I spent this weekend land-crewing for a team of 4 kayakers in the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic: an annual 111km overnight race on the Hawkesbury River just north of Sydney. I was kind of privileged really - between the four of them (racing a K4 kayak) they had completed 51 of these races and so were very experienced, very professional and very demanding of their land crew. If you can imagine: meeting at pre-arranged checkpoints along the river (in pitch dark); cleaning out the boat, feeding them, topping up drinks; massaging, changing clothes, making running repairs to the boat and equipment; motivating them; administering first aid and pseudo-coaching advice, all in the space of 5-10 minutes and re-launching them back into the inky darkness ... exhilirating and often scarey stuff.
The demands are intense - many of these check points are a long walk from the nearest road access (in the dark) and you have to carry everything they might need: not just the food and drinks they have requested for each stop, but every possible variation thereof and perhaps things they hadn't even thought of beforehand, not to mention clothing, heat and light, first aid, mechanical equipment, navigation equipment and so on ad infinitum.
Just finding them in the dark and guiding them into the landing point was bad enough, but then giving them everything they need in a F1-style pit stop keeps the adrenaline flowing I can assure you. And we're talking not about clean, clinical tyre-changes here - we're talking about cleaning out not just water from the boat but the bodily fluids as well (in extreme environments, the body lets go from both ends) and dealing with things one had no experience of before (eg fixing recalcitrant seats and steering gear with gaffa tape and cable ties in the dark whilst standing knee-deep in water) and learning the fine art of non-political correctness ("yes your paddler is comatose; no they haven't kept anything down for the last 5 hours; no you can't take her to first aid or they'll force us to withdraw - just give her 5 minutes on the ground then get her back in the boat") ... I'm sure you get the drift. Not people to be trifled with.
If you can imagine this: it's nearly midnight. My boat has been on the water 6 hours, the crew have just had a break and are ready to go again. All except for my paddler, who has just passed out on the ground in front of me and is now more or less comatose. A normal person in a normal situation would call an ambulance. Not here. The routine is pick them up, get them to the boat by whatever means and back in their seat with their paddle in their hands. At some point they will come to and realise that they have to continue or the team must withdraw. And that's what they do. They get on with it. Physical and mental exhaustion are no excuse. Come what may, they just d-o-n-'t quit.
Now these people aren't reckless. This seemingly abusive situation isn't thrust on anyone who hasn't handled it before and isn't known to be anything other than ruthlessly stubborn and determined beyond belief. Mere unconsciousness is no more a reason to quit than a slight sniffle is reason to take early retirement from the workforce. Quite frankly, whilst on the surface it may seem insanely dangerous, I admire them. In fact I admire them immensely. It's not like there's much at stake here. There's no gingo-istic, fervent patriotism on display or chest-beating: this is just a bunch of keen otherwise-normal-looking-people who happen to be kayakers paddling a river in the dark on an anonymous night in November because it's a neat thing to do.
As one of them said to me, "It's incredibly selfish really, but it beats the hell out of staying at home and watching a DVD".
And that's what got to me: if you're going to do a selfish thing, you may as well do something that you will remember.
And so, as my paddler moaned to me "Why on Earth do I do this year after year" as she lay there in the mud at checkpoint "D" in considerable pain and unable to eat, drink or even move, yet so fiercely determined to finish the damn thing, I could only think how heroically stupid this all was. But then, it's the hero part that makes it worthwhile, makes life so alive, whilst nothing but mediocrity awaits those who sit on the couch and simply watch life go by...
Hand me my running shoes please, I'm off for a run.
*Not unlike the RC community, but rather closer to home, and in the flesh**, so to speak.
**Actually, there was a bit of that as well. Ever noticed how extreme athletes have no shame? Modesty is not a commodity they understand, even though they may be/often are humble people?
Bierzo Baggie Wrote: Be very careful..these people are dangerous.
Have you ever heard of Quadriathlon? Swim, paddle, cycle and run. Sounds fun.
Sounds great, and it's something I'd love to do (although much swimming training required on my part if I'm ever to get off the bottom of the pool). Quadriathlon does not seem to operate in my part of the world although multi-sport events, eg swim, paddle, run are increasing in popularity.
