Alli Rainey: A Day in the Life
Ever wonder what a day in the life of a world class climber was like? Alli was nice enough to let us in on one of hers!
6:30 a.m.: I wake up, get dressed, and head downstairs to get the fire started and the tea brewing (tea on workout/climbing days; coffee on non-climbing days). This done, I sit down on a cushion by the fire and meditate for half an hour, as I do every morning.
7:15: I sit and read by the fire for awhile, another morning ritual. I read inspirational or spiritual books in the morning; novels at night.
8:00: Breakfast this morning is seven-grain cereal with goji berries, walnuts, and honey, my favorite breakfast for sustained energy before a hard workout, since I have trouble eating when I’m exercising or climbing.
9:00: Jedi and I walk to the post office to drop off the Netflix DVDs and pick up the new ones. I walk to the post office every day but Sunday, since Ten Sleep is so small (pop. 304) that we don’t have home mail delivery.
9:30: I write my blog for the day and post it online.
11:00: (Photos by Jody Mayer) It’s time for my favorite part of climbing training: an indoor bouldering session in my gym with a bunch of people from around here. We boulder together regularly every weekend and during the week.
2:00: Everyone leaves from bouldering. It’s time for me to start the “just training” part of the day. Today is power training. I warm up with a few sets of pull-ups, and then, it’s down to business. First, pull-ups with maximum weight (using weight vests). After this, one-arm training, using stretchy bands (shown in photos). Then, an assortment of other exercises (triceps, squats, dips, pushups, stretching).
4:00: I’m starving, but not done training yet. In between sets, I make a yummy (not so much) spirulina-rice milk-frozen cherries protein shake, and drink it, or rather, choke it down, as I finish training.
6:00: After finishing training about an hour ago, I took a shower and am now relaxing while I wait for my dinner to be ready.
6:15: Dinnertime. Tonight’s menu is fresh-baked, honey-sweetened, cinnamon-raisin bread with olive butter and curried black bean-lamb stew. Delicious.
7:00: Every night, I prepare my hand-soaking hot water with half a capful of an amazing Chinese lineament called Zheng Gu Shui, which I’m pretty sure translates as “Magical Healing Stuff.” To improve flexibility, I soak my hands for 10 minutes while I watch the latest flick I’ve requested from Netflix (currently the HBO series called The Wire).
10:00: I’m in bed reading David Copperfield until sleep overcomes me, a welcome visitor to help prepare me for tomorrow’s second-day on grip strength training session.
Tags: Alli Rainey, blog, Bouldering, Climbing, exercising, flexibility, gym, inspirational, Jedi, meditate, spiritual, tea, Training, Zheng Gu Shui
