I have exciting news for everyone. Although it was already mentioned on the NKBV website, I feel like I should also mention it here. I’ve been selected to be part of the Sports Climbing National Team.

I was approached last year by coach Wouter Jongeneelen about joining the national team. I’ve given this invitation some thought and talked more to Wouter about it. He mentioned I’ve shown a lot of improvement lately and that I’d be able to learn more in a team and improve myself as a climber. So I agreed after that figuring this could be a one-time opportunity. I enjoy climbing routes so I decided to give Lead climbing my best. I’ll still keep on bouldering because I like that as well.

I already started training with the national team but I will soon setup a training schedule with Wouter. I find this all interesting because I never really trained based on a schedule before. This means I will climb more than I did last year and will have a better estimate on when to reach my peak level of performance.

My goal now is to participate in as many competitions as I can and I’m already looking forward to my first lead event.

At 1 P.M. I entered Monk to join the annual event Dust. Dirk and Kim were sitting at the registration table and I received a nice Dust shirt and a form with all competition boulders after signing up. I ordered a tea, looked around and had a chat with Jort Veen, my sponsor. I felt a bit tired but decided to warm up properly.

I had one goal for today: send as many boulders as I can. My secret of today: Lets eat a Powerbar first and then start at boulder number 1 and then sent the rest. That went well until I arrived at boulder number and it was a bit too crowded. Hmm, I have to find another tactic, this was taking too much time. I saw Casper ten Sijthoff and we were both looking for less crowded walls. That went okay too, however I decided to sent all boulders on one block. The boulders were fun, very diverse and creative!

After a while I sent 39 boulders already! The rest of the boulders were set on the competition wall. It was so crowded. Time for another Powerbar snack to keep up my endurance. Oh well, let’s send the easy ones first. I skipped the hard boulders for now. Sometimes I had to wait in line, but observing other people was amusing as well. Eventually I sent 60 out of 76 boulders. Some boulders I succeeded with more attempts and some boulders I didn’t even try. I didn’t even took a break, which was a nice training for my endurance.

At 5.30 P.M. it was time to hand in my score form. I took a snapshot because I was proud of it. There were lots of prizes, I was curious who actually would win today. Monk started with a lottery and then handed out prizes for each category. And saved the best for last, who sent the most boulders today. Hans Busker and I both sent the most boulders and therefore won Moon Dust for a year. I had accomplished my goal, I have enough chalk for now. This event was super! Dust was a must.

Truong's Dust form

This weekend was the Blok Open event in Hoboken at Belgium. I was about to participate but I had to cancel last minute due to extreme weather conditions. I decided to skip this event because the roads were slippery and train transport was limited.

To be honest, I was looking forward to this event. However at times it is nice to have a peaceful weekend and just enjoy your spare time.

Next Saturday Dust 2010 is on my agenda and I will participate in this event. See you next week in Monk bouldergym.

This morning my doorbell rang at 9.30 in the A.M. I put on my bathrobe and rushed down the stairs. It was a New Year’s present from Boreal, shipped from Spain!

Boreal box

I signed a form to accept the package. I grabbed my Swiss pocketknife and cut the box carefully open to see what’s inside.

Boreal

A part of this package contained new Boreal shoes. The Tribal climbing shoes. Wicked!

Boreal Tribal

Now I will share some information for climbing nerds. These shoes weigh 420 grams. The top is elastic and the sole is made from FS-Quattro rubber. The rubber is definitely stiffer than the current Falcon shoes that I have. It has nice patterns on the shoe and the heel without edges is very flexible.
I measured the time using a stopwatch to see how fast I can put on and take off these shoes. With an average time of 4.2 seconds and 2.15 seconds I just set a new personal put on and take off record. These shoes are pleasant for every climber with precision. Given the design and optimal comfort I will rate these shoes and give it an 8,5.

Thank you for this package Boreal.

With the 2010 climbing schedule quickly approaching, I’m proud to welcome the nutritional Powerbar into my family of sponsors.

Powerbar is well known for its sports nutrition. The way I approach nutrition and hydration can make a big difference in the way I feel and perform. By incorporating proper nutrition, I will perform at optimal levels while staying healthy too. Next year I will get support from Powerbar about specific sports nutrition.

I’m glad I will have well-balanced snacks next time. Thank you Powerbar for the competitive edge!