I'm particularly keen to get a few events under my belt over the next year or so, and now that my permanency in Sydney has finally been decided (got the notification today ) I am going to more properly commit to the training required. And broadening my horizons to other sports not only sounds fun (which it is) but is sensible, given the benefits of cross training. To that end I've got a few ideas in mind, but I'll spell those out a little later.
For now I'm celebrating my new permanent residency status with a couple of Bluetongue Lagers which I'm sure I've mentioned here before, though probably not seen outside Oz (may be wrong about that). So no training today, nor probably tomorrow, but on Thursday I'm right back into it.
Great report, MLCM. I nearly missed it. Competitive rowing doesn't appeal to me. The closest I get is using the rowing machine in the gym, and I find it hard work and rather dull. I most definitely love the idea of recreational canoeing/kayaking though. The little I've done has been great. Gently paddling down a river, away from the crowds, is blissful.
Can't say that triathlon-type events hold any appeal for me. Probably because I'm a crap swimmer and cyclist. And runner. Apart from that....
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Yep, nearly missed this too, and what a great tale. I like the sound of those guys, paddling on semi-conscious just for the helluvit. Fits nicely with my revisit to Feet In the Clouds and another mad bunch who eschew life's comfort for the feeling of life in the raw. Inspirational.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Have to pass comment on Obama's historic win. I ducked into the local Irish pub - Molly Maguires - for a quick snort just as McCain conceded defeat (just after 3pm here). There was an air of total amazement in there: the people I spoke to all felt the same as me - great result but we didn't honestly expect to see it in our lifetimes.
I suspect this counts as one of those "historic moments" such as the Apollo XI landing, World Trade Centre attacks or Malcolm Blight's 80m goal after the siren to win the 1976 Grand Final for North Melbourne... so I marked the occasion with a photo: this taken just as McCain concedes and we realise history has been made. You can't see me very well but the beer is nicely exposed. For the record it was a James Squire Amber Ale, not particularly Irish I suppose but a very nice brew.
The other thing I wanted to pass comment on is the Australian cricket team's current insipid performance in India and their fading star in general. I can understand and would tolerate a downturn in performance a whole lot better if they didn't continue this whining, hypocritical and let's be honest - childish attacks on (particularly) Harbajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir and even less gracious, Sachin Tendulkar.
It makes me cringe when they go running to mummy because someone on the other team calls one of the Aussies a monkey, or digs an elbow into the bowler as they run past. I mean these aren't exactly the kind of attack that warrant global indignation. The hypocrisy of it (even if the Aussie's sledging is relatively innocent) is awful.
Ponting is one the finest batsman we've ever put on a cricket field, and a pretty decent captain generally. But there's something wrong in that head of his that just seems to make all these situations worse. Whenever he complains about something he only seems to aggravate the situation.
And as for the Aussie's cricket, well, they are looking pretty rag-tag these days. We've no consistently good bowling attack, and while all the bowlers are good on occasion, more often than not none of them are firing, which is no good thing, especially on the subcontinent. The batsmen can scrape together some runs between them on occasion but the lustre has well and truly gone.
The golden period is over for Australian cricket - with the loss of Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist, Australia has been reduced to a grumpy old toothless guard dog who thinks he still has it, but in truth should just stay in his kennel and keep out of the rain. But it's not going to stop him barking like mad at all and sundry.
It was an amazing time, and I'll still enjoy watching Pointing bat for a while longer, but the truth is that it's over.
RIP Aussie cricket.
P.S. "Warne - The Musical" has started its run here. You know cricket is dead when it gets reduced to comic farce in the theatre.
I'm sorry I fell asleep for a moment there and completely missed MLC's last post. :p
I have been waiting though for your derserved gloat on your stuffing of us in the Rugby League (sport for girls) World Cup, but I guess you've assumed that's too easy.
Seafront Plodder Wrote:I have been waiting though for your derserved gloat on your stuffing of us in the Rugby League (sport for girls) World Cup, but I guess you've assumed that's too easy.
52-4 suggests there's something seriously wrong with the England side, tis true, but I didn't see the game so I won't pass judgment. Until rugby unifies the two codes, I can't really take it too seriously I'm afraid. It's a bit like the (now) three major forms of cricket: will the real flavour of the sport please stand up!?
