First, let me give a rundown of my climbing experience. I went to the rock gym over lunch for the three months prior to my San Antonio trip. Didn't climb at all while I was in TX. As soon as I got back to Colorado I renewed my membership and began climbing at lunch once again. So, going into my first bouldering competition, I had been at it for less than four months.
But I was fearless heading into the comp. Yeah, there were people there who had been climbing since before I was born. There were young kids who were obviously more into the sport than I was. I was definitely the rookie of the night, but I didn't let that stop me.
In the rec division, there were ten different problems, we had three hours to try 'em all. I nailed the first seven in a row! So for a bit, I thought I might be able to win the division. However, problem #8 gave me fits. So I skipped it and nailed #9. Off to #10, which also kicked my ass. I continued to try 8 and 10 the rest of the night, but the more I tried the more tired I got, and I could get less and less along in the problem. Continuing to try like this ruined my score, as you lose points every time you fall off. They were hard falls too, especially on #10 which had a killer overhang. I should have quit a lot earlier, but I was there to climb and I wanted to keep trying. Just after two and a half hours, I couldn't close my hands anymore, so I turned in my score sheet and hit the keg (Bristol Red Rocket!).
Ended up in 4th place in my division. Yeah, there were only six of us, but I'm still pretty happy I wasn't last place. Had a great time, and it was nice to try something completely new. Learned a lot, and I think I'll be in the running to win the rec division at the next comp.
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