Wilson's Adventure Racing, Multisport & Triathlon Sanctuary

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

That felt good.

I felt like shite crawling out of the permanent indentation in the living room sofa today to go for that 5-hour bike ride. That's what happens after staying up for 5 consecutive nights of World Cup football. You feel just absolutey smashed, the sleeping hours are irregular, and it takes its toll on the training. But once every 4 years, so can't be helped.

Still, once i got out of doors and into the sunshine, it was all good. Works everytime, no matter how shite one feels... i mean, be reasonable, the exams are over; ya got no studies; time is on your side; and you have heaps of sleep (although it is split up into little chunks).

Yeah, 126km in around 5 hours 5 mins... that's more mileage in the bank to IM.

The current confirmed event participation stands at:

- 1/2 IM, 13 August
- 12 Hour 2-person MTB endurance race, 16 September
- Upper Murray Challenge mutlisport race, 1 October*
- Mont 24 Hour MTB endurance race, 6-8 October
- Around the Bay in a Day bike ride, 14 October
- IM Western Australia, 3 December
- Speight's Coast to Coast, 10 February*

The horror... the horror....

Today, Lenny and me pulled of a 200km bike ride to Sorrento and back. Leisurely, took about 7hrs 15 mins, not including the stops for the Dromana Beach photo op, fish and chips, hot choc, and hot jam donuts!

We can do this Round the Bay in a Day thingy!

I hit a swim + gym workout today. Nothing heavy-duty, but i could feel the strain of laying off the swimming for less than 2 weeks. Breathing rhythm needed some work before i could find the 'zone'. As for strength in the gym, it's just building upon the weekly PT sessions in the park over the last 2 months. Got to take it to the next level NOW. The next few weeks are crucial, leading up to the Half IM at Yeppoon.

To add on: some more random thoughts about the beauty of AR as a sport.

- AR as a game of habits. The good teams are the ones who have good habits.

- Perfection is the target, but will never be attained. 'The perfect adventure race' is a logical fallacy.

- The higher the entry fees for a race, the more do racers tend to suffer.

These thoughts come at the time of the year where we witness the simultaneous occurence of three great sporting events. The FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France, and the Primal Quest represent the highest levels of football, cycling, and adventure racing respectively. In the context of team sports, each event is such a contrast with the other two. Take time to reflect upon what makes each of these sports great. At the heart of a top performance is a top team. Watch the telecasts, read the reports, hear what they l have to say about how glory at the elite level of competition is fought for.

I have come to this conclusion: there IS a difference between marshalled and non-marshalled AR courses. The difference is this: one favours the power athlete, the other the thinking athlete. A power athlete and a thinking athlete can be one and the same thing, but without sound tactics, or more importantly, experience in the field, everything goes to hell. I don't know which kind of athlete you would consider yourself to be, but remember this: the ability to go fast simply translates into the ability to go fast in the wrong direction.

Once more, i resume my tirade on the changing nature of our sport. If you are a power athlete, stick to multisport and triathlon. If you want a real challenge that actually harnesses the ability of the brain to think during a race, go adventure racing.

A key goal of mine is to learn from the best in the field of literally 'thinking on one's feet' - the rogainers and orienteers of Australia. Adventure racing navigationconcists of skill sets that that need to be developed further along the lines of navigation during military operations - something that a good number of Singaporean males are exposed to, but sadly never developed beyond their service duration. The beauty of adventure racing is the GREAT potential for navigation to make or break a team's race effort. At the top level of the sport, the elite teams have at least one first-class navigator in their squad. I don't know how to put it, but the so-called best teams in Asia have yet to prove their ability on a course with a heavy emphasis on navigation. The comments of Keith Noyes on enduranceradio.com summed it up: "The standard of navigation in Asia is not very high"... his reason for including only orienteering 'sections' in his races (with the rest of the course marked and guided), rather than committing the entire course to navigation.

Those were fair comments, though they pissed me off to no small degree. Here is one expatriate who has a keen grasp of the mindset of the typical Asian adventure athlete - go hard, brain switched off. To have the brain switched ON at all times should be the way top performances are created.

The most satisfying race i have ever done would not be XPD, as many would imagine. It would be the Kathmandu Max Adventure Sprint in Lysterfield Park last November. That was one race where there was definite navigation going on, and for the first time ever, i was put in charge of sorting out the route planning. A close second would be the Red Yeti, also in November. It was my first insight into overnight racing and CP to CP navigation.

Somehow, i don't think the mass appeal of events like Action Asia or Ace Adventure would appeal to me any more if i could help it. Putting two races side by side, i would go for the race with more demanding navigation any day. The reason: I don't bother going fast unless it is in the right direction.

We were relaxed... and yeah, it was a long bike ride. Don't ask how long it was...!

Custom-designed map board (Mark 1) for my mountain bike. Improvements have since been made to the mounting process....

That killer instinct. The burning desire to win every race, not just merely complete. It is what separates the anyone who is at the top of their game, from the also-rans. This is the kind of character that a great champion must possess, an essential quality for any top athlete seeking excellence in a sport as demanding as adventure racing. Victories can be chalked up, but it is CONSISTENT victories, and groundbreaking performance as well, that ensure a step up in standard... that cements the sportsman's place in history.

To cultivate that instinct is no small feat. It does not come easy, and many are easily distracted from this task. It requires great sacrifice, substantial investments - physically, mentally, emotionally. And yet one cannot let physical, mental or emotional limitations detract one from that great goal.

Been thinking a lot lately on the goals i have set out for this year. Chiefly, the full IM at Busselton and the Coast to Coast in NZ....

The question is: Which is tougher?

I'm about to find out. The coach reckons CtC comes out as the tougher event, and i'm keen to believe him. I don't have any illusions about Busselton though, 'easy' as though the course may sound (relatively flat, unlike Port Maq').

Imagine, within the space of 1 year... doing an expedition-length AR, then these 2 great events. In between, intersperse with several sprint ARs, multisport races, and sundry other events. You have the makings of a great year in sport and personal development.

To start what i should have started a long time ago:

XPD - The Race that Wasn't

I still cannot get over the fact that neither team did not officially finish. OK, call me a wet blanket, but SART missed the abseil, plain as can be. And Red Tridents lost a team member, becoming unranked, as it were. I had lowered expectations from the start, but after this race, not anymore. One has to look beyond one's laurels, and not merely rest upon them.

One day my friends, i shall OFFICIALLY finish an expedition-length adventure race. Intact team, all checkpoints, full course...! Who is with me?