A great paddling session

Or as I threatened Mark I would label it....
"A paddle with Anton the Second"
As Mark put it he "gave Anton a run for his money today". Mark met me at the usual place early this morning and had already told me he was only going to go easy as a warm up for tomorrow's race. My response was "yeah right - no way". We did the 8km lap together at a comfortable pace (with Mark talking constantly - hence the title) and I was surprised when I looked at my watch to see that we did it in 49:50 (min:sec). That's the first time I've broken 50 minutes. Just goes to show how much faster the Van Dusan is (and how much better I'm getting at paddling it).

After the first lap Mark had to go, and I had no luck convincing Anton to come down and keep me company for the second lap. So I paddled the second lap on my own. Mark set me the target of 48 minutes which he said I "should be able to do easily without someone jabbering in my ear" and so I used the opportunity of paddling on my own to see what time I could do at a solid pace. I felt so good the whole session and I did the second lap at about 20km race pace...solid and puffing but not full on. I was again pleasantly surpised to see that I did it in 47:12 (min:sec). I had hoped to beat 48 min and was very happy with the time and how good I felt.

I didn't even have any thought of falling in. I feel pretty comfortable in the Van Dusan now. I still wouldn't want to be out in any decent chop mind you, but considering I've only been paddling it for just over a week, I am stoked at how comfortable I feel and how well I'm paddling it already. Yes Mark...you were right.

A solitary paddle

Mark couldn't make it and Anton couldn't either, so I ended up paddling on my own today. I felt yuk even before I started and not much better once I had. The last 3 days have been so busy and draining I think I was just absolutely exhausted. Anyway I paddled to the bridge and back and had a chat with Mick, Jack and Jen when I got back (they were just getting off the river after their paddle). I really didn't feel up to continuing but I forced myself to head up to the lake. About half way up I started feeling a little better. I was just bludging but my balance felt good. And by the time I finished I was tempted to bug Anton again and try to get him to come down and keep me company for another lap. However, I decided to call it quits whilst I was still feeling good (and hadn't fallen in). Eventhough physically I was stuffed today, I felt good in the Van Dusan. I felt comfortable and wasn't concerned about balance. I probably felt about as good as I did a few weeks ago in the club K1. Heaps better than I thought I would by now anyway.

Changed plans and a run down in Sydney 2

Due to various reasons I ended up staying down in Sydney (at Mum's place) last night. I couldn't do my Wednesday night paddle, but I took the double pram with me so I could still do my Thursday morning run. Mum's hip was still a bit sore so she pushed the boys in the pram whilst I ran. We did Mum's usual loop around the park (with paved track), and this time I did 2 laps. It's pretty hilly so a lot harder than my usual flat run at the lake. Anyway, I felt good and ran for 30 minutes (the first time I've run continuously for 30 min in about 5 months) and I did around 5km. Very happy with that.

A hot fast run with Mum

We went a bit earlier today because we thought the weather had cooled down. We were wrong. Anyway, we did the usual path and road run and it was hard the whole way. Mum was seriously moving (she's a little machine), and it was all I could do just to keep up. We did the run in 24:59 (min:sec) which is a personal best for us. A great sense of achievement to do that time in hot weather.

Woo Hoo!

I was brave and followed through with my decision to race in the Van Dusan today. I had resigned myself to falling in and just wanted to do the race for experience. In the meantime Mark had been talking me up and telling everyone that I was going to blitz the field. No pressure. I was handicapped according to my last race (time of 1hr12min) and was due to start at 9:18am. The start went well and I felt good almost straight away. I got into a rhythm early and was only a couple of hundred metres into it when this 'mantra' came into my head. "Right here, right now" which I kept chanting over in my head (along with "Get Shakey" a song that Clayton now likes and has a good beat to paddle with, and I couldn't get out of my head).

