"either define the moment or the moment will define you"

I returned home last nite from Grande Cache and the Canadian Death Race. It's extremely difficult to put into words how amazing the experience was. In a way that I have never experienced, the race forces you to confront the limits of your being. Not only were the mountains formidable, but the heat was oppressive.

But we did it! Our team (Just 'Cause) had a blast and did amazingly well. I finished my leg in just over my goal time, which made me extremely pleased. A number of racers were injured on the first leg and a few were forced to "tap out". One memorable moment occurred on the very first major downhill section (there were many!) when a rather beefy man yelled from the top - "LOOK OUT; I'M COMING DOWN!!!" And down he came indeed! He figured he would sprint the downhill section to gain position, but overlooked the snarl of rocks and roots poised to trip up the careless. So, I was at the bottom of the hill when the would be Usain Bolt hit a root and tumbled all the way down, which left the racers ahead of him scrambling to get out of the way of this out of control freight train!

From what I saw, and for the most part, the Death Race seems to bring out the very best in people. The spirit and the vibe in the town of Grande Cache was palpable. I saw a number of racers stopping to help other racers and teams pulled together in the most incredible of ways. I am very proud to have been a part of all of this!!

Before my wife started her leg (at 2 a.m., no less) we were sitting around talking in a meagre attempt to the pass the time while we waited for our teammate to finish his leg. I was giving her a pep talk about how she was going to rock the race and how THIS was a very important moment in her life and for her. In the last year, we have suffered through 3 miscarriages - she more than me, of course. Nonetheless, this has been quite mentally and emotionally draining on us as we have attempted to cope with and understand this loss. For Jo, this race was really important for her psychologically and for sentimental reasons... and she owned it!

The Death Race, and especially her leg in the dark, was a metaphor for our last year. Although I have never run in the dark, I can only imagine that you have to take one step at a time otherwise you're going to trip and fall (like my friend who went for a tumble). And Jo did trip and she did fall, but she got back up and kept on running. That's the way we want to move forward - not only being fully in the moment, but embracing and owning the moment. Too often we, all of us, are caught looking too far ahead straining to see where the trail leads and miss the beauty and opportunities that are in front of us. Walt Witman very poignantly stated, either you define the moment, or the moment will define you. Jo and I will go boldly into the future one sublime step at a time, embracing all that comes. Like the nite-time trail, I can never know what is around the corner (another child? a blackbelt?) - all I know is that Jo and I will do it together and support each other in the spirit of the "Life" Race. I'm so very proud of you, Jo! Way to go!

Big thank you and congrats to my team. I'll be back next year ready to embrace a new challenge and test the limits of my being.

best,

Bryan

Starting the journey

I arrived at BJJ's doorstep through a rather circuitous route. You see, in one way or another I have always been involved in combat sports. I wrestled throughout high school, been slammed to the mat thousands of times as a judoka and punched in the face more times than I care to remember during my stint in Muay Thai - perhaps this explains a few things. When I arrived in the great white north, I was looking for something to fill the void. I was also overweight - a condition that felt severely awkward given my previous sports obsessed life. But, this is what happens when under the stress and time crunch of a demanding PhD programme. Those 4 years of my life (basically) involved waking up, going to the fridge, watching some horrible programming on tv while downing some equally horrible breakfast cereal, sitting at my desk writing for hours, realizing I'm hungry, going to the fridge, sleeping... My life and body paid severely for the inertia. Although I was not entirely sedentary during this period - I played golf... I'm not complaining or regretful - I have a (sometimes) wonderful job, wonderfully understanding wife and two fantastic children for the effort. But I was neglecting something tremendously important - my body. While my mind was becoming increasingly acute, my body was becoming rather substantial. 

Quite literally, I woke up one day and looked at my kids and Joanne, and then down to my rapidly expanding abdomen (where there was once a 6 pack) and decided I needed to do something ... I was tipping the scales at an oh so impressive 230 lbs. (I'm 5'10 ish). Toward getting back to some kind of fighting shape, I went back to Muay Thai for several years. This got my rather lethargic golfer's ass in gear and (re)awakened my competitive spirit. But something was missing. Although I was getting rather proficient at punching, elbowing and especially kicking, I wanted something more. 

While driving to work everyday I routinely sped passed a place advertising Mixed Martial Arts. After 2 years of driving past the sign and telling myself that I should really drop in, I finally did just that. Not only did this gym offer Muay Thai, but BJJ. ... 

There is much more to this story which I will offer as time goes on. But, suffice it to say for now that the mats are my home away from home and I weigh in at a healthier 170 lbs.. I've never been happier (is it weird that choking people makes me happy?)!

Bryan

bjjstudy@gmail.com

The Great Canadian Death Race

Somehow or other I have been convinced to get involved in the Great Canadian Death Race. If you have never heard of this grueling treck, you should check out their site. The DR's skull logo concerns me more than a little. More so, the description of the race from the site, which goes as follows:

For nearly a decade, elite racers have come here to cheat Death in one of the world's toughest adventure races. The 125 km course begins and ends on a 4200 foot plateau, passes over three mountain summits and includes 17,000 feet of elevation change and a major river crossing at the spectacular Hell's Gate canyon at the confluence of the Smoky and Sulphur Rivers. During the August long weekend each year, extreme athletes, individually and in relays, push themselves to the limits of their endurance against the breathtaking background of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Each year, well-trained and totally committed, they battle heat, cold, altitude and themselves. There are no big cash prizes for winning: finishing is hard enough. And the bragging rights are priceless

There are some individuals with questionable sanity who chose to run the entire 125 km race. Although many have questioned my mental constitution, I'm not sufficiently mad to think that I can run up and down mountains over rivers in both daytime and nite for 125 km while still training BJJ 4 or 5 times a week. So, I've agreed to do one leg - a mere 20 odd km up a mountain. No problem!?

I do not profess to be a runner, never mind an "elite" one. I do not particularly enjoy pounding the pavement for mile after mile and I confess that I'm more than a little concerned that training for the DR will effect my BJJ. Until recently my training outside of the dojo consisted of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and heavy olympic lifts. Like Valerie over at Prancing and Sucking I periodically cycle Crossfit type workouts into my schedule. It seems to me that Long Slow Distance (LSD) training is at odds with the demands of BJJ. By contrast, BJJ involves shorter periods of high intensity work followed by rest intervals. After several years of training both inside and outside the dojo/gym I can roll comfortably for considerable periods. Certainly, some of this 'wind' is a condition of technical efficiency, but at the same time, my body has adjusted to the demands placed on it by BJJ. I'm curious to see what happens to my BJJ endurance as I become more seriously immersed in training for the Death Race. I am anxious to hear from anybody out there who has experience training for marathons or adventure racing while doing BJJ.  

So, if I'm not particularly fond of running, why did I sign on for this? For a number of reasons. First, peer pressure. Many of my good friends are running and we are planning on having a great time at and after the race. Second, it's a challenge. The Death/Life Race provides me with yet another opportunity to push the limits of my self and get insight into my being. Third, the race is not a road race. It is a cross country jaunt across rivers and mountains...which sounded fun at the time?! Now I just have to get training?!