By Enrico Varella/Leadership Lessons from Triathlons

Enrico Varella: I understand that you volunteer actively with physically challenged athletes. Tell us more about this. When did you start? Who do you work most closely with?
Harn Wei: I used to do that, back in 2007. Time commitment on other activities has stopped me from helping them out. I am now volunteering to coach the YOG modern pentathlon squad. Back in 2007, TriZEN – my triathlon club – volunteered to train a group of Special Olympics and hearing-challenged athletes prepare for the first edition of the SIngapore Ironman 70.3. It was a very enriching experience! We established lasting friendship with many of the physically-challenged athletes and it was a very good exposure for TriZEN members to help those in need of our support and understanding.

Enrico Varella: How has Ironman training and racing benefited you, both personally and professionally?
Harn Wei: As I have mentioned above, planning and executing a year-round training and racing plan for ironman and ultra triathlon is a big test of discipline and the ability to juggle the many different commitments in our lives. This is a good way to build character and many of the lessons learnt from this process can readily be translated into our professional lives.

Enrico Varella: What’s next on the list of ‘to do’ or ‘to conquer’ list?
Harn Wei: I have a few. Getting more sleep tops the list! Ha! In triathlon, I hope to do a sub-9:30 for Ironman; set a new Asia double Ironman record (which is 24h 40min); complete the traditional deca iron in a new Asia record time (which is just over 12 days); and to complete at least once the ultimate of all ultra triathlon – the double deca (yes, we are bringing it – 78km swim, 3600km bike and 844km run – back next year but I am not aiming to do this in 2010 but in 2012). In ultra running, I hope to run the 7-day ultra running event in Athens, Greece, and to complete the 10000-mile continuous run challenge in the future.

Enrico Varella: What is your philosophy towards life? The host of ‘The Amazing race’, Phil Koegan wrote a book ‘NOW – No Opportunity Wasted’. What is your take on that?
I believe in not setting limits on myself, including not walking around and putting labels on myself. Nothing is more effective in clipping our wings of potential than starting everyday thinking ‘I am so and so, and I am only good in doing this and this’. No! Refrain from self-labeling and break away from traditional mindset. Learn from multiple sources. Absorbing what’s useful and creating what is essentially our own enable us to reinvent ourselves and redefine our limits!

Phil’s ‘NOW’ philosophy is not being detailed enough, I feel. What does he mean by ‘opportunities’? An opportunity may not represent anything fundamentally new and may even encourage one to be further ingrained in the conventional and well-rehearsed. Instead, one should grasp all opportunities to re-define limits and grow in that process.

Enrico Varella: What methods do you use to monitor the onset of fatigue/flat spells/de-motivation during training for such events that come down to you performing at your best on a single day?
Harn Wei: Tools such as HRM and SRAM can only do so much. Your heart rate can be in the acceptable range but if the legs lack the snap or are calling for time out, time out is exactly what they should be given. I rely on the plain old method of ‘feeling’ and ‘internal dialogue’. When we are involved in physically activities, every aspect of our consciousness is involved and engaged – the mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, etc.

For example, how you feel and what you think will reflect accurately the physical state of your well-being, which is a record of what you have done prior to that training session or race. So, simply by being aware of these different signals sent out from the different aspects of our consciousness, we can very accurately monitor our holistic state throughout the day (or days) and react according.

Enrico Varella: Your website is called TriZen.Tell us more about your Zen philosophy of triathlons.
Harn Wei: My outlook in life is profoundly influenced by the teachings of Taoism. Although my family is a Taoism-Buddhism one, I am more of a free-thinker. So, how does the teaching of Taoism affect the way I look at and do triathlon? The teaching of Taoism (not the religion of Taoism) advocates philosophies that one can readily apply to endurance sports.

For example, it emphasizes on the need to create a synergy between “human and nature”, which makes sense because we all know the folly of trying to, say, beat the headwind. We don’t, and can never, beat Nature. The wisdom of “non-action” – or, wu wei, as it is spoken in Chinese – can be interpreted as striving to do something with maximum efficiency, as if one is not even trying nor doing!

The wisdom of “non-self” – or, wu wo in Chinese – can be interpreted as not trying to label oneself in whatever we do, as this is the surest way of restricting our potential in everything we do! Although many of these concepts aspire to lead us to ideal end states, they are by not means impractical. They can be converted and treated as targets or mental notes that endurance athletes can use to guide their training and racing.

The gist about applying Taoism to guide our own experience is that we are totally free to define it in ways that suit us as individuals. My interpretation may not work for you, Enrico, and vice versa. And there lies the beauty of the whole thing. You define your WAY of doing triathlon; so much so that your triathlon experience comes around to define who you are. You define your WAY – the TAO – of triathlon (that explains why my email address is TAO of TRI).

To say that I learn all my triathlon-related lessons from my own interpretation of the ancient teachings is untrue of course. In my triathlon experience so far, I have the pleasure to learn from many who have helped to shape my outlook in triathlon and life. They are my coaches.

First, there were Roch Frey (husband of Heather Fuhr, 1997 Ironman World Champion and multiple ironman champion) and Paul Huddle (husband of Ironman living legend Paula Newby Fraser). They taught me something very important: excellence is all about time efficiency and training smart. Under their coaching, I cut my Ironman timing by 50min between my first and second ironman attempts.

Next, the person who taught me most about how to coach and inject flexibility into a well-grounded training regimen is Katja Mayer – former top German Ironlady who won a few ironman races in Florida and Brazil. Training for two years under her tutelage cut another 1 hour 11 minutes from my timing and, most importantly, I rediscovered the fun in endurance sport!

When I trained for my first double Ironman world championship in 2003, I again approached Katja to write a program for me. Initially, she was hesitant as she wasn’t sure how to go about it (and she said I am crazy!). I think she might have sought some advice from Scott Molina, who was then training for his Ultraman World Championship and to whom Katja frequently turned for training advice. I dedicate my 8th placed finish to them. Unfortunately, ever since I moved on to the quintuple, and later on, the deca ironman, I lost contact with Katja. However, I am still applying what I learnt from her, Paul and Roch to the way I train and race.

I am a firm believer that to make the decisive leap to the next level, we need an injection of fresh ideas. Every one of us is limited by our own assumptions, bad habits and blind spots. No matter who we are – amateurs or pros – we need to approach someone who can see through our mistakes and enlighten us to better ways of training and racing. What I notice about many triathletes in Singapore is that they don’t invest as much resources as they should in coaching, compared to how much they are willing to put into buying equipment. In order to achieve those goals I mentioned earlier, I know I need to break free from my present mindset of training and learn from others. That is the only way to advance to the next level of performance. The best is yet to be.

Enrico: Thank you for the interview, Harn Wei. It was enlightening and educational.

Kua Harn Wei Biography
Full name: Kua Harn Wei
Age: 38
Status: Single
Profession/Discipline: Mad scientist on climate change technologies and policies
Years in profession: Forever
Years in triathlon: Forever, too
Pet peeves: People driving SUVs on Singapore roads. People calling golf a sport and Tiger Woods a sportsman.
Hobbies: Anything that pushes the limits of the mind and body.

The Zen of the Deca Ironman — an interview with Kua Harn Wei (Part 1)