No Weekend Challenges for the Next Month

There will be no weekend challenges for the next month.

Instead, we invite you to participate in the 30 day Dairy-Free Challenge with us.

If you don’t want to do the full 30 days, I encourage you to make it a shorter challenge of 7 days.

Or, if you want to make it into your own weekend challenge, find primal, dairy-free alternatives to cheese, yogurt, and milk in the meals you cook this weekend. Let us know what you come up with!

The myth of the eight-hour sleep

We’ve posted before on The Primal Challenge about getting enough sleep.

Check out this BBC article on polyphasic sleep.

How do you sleep? Monophasic? Biphasic? Polyphasic with 2 or 3 naps? Everyman? Uberman? Let us know in the comments.

What’s the best 5.11 sport climb in the Mid-Atlantic, or DC, area?

It may still be February, but it’s DC and the climbing season is officially upon us.  The weather report for this weekend at Old Rag Mountain is 48 and sunny.   That’s good enough to get outside and pull down on some rock.

Seneca Rocks Summit

I’ve been itching to get outside ever since our last climb of the season:  Antonie and I did the Seneca Rocks classic 3-pitch Ecstasy on a beautiful fall day.   Over the winter break, we’ve been climbing hard at Sportrock, the local climbing gym we finally joined last July.

My main goal for this season is to climb 100 pitches outside with Antonie.  Logging mileage together, so to speak.   I also want to send several 5.11s outside, and perhaps even redpoint a 5.12.   Antonie and our climbing buddy Isaac want to do the same.   (And, of course, we have our annual destination climbing trip with several buddies, including JJ, Price, and my brother Scott.   For me, the big trip is always the highlight of the season.   This year, we’re eyeing Zion National Park in Utah.)

Naturally, I’ve been wondering, which routes should we target?  What are the best 5.11s to climb around here?   What crags should we focus on?   I decided to ask the local climbing legend:  Eric Horst.

Eric started climbing in Pennsylvania back in the 70s when he was 13 years old.  Like many of us, he got addicted.   But he pretty much stands alone in his accomplishments:  he’s consistently climbed — and all over the planet — for the last 34 years; he’s the author of a half-dozen excellent climbing books that have sold over 200,000 copies — including the fantastic Training for Climbing and the invaluable guidebook for the Mid-Atlantic region; he’s established over 400 first ascents; he’s personally trained hundreds of climbers; and he’s written for and appeared in countless media outlets.

The other day I shot him an email:

Hey Eric!

My name is Bob Ewing, and I’ve been learning climbing skills from you since 2005.  Big fan of your books, philosophy and podcast.   Quick question:  In your opinion, what’s the best 5.11 sport climb in the Mid-Atlantic region?

My girlfriend, buddies and I are pumped for this climbing season.  We’re pretty familiar with the trad routes at Seneca, and have at least visited most of places in your guidebook.  We’re putting together a list now of climbs we have to hit this season.   We’d love to hear your thoughts on climbs we can’t miss, including your pick for the top 5.11 sport climb.  We live in the DC area and are members at Sport Rock in Alexandria.

Thanks!
Bob

Cool enough, Eric wrote me back the same day (NRG stands for New River Gorge; RRG stands for Red River Gorge):

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the kind words about my books. Best 5.11 sport climbs…that’s a tough one, since there are so many at the NRG and RRG.

Here’s a short list at the NRG: Tongulation (11a), Sheer Energy (11a), Wild Seed (11a), G-String (11a), Discombobulated (11b), Skinhead Grin (11b), Smore Energy (11c), Sancho Belige (11c), Michelin Man (11d), Under the Milky Way (11d)

The very best two of this bunch are Discombobulated (11b) and Michelin Man(11d).

Now go send them ALL!
Eric

Before typing up this post I ran into Lillian Chao-Quinlan at the gym.   She’s the president of Sportrock, and probably the best climber I’ve ever seen in person.  Cool enough, she’s also a delight to chat with and always makes time to answer questions.

Her thoughts on the best 5.11?