Anyway, the "Right here, right now" stood for concentrating only on myself. Everything else is out of my control. Boats may come, wind may come, but I'll just deal with that when it happens. It's useless trying to predict (and worry) about what may or may not happen, it's best to just focus on MY paddling right here and right now. When I paddle and particularly race I tend to think about too many other things - like what other paddlers are doing, if anyone is coming up behind me, if I'll come across some wash from other kayaks or boats, if it will be windy and choppy at the turn around point, etc. For the whole race I just focused on myself and didn't worry (or think) about anthing or anyone else. I was so "In the Zone". It was hard to maintain for the whole 11km, but I did it. Of course other thoughts popped in, like "I might actually win this", but I tried to stop them as best I could.

I did win (by about 2 minutes) so Mark was right. I finished in 1:07 (hr:min) with an average speed of 10.15km/hr which I was very happy with, but I was most happy about the fact that I stayed upright the whole way. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I'm so glad I had the guts to give it a go. And now I'm even tempted to race a K1 at state. We'll see.

Conductive Cassie

Ah thunderstorms. Gotta love them. I met Anton down the river at around 2:30pm and after fiddling around with the new seat in the Van Dusen we were on our way. There was distant thunder and warnings of sever electrical storms but I thought we'd probably get our paddle done in time. Not even 300m into it I went for a swim. Not sure why. I was trying the new lower seat that Greg Slade had made up for me and maybe because it was snugger in the hips I was throwing myself off balance more...I don't know, because I was actually feeling more stable and pretty good up until that point. Anyway today I seemed to keep off-balancing towards the left and I need to work out why.

The rest of the paddle was going well and by the time we reached the bridge the thunder was getting closer. I wanted to do an effort back to the boat ramp to compare with my time in the club K1. I felt pretty good most of the way (with a few braces now and then), and we did it in 8min exactly. We were paddling against the flow and I was pretty happy with my time.

By the time we got back, the thunder was overhead and after long deliberations (and one very loud crack of thunder) we opted to finish the session. Thunderstorms are the one weather condition I won't paddle in. My logic is that I may miss a training session and that can always be made up, but if there is a lightning strike then there's no second chances. My family (and my own life) is too important to me to risk it. But Anton shared some interesting bits of information relating to thunderstorms and paddling. The first was that if you place yourself (ie. him) in between the trees on the bank and the other paddler (ie. me) then the chances are that the lighting will hit either the trees or the other paddler. NICE. And then he tells me that when I went in for the swim that he was thinking that I'd be nice and conductive now. So, what...that would make me Conductive Cassie!!!! Lovely! (I know you're only joking Anton)

Sure enough when the kayaks were washed down and secured on our roofs, it had passed over and I felt pretty $hitty (with myself) that we had stopped. But, you never know. This time is worked out that way, but it only takes once for it to all turn bad. When I got back home Chris said that they had thunder and lightning and heavy rain, so it really was the right decision after all.

Now - for tomorrow's club race. I've decided to do it in the Van Dusen according to Mark's advice (I had to put that in so I can blame someone if it all goes wrong). I'm resigned to the idea that I might fall in, but it will be a good learning experience for me. I figure I can either play it safe and race the club K1 or really challenge myself and paddle the Van Dusen. I may regret it, but I'll give it a go. But for now, I'll take bets on what time I'll do and how many times I'll fall in. My guess is 1:10 with only 1 swim to 1:30 with 4 swims. Somewhere in there I think.

Friday run

I ended up down the lake a bit later than usual and it was warming up quickly. I was pushing Clayton in the pram and Connor was riding his bike so I decided to do just the path run today (I don't want Connor to start getting tired of riding again). Anyway - I felt crap. Even when walking for the warm up I just didn't feel right. But I persisted anyway, and eventhough I planned a short walk at the halfway turnaround point, when I got there I just kept running. Connor rides like a demon now (he's so quick and rides so well), and we did the run in 21:15 (min:sec). So considering I was pushing the pram I ended up doing a pretty quick run after all. Sometimes you just have to push through it I guess.

A bit of paddling and a bit of swimming

Today it was myself (in the Van Dusen), Anton (in his Mirage) and Jack and Jen (in the double) paddling together. I felt a lot better in the Van Dusen today. For the first half of the paddle I felt a lot more confident and comfortable in it. I was bracing a lot less and managed to get into a rhythm for most of it. I was even coping alright with a few boats that came past. Then, just as we were nearing the lake Jack said something about a big fish and silly me turned to look. Well the pictures tell the rest of that story. In I went and we decided some photos would make the blog more interesting and personal.

