May be spared the knife?

The consultant reckons I have an internal oblique tear but the damage is in the muscle belly or MT junction, so I may yet be spared surgery. Good news, although I’m not 100% convinced he’s right. For now at least it’s an all clear to try some winter climbing and see how I get on. 

Meanwhile I still feel good in training, although cabin fever is reaching breaking point. It’s amazing how daily exposure to the outdoors and empty spaces becomes so hardwired it drives you quite nuts in even the most temporary withdrawal from it. I sometimes say in lectures that I love training so much that if I was somehow restricted to only climbing on my board I wouldn’t mind too much. Hmmm, maybe that’s not true after all! It’s nice to know that a balance of both keep mind and body healthy.

That said, aside from the finger strength gains, the time at home has been great to get everything in order for the coming year. It’s so true that if you don’t take time to sort stuff out and get organised, it tends to get in the way later on when you need to be in full focus. 

I'm an obsessive type and cant stand to leave things unfinished unless it's unavoidable (hence I have a respectable ticklist in redpointing). But that's only half of it. I remember listening to the Forum's 60 second ideas to improve the world while driving down Glenfinnan and one related very strongly with me. It was to abstain from multitasking! I do my fair share of multitasking and occasionally it's totally the thing to do, such as when working with slow computers or mundane tasks. But most of the time, it actually slows everything down rather than adding efficiency. And usually, you end up with crap work into the bargain.

People often roll their eyes, or criticise my all or nothing, drop everything else approach. But I must say that every accomplishment I've made in my life has come via this approach. I'm addicted to it and have yet to find a better substitute for focus.

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Diagnosis, sort of

 Today I got up, drove a few hundred miles, saw the physio, then the doctor, dowloaded about 20 research papers and read various relevant chapters from the textbook tower. Stuff it. After the diagnosis I’m breaking open the Christmas biscuit tin from Marks and Spencers and necking a few cups of tea before I head into the wall for training.

As suspected over the last three weeks it seems likely I have annoyed/torn the aponeurosis of my external oblique. In other words a ‘sportsman’s hernia’. Damnit. Just a little niggling pain on cutting loose which disappears once warmed up. But I don’t want it getting any worse. And if the surgeon confirms it in a couple of weeks time I might need a wee bit of ‘invasive’ treatment involving knives, bits of polypropylene mesh and my abdominal wall. I’m going to bite the bullet and get a private consultation to make sure I get prompt treatment from the right person. They told me dourly on the phone to “bring my credit card” Gulp!

Causes? Who knows… Could have been the roof aiding mission in prep for the Great Climb. Could have been over energetic wood chopping, or heavy rucksacks, or training, or genes or whatever. Lessons for others - don’t let rectus abdominus (six pack) get too strong while neglecting the obliques. Don’t train when you’re knackered. Don’t carry three ropes and three racks up a mountain in one go. Chop wood like a samurai, not a caveman. Actually I’m sure even cavemen would be disgusted at my technical prowess with the splitting axe.

At least it’s still a small problem. I’m set on keeping it that way. I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I felt stronger on my board than I’ve ever done last night. All I need to do is keep my feet on and all is fine!

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