Rock Climbing

Back to the walls!  Ofie Cruz and I have been friends for many years.  Whether running, weight lifting, trail running, hiking or climbing ... we have spent many great hours together.  She has taught me perseverance, tenacity and most importantly, how not to be sore after hours of running and weight lifting!!!  She was with me the entire 26.2 miles of my first marathon.

One of the sports she has introduced me to is rock climbing.  We spent several hours Saturday climbing at Stonehenge in Modesto, resulting in sore shoulders for both of us.  But well worth it!!  I'm ready to climb in this picture and she is set up to belay me.  You actually free climb the wall, with the belayer taking up the slack as you climb.  Should I fall, Ofie can stop my descent with the gear attached to her harness.

Pretty crazy, huh???  Yes, it is straight up and the "rocks" or hand holds are very small.  We wear special shoes made of leather that grip both the wall and the hand-holds.  Chalk on your hands and fingers helps with your grip.  Unfortunately fingernails are not an asset.  On the first climb I got three fingers caught in a hold.  NOT good!!!  We take turns climbing and belaying in order to rest up.

This lady is amazing.  This weekend we are going to a run in Sacramento ... where Ofie will road run and trail run 50 miles.  Yup that's 50 ... and this is a short one.  Next month we will be north of San Francisco where she will run 100 miles.  Now THAT's CRAZY!!!