Anyway I went around the first marker and was on the way back when another boat came past with some bigger wash. I turned into it but didn't quite have enough room and nearly ended up hitting Anton with me yelling out "Don't stop, keep going, keep going" with lots of laughter mixed in. And a few seconds later just as I breathed with that near miss I looked up and Jack and Jen in the double were veering right and I was veering left . More calls by me of "$hit, $hit, don't stop, don't stop, keep going, $hit, $hit" followed by me crashing into them once and nearly again. I can't believe I stayed upright and was laughing so much for the next few minutes that I nearly fell in several times. It was soooo funny, I'm laughing now just picturing it all again!

Well I was getting pretty balance fatigued by this stage and had coped with some pretty impressive challenges. The last kilometer I was losing it a bit and was all over the place and I was looking forward to getting back. Soon we rounded the corner and I saw the ramp. Well Anton, not satisfied with me falling in only once (even with photos of it) decided he'd help me in again. In all fairness my steering is still pretty dodgy in the Van Dusen, but his calls of " What are you doing Cass, you're gunna put me into that branch aren't you" resulted in me looking at the offending branch, trying unsuccessfully to steer away and falling in with cries of "Anton you bastard". Only joking Anton - I won't hold it against you (for too long). So after another re-entry we were then back home. Jack had his beautiful Struer K1 there for me to have a go of. It was so comfortable and easy to paddle. Stability was no problem and it felt really nice to paddle. And Jack has even offered to lend it to me to race in at Forster (State Championships). Now this is a $7000 kayak we're talking about. So thankyou Jack, it's a very generous and much appreciated offer.

More paddling than swimming

Tonights session in Mark's Van Dusen went better than I expected....I did more paddling than swimming. I started off well and did the bridge lap including a couple of efforts without falling in. Mind you I was all over the place and at least a third of my strokes were probably brace strokes, but I stayed upright. I have always loved Van Dusens. The glide they get is amazing.
We continued up towards the lake and did some more efforts. I was able to get into a bit of a rhythm sometimes and had brief moments where I felt good. As we were about half way up and doing an effort I decided I was bit hot and wanted to go for a swim. So after swimming to shore and emptying the kayak out, I hopped back in and kept going. About 5 minutes later and close to the lake I fell in again. I had some fairly big chunks of grass wedged between by hip and the side of the kayak, that were sticking up right into my arm pit (from my previous re-entry). I was complaining about them and Mark asked me where they were (thanks Mark), so stupid me looked down and over, and then down and over I went.
By this stage Greg Slade had seen us paddling past his house and had hopped in his Kayak and met us as I was getting back in. Mark said I could head back to the boat ramp and him and Greg would catch up. Well, this part of the paddle went really well. I got into a nice rhythm for most of it and was doing less and less bracing strokes. I paddled the whole way back feeling pretty good. Mark and Greg were chatting and only caught me back at the ramp.
When we got back, Jack and Jen had obviously seen us paddling past their house and rode down to the ramp to meet us. We all had a great chat about kayaking stuff and I saw that Greg was paddling one of his makes of K1 (Sladecraft) and I was chatting to him about it. He offered for me to try it. I thought that since I was already wet I might as well try. So in I hopped and off I paddled. NICE CRAFT! It's a slimline and probably tipper than the Van Dusen but with a lower seat it felt more stable. I loved it. It had a beautiful feel to it and handled nicely. This is one kayak I would love to paddle more in.

Looking forward to swimming (oops I mean paddling) tonight

Tonight is my first proper training session with Mark. So this will be my first time really swimming with the Van Dusen. Hopefully it's more paddling than swimming. I know that I'll probably fall in a some stage. I never get embarrased, it's just a pain in the a$$ having to swim back to shore, empty the kayak out, and start again, just to repeat the whole thing over again. Anyway, despite the jokes, I am actually looking forward to the session and am feeling pretty positive about it.
I also forgot to mention last week that Anton generously offered to lend me his TK1 to race in at the State Marathon Championships. So if I chose to race in that category I've got a kayak lined up for that aswell. He is a legend, and I really appreciated it. I'm always very thankful when someone lets me borrow or even try their equipment (whatever that may be).

