To climb or not to climb?

I started this blog with a couple posts about bouldering at the Front. I just wanted to say that I've improved quite a bit, thankfully. Last month I kind of received a wake up call, when Tyler suggested that we cancel our membership since we didn't seem to be going that often. This terrified me; it's a dream of mine to continue growing as a rock climbing famiy. I hope that we can have Linc on the wall, even when we move elsewhere for Tyler's graduate school. So I immediately made the gym a priority and am now going 2 to 3 times a week.

I enrolled in a beginners bouldering course. By a stroke of luck, I'm the only one in the class this time round, so I get a full hour of one-on-one instruction once a week for a whole month. That falling problem I used to have? Overcame it. I can drop from the top of the wall now. Although, I'm beginning to realize this act conspicuously labels me as an amateur. Most experienced climbers try to climb back down the wall with as much finesse as they did going up, I think. I still hesitate to explode with my reach from one hold to another. If I can't stretch and touch without letting go of my hand, I'm afraid to just go for it. This limits my ability to complete tougher climbs. But I'm working on it. It's amazing how mental it all is; I'll struggle with one move over and over for half an hour, then the next day I'll be able to do it without a hitch.

Pregnancy really made my arms weak, as my husband and I were both very strict about the "no lifting anything" rule. I don't think I've ever been this weak and flabby before. So, needless to say, I've been focusing on my arms. The rest of my body is different than it used to be. Everyone says pregnancy changes your body shape, but I had hoped it wouldn't happen to me. My belly is squishier, hips wider and my butt a little flatter. (For me, at least. I still got back, compared to most women!) What's really cool, is that of the 54 pounds I gained, I only have 11 more to go before I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight. And honestly, I only care to lose 5 of those. I'm pretty happy with myself at this point, since it's only been 4 and a half months since I gave birth to my baby!