Wednesday, May 25, 2005
AR is a lifestyle option
The exquisite form of pleasure that is competitive adventure racing is surely taking its toll on me. Within the space of 2 months, i will have taken part in 4 adventure races. Also consider the build-up races prior to that: the Genting Trailblazer trail run, a 30 km XC MTB race, the National Vertical Marathon, a K2 kayak 1000m race, the Legs n' Paddles multisport race.
The aim is to strive for a level of proficiency whereby competitive racing from week to week will become almost second nature. The ability to quickly recover to race fitness... and to compete at the desired level of performance comes about only through consistency and long-term periodization. To be able to enter a race untrained and blitz the field is desirable, but not without lots of commitment. Time for a re-evaluation of my goals, as well as time to 'bi guan xiu lian' - the Chinese term for going into secret training.
As i put my season of adventure racing on a hiatus, i look forward to the next few months of conditioning and training for overnight efforts, culminating in the first build-up race of the coming season, the Red Yeti 36 hour AR, sleighted to be held in South Australia. Australian AR athletes are right there amongst the world's best from New Zealand, the US, and Europe. To be able to race with them on their home turf rates probably about an 11 on a scale of 10 in terms of learning value!
As far as mid-term goals are concerned, i consider the next few months to be crucial as i have given serious consideration to racing in the XPD expedition-length adventure race in Tasmania early next year. We must give time to forming a team, logistics planning, doing some long trainings together, and securing sponsorship. We consider this an expedition race which gives us a realistic chance of finishing the complete course.
My long-term goals are still to acquire skills in mountaineering, and whitewater paddling within the next 3 years, before launching a bid to enter either the Southern Traverse or the Primal Quest adventure races, with the intention of finishing the complete course without being cut off.
The growth of adventure racing in the region cannot be ignored. NOW is the time to seize the opportunity for progress and advancements!
The aim is to strive for a level of proficiency whereby competitive racing from week to week will become almost second nature. The ability to quickly recover to race fitness... and to compete at the desired level of performance comes about only through consistency and long-term periodization. To be able to enter a race untrained and blitz the field is desirable, but not without lots of commitment. Time for a re-evaluation of my goals, as well as time to 'bi guan xiu lian' - the Chinese term for going into secret training.
As i put my season of adventure racing on a hiatus, i look forward to the next few months of conditioning and training for overnight efforts, culminating in the first build-up race of the coming season, the Red Yeti 36 hour AR, sleighted to be held in South Australia. Australian AR athletes are right there amongst the world's best from New Zealand, the US, and Europe. To be able to race with them on their home turf rates probably about an 11 on a scale of 10 in terms of learning value!
As far as mid-term goals are concerned, i consider the next few months to be crucial as i have given serious consideration to racing in the XPD expedition-length adventure race in Tasmania early next year. We must give time to forming a team, logistics planning, doing some long trainings together, and securing sponsorship. We consider this an expedition race which gives us a realistic chance of finishing the complete course.
My long-term goals are still to acquire skills in mountaineering, and whitewater paddling within the next 3 years, before launching a bid to enter either the Southern Traverse or the Primal Quest adventure races, with the intention of finishing the complete course without being cut off.
The growth of adventure racing in the region cannot be ignored. NOW is the time to seize the opportunity for progress and advancements!
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Toughest race yet
Which is tougher? A long race where you tough it out and suck it up over many hours, just your team and yourself... or a short and fast race duelling head-to-head with some fierce competitors? To me, the latter provides the greater challenge.
Confidence in navigation rates probably as the most crucial factor in maintaining a race lead. To be the first to blaze a trail rates as one of the fun things that keeps the physical aspect of AR balanced with a hefty dose of mental effort, which is the key factor that differentiates AR from other 'horsepower' or 'muscle' sports. The lead can change hands dramatically: This we observed first-hand during the W.A.R..
Confidence in navigation rates probably as the most crucial factor in maintaining a race lead. To be the first to blaze a trail rates as one of the fun things that keeps the physical aspect of AR balanced with a hefty dose of mental effort, which is the key factor that differentiates AR from other 'horsepower' or 'muscle' sports. The lead can change hands dramatically: This we observed first-hand during the W.A.R..
