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Posted by Grant on 8. January 2009 23:04
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So my buddy here in Zurich, Christian, has coerced me into doing this winter adventure race next month. It's two days, so two stages, with the overnight between the two stages spent in an igloo -- an igloo you and your teammate build at the end of the first stage. The igloo building is on the clock, apparently. I say Christian "coerced" me because I'm a lousy skier and I made a few snow forts growing up but I never tried to sleep overnight in one; I bring no igloo experience to the table and only 7 or 8 hours of total skiing experience in the last 20 years!
I have been on skis lately, and while I'm clutzy and comical to watch, I can generally get from point A to B. Generally. I submit as evidence, this pic of Jill and I a few weeks back . . .
My plan is to get out and ski tomorrow, as practice makes perfect, and rely on my teammate for the igloo building expertise. We have a training day planned next weekend where we'll ski a good bit and practice making an igloo. Christian is Swiss and claims to have built and slept in many an igloo, "You don't do that in the US?" he asked, as if I was an Inuit in Alaska or something.
Truthfully, this winter race is the incentive I need to conquer the ski demons. I live in the Alps, after all, and need to make the most of our time here! The race also involves snowshoeing, which I'm fine with, and considerable orienteering, which I'm also comfortable with. All in all, this is probably the perfect carrot to get my skiing up from the "blundering idiot" level to the "awkward but passable" level. I just wish I had a few more months to prepare, instead of just a few weeks.
Oh well, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you want, right?
I'm far from a ski expert, a "novice" might even be generous for me, but I'm going to go for it! It seems that in our culture, doing things we're not good at or experienced at is frowned on. But how do you achieve any proficiency, or develop any new skill, if you aren't willing to give it a try and get through the "beginner" phase? The fear of humiliating yourself keeps people from doing lots of fun things, and I think adventure racers are particularly good at doing things they're not initially comfortable doing. It's a valuable life skill, too, and pursuing new things in work or your career and stretching your boundaries often make for fantastic breakthroughs. So I'm going to walk the walk on this, and not just talk the talk.
There's an old adventure race saying: if you're not scared at the starting line of the race, you need to find another race. So let me ask you, what events are scaring you for 2009 . . . and what are you going to do to compete in them?