan Baker  16:23

 It's October. Oh so like a year?

Kris Hampton  16:24

Yeah, it's been pretty close to a year and a half. 

Meghan Baker  16:27

Yeah. Cuz I started. Yeah. Yeah, I guess it has been about a year and a half. So. So people know, when I go to the gym, I'm not there to like, hang out and catch up. Like I'm there to work. I'm there to train. 

Kris Hampton  16:41

Right.

Meghan Baker  16:41

 I think your second statement was more accurate. And I think you're being kind but I am a stubborn person when it comes to like you telling me to boulder in the gym for any significant amount of time. Which is funny because I used to boulder a lot and but then just fell in love with, with route climbing. And..

Kris Hampton  16:59

 Sure. 

Meghan Baker  17:00

So it's hard for me to force myself to boulder, particularly in a gym session. You know, the gym session, I would rather be on the routes and...

Kris Hampton  17:09

Well it's a different, it's a different social atmosphere.

Meghan Baker  17:11

For sure. I mean, that does impact it. Definitely. I mean, it's it's not my scene.

Kris Hampton  17:17

Yeah. And there has to be some fun in this. 

Meghan Baker  17:19

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Kris Hampton  17:20

I can't, I can't just, you know, prescribe things and make it cold and dark for everybody. It's as much as I might want to.

Meghan Baker  17:31

It just ironic because like, you know, you could tell me to boulder in the gym during regular hours. But I will always prefer even as early as it is I like value that time early in the morning training by myself where if I fall off and look like an idiot, it you know, it's just me there. And the ghosts spit like they don't care. So yeah, it's just me.

Kris Hampton  17:52

 I think that's pretty important to have actually to be okay with going in solo and, and digging into your own psyche by yourself. You know. And...

Meghan Baker  18:03

It's where I learned the most, I think,

Kris Hampton  18:04

Yep. Is Yeah, you're not afraid to look silly. You're not afraid to try flail around a little bit.

Meghan Baker  18:09

To try moves in a really weird way or what feels really weird at the time. And I'm like, Oh, no, that actually, that works. And I think some of the emails I've sent you over the course of the month has been, you know, like, "Oh, my gosh, I just got back from training. I did this thing with my toe, and it totally works." You know, I get geeked out about the stuff that happens in in the training room. So...

Kris Hampton  18:33

In the wee hours of the morning. 

Meghan Baker  18:35

Yes. 

Kris Hampton  18:39

Yeah. And that's one of the things we focused on and Megan's training, learning more about climbing and about how to climb, not unlike most people Meg get hit a sticking point where she physically progressed beyond her understanding of how to efficiently and tactically approach a route or boulder problem. And like most of you, she was already plenty strong.

Meghan Baker  19:00

But I was I didn't know how to use it. And so it's useful. It's I'm sorry, it's useless if I can't do that.

Kris Hampton  19:07

Yeah. And it's not even just using your strength. It's, it's also learning how to climb, right? I mean, I watched a guy yesterday go up to 12c. Who his fingers were plenty strong to do the route. I mean, he was he was so strong in his arms and his fingers. And his feet were all over the place.

Meghan Baker  19:32

 Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  19:33

And even when he would fall, and he would go back up the same sequence, he would do it totally differently. And his feet would be all over the place again, but he would hang on. And I'm like, wow, that guy could climb so much harder. If yeah, if he had good footwork if he practiced memorizing beta.

Meghan Baker  19:52

Right.

Kris Hampton  19:52

If he practiced the tactics of route climbing, you know, that stuff goes a really really long way. And it's Experience climber will fall off a sequence their first time doing the sequence remember exactly what they did and know what they need to change. 

Meghan Baker  20:09

Right.

Kris Hampton  20:09

 He had no idea what he had just done. 

Meghan Baker  20:12

Yeah. And I think thats...

Kris Hampton  20:13

His fingers were just super strong.

Meghan Baker  20:14

And I think that's super common. And I think it's what how I used to approach climbing and like, "Oh, I just need to do it more times until I'm strong enough to hold on." 

Kris Hampton  20:22

Right. 

Meghan Baker  20:23

And it's kind of why since I started training, I, you know, in a way, it was like starting over.

Kris Hampton  20:31

Like starting over. That can be scary, but, you know, it's okay. That's how it is when you decide where your weaknesses are, and you really start to focus in on them. It can feel like having to learn it all again from scratch. We're gonna take a quick break here. But when we come back, we'll take a look at how we've improved makes rock climbing while getting her more comfortable with being outside of her comfort zone. 

