Kiss or kill. Kiss the glory or die trying. Losing is death, winning means breathing. The struggle is what makes a victory, a winner.How many times have you cried of rage and pain? How many times have you lost your memory, your voice and your judgment because of your tiredness? And in this situation, how many times have you been thinking: Try again! A couple of hours more! Another hill! Pain does not exist, it is only in your head! Control it, destroy it, delete it, carry on! Make your opponents suffer, kill them. I am selfish, am I not? Sport is selfish because one has to be selfish to be able to fight and suffer, to love loneliness and hell. To stop, to cough, to be freezing, not feeling one's legs, to feel nauseous, to vomit, have headache, a shock, blood running down your body... Have you got something better to offer me?
The secret is not in the legs. It is to find enough courage to go out and run when it's raining, windy, when it's snowing. When flashes of lightning hit the trees. When snowballs or ice rain hit your legs, your body and make you cry. To continue, you have to dry the tears from your face to be able to see the stones, the obstacles, the sky. Forget some hours of party, face tens of reproaches, say no to a girl, to the warmth of the blanket covering your face... Send everything to hell and go out in the rain until your legs bleed after having fallen down and risen again to keep running up... Until your legs shout: ENOUGH! And leave you alone in the middle of a storm in unknown mountains... until death.
Shorts drenched by the snow, brought by the wind that slaps you face and freezes your sweat. Light body, light legs. Feel the way the pressure of your legs and the weight of your body are concentrated on the metatarsus of your feet's fingers, exerting a pressure capable of breaking stones, destroying planets and moving continents. With both legs in the air, flying like an eagle and running faster than a cheetah.
Or when you are going downhill, when your legs sink in snow or mud, just before pushing
forward, and make you feel free to fly, scream of rage, of hatred and love in the heart of the mountain, where only the bravest rodents or birds can become your confessors, hidden in their nest under the rocks...
They are the only ones who know your secrets and your fears. Because losing means dying. And you cannot die without giving your best, everything, without crying because of pain and injuries, you cannot give up. You have to fight until death. Glory is the greatest thing, you cannot reach it without giving everything you have. You have to fight, suffer and die. Without that, nothing is worth it. The time to suffer has come, the time to fight has come, the time to win has come. Kiss or die.
This weekend I learnt several important things about rivers and life. Life is more enjoyable above the river than hanging upside down beneath it!
I decided to join the Auckland Uni Canoe Club (AUCC) this year to get on some wild rivers and experience the thrill of white water kayaking for myself. It has been too long thinking about it, and now after jumping into the Aniwhenua River and letting the current take me away, I'm looking forward to the new adventure. I had an interest in Dragon-boating for a time, but never pursued it. Until now.
Rafting the Rangitaiki
Beyond Rotorua you venture into thick country. Classic North Island outback where the most popular past time is heading out to the bush to hunt wild pigs. As our van and trailer-load of kayaking gear bustled into the bush just out of Murupara I half expected to bump into Sjors Corporaal running along the forest road with a boar carcass on his back.
Instead, a massive windfall from last week's storm had plummeted exactly twenty-six thick pine trees across the entrance road to the Rangitaiki River. Our plan to raft down the grade 2-3 mid-section of the rampant Rangi was now foiled, no-one was game enough to try carrying the 40kg plastic inflatables down the mile-long obstacle course. We retreated to the Aniwhenua to salvage the day.
Aniwhenua Falls
Aniwhenua Falls is spectacular in full flow. A tumultuous accelerates from the still canal in a moment, exploding into the get-in hole. The more experienced kayakers were having a crack at paddling off the falls, nothing to it right? Nothing but a rocky ledge to the left side, its all about the line. The rest of us were launched off the power station walls...
Thrown into the deep end
Reacquainted mate after 6 years, Scott Osborne was one of the first in, fortune had it that he flipped over as soon as his kayak plunged into the boils. The stage was his as he busted out a clean roll to show its done.
Rafting up before hitting the first rapids
The Aniwhenua river run is 8km in length, with about 8 sections of rapids separated by longer stretches of calm flow. Getting the rapids was a simple case of leaning forward and powering straight into the wave trains, each stroke keeping my unstable Bandit stable.
A river rat infiltrates Richard's kayak!
Out of the red zone, relaxing, right way up
Bernoulli's equation now gained new meaning as we emerged from the narrowest section of gorge, the river valley really widened out just and as sun finally broke through. Stiff and cramping up as we limped up the bank carrying our kayaks, what a relief it was to be back on dry land!
I revelled in the new experiences that I'd had on the Aniwhenua. The moments that follow overcoming personal boundaries are always the best. It was awesome to get to know a whole new club - AUCC are a great lot and I'll be back for more white-water this easter for their most remote trip to the Mohaka River near Napier. Four days away camping in real North Island wilderness, I can hardly wait.
After a prolific year and a monumental summer exploring the mountains around Nelson and Taranaki...
Road tripping down the North Island...
Running to the summit plateau of Mt Ruapehu...
Battling the misty Tararuas to claim Mt Hector...
Soloing Nelson Lakes' Travers-Sabine circuit in a weekend...
Surveying the mighty peaks of Arthurs Pass...
Going Syme to Syme around Mt Taranaki...
... my adventure streak has finally ended.
While barefoot running along the slippery Okura coastline, my toes lodged into the sand and I suffered a painful, twisted landing. As I fell, my knee twisted and wrenched delivering a double shot of hyperplantarflexion to my left foot. I lay writhing in a salty puddle, hoping I could walk it off...
Only Okura? Never under-estimate the Okura. 400m past this point, and it was all over.
Luckily, this was a fundraising walk for the AUTC Oxfam Trailwalker team, and I had the choice of 40 trampers to carry me the 3km back to the Stillwater carpark. Exhausting work just hanging on while my limp foot began to stiffen and swell; I was glad we weren't any further from the road. [Yes, a gentle reminder about safety in the outdoors...]
Despite life in crutches being hard work and often frustrating, there's still plenty of adventure to be had. Inability to run doesn't mean I'll get fat - climbing the hill from Britomart to University makes for a huge upper torso workout, by the end of the day my shoulders are burning under the stress.
One of the many skills to be mastered on crutches
There is never a "convenient" time to be injured; it was likely to happen sooner or later. In my mind, it is better to be injured now while studying in Auckland than while ploughing through the mountains of the South Island.
The 24 hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel involves sea-kayaking, mountain-biking, running, and navigation. As well as a few mystery activities! Which will remain a mystery for now...
I'll be postponing my entry to the world of adventure racing - this weekend's "Jurrassic Arc" 24-hour adventure race in Northern Coromandel will go on without me, but with Edward Lawley stepping in its a relief that the team isn't affected. Go team Celebrate the Day!
New Balance MT110 - only available in USA. Time to make a truce with your mates in the states.
An extra kick to the guts, my much anticipated pair of New Balance MT110 trail running shoes arrived from BOULDER, COLORADO the day after the injury. New Balance is getting excruciatingly close to creating the perfect shoe - partly designed by Anton Krupicka himself. Sporting a 4mm heel drop, nicely balanced tread pattern, more durable side mesh, and weighing only 230grams, these shoes are ace. At least I'll be able to crutch around in style.