I need the running for my head

As Mum and I were on our return lap running along the lake, I said "I need the running for my head". Eventhough the Monday run's are perhaps the hardest for me to get motivated for (due to a hard day at work), mentally I really need them (due to a hard day at work).
We did the path and road lap in about 22 min and my average heart rate was 163bpm though it felt a lot harder than that. We both felt like it was hard today but we always feel better afterwards.

A wet group paddle

I had thought that it was only going to be myself, Anton and Mark paddling this morning, especially in such miserable weather. What a lovely surprise is was to turn up at the put in spot to find Jack and Jen already there, with Mark, Ernie, and Anton arriving shortly afterwards. I always love paddling with a group. I paddled the club K1, Mark paddled his Van Dusen K1, Ernie and Anton paddled their respective Mirage 580's, and Jack and Jen paddled a double.
Most of us decided that we didn't need spray skirts but wore our wet weather gear 'just in case'. It was only sprinkling as we started, but not even 500m into it, it bucked down. Oh well - wrong decision. We headed to the bridge first and then up to the lake. It was pouring and windy at the point and I was not game enough to head out to the markers on the lake. Unbelievably Mark, Jack and Jen did and came back unscathed. Anyone who can paddle a K1 (and not fall in) in those conditions is amazing in my books.
We headed back and did a bit extra to make it 8km. I felt a bit wheezy the whole paddle (I'm battling a mild cold) and didn't feel flash, but we did the 8km in just over 50min. That's the fastest I've done yet.
The paddle was full of learning experiences. It was such a lovely group of people, and everyone was sharing their knowledge and experience with me on everything from wash riding to race tactics. Mark and Jack especially gave me so much information. I learnt so much - what a wealth of knowledge they have! We did some sprints and practiced wash riding and paddling through wash. It was a great paddle, with great company.
At the end I had a very short go in Mark's Van Dusen K1. This is my third attempt at it and first without falling in. Sooooooo tippy. Mark has generously offered to lend it to me to race in (for the State Marathon Championships) and to train in for the next month. What a legend. Though I don't think there's any way I will be ready to race in it in a months time. But if I can train in it, then racing in a more stable K1 will be easy. So the plan is to have a go in it this Wednesday and if I can paddle it well enough to do some decent training, then I'll persist for the month. But if I can't stay in it for the intervals and decent efforts, then there's no point in training in it for the moment. I need to be able to paddle it well enough to improve my fitness (not just to learn to balance).

Weekly Measurements 6

Very happy with the measurements this week. A loss of 1.4kg and 0.4% fat, with a gain of 0.3% muscle. Now thats more like it! So far in 6 weeks I've lost a total of 4.7kg and 1.6% fat and put on 0.8% muscle.

Measurement, Before, Week 1,2,3,4 and 5, 6
Weight kg, 82, 80.5, 79.7, 79.6, 78.7, 77.3
Fat %, 31.6, 31.2, 30.9, 30.6, 30.4, 30.0
Water %, 47.2, 47.4, 47.6, 47.8, 48.0, 48.4
Muscle %, 29.4, 29.6, 29.7, 29.8, 29.9, 30.2
Axillary cm, 100, 100, 99, 99, 98.5, 98.5
Waist cm, 91.5, 91, 90, 89.5, 88, 88
Naval cm, 105.5, 104, 104, 102, 100, 100
Hips cm, 107, 106.5, 104.5, 104, 104, 102.5
R.Thigh cm, 56, 53, 52, 51, 50.5, 49.5

