Saturday: comp 2

Isaac and I went to the Detroit area for his second competition today.  He was in the afternoon session and that was really nice.  It was also a different format from last time, which had pros and cons.  It was a modified redpoint, which basically meant that Isaac had four minutes for each of four routes and four minutes of rest in between.  He had a designated start time and was the only person on the route for those four minutes, so he could try it as many times as he wanted.  He also was able to get coaching help throughout the four minutes from the coaches.

Pros: 
*It felt more organized
*Getting to do one route over and over again without waiting for others was nice

Cons:
*Coaches were busy.  Sometimes a coach wasn't quite there at the start of Isaac's run.
*There wasn't as much time to rest, whether it was within the four minutes of the route or between routes.

We got there earlier this time and I felt calmer because of it.  Isaac had plenty of time to look at the routes, warm up, and watch a few others work on the routes.  (We also had videos of the routes, because if you were near the beginning you otherwise wouldn't be able to see anyone do it.)

Route 1.  This was his best score, as he got top zone.  Isaac is good at slab work, and I heard someone behind me even comment on his precision.  (Later the coaches were talking and one said he was slow but steady and the other said, yup, that's Isaac.)  It was a great start.

Route 2.  This looked the hardest to me.  He tried the beginning a lot and quickly, which he mentioned later was not what the coaches suggest doing.  He managed to get low zone during his second to last try, and we were happy with that result.

Route 3.  I think if he had two more minutes, one of which was a rest minute, he might have been able to at least get top zone in this one.  His first tries tired him out a lot, and it was basically climbing upside down so it sapped the strength quickly.  Again, he was pretty happy with this result even though it had the potential of being better.

Route 4.  This one ended up being the roughest.  There was a teeny tiny foot hold, and he just couldn't get past it.  He gave it a bunch of good tries.

Here's the thing though, he came off every route with a smile, even the last one.  He did his best.  Did he place well?  Not really.  (He hasn't asked about his place.)  Does it matter?  Not at all.  He enjoys the climbing, and did a good job for where he is.