She laughed and said there are so many great ones at the New and the Red it’s hard to pick.   Plus, every climber is different, so what may be the perfect 5.11 for Antonie may not suit me well at all.   She suggested getting down to the New as often as we can and testing out several different areas, not focusing on any one climb in particular, but trying out a bunch and seeing what comes to each of us.   And then climb hard and have fun.

My good buddy and climbing mentor, Jeff Rowes — also a fantastic climber — agrees.   Just get out there, try a bunch of routes, and climb hard.  Here’s a quick clip of Jeff and me on top of Castleton Tower, shivering and considering spoon session round 2:

BOTTOM LINE:  I’m going to take all of their advice.

I’m definitely going to try each of the routes Eric mentioned, and make sure we get in a whole bunch of climbing outside.   Since Old Rag and Franklin are so close, we can project a few 5.11s at each crag.   This weekend we’re going to check out Priapus Verde, a 5.11a on Old Rag’s Middle Sunset Wall.   And the next weekend we spend at Seneca, I think we’ll shoot over to Franklin and give Brutality Crack, A Moment of Clarity, and the classic Barnacle Bill a shot.

We’ll hit the New (and Summersville Lake) several times this year.  And we’ll also make many weekend trips to Seneca/Franklin, a few day trips to Old Rag, spend at least one weekend at the Gunks, and do a big destination trip.  We’ll climb hard, try lots of different routes, and send some 5.11s.

I’m pumped!

@DCBarefootRun 

The Paleo Solution: Book Review

The book is fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the things that really helped my reading of it is that I had already listened to many of The Paleo Solution podcasts featuring Robb Wolf.  That was crucial for me I think because it helped me to understand his personality and style, as well as already gave me some exposure to all the technical vocabulary in dealing with digestion etc.  Robb is pretty laid back.  This is not an academic treatise. He jokes around and writes as if he’s talking to you.  You’ll have to read it like that.

If you’re looking for a good book that: explains why eating paleo is best for your body, how to do it, explains other crucial elements you need to look, feel, and perform your best (like sleep), and gives practical suggestions, you’ve found your book.

Even if you don’t agree with everything Robb says (most of conventional wisdom doesn’t), the book is still a fascinating read form a “how does that work?” perspective.  I was impressed with how he made complex subjects understandable.  There’s only so much an author can do for a lay audience and I think Wolf did a superb job. Some portions I did have to reread slowly just to get it but that’s not his fault. I’ve just never read the vocabulary before.

For me, most the book’s value is in explaining why this stuff works, and giving a thirty day meal plan (complete with recipe’s) in the back. I highly recommend it and rank it 5/5 stars.  I greatly look forward to his next (more in-depth) book.

I recommend checking out his website and podcast:

http://www.robbwolf.com/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-paleolithic-solution/id340221970

Dairy-free time

I finished the last of the Kerrygold butter last night and am ready to go dairy-free with Ben and Chuck. I’ve gone back and forth in the past with dairy, but seem to always come back to it because grass-fed butter just tastes so damn good.

However, there are other, arguably healthier sources of fat, such as coconut oil, beef tallow, and fish oil. And always make sure to save any excess fat when cooking meats. Fat is essential to our brain and cell health (despite what the establishment tells you), so don’t let it go to waste!

Salmon, Broccoli, carrots, and springsteen tickets.

Salmon, Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, a jug of water and Springsteen tickets.  A great day!

Please support my Penguin Plunge!

Please support my Penguin Plunge! I am jumping in the Hudson River on March 3 as part of the FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) plunge team. Plungers are raising money to benefit community events here in Irvington, NY.

Please donate to my plunge.

Plunge Day:  March 3, 2012
Start Time: 11:30am
Where: Matthiessen Park Beach, Irvington, NY

The Irvington Penguin Plunge is the first F.A.C.E. community event whose primary goal is to raise funds to help restore Irvington’s tradition of fireworks at Matthiessen Park. In addition to the fireworks, we are working to restore many special events, services to the seniors and programs cut from the budget. Some of these programs and events are Friday Night Youth and Teen Open Gym, Halloween Parade, The Egg Hunt, and the Turkey Trot.

If you are in the area, sign up and join us!