A wet paddle

Not becuase of the rain, but because I was paddling with Anton - Heheheheheh. Just joking Anton. I always have a dig at him because he throws so much water off his paddle (no you can't blame it on the type of paddle you have Anton). Anyway, it was raining and I still wanted to train so he came along as well. By the time we met there it was raining pretty heavily so we put on our wet weather kit. For me it was cossie, tights, spray jacket, and Anton kindly lent me a spray skirt (which matched my kayak nicely). I think anyone who saw us thought we were nuts, but I was loving the paddle. We did the bridge lap and it was nice and calm with moderate rain, but then as we headed up towards the lake it started to bucket down. And for the last 1km before the lake the wind and chop picked up and it was pretty horrible. It's probably the worst weather I've ever paddled in. The K1's nose was going under the waves at each dip, but at least it was head on. I found a sheltered spot to turn around and we headed back, this time with the wind and waves behind us. We would have been flying, it was pretty cool. We took some photos when we were done and we look like drowned rats. The photos are a bit blurry because I couldn't stop the rain from getting on the lens. So sorry Anton, these were the best I got. I still have to look at the GPS data to see what our distance and speed was but I'm guessing around 7km with an average speed of 9.8km/hr.

A wet jog and a bit of philosophy

I knew the weather was going to be miserable today by the forcast of heavy rain and 40km/hr winds. Early this morning it was pouring and gusty, but I still told the boys we were going for a run and that Connor would have to sit in the pram today as it was too wet to ride his bike. I got us all dressed and ready (boys in warm trackies and me in sports tights and Chris's wet weather golf vest) and waited for a break in the weather. As soon as it was only a drizzle I drove us all to the lake. I set the boys up in the Mountain Buggy Double Pram with the rain cover on and I headed off along the lake. It was drizzling the whole way to the end of the path, but on the way back it was barely spitting. It was actually an enjoyable run. The boys were dry and toasty in the pram, and I was dry and toasty in Chris's golf top. The heart rate monitor didn't pick up my heart rate properly today, so no measurements there, but I completed the path run in 21:31 (min:sec) which is great for pushing the double pram. It's really quite a good workout pushing 30kg in the pram with the rain cover acting as a nice wind break.

It got me thinking though, at what point does it become unreasonable/stupid to keep training. For some people just the look of rain is enough to call a session off. Others train in absolutely horrendous weather. I try to find middle ground. I think that you could pretty much come up with an excuse to miss any session (too hot, cold, wet, windy, sunny, tired, hungry, thirsty, etc). I also think it's silly to jeapordise your health by taking it too far and training in weather that will likely make you end up sick. For some people it seems to be a measure of how tough/serious/dedicated/focused a person is. Sometimes it's something to brag about and almost becomes a competition. I'm interested to hear others thoughts on this, and at what point they decide to call a session off.

Followers

Hi to everyone who visits my blog. I've now included a follower section on my sidebar, and would love for you to add yourselves to this list. I really enjoy seeing who is reading my blog, and this would also help me see who you are and maybe read your blog too. The follower gadget is on the right sidebar down the bottom (underneath the weightloss pictures slideshow link).

A flat and disappointing paddle

After switching my paddle session from yesterday to today I was disappointed this morning when the weather was so crap. It was raining all morning. Don't get me wrong - I was going unless there was a thunderstorm, but it's always nicer paddling when it's not raining.
Anway, by the afternoon the rain stopped and the wind picked up and I arranged to meet Anton there at 4:45pm. I got there a bit early and Jack and Mick had just come back from a bridge lap. They convinced me to paddle up towards the lake with them (with much protesting by me...that Anton was going to kill me), and after about 1km I turned around and headed back to meet up with Anton. This part of the paddle felt good, but when Anton and I started heading up towards the lake together I felt a bit flat.
We met up with Jack and Mick, and paddled up to the lake and back with them. When we got back our time and my heart rate was good, but I just felt 'off the mark' today. I convinced Anton to let me practice wash riding him, and this was great. I've never wash ridden in a K1 before and I did better than expected. All up I paddled about 8km.
I'm just disappointed with how I felt today. Maybe it was knowing I had such a short time to paddle as I had to get back home in time for Chris to go to Soccer training. Maybe it was the lack of sleep last night due to Connor's all night long night terrors. Excuses, excuses! I was certainly looking forward to the sessions, but it just didn't click tonight. Oh well, I guess I can't expect every session to be great. I think maybe I was a bit disheartened after reading about the State Marathon Championships. I found out that the Open Womens K1 is 25km and has 4 portages. Now there's no way I'll be up to that standard in the K1 in 5 weeks. I also discovered that I won't be able to race in the Vet 35 category because it is the age you were on 1st January 2009. Usually in vet categories you can race in the category for the year you turn that age, which means I could race in V35, but appartently not for this event. This is a bummer because I was hoping to race in V35. So I think I'll race in the Open TK1 event now because there is no way that in 5 weeks I'd be able to stay upright in a K1 for 25km with 4 portages. Give me another month and maybe I could. So probably it's just that my heart wasn't in it today. I guess I'm just a bit disheartened at the moment. So disappointing after paddling so well on the weekend.

