Holy Normal!

I have had way too much excitement the last few days. I truly don't need any more...It starts off at the Vail, CO ABS comp. The crowd was smaller than last year, and we had appearances from the twins and Chauncey, no not my dog, the climber...The advanced and open routes were set really well with each having their own unique fun to them. I almost did A-10 first go, but my non-enduranced muscles fatigued on the last move. After attempting it one more go (and failed) I moved onto A-5. This route looked sweet with a huge move right in the middle. I flashed it, but when I jumped down, so did my whole world. My right knee buckled underneath me, taking ligaments and cartilage along with it. It popped back into place and swelled immediately. I was in sooo much pain! Luckily, being the prepared climber that I am, I had Vicodin in my bag. I took one of those babies and all way better, at least the pain...It turns out that I did not break any bones! But I have a Grade II strain of the MCL, a likely torn anterior meniscus, and torn ACL. As most of you know, I just recovered from having ACL surgery last year in my left knee. In research, women have about 70% chance of tearing the other ACL within the next two years. That's me. What can I say except that I totally bummed and that I always seem to get injured when I'm climbing my best.

All aboard the Gimp Wagon! There's no more space though, so no one else can get injured!

Now I'm in Normal, Illinois for a training. It's an intense program and totally frying my brain. There really isn't actually anything interesting here, except for that I'm somewhat of a local celebrity now. I became famous yesterday by rescuing my friend from choking on her lunch. We were eating some turkey lunch at a round table and a room filled with about 50 people. My friend turns to me with wide eyes and the universal sign for chocking. She stood up, I jumped up, and asked her "Heimlich?" She nodded and turned around. After two full thrusts, the turkey was dislodged and life was good again. Now, people want to sit by me while they eat just in case they start choking...

Well, that's it from me. Signing out from Normal.