I took a long time to get going in 2021 and lost a lot of motivation over the lockdown last winter. I then worked more hours than intended, and many weekends, so my climbing was ticking over, and I didn't get many goals done. Motivation improved greatly from August onwards, but it was a little too late to be fit for anything serious. I had a good year all the same, with lots of interesting adventures in new places and with new people. I can carry over several goals from last year.
Trad:
Continue exploring new (to me) mountain crags in Scotland and be climbing at a decent level to get the most from them. Venues could include Shelterstone, Beinn Eighe, Sron na Ciche, Etive Slabs, The Ben. Too many classics to start naming any and if I grabbed 2 good weather weekends over the summer at any of these venues I'd be happy.
I'd also like to be back to E5 fitness, mentally and physically. I didn't do a lot of trad last year, but did a few E3s and while I felt strong enough for E5 I needed more mileage and to be able to recover better on jugs. Combining this with the above would be magic.
Sport:
The only real goal for next year is to tick Marlene at Dunkeld. I had a play this year and could climb all of the sections, it just needed a bit of work on stamina and recovery. I'm hoping that if walls stay open this time I'll be able to get this done quickly in the spring.
If I got that done I wouldn't mind another visit to the Camel, or even a few trips to Yorkshire to finish off long forgotten projects there.
Trip to Ceuse booked in from end of May for 2 weeks. I'd just like to be ticking some 7s without a big fuss really, moving well and enjoying good company would make for a great trip.
Training:
I rediscovered my running mojo this autumn, it would be good to keep that up and maybe do a mountain marathon or other event as motivation. Assuming no injuries (niggly knee, unrelated) I'd like to run at least 10km a week.
Fingerboarding - always good intentions and little action. Even once a fortnight would be progress.
I've made more effort at the wall recently. I have a very low failure threshold indoors, so I'd like to make sure I attempt harder circuits and accept that I might not do any of the problems, trying to view it as every move done is training.
Stamina sessions at Ratho in the lead up to Ceuse.
Life:
Buy a house in the Central Belt, hopefully this spring.
OH is desperate for a dog once we have a garden for it.
Hopefully find work fulfilling and have a better idea of what it looks like long term. I've been working in care the last 18 months and I enjoy the job, but prospects seem limited, and I've been messed about and undervalued by employers which has really stressed me out. Have recently started a new role, so hopefully the new place is better in that regard.
Sort out better freelance working habits - both in terms of pitching, talking money and actually sitting down to get it done.
The big one is to finally sort out the mess of a book I've been writing and get over my pure terror at sending it to people who might actually be able to give me useful and honest feedback!
I've got another series of Factor Two in the works, but I have no idea when it might be released at the moment. There are some good ideas on paper though and a few interviewees lined up.
