I have been living in Kingston for a year and a half, and was pretty bummed for the first year, having nothing more than a birthday party gym with vert top rope to climb at.  Instead of sulking around, I decided to go the proactive route, and got together with a group of super psyched climbers to plan the opening of a bouldering co-op in town.  Eight months and hundreds of volunteer hours later, the Kingston Bouldering Cooperative is up and running, and the psych is high! (www.kingstonboulderingcoop.com)

With a brand new wall, and the first ever Bouldering World Cup on Canadian soil approaching, I decided it was time to train... hard!

Using a combination of Mike Doyle's Training Manual, Eric Horst's book "Training for Climbing", Branden Braziers Book "The Thrive Diet" and a few tips from my Kinesiologist/Personal Trainer boyfriend I have concocted the ultimate training plan.  I have also been using "The Ultimate Achievement Journal" by Dr. Haley Perlus to track my progress, and keep my motivation high.

I am currently training 16 hours a week, with a combo of swimming, biking, strength training with weights, hangboard training, and a variety of strength training drills for climbing that I hope will help me work on my weaknesses.

I'm pretty pumped with the results so far, and my recent win at the Tour De Bloc in Montreal is a good sign that I'm on the right track.