Getting in to gear

I have started researching adventure racing and related disciplines, and what exists blows me away. The more you research, read and talk to people, the more you realise that there is a massive culture of very fit people out there.

A prime example is this morning on the way to kayaking training. I’m not generally out on the streets at 5.15am, so was amazed by the number of cyclists on the road. And I’m not talking about the casual Saturday peddler, but the serious, hard core, fully kitted enthusiast.

And that’s just road cycling. The mountain biking scene is astounding. From what I can ascertain so far, there is downhill, long distance, relays, and cycle-gaining just to name some. I have an appreciation of the organisation involved in setting and organising any sort of event so the list of races I have stumbled on is astounding.

All of this investigation is not helping my fitness situation. I am struggling on the running and hate any sort of uphill riding with a passion.

I’m not at the stage (or discipline level) yet whereby I am willing to attack my aerobic levels myself. I am displaying that all too common skill of finding every plausible excuse to not take myself off for that jog or bike ride.

I am trying to tackle this challenge by obligating myself to as much physical activity as possible that involves others. I won’t let people down, unless completely unavoidable, so when I agree to get up early, catch up after work or meet at lunch to partake in exercise I will be there. I also practice this approach in my social endeavours, so if anyone wants to meet at the pub I won’t let you down unless completely unavoidable!

Taryn and I are currently midway through a week long adventure race training course, and I am loving everything we tackle. I am getting excited about our first real race on the 23rd of August, which is part of the Teva series.

Taryn and I had a discussion last night about our individual goals and what we hope to achieve out of racing, and as usual we were on a pretty similar page. As our skills improve we may take on a more competitive edge, but our initial goal is not to come in a specify place, but just to c…… finish.

M

Gently does it

I woke at 4am this morning, without the aid of an alarm - I think I subconsciously urged myself to wake up early so I wouldn't miss the kayaking session at Indooroopilly Canoe Club.

It was a beautiful time of the morning. The moon was still out (and mostly full, having only started to wane yesterday) when I left my flat an hour later. The sun was just rising as we carried our kayaks down to the river. It was such a lovely way to start the day.

Of course, the espresso I had at home before I left was an equally good way to start the day.

I've been kayaking a few times, but usually in two-person, ocean kayaks that are incredibly sturdy and sit much heavier in the water. The single-person craft we had today were really light and manoeuvrable, by comparison.

Even so, or maybe as a result, it surprised me how difficult it was to keep the kayak straight, or straight-ish. It took me half of the session to realise that subtlety was needed. The analogy I volunteered to Mel (who didn't really need the advice, by the way) was that it was like dating. You have to keep your paddling gentle and give each movement time to have effect before you take the next.

A bit of a clumsy analogy, perhaps, but keeping it in mind helped me get back to the pontoon with some kind of grace and rhythm.

t