Tag Archive for training

The Cheesegrater is going to have to wait

An image of the London Skyline, showing The Cjeesegrater with The Gherkin to the right and The Lloyds building in the foreground.

All the climbing of 2016 has taught me so much more about myself as a climber, I am going to need to work on my technique dramatically if I am to turn my 1st place into a Team GB place.

This doesn’t mean that I am giving up on my fundraising, now more than ever I want to show my worth and EARN my Resound Hearing Aids, but with my climbing partner currently our of action, as the post title suggests ‘The Cheesegrater is going to have to wait’

Just days before Christmas, my climbing partner in crime underwent an operation for a hernia, one that has left him unable to train for a minimum of six weeks.  So with him not even being able to go to the gym until mid-February, let alone climb.  I have made the decision to postpone my climb.

Yes, I can climb with another partner.

No, I am not sharing my climb with ‘climbing partner in crime’.

But…… He is my motivator, my muse and my forceful “not let me down until I have reached the top” coach.  It wouldn’t be right to climb without him as my belay.

The new date is looking like late March, early April.  But no date is being set until the whole of ‘Team T’ is fit enough.

First a gherkin; Next a Cheesegrater !! is where I wrote about my challenge back in October, it was hoped that the climb would happen later this month, but health comes first and so, I am going to be cheeky and link you to the Crowdfunding page that has been set up for me, ‘HelpTeeHear’ where you can see why I am doing all of this.

My world is getting quieter in addition to darker and I’m not happy with it, not one little bit.  I want to be able to keep me, my independence and my love of technology that helps me to do all this.

So, my shameless plug is above, please take a moment to have a look.

And in the meantime, follow me for more updates on the climb and my other adventures.

 

 

Another church and The Angel of the North….. Was it a sign?

Round 4 of the Paraclimbing series for 2016, the final in this years competitions, another great location and my chance to shine.

Newcastle Climbing Centre is set within the walls of an old church, one that was much larger and steeped in more history than that of the Climbing Centre in Manchester.  A building that fed my love of design, my ‘eye’ for detail and my passion to climb.  What more can a gal ask for?

The day started with a stressful tummy, a fear of failure and without my faithful Fizz, a feeling of falling flat on my face…… Which given my already bruised and broken face, would not be a good look.

Anyway, I’m stalling; Dispite the nerves, the worries and the irrational fears, I did feel more confident, I had trained with a different mindset, I felt more prepared for this comp, maybe it was the return to Calshot or the long break between Round 3 and 4, who knows?  My confidence was noticed.

Fellow climbers who took the time to great me and speak to me made comments to this; I am not able to see my competitors, VI’s don’t really have ‘a look’  I could recognise some of the other competitions, one for the beautiful head scarves she always wore, one for the her blue/turquoise coloured hair, one for the sound his crutches made and another for her bright and bubbly hello as she spoke with everyone who walked past her!

I had found myself able to make more recognitions as the series had progressed, but not with any of those in my own category.  I don’t think I ever spoke more than 3 words to my own competition.  Not for lack of trying, but when you can’t see someone and they can’t see you, the introductions don’t happen naturally.

The climbs were set, this competition saw me undertaking climbs that my partner in crime didn’t, as with Edinburgh, different routes had been set for different disabilities, to enable each climber to work with their abilities, not to be disadvantaged by them.

I set myself a personal challenge, I challenged myself to ‘just go for the hold’ not fear falling, instead reaching for it and letting the rope do the work if I didn’t get it.

This worked well on all 3 of my climbs,  I made the moves, sometimes it paid off, sometimes it didn’t.  But as I only got one shot at each route, it enabled me to gain more points, it also gained me a rather large bruised thigh when I came off the wall and hit a volume !!

The boulders were interesting, with three tries for each I was over the moon when I got the first route first time!  The 3rd wasn’t so clear cut, my balance or rather lack of it let me down, but I gave it my best and even though each of my 3 tries scored the same points I could walk away knowing I had given it my best.  My 2nd boulder started off wrong footed, so my second attempt saw me improve, although not gaining anymore on my 3rd shot.  My points added up, my points beat those of my climbs in Edinburgh, Manchester and London.  I finished knowing I had given it my all.

