Wilson's Adventure Racing, Multisport & Triathlon Sanctuary

Truly, when we sometimes consider the fact that adventure racers are jacks of all trades and masters of none, we stand in awe of those athletes from single-sport disciplines. We admire their tenacity, their dedication to their chosen sport, their mileage, their intimate understanding, their everything.

Are we supposed to be good at all the different sports that adventure racing entails? Of course we are. But it can be a chore cranking out the mileage and keeping the speed & skills sharp for all of them. Where the risks of overtraining & burnout are so much higher when engaged in a single sport; in the case of AR, it is time management and keeping up the mileage that are the bugbears... I'm looking more into the the training principles of Steve Gurney. Focused quality sessions, throw away the rubbish miles, and of course go easy on the sessions which you are supposed to.

I've only begun to realise the benefits of going easy for one week. That means, skipped workouts, lower mileage, rest day or two, and plenty of sleep to the bargain! I'm pretty sure the recovery instinct has not lost its sharpness as a result of the past week's reduced training load.

Next week is the start of the two-week strength phase. More gym work, more intervals, more siong!

Just a man and his will to survive

When i entered into this new lifestyle, i had, and still have, the one sole goal: That i would return to Singapore as the best adventure racer i can be. Once, i was focused on nothing but competition, and more specifically winning them. The real paradigm shift occurred when my move to Australia cemented the reality that i am still a long way away from competing on the world stage of AR. The standard of skills and fitness of the athletes here are very high... it must be even more so in the US, Europe, and - dare i speak of my dream destination for training - NZ.

So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory

This entails, among other things, development in skills required for whitewater/open ocean paddling, mountaineering, and first aid. We also cannot rule out snow sports, inline skating, and equestrian sport - they are vital to the holistic regime of conditioning that befits the ultimate adventure athlete. Glory is just a welcome side-effect of true passion. True passion is hard to find, hard to cultivate, hard to keep stoking. But it can be done.

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

Then fight, i must. But first, a multisport athlete, then an adventure racer? An adventure racer is only defined as such in the context of a team environment - with no team, the athlete is just a loner, a nobody, a multisport junkie.

There can be no comparison between others and the self. To do so would be to inhibit one's own potential for performance. Do not think of others, do not regard them as rivals, do not believe it when people say "You're the best ever!" There is always room for improvement, above and beyond the naive expectations of others.