Speaking of such things, I had a rather eye-opening experience today which tempered my enthusiasm for team sport in general, or at least for what it has become... I watched my niece play softball - she's an excellent softballer and represents her state in U-17 and has national selection potential. Whilst watching the games I was quizzing some of the coaching staff and others about the team and was not a little horrified to discover that even at the tender age of 16 and 17 it is not at all unusual for the better players to have to undergo surgery for over-use injuries, especially of elbows and shoulders. And this is not even a sport that has a professional league in this country, nor is it going to be included at the next Olympics. Heaven knows what the kids in so-called serious sports do to themselves.
I think it highly laudable that kids pursue sport to high levels, but something's wrong when our society is geared to pushing them to that degree.
Lord, it's like everyone's trying to be another Seafront Plodder or something.
Unusually for me of late have been two off-road runs last weekend - one in the mountains and one in a coastal national park. Both great runs, although it served to remind me that more such rough tracked, undulating work is required. But very enjoyable indeed and a welcome change from suburban streets.
I've reached a stage now where I want to break into a run nearly anytime I walk somewhere. It's a great feeling, and not a bad base to start building on. For now though I'm still struggling to conjure a training schedule that will work in with my insane work timetable, but I think I'm getting the germ of a workable idea. There's plenty of time - my chosen race is 23 weeks away, so no panic just yet.
A quick word on the cricket: bah! Ponting's dismal captaincy and the team's general lack of grit and skill are disappointing, or "DisaPonting" as one newspaper (correctly) put it. In fact, it was shameful in many respects. The only Aussie highlight was Krejza's 12 wicket haul on debut, but even that came at a cost (12/355!).
India - worthy 2-0 winners of the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Shocked and stunned I was. And not just a little bit amazed too. I saw a bloke on the train last night: he was fresh from the gym (as evidenced by the sweat, sports bag and body odour) and he looked the eptiome of health, except that he proceeded to offend everyone around him by eating a big container of dry, plain alfalfa sprouts! I mean, talk about giving health and fitness a bad rap... As soon as I got home I had to have a couple of beers and a plate of lasagna to recover.
Does this happen in your part of the world, or have I stumbled upon the precinct of shameless alfalfa eaters??
Please send shock-assuaging alcoholic medications to MLC Man, c/o The Funny Farm, Chaufont.
Spent six hours today suffering my first rogaine. This is basically a combination of cross-country running/walking and navigation; rather like orienteering but points-based and teams only. The idea is that you have six hours to cover as much ground as you can, finding as many checkpoints as possible. The more difficult the terrain or the further away from home base a checkpoint is, the more points are awarded.
Todays event was held in the Blue Mountains and required much travelling along bush tracks and cross-country scrub-bashing through often thick scrub and forest. It was mighty tough in places, let me tell you. And it doesn't help when you miss the water points either.
But it's a lot of fun, although damn tricky to do properly (you need to be very good with map and compass - GPS is forbidden and many of the checkpoints are very hard to find in dense scrub). My team didn't even come close to worrying the leaders in the veteran's division we were in. But it's fantastic training, as it's mainly an endurance event with loads of hills and rough tracks. I loved it, although I should have been better prepared to avoid the dehydration. Fortunately it was not a hot day so all was well in the end. I also need to get some decent off-road shoes - my Brooks Adrenalines really didn't handle the conditions that well today!
One of the nice things about rogaining is that the organisers seem to make a special effort to send you into interesting places. One of the checkpoints today was an aboriginal rock art site - the photo below shows some 1600-year old cave painting: not something you see on your average jog around the block!
The other photo shows me at the start (I'm on the left, the other guy is my brother-in-law and one of the team, Rob): I wasn't so happy six hours later I can tell you.
Mid Life Crisis Man Wrote:Shocked and stunned I was. And not just a little bit amazed too. I saw a bloke on the train last night: he was fresh from the gym (as evidenced by the sweat, sports bag and body odour) and he looked the eptiome of health, except that he proceeded to offend everyone around him by eating a big container of dry, plain alfalfa sprouts! I mean, talk about giving health and fitness a bad rap... As soon as I got home I had to have a couple of beers and a plate of lasagna to recover.