Kris Hampton  20:55

What's up everybody, Kris here, pardon the interruption. I'll keep this short and sweet. Since this podcast started taking off, and we've been growing it, you guys have been asking how you can help out, I've got three ways for you. Number one, you can become a patron. That just means you give a monthly donation to the podcast $1 and up, and you get something in return. And you can check out what those rewards are at  patreon.com/powercompanypodcast. Best of all, we'll keep it sponsor and commercial free for you. Number two, you can rate us and review us on iTunes. I know it's a pain in the ass to go to iTunes and do all that. But it really helps us out. At least that's what I'm told by the podcast powers that be. And number three, perhaps the easiest way and the best way to help us out is to share us on your social medias. Anytime you see us post up a new podcast, please share it with your friends, tag people who will really appreciate it, or who need to hear the advice that we're giving. All right, thank you guys. And back to the show. 

Kris Hampton  22:01

Welcome back, we're talking to Megan Baker, a 43 year old newly married mom, to a teenager, mind you, with a full time career in marketing who volunteers her skills to several organizations is a brilliant actress in local theater groups and still wants to improve at rock climbing. Not an easy thing to do. There's a word we use to define progression in climbing. And frankly, I think that word can be a little bit misleading.

Meghan Baker  22:29

I think even when I first emailed you like I just need to get stronger. How do I get stronger? You make me stronger, like I'm stronger, I'll pay you every month. And you said, Well, wait think about the tactics you're using think about breaking down the route and...

Kris Hampton  22:43

and getting better.

Meghan Baker  22:44

And getting better that there's a difference between there is and being smarter and learning. And I think that was the big that's been the big revelation for me since we've started working together is that the redpointing process, I'm breaking a route down over time. So I don't have the pressure when I get on it that I send it. In fact, the project I was I've been working on at the gym. It sounds funny to talk about this as like it's just a gym route, whatever. But it will be the same approach I would take to right outside is like, I'm going to break this down. And if need be, I'm going to I'll top rope it and work the moves. And then I have no pressure. And I'll find out where the clipping stances are by you know, I dragged the rope on this thing. And I haven't dragged the rope in years, but I did it too. So I would know, I'd go in there confidently knowing that like, Oh, this is my stance and it was fine. So then when I did get on it, on lead, and this is a climb that previously I would have said, "Oh, that's above my current level." You know, I really my first time I let it I fell twice. And that was it. And so I feel pretty good about it, it'll go down next time. So that's been huge. You able to learn how to really dial it in, like memorize the moves, like, you know, memorize lines or memorize anything else in life. You know?

Kris Hampton  24:03

Just just learn the, the approach.

Meghan Baker  24:06

Right, exactly.

Kris Hampton  24:07

I think that's a really important part of outdoor climbing and, and I want you to be prepared when you are able to dedicate that season to outdoor climbing, and you're getting outside a lot. It's going to make a much bigger impact. If you have those tactics already. 

Meghan Baker  24:28

Right. 

Kris Hampton  24:29

Not if you're not learning them through that season, you know, cuz that takes season after season to learn. 

Meghan Baker  24:35

Yeah.

Kris Hampton  24:35

You know, I'm still learning tactics. You know, so going out unprepared would be a failure on my part, if I sent you out there unprepared.

Meghan Baker  24:47

Well, and I think the climbers that I admire most and you know some of the climbers that I am friends with whose climbing I really look up to and learn from. And Yusuf is a good example, Yusuf will project something. And watching him work a route and work the moves on route and link the moves. And you know, really think through all of that movement and then train specifically offseason specifically for getting stronger in that aspect. Actually, it's funny because at the Beta Fund auction, I bought a redpointing clinic taught by Yusuf I thought I was giving it as a gift to Keith, but then Yusuf it's like, no, it's for two people. So we both did. And it was great, because, you know, I've been climbing with Yusuf for years. And I've known him through climbing for years. And I've climbed with him on and off over the years. And he's always an inspiration to me to watch because his ability to kind of approach a route. I mean, that's really the right word. It's like, approach with different tactics and and be ready for what's coming in the next section is inspiring. And so I've learned a lot from that. I really enjoy it too. So it's, you know, hard to lay off doing that if we're in a different phase, you know.

