Tiffany Hensley

Training began almost exactly two months ago.
The precise moment, I've decided, is when I ran my last run, which was excruciating--the final stretch of it was uphill--and covered all 18 miles between from my house to the university over three hours. That was when, sudden like the mating of two flies in mid-air, my passion for running started and stopped. Since that epic run, I've been focused on only bouldering--I obsess: over my hands; nails; forearms and shoulders; about feeling light and moving in calculated violent movements, graceful explosions; my diet and, alas, at times the lack thereof. Sometimes I steer dangerously close to breaching again the elbow tendinitis, becoming very light (as a result of the new diet, or lack thereof), bouldering very hard, and campusing and pulling extreme two-handed arial moves, between ledges, pockets, and, rarely, onto a pair of evil, slanted slopers.

I've also grown quite fond of impetuosity.
And dark chocolate, because one seems to set the mood for the other. I can cozily consume a whole Dagoba's 87% cocoa (and recently, maderna primetera 100% unsweetened cocoa) dark chocolate bar in one day, either by nibbing (NOT nibbling: "nibbing", like cocoa nibs) the darkness angrily, slowly savoring a the bitter butter and cocoa through a long period of euphoria, letting fester the dark and sinister passion for serotonin,

or I can scarf it for b-fast with some flax'n'bran cereal. And this is on top of a mischievous, serious, and very adventurous caffeine addiction.

My ability to pounce and climb up through a smugly steep boulder problem has improved by a ridiculous amount, but my ability to climb out of bed has sunk into the mattress and can't bear to lift a single leg except to toe hook the tan prana satchel and dig toes first for some dagoba 87% goodness. Or sometimes what comes out is a mini-pack of sun-flavored fresh breath mints. I think Dagoba cocoa is a dignified enough breath freshener.

My fingertips want to stop finging holds, but tomorrow I coach again at the local home spot. Have I mentioned two days in the week I coach a seven-yr-old? I tempt her to do my bidding by holding a credit of push-ups on a sort of tab due by the next session, and she's always surprises me by crushing my challenge into tiny pieces and upping the tab another 200 or 400. She can pop flips and practices 7 hours of gymnastics on top of the competitive climbing in the S.C.S. (sports climbing series).

Two weeks ago she campused (double-handed, sans les deux feet) from a wide and low iron bar up to a high and thin one.

Coach: +250 push-ups
Disciple: Badass.