My editor (aka The Wife) pulled me aside and said, “I think you might need to do some actual posts on climbing.”

“But these guys need Miranda! They need all of this shit! Have you seen them? They’re a mess. I’ve got to strip them down to the studs and rebuild them.”

The conversation didn’t actually go down like this, but I like the above version more than the truth, which was the more compliant, “Oh…okay.”

But enough silliness, time to get down to business.

The time change is this coming Sunday, March 13, which is our unofficial marker to begin Spring Training. The gym is full of folks who’ve been cooped up all winter and are getting cabin fever; they’re trying to fight off the mid-winter blues, and the occasional sunny days are starting to wake them up from a long hibernation. You can feel the excitement in the air. People want to move, want to get their asses in motion and do something, like commit to the training program they’ve been putting off all winter.

I love Spring Training. It’s usually when I’m at my strongest. I’ve spent all winter training power in the gym, and once I get back on rope I have absolutely no expectations for the first four weeks. I just go for it, and keep going.

The key is not to worry about the season, about success, about whether or not you will do your projects. That will all follow. It’s secondary, a byproduct of your training.

The key is to focus. Start tuning out distractions; start trimming back on the Netflix (or the beers, the Twinkies, or whatever your vice is). Get some clarity. If you haven’t made goals for the season, maybe make some. If you aren’t psyched, steal it from someone else—get your ass off the couch and go hang out with people doing what you want to do. Go the climbing gym. Or maybe just take a shower and scrub the film and failure off you. That shit is in the past, it’s behind you now.

Time to step it up and get, boys (or ladies).

Good luck this season, and let the Spring Training begin!