Kris Hampton  26:04

Megan wanted to climb harder routes, and she already had many of the physical skills, she also had many of the important elements of practice and approach learned through theater. She just hadn't applied them to her climbing yet.

Meghan Baker  26:17

Yeah, and I think it's, it's funny, because sometimes, I think of it as a, I guess, when I'm feeling a little low, I think of is a bit of an identity crisis. I have, like, you know, on the surface, I work in corporate America, really, this is my vacation, you know, I come down to the Red.

Kris Hampton  26:34

Right.

Meghan Baker  26:34

I take a few days of vacation, like, what kind of poser do I think I am, that I'm gonna go out and project things? Come on? You know, like, I get down on myself about stuff like that. And then think you know....

Kris Hampton  26:45

In your shows, it's essentially like a project. 

Meghan Baker  26:49

And that's really it. I mean, and, you know, I could take that same approach to being an actor, I could say, well, it's just St. Louis. it's not New York anymore. Like,

Kris Hampton  26:57

Right.

Meghan Baker  26:58

But I don't.

Kris Hampton  26:58

But you don't. And I can tell you don't do that. Because I I watched you deliver that performance.

Meghan Baker  27:04

 Yeah.

Kris Hampton  27:05

 And, and I know that that that product that I saw that performance that I watched, didn't happen immediately. I know you didn't walk in the first rehearsal and, and do what you did when I watched you.

Meghan Baker  27:21

No, and it was terrifying, because we really only had two weeks of rehearsal for that thing that was just like.

Kris Hampton  27:26

And you've dialed that process in over the years.

Meghan Baker  27:29

 Yeah

Kris Hampton  27:29

You know, and that's, that's essentially what a pro climbers doing when they approach hard route. They've dialed that process in, and they can make it happen much faster.

Meghan Baker  27:41

It's amazing when I talk to climbers at a high level, and the difference in what they're working on, and the minute details of body positioning, and then...

Kris Hampton  27:53

Yeah, micro beta.

Meghan Baker  27:54

Oh, my gosh, I mean, position over everything. 

Kris Hampton  27:57

And yeah, exactly. 

Meghan Baker  27:59

Like the learning of your own style, and what you have to work on and talking to you and Nate about just the differences in your own climbing and. 

Kris Hampton  28:06

Right. 

Meghan Baker  28:07

And then when you look at a route, you know, when you get into hard, hard routes, I mean, it's the difference between where your toe is by a millimeter, maybe and how hard you're pushing with one finger and you were talking today about that...

Kris Hampton  28:20

drop your pinky to make room for your heel to match on the crimp and exactly the position of your knee, whether it faces in or whether it faces out when you're driving, and how your hips, shift your hips slightly, it can all make such a difference, and so on, and so on and so on. There's a ton, no matter what level you're climbing, of skill to be learned through practice, practicing movement, practicing approach, practice and competence, all of it. And that takes a lot of energy and time. And sometimes, frankly, that's hard to justify

Meghan Baker  28:55

Working with you, and the fact that you take my training seriously, as seriously, as I take it has given me the confidence to say you know, it, it's how I define it in my life, right? It's an important part of my life.

Meghan Baker  29:09

 I balance it with everything else. It's not. It can't always be the most important part of my life, but it's important and it's okay for me to be serious about it. It's okay for me to geek out about it and be enthusiastic about it. And, you know, doesn't matter where I am, as far as my age, or the fact that I don't do it full time. It's still okay for it to be really important for me to get super psyched about it. And almost, you know, when you invest in something, then it's, you're given the permission for it to have that space in your life and my investment in it and that investment comes in time. It comes in in coaching. It comes in just saying yeah, this is I want to get better at this and um. And I think that has been as important for me from a confidence standpoint and from just the ability to really dive in and be immersed in the work that we're doing, which has been, which has been great. I mean, it's a lot more fun to work this way and to learn. I'm a life I like. I'm insatiably curious about life, just in general. And I continue to push myself in in all those directions. I sometimes wish I was the type of person who would just be really happy at work and like, you know, cook dinner.

Kris Hampton  29:09

Right.

Kris Hampton  30:37

 No, don't wish that upon yourself. 

Meghan Baker  30:38

You know, watch. I listen to people at work, talking about TV shows all the TV shows that they're watching and oh, yeah, what did you catch? The latest episode? No, I DVR them. I'm like, what? I didn't see these things that you speak of.

Kris Hampton  30:52

Good for you. That's...