I didn’t know how many female VI competitors were in the round, I just knew I had beat myself.

So, to hear my name called out for 2nd place in my catagory was a shock!  Yes I was 2nd out of only 2, but it didn’t matter.  I got to stand on the podium and I got to bring home a silver medal to add to my two bronze.

My partner in crime was also awarded a medal, he ranked 3rd in his category.  Unlike me, he was 3rd out of 5; which given that the pair that came 1st and 2nd hadn’t dropped more than 7 points between them, the boy did good!

After the round 4 results and podiums it was time for the series winners to be  announced.

The series winners were different; series winners had to rank in at least 2 of the 4 rounds, this I found difficult to  understand, but basically it meant that not all of the categories gained a series ranking due to lack of competition.

In the Female VI category 3rd place was read out, the winner wasn’t actually at Newcastle to accept their award, then came 2nd, this was the girl who had come first in Newcastle.

“And First place for the 2016 Paraclimbing series female VI goes to ….. Theresa Osborne-Bell.”

I didn’t believe it, I just stood, I was pushed upto the podium and completely dumb struck to be handed a trophy!  I was in total shock and amazed they had called my name.  I found myself shaking, I struggled to hold myself together, I just about made it back to the crowd before being unable to compose myself any more and I found myself quietly crying, tears of pure joy!

I am still in amazement of what I have achieved in the last four months, the experiences I have gained from climbing in different locations and the friends I have made in that time.

 

UPDATE:

And now one week on the 2017 team has been announced, I am not in the list.  This is ok though, I learnt a lot during the competitions and now have 9 months to train, to be a stronger competitor next year……. Now to fire off an email to Santa for a Beastmaster hangboard.

I will be watching the team, following some of them through this year and build myself up, both physically and mentally to be ready to hit the ground running come September 2017 !!


 

First a gherkin; Next a Cheesegrater !!

September two years ago, I set about climbing The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe) in the form of a relay climb at Calshot Activity Wall … My climbing partner did it too, he had a harder challenge I feel, as he took it on wearing a blindfold.  Together we set out to climb the 180m (591ft) between us, but having done that within 3 hours, we upped it to challenge ourselves further and finished 5 hours later; just before the wall closed for the night having climbed the height EACH.

It has been an odd time since then, I have trained with my now working guide dog Fizz, moved house and  discovered that my hearing is failing me along with my sight.

My climbing style has changed and these last few months I have found myself thrilled by the enjoyment of competing and moving my climbing forward to include bouldering and  it just top-roping.

This leads me into my next challenge. In December I shall compete in the final heat for the Team GB Paraclimbing team, which is no mean feet, and most definitely not something I would have dreamt was possible just six months ago.  It was through contact with The Molly Watt Trust, a charity that supports those with Ushers Syndrome that I made contact with John Churcher, a fellow climber who has both a visual impairment and a hearing impairment,  who just happens to have been on the GB team for several years.

Molly Watt (an inspirational young woman) has done lots of work with and around raising awareness and support for people with ushers Sydrome and RP (the family that my eye condition belong to)  She is a big believer in technology and has been using for some time Resound Lynx digital hearing aids.  These hearing aids are fully compatible and work with an app on an iPhone to be adjusted, directions and tested.  They also work as headphones to listen to music and with the addition of a small microphone enable her to be hands free to make and take calls.

I am not always so, but I try to look for the positives and I decided that if I was loosing my hearing, if I had to go through all this, then I wanted to do it in the most comfortable and least obtrusive way.  But at just under £5,000 for a pair, that isn’t going to be easy.

My climbing partner and dearest friend Simon set up a crowdfunding page, I wasn’t keen and felt ‘odd’ asking for friends to help me pay for these.

SO…… I have decided to do something to EARN the money from my friends and family, in the form of sponsorship.  And this is where the ‘Cheesegrater’ comes into it.

That is the nickname given to The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, the 225m (738ft) building that towers over The Gherkin; as is shown here:

Image showing the London Skyline, The cheese-grater is on the Left, with The gherkin on the right and The Lloyd Building in front.

So, the challenge …… To climb this height, all 228m of it, that is a whole 45m MORE than The Gherkin or 147ft in old money!