Sunday, May 15, 2005
The Greatest Fear... realized.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Pushing the Boundaries - has AR taken over Tri'?
Gerard Fusil once wrote that adventure racing would be the new sport for the new millennium. In a quest for the ultimate sporting 'high' or adrenalin rush, human beings now push themselves even further to the brink of their endurance and pain tolerance - continually redifining their comfort zone and capacity for suffering. To be able to merely survive an adventure race, the demands placed upon an athlete to develop his skills and abilities cannot be overstated.
The beauty of the sport is that it forces one to be the total athlete. One who is not only capable of long bouts of physical exertion in multiple sports, but to be technically proficient in sport-specific safety procedures, wilderness and outdoor survival, navigation, logistics & equipment maintenance and repair, health & hygiene - all within the framework of a team environment.
Use to be: The Ironman is the greatest test of human endurance. Now: The Ironman is the greatest test of human endurance over a single day. Why the additional four words at the end of the corrected moniker? The reason is simple: Humans can endure more, much more - and adventure racing is that proving ground for that premise.
The adventure race realm has no set playing regulations. It is not defined by timed game periods, demarcated playing areas, or set team format. There is no accommodation for 'fair' or 'equitable' competition conduct, only that the participants' safety must take top priority at all times. Dark zones, mandatory emergency and safety equipment, proving of skills and safety awareness, watchful organizers who keep tabs on and react timely to ever-changing terrain & weather conditions. All these stand balanced on the fine line between redefining the limits of human endeavour in a competitive enironment, and disaster. Adventure racers live - and occasionally die, despite the best of precautions and provisions - by these safety margins. Much like the well-known paratrooper slogan, the adventure racer's defining motto could well be "The world is my playing field".
In comparison, triathlon seems a mite too bland. "Too urbanized" a friend of mine once remarked. It stands to reason that the Xterra movement over the last few years has gained a following. As an off-road version of triathlon, it affords participants a taste of the outdoors within the framework of individual competition.
But, the question that continues to gnaw is this: Are people getting bored of triathlon? Elite level competition will always be there, whether it be marathoning, triathlon, and now adventure racing. But the masses, the masses that fuel the industry of sport - what of their shifting preferences? Will they see it in themselves to hit the adventure trail? Twenty years ago, triathlon was considered 'more fun' than running. Can we now see a similar perception when the comparison of AR to tri' is made?
The beauty of the sport is that it forces one to be the total athlete. One who is not only capable of long bouts of physical exertion in multiple sports, but to be technically proficient in sport-specific safety procedures, wilderness and outdoor survival, navigation, logistics & equipment maintenance and repair, health & hygiene - all within the framework of a team environment.
Use to be: The Ironman is the greatest test of human endurance. Now: The Ironman is the greatest test of human endurance over a single day. Why the additional four words at the end of the corrected moniker? The reason is simple: Humans can endure more, much more - and adventure racing is that proving ground for that premise.
The adventure race realm has no set playing regulations. It is not defined by timed game periods, demarcated playing areas, or set team format. There is no accommodation for 'fair' or 'equitable' competition conduct, only that the participants' safety must take top priority at all times. Dark zones, mandatory emergency and safety equipment, proving of skills and safety awareness, watchful organizers who keep tabs on and react timely to ever-changing terrain & weather conditions. All these stand balanced on the fine line between redefining the limits of human endeavour in a competitive enironment, and disaster. Adventure racers live - and occasionally die, despite the best of precautions and provisions - by these safety margins. Much like the well-known paratrooper slogan, the adventure racer's defining motto could well be "The world is my playing field".
In comparison, triathlon seems a mite too bland. "Too urbanized" a friend of mine once remarked. It stands to reason that the Xterra movement over the last few years has gained a following. As an off-road version of triathlon, it affords participants a taste of the outdoors within the framework of individual competition.
But, the question that continues to gnaw is this: Are people getting bored of triathlon? Elite level competition will always be there, whether it be marathoning, triathlon, and now adventure racing. But the masses, the masses that fuel the industry of sport - what of their shifting preferences? Will they see it in themselves to hit the adventure trail? Twenty years ago, triathlon was considered 'more fun' than running. Can we now see a similar perception when the comparison of AR to tri' is made?