Meghan Baker  30:53

I mean, you know, Keith and I do I like binge watching of West Wing.

Kris Hampton  30:56

 Yeah, we do to.

Meghan Baker  30:58

 But yeah. But uh, yeah, no, I, I just, that's not where I want to put my time, I think, you know, I'd rather be outdoors. And I'm lucky to have a crew of people and a family around me that understands that, and supports that and often wants to be there with me. So

Kris Hampton  31:18

After a year of training, Meg asked me what she needed to do to get to that elusive next level. It's where we all want to be the next level. And it was a tough answer for me to give because it involves pushing some other things a little to the side, and really dedicating a season to learning all of these same lessons on real rock outside.

Meghan Baker  31:40

You say it was really hard for you to say it was exactly what I wanted you to say to me.

Kris Hampton  31:44

And I had and I had to say that

Meghan Baker  31:46

Yeah. And it doesn't need to be. You know, you don't have to dedicate your life to it. But, but if you can dedicate a season to trying to get outside, you're gonna you're gonna see these big leaps in the way you perform outside.

Meghan Baker  31:46

Yeah, I think it was fair. Because I do think that, you know, I, to your point, I mean, I, I train a lot, I practice a lot, you know, I do everything, all the work. But I do it inside in a gym and an environment that's familiar to me, that's safe. For me, that's, you know, easy for me to push my limits. And then I come outside and you know, you get a day with any numerous excuses, you can use bad conditions, I was tired, people were around, I was you know, like, it should be 10 degrees colder, I should be five inches taller, all these things that you know. And all it is really, frankly, is that, you know, I'm not outside as often as I should be to get to where I need, where I want to go as a climber. And the ideal for me is I love being outdoors, I love pushing myself hard, and I want to feel more comfortable doing it I want to be be on these routes. And, you know, working these routes, they're drawing me in it, you know, aesthetically is a challenge all of that. So it was what I needed you to say. I mean, it's why I wrote to you, because we could keep training like this, I could keep going out like you know, three weekends in the fall and then start rehearsing for some show or something happens, but but it's true anything. It's true of anything in life, you have to dedicate the time to really get good at it.

Meghan Baker  33:24

For sure. 

Kris Hampton  33:25

And your performance is going to ratchet up because of it.

Meghan Baker  33:28

Yeah. And I look forward to that. It says if somebody you said by saying that you're like, Okay, we're gonna cast you in this play. In the fall. Yeah. And we need this much of your time.

Kris Hampton  33:39

Yep.

Meghan Baker  33:39

It's just, you know, nobody's saying nobody was saying that to me before. And in that in those terms, it was like, okay, you're gonna have to get outside three weekends, a month, if you seriously want to do this. So maybe

Kris Hampton  33:52

Totally. 

Meghan Baker  33:53

Take your vacation in the fall and for a week, come down to the Red.

Kris Hampton  33:57

And rest a little before the weekends because you need to perform out there.

Meghan Baker  34:03

Right.

Kris Hampton  34:03

 And I remember in in the email, I said to you that, you know, because I've met your family and I know your family and I consider them friends. You know, I said, talk to Keith, talk to Mary. Because they're gonna understand, you know, it's, it's the type of people they are. And you just told me something really cool that that Mary Kate did recently. 

Meghan Baker  34:27

Yeah.

Kris Hampton  34:27

 Do you mind telling us about that? 

Meghan Baker  34:29

Yeah, no, she. She wrote an email because she doesn't climbing it's not her thing. My daughter, I'm five two, three. On a good day. My daughter's five nine, which is ridiculous. I don't know where she got that height. But anyway, volleyball and basketball, you know, the kind of sports you need to be tall for she really loves. Climb.

Kris Hampton  34:51

 I have to constantly remind myself that she's not 17.

Meghan Baker  34:55

I know. She's 13 and she's five nine. It's ridiculous. But anyway, she She has never really enjoyed climbing, as her sport, she really thinks of that as my thing. But I have a lot of friends who have recently had babies or you know, have had babies in the last four or five years. And she's finally reached the magic number 13, where she can start babysitting. And she's taking this course in school where they're, you know, teaching her first aid techniques and CPR and all the things that she needs to know, for her to feel confident babysitting. So she wrote an email with just very little of my help, but to all of my friends who who climb who have kids, and she said, "Hey, I know it's climbing season, and you're gonna want to go out to go climb, or you want to be climbing at the gym. And would it be easier not to have to watch it worry about watching your kids where they're going while you're on the rock? That's where I come in."