The tallest straight wall at Calshot is 14m (45ft) meaning that it will take 17 climbs up the wall to complete the equivalent of the buildings height.

Sounds simple when I break it down like that.  But I know I have lots of training ahead of me, and a date to set.  But I hope that you would agree, it is worth a little bit on sponsorship money?

The fundraising page: HelpTeeHear is up and running, so feel free to pop over and have a look, it shows the hearing aids in much more detail.  I would appreciate your support.

 

Time to be a princess……

I am far too old to be believing in fairytales, although I do enjoy a nice chilled Sunday with the kids and Disney’s Tangled…. So, for a few moments I want to indulge in the fantasy of Flynn Rider and my own wonderful White Stead.

Ok, so the moment is over and here I am finding myself without a cast iron frying pan to beat off the baddies and most definitely no white stead to rescue me from these great heights.

But I am in a castle…. Of sorts.

And I am up high…. Kind of.

But this is most definitely not a Disney film, I am most certainly not Rapunzel and I do not have magical hair the glows when I sing.

Instead I have the third round of competing to become part of the Team GB Paraclimbing to take part in.  And a pretty amazing building in which to do it!

Exterior image of The Castle Climbing Centre, showing the 3 tall towers of this previous water pumping station, part of the original design that gave it its name as a castle

Yet again, the designer in me is amazed by the location of the climbing competition; which has been my calming and relaxation technique to save me any full blown panic attacks.

This building in particular has hit a cord, being bought over 20 years ago from The ‘buildings at risk’ register, the team have worked on following the buildings design and when money has allowed, additions and alterations have occurred.  While keeping many of the original features of the building in place.

Image shows climbing walls between and around original brick features of the water pumping station

I could continue….. But for now I will move on to the real reason you are hear, reading this;  How was the competition?

In a word “challenging”

More so than I expected, more so than I think I could have prepared for.

This competition felt different, it was a week day and the climbing centre was reasonable quiet, this leant itself to another issue…. That those competing had time and lack of obstructions to watch those on the routes.

The general rule of thumb when climbing is

Nobody bothers with anyone else, they are all concentrating on their own next move or climb.

Image showing climbing walls with competitors in the background around the bouldering problems

But now there was an audience, on each climb and boulder problem.  There were supporters and there were the critics.  Both could be quite terrifying.

This was my third climb out of three in the series, but as yet none of those I had competed against in my category had climbed against me.  This was no different in London!

Even with my sight I was beginning to recognise other competitors, some had been at all and some just two out of the three, a good report was beginning to build with those who had met before, for me many quizzed me over my lack of Fizz!  Having decided that travelling up and back to London in 1 day was too much for her; as her work would be minimal.

Blindness and sightloss can be a very lonely disability, yet I have always found that ANYONE at a climbing centre is welcoming, supportive and doesn’t question differences.  So when meeting with some of the other VI’s, both male and female, I found myself questioned by my own peers.  Not all, the man who gave me the courage to attempt this; Mr John Churcher and his lovely wife have been great to talk to; get information from and are very supportive.  But especially in London, I found it very difficult to ‘mix’ with others from the VI category, I didn’t feel like it was a “mixing with the enemy” issue, it felt like some of those  competing weren’t looking (pun intended) to be part of Team GB.  A concept that is completely alien to me.

Yes, I am competing for me, for my personal challenge; yet I am competing to join a team, to work with, not against others.

You have probably realised by now, my emotions and ‘feeling’ effect my thoughts and sometimes lead me to distraction; that is what happened in Manchester, (round 2) but it wasn’t going to happen here, not in London.

So, feelings aside, I climbed my arse off!  I beat my own personal score from Manchester, yet found myself standing again on the 3rd podium.

Image of me standing on the left of the image on 3rd place podium spot.

My pride took a beating when 2nd place went to a 12 year old; although not as bad a beating as I had thought when the points details came out.  The competitive side of me was over the moon to discover it was just 6 points between 2nd and 3rd.

Image of the podium, including the 2nd and 1st place winners of the VI female category

It was a harder climb, it was also only 10 days after Manchester.  So for now, I have seven weeks to prepare for the finale….. Newcastle just before Christmas !!!

Time to get some serious training in.

