Rock climbing as cross-training
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
I’ve been thinking about trying rock climbing for a while now, and this article about Dean Potter particularly piqued my interest. This guy is an amazing athlete who, with his partner Tim O’Neill, climbed the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite in 3 hours and 24 minutes (the first ascent up the Nose took 45 DAYS!).
That kind of speed can’t be ignored — it almost can’t be believed! Dean (funny how so many super-intense athletes are named Dean…) Potter also broke another speed record by 16 hours, climbing a rock face in 4 hours. If the climb had taken days or weeks, I could maybe see breaking a record by 16 hours, but completing a climb in 1/5 the time it previously took? That’s just phenomenal. That’d be like someone finishing a marathon in 25 minutes! Even horses can’t keep up a sub-one-minute mile pace for a mile! Phenomenal.
The article mentions that Potter is extremely internally motivated — he doesn’t let outside forces, like money, fame, or power, have any influence on him. I wouldn’t consider myself a highly motivated person (nothing like Potter!), but I do have a strong need for motivation to come from within. I’ve rarely, if ever, done anything major just because someone said I should. I can’t imagine being one of those kids whose parents pressured them into becoming doctors or lawyers. I just wouldn’t have been able to stick with it if it wasn’t my idea in the first place.
But since rock climbing is my idea, I think I’ll go with it! My buddy and occasional running partner, Brad, has gone to Touchstone Climbing a few times and really likes it. That picture on their homepage looks impressive to me! Anyway, we’re going to try a climbing class this Saturday — wish us luck! Who knows, maybe I’ll be the next Dean Potter (ha!).
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