Does this happen in your part of the world, or have I stumbled upon the precinct of shameless alfalfa eaters??
Please send shock-assuaging alcoholic medications to MLC Man, c/o The Funny Farm, Chaufont.
Maybe it's something to do with railways, as my experience occurred at Paddington Station in London last year. While waiting disconsolately for a train, I couldn't help noticing a girl next to me eating the contents of a large supermarket bag of prepacked salad leaves, exactly like someone chomping through a bag of crisps.
She was quite thin.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
I had an unusual experience in my quest for off-road running shoes today. The running shop I went to first was very busy so I thought I'd go and get a cup of coffee or something and wait for the queue to shorten. Almost immediately however I spied another sports shop that I'd not seen nor heard of before. Apart from the tall, gangly shop assistant it was empty of people, so I went in and got chatting to said shop assistant called Steve, who spoke with a strangely strong English accent and despite having broken his wrist two days prior playing football for "Oz Spurs" (who had unfortunately for him come up against their arch-rivals "Oz Arsenal" who played in a "spirited manner", hence the broken wrist) immediately went to town throwing shoes hither and thither in a gratifying attempt to fit me with some decent offies whilst regaling me with his personal experience of the shoes and the general shoe industry thoughts on shoe construction for off-road use.
And the unusual experience? Well apart from a total lack of normal shoe-shop gimmicks, the shoes we agreed upon as being best for me were also... ta da... the cheapest! Amazingly, they were only one third the price of my Brooks Adrenalines. This sort of thing never happens to me normally, so I'm still a little nervous: half-expecting the shoes to fall apart when I hit the trails, or for a cruelly located seam to invoke a sudden onset of savage blisters... we'll see.
So now I'm onto yet another brand of shoe, this time Nike, and their Alvord VI trail shoes. With "aggressive lugs" and "encapsulated air" and in a rather fetchingly gothic dark grey, they should do the trick. Reviews all seem positive at least. But it did get me to thinking about the various brands of shoe I've tried over the years, and the only conclusion I can reach is that they've pretty much all got a good shoe for me if you choose carefully. Certainly no one brand has stood out for me to the point where I'd stick loyally to that one brand forever more.
Anyway, all I have to do now is get off-road and check these new 'uns out.
Good points about shoes. We talked a bit about this on Sunday over our SPless beer (and beerless beer in my case). Nigel was a Nike man, Sweder Mizumo. I've used New Balance for years. There appears to be strong brand loyalty. I started out on Asics, which were fine until I was running more than 5 or 6 miles, when that "cruelly located seam" made its debut, and we were a couple no more. I then moved over to Brooks Adrenaline for the London Marathon in 2002. They got me through -- or I got them through -- but I wasn't convinced they were right. A while later, I went to see a podiatrist who recommended NB 854s, and thus began my long New Balance romance.
However, those NB bastards (perhaps you can tell that our relationship has cooled) then went and discontinued the 854s, shoes which had developed a strong following among joggers with the fuller figure. I tried the 855s which were hopeless (though they are fine for the gym), and am now onto my penultimate pair of hoarded 854s. I have one more pair at the bottom of the wardrobe, but am beginning to wonder what will be next.
I saw an ad in a magazine for the new Asics store in London. They are boasting some sort of state-of-the-art footscanning device. Hang on, here it is: http://www.asics.co.uk/ASICSStoreInLondo...canner.htm . It's tempting me to go along and try it out. Of course, they will wind up recommending some Asics, but I don't mind that if they happen to be perfect for me.
Anyway, good luck with the new off-roaders. Let us know how they do. I also have a cheap pair that I've used only a couple of times. I should take them out for another spin.
Good to see the Canberra Marathon on the list. It's the day before Boston, should I ever make it there. I'm remaining pretty cool about it, as I don't want to tempt knee-fate again. Let's hope we both reach our destinations.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
No! No! November...
Be 
) I am going to more properly commit to the training required. And broadening my horizons to other sports not only sounds fun (which it is) but is sensible, given the benefits of cross training. To that end I've got a few ideas in mind, but I'll spell those out a little later.