 

 

 

Ding Ding … Round Two

Sitting in the car, driving along in the dark with nothing but the blur of lights on the motorway.

And where am I off to?

Manchester!  Not for a coffee, not for an exhibition, but for round two of the BMC Paraclimbing 2017 qualifiers.

Having found myself in a quarry in Edinburgh just over a month ago, tomorrow I shall be finding myself inside a renovated church.  Otherwise known as The Manchester Climbing Centre.

Last month was a different kind of nerves, last month I never knew what to expect from the competition.  Now I know the expectations, I know just how hard I need to work on each of the problems.

And the small matter that in Edinburgh I walked away with a glass trophy and 1st Place in my category.

This has almost made me feel more apprehensive, I MUST do better, like I MUST beat my previous placing.  Although, I’m not sure how I beat 1st Place !!!

So, wish me luck and I shall update tomorrow …… If my hands allow me that is.

Touch, but don’t Look

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Are chains REALLY a bad thing ?

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Maybe I Should have said something before…..

Well, this is something new…….

I am sat in the passenger seat of my friends car doing 70+ MPH on the M6 Motorway travelling on my way to Edinburgh; while typing this blog.  My iPad is tethered to my phone for 4G and my voiceover is bluetoothed through the car stereo.  So I need to be careful with what I type, as my driver can hear EVERY word.

So, why am I travelling to Edinburgh?

After an already long car journey I am beginning to ask myself the very same question.

We are making this journey because through the powers of networking on Facebook, I was put in touch with a climber who has a visual impairment, like me. It just so happens that this climber is a member on the Paraclimbing team for Great Britain….

Can you see where I am going with this?

THIS IS MY NEXT CHALLENGE!

 

I am not just meeting with him for coffee, I am actually travelling all this way to take a chance; to take my opportunity to maybe, just maybe, be something much bigger than me.  Something that will show my children that my disability hasn’t stopped me from going after a dream.  That actually for the past two and a half years my climbing skills may actually get me somewhere.

If you haven’t guessed already, I shall explain.

I am travelling to Edinburgh, because tomorrow at 11am I shall be entering into the 2017 Paraclimbing team competition within the sensory loss category.  Which is taking place at The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena….

Hence the 440 odd mile drive!

And actually, as I type this, the realisation of what I am doing Has FINALLY dawned on me.

” Tomorrow I will be competing to join the GB Paraclimbing Team!”

TOMORROW, I WILL BE COMPETING TO JOIN THE TEAM GB PARACLIMBING TEAM!

WoW ….. Tomorrow, I WILL BE …..

Oh my DOG, I am actually doing this   ……

 

Sightloss, Technology and Me


Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple believed that technology should be accessible to all.  So, when designing the Apple Mac, MacBook Pro, iPad and even iPhone he included accessibility; features that allowed those with impairments to work and use his products (with a little tweak) the same as everyone else.

For me, it is the ability to magnify and navigate both my phone and iPad with voice over.  A feature that literally single handedley save my sanity on a city break (Manchester madness) back in late 2014.

And has helped to keep me sane pretty much each and every day since.  I believe that I was most definitely born in the right age, the technological age that is!

I have always been a ‘mac’ !! Since studying at university, when Apple Macintosh’s were for all things design and PCs were for all things administrative.

I was also very fortunate to be bought an iPad many years ago (now) but before that, way back when they were originally released, it took me a long time to even consider an iPhone…. It had no key pad, it had no buttons, and it most certainly did not have a little raised dot on the number 5 for me to be able to work out where my fingers where…..

It was only when Nokia removed their navigator phone from the market, that I joined the world of iPhone.

And since then, the world has developed further, there is now the Apple Watch, sadly a product that is out of my price range, but has been used and trailed for the support that it offers for people with sight loss.  A friend, Molly Jane Watt has found it a great advance in technology, especially for her as she has additional sensory loss as a person with usher syndrome, a condition often also known as deafblind. Where in her instance she was born with significant hearing loss and then found her sight deteriorating.  Apple Watch and Molly is where you can read her personal blog, (this is set to open in a new window, so you won’t loose me!)  I wouldn’t have even known where to look to discover some of the fabulous and FULLY ACCESSIBLE features that can come in such a discrete, yet powerful ‘watch’ .

i wouldn’t have had the courage or ability to make it on my own in a city I didn’t know; I Wouldn’t have contemplated making London my ‘city of choice’ when South West Trains have discounted fares were it not for google maps and quirky little apps like Staion Master, developed with parents, those with disabilities and additional needs in mind.  Offering detailed information about each tube station, some quirky facts and even a 3D map with step count and floor plans to make it easier for me to navigate myself and familiarise myself with the stations before even going on them.