Kris Hampton  35:52

So cool.

Meghan Baker  35:53

 Yeah, it was really cool. I was very proud of her. And I, you know, so we sent it to all my friends who have kids, and I've had several of them come up to me and say, Did you write that for her? I said, Nope, nope, that was all her I like, helped her a little bit. But I kept trying to keep it shorter. And she's like, No, Mom, I wanted to talk about my qualifications. So yeah.

Kris Hampton  36:14

And that's, you know, that's something you've cultivated. 

Meghan Baker  36:17

Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  36:18

Even though she's not a climber. She understands the climbing world and she understands what it means to people. 

Meghan Baker  36:23

Yeah. 

Kris Hampton  36:24

And, and she understands what it means to you. And, and that's why I said, you know, talk to your family. Talk to Keith. Keith will support you he'll be there to belay you, because that's kind of guy he is if he's got a broken leg, he'll hike in and belay you.

Meghan Baker  36:39

Yeah. But he also loves to climb also. 

Kris Hampton  36:42

Right. 

Meghan Baker  36:42

So, I mean, any weekend that he could be out, he would be there. 

Kris Hampton  36:45

Yeah. 

Meghan Baker  36:46

And, Mary likes the outdoors. So I'm sure they would both be on board with, you know, being out and camping and hanging out. And they love all the people. I mean, Mary loves all the people. And Keith would be right there climbing with me. So you know...

Kris Hampton  36:59

Yeah. So you just have to get it done.

Meghan Baker  37:01

Yeah. I do. I do.

Kris Hampton  37:04

And she will know, but she loves theater, too. I mean, you heard how she talks about. She's so good at it. And I mean, how do we put one thing aside, even if for a short time and in favor of the other? And I think that's where the crux is.

Meghan Baker  37:23

Well, and I think you know, the two things that I've chosen to spend my, my passion on the two pursuits, the theater and climbing, it's funny because people in climbing don't necessarily understand why I still do theater and people in theater, really don't understand climbing stairs. So somebody actually once asked me, like, why do you continue to do these two things? Like what draws you? It seems like weird pursuits, both of them. And I think in both cases, they require courage. And they require an honesty with yourself. 

Kris Hampton  38:05

Yeah. 

Meghan Baker  38:05

And they also teach you constantly, whatever, you know, route you're getting on whatever play you do, whatever it is, you know, there's, you're always learning something new. And like you said, I mean, that's true for me. It's true for you. It's true for Bobbi, it's true for Angie, it's true for all the climbers I look up to it's you know, it's true for everybody at their level. And I think that's what keeps me in it. 

Kris Hampton  38:32

Awesome. 

Meghan Baker  38:33

Gets me the pie.

Kris Hampton  38:36

Well, thanks for sitting down with me. I really appreciate it. Maybe we'll maybe we'll check in with you again in a year or so

Meghan Baker  38:43

Cool. All right. Thanks, Kris. 

Kris Hampton  38:44

Thanks, Meg. 

Meghan Baker  38:45

All right.

Kris Hampton  38:48

Maybe what I'm most proud of is that is that the coaching that I'm imparting to Megan helps her realize that learning is the important part and that that's what gets her up at 5am to go into the training room. You know, shortly after we recorded this Meg was on our way back to the Red to try project she had started. And I got a call from her late that night, saying she had hit a deer and totaled her car. And she and Keith are both okay. And I drove out and I picked them up and loaded all their gear up in the car intent on continuing with the weekend. which surprised me a little bit. I just expected that the whole weekend was going to be shot. Now but the next morning, you know, with not much sleep and still being a little sore and battered from the accident. I belayed Meg Has she sent her hardest headiest route that she'd done. Yeah, I mean, she's she's got the courage, no question and she's improving and learning more every day. And that's what makes Megan Baker not so average Jane.

Kris Hampton  40:00

Thanks again for listening to our not so average series. We do this because we love it and because we believe that everyone has a story worth telling. And these episodes take a ton of time to produce and we want to deliver a good podcast to you guys so any help you can give is hugely appreciated. Let us know how you like the new format on your social media and a review on iTunes or by becoming a patron. You can like our page on Facebook or follow us on Instagram at power company climbing and well. You can tweet about us but like my main dude  Nalle Simon says,

Nalle Simon  40:31

We don't tweet, we scream like eagles.