Paul Arden | Tuesday, 26 September 2023
It’s quite exciting when you think of Sexyloops in terms of 25 year blocks. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick around for the next two at least!! I am actively dodging lightning strikes as we speak…
I’m on an Ironman Taper. The Malaysian Ironman is less than two weeks away. So this is time to allow the body to recover from the hell it’s been given for the past 6-12 months, and more specifically the past 4-6 weeks, which has been very intense. This doesn’t mean doing nothing of course, but by comparison it certainly feels like it!
This week I nip down to KL for a “race ready” meet, where we go through nutrition plans, power output on the bike and pacing on the run. There is a big unknown for me here, and that’s how the heat and humidity will affect me over such a long distance. So I plan to pace myself very conservatively.
After this event, I want to enjoy this fitness level and make use of it. I’ll look for another race in about six months from now. There is no reason why I can’t do Ironman for the next 25 years. Now there’s a goal!!
Anyway I’m sure it’s not going to be easy over here (compared to Hungary which was the last time I did the full distance) and careful pacing is going to be very important in this climate.
Now, last week one of my Zoom “students” asked me for a distance flycasting video, showing the two techniques I teach and call “Open Stance Distance” and “170”. It was received so well that I forwarded the video to 26 of my other 28 Zoom students (the remaining two will receive it, but we are not at that point yet!). And that was received very well too, with a couple of casters finding immediate improvement.
So to complement the series that I’ve filmed with Nick on Sexyloops YouTube, that goes from a not-very-exciting 50’ distance to (now) really-quite-exciting 120’, I thought I would share this video with you too. It shows many of the things we were talking about, but really you should go right through the series from the beginning, because once we have talked about an element essential to a shorter cast, we tend not to focus on it at a longer distances, even though it’s still critically important.
The two On The Fly episodes aired this past week on Discovery Asia have been Ladyfish in Langkawi and Copper Mahseer in Sungai Tiang. Hopefully for those who have seen them you have enjoyed them! Sungai Tiang is now in spate of course but will be open for fishing trips again from January onwards. I hope many of you will fish this stunning place and have a great time with my friends there.
Wet Season appears to have arrived here in Malaysia. Once I’ve nailed this Ironman, the first thing I’ll be doing is taking the boat right down to the very end of the lake and chasing Snakehead babies. It’s going to be fantastic soon, if not already. If you are coming to visit me, then please book so we can cement the dates. I have 5 week-long trips planned between now and Christmas and I look forward to seeing some of you here!!
Have a great week.
Cheers, Paul