Hughs Blog

Dead last and happy

I’ve spent a lot of time in kayaks, either white water boats or ocean kayaks. I guess I would have to say I’m very experienced having tackled some pretty gnarly rivers (like the Colorado, the Bio Bio in Southern Chile and the Zambezi in Africa) and being the occasional guide on our Dare2Dream youth sea kayaking programs.

But then I bought a surfski this past May and everything changed. I’m not really sure what the lineage of the surfski is; but picture a very long, very tippy, very light enclosed boat that you sit on top of (if you ever watch the summer Olympics, they’re called K1’s). Mine is 6.3 meters (20.5 ft) long, 48 cm (19 inches) wide and you sit on top with your toes controlling a tiny rudder that protrudes under the long pointed stern. The construction is high tech (mine weights in at 12 kg/28 lbs, the paddle only weights 0.5 kg/1 lbs), unwieldy out of the water and very, very fast. The top paddles can crank these slivers of Kevlar, resin and air up to speeds of 30 km/hr (19 mph). But not me.

I’m a novice again – really a novice. While I don’t have a problem with the balance (that came easily from my time in the saddle of many other boats), I do have to learn a completely new way to paddle. Poor paddling style creates a noticeable drag on speed and makes the boat feel unstable (not a nice feeling). This is where last Saturday comes in.

I decided if I was going to really learn how to make this investment move through the water I should enter a race. It’s sort of like the difference between watching a romance movie and dating – you simply won’t know until you try.

When I showed up to race day I knew I was in trouble, when the gun went off I was convinced. I did everything wrong, from being squeezed in with the slower racing canoeist’s to heading straight for the turn-around buoys making my turns awkward and slow.

Fifty minutes later and full of adrenalin I was dead last, but happy. Other than the muscle-bound leaders of the seven surfskis who looked like they were hardly working, my ego was also put in place by two paddlers that had at least 10 more years on the life-clock than me.

So, here’s how I see it. You never know until you try. I had a great time, reconnected with some people, met some new folks that I plan to learn from and learn loads from the challenge. The race was secondary to the experience.

What could you do today that would take you out of your comfort zone, but also open your eyes to what you are capable of? Once you get over the natural OMG reaction, it’s all life lessons from there.

Let me know what you think.

Hugh

PS I’m off to go train, there’s another race coming up later this month I was to be ready for.

Tags: accountability, business growth, commitment, decisions, effectiveness, growth, inspiration, motivation, small stuff

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