As women we are so hard on ourselves! This really stood out for us during our adventure race skills weekend in Taupo. What a fantastic group of women, but my goodness women can under-estimate their abilities.
What really stood out is how much women talk themselves down and think they can’t do this, or aren’t good at that and once they take the leap, push themselves a little, they realise they are a lot more capable than they thought and suddenly empowered to do more and improve further!
It was so rewarding to see this constantly over the weekend in terms of navigation skills and competency, mountain bike skills, mountain bike repairs and maintenance confidence and kayak skills. The delight, confidence and empowerment was exuberating throughout the group.
My challenge to you is if you think there is something you aren’t good at- maybe you think you can’t read a map to save yourself or you think you have to get off and walk your bike over anything technical or steeper downhill sections, then either team up with someone better than you and give it a go, or join a skills course to give you that initial confidence booster, step out of your comfort zone, push yourself a little and you will absolutely reap the rewards- as these ladies did.
Due to the positive feedback from the weekend and demand from those that couldn’t make the date, we will be running another Women’s Adventure Race Skills Weekend in Taupo February 23rd and 24th- one month out from the Whaiora Spirited Women Race. We will work on navigation skills, mountain bike skills, tips and tricks of adventure racing as well as a race simulation event.
So either sign up for the weekend or go out and find someone that is better than you in the particular area you need to improve in and head out on the trails with them, you will quickly start to improve and gain more confidence!
“Don’t be afraid of your fears, they are not there to scare you but to let you know that something is worth doing”.
Kym is a mum of 3 boys, 4, 7 and 9 yrs, trains and races in multisport and adventure racing events and is super passionate about nutrition and wellness. She is the co-creator and retreat leader at NZ Adventure Retreats and is part of the team that has won the Spirited Women Adventure Race long course for the past 3 years.
Kym along with Rach Smith from Navigation North will be running a specific Womens Adventure Race Skills Weekend in Taupo February 23rd and 24th to help with up-skilling in different aspects of the race and helping you become a more confident and competent adventure racer.
Contact kym@nzadventureretreats.com or 0272500435 to register.