Yes, google maps and such apps are available on Android phones, but is this simple triple tap of the home button available to make my phone accessible for me?  A feature that can be set up for anyone of the accessibility features, be that sight loss, hearing loss, conflictive loss or even setting up assisted touch.

Me and my iPhone are inseparable now, but not because of emails or Facebook or even now Pokémon Go (which I have absolutely no understanding of) but for making and receiving calls, for typing and listening to text message and most importantly for giving me clear, instructions on my location, my ways to get from where I am to where I want to go and even recalculating such a route, should I miss a turning or get myself confused.

 

 

Jumping without a parachute …

Who needs a comfort zone anyway?  Last weekend I not only stepped out of mine, I jumped out of it without my parachute !!

Not even those closest to me may have even realised the inner turmoil I was battling with …… Fizz knew, she kept me calm, she kept me from falling apart and she kept me safe every time I needed her to put on her harness and be my eyes.

Any event/conference/summer spectacular is daunting for many!

A room with 2,000 other people is also terrifying in itself!

Then add to the mix you can only see shapes and colours; the lighting is set up as corporate and moves with the music; the music that is loud, pumped out around the room to ‘raise the roof’ to ‘motivate’ and to ‘excite’ EVERYONE in the room.

Having recently decided to stop ‘messing around with diets and fads’ and actual take control of my eating, my inner nutrients and my health, I looked to my cousin for support.  She introduced me to Herbalife, a safe, clean, nutrition fuelled way of eating, not a ‘diet product’ rather a way to live, a way to improve myself from the inside out, while being able to support me through training, rock climbing, bringing up my children and running around with each of my volunteer roles.

… Fast forward a few months and here I was, sat in Manchester, watching, learning and feeling empowered by The Herbalife Summer Spectacular.

The chosen venue was literally a large box!  A MASSIVE exhibition space that was broken up and segmented by heavy curtains, false walls and carpeting.

Having previously been to Manchester a few years ago, this didn’t concern me.  With the new Google Street View App on my phone I was able to walk around the outside of EventCity, I was able to find Starbucks, plan how to get from the hotel in MediaCity, again having visited the area before, I felt OK here.

I had a room-mate for the weekend, she absolutely adored Fizz and was wonderful, even volunteering to take her out for walks having never met either of us before.

…. Back to the venue…. I was invited to sit at the front of the room, an area reserved for those prestige members, an adjustment made just for me if it would help me see the event clearer.  Sadly no where I sat would have done that, so I stayed sat with my cousin and her friends.  Fizz was fabulous, she was so calm and took all the noises and light changes in her stride, not letting it bother her at all.

In the evening, we returned to EventCity for a dinner and awards ceremony.  I though I would be OK, I though that I now knew the venue and would be OK.  I had realised in the 2 hours that we had left the venue for, that the room had changed, the big round tables were still in place, but upon our return they were dressed in white linen cloths, fully dressed with red, white and blue balloons.  The large screens were in place also, but now decorated with the same colours, there was now also a checkered dance floor and the lighting was much dimmer.

Dressed to match the colours, as advised on the invitation I found a seat with my roomy and sat down to enjoy the show.  I had preordered drinks, that she kindly collected from the bar, we had a fabulous time, laughing, chatting and watching the awards ceremony; that saw my cousins husband won first prize of £10,000 !!!

The food was interesting and incredibly difficult….. Apparently it looked very pretty, but served on white plates with dim lights and light coloured food, it was a bit of a struggle for a VIP like me !

I survived though, my anxiety didn’t get the better of me, I had a pretty good time and I am now going to be giving away my inner turmoils of the weekend to those who were with me and will hopefully be reading this.


 

 

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