Wednesday's run with music

I was meant to be doing a paddle with Anton this afternoon, but I got a casual day's work at the last minute. Since it looks like I might be picking up the casual work on Wednesdays, I'll have to come up with a contingency plan for my training schedule. Anyway, I decided to go for a run instead. It was too late to paddle, and a run only takes an hour all up so I could be back in time to help put the boys to bed. So as soon as Mum headed home, I drove to the lake and did the longer (path and road) run and back. I felt great - the fittest I've felt in a long time. I'm really enjoying my running again. I also had the MP3 player on and the music always gives me an extra lift. My music of choice is dance/techno (anything with good bass). I think this comes from my teenage and early 20's Aerobic Instructing days, and working in a gym until I was 28yrs. Anyway, I love it when the bass is pumping and it can really improve my mood. Total time was 25:17 (min:sec), with an average heart rate of 168bpm. Lovin it!

Shuffle, jog, run?

It was the same story this Monday as last. I didn't feel like going out for a run, but somehow when Chris got home I got the motivation and Mum and I headed out to the lake. The cooler change in weather was lovely. I felt good straight away. It just felt much easier. We went to the end of the path and end of the road, and back, so an extra distance of about 1km. It was the first time since early December that I've done that whole distance without walking. I felt really great. So now I think I can call it running instead of shuffling or jogging. Nothing fast mind you, but it feels good enough to call it a run. Total time was 25:30 (min:sec) and average heart rate of 165bpm.

Saturday and Sunday's quiet paddle

This weekend most paddlers I know went down to Canberra to race in the State Marathon Series race 1. This included Anton, my usual chatty paddling partner. I have to say I really do find paddling with someone else much more enjoyable and Anton's friendly chat does make the time go much quicker. But I decided to use the opportunity of paddling on my own to try a few things out.
On Saturday, the first was the MP3 player. I thought I would like listening to music whilst I paddle, as I really enjoy it for my runs. But, I didn't and I couldn't wait until the first lap was over so I could put it back into the car. I also decided to do a solid pace and see what time I could do for the 8km lap. The pace I did was probably the same as about 20km race pace, and I did the 8km in 51:40 (min:sec). Average heart rate was 170bpm. Average speed was 9.29km/hr. I then did another 8km lap comfortably (fairly easy) without the MP3 player and did it in 52:18 with an average heart rate of 162bpm and average speed of 9.18km/hr. Not much difference really. I was pretty happy with these times but know I need to improve a lot more. This is also the furthest I have ever gone in a K1 in one session.
On Sunday, I decided to do a 1.5km time trial. As soon as I started paddling I realised how neurally fatigued I was from yesterday. I was all over the place. I warmed up to the bridge (1.5km) and then turned around and went hard back to the boat ramp (1.5km). By hard I mean about 5km race pace. I did it in 8:07 (min:sec) and was stoked! Average heart rate was 179bpm and average speed was 11.09km/hr. Now we're getting somewhere. I decided to do the rest of the paddle easy and worked on technique. I was very neurally tired and my balance was off, but I was still pleased with the session.
After 2 weeks I have finally got my heart rate monitor back from it's service. And since I haven't used it in 5 years (when the battery died), it was soooo good to be able to use it again. It was certainly great to have such detailed feedback about my sessions and will be really useful in helping me keep track of my progress.

Weekly Measurements 5

My weekly measurements were EXACTLY the same this week...for everything. A bit disappointing, but lets hope for a better week this week. Since there is nothing to update, I haven't put a new picture or updated figures in (no point really).

You know you're on the right track when...

Last night as I was watching TV, I was thinking about today and was really disapointed that I wasn't going to train. When I woke up this morning, I just wanted to go and exercise. What a shift in thinking from previous years! You know you're on the right track when ...you are disappointed if you can't train.

It got me thinking about starting a list: You know you're on the right track when...
1) You are disappointed if you can't train
2) You look forward to training sessions
3) You look forward to racing
4) You are excited that it's measurement day
5) Your training makes you feel good

Hmm, I welcome any additions to this list!

State Marathon Championships....to go, or not to go

Ever since I found out about the 2009 State Marathon Championships I have entertained the thought of going. Considering that it's being held in Forster it's also not too far for us to travel, but far enough that we would have to stay overnight. Since our funds are so tight at the moment I have been considering several possibilities. I really want to race. I think that this is a major competition that would be very beneficial to do. Basically if I can't race well at this level, then going to the World Masters Games is just plain silly. It's also a great chance to get high level competition practice. Since these competions are normally held with individual races on Saturday and Doubles etc on Sunday, one possibility was just doing a day trip and racing individually on the Saturday. Working out finances, we have been going back and forth deciding whether to go or not. We also need to consider the boys. Sure I could stay overnight on my own, but I don't want to be away from the boys overnight again so soon after the Hawkesbury Classic. Their wellbeing is my priority. The idea of a day trip (not sure if it would be on my own or not) was looking like the answer. Then Mick threw a curve ball in....
At the club race on Sunday Mick asked me if I would like to compete at State in the TK2 with him again. Now this is too good an opportunity to miss. After our success at the State 5000m championships it's obvious that we paddle really well together, and it looks like there'd be some more mixed TK2's competing as well this time. So if I do that, it would mean an overnight stay...decisions, decisions.

Well after long deliberations, Chris and I decided that we would plan to go. So I've spent all week trying to find somewhere cheap to stay. At first I tried the Caravan Park where the race is, but the online page said it was all booked out apart from tent sites. So I tried a few other places but everthing was too expensive. We then thought that we'd stay in tents which is not ideal with 2 young children, but I was desperate to go. So upon calling the Caravan Park tonight, I found out that the online site says they are booked out because they have reserved a heap of spots for kayakers for the weekend. After a quick chat, we snapped up the cheapest cabins on offer and are now set for the competition weekend. Now I've just got some serious training to do!

Changed plans and a run down in Sydney

I won't go into the long story but the quick version is that I got casual work on Wednesday and ended up driving down to Mum's house straight after work. This meant that my weeks training plan (ie paddle on Wednesday night and run Thursday morning) had to change. Mum kindly offered me the opportunity this morning to go for a run on my own whilst she minded the boys. I really am so lucky to have such a supportive family. There is no way I'd be able to be doing all this training if it wasn't for them. So as early as possible I headed off towards Mum's usual running path. It was only 7am but very hot already. I ended up doing a 25min run (plus warm up and cool down) and covered around 4km. This is probably the best run I've done in ages. Still a long way to go - I know, but I'm improving well. When I got back to the house I looked so hot. I'm really not a pretty exerciser. I go red and blotchy and really look quite terrible, but today I was dripping in sweat and it didn't stop for almost an hour after I had stopped exercising. But, it was sooooo worth it!

Run with Mum

Today was my first 'real' day back at work after the holidays. I had a 5 period day (full day) and barely time to eat. When I got home I was stuffed, and knew that by the time it was cool enough to go for a run I wouldn't want to go. Well I was wrong. Somehow at 5:30pm I just got off the chair and convinced Mum to go for a run with me. It was still hot but bareable. We did the usual lake path and it felt hard, but we did it in 21:05 and my average heart rate was 171bpm. I guess the huge improvement is due to me being able to run without pushing the pram, but still I was impressed. When we got back home we were both happy that we made the effort.

The club race and swim

Well here's my eagerly awaited race report. All went well with the morning preperations (ie. getting myself, 2 children, and husband to the race on time). We were running a bit late, but not so late that I was stressing out too much. We got the K1 off the car roof, Connor paid the money and chose my race number, and I had about 15 minutes to prepare before I had to be on the water.

The club races use a handicap system with the aim of everyone getting to the finish line around 10:30am. So for the usual summer distance of 11.35km people start anywhere between 9:00am and 9:35am. My start was at 9:16 with another club paddler Max who was racing his newly aquired K1 for the first time. Instead of his race number he had an 'L' plate (Learner Plate) in his number mount. I loved the idea! After a bit of a shaky start (lots of bracing), I was off and quickly moved ahead of Max. About 200m into the race a motor boat came in the opposite direction, so I just turned into the wash head on. No real worries. I was feeling strong and confident, when about 400m into the race another motor boat came by. This time unfortunately it was heading in the same direction as us and since Max and I were on different sides of the river, it had to pass between us. Even more unfortunately, the #$*# idiots decided to pass about 7 metres away from me. I didn't know which way to turn, to make the wash more K1 friendly, but I really didn't have a hope. In I went with a "bugger" (didn't even swear), popped my paddle in the kayak and swam for shore. Thank goodness it happened in a spot where I could easily get back in. So after emptying it out, I was soon back into it and paddling again. No idea how much time I lost, but it took me all the way up to the turn-around point to catch Max again...so I'm guessing about 3-5 minutes. Anyway, I was still feeling strong and managed to cope with several other boats going past without any dramas. I was going hard, but not full race-pace. After successfully making the turn around out at the river/lake junction, I headed back with a bit more effort. I managed to drop the paddlers that were paddling with me and was soon passing some more people that had either started before me, or passed me whilst I was swimming. I gradually increased the effort as I got closer to the finish and was feeling tired but good, when lo and behold a voice calls out from behind me. Now Mark if you're reading this, you can correct me on the exact words, but it was something along the lines of "C'mon Cassie, pick it up". Damn, now I had to go harder. I did my best but Mark passed me just before the finish line and beat me by 3 seconds. I had nothing left in me - I was stuffed. I crossed the line 4th in a time of 1:11:47. So just over the time I had hoped to achieve. Now I reckon, with a swim that's a pretty good effort. I definately would have gone under 1:10 if I hadn't gone in. So all in all I was pretty happy with my result.

One interesting point about the race, was the fact that I was not so tired fitness-wise, but balance-wise. At one point I felt myself "losing the plot" a little bit, and feeling a bit zoned-out. I was finding it hard to keep my focus, and kept losing concentration, having to correct my balance and technique too often. This is definately something I have to work on, and I guess race practice is probably one of the best ways.

The other interesting point was how poorly I coped with boat wash when the boat was travelling in the same direction as me. I'm going well with wash that I can turn into head on (or at least on some angle), but I have a lot of trouble (obviously) with wash that comes from behind, travelling in the same direction as me. I have to definately practice this more. I'm not quite sure of the best way to deal with this kind of wash, so any tips from others would be greatly appreciated!

Weekly Measurements 4

Early in the week I was getting frustrated with my weight loss. I've been going so well with the plan, but it hasn't been showing on the scales. I decided to make a few small changes and follow the plan in full (not having little cheats) and the results have been great. A loss of almost 1kg this week, and all the other measurments heading in the direction they're meant too. Happy, happy!

Measurement, Before, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4

Weight kg, 82, 80.5, 79.7, 79.6, 78.7

Fat %, 31.6, 31.2, 30.9, 30.6, 30.4

Water %, 47.2, 47.4, 47.6, 47.8, 48.0

Muscle %, 29.4, 29.6, 29.7, 29.8, 29.9

Axillary cm, 100, 100, 99, 99, 98.5

Waist cm, 91.5, 91, 90, 89.5, 88

Naval cm, 105.5, 104, 104, 102, 100

Hips cm, 107, 106.5, 104.5, 104, 104

R.Thigh cm, 56, 53, 